Flying Pirate Half Marathon 4/22/2012

When I planned out my races for the beginning of this year, this race was not included. In fact, I only intended to do two this spring. However, when I got an e-mail from my friend Laura's weight loss group leader about participating in this race since it would be Laura's first half marathon, I decided I had to be there to support her. And since I did not just want to be on the sidelines, I decided to make this one of my long distance runs in preparation for my half in May.

Thank goodness I decided that it was only going to be a long distance. Earlier this week, I got the news from Laura and Joanna that it was going to rain...100% chance of rain! Yikes!!! And I also for some reason when doing yard work determined that I needed to drop a brick on my foot. Ouch! What in the world was I thinking! My poor foot has been killing me all week! Since Jason had already taken off time for vacation and we had already paid for the hotel and the race, there was no backing out. And have I mentioned that my youngest nephew, Trent, chose this medal as his own! So, come rain or shine, pain or injury, this race was going down in the books as finished. Trent needs his medal!

I did my best to prepare for rain. I tried to prepare for blisters since I have been having issues lately on my longer runs. I got new socks to try which were a bit more cushioned. I even put moleskin on the areas that I have had problems with. I went to bed very early only to be awakened by some arguing bikers in the next door room. Joy! Thank goodness they either resolved their issues or the phone call to the front desk put a stop to it.

I got up a little after 4 a.m. and got started getting ready. With breakfast eaten, phone in a plastic bag, iPod in a plastic bag and everything else ready to go, I headed out to pick Laura up about 5:15. We headed over to parking and then got on the very first shuttle to the start line.

The shuttle to the start line let us out within short walking distance to the start. We headed over in the rain and hit the port-a-potty lines (okay, so with the rain there were no lines!) Then we headed to the covered building to wait for the corrals to line up. We got into our corral and waited for the race to start. It was still raining and I was pretty damp.

I wished Laura luck as we started out. With my foot already bothering me where I dropped a brick on it, I had made the decision to walk before we started. So, I headed out at a pretty good pace. Somewhere around mile 2 both of my feet started giving me issues. I knew it was my toes and I knew it was likely blister issues. I was trying to stick it out but at mile 3, I stopped at the medical station with the intention of checking the foot that was giving me less problems. When I pulled the shoe and sock off, I knew I was in trouble. I had blood and not just a little. The blister had popped and was bleeding. I got a bandaid on it and some moleskin and decided to check the other foot. It was much, much worse. We got it cleaned up as well and I put both shoes back on and headed back out on the course because the lady at the medical tent said she didn't think it was TOO bad.

So, I got back on the course and decided to slow my pace quite a bit more to lessen the intensity of the pain. I also decided that I needed a good distraction. So, I found two fun people to enjoy the lovely torrential downpours with! I really enjoyed Jennifer and Chantelle. Chantelle was originally from South Africa and her husband had told her that a half was only 10 miles, so she didn't train for her first half. She was pretty ticked by mile 10 and had come up with many ways to torture him for it! LOL. Jennifer was on her fourth half. We chatted and complained about the non-ending rain for quite awhile.

Little did I know that we would enter the neverending forest for the longest 4 miles of my life! It was a creepy little area and we were certain there were serial killers lurking about around there. Definitely should not have been at the end of the race! I would have preferred starting there than finishing there for sure!

The continuous rain and puddles were not a great comfort to my very sore toes. Every time I hit a puddle the toes that had blisters stung so that was not helpful at all. I continued on and prayed for the end of the forest multiple times. I grew irritated at the volunteers on the course who gave tons of misinformation about mileage and water stations and medical tents. Mostly, I was seriously drenched, no drowned, by the rain and I was tired and I was ready to get off my feet and take the shoes off!

But I soldiered on, helping Jennifer and Chantelle along. They were definitely a comfort to me in that I would have been way more focused on the pain had I not found them! So, when it came to the point we were finally finishing, I had gotten a little bit farther ahead and I stopped, turned around and waited for them to catch up to me, so we could cross the finish line together. After 10 miles together, we ran very slowly our finish line.

I was greeted by Jason and Laura. We headed over to the tables and picked up post-race snacks and then headed to the car to get out of the rain! I have never been so happy to put on warm, dry clothing in my life! And taking the shoes off was awesome, but my poor feet are so sore and so torn up right now, I think I will likely be off of them for awhile!

I was happy with the course right up until the forest. Since I am not a trail runner and not a huge fan of trail running, that made me pretty miserable. However I am so super proud of Laura for finishing her very first half marathon and doing it in under 3 hours. She did amazing and I am glad that I was able to be here with her!

As for me, I am calling for at least a week of rest and recovery for me and my feet and then I will be back out to get some more mileage in to get ready for Myrtle Beach next month!

NC Half Marathon 03/25/2012

I signed up for this race with one thought in mind...I will get a PR. LOL. Silly Melissa! I really wanted to do this because my Dad was a huge Nascar fan and well, the medal was super cool looking! The idea of running on the speedway was super enticing, so I figured why not. It's an inaugural race and I am all good for a fun race.

To be quite honest, before the race even got here I had issues. (What's new!) I had to take some time off from training in the gym and on the road because I was experiencing some back pain, super tight hamstrings and a little bit of exhaustion. I was tired...all the time. So, before the race even got here I was going in with issues. I got two and a half hours of massage done to help out the hamstrings which alleviated most of the back pain. But my sleep was way off...lots of insomnia!

