Run #4 Lolas Half Marathon - 13.1

I dont know what emotions seasoned and expierenced runners feel when they run a long distance but man oh man have my emotions been across the board.

So i'm a little neurotic when it comes to being early for a race.  I like to get there at least an hour before the race starts.  I need time to use the potty a couple times, run around, warm up and stretch and to relax.  I think I was driving my friend Jess crazy because she decided she didnt want to get up at the crack of dawn to ride with me!  I don't blame her!

Friday night, the night before the race I thought I would be super nervous and not be able to sleep (the night before the Hot Chocolate race I was up till 2AM with nerves), this was not the case.  I was alseep by 10PM and infact I slept right through my alarm!  As I was driving to Waconia I started getting nervous.

I was definately early, but that helped to calm me down.  I ran a few blocks to warm up, got some good long stretches in and was able to potty three times before the lines got crazy long.

I lined up with 2:30 pacer, thinking that I know at this point thats a little agressive but lets see how long I can keep her in my sights.

As the race started, I put my playlist on and away I went.  I was able to keep up with the pacer for the first 5 miles and felt really good.  Then things started getting a little hilly, I talked to a couple people that lived near there and they were like oh yeah the hills are fun!!!!  The HILLS WERE NOT FUN!!!!  The hills were evil.  The course was well marked, and it was a great day till the sun came out.

I got really hot at mile 5 and started to feel sick, to the point that I wanted to quit.  I kept telling myself when I get to the relay exchange I am going to tell them I need to stop.  I got to 6.5 where the exchange was and decided to keep moving, I came this far I couldnt stop.

At this point were actually running along the lake and its beautiful, the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing and it was blowing the nasty fish stink all across me!  Again I was asking myself why i was doing this.  As I looked up I saw a couple of hawks that just kept circling ( I called them the death eaters, meaning if I stopped they were going to eat me up!)

Mile 8 I started to feel great again, minus the HILLS.  Those Hills totally sucked.  I hit mile 9 and thought woohoo I did a 15K!!    At mile 10 I ran in to a young lady who was on the side of the road crying. I had seen her a few time during the race, I would pass her, she would pass me but she seemed fine.  I stopped to talk to her and she told me her story and it was a very emotional one that had me tearing up.  We ended up walking, jogging, talking together for the last 3 miles and before I knew it we were back in town and getting ready to cross the finish line.

I finished my race!  I crossed the line at 3:03!  I did it, it felt great and I can now buy gear that says 13.1

Doctors.....

So I mentioned that I hurt my knee, well it was 2 weeks before my half-marathon and still my knee was hurting like crazy, swollen and I was afraid that I wouldnt be able to run my race (the one that i have been busting my butt for).

So after seeing my GP and doing the xrays, mri and ultrasound and feeling no better I decided to self refer myself to an Ortho.  I heard great things about Twin City Othopedic and decided that I needed to get some answers.

I called in, made my appt and met with Dr. Wolfe.  Dr Wolfe was awesome.  He took some new xrays of my knee and did some tests and then told me that I basically have little cartlidge in my knee and that when I twisted it, I casued a trama too it that caused the swelling.  He also said that its kind of the facts of life and its gonna be there.

So after talking with him about my exercise options (he kind of yelled by not yelling about the intensity levels I was maintaining for my work outs), and then we decided to drain my knee.  It sounded gross, looked gross, and after removing 66cc's of fluid and having a cortisone injection my knee looked and felt like a brand new knee again.

2 Weeks to race day!

Run #3 Remember the Fallen 5K

So I have a month left till my half marathon.  My knee is still bugging me....Did I mention that oh yeah I hurt my knee.  Something happened during my long run on Saturday and my left knee just blew up on me.  It hurt to walk, hurt to bend, hurt to do just bout anything.  It caused my calf to swell and the whole nine yards.

After going in for an MRI and an Ultrasound they found no ligament damage and said rest for a week and you'll be good to go.

So I rested and while I was resting I came across this website www.virtualstrides.com .  This is a place where you can sign up for the race that they have going on that month.  You sign up for the distance your going to run and you run it.  They send you a bib, your track your run and time and then you upload the results on their page.  They send you a medal for completeing the race and the money for entering to to a particular chairty for that month.  The race for May was the Remember the Fallen, anyone that has served in any branch of the military has my utmost respect and this race sounded like a good one.  The proceeds went to Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

About the Charity: The Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) was established in 1980 after a daring attempt to rescue 53 American hostages in Iran tragically ended when a helicopter and a C-130 aircraft collided, killing eight American heroes and leaving 17 children without fathers. What started as a battlefield promise to take care of those children has become the noble cause of the SOWF.

The SOWF ensures full financial assistance for a post-secondary degree from an accredited two or four-year college, university, technical or trade school, as well as family and educational counseling, including in-home tutoring, to the surviving children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel who lose their lives in the line of duty. The foundation also provides immediate financial assistance and support to ensure that severely wounded personnel are able to have their loved ones at their bedside during recovery.

I completed my race (with a still very swollen knee, the dr lied its not all better) in 34 mins.