Diagnosis Without a Doctor

We have a local running store here in town that is a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Every Monday they do these speed session workouts on the track at one of the schools in town.  We try to attend as often as possible.  One of us usually does the workout and the other one has kiddos, but we always go together as a family. It's great to have a reason to be outside and hang out together. Anyway. My mom was in town and she volunteered to watch both babies while we speed sessioned it out (yay!).  I wasn't sure how my knees would hold up, but I hadn't ran since last Tuesday so I thought maybe the knees be okay since they should have been well rested.  Wrong. I couldn't do the workout so I just jogged along the outside lane of the track instead.

The owner of the running store is the one who puts on these speed sessions and comes up with the workouts and whatnot.  He asked why I was running in the outside lanes and I explained that I wasn't doing the workout because of my knees yada yada yada.  He started asking questions about where and when they hurt and immediately let me know that I had patellar tendentious and needed to do eccentric exercises to fix it.  Ummmmm.....eccentric exercises? I don't know what that means but in my head I pictured someone sporting bright pink hair, a hula skirt, tall socks from the 70s and some sweet sunglasses doing jumping jacks.  Eccentric, right? Apparently that is not what this form of "eccentric" means. My bad.  An eccentric exercise is like when you do a bicep curl but it's the part where you bring your arms down; not the part where you bring the weight up.  Or something like that. Google it.

So I'm supposed to do lots of reps (like 50) on the quad machine at the gym with minimal weight and go really really slowly on the 'eccentric' part of the lifting. I don't know if I worded any of that correctly but I know what I'm trying to say and that's what counts :)  I haven't had a chance to do the eccentric exercises yet but I'm sure by the end of the week I will.  And then cured (hopefully)!!

**Side note about Rush Running (our local store).
Running stores and runners and workouts put on by running stores for runners can be super intimidating for people who are not runners or not in shape.  But that is so not the case here in Bentonville!  I don't think I've ever seen or heard of a more welcoming place for runners of all abilities.  And by all abilities I mean even people who aren't runners at all.  I just wanted to let you know how cool it is to have a place and a group of people who truly are judgement free, welcoming, and above all else, encouraging of everyone! It blows my mind in the best way possible.

Unforseen Demotivators

Saturday April 21

At what point in time do you stop saying "my knees hurt" and start saying "I have a knee injury"? I haven't had anything that I would consider a legit injury before, so I'm not sure. I think running again probably isn't going to happen any time soon and that makes me really sad. 
I forsee a knee doctor appointment in my future. I don't really want to go because I'm afraid their answers will be predictable, not very helpful, and super expensive. "Well Mrs. Patrick, your knees hurt because you had two kids super close together and your joints are still recovering.  Take some ibuprofen, drink plenty of water, and rest for a while. That will be $1500.  Please pay at the front desk".

I suppose I better start thinking about other work out-ly things to do. Maybe kickboxing.  Maybe pilates. Maybe P90X. Decisions, decisions. 

Day 6 Tuesday April 17

So remember how my Watch is a dirty liar and tells me I ran really far when I really didn't?? Well, it heard me. Watch decided to go in the opposite direction today.  And remember how my last run was on a treadmill and uneventful? Also opposite today. And yes, I would like some cheese with the following whine.

Let me begin by saying that my knees still hurt.  A whole lot. Even when I'm not running.  Which makes running very unfun. It also makes me look really silly for the first 10 minutes of the run while I try to figure out my stride with shooting pain going through my knees. It's not that I care that I look silly; I really don't  give a damn.  It's more that "my stride" is not my stride when my knees hurt like that.  Its like wearing someone else's clothes or driving someone's else's car.... it just doesn't feel right.

It took until 18 minutes into the run before my knees went from shooting pain to an aching pain that I could live with.  At 20 minutes I started to feel the effects of the run (of course).  I really don't like being out of shape.  And I really don't like being reminded of that a meager 20 minutes into a run.