And then, I made rookie mistakes going into this. Feeling as tired as I was, I slacked on my normal packing preparations. I did not bring my knee support that I wear occasionally (hence I had some knee issues during the race). I did not get enough potassium in the week (to two weeks) before the race. I also went into the race slightly dehydrated which is highly unusual for me. I forgot tissues for the port-a-potty (there was a lack of pre-race bathrooms and since I was early I got lucky there!) I didn't sleep well the night before...it was worse than ever before. All in all just a rough start for this race.

Since we were in Charlotte, we made a stop by my favorite tavern there, Solstice Tavern for lunch. Then we popped in to see Matt Terry at Fu's Custom Tattoos to get a date in the books for some more work on my tattoo. I have yet to get my 3 flowers from last year. So, we scheduled an appointment for June in which he will do 6...yes, 6 flowers!! Crazy, I know, but I want to get it caught up :) And by June, I will have completed two more races!!

We hit the expo on Saturday after lunch. It was a very small expo with really only two vendors and there was not much else. They had promos for the Divas Half Marathon at Myrtle Beach and the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon which are their sister races. But other than that, there was packet pickup. So, we did not spend a whole lot of time there. I could have done the Richard Petty driving experience but opted not to since I would be running the Charlotte Motor Speedway!

I did my best to get to sleep early Saturday night. I was terrified for some reason that I was not going to wake up on time. I set the hotel alarm, got a wake up call and set the alarm on my phone. All alarms staggered at different times in case one got missed or I happened to fall back asleep. Yep, I am that anal :) LOL! I took something to help me sleep that night and got maybe two hours of sleep before I started waking up every hour on the hour.

By the time 5:30 rolled around, I was really tired and could have used a cup of coffee. I got myself up and moving. I ate a small breakfast...which was the first of my rookie errors. I ate less than what I normally eat before a run. I didn't get enough in my system before the start. I would learn how badly that would affect me later in the run.

We got to the track early which was good because I was able to get into the bathroom line from the start. There was a huge lack of bathrooms and no port-a-potties. Hopefully since it was an inaugural event, they will fix this in the years to come! And then it was kinda confusing because people were hanging out in the garage at pit row and some people were on the track. It was a bit odd. Eventually after hanging out in pit row for awhile, I headed out to the track and got lined up.

The hip was sore this morning. It was a bit chilly out and I could feel it in my hip. I tried to stretch it and warm it up but nothing made my hip happy today. It probably has a little something to do with the fact that I had a leg day on Thursday before the race. I thought I was taking it a bit easy, but apparently, I was not! Yay me!! So, hip pain and glute pain were not fun at the start of the race!

The race started late which was unusual. Supposedly someone sang the national anthem but I never heard it! I started off pretty strong, still trying to ease the hip into the race. It was tough and I thought it had started to loosen up a bit, but it was actually getting tighter which was crazy! I distracted myself with running around the race course. I mean, cars speed around this track so I enjoyed that part. I got to see several cars along mile markers. I met Tammy pretty early in the race. She was recovering from a broken foot and moving along about my pace, so I asked if I could hang with her.

Tammy was my hero today. I learned relatively soon into the race that not only was my hip and my glute in severe pain, but I started to feel a bit nauseous. I have never puked on a race course, but today I wish I had because I think I would have felt better. I tried alternating water and gatorade at the stops. By mile 6, I pulled out my honey stinger chews and ate half of them. I had hoped that perhaps I just needed some fuel. I still felt a bit sick. So, I decided to slow down the water and gatorade and the chews to see if that helped. I managed to keep everything in which was by no means a small feat.

I am certain I slowed Tammy down quite a bit. Luckily, she had a similar mindset to me...it's all about the finish. Neither of us cared about PRs and we both just wanted to finish. I kept telling her if she needed to leave me behind since I was getting slower with the pain to go ahead but she hung with me all the way! Thank goodness!

The hills in this course were a bit insane!! Every time we went up another hill, my body screamed "why are we doing this?" And I just soldiered through because stopping was going to be more painful (or at least that is what I tell myself!) About mile 10, my feet were hurting so bad and I could not figure out why at the time. Then mile 11.5, I slowed a bit more because I almost passed out. (I didn't say anything to Tammy because I didn't want to stop!) I slowed a bit and tried not to overdo it. I pulled out my Sport Beans and had a few of them to try and help out in case the blood sugar was off. The nausea returned! When we finally saw mile 13, I was more than relieved. I was overjoyed. The closer we got to the finish line, I thought "I can drop dead as soon as I cross!"

About the time we were closing on the finish line, my favorite song by Kelly Clarkson came on,"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger." I teared up a bit and turned to Tammy and pointed to the cones just a bit ahead. I told her when we got to those cones, we run. I had already used what was in my reserve tank. I had nothing left but I was so going to run that finish line if it killed me. That song was on for a reason. So, we ran. It was not a pretty run by any means! But we ran that finish line and got our medals. After they placed the medal around my neck, I realized how insane that was because my poor body started to just falter. I was barely able to stay upright. I was barely moving at all. And I just seemed to realize that I would have to walk at least a mile back to my car.

