Oh the joys of running. It is an addiction that will consume your life. When I wrote the first blog, I was watching a movie called Brittany Runs a Marathon. I cried through the entire movie, as I felt as if it was MY story. I am not spoiling the movie but at the end, there are photos of Brittany - the REAL Brittany. And then the real tears started flowing. I was sobbing. I knew it was based on a true story, but to see photos of this woman who was overweight, mocked by people in her life, professional and personal, who did not understand her struggles, and then she powered through to be victorious - it completely spoke to my journey. Whether running is your outlet or not, I highly recommend this movie.
So, my OCD is in full swing. At the end of February is my next set of races. Disney Princess 5K/10K on back-to-back days. I not only need to make sure I can do the mileage, but I need to make sure I can do the back-to-back days. But first the mileage... and on pace. Remember, at Disney you have to keep a 16:00 min/mile pace or they will sweep you in some of the races. Ultimately the 10K and larger races. Wednesday, January 22nd after a long day at work, it was time to see if I could complete the mileage. It was cold outside, and so I would complete the mileage at the gym. Also, I am not going to run by myself in the dark. Sorry. But in this day and age, it is just not worth it. Too many dangers out there. Safety first.
I was worried I would not make the mileage, my self-doubt crept in my head. Why? No clue. I had completed 2 half marathons, countless 5Ks, and here I am doubting myself. So I stopped my Apple watch after 3 miles, as I did not want to skew my pace if I slowed down. I immediately started it right back up for the second 3 miles, as I wanted to continue the mileage, and planned on analyzing the pace. Ultimately the final three miles had a better pace than the first 3. WHAT?!?!?! How can that be??? The average page overall is 17:21. Well above the 16:00 that is needed for Disney, BUT I am ok with that. I got the mileage in. My confidence is growing.... and so is my need for icing my knees.
I continue to walk daily with one of my best girlfriends, and cross-train with yoga and HIIT. Flexibility is going to be huge for making sure I do not get injured during my training, and the strength training is equally important. Plus, I cannot get out of my mind that I have to do this photo shoot for my fitness challenge before July. Once again - what the heck was I thinking???? At least I have next year's challenge already picked out - the marathon! If you have read my first book (well, that is the only book you would've read, seeing that I am still writing the second one...) you would know that I am much more concerned about being healthy than I am about the physical attributes of working out. This past week I had my 6 month endocrinology appointment. Short version - my thyroid hates me. Long version - thyroid affects weight, blood sugar, EVERYTHING you don't want it to. While the majority of my numbers looked great, two numbers - not so well. My weight, which I knew - 246. And my LDL - 117. So, let's celebrate these numbers for a minute. I had lost 4 pounds since the last blog. I am proud of that. My LDL level would be acceptable IF I did not have any health problems. But since I have a thyroid that hates me, this is not acceptable. My HDL (Good Cholesterol) is 49. THIS IS GOOD! Why is this important? I have never had it this high before. It has always run low. Proof that exercise pays off. But, the 117 is not good enough, so at 43, I am officially on my first statin. Just enough to take the edge off. This does not allow for me to slip - this allows for me to continue exercising, and hopefully it will take my LDL cholesterol level to the point that makes my Endocrinologist happy. As far as my thyroid level, it was extremely low, thus the weight. I am on a medicine called levothyroxine. This is to assist with the hypothyroidism. The level I am currently on is high, but it is not doing its job. Thus, no matter how much I exercise, or eat rabbit food, I will not lose weight. Hence, I have added another thyroid medicine. Leaving the doctor's office, I get a call from the orthopedic doctor's office asking if they could move up an appointment I had set up for a procedure called PRP (Platelet-rich plasma therapy). They will centrifuge plasma out of my blood and inject it into my knees. This will help accelerate the healing of my knees. I want to start this process ASAP, so this has encouraged me even more that I need to get out there and train this weekend... and so I did.
I got up this morning and did a 5K, tomorrow is my 10K. My average pace is getting better - 15:49. Let's see if I can keep that for the 10K! But the best part of this morning, was that Mom and Dad joined me at the gym! There is nothing better than working out with others.
As I type this blog, this is my current situation. Both knees are being iced, and the stim unit is running. I am doing all I can to keep the knees going. Band-aid on an amputation? Probably. But it is what it is. I guess there are worse addictions out there. But running is mine. Maybe one day I will hang up my Hokas. But today is not that day.
All of my love while racing out of my comfort zone - Clara
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