Healing What's Broken...

As a girl in a constant state of busted-footedness, I've tried a lot of methods to keep my long distance running going. I've had plantar fascitis for several years and I live a regimen of stretch-run-stretch-motrin-ice-stretch-night splint-stretch. It's exhausing, but I love running, so I make due. The past couple months, however, I've noticed a lot more pain to the back of my heel. And not just in the morning or after a run either- for the first time, I'm having sharp pain if I just squeeze the sides of my heel. Booo.

I went to see a Family Practice doctor and convinced her to give me a referal to see a podiatrist, and hopefully I will be able to get an appointment for some time in the next few weeks. Gotta love Tricare for the hurry-up and wait! I am hoping that I can get a custon orthotic to assist me with the amount of miles I want to put in (usually between 20-30 depending on the week of training I'm in).  In the meantime, however, I was told sternly to not run. Pfft. This lady obviously does not know me.

Me, beer, football, icepack. Just a normal state of affairs at this point.

So I stepped up my game in preparation for the Virginia is for Lovers 14K that is on Saturday (12 Feb). I know I won't be able to run the entire thing, but I definitely don't want to walk the enture thing either, so I did a jog/run/walk combo on Sunday before the Super Bowl, and during the running, I felt good! I did 5 miles, which is around half my run next Saturday. After the workout was over? Not so good. The pain and swelling brought on ice, motrin, and a generous foot rub from the husband. 

On a brighter note, I bought some amazingly cheap (on sale) running skirts from Running Skirts and I can't wait for them to arrive. I am especially pumped about a green plaid one that I'm thinking of wearing for the Shamrock Half Marathon in March. Sure, I'm still chunky...but I gotta show off the legs I've worked so damned hard on!

Fat Girl on a Diet

Disclaimer: I curse. If this bothers you, exit now. I'm just saying. It's only gonna go downhill from here.
So back in my MySpace days, I used to write a little piece called "Fat Girl on a Diet". This usually meant that I was motivated to do something to spur me off my couch and work on killing my inner fat kid. Needless to say, this never lasted very long, and as soon as you could say "Can you bring us more chips and salsa?" I was back to being a lazy-ass fat girl.
I'm happy to say that 2010 has been the happy kick in the rear that I needed to get my shit together, and thankfully I've stuck to it for nine months and lost 30 pounds of ick. It hasn't been easy or effortless for me; my doctor recently diagnosed me with a condition that had 'weight gain' as one of the main symptoms. Most people would be like, "woohoo! This shit isn't even my FAULT! Pass the cheesecake."
I'm not most people.
So the past few months, I've had a lot of folks either ask me questions or comment to me, and I decided to dust off FGOAD so I could respond to everyone.

• Wow you've lost a lot of weight, huh? You're so lucky!

Um...no. I'm not. My body is not suddenly magical and took it upon itself to drop weight while I chilled out and ate cheeseburgers (mmm...cheeseburgers). I completely overhauled my diet. I eat more fiber than any one person should ever have to, and I write down everything I eat. Most days I hate this. Food journals, while constructive and essential to losing weight, are a huge pain in the ass. But I do it and I write what I ate whether or not I'm proud of eating it (damn you, pirouette cookies)

• I want to lose weight but I'm not a runner. You run, so that's why you lose weight.

Again, fucking wrong. Running is not grounds for a free-for-all buffet. I have weeks where I eat too much and it completely cancels out the 25-30 miles I ran. Those weeks suck ass. Eating is 1/2 of your issue; you are still gonna need to move your fat ass though. Swim, walk, bike, fucking somersault, I don't give a shit. You need to move more. If you park in the closest parking spot to whatever you're going to, you're doing it wrong.

• I'm just always gonna have this gut/fat ass/roll. I've always been fat so that's not going to change.

Okay, you're just a dumbass. Get the fuck out of my note and delete me off your friends because I'm better not knowing you. Seriously. If that's your attitude, GTFO.

• I don't know how to get started. How did you get started?

Honestly, I was inspired by a friend of mine and started by stopping by Weight Watchers. I didn't think I could do this on my own and if you need a fatty support group, this is the way to go. I still pay the dues although I only show up sporatically at best (Sorry Cheryl, I know I suck) but they give you a way of looking at things that could help. Once I picked a few fitness goals, they kind of overruled me going to Weight Watchers anymore.

• Buy new pants! Your pants are too big!

Fuck you, pants are expensive! Who has $30 per pair to just wear the new pants for 1-2 months? I'm broke, ya'll. Unless you are buying me pants you'll just have to look at my saggy ones until I'm done losing weight.

• How much do you want to lose?