Tammy called Jason and he met us back in pit row while we were getting bananas and grapes. I found a chair and sat down. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get back to the car. We started walking out very slowly...the only reason I know we were moving is because I was gaining ground (just barely!) Luckily, a golf cart was headed our way and graciously took us back to the car.

We grabbed a couple pics at the car. Then headed to the hotel where I took the first of two ice baths and some ibuprofen. I have either severely bruised one of my toes or I am about to lose the toenail (since I painted them last week, I have no idea what it looks like, but it hurts and the toenail is seriously loose!) My calves, hamstrings, quads and glutes are trashed. My feet are so sore and I am waddling like a duck. My upper body is tight and in a lot of pain too. I got a lot of sun but I don't think I got burned. I may have had a bit of heat exhaustion or just dehydration after the race. The ride home was definitely uncomfortable. After my second ice bath, I slept for a couple of hours.

All in all, for an inaugural race, it was good. It was hot and being on the blacktop made it hotter! I am thankful for the camaraderie of fellow runners and especially for Tammy who helped me finish today. I love the running community and the fact that there are those of us out there who know that there is more to a race than hitting your PRs. Sometimes it is about helping others cross the line in spite of pain and suffering...that big medal sure does feel good around your neck. Almost makes you feel invincible!

I have two more races coming up...I am certain I will make some changes to my training but for now, I am going to rest and focus on recovery.

Best thing ever was that my dear friend Tripp informed me that I am a clutch competitor. He told me I perform better under pressure than anyone he knows. It was awesome to read that when I finished my race. I look forward to some great strategy sessions with him for my next two races!!

Raw Honesty

For some reason, I generally don't want this blog to be a place where I post sad or depressing things. I never want to bring people down. So, occasionally, when things are going difficult for me, I tend to not post. I tend to just work through things until I get to a place where things are better or happier, a place where I can post about more positive things. But the truth is that I am being unfair to my readers. Everyday is not sunshiny and wonderful here. I have my moments too, moments of depression, of doubt, of fear, of insecurity. I try to hide those from other people so that I don't become so open and raw that everyone knows everything about me. But today, I will share a little bit of my heart.

This past Saturday, I was scheduled to run a half marathon. It was the same race that I tore my labrum in my left hip in last year. Prior to this race, I had taken a small hiatus from strength training but had full intentions of continuing my mileage so I would be ready for the race. However, my intentions were not lived out due to a huge amount of stress in my life. I had no idea how much stress and depression would enter my life when my best friends both moved away last month. I have depended on them so much for emotional support in the past and not having them there was unbelievably difficult. I didn't want to eat. I didn't want to workout. I didn't want to do much of anything. I found myself going through the motions of life. Honestly, with the little bit that I was nourishing my body, I don't even think I could have sustained any type of workout or cardio. So, it was probably for the best that I just didn't feel it. I think the hardest thing about my friends' moving was that I don't get to talk to either of them as much as I would like. Bottom line was that I was just really unhappy and felt very much alone.

So, fast forward to Saturday. I woke up Saturday morning with a horrible stomach ache. I assumed what I was experiencing was just nerves and figured that after I ate things would ease up. I got myself ready and headed out for the race. My stomach was still bothering me when the race started. Then, I made a rookie mistake and started out running way too fast. I was not running my pace but a much faster pace for the first mile. When I realized this, I slowed down but it was too late. I had already put some extra stress on my hip by pushing too hard that first mile. With every mile, my stomach bothered me more and more. And then, my hip began to ache so badly. I kept thinking most of running and racing is mental, so if I can just get my head right then I will be okay. But I could not get my mind off the pain at all. I kept trying to push through. I was struggling so badly at one point that I just started to cry. And fear set in as well. I remembered having pain in my hip last year during the race. I was scared to keep going.

When I reached mile 6, I knew without a doubt that I was not going to finish this race. I knew that to continue on was insanity and would end up causing me to put myself at risk for injury. I knew all those things and my mind had to convince my heart that it was okay to give up. I hate to quit things. Once I start things, I am a finisher. So, this was very difficult for me to walk off of the course knowing that I would not have a glorious finish. I would not be adding another medal to my collection. And it burned me up knowing that I was going to have to add a DNF (did not finish) to my record. But, I also knew that I wanted to be able to do other races in the future. I wanted to be healthy and wanted to finish future races without injury. So, had I continued on in this race, I would risk putting myself out for the rest of the year with an injury or some serious illness since my stomach was still aching.

Sometimes we have to know when to quit. I am a fighter and I hate to give up. However, in life, there are times when we have to weigh our options and know that a DNF today will allow me future amazing finishes. I won't lie this was probably one of the most emotional decisions I have made in some time. But I know I made the right decision. I walked off the course and called my friend Cathy to come rescue me. I knew she would understand as only another athlete could. And I needed the comfort of someone who wouldn't ask too many questions but would let me experience the raw pain of not finishing. I also called my friend, Ann, and talked to her for quite awhile. She is a dear friend and I knew she would understand how much my heart was hurting over this, since I had leaned on her quite a bit in the past few weeks. I found comfort from both Cathy and Ann and I am so thankful for them both.

Even though I walked off the course, I gained some wisdom from this race. I learned that I have to listen to my body better. I learned that I have to keep training even when my heart just isn't in it if I have a race scheduled. I think I could have overcome the stomach pains if my hip hadn't begun to hurt but with both areas having pain, it was not an option.

