Saturday 6 mile run - first bad day

As Annie and I headed up to the College of Marin for our 6 mile run we were talking about how the mood in the group has shifted slightly. I think we are all hitting our first wall and finding the motivation is harder and our bodies are starting to complain.

So we do a 1/2 mile warm up and stretch and then head out on the coarse. I'm already feeling worse than I normally do and having to walk for a few seconds here and there more than I usually need to, so the day is not off to a happy start. We trot along and make it to the big hill, which at the top is the turn around point. I am not good with the inclines, much less hills right now and so I have to walk up them. I am so impressed with Annie, she is so mentally strong and just looks down at the ground and keeps her feet moving and makes it all the way, every time, without having to walk - GO ANNIE!

Before the hill I was noticing my knees were tired... similar to after Wednesday nights run. After trotting down the hill, which down is never good for sore knees, I noticed it even more. I got to the water stop, which is about 1.25 miles from the finish and the mentor asked me how it was going. I mentioned my knees and he said to make sure I talk to the doc when I get back.

From the water spot I tried to continue a slow pace, but everytime I started my right knee would just really hurt and I didn't want to force myself in case of making it worse. We still have a month and a 1/2 of training! So I walked in the last mile. :( I was really bummed. It's challenging enough to just be out there doing it and just trying to finish, much less working around pain or getting injured.

Luckily today we had the honor of having Dr. Dave Hannaford DMP., a sports podiatrist who specializes in runner injuries. He gave an injury prevention talk and then if we were having specific problems, he would talk to us and watch us run. I told him about my knee and he agreed it is an IT band issue - some info for you if your interested in the details is in the post below.

He watched me run and said that although I do pronate (very comman, I roll a bit to the side when my foot lands and need shoe with support to prohibit the pronation), which I do have and he said my shoes are doing a good job with my feet - but my knees kind of jerk a bit to the side (sounds like i run like a spazz, but he said it is subtle, lol) So although a knowledgable running shoe sales person would see that I pronate and say I need the supportive shoe, Dr. Dave said I am a bit "unusual" - sigh... figures... and should go get a neutral supportive shoe and that the less support will help my knees not jerk outward. He said I should use the new shoe until I feel any different pain and if I do, switch back to the supportive ones. I may have to switch back-n-forth a bit during my training while my legs/knees are conditioning.

I went home and iced both my knees and they are still a bit sore. I will ice more tomorrow too. I am a little discourage I have to admit, but I'm optimistic and trust Dr. Dave. My new shoes should arrive by Friday for Saturday's run, keeping my fingers crossed they do the trick! Wish me luck!!!

IT band - what is it?

Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is the most common cause of pain on the outside of the knee in runners, with an incidence as high as 12% of all running-related overuse injuries. Although it is not difficult to diagnose, it can be a challenge to treat, especially in higher mileage runners who place enormous loads on their bodies.

The IT band is not a muscle. It is a thick band of tissue called fascia that starts on the outside of the hip, passes down the outside of the thigh and inserts into the side of the knee cap and the shin bone. As the knee bends, tension acting on the band, causes it to be pulled backwards over the bony prominence of the thigh bone on the outside of the knee.

Why it hurts:

When the knee straightens, tension on the band pulls it forward again. A thin bursa, or fluid filled sac, separates the ITB from the femoral epicondyle, to decrease friction between these structures. Repetitive bending and straightening of the knee can cause inflammation of the bursa and the band itself, or irritation of the bone due to recurrent rubbing or impingement.

What causes it:

A number of factors have been related to ITBS in runners, but it is important to understand the cause is probably multifactorial. Weekly mileage will interact with a combination of biomechanical issues, training strategies, as well as variables imposed by an individual’s specific muscle imbalances; once critical threshold is met, tissue breakdown will occur. It is not necessary to sustain a specific traumatic injury to the knee for the ITB to become a problem.

SYMPTOMS:

- Pain from the ITB is easily recognized as a sharp or burning pain on the outside of the knee when running. Typically, an athlete is unable to “run through” ITB pain.

• Early on, symptoms will subside shortly after the run is over, but will return with the next run, usually after a reproducible amount of time.

• Later, if there has been no positive intervention, the pain may come on sooner and persist with walking or going up and down stairs.

• Tenderness may be felt on the outside of the knee when pressure is applied, especially when the knee is slightly bent.

• There is not usually any swelling associated with this problem, but the band itself may be thickened.

Dr. Dave stressed that this is not something you want to try and run through, like some soreness when training. Very common in group runs, runners will want to push through the pain, stay with the group and finish the run. You could end up having a more permanent injury doing that.

Donating REALY does pay off!

A message from a dear friend of mine:

"My niece who is 21 is a Hodgkins Disease survivor of 1 year now. My husband, Mike, has CML, a chronic form of leukemia. I give to them frequently because research is key. Mike is benefiting from a miraculous drug, in my opinion, and I wish more people would have its benefits and stay as healthy as he has for as long as he has. He was diagnosed in October 2001. I am thankful every day for the health he can still claim, and we are much more hopeful than we were at first about his prognosis."

Your donations to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society make the research possible for "miraculous drugs" that have helped my friend's husband.

