I'm pretty sure I have hit the proverbial wall in my training. The run that should feel easy and almost effortless, hurts and drags. Today was an "easy" 5 mile run. I was quite happy to get up and go. I should have known that it was going to be an ugly run the moment that I let the dogs outside and realized that the TWC's version of 56* was much colder than reality. I mean it was supposedly 16* warmer than the last few days, surely I could wear my arm warmers and a tee. Ummm no. It was too cold. As I've mentioned I am somewhat lacking in the Proper Attire For Running in Cooler Temps department. Moreover, I get all my stuff out the night before so that I don't have to search around in the dark for anything. Now I needed a jacket, or something. I finally settled on a fleece pullover. It was ok, but was far from ideal.
I was worried about Reina's feet, they still had not really had time to heal. At one point I had bought little booties for her, but I think I must have given them away. I spent a good half hour looking for them last night to no avail. So I improvised. I have these elastic reflective bands for the dogs, but I rarely put them on their ankles. I do have a few looped on to their collars though. So I dug into the lonely sock bin and found two socks and put them on Reina, held in place by reflective bands. Really I should have taken a picture, but it was really embarrassing for her. The first on came off at around mile 1. I had decided to run to the beach today- mostly for Reina's sake as well. I thought being on the sand would be gentler on those tootsies. Once in the sand I ended up taking off the other sock, it was just getting mucky and wet, and probably would do more damage than good. Running on the sand is hard. Especially when the tide is such that the only real choice is to run on the soft sand. After what was surely a mile I pulled out my phone to check how far I had gone. One. Half. Mile. I think I may have cursed at this point. When all else fails and I am not happy, my MO is to look for something to take a picture of. In this case it served a duel purpose in that I got to stop and rest.
Fortunately one of the dogs pooped, so I had to leave the soft sands and find a trash bin. Then I had to find a bench to sit on and dump the and out of my shoes. I'm pretty sure that is why my 3 mile split was 20 min.
Everything seemed to hurt on this run. We've been playing with various KT Tape applications on my left foot. If ever I feel any discomfort running it is usually on the bottom of my left foot, precisely where the tendon tore two years ago. The most recent variation seems to be good. I can feel the tape, so I am aware of my foot, but I dont really feel any pain. I even remember thinking about that somewhere during mile 2. I was thinking how cool it would be to be completely unaware of both of my feet. I briefly marveled at how unaware in was of my right foot. Reality soon set in. Mile 4 was all about my right foot. And my hips. And my lower back. Oh and the top of my right foot. None of this was at the same time, but it was as though all my parts and pieces wanted to be sure to make themselves known. Eventually I made it home. I think my average pace was around 14 min. It was long & slow and felt horrible. I am pretty sure this is supposed to happen. Every once in a while anyway. I remember the swimming version of it anyway, so the former athlete in me knows that this is now a mental game to get through the physical. I know I can do it & I will. Tomorrow is a 3 mile easy run. I do hope that those 3 miles are as easy as Last Friday's 4.5 hard.
On to a totally different topic now. I have been on one heck of a journey for the last 3 years. It was in October of 2009 that I first consulted with my surgeon and subsequently made a life changing decision and embarking on a sometimes painful, often uncomfortable journey. The first part of that journey began Dec 22, 2009. On that day I got my braces on.
(I will insert a photo here, but I have to get to my desktop to get the proper one)
I do have a blog that I started but kept private when I started this whole thing. I will open it up soon and link the handful of posts at some point. This photo is not quite accurate though, I was pulling my lower jaw forward in order to show my bottom teeth. My natural bite was such that my upper teeth covered my lowers.
Better, but still not done. Major upper & lower jaw surgery on March 21, recover, recover, recover. And now here I am. 8 months post op. Still in recovery mode, but I get to complete one part of the journey.
My last photo before heading in to the office.
I actually got my lower braces off 3 weeks ago, but that is not as much fun to show off, plus, those uppers were still there, so I still had braces.
When you are a grown up getting your braces off, you get to choose, water bottle filled with candy, red, or white wine. That was an easy choice!
I admit I was having some fun taking these pictures so I could tease Ben.
But finally, here I am. And I have to say, I cried. As soon as Maria (the assistaint who has been mine through out this whole process) took them off and sat back and looked at me. Before I had even seen myself, she smiled and told me how good my smile looked, and I cried. I can not even begin to say how good it feels to be at this point. I can breath, my teeth all meet and touch where they are supposed to and it worked. Surgery worked.
So despite hitting that wall & feeling every aching muscle from the waist down today. I am so incredibly happy and so very thankful that I am now that much closer to the finish line!
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