I will admit that Saturday, I was quite embarrassed about having to walk off the course. But today, I realize that there really isn't anything to be embarrassed about. I started the race knowing that I was not physically quite up to the challenge. It takes a lot to get to the starting line especially when you are sick. So, I am not disappointed in myself. I am re-motivated to get back to my training and back to the drawing board.

I hit the gym yesterday and trained myself with my back and biceps routine and did some cardio. It was really hard to have to scale back the weights from what I was doing 3 weeks ago but I knew that I had lost some muscle due to poor nutrition and no exercise. So, though I am not starting over, I am starting fresh. My arms and back are sore today...so I must've done something right.

And I am so thankful for my friends. Though I miss my best friends dearly, I am blessed to have dear friends who will step in and help me in whatever way they can. What a blessing to know you have people you can depend on. I cannot wait to talk to my best friends or spend time with them again, but in the mean time I have dear friends who can help me through the rough spots.

So, there you have it. A peek into some very raw emotions and circumstances in my life. It's not pretty, but it's honest.

Digging Deeper...

Today is the last day of my break. Tomorrow, I jump back into a regular routine. It has been good to have a break from normalcy for a bit. But it is going to be really hard to try and get a normal routine going again! But it is a necessity.

I have set myself some goals for the next few months. And in order to achieve those goals, I have to kick my butt in gear. I have to work really hard to get to those goals. Part of the reason I set those goals was to force myself to work harder and dig deeper. It will be very interesting over the next few months to see how things progress. Since my hip surgery I have been a bit more timid about pushing myself. But I feel good and I feel like my hip is ready for a little more challenge now. Today I sat down and wrote out what I want to see as my workout plan each week. I planned out what body parts would be worked during strength training, what type of cardio and how much and when I would do yoga during the week. I am excited about trying this out and seeing results!!

Also, I recently ordered some books on clean eating. I eat fairly clean for the most part, so I am more excited to look into the specifics of this. But even more so, I am excited to try out some new recipes in the cookbooks I got. I think I am going to have a lot of fun trying out new recipes and seeing how this works in to my current plan! I think I am going to see some great results by trying this!

I am really excited to see how the changes that I am making are going to impact my current plan. Lately life has been so emotional for me. Two of my closest friends move away this month...one to basic training and one to Asheville, NC. It will be weird not having them close enough to reach out to, but I am excited for their opportunities. And then in a few weeks, my hubby, Jason, will begin traveling again for 15 months. He will be gone every week Sunday through Thursday. It's going to be hard but it means that I will be able to really focus on my goals without my cheerleaders. It means I will have to dig deeper to do this on my own for awhile. And I am really thankful that I will still have friends here to help me stay on track!

And with all this going on, I am planning on getting away myself for a bit. I want to get some quality time up in Virginia with my family soon. It has been way too long since I have had a long visit with them. And I am also planning on trying to get up to visit my friend Laura and her family. It has been awhile since they came here to visit and I would love to get a chance to head up there and visit with them for awhile.

So life is getting crazier and busier but I am hoping that I can get back to a regular schedule again. My break was good. It gave me some good quality time to spend with friends and family. But tomorrow, it is back to work again!

Happy Birthday to Me :)

So, Monday was my birthday. Those who know me well know exactly how old I turned. For those who don't know me that well, my birthday cake had candles for my age and they read "25". LOL :) Anyways, it was a pretty great birthday this year.

I woke up to many, many Facebook birthday greetings, phone calls and text messages from friends and family. Jason treated me to a great breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It was delicous :) Then I chilled at the house for awhile and got myself ready to go pick Chuck up for the celebrations that night. I drove out to Chuck's parents and picked him up. We were supposed to meet Jason for lunch but got a later start than we intended. So, Jason had to grab lunch without us so he could get back to work. Chuck and I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was so yummy (as usual!!!)

After lunch we headed back to my house and hung out. I had to be at the mall to see my Clinique consultant, Charity. She promised to do my makeup for dinner that night. So, I enjoyed having my makeup done and she did an amazing job. She is such a perfectionist but my makeup looked amazing!!

We headed out to dinner at Outback. I was blessed to have my dear friends with me to celebrate. Cathy and Robert, Jess and Josh, Meghan, Chuck, Jason and I celebrated with delicious dinners. Then, my birthday cake was a New York style cheesecake with cherry topping. I made it on Sunday because I could not find exactly what I was looking for at any of the local bakeries. It was so good. Wow...I cannot even recall eating a more delicious cheesecake and I am not saying that because I made it. It was perfect and looked pretty perfect too!! The cheesecake didn't crack at all :) It was so good that I had to send all the leftovers out of the house!!!

I enjoyed my birthday dinner. I ended up the day with several episodes of True Blood. It was a pretty awesome day and I really had a blast!! All in all, I felt pretty special and it was great :)

Here's a pic of me with all my friends after dinner!

Pushing Through...

So, I finally feel like I am making some headway in my workouts and in my return to my normal training intensity. I had several great workouts this week with Tye. Monday, we did shoulders, biceps and triceps....and my arms were killing me most of the week. I wasn't sure if it was because of the fact that I gave blood that day or the workout, but OUCH!! Wednesday was our leg day and it was awesome. My legs were wobbly as I was walking out of the gym that day. It felt great. We haven't had a leg day like that in awhile. And Friday was chest and back with some abs.

