Become a Warrior

If your bored of the traditional 5K, looking for a new challenge, something to test more of your strength and fitness. Or are you just a big kid longing for an adult jungle gym covered in mud...then this is for you! 

We signed up for the warrior Dash with The Spagnola's. The closest one to us was about 3hrs away in Pennsylvania, but I didn't mind the drive. 

We planned this adventure before my injury, so I was a little nervous about how my leg would hold up throughout the obstacle courses. I came prepared with Ibuprofen (I know its almost like cheating) and my awesome compression socks. My belly gets super nervous before any race, I'm not sure why, but it happens every time. I need to find the closest bathroom 15mins beforehand-which is typically a set of porta potties and runners in their various matching outfits. 

The pre race photo is a must.

oh and this one

Groups of people go out in waves, so that the course doesn't get too crowded. The music is loud, it definitely pumps you up! People are cheering and dancing and high fiving before we even start. The announcer comes over the loud speaker to count us down-the crowd joins in, 3,2,1 ...and we are off in a fire blasting start...more cheering, more screaming, super exciting. There are different fitness levels of the participants which makes the trails not very crowded, some are super fast and incredibly fit and some are walking and totally in it for the obstacle challenge... we were on the high end of the spectrum. The trails became muddier as we progressed through and the choice of to get muddy or to follow the crowd around the edge of the trail? This is what we came here for right? Plow right through the mud, I say! I bent down and grabbed a handful. As I began to throw it, I was caught....Phil gave me that look as if to say "You better be prepared for what you are starting" which would equal an all out wrestling match in the middle of the coarse...I was not prepared, I gently tossed it his way and got the back of his shirt a tad muddy and we moved on. We climbed over several wooden structures, scaled walls, trudged through mud mountains and pits, army crawled under barbed wire, walked the tight rope with cold water pouring in our faces, and finally climbed high to the largest wet slid EVER....that resulted in a mud bath (I forgot to plug my nose-blah!)...Then the fire jumping finally and a congratulatory beer.

 I chose PUMPKIN!!

 

They had a DJ on stage playing the latest and greatest, so we weren't surprised when a dance party ensued.

 

 

Lunch time!

All  in all a great Saturday.

My leg felt good and I was feeling pretty accomplished this week, so of course I wanted more...3 more miles! This time with my music and my watch. I've only been naked running since the injury (no electronics) to really give me a chance to listen to my body. I went out fast and kept up a decent pace, by 2.5 miles my leg started to ache and I realized I didnt have my compression sock on-they were way to muddy. I decided to end at 3 and walk home. I thought I made a huge mistake because my silly leg began to ache, my insides began to cry. As soon as I got home I iced it and wrapped it with an ace wrap-super tight. Took more Ibuprofen and prayed I didnt do too much.

Do you think my neighbors noticed all the mud in my hair?

How was your weekend?

Where are you at in your training?

Do you have any lingering injuries?

Friday funnzies

I've been working more 12hr shifts at the hospital. Since I'm in charge of the Np's and Pa's in the ICU, I'm supposed to be working 6am-2:30pm Monday-Friday. However, since we are short staffed and are expanding the ICU's, I've felt obligated to pitch in a ton more. I typically pick up an odd weekend or a slew of night shifts. With that being said, I've been able to take an odd weekday off here and there and be home with my kidos during the summer. This proves to be one of those days.

If you can catch a spin class with Laura at the north area YMCA on Fridays at 9:30 its a must!

I'm new at this blogging thing, so taking a photo of complete strangers-however amazing of a photo op it was-seemed creepy to me, so you'll have to deal with an obscure random set of bikes! But, it's definitely something to look forward too!

Since the kidos were so well behaved and didn't complain about "wasting time" in primetime at the Y, we headed to the playground...since when is a 4 yr old and 7 yr old's time so precious?

Why are kids so drawn to sand?...Eh-gives me time to read this months runners magazine before the month is actually over!!

 

Next up, our favorite lunch spot

Annnd you can't forget, its back to school time...My baby starts pre-school this year-I'll cry that day, a lot!