I checked my pace a couple times on Watch throughout the run. I knew I wasn't running fast.  I wanted distance, not fastance. That's right, fastance. I made up a word, I think. But I didn't think I was going that slow. Like 12:00 per mile slow. I found that information very depressing and just figured my knees must really be affecting my running more than I was willing to admit to myself.

When I knew I was reasonably close (half a mile-ish) to my house, I decided to sneak a peak at how far Watch said I had run.  Mentally I had logged about 8 miles (it was a tough run), but I thought realistically it was probably closer to 3.25.  Nope.  2.6.  Let me say it again.  TWO point SIX! And you know how long my watch said I'd been running for? About 34 minutes.  I tried to figure out how "fast" I was apparently running and gave up once I realized that it was slower than 11 minutes a mile.  Ridiculous.

Belive it or not, I could keep going on and on about this run, its few ups and many downs, and how it was an overall mental beating (I was going to say something way more vulgar than "mental beating" but decided to take the high road. However I will not take the high enough road to not let people know that I'm thinking of a way worse choice of words, even if I didn't type it).  But I'll spare you and just get to the point.

I used two different run-mapping websites once I got home to check my run. There was no way it was only 3.12 miles in 37:42. I was right.  It was 3.8 miles.  THREE point EIGHT.  Which works out to be way faster than 12:00 miles.  Stupid watch.

I'm super stoked that I ran that far.  My goal was 4 but I knew I'd be lucky to get 3 with the way my knees were hurting. So 3.8 is awesome! I am just not super stoked that I'm still fighting the accuracy battle with my watch. So here's the score: Watch 2, Eileen 1.  Even though I just complained a ton, I still ran farther than I thought which means I'm awesomer than I thought which means I won today.

Day 6 Sunday April 14

Nothing fancy to report here.  Just a good ol' run on the treadmill.  3 miles. Very slow.  Lots of knee pain. I blame it on the weather.  Does anyone else's joints hurt like crazy when it's rainy outside? This only started happening to me after I ran the 2003 Chicago marathon.  Stupid marathons..... who runs those? Oh yeah, crazy people.

The hubs and I had a nice sit down conversation about the races we want to do this year. Better start saving now; these entry fees are adding up quick! Who would have thought you'd need to budget for races?? 

Here's my list so far (in no particular order):
1. The Cancer Challenge in June.  I'm shooting to run the 10k but I'm fine with a 5k too.
2. The Chili Pepper in October.  Hubs did this cross country 10k last year and I was so jealous that I couldn't participate.  So we'll both be doing it this year.
3. One of those crazy obstacle course 5ks.  I'm throwing around the idea of doing a Tough Mudder next year..... we'll see. 12 miles of obstacles is asking a lot.....better start with a 5k.
4. Run for the Grapes.  I did this one last year when I was newly preggo. I ran with a stroller and a friend and it was a blast!

Pork Chops and Appley Things

I've heard the best way to learn how to cook is to follow recipes. Then once you get comfortable in the kitchen, you start being able to do things on your own.  Not only am I in the recipe stage, but I'm in the "crap, I don't own that seasoning/spice/liquid-thing-used-for-cooking" stage.  I've decided it will take a full year of recipe cooking before my kitchen is adequately stocked. This Pork Chop and Apple-y Things recipe is a perfect example of how unstocked my kitchen is.

Give credit where credit is due.  This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman's blog.  I heart her blog, especially the recipes in it.  They have all turned out pretty well; even for someone with absolutely no skill in the kitchen. This is the Recipe. You should read it before you read any further. Or not. Either way. But you definetely should make this recipe.

So here are the things I had to go without even after a trip to the grocery store:

First. Pure Maple Syrup. Do you know how much pure maple syrup costs?? You don't? I'll tell you. It's like $8! So that wasn't going to happen. 
Second. Dry White Wine. I don't even know what that means other than it's not red. And I live in a dry county (did you know those even still exist?!). So that wasn't going to happen. 
Third. The bacon-cheese grit thing didn't happen. At all. I'm not that daring yet.   