Yesterday, I headed out for my talk/walk/jog/run with Cathy. Depending upon the way my hip feels and the terrain is what determines whether we walk, jog or run. Yesterday, we were at the Harbison State Forest. I am not much for trail running because I am just pretty clumsy. So, I am more cautious there. We generally just get some good hiking in...6 miles of it! There are lots of hills and twists and turns...not to mention, there are tons of rocks and roots and things to trip over. We did do a small amount of running yesterday, but I was experiencing a little bit of difficulty with my ankle. It was weird because the day before I had some trouble with my shins but that was on the treadmill. I decided to take my friend Chuck's advice and tape my ankles for my next run...which will be this afternoon with Cathy!

After my time with Cathy, I came home and spent about 30 minutes trashing my abs. And I do mean trashing. Last night at work, I could already feel some tenderness there!! Wow! Who knew that I could pick ab exercises that would just kill me!! I got a couple exercises from my new magazine that I subscribe to...Fitness. The other exercises were ones I remember from Cathe Friedrich's workout. After abs, I spent some more time stretching. I wanted to make sure I got a good amount of stretching in. Also, I iced the hip last night and took Advil. I want to run with Cathy today so I am hoping that all my extra work will pay off in my running today!

With several races upcoming, I am getting more and more nervous about the running. I admit, fear is setting in deep. So, I am trying to work through my fears! I have been blessed with several good friends who have been helping me. Cathy and I have a regular running date on Saturdays. She challenges me but also keeps me mindful of my hip without making me feel bad if we have to slow down or stop. And Chuck gives me great advice on how to improve my running and technique so I can endure longer runs. I have yet to run with Chuck yet but mostly because he is so much faster than me that it intimidates me! But we will be running together soon. And I will have to keep in mind that I have to run at my own pace. I cannot try to run someone else's pace whether it be in my training or in my races. And Chuck would never make me run his pace because he knows I am rehabbing the hip still. I was also told by one of the trainers at the gym that is studying to be an athletic trainer (and has physical therapy experience) that it would likely be about a year before my hip would feel normal again! I am thankful for Cathy and Chuck who both understand that I am rehabbing a hip and don't push me past what I can do, but also challenge me to improve.

Tye has also been a great resource. He understands my fears since he has experienced an injury that changes his workouts some too. His shoulder is still not back to normal after surgery over a year ago. It takes time and patience to get back to your former patterns. So, I have hope to get where I want to be!

I look forward to continuing to push past the fears or reinjury or other injuries and the fears that I will never run the same again. My next few races may not produce any amazing times, but they are starting points for me to work back into and hopefully improve as I go. And I am okay with that. I want to get back into my sport and will take what I can get, even if that means I will be doing a whole lot more walking than I intended to!

I am also going to start working on some tips from trainer, Bob Harper. The first one I am woking on is to take one or two of my cardio sessions a week and double the time. This should be interesting because that means I would spend 2 hours on cardio!!! Of course, it doesn't all have to be done at one time but all on the same day. I have also been doing his challenges that he posts. Yesterday was a yoga challenge. It feels good to challenge myself!

What a Week!!

Seriously, I just had a pretty amazing week! I always enjoy spending time with friends and this week has been filled with visits from friends!!!

Monday afternoon, my dear friend, Laura, got here with her 3 precious daughters! They arrived about the same time a crazy rain and thunderstorm did!! It was insane. I wasn't sure they were going to make it from their car to the house!! And then just to welcome them to our house, the storm decided to take the lights out. It wasn't too bad at first, but the older girls got bored and it started to get hot in the house! Luckily, the power was restored and we were able to enjoy some time with Laura and the girls.

I am afraid that I don't quite have a house babyproofed for a 9-month old! I felt bad for Layla who was crawling everywhere that we had to keep blocking her. She was such a sweetheart! Annagrace is so smart and funny. She kept me laughing. I really enjoyed talking with her too. She is so bright!! And Madalyn and I had fun...middle children unite :) LOL!! She is a very spirited child and also very smart! I really enjoyed meeting the girls and spending time with them! And it was really awesome to see Laura and hang out with her again!!!

We had a great visit! Tuesday, we headed out to the zoo and spent quite a bit of time there checking out all the animals. It was so hot out!!! I felt like we were all melting!! Then we headed over to Build-A-Bear so the girls could make bears to remember their trip! On Wednesday, we hit the gym and did an upper body workout and some cardio. The girls enjoyed playing in the kids' area while we got a workout in. And after getting all cleaned up and having lunch, we headed to EdVenture, the children's museum. This was my second visit to the museum and the second time I was disappointed. The museum is pretty expensive and on this visit, a lot of the exhibits were broken or just not working. The girls had a pretty good time in spite of it.

It was a great visit. I am definitely going to have to head up to visit them this fall. Jason and I were both sad that they had to leave because we truly enjoyed having them visit!

Thursday, I picked up my friend, Chuck, so that he could hang out with us for a few days! I had asked him to come and help me take down a branch on our cedar tree that had fallen during the storm on Monday. Jason was unable to get it trimmed with his foot still healing. So, Chuck agreed to help me out.

I also went to see my orthopedic surgeon on Thursday. I got great news. Dr. Ekman released me back to my regular routines. He is very happy with my progress. And he told me that he wanted me to continue slowly getting back to where I was and that if I had pain while doing an exercise that I was to stop doing it. From now on, pain in my hip means stop doing that. I can try it again later, but I need to be careful and listen to the hip!! I was so happy to get a good report!!!