Since it is back to school time you simply mustn't go school clothes shopping until you've cleaned out your closets of all the clothes that have accumulated over the years. This took an hour and a half of "Are we done yet?" trying on outfit after outfit and surrendering them to charity.

I really do hate when the girls go to their dads, I know they miss him, but I miss them when they are gone. So I deal with this with a soul cleansing run, at one of our (mine and Phil's) favorite spots!
We met here and got engaged here..See the proposal video Now!

It's beautiful huh?

I look faster than I am, haha!

Where is your favorite place to run??

Have you been to spin class?

A little surprise

Its an early some what cool morning, and I'm too lazy to make coffee.
FYI-this only happens when Phil is out of town because he ALWAYS makes my coffee in the am. Its the most amazing aroma that floats into my shower and magically appears on the bathroom sink... I digress.

So I stop at Dunkin to garb a medium hot coffee with two and two. I understand that this is a poor habit because not only is it a waste of $2.32 when the coffee at home is free ;-) but its terrible for me with all that extra sugar and real cream.....I typically use almond milk. Anyway, while secretly punishing myself with a guilty shame spiral (4 am is hard-I can be a little dramatic), I see this amazing sight!!

Crunchy leaves on pavement...I wanted to get out of my car at the drive thru window and run through it! I was patient. I paid for my coffee. Drove around the building. Put my jeep in park and contemplated the next moments of my life. Then I thought of Scott Jurek, and this quote popped in my head, "Sometimes you just do things" He uses this quote to push himself harder, to finish a race, to remove the negative and dig deep ....I used it to feel joy! Sometimes you just get out of your car and run through a dunkin donuts parking lot at 4:30 am.
Suddenly I became a child, the smell of autumn and the crisp cool air got to me. I felt Joy!

Now I crave pumpkin coffee, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread-with chocolate chips, of course (hint hint-mom)...anything pumpkin actually and am definitely looking forward to apple picking, apple cider, and the apple festival!

Look how little they were last year!

Please don't hate me for wishing away summer, embrace the future of Fall!!

A Sunday at Grandma Sue's

This is what life is made of:

Two longer runs in a row!! Going from 0 to 6.5 miles in a week makes me ecstatic!!

Its been 4 weeks...who's counting?

These two!

An actual runnnnn!! And feeling great! It definitely helps to have extra special company.

Competition!!

We are always looking for new ways to improve on our health and fitness. By 'we' I mean Phil and I. So he found this 8 week challenge and proposed it to a social media group we belong to called accountable health. 

My life has become consumed with stretching

I think this stretching thing is doing the trick...or rest, or both?! I thought I'd share the exercises I've been doing for my MTSS. I do these right before bed and a shortened version prior to spin class, the arc trainer or hydro running. 

1. Towel stretch- Sit on a hard surface with leg extended. Loop a band around the ball of your foot and pull towel toward your body keeping your knee straight. Hold for 30 seconds then relax-repeat 3 times.

Another Y day!

I'm a newbie at this hydro-running thing. I took a class with Deb at the Y...Have I told you how much I love our membership there? I can do anything I want for exactly one hour (my girls watch the clock). Between cycle, lifting, yoga and now hydro running- I'm feeling fulfilled.

Monday madness

It was a typical 4am alarm hating monday, but this time the husband didnt get up with me. He wanted/needed to catch a couple extra zzzz's before heading out of town for the week.
The good news?! Those two beautiful girls of mine came home from a weekend visiting with their dad...boy do I miss them when they aren't home. It was 88* here in Syracuse so a night in the sprinkler was in order. But first an impromptu picnic with their most dearest "stuffies"!
I was able to mow the lawn-uninterrupted and pull some weeds- we have alot of those (do you know any tricks to get rid of them?)
Before I knew it, it was 7pm and we still had to do baths and dinner..in that order. the amount of grass and dirt a kid can bring in the house simply amazes me.

Ragnar-Run, Rest, Repeat

If you haven't ran a Ragnar, I encourage you to do so....now. Don't worry, I'll wait right here while you sign up. Here!

Ok now, let me try to describe all the amazingness that happens when you run approximately 200 miles with 11 other people in 26 hrs and 42 mins (our team was fast!). 

