I always say I'm going to write in here more often...and of course four months roll by and here I am saying it again. I can honestly say SO MUCH has happened since the last time I wrote. The last time, I had just completed another mud run...the Warrior Dash. And I had two more lined up, the Earth Day Eco Run in Ventura and the Color Run in Irvine, as well as one scheduled for May....the Hero Rush.
Well, the Eco Run was my first run with the lovely Jennie Hannon. It was strictly 5k, no mud or obstacles, so a little different than I was used to. That happened to be around the time it was raining quite a bit, so we were a little nervous we would get rained out, but no. Aside from the biting wind, it was actually a lovely day. Freezing, but lovely. We stayed together and I made a new friend. And I also got the lowest bib number I think I'll ever have, so that was actually pretty awesome.
Then, two weeks later, I completed the Color Run in Irvine. This was interesting and also strictly a 5k, but with a fun twist....there were 5 color stations throughout the race where we were bombarded by people throwing colored flour at us, so we started with nice white shirts and ended as colorful messes! That one was actually really fun and interesting. At the end there was a big color party where we all opened a package of the stuff and ended up in a huge cloud of...well colored flour! Haha, very fun.
So the goal I had in mind with all these races was to do a 10k by the end of summer and a half-marathon by the end of the year. I never really stick to a training schedule and since we had been doing so well with at least one 5k a month, I really thought a half-marathon was going to happen. Well, as many of you may know, April was an eventful month for me. At the end of the month, I went to Stagecoach for the second time. Honestly, I should not have fought so hard to go. It just felt like everything was an obstacle, from buying the ticket, to getting time off work, to getting a ride there and back. It just felt like such a struggle and in hindsight, I think the universe, or God, was trying to tell me, "Hey, maybe this isn't such a great idea after all." Wellthe second night there, I woke in the middle of the night to use the facilities, since I have the bladder of a two-year-old, and well, had a bit of an accident. No, not that kind. I was sleeping in the upper bunk of an RV and had to climb down a ladder. My right foot touched the first step, my left foot touched the second, and then somehow I missed the third. Realistically, it shouldn't have been that bad. That's four, maybe 5 feet from the floor. But in such cramped conditions, I slid down the ladder, lost my balance, and the folding table broke my fall. My first thought was, "OMG I BROKE MY NECK!" But quickly realized this was not the case. I took a few seconds to mentally assess the damage. The table was most definitely broken, but I could wiggle my toes, my fingers, move my arms, and all that. So, feeling incredibly stupid, I start to pick myself up and WHAM! Shooting pain from lower back all the way up to my shoulder. Gingerly, I shuffled into the bathroom where I noticed some blood on my toe. I cleaned it up as best as I could in the middle of the night, wrapped a paper towel around it, and went back to bed. At that point, really, there wasn't much I could do.
I awake the next morning and immediately know there's something wrong. I lift my head up to peek at my foot and the pain from the night before intensified and shot all the way down to my foot. The paper towel I had wrapped my foot in was soaked in blood and stuck to my foot. I somehow managed to climb back down the ladder and it looked like some low-budget horror film. Blood all over the floor in a trail to the bathroom, with the table having seen much better days. I really should have taken a picture but I was so embarrassed, I cleaned up my foot then cleaned up the blood! I went to a first aid station, got some anti-septic wipes and bandaids and just left it. I was limping all day because I couldn't put weight on it and I definitely knew I tore something in my back. Sitting was fine but sitting down or getting back up was excruciatingly painful. When i got home, my mom pointed out that my foot was swollen and I noticed a massive bruise cutting straight across my spine in my lower back. I think I was just embarrassed at the whole situation, so I opted not to make a bigger deal about it and refused to go to the doctor. I went to work the next day instead....in slippers....because my foot was too swollen to put a normal shoe on....
I realized halfway through the day that there was no way I could go on, so I left a little early to go straight to Urgent Care. I was informed that I had needed stitches, but apparently you're not supposed to wait nearly 48 hours to get those, so he had the nurse clean it really well and used some surgical tape to keep it closed. He gave me a foot x-ray but said nothing was broken, I had just bruised a bone. My regular doctor told me I had just torn a muscle in my back (really? JUST torn a muscle....ugh) and that everything would heal in time, I just had to take it easy. Fast forward to 5 weeks later and I was STILL wearing shoes that were a size too big (to accommodate the swollen foot). The 5-6 week mark I finally graduated to normal FLAT shoes (I am famous for my heels at work, so this was still heartbreaking for me.)
I did run that race in May, and was actually very proud of myself. I did have to push myself a little, but I'm terrified of having a back injury haunt me for the rest of my life, so I've taken it very slowly. And about 3 weeks ago I was finally able to put on those heels I love so much! I'm still alternating between flats and heels every couple of days, because my foot still has a tendency to swell up, but its getting much better. My back aches if I don't stretch it daily, but the muscle spasms have finally stopped, so I can live with a little stretching. Once I completed that race, I gave myself the go-ahead to exercise again. It sucks, because I had dropped about 10 pounds before Stagecoach and in the past 3 months I gained it all back because I completely stopped exercising. So definitely need to get back on track with that. To help me out, I've started wearing my Bodybugg again. I'm ready to get fit and healthy again and that thing helps keep me in check.
I also signed up for my very first half-marathon!!!! Ahhhhh, I'm so excited and scared at the same time. I'm doing it alone, which kind of sucks but I've got people helping me train and I know I've got a big support system cheering me on. It's the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland, which I thought was an appropriate place to have my first attempt at 13.1 miles. I don't have to officially start training until September 2nd, but since I was so inactive for so long, I've really been trying to train since July 1st. The past two weeks have been really great so far. I've been averaging two runs a week and now that its August I'll start doing 3 runs a week. My goal is to run 40 miles this month (I started this past Sunday, July 29th) and so far I'm at 6! Seems small but I'm all about the small victories right now, especially considering that's more than I've run in one week since before my accident! So any encouragement you guys have got, be sure to send my way! I'm always looking for a running partner too, so feel free to volunteer =).
Also signed up this week for my first 10k! With a team!!! Its the Gladiator Rock'n'Run, which is fitting since that was our first mud run. Only makes sense it should be our first 10k mud run! So far its just Andrea and I, the usual in these races. But a co-worker of mine has been really eager to do a mud run, so he's supposed to sign up and a friend of mine who has done a half-marathon but also wanted to try a mud run is supposed to sign up as well. That's in October, so watch out guys! I'm back on track and really eager to cross these runs off my bucket list!