Jason also got a good report on his foot on Friday. He got the stitches out and is now able to drive again! Hooray!!!

I got to train Chuck on Friday. It was leg day and I ended up having a pretty great one!! I was able to lift a set on leg press that is the heaviest that I lifted prior to my injury. And I also was able to move from the small box to the medium box for box jumps!! I felt very accomplished. I tried to work Chuck pretty hard too. I felt like I didn't give him too great a workout until Saturday when he started telling me how his legs hurt :) Mine hurt too :) So, yay for great leg day!!!

So Friday night, we celebrated. I invited Cathy & Robert over to join us for dinner and hanging out! We watched a couple episodes of Top Gear and then we watched a movie. It was a great night!! Saturday was a long day...but it ended up being fun. I will give you details about that at a later date! Let's just say that I am happy with the results of my Saturday!

This morning, I got up early and Cathy and I headed out to Harbison State Forest for some hiking. We actually ran into my physical therapist, Daniel, and chatted for a few minutes. I assured him I was not going running but walking because as we all know I am not all that coordinated :) We had a great walk and talk. The weather was not too sweltering and it was overcast! Afterwards we grabbed breakfast at Cracker Barrel!!!

So, it's been a pretty great week for me. I am tired, really tired...bordering on exhaustion to be quite honest. But it's a good tired. I enjoyed all the guests this week and spending quality time with my friends! I am headed to bed early tonight! And I think Jason and I will enjoy some quality time until he heads out to Vermont this coming weekend.

I am looking forward to a great week. Tye is back from vacation so I get to train with him again. And I will get to spend some quality time with Jacob and Jillian :)

I'm So Excited...

...and I just can't hide it :) LOL!! Tomorrow, my friend, Laura, who was my matron of honor 9 1/2 years ago is going to be coming in to town for a visit! I have not seen her since my wedding but we have kept in touch over the years. She is bringing her 3 beautiful daughters with her. I cannot wait to meet them! Annagrace, Madalyn and Layla are so beautiful! Jason and I are so looking forward to having them here!! We are going to have a blast!! I'm sure we will have lots of pictures to share of all the fun stuff we'll end up doing :)

Speaking of having a blast, I had so much fun yesterday spending the day on the lake celebrating my friend, Jess, and her husband's birthday! It was awesome!! Lots of time floating in the lake. Lots of time talking and laughing!! It was so much fun hanging out and spending time with everyone!

And Cathy and I enjoyed our Girls' Night Out on Friday. We went shopping but ended up not really buying alot! It was one of those nights where we didn't really see a lot that we had to have. We did enjoy hanging out while the guys were doing their thing!

Well, I am headed to bed shortly...I have a few errands to get done tomorrow before Laura and the girls get here :) Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Busy, Busy Week!!!

It has been super busy around here this week!! So busy that I have barely had time to blog and there have been several days I didn't even update my Facebook status (Horrors!!!)

Training has been pretty great this week. We were able to do legs on Monday and Wednesday. My legs hurt so badly on Tuesday that I knew that I had DOMS (delayed onset muscle strain)! Ouch!! I also got some more interval jogging in and was able to reduce my walking time some this week! I felt pretty great about that. I have not changed my speed much yet or the time. I am sticking with only 20 minutes of jogging for a little while to give my hip a slow return to running. And I have hit the elliptical rather strongly this week!

Jason had a good check-up Tuesday morning and they allowed him to be fully weight-bearing. We go back next week for stitch removal and see where things are then. I am hoping for another good report!

Wednesday night, I drove up to Charlotte, NC and met up with my friend, Julie. We have not seen each other in I would say about 12 years. It was great to see her and meet her friend, Amanda. Julie has lost 150 pounds and she looks amazing!! It was a great visit! We had dinner at McAllister's and then headed over to Concord Mills and window shopped!!

Thursday night, our friend, Chuck, came to stay with us for a few days. Chuck is a great friend and we enjoy hanging out with him. I had forgotten that Thursday night we also had a friend of a friend coming in to demo the Rainbow vacuum. Of course, I had no intention of buying a vacuum that cost over $2000!!! They asked me to vacuum my areas with most traffic with my vacuum and then with theirs. Their vacuum didn't really pick up a whole lot more stuff, so I really wasn't impressed. And frankly, even if I was, I wouldn't be paying that much money for a vacuum!!! That's insane!!!!

Friday morning, Chuck hung out for a bit with Jason after taking him to work. We, then, went and had lunch together and I ran out for a massage appointment! After a great massage, where I cracked Jeremy up by asking if I had to stretch muscles that I really didn't work that week? LOL, I was trying to get away with the fact that I hadn't stretched the upper body much...he laughed and I laughed too! My muscles felt pretty great after we were done!

I headed home after the massage and got changed. Chuck and I headed over to Harbison State Forest for a walk/hike. I let Chuck pick the trail because I almost always do Firebreak Trail. So, we ended up doing Midlands Mountain Trail with a small portion of Firebreak added on to it. Neither of us realized we were putting ourselves through 5.8 to 6 miles of a hike!! Towards the end, I was having some issues with my hip. It was starting to having a little bit of pain but nothing that was too intense! After the hike, we went to the grocery store and grabbed some stuff to grill.

