This weekend I got out for my run and felt so blessed to be able to enjoy the fresh air and run close to 10km for the first time in 5 weeks. It’s crazy that six weeks ago I ran 22km and felt great doing it. I got to the point where a mid week 13 km was easy and my speed was up.
Bang ….. then you get sidelined and well it does not take long to lose it . I guess the good thing is that the fitter you are the less far you have to come to get it back . The other good thing is the feeling of the new challenge to get it back. It makes you feel strong and attached to a different kind of goal than a race. I had still been riding and swimming but there is still nothing like running for running fitness ( and for me , my stress release!).

My family has had to deal with a very different me. One they have seen in past but not one that I enjoy being . This is going to be a work in progress as I know the next time I have to approach my downtime in a far more positive light. I need to set good examples for my daughter and to show her that we can get through adversity and continue on . I vow to do it differently.

This weekend we are going to St Louis to visit my husband’s relatives and to take part in the Go St Louis run weekend . My husband has persevered through this hell of a winter and will run the marathon. I am very proud of him for that. I was to do the half but obviously won’t be at that place where I want to chance some others injury by jumping from 10-21 km over a week. I have signed up for the 5km and may decide to race it as long as my husband will run with our daughter which I think he will. It won’t be a PB or close to one for me but I don’t care as I just want to put on my Mizuno Wave Ekiden shoes and try to run a good 5km. And maybe I won’t have to cut a hole in them!! Then Sunday I will cheer on my husband and his cousin in the marathon and his cousin’s wife in the half. I will be happy for all of them and enjoy the spectating even if I could not be part of it too. I will keep my eye on my primary goal of being able to do Syracuse 70.3.

As most setbacks do, it teaches me a lot about myself . Parts of this I do not like and it gives me introspection as to how to be different. I am being totally honest when I say I still have not figured out how best to take the good with the bad but I will work on it . >

So as I have said this last 6 weeks have not been that great with my foot. The good news is the open sore is healing. The not so good news is after seeing my original surgeon yesterday he said I will need major foot reconstruction to fix all the deformities which have occurred from the bunion recurrence. I also have the next two toes moving over and shifting and bending. This has also created other skin rubbing, but the more pressing issue is the change in the alignment of these toes. Plus the original bunion issue which has also changed from a distal toe angle to a more proximal toe angle. He has referred me on to a foot and ankle surgeon and hopefully I will get in soon to have a consult with her. I have checked her ratings and she looks very competent and is an athlete herself.

Remaining positive has never been easy for me when it affects what I want to do. To be totally honest I am trying really hard but not doing that well at it. I guess what I need is answers to my questions and knowledge of what the future holds for foot function and running too. Shoe wearing is still not really possible due to swelling of the remainder of the foot. I can start to run short distances for now. Holes cut in shoes to allow for room for the toe and the still healing sore. I really thought that when I had surgery 3.5 years ago that all these issues were behind me. I now find myself buying all sorts of foot straightening products again! Not sure they will make much difference especially if the surgeon recommends surgery but maybe in the short term they may help a bit.

Racing plans…….next weekend we will all go to St. Louis and my husband will run the Go St. Louis marathon. I was to run the half but am going to do the 5km with my 10 yr old daughter. It will be fun to do it with her. I am disappointed that I can’t do the half, but my real big goal was to do the Syracuse 70.3 in June to try to qualify for Mt. Tremblant worlds. I really won’t know if that is in jeopardy but in the back of my head I think it is a long shot. I will see how my foot responds to running over the next month and then make the decision. As with many athletes , being “injured” or having a condition that requires surgery is going to happen over time. It should be a short blip on the screen that we look back on and get through. I will keep that in the back of my mind at least until I talk to the surgeon .

I have had many great years of racing in me. I have been a triathlete for 16 yrs. And a runner for 17 years. I will continue to hopefully run and race even if I have to cut the distance to 5-10km events. I will be happy with that too. I love that feeling of putting on my gear (especially my Mizuno gear!!) and going out for a run. It makes me feel like an athlete , it makes me feel free, it makes me feel like I am working towards a goal. I hope I can continue to do this.

For now, focus is on other stuff too. Work, my daughter and all her activities, and my husband and his goals. And we are still waiting for spring here. It has to be soon. That is not easy on the psyche either when it is still cold and snowy in the first full week of spring.

Hopefully more upbeat news in the future but for today I need to vent!

Thanks for listening:).

 

This entry has a two fold purpose. Therapy and catharsis which may be one of the same . I am one to believe that things happen for a reason and often someone is telling us to slow down. I have not been truly out of running for 3 years due to injury and the last time was post surgery where I knew it was happening.