Swimming blues

I don't like swimming. I can't quite control my breathing in the pool. I get tired and sloppy and feel like I'm going to drown. I'm going to look into that hydro-running thing people keep talking about.

I belong to the local YMCA and plan on taking a class next week there to see what it's all about. Who wants to join me?

I really didn't want to swim today so I decided to try the elliptical. I was pleasantly surprised! I did a 30 min hill interval while I listened to 'Yes please' by Amy Poehler (so funny). The time just flew by as I giggled out loud. Lucky for me their were only two other people in the cardio section, who also had headphones on and didn't hear me or acknowledged my laughter.

Running while taking a photo =blurry photo

Monday mile

My typical day started with an alarm going off at 4am...yawwwwnnn.
Work was busy, lots of ICU admissions throughout the day. I left very excited at 3pm because today is the day! Today I gift myself a mile. I know to you, what's one mile? But to me its the beginning of my ability to start training again. Since its only a mile I planned to do spin class at 6pm. Phil is joining me.
Did you see the yawwnnn at 4am? Yeah, that same yawn followed me to 3pm so when I got home and sat on my bed to change into my running gear, my eyes tricked me into a 45 min nap, sneakers on and all. Does this happen to anyone else?

I sprung up out of bed with a panic...what time is it? what day is it? what have I done? Once all my cognitive faculties were back in order I finished getting dressed and out the door! One mile whoohoo, here we go!

My turning point

My turning point...

I was feeling discouraged, after about three weeks of rest including a lovely weekend getaway with just the girls!

Excited!

Ready for the good news?!

No stress fracture...phew! I had a lovely experience at CNY Orthopedic Sports Medicine PC. I saw Robert, who was quick to laugh at my inability to refrain from running. He called me a 'typical runner' and said at this point I should only hope that I decided to listen to my body before it was too late...and I did. It was nice to hear someone call me a 'typical runner' even though it was in a negative context. Like I said before, I run, it's what I do, but never really put my self in the category as other runners...but now I have proof! Not only am I a runner, I am a typical one. Hopefully I'll progress to an elite runner at somepoint! A girl can dream, a girl can dream.

Too much Too soon

Yeah yeah, you knew it didn't you? Too soon to jump back in, huh? Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy. "10 slow miles?" What's wrong with you??? When your injured you don't run until the pain is completely gone. Then, and only then, do you run a couple miles...not 10!

You are all right...even you dad. He thinks I'm stubborn and now I can see his point.

My leg hurts, it has a lump. I made an appointment with a local sports medicine doctor because I now realized I can't be trusted to follow my own instincts. I'm clouded by my ambition to get back out there. I don't want to miss anymore training runs.

I visited with a physical therapist in my local hospital and got a full assessment, I spoke to two orthopedic PA's, and a slue of my colleges...they all say the same thing. Rest! Don't run! Ice, Compression, oh and don't run! Insert sad face.

Rest..or not so much?

So I decided to take this injury seriously. I haven't been so disciplined in the past. I bought a roller and have tried rolling regularly. A little ice here and there and an investment in some purple compression socks and I'm on my way to recovery! I've found that If you ice your sore spot first the rolling doesn't make you scream as loud..seriously ouch! I went for a sports massage and of course rested. Meaning I haven't run on it. I realized I definitely don't get enough massages!!

I continue to do spin class and swim but until it's healed I mustn't test fate.

This is super hard for me. I was in my groove, excited for each longer run. Hitting/ exceeding my target times. Enjoying the encouraging supportive person in my head (sometimes the mental aspect of running can be the hardest) This set back has made me reflect and really deepen my love for the road.

It hasn't gotten much worse in a week of rest. Last week was my scheduled 17 mile long run, but I knew that wouldn't be smart, so I decided to start back slow. I set out for 10 relaxing miles.

Finding time

Apparently I've been talking about wanting to blog relentlessly. My husband did his research and set this up for me and told me to get to work! I know what I wanna write about...EVERYTHING! But how do you find the time?
Well, I realized the time is always there, its the prioritization that I'm lacking. So here it goes My first actual post...How's it going so far?