And this is how I, with the help of Hubs, changed it up.  Instead of pure maple syrup we used honey (his idea- way to go!) which I did actually have honey on-hand from a different recipe (one step closer to a fully "stocked" kitchen). And instead of wine I used water. If there is another more appropriate substitute for "dry white wine" I'm all ears. I added a tiny, tiny, tiny amount of maple flavoring.  I was afraid that the maple lost from not using the syrup would really affect the end flavor. 

**Side Note** Maple flavoring should be sold by the drop. No matter what size container maple flavoring you purchase, it will be too big.  I literally used a drop and my whole house smelled like maple for the rest of the night.  I'm not complaining, I'm just saying that stuff is strong.

OK. So the recipe was super easy to follow. I didn't do a lot of measuring. The recipe is to feed an entire family.  I just wanted to feed me and Hubs. I ended up needed more liquid in the pan towards the end. And I probably cooked everything longer than it needed to be.  But holy crap was it good! And it looked pretty. And smelled pretty.  This ended up being one of those meals where the first bite is good, the middle bite is great, and the last bite is awesome!

Damn. I should have taken a picture........

Day 5 Wednesday April 11

Believe it or not, there wasn't anything flashy that happened while on this run.  Seriously.  No Chuck Norris, no scary dogs following me around, no outrageous wind.  That being said, here's the workout:

I ran. 2.5 or 2.3 miles depending on whether you believe my non-gps watch or one of those 'where did I run' websites. My pace was faster than 10 minute miles which is awesome in my book!
My watch seems to be .2-.3 miles off. I wouldn't mind as much if my watch said, "You ran 3 miles" and then the website was like, "No way watch, it was 3.3". I'd be like, "I'm a superstar and ran farther than I thought!". Unfortunately the conversation (yes, conversation) between watch, Eileen, and website looks more like this:

Watch: "You ran 3.57 miles already! Didn't that go by super fast? Good job Eileen, you can stop running now since you've gone way farther than you originally planned. You're a superstar!"
Eileen: "Thanks watch! I think I will stop running now. That felt great and it did go by fast!"
Website: "Of course it went by fast. You only ran 3.2 miles. Oh, and that pace your watch told you; yeah, that's wrong too.  You were running waaaaay slower."
Eileen: "......awesome................"

I think I should rename Watch. How about the Disappoint-inator.  You know, like disappointment but so extreme that it has to have a Terminator reference.

Final Thought: I really do love the watch, seriously! It's a Nike+Sportband and I feel super cool when I wear it.  I like what it does and love that Hubs bought it for me. Watch and I are just in the beginning stages of our relationship and working out the kinks :)

Day 4 Sunday April 8

Happy Easter!

This day was full of working out-ly things! We went for a 2.5 mile family walk around Lake Atlanta in the morning.  I believe we were under the impression that most of the path would be paved. We were wrong. Which is not really a big deal when you have a BoB (even if the tires are still flat) but is a big deal when your other stroller isn't (the Duallie is on our shopping list we just haven't bought it yet).  So we walked really slow and tried not to jostle the itty-bitty baby too much.  Actually, I think she liked the bumpy ride.  Every time we stopped she unhappily woke up.  By the end of the 2.5 mile loop both babies were asleep so we headed home.

3 hours, 2 beers and a bratwurst later.......

To run or not to run. And by not running, I mean taking a nap. I thought about the calories burned napping versus the calories burned running and decided that I needed to run.  

 Best. Decision. Ever.

If this run was a kung fu movie, I would be Chuck Norris and the run would be the poorly-dubbed-Mandarin-speaking ninja who ends up mangled on the ground with "x"'s over his eyes.  I karate kicked this run's butt! 
I felt great the whole time.  The sun was shining, the wind was hiding, and the traffic was almost non-existent.  I logged just under 4 miles at about a 9 minute mile pace.  I felt like I could run forever. 

