A Pink Pixie Princess - Complete!

[Ariel484]

That's pretty much how I'm starting to feel about running in general. Money is now something that exists only to buy running stuff. Food, bills, and non-running clothes aren't important, right?

Seriously though. Running is not a cheap hobby, no matter what people say!

Yes. Exactly. Because store credit is something you can only use to buy things, so not using it would be like throwing out money, which is stupid. So buy more things!!

It's just the wise thing to do!

Yay for unexpected trips!

Sounds like training is going well ... and now that you've got the whole "bring the right shoes and pants" thing down, I think you're in a really good place to stay successful! (Although I think the weather is really making it easy to run outside ... we're having similar weather in NY and I've barely used my winter running gear).

Yes, this is 2 days in a row now with the right shoes/pants combination. I'm on a hot streak over here.

This weather is AMAZING! Perfect running weather. I wish it was always like this...

Keep it up. Looks like you're doing a great job!

Thanks!

Great update again. LOVING that luck o' the Irish outfit. Adorable!! And the nerd shirt is also fantastic. Is that one InB as well?

Thanks! Yes, the nerd shirt is from INKnBURN! Their Halloween collection from this year. It's paired with red plaid tights.

The weather has been crazy and great. We ran on Saturday and it was 56 degrees when we started out. Couldn't believe I was in a skirt and short-sleeve shirt for a run in mid-December.

Isn't it so awesome?! It makes it so much easier to get out the door when the weather is like this!

 

[ZellyB]

Seriously though. Running is not a cheap hobby, no matter what people say!

Word.

I remember when I first started running thinking it would be cheap. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Word.

I remember when I first started running thinking it would be cheap. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

This x1000! All you need is a single pair of shoes and you're good to go (I said to my wife 3.5 years ago).... It's just running after all. What else could you need?

 

[SarahDisney]

Running is not a cheap hobby, no matter what people say!

I remember when I first started running thinking it would be cheap. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Back in the day I used to run in long sleeve t-shirts and sweatpants. No idea how I managed that one. I keep saying I'm going to just run in a regular shirt and sweatpants and then I think about how gross it will be ... no thank you.

(Also, I think that full-price, my running shoes cost about as much as the rest of my shoes combined)

 

[Ariel484]

Word.

I remember when I first started running thinking it would be cheap. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Riiiiiiiiiiiight. How clueless we all were.

This x1000! All you need is a single pair of shoes and you're good to go (I said to my wife 3.5 years ago).... It's just running after all. What else could you need?

If you're me...alllll of the cute clothes!

Back in the day I used to run in long sleeve t-shirts and sweatpants. No idea how I managed that one. I keep saying I'm going to just run in a regular shirt and sweatpants and then I think about how gross it will be ... no thank you.

Seriously! I ran the Disneyland 5K in a cotton t-shirt and it was awful. Tech shirts or nothing else!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

If you're me...alllll of the cute clothes!

I don't have quite the running wardrobe you have, but I'd also say I'm probably a lot closer than you think. (Ask my wife, LOL!)

Her: ANOTHER Singlet!
Me: Yea, well you know, you see.... umm... "insert good reason here".

 

[LSUlakes]

I'm in need of new running shorts and a few shirts. The problem with the shorts is they seem to continue getting shorter... I'll blind people with the whiteness of my thighs. Yall are also, correct in thinking the cost of running... Shoes are the only expensive thing I'll need I said... Oh, but I need a new pair every 300-350 miles and I'm running 40 mpw... A watch, socks @ $10/pair and on and on. We haven't even talked about race fees and travel... I think hunting may save me money.

 

[Ariel484]

I don't have quite the running wardrobe you have, but I'd also say I'm probably a lot closer than you think. (Ask my wife, LOL!)

Her: ANOTHER Singlet!
Me: Yea, well you know, you see.... umm... "insert good reason here".

My husband was more concerned about the purses but I have culled my collection quite a bit over the last few months...he hasn't said anything about the running clothes...YET.

I'm in need of new running shorts and a few shirts. The problem with the shorts is they seem to continue getting shorter... I'll blind people with the whiteness of my thighs. Yall are also, correct in thinking the cost of running... Shoes are the only expensive thing I'll need I said... Oh, but I need a new pair every 300-350 miles and I'm running 40 mpw... A watch, socks @ $10/pair and on and on. We haven't even talked about race fees and travel... I think hunting may save me money.

OMG...I don't even want to think about what I have spent on race fees and travel. Someone just totaled up their costs in the runDisney section of the boards (or maybe it was a different board?)...nope, ignorance is bliss.

