Mission Accomplished!

Somewhere along the way in this weight loss journey of mine I began running. In the beginning it was more of a walk/jog really with a 20 minute mile and eventually, after much interval training, I began running a 15 minute mile.

Soon enough it was suggested that I run my first race, the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k, on June 28, 2009. I ran 3.1 miles in 32 minutes and 02 seconds with a 10:47 average pace per mile.

My next race was the Catonsville Fall into Fitness 10K on September 26, 2009. I ran 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 58 seconds with a 9:50 average pace per mile.

My next milestone, was the Baltimore 10 Miler on June 19, 2010. The most I'd ever run was 8 miles, once, last summer. My typical mileage back then was 6 miles. After the winter set in, I started focusing more on spin and zumba classes to keep me entertained indoors and my average became 4 miles, on a treadmill. I started training for this race in March 2010, with the help of the Nike+ "Coach". My goal, was to complete the training for a half marathon, figuring if I can run 13 miles, the Baltimore 10 Miler would be a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of bumps along the way that threw a wrench in my training. A back injury, a family emergency that involved a trip to California and in the last 3 weeks before the big race, a concussion from a silly pool accident. Needless to say, at this point I was more than 3 weeks behind in my training and the most I'd ever ran was 8 miles, twice! To say that I was concerned about whether or not I could even complete the race at this point was a huge understatement. Even though I joked about it, there was a small part of me that actually feared I may pass out halfway through.

Well, yesterday was the big day and not only did I complete the race, but I totally aced it!!! I completed 10 miles in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 22 seconds with a 9:47 average pace per mile. I ran the whole damn thing, didn't even need to slow down and the hills weren't nearly as bad as I anticipated. It felt amazing and can't wait to run a half-marathon next!

Thank you very much for the support from my friends and family. Couldn't have made it through without you!

The struggle continues...

I'd like to say that it's been a few weeks since my spectacular pool show and that I'm fully recovered, but tis not so.

The first run after my concussion was actually pretty damn good. Got through 6 miles no problem and was feeling great. Not even a headache. The 2nd run after my concussion, not so much. Was suppose to complete 8 miles, my last chance to complete 8 miles prior to the big run mind you, and I struggled to complete just 6 miles. In fact, if it weren't for my running partner, CCJ, I'd have gone home after 4 miles. I've had two additional runs since then, one really tough and one that felt pretty good. Seems I'm alternating between "I'm screwed" and "Hey, maybe I'll make it through after all".

In addition to the struggles with running, I'm still having neck pain, the occasional nausea, had some unexplained weight loss (since regained), an odd bug bite that resulted in a hard lump in my left thigh for 3 days (can bug bites cause vomiting and nausea?) and in general, just not feeling myself. Chalk it up to lingering symptoms of the concussion, maybe nerves, bad timing. Well, the reason doesn't really matter. The important part is that I've been stress eating since Sunday night (hence the regaining of the unexplained weight loss) and wonder if I'm self sabotaging myself at this point, as I count down the final days leading up to my big 10 mile race.

As if all of the above wasn't enough, the Fibromyalgia has been pretty pissed off the last couple of days too. It's been content to linger in my thighs and left ankle. I'm guess this is due to the lack of exercise. The chiropractor told me to postpone my boxing session next week, due to the continued neck pain (and I will) but do hope to get back to somewhat of a normal routine as of Monday, at 6 am. Not hope...I will. As Jillian Michael's said...saying you will try is giving yourself an excuse to fail. I will not try to get up at 6 am on Monday, but simply will get up at 6 am on Monday.

The race is this Saturday and I have to admit, my feelings on that are pretty mixed right now. I'm doubting whether or not I'll be able to run all 10 miles. If I have to walk any portion of it, that will be failure as far as I'm concerned. Walking isn't RUNNING a 10 mile race. I'm looking forward to getting it over with, looking forward to running for the sake of running again, and not because I'm training.

Even though I know I have support from my friends and family, I admit I am disappointed I won't have a familiar face to cheer me on from the other side of the finish line. Seems it might be almost anti-climatic to complete such a feat (a feat for me at least) and not have a friend there to share a celebratory hug with, give a high five to or even, I admit, maybe even share a tear with and take some pre and post run pictures with.

But, despite all of the recent events, I will run the race. I am undettered!

Stay tuned for the results next week!

Note to self....

Do not swim into the wall of the pool.

OK, so by now I guess it's getting out. I did something stupid and am embarrassed to even tell people.

I swam face first into the side of a pool.

No, I didn't dive into the pool. I was swimming across the short end of the pool with my scuba mask on and I guess it distorted my perception, as I simply didn't see the wall and swam full force, into it. If it weren't for my scuba mask, I'd probably have a broken nose and my forehead would be split open.

To say that I felt the impact of my head pressing into my spine would be an understatement. The pain was immediate and although I couldn't really move my head up and down too much, I could move it left to right. I hoped that the pain would go away and continued to swim a bit off and on, trying to ignore the pain. I wasn't really concerned about a concussion, because I didn't hit my head, but my face. My concern was the possibility of compressing a nerve or herniating a disc.

It didn't take long for the headache to set in and it continued on through to Tuesday. At that point, I called the chiropractor to tell them what happened and he suggested I come in for an x-ray. By the time I got there, I was nauseous and thought I was going to be sick. Wednesday came around and I was told that my x-rays were clean with no fractures, but driving, elevators and stairs made me sick and my headache had not dissipated.

By now, it's been 48 hours and for the 2nd time that day, my good friend Tracy recommended that I should call my regular MD because the nausea wasn't normal. Thankfully, I happen to be dating a resident neurosurgeon andafter talking to him, I decided to go to the ER. I was told this was something I should have done on Monday. Well, I swam into the wall of the pool. Obviously, I wasn't thinking all that clearly!

Tracy agreed to be my chauffeur for the evening and drove me to St. Joseph's Hospital in Towson. This would be my 3rd visit in three years. Although this was my longest wait in their ER ever, I have to admit, it still wasn't all that bad. We arrived around 9 pm and left around midnight. As usual, the staff were very nice and helpful. After an exam and a CT scan, it was determined that I had a concussion and was sent home with prescriptions for the pain and nausea and suggested a couple of days of rest.

Sadly, it actually took more time to get the pain prescription filled than it did to get through the ER. After last nights vicodine wore off, the headache returned and I was up at 6 am this morning. Worked out well I suppose as I had to wait for Comcast to come fix my DVR box. They arrived bright and early at 7:30 am and was out the door 20 minutes later. By 8 am, I was at Walgreens dropping off my prescriptions in hopes of relief. By 8:35 am, I found out there was a problem with my pain prescription and no such relief would be had for the next 8 hours as I repeatedly called the pharmacy to see if they'd reached someone at the hospital to give them the required DEA#. By 3 pm I gave up on the pharmacy getting what they needed and called my physician to call in the prescription. Relief finally came around 5 pm. Score again for the Good Dr!

So here I sit, updating my blog and hoping within a few days, I'll be back to running. This is yet another set back with the training for my 10 mile race, which is only a couple of weeks away. Let's hope I make it.