My goal weight is about 25-30 pounds less than where I am right now. So basically I'm 1/2 way there. A year ago, the idea of 60 pounds to lose was almost too much for me to think about so I didn't. I set goals- 10, 19, 30, 40 (current goal), 50, 60. Those are my milestones but I have no set timeline. I might orchestrate this, but I can't make the weight go exactly when I want it to.
Anyways, there are a few of the things people have asked/said. Feel free to ask me questions; just know that I'm gonna be honest and if that's hard to hear, then I'm sorry.
I'll leave you with this ~ Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.
<3

S.

Christmastown Dash 8K at Busch Gardens

Miles: 5
Total Time: 55 mins
11:04 pace

This was a recovery run, following the Surfin' Santa the day before. I took my time, even stopping to take photos and use the in-park restroom (potty lines at the start were pretty bad). It was very cold (34 degrees) and windy (29 mph) and snow kicked up a bit to add an extra chill to you, but it was a really pretty course. My favorite part was a bridge with Marines in their dress blues on either side, cheering everyone on. I high-fived every one of them like a champ and told them that they rocked--I know they were freezing!
Tonight the knees are toast, but I'm very proud of my 15 miles this weekend.

VB Surfin' Santa 10-miler (PR)

Miles: 10
Total Time: 1:46
10:34 pace
This was a wonderful run for me- killed my previous PR by about 15 minutes, and didn't stop running the entire 10 miles (a first for me as well). Throughout the run I just felt really good. Afterward, my heel and knee pain increased, but while I actually ran, I felt nothing but joy.

Blue Moon Wicked 10K in VB

Miles: 6.2
Total Time: 71 mins
11:27 pace

This was definitely not a race for PR for me, haha. Running in a loofah costume was a blast- not too heavy, but wind was a bit of a challenge. Felt great; ran with my girlfriend for her very first 10K so I stuck by her side to help motivate her. The after-party was amazing, and I did yell to a girl with the DMer sign (if this was one of you, I was the purple loofah crossing the finish line). Loved everything about this run, and will definitely do Wicked again next year!!

VB Run Like a Girl 10K

Miles: 6.2

Total Time: 74 mins

11:54 pace

There are a few things you don't want to do on a trail run- get a 'present' from mother nature, and take a nasty fall. I managed to do both. Welcome back to running, Stace.

I signed up for the Run Like a Girl, which raises money toward Ovarian Cancer research and a cure. This seemed fitting for me, since I just had ovarian surgery to remove cysts (I should get my results on Nov 15th). I'm only 2 1/2 weeks post-surgery, but I was really ambitious and signed up for the 10k vs. the 5k for my first run. Probably not the best decision, but hey- I'm me. :)
Weather was perfect; race time probably ran about 58-60 degrees and sunny. The first mile flew by, and since I was on flat concrete, I barely felt it. Then we turned onto the trail, which was hilly and included a lot of sand and tree roots. I took it slow, since I swore I wouldn't push too hard my first day back, but on one of the turns, I found myself face-down on the trail. WTH? I had caught a well-hidden tree root and fell hard. Embarassed, I jumped up, convinced no one saw me, and treked on. I ended up feeling it in the same knee I hurt during RnR in September, but I alternated running and walking until I hit the finishline at a personal worst 1:13:30. So that's what that feels like, heh.
I grabbed some water and reached for a banana, when two women came up behind me and asked if I was okay. Apparently they saw my fall ("You fell hard!") and worried about my knee. I convinced them I was okay, and the one lady hugged me and told me how inspirational she found it that I just got up and kept going, which really made me feel better about the whole thing. It wasn't until I got home that I found a large gash on my leg, but I know that I'm just fine. Only one way to go from here...

VB Rock 'n Roll Marathon 2010

So this wasn't the PR I hoped to set- but it definitejavascript:void(0)ly gives me a 'Time to Beat'! I slipped around the 5K water stop on all the cups on the ground and tweaked my knee just enough to be a hinderance. I sucked it up and kept on, and my running partner Wayne S. and I hit the 10K mark at about 64:50.

Around mile 7 though, the knee wasn't really supporting my body weight well. I was really struggling with running at all, let alone keeping my pace. I told Wayne to carry on and kick some butt, and I finished by alternating run/walk intervals to the finish.

My knee is definitely swollen and sore tonight, and I had muscles cramp out there that I didn't even know existed, but I wouldn't change the experience for anything. Nine months to a Half-marathon? You bet your ass I did. ;)

My Garmin died around the 9th mile, but the info online is as follows- 5K(31:34), 10K(1:04:43); 10 mi (1:58:25), 11.4 mi (2:17:56), 12.3 mi (2:30:54) Final (02:41:14).

I'm with Steve on this one- I LOVED seeing the Daily Mile runners show out today. Seeing the Daily Mile sign at the start was a huge highlight for me!!! Love ya'll!!