After an amazing dinner, we settled in to watch a television show that Chuck really loves, Top Gear. It was pretty funny! I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Basically, there are three guys and they are challenged to buy vehicles and take them cross country. (At least that's what happened in the three episodes we watched...Botswana, North Pole, and Amazon. The shows were pretty humorous and to be quite honest I am not all that into cars, nor do I understand much about any of that technical stuff.

So, today, I am feeling a bit tired! I do have to go in to work a little later tonight, but for right now, I am just resting and recovering from such a busy week! Tomorrow is going to be busy too!!! But busy is good!

True Friends Are Priceless

If you're alone, I'll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile. But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me. ~Author Unknown

Yesterday's post made me think alot about my friendships and my dear friends. I am blessed to have some amazing close friends. I am more than blessed to have several close friends who let me be exactly who I am without any restraints. Some friends wouldn't be able to handle the full extent of my insanity and luckily, I always know which ones can handle that! And when that is the case, I also know that I have a partner in crime :) Someone who is just as crazy or more crazy than I am! It's pretty awesome!

And I am really blessed that I married my best friend. He is a great sounding board and a true soul mate. He keeps me on my toes with his odd jokes and strange comments at times, but he makes me laugh too. Jason is probably one of the most patient people I have ever met...and he needs it too, in order to put up with me! He walks beside me in all of my journeys and supports me in all endeavors. He's the best and I am glad he is mine!

To my dear sweet friends, I cannot thank all of you enough for the love, encouragement and support you have given me! Whether we've been friends forever or just a short time, you are all so dear to me. I cannot imagine my life without my friends who have each helped me along in my journeys. You are true treasures and I love you all!!

Here are a few quotes that I love on friendship...Enjoy!!

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked. ~Author Unknown

A friend accepts us as we are yet helps us to be what we should. ~Author Unknown

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares. ~Henri Nouwen

I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar. ~Robert Brault

Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away. ~Dinah Craik

A true friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably. ~William Penn

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. ~Flavia Weedn

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you." ~A.A. Milne

Just One of Those Days....

Have you ever had one of those days when you wake up and you don't want to crawl back in bed, but under it? When you want to call in dead? Or you just want to forget that you even exist (even if it's just for a few minutes!)? That is how I have felt the past couple of days.

I admit, that it's my own fault. I got way overwhelmed, took on way too much and frankly, should just learn to say NO! But, if I did any of that, then it just wouldn't be me, now would it?

I normally don't sleep well the days leading up to any type of medical procedures that Jason has. I worry about him all the time, but when I know he is going to have to undergo a procedure, it sends me into overdrive! I love him so much that I would spare him any pain by taking it myself. He's been through so much in his life that it hurts me to think of all that he has endured in his short life and things that he may have to endure later on. So, the past several days leading up to his flexor tendon release surgery, I didn't sleep well. I had a lot to do and did it all on very little sleep. And the sleep I did manage to get wasn't particularly restful!

Jason's procedure went well. He has had some pain but no more than expected. He had a little bit of nausea but I was able to help that with some anti-nausea meds. Mostly, he has just been really, really tired. So, I have let him sleep as much as he wanted because I know his body needs that in order to recover.

Add on top of that, our friend, Chuck, flew in from Korea last night and had asked me to pick him up at the airport. He spent the night with us and may be bunking out here off and on for a little while. If you don't know this about me, you might be surprised but I take on the role of hostess and my desire is to make sure that guests feel completely welcome...like a home away from home. So, of course, this week I was busying about getting things ready for his arrival. And then, I worried yesterday as I left Jason for a little while to pick him up. Luckily, I used my brains and called our niece, Katrina, and she stayed with Jason for awhile which definitely made me feel better.

And perhaps, I should've requested some time off from work since Jason was having surgery. Perhaps that would have been intelligent to do. However, things at work are crazy...as always! Our last audit didn't turn out the way I would have expected for my office and I am very unhappy. Granted, the reasons points were deducted were things that I had no control over and no way of knowing about. But, still, I am angry and I like to run a tight ship. So, I am being even more vigilant than ever when it comes to my office. I have the audit information and I am bound and determined that it will not happen again! I refuse to have points deducted when our next audit occurs in two to three months. (Yes, I am that stubborn!) So, I left Jason this morning for awhile to go into work and will have to leave him for a bit tomorrow to work as well. I feel guilty about it, but he slept the entire time I was gone. However, my mothering instinct is gnawing at me saying I need to be present at all times.

The great thing about today, in spite of the craziness, was that I had a massage scheduled. Now, I know you're probably thinking I am a very selfish wife. I will say Jason insisted I keep my regularly scheduled appointment and I was only 10 minutes away if he needed me. And for the first time ever, my phone was audible in case he needed me. Balancing it all, he was dead asleep thanks to anti-nausea meds and pain meds for the time I was gone. So, with all those precautions and some guilt, I went in for my regular appointment. It was good. It was necessary. I have no regrets about it.