For the last 6 weeks I have had a flare up of one of my bunions I had operated on 3.5 yrs ago. I shoved it into my running shoes and off I went . Then I started to pad it and not more than a month later I noticed the skin starting to thin over a bursa that had formed . Well long story short I went down to Florida last week for a quick four day trip and was so looking forwards to running in the heat . The day after I got there with my foot red and sore I taped it up and went for a run. I got back and tore off the dressing and realized I had better get myself to a medical clinic as this did not look good. I will spare you the gory photo but I could basically see the tissue under the skin. Plus it was red, hot and certainly infected. $200+ later! battered and bruised and with antibiotics and painkillers in hand I left the clinic. Needless to say the rest of my trip was less than enjoyable .

Being an athlete is a blessing and a curse. It’s great to feel that empowerment that fitness gives you. Having a focused goal and achieving those goals is also so fulfilling. As a wife, mother and physiotherapist it also gives me that identity for “me”. And it provides that outlet for my stress, my alone time and my maintenance of my body. Why is it a curse? Most athletes know that when this is all taken away from you and you have no control over timelines it is super frustrating. You lose all that I said above that made it a positive experience. Some people are able to take all this in stride and take it as a good opportunity to focus on other things, give their bodies a rest and move on. I have NEVER been that way. For me being injured turns my life into a tailspin ( yes I have sought help in past to deal with this!). I go from an organized efficient being to well, one who has little motivation to do all that I did B.I. ( before injury). This I need to work on. It starts with acceptance of the injury and knowing I will get back out there . I have always said, take any other activity away from me but not running. Running gives me the best feeling ever and it allows me to be outside even in the cold of winter ( polar vortex aside!) and I crave fresh air . I feel most fit when I can run and right now I have two big goals ( an early April half marathon and a late June 70.3 where I am trying to qualify for the Worlds 70.3).

From here on in I am going to do my best to accept my fate ( well it’s not all fate, I likely should have heeded the warning signs but with feet issues in past I consider it a condition vs an injury!….that’s the physio in me ). I am going to try my best to put a positive spin on it . I know I will be back running sooner than later as soon as the sores heal . I don’t have quick healing feet sores though…..bad circulation . Okay back to being positive , Elise.
I will focus on my strength work, cycle ( but not four days in a row as I just did as I then made my ITB super tight!) , and hopefully be back in the pool soon. I will get into my work , help others to heal and try my best not to be grumpy with my family.

So in lieu of the horrid photo I can post of my foot , I will post one from a past happy run ……. All blogs are nicer with photos!

If anyone has other things that have helped them get through the hard injury times I am all ears…….Physios make the worst patients! Most never take their own advice.

I think I have said before that I am a mild sufferer of SAD. Well as much as I tried and tried to get through winter without going south, I finally gave in. My reason for not going was that it is too expensive to spend not even a week in Florida then come back to winter. I tend to gravitate to Florida as I have more than one place to stay and it is an easy trip.
This past week I got a cellulitis infection from a blister, a nasty cold sore on my mouth, cut heels and a chilblains sore . I had had it! My skin was drying up like a prune.
My awesome husband told me to go away for a few days just on my own. He does not like Florida and also tolerates winter okay so he did not want to go anyway. I love to travel alone with my daughter as we have a great time together but she has a weekend ski program so really should not skip when we have put in that investment.
Long story short in two weeks I will have four solo days in the sun and even if it is not perfect at least it won’t look like this ………

I need the break mentally too.
Plus I want to do the following :
– put on shorts and a tank and RUN! Outside sweat and run long.
– be outside from 8 am to 8 pm or later!
– sit and read OUTSIDE
– maybe see a movie
– RUN outside …….oh I said that .
– have the hot sun on my face
– recharge the batteries

That’s it….. I am so thankful to have a husband who knows what I need and understands that I don’t do winter well and need to get that break . Wish we could all go together but I won’t complain either!
13 days and counting .

Stay warm…..
Elise

So as this year of 2013 comes to a close, I have a few final thoughts. Never to really be one of those truly introspective people, this is a bit out of my comfort zone. However reading all the blogs and tweets in the last little while I figure maybe I can do this too! 

On Family: 

Family is of course the most important thing in my life. I have a beautiful daughter who is 10 years old. Smart, witty, athletic, beating to her own drum. She can really teach me a bit about letting go and living in the moment. That is one of my resolutions for 2014. And I need to stop my need for control over others. This is a huge resolution for me as my personality is Type A++ and I not only expect a lot from myself but from others as well. I am very aware of what I say and do and that particularly for my 10 yr old, I need to step back a bit. 

On Work: 

Work has been great for me ever since I went out to practice on my own at home. I am almost always consistently busy and get great pride out of helping others and having referral networks through those I have helped over the years. 