Musical shout-out from this run: Verona Red.  If you need a song to get you through the last 4ish minutes of a run, especially if you're trying to go fast, you should listen to "Goodnight" by Verona Red.  It's a perfect running song.







Day 3 Thursday April 5

This was one of those "put you in your place slap you across the face you're sooooo out of shape" kind of runs.  Allow me to elaborate.

It was an evening run.  I went out after the hubs got home from work.  We decided I should try and take our little 17.5 month old Beverly to see how she does.  She did great! The first 50 yards of the run were her laughing her little head off- greatest sound in the world! So that was awesome.  Now for the un-awesomeness.  The tires of the BoB were in desperate need of air, which I didn't realize until I was too far from home to be able to do something about it.  Have you ever tried to push a running stroller with almost-flat tires? It's like trying to push a couch across a sandy beach.  Seriously. 

First half of the run was pretty good. We were both in good spirits.  Then I turned around. Holy wind! Oh how easy it is to forget about the wind when you're running with it. So once 30lb Beverly, BoB with flat tires, wind, and I reached an uphill, I was done.  You know when you're running so slow that if you stopped to walk you'd actually be going faster than if you kept trying to run? Yeah, that happened.  So I walked the uphill then started running again.  We did walk one other time for about 2 minutes before finally making it home.

Lessons learned: Air up the tires and remember the wind!

Day 2 Tuesday April 3

Did I previously say walking was unacceptable? Let me rephrase.  Walking is unacceptable when the original plan is to run.  Walking is perfectly fine when that is the plan all along.  Do I seem like less of a snob now? Aaaahhh I didn't think so. You'd think for being such a big running snob that I'd be a fast runner.  Or a good runner. Or have a wall dedicated to awesome medals I've won while running.  Alas, I am none and have none of those things. I do have a silver glittery wall in my dining room though which is pretty cool......

Let me just say one thing before I totally lose myself to your or my own good graces.  This "running snob" view applies only to myself and to no one else.  I don't care if you walk during your run.  I don't scoff in the general direction of someone who stops to take a little breather. For my own personal training and mental well-being I cannot allow myself the choice of walking during a run.  Once I take the "easy" route once, I'm done for.  It will be 1000x harder for me not to take the easy route again.  And again.  And again.  It's like me and Chik-fil-A.  I can go for months (theoretically. I mean have you had their breakfast??) without eating Chik-fil-A.  But once I give in, I will invariably find myself in the drive-thru line everyday for the next week. 

Alas..... I digress....

THE WORKOUT:
I walked for 35 minutes with Baby2.  It was so nice to be outside! I'm trying to enjoy the sun and heat before humidity makes her debut and ruins it all.  I find walking is more difficult physically for me than running.  Isn't that strange? My legs seem more tired and I always get a side stitch. Hhhhhmmmm maybe that's where my aversion to walking stems from. 

My initial plan was to walk for close to an hour.  I obviously didn't make it.  Let me tell you why.  I saw a dog.  I am terrified of dogs and always have been.  We're talking sweaty palms, heart racing, scared to tears (literally), the whole nine yards.  When Baby2 and I went walking last week there were 2 dogs that followed me through my neighborhood.  They were running and barking and dangerously close to my heels which I just KNEW they were going to bite off.  And then I was scared that they would jump in the stroller and bite my baby.  Or pee on me or hump my leg or harass me in some other embarrassing way.  Of course none of this happened but it did scare me half to death and it took me an hour to stop shaking.  I will never walk down that street without another adult again.  So I walked up a different street in my neighborhood.  50 yards away at the end of the street, there was a dog sitting in his front yard, staring at me. I briefly contemplated the odds that the dog was bound to the front yard by one of those invisible fence things and decided the odds were not in my favor.  So I turned around and went back home. 

Day 1: Go Eileen Run!