DONATE in '08

If you haven't had a chance to donate for 2008 charitable deductions and would like to:

Shelby's Donation Page

Thank you everyone :)

WED 12/10 - Track Night

Warm ups are getting a little better I think! I no longer start running and want to rest/stretch after 1/2 a mile :)

We did a similar exercise as last week. 2 laps, quick rest, repeat... than 1.5 laps, quick rest, repeat.

On a scale of 1-10 we are supposed to run at about a 6. Faster than we normally run our Saturday runs, but not a sprint where you can't keep a steady pace for all the laps. The second 2 lap run I started out a bit faster and decided to just see how that would work out... after the first lap I was like "this is kinda hard"... but I knew I had to keep my pace for the second lap. I did (yes, woo hoo), but sadly I have no idea what my time was. Our coach had like 5 things going on and quoted me 5:40 for my first lap and 6:20 for my second and as I ran a 3:10 lap last week (slow and steady pace) I KNEW it was way faster than that. Oh well.

I talked with one of the coaches about my knees feeling a little sore, not in pain, but I wanted to be sure there wasn't anything I should be doing or not doing and what to look out for so I don't find myself with an injury. After he confirmed that they just felt sore, he said, "to be honest, your body is probably in a bit of shock" - I said, "oh you have no idea!". So yeah, my body is sore and just freaking out, haha... and I just need to make sure the soreness doesn't get worse or turn into any kind of pain.

Monday 12/08 - buddy run

Monday morning again?!? Once I'm up, it's kind of nice just to throw on my workout clothes and pull my hair up and go. This is only nice if I have packed my bag with work clothes, etc. the night before... I can only imagine what I would look like for work if I tried to pack at 5am, haha...kind of like dressing in the dark!

It was ok, we ran 2 miles. My body felt a little heavy and tired and I think that was due to our big run on Saturday and then me literally not moving all day Sunday. I was probably just really stiff.

BIG news as you may have seen the post before - Tuesday night a donation came in to put me over my 1/2 way point for my fundraising! Only $953 to go!!!

1/2 WAY TO MY FUNDRAISING GOAL!!!

I've passed the 1/2 way point!! Some really great friends donated the last few days and have now put me at $1,047! Woo HOOOO! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

I missed our honoree potluck last Saturday, but we are reminded of what we are running for and why we are working so hard at our fundraising. Every Saturday we have someone offer to tell us who they run for, it's really emotional for me, but also very inspiring to do my part, if it is just raising $2,000, to help people.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. Click here to see where your donations are going.

Fundraising

Thank you so much everyone who not only have contributed to my fundraising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, but who are also reading parts or all of my blog and offering words of encouragement! I appreciate it so much and it really helps me to keep going, thank you!!

I understand it is not only Christmas time, but also a straining time on everyone's wallets. Those who are interested in donating but maybe haven't yet for whatever reason, please let me tell you that every little bit helps! If everyone I knew donated just $10 - I would $600 closer to my goal. As it stands I am still $1,200 away from my mandatory fundraising goal and need to reach it by the end of January. It's for a really great cause - yes, I am a "cause" if you have ever seen me attempt anything athletic ;) - but Team in Training raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for research and family assistance to those with blood cancers. (Shelby's TNT donation page)


An estimated 138,530 people in the United States will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2008. New cases of leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma account for 9.6 percent of the 1,437,180. If you'd like to learn more click here.

SATURDAY 12/06 - coach run

My Mom arrived Wednesday night for a Xmas visit since I won't be going anywhere this year. Thursday and Friday I took off work and we had fun in the city... Irish coffees, Beach Blanket Babylon, Union Square, Ferry Building, Hays Valley window shopping, lots of yummy food... it was a fun time!

However, after going to bed about 1am after going to Top of the Mark, I got to wake up at 7:00 and go to Sports Basement to meet up with TNT for our Saturday coach run. I didn't have my car this weekend, so thanks to Annie for picking me up and Angie, needing to leave right after then run also, for taking me home, I was able to go. I would have attempted to run by myself but I can guarantee you that I would not have done 5 miles by myself! Time: 1:15 - not fast, but not too shabby for me either :)

We ran from Sports Basement down to the water and down towards Fisherman's Warf and turned around, 5 miles total. As always I had to walk for about 30 seconds here and there, but overall I think I am doing pretty darn good! Annie, awesome lady, ran the entire way, even up the hill we had!! We still stay together for the most part, I am about 10 feet behind her when I walk a bit, but I can usually catch up to her when I start running again. Thank goodness for running buddies!!! In the picture are some of our coaches: Coach Jeri, Coach Bill, Coach Arthur and Coach Gigi.

WED - track night

Track night Wednesday:

A little over 1 mile warm up then stretching.

Then we got into groups and were to run 2 times around the track at our 10k pace - mine was supposed to be 3:15 per lap. With all the energy of the group, Annie & I went a little too fast... 2:80. This wouldn't be a bad thing if you were stopping after the 2 laps and we weren't so we knew we should slow it down a tad. We stopped for 3 minutes to stretch and then the group lined up to take off again to do 2 more laps, same pace. We took it down a notch and came in at our 3:15 pace so that felt much better. Same thing, stop for 3 minutes to stretch and take off again. This was our last 800 at the 10k pace, then the last lap, only 1, was to be at our 5K pace and I believe mine was calculated to be at about 3:05 and we came in at 2:90? I can't remember now, but it was harder than it sounds ;)