On Fitness:

Thankfully this is not a resolution I need to make! I actually need to be tied down sometimes. Motivation is never lacking and I get up each day looking so forward to moving my body and improving and maintaining my fitness and speed. This year’s big goal is to qualify for the 2014 70.3 World Championships in Mt. Tremblant. I will do this by racing in Syracuse in late June. 

So there you have it. I will continue to write a monthly article for Mizuno Run Club on various topics. I love to write about things I am passionate about. I am looking forwards to a new year and new goals and personal changes.

Happy New Year and all the best for 2014! 

As 2013 comes to a close, I have started to plan my 2014 racing season with a few goals.

Goal #1: Qualify for 70.3 World Championships in Mt. Tremblant (Sept 2014)

After returning to longer distance racing this summer, I wanted to continue on that and attempt to qualify for the 2014 World Championship 70.3 in Mt. Tremblant. Okay , I put it out there. Now I have to plan appropriately in order to peak for the qualifying race in Syracuse at the end of June. I spent a lot of time trying to plan the timing of the race. End of June is technically too early for a wimpy cyclist like myself! I am a fair weather cyclist, so if we have a spring like last year, then there will be a lot of indoor miles on the bike trainer or a lot of cold miles outside! But driving distance to the race plus my daughter’s camp dates and not wanting to race too close to the Worlds were the key decisions. 2015 happens to be in Europe and as much as that would be lovely, the $$ to get there etc were also a factor in timing the qualifying race. So that is goal #1!

Goal #2 : 1:30 half marathon . St. Louis April 6th

My 2nd goal is to have a 1:30 in my half marathon time. Not sure this will be possible in an April race as training through the winter is harder than when it is warm out. At least for me. Footing is not great and the cold weather makes it harder to get the legs going faster. Regardless I will give it a try. My husband has a cousin who lives in St. Louis and runs the marathon each year and has been trying to convince us to come down and visit, so we will kill two birds with one stone. My husband has signed up for the full, and I will do the half.

Goal #3 : Continue to improve strength and balance and stay injury free 

I have a chronically torn high hamstring tendon (15 yrs and counting) and a small tear in my hip labrum, but neither of these issues are  currently severely limiting to my every day or my training which is good (this does not mean they have not been in past!) .  I have started some online yoga (yogaglo.com)  which has helped both areas remain even more manageable. I just do about 2x a week for 30-45 mins (after that I get soooo bored!) and this seems to be enough to keep me flexible and balanced along with twice weekly TRX sessions (once a week during race season). Also staying consistent with training I swear has also kept me healthy. Oh and I can’t forget the monthly rehab sessions I have with my athletic therapist! I practice what I preach as a physio……have that team of people in your back pocket and use them regularly to keep you finely tuned . This is far better than requiring lengthy treatment and time off for major injury.

So that’s it for now. I just need to get myself through another Canadian winter with a smile. Which given the Seasonal Affective Disorder I experience at this time of year makes it a long winter. I am going to try my very best to focus on my good health and the good health of my family and enjoy the winter as best I can. Dressing properly is the key. I have figured this out for running, but not so much for just walking my daughter to school, dressing warmly at home and all that. I finally got one of those great warm Canadian coats as a gift (lucky me) and some great boots and outerwear and I have to admit after all this time as a Canadian I have finally figured out I need to dress like one in order to make it through the winter happily warm!

Till next time……..have a wonderful holiday and here’s to a happy and successful 2014!

So now that the racing season is done (I ended up bailing on the TO Women’s 5km in the cold rain …. was to run with my 10 yr old, but it would have been a slow, cold event and I do NOT do well in the cold, damp weather), it is time to regroup, recover, and slow things down a bit. For me, the off season is always a hard time. I like to move and I like to work hard. But I do know that the body needs time to absorb all the hard work you put into it. Some triathlete’s and runners will totally take off a month or two of NO exercise. Or very little. I generally just cut back on the mileage, and stop speed work for a month or so. Particularly on the run. I will do some short , less intense biking intervals and swim intervals, but run speed work stops. It is amazing how quickly I feel less “in shape” as soon as that happens. Maybe it is partly psychological, but I do know there has to be some physical slowing down.

The weather is turning colder and sunlight is reducing, so for me I need to make sure I get outside enough and get fresh air or I get very grumpy. I do have a bit of mild Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I have tried the lights but don’t really think that it helps. I will need to get down south for a long weekend to get some sun and warmth. No plans of yet though. I may also try to combine it with a half marathon, but we will see. Along with not training as hard, I find it hard to not have that “race plan” in my head, looking for the next one to keep the fitness going. Off season, Off season…….it’s the off season!