Day 1: Saturday March 31st

I decided I'm going to mark my days by when I actually went running as opposed to calendar days. 

My goal was to run for 20 minutes.  I have enough of a running background to still be a snob about it- walking is unacceptable. 20 minutes was a good goal. 

This was my first run since the end of July 2011.  I had planned on running all through being preggo but that ended up not being possible.  The doc told me in August no running. I was 13 weeks preggo.  By the time I got the all clear to start up again I was 20 weeks along and officially out of shape.  I thought it was best not to start up until after the baby was born.  So here we are! 6 weeks post baby and run #1 in the books!

The beginning of the run was strange.  My legs were tight and it was weird to be running again. But that soon passed and I felt great! It was amazing to be out in the sun!  I started to feel like it was my first run at minute 19. I ended up running exactly 25 minutes (there I go setting the bar low for myself again). Don't ask how far I went, I have no idea.  I would be shocked if it was even close to 2 miles. My concern right now is time out running, not pace or distance. 

Why I Run and Motivational Reminders

Let's start with the basics.  Why am I doing a blog?  Two reasons.

1. Because everyone else is

2. I want (need) to remember where I started so I can be proud of how far I've come (will have come). This is a purely selfish blog meant for my own motivation and record keeping.

This is the beginning of a blog that will end once I've reached my goal: 2013 Chicago Marathon in less than 4 hours.

Most marathon training programs give you 3 months to prepare for a marathon- or something like that.  I'm giving myself 2 years. Here's the true reasons why.

1. I will undoubtedly spend the first year making excuses to get out of running.

2. It really will take me an entire year to get myself into mental and physical shape for a marathon.

3. I'm an underachiever. Absolutely okay with mediocrity.  It's sad, but its true. If I set the bar super low (like 2 years to train for a marathon) and manage to go above it, then yay for me. No need to stress myself out by  setting a goal that will actually challenge me on a deadline. Ugh I'm pathetic....

Challenges (read excuses) I forsee in reaching this goal. And the reasons why they are crap (in case I forget, you know)

1. I have 2 very young kiddos.

Crap because: A. I have a super supportive husband who is always willing to watch kiddos while I run. 

B. Duallie strollers-- duh, Eileen

2. I work full time

Crap because: A. It's only 4 days a week

B. Okay Future Eileen reading this, if your super flexible job is really keeping you from running than you have bigger problems that Current Eileen cannot help you with.  GET IT TOGETHER WOMAN!

C. That's what 5am is for

3. 5am.... seriously.....?

Crap because: ....Let's not kid ourselves here, it's not crap.  Waking up at 4:30am to get a long enough run in before work just plain sucks. 

4. It's too hot/cold outside

Crap because: A. That's what 5am is for (damn, not the 5am reason again!)

B. You own a treadmill AND have a gym membership WITH daycare

So why the 2013 marathon and planning so far ahead?

You just had a baby, Eileen, duh! So 2012 was way out of the question. In 2013 I will turn 30. Yikes! Just kidding, I really don't mind getting older and I like that 30 is a nice round number.  A marathon seems like a cool thing to do right after 30. It will also be 10 years since my first Chicago Marathon.  Oh yes, I've done this before. Maybe I'll even make it a tradition every 10 years (or not).  I was disappointed in my first marathon. I did all the training in the middle of a hot Kansas summer while working 2 jobs and having a ridiculous social life typical of a 19 year old. I changed colleges in the fall and completely slacked on my training.  I found it difficult to go for 10-20 mile runs in a town that was unfamiliar to me.  And I didn't have a car to be able to plan routes, leave water for myself, all that jazz. That's what I tell myself anyway.  So the result was my legs died at mile 8.  I finished but it hurt. My time was a full hour slower than I had hoped.  And I managed to jack up my knees so bad that I couldn't run without tons of pain for about 5 years.  Lesson learned: TRAIN!

So Here We Go...