The reason I have no regrets about it is that I would not be functioning right now had it not been for that appointment! My massage therapist, Jeremy, is my friend. I figure after about a year of massage therapy with him and lots and lots of good conversations, I can absolutely say he is more than just my massage therapist. I can tell him things like I would a psychologist (maybe I should give him more money! LOL!) So, today, when I walked in and said I was fine...he called me on it. I told him what was going on...vented for a few minutes and then, as usual, he distracted me from life and all it's insanity and made me laugh...A LOT! I have learned much from him over this year and I appreciate his insights and the way he knows me. He keeps my head clear and refocuses me when I get too caught up in something. And a lot of times, I walk out of our appointments with some profound wisdom that he has given me (and sometimes it can be something others have told me). Maybe it's the simple way that he explains things to me or the way he mentions things without ordering me to do something. Or maybe it's because he knows how to get through to me. I don't quite know, but what I do know is, that today I needed a friend to talk to and he listened and advised. And he is a good friend!

And my aching muscles got some relief because we were finally able to start back to our normal routines since I am no longer in physical therapy. While I was in physical therapy, the surgeon didn't want anyone else doing joint mobilizations. So, now we are back to that. I don't know if that is a good thing or not because after hip surgery I have become really nervous about my hip. I trust Jeremy and that says a lot about him. I respect him and I know that there are days I make his job difficult because I am such a control freak. But this hip injury has me intimidated. I know without a doubt that he would never do anything to hurt me. So, I have to remind myself whenever my hip is involved that he is there to help me and wouldn't ever dream of hurting me. And of course, as I predicted to him, I did much better on the right leg than the left. I am sure in time that will cease to be an issue for me...but I hate that I am reacting like that! At least, he understands and that helps! And hopefully it will be better soon!


So, in the midst of one of THOSE days, I was blessed to have a friend to listen to me and clear my head. I am blessed to have a sweet hubby whom I love more than anything and who knows what I need. One thing is for sure, I have found during my journey that true friends are quite simply a treasure. Finding someone who not only gets you but also allows you to be exactly who you are is priceless. And having friends who can tell when you are not being completely honest and call you out on it is just too awesome for words. I am grateful for the dear friends that fit in these categories. I am blessed that God has placed these people in my life. And I am more than blessed to have God who always knows exactly what I need and provides even more than I can ever imagine! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Return to Normalcy??

So, my surgeon's appointment this morning went really well! I have full range of motion and he said that my labrum didn't slip or pull when he was maneuvering it. He said that he felt really confident that I am healing extremely well. He actually told me that I should keep making him look good! LOL..he's a very good-looking doctor, so he really doesn't need me for that...but I will keep listening to him and my physical therapists so that I can have a full and complete recovery! I also got released to move to the next level. He said that I was walking now, then I could start jogging. If I was jogging already, then I could start running. He said that for the next month, I can return to some of my more normal activities but I should start off slowly and build back up to where I was pre-injury! I am very excited!!! Tomorrow, I will see the physical therapist and I will see what they have planned.



The original physical therapy plan was that starting week 10, I would start jumping and starting week 12, I would start running. It sounds to me like Dr. Ekman thinks I am ready to start jumping already. Tomorrow will mark 9 weeks since my surgery. But, I will wait to hear what they have to say about that.



Today, I enjoyed lunch with my dear friend, Betsy. I love her! She is so amazing and I so enjoy her perspective on things and her encouragement! She reminds of all the important things I tend to forget. For example, today, she told me that all of this frustration is preparation for the mental toughness that I need to continue to develop to complete a full marathon. I admit it has been very difficult for me to listen to the doctor and the therapists and simply take things slow. I want to get back to work...I want to see what this hip can do. But I have been compliant, not patient, but compliant with the doctor's orders. I have spent a couple months of severe frustration and waited out my time so that I can return to my sport, healthy and ready for action! It was so awesome to spend time with Betsy though. She is a good friend and I enjoy our time together!!

And this afternoon, I got my first real cardio session in!! I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally put a little bit of intensity into my cardio! I will admit that I did jog for the first time in 2 months and it was awesome!!! I played it smart and warmed up on the treadmill for 10 minutes and stuck with a slow jog for 2minutes and walking for 1 minute for 15 minutes (10 jogging, 5 walking). And then I followed it up with 30 minutes on the elliptical. The exciting part was that it was intense...I kept my heart rate up and didn't overdo it!! I won't be jogging everyday...Dr. Ekman did tell me to take things slowly. I will likely intersperse my interval jogging for awhile with elliptical and arc trainer cardio. I will talk to my physical therapist and make sure I am following the right path to recovery. And I played it smart, I came home and iced the hip.

And to top off a pretty great day, I finished it with my first 1 1/2 hour massage in 2 months! It was awesome!! My muscles feel so relaxed and so amazing! It was a great massage...of course, my upper body had some really tight areas that needed work. And I forgot to stretch after my cardio this afternoon. I admit that I did get a quad stretch in but I did not take enough time to stretch the rest of my lower body. I promised Jeremy tonight that I would make it a habit to not forget my stretching from now on. We joked that I should get a tattoo on me that says "Stretch or die!" and he said that it should be "Stretch or Jeremy Will Hurt You!" LOL!!

So, is this a return to normalcy?? Possibly. I am starting to feel a little more like myself. I am happier than I have been in awhile. I feel like things are starting to fall back into place. It's not perfect but it's close enough for me right now. Maybe there is no normal for me...maybe this is my time to get used to just how much and how often things change. I have never been a huge fan of change and maybe this might be time for my opinion to change. I guess we will just have to wait and see!!