I am enjoying my new role as a Mizuno Brand Ambassador. They have some amazing apparel and awesome shoes. After running almost exclusively in Lululemon for the last year or two I now have come to understand why there are no elite athletes running in their clothes! It looks good, but the breathability of the fabrics and function are totally different. Thanks Mizuno for being such a great company to work with and for all the great clothes and shoes ! Check IRUN magazine’s November issue out soon for my review of the Mizuno Breath Thermo line .

I did my last race of the season yesterday at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon (affectionately known as STWM). My first goal was to try to break last year’s 1:31, so wanted something in the 1:30’s. As the weeks got closer and I reviewed what this would require as an average pace, I started to think it was too ambitious but that being said last year I did not think I could run 1:31, so I thought….Hmmm, lets just see what the day brings. 

Last weekend, I had a ton of fun cheering my husband on at the Chicago marathon. Not only did I cover about 13km that day, plus my post race shopping and walking the city, but I walked all day Friday/Saturday and half of Monday plus a 15km run on Friday before I left. Likely not the best taper plan leading into this weekend as my legs really felt dead all week except for a really good short interval run on Tuesday. 

Here we are post race. 

Back to this week………

Saturday I did a quick 5 km run and I don’t remember the last time my legs felt that dead. Far from a confidence builder! I had my usual grumpy pre- race day and thankfully most everyone kept their distance from me knowing that I am not fun to be around when I am nervous and anxious about an upcoming race. 

Race morning……..

This also happened to be my husband’s birthday, so I wanted to try really hard not to make it just about the race, but to make him feel special on his day. He got up early to come down with me and cheer along with his Chicago cohorts which was really nice. However, I was off my regular pre run routine with him around me and shortened my warm up which in hindsight was a bad idea . I went to the corral and usually run back and forth in the corral, but I did not do that either. I kept nice warm clothes on until just before the gun went off which was great. It was a chilly 5 degrees at the start but I knew with the sun out that my Mizuno t-shirt, Breath Thermo arm warmers and calf sleeves I would be just fine. I also chose to wear shorts as I wanted my gel pockets available to me! 

My first 6km were slow, and it took me about that long to warm up, get a rhythm going. I sort of knew at that point I should go by feel vs. my watch for the rest of the race, but sort of kept an eye on the paces too. In the hopes that my legs would wake up! I also chose to go unplugged from the IPOD for this race, which I am not sure I liked or not. It was neat to hear everyones foot falls and cheers though. At about 14km I really felt my legs get tired, but then I took a gel and got some wind back. I saw my husband again at the 17km mark and got a bit of a burst through to the on ramp at 19, when I slowed quite a bit. Km 20 was pretty good, then the last one was just keeping one foot in front of the other and praying my hamstring would not cramp anymore as it did going up the hill. I kept my head down for the last 500 m and got to the finish in 1:33:48. Shy of my 1:30-1:31 goal but still within my second goal of sub 1:35. I was 4th in my age group, missing 3rd by 40 seconds! That’s like running a tangent too wide or something:). I finished overall in the top 3% men and women included, so I told myself for an old girl that is okay in my books! It’s been a long season and I really had some great results this spring/summer. I was overall really happy with how everything went and I stayed relatively healthy, other than my long term hamstring tendon/hip issue which generally I am told to live with and manage as I can. 

We had a good day after the race, entertaining out of town family and dinner for my husband’s birthday. 

Last event will be the Toronto Women’s 5km with my daughter….basically a walk in the park…. literally!!! Fun way to end off the fall run season. 

So, the last few weeks of training have gone well. I am however starting to have a few doubts about my 1:30 goal at Scotia. That will equate to 4:17/km and I am not sure I am up for that for the full 21.1km. However last year when I ran just over 1:31, I am not sure how I held that pace either and had a great day, so one never knows. I will go for it and really be happy with anything under 1:35. The weather has been amazing the last few weeks especially on long run Sundays. I need to find a place to live that has this climate year round. I know they are out there, but well, convincing my family we should move is a whole other story in itself not to mention we have family here and that is always great to have. Otherwise, I would have no reason to stay in this concrete jungle ! Especially given winter. Ick. 

Yesterday my daughter and I participated in the Sick Kids Great Camp Adventure walk. We could have the option of walking up to 20km or stopping anywhere along the way and hopping on a shuttle back to main camp or the other checkpoints. Our goal was to do 8-10km. My daughter wanted to keep going and we made it 15! I think she would have gone the full 20km if not for a cooking demo she wanted to help with for my good buddy Mairlyn Smith (www.mairlynsmith.com). Who makes fantastic recipes and has many a good cookbook too. Check her out! Not to mention she is hilarious too. 

We had an awesome day together and came home tired but happy with what we accomplished and the money we contributed to a great cause. 

That’s it for now. Here’s hoping for a mild non snowy winter!