 

[Ariel484]

A Little Freakout For Your Wednesday

Things have taken a turn here, and not for the better.

Last week I mentioned that I was having some back pain. I was able to run through it and thought it was getting better, but it's been lingering.

Today I woke up and the pain was still there. I got my running clothes on and make the drive into work, all the way wondering if maybe it would be beneficial to take today off. But I remembered that last week the running helped loosen my back up, so I decided to give it a shot. I started up the treadmill, took a couple of steps and immediately stopped the workout. It's just not happening.

I have a history of back problems stemming back to about 8th grade and have thrown it out pretty badly a couple of times - most recently at the end of July (what is going on now is not as bad as it was in July). After the July episode, I decided that enough was enough: I was going to get serious about taking better care of myself. At 31, I should NOT be having back problems like this.

As I've been hobbling around over the past few days, I've been wondering - if this is an issue for me now, what about when I'm 40? 60? 80? What about when I'm pregnant? I have an almost 6-hour flight to California coming up...what is that going to do to my back? I should not have to worry about stuff like this.

Something was not working for me in July, and something is not working for me right now. Both times, I didn't do anything obvious to injure myself...the soreness just crept in until it became bad enough (occasionally in the form of spasms) that I needed to/need to take some time off.

And as I admitted defeat this morning and slunk over to a nearby mat to carefully stretch out, I thought about what I was doing when I started this thread 2 months ago...when I was consistently lifting 3 times each week, running 4 times each week and doing yoga. I remember feeling strong and healthy - I think I even said so here in the thread. Now I feel...I don't know. Weak and the tiniest bit broken, I guess.

All of this moping to say...something has to change. At this point I'm taking the rest of the week off (possible yoga tomorrow...super, super gently) and then re-evaluating from there. I'm sick of this!!

Vent over.

Continued in Next Post

 

[girliea]

A Little Freakout For Your Wednesday

Things have taken a turn here, and not for the better.

Last week I mentioned that I was having some back pain. I was able to run through it and thought it was getting better, but it's been lingering.

Today I woke up and the pain was still there. I got my running clothes on and make the drive into work, all the way wondering if maybe it would be beneficial to take today off. But I remembered that last week the running helped loosen my back up, so I decided to give it a shot. I started up the treadmill, took a couple of steps and immediately stopped the workout. It's just not happening.

I have a history of back problems stemming back to about 8th grade and have thrown it out pretty badly a couple of times - most recently at the end of July (what is going on now is not as bad as it was in July). After the July episode, I decided that enough was enough: I was going to get serious about taking better care of myself. At 31, I should NOT be having back problems like this.

As I've been hobbling around over the past few days, I've been wondering - if this is an issue for me now, what about when I'm 40? 60? 80? What about when I'm pregnant? I have an almost 6-hour flight to California coming up...what is that going to do to my back? I should not have to worry about stuff like this.

Something was not working for me in July, and something is not working for me right now. Both times, I didn't do anything obvious to injure myself...the soreness just crept in until it became bad enough (occasionally in the form of spasms) that I needed to/need to take some time off.

And as I admitted defeat this morning and slunk over to a nearby mat to carefully stretch out, I thought about what I was doing when I started this thread 2 months ago...when I was consistently lifting 3 times each week, running 4 times each week and doing yoga. I remember feeling strong and healthy - I think I even said so here in the thread. Now I feel...I don't know. Weak and the tiniest bit broken, I guess.

All of this moping to say...something has to change. At this point I'm taking the rest of the week off (possible yoga tomorrow...super, super gently) and then re-evaluating from there. I'm sick of this!!

Vent over.

Continued in Next Post

@Ariel484 So sorry this is going on. I wish I had words of wisdom and inspiration for you (goodness knows your posts have given me plenty of inspiration) but it's just rotten and it kinda sucks!

Here's hoping that this all works out for you

 

[ZellyB]

Oh, so sorry that you are feeling some injury and pain. It's so frustrating especially when you've been feeling strong and healthy. Taking a break is smart even though I know it can feel defeating. Get yourself some rest and maybe get it checked out with a physician if it doesn't improve some.

What's good is that you are physicially strong and healthy and yes, young! Those factors are a big deal and even if you do have to take a temporary break to rest and heal, all the work and conditioning you've done leading up to this will make recovery that much quicker and you'll come back stronger than before.

Sending you good healing thoughts!!

 

[Ariel484]

UPDATE: Feeling a little better (physically/emotionally/mentally) as the morning has gone on.

@Ariel484 So sorry this is going on. I wish I had words of wisdom and inspiration for you (goodness knows your posts have given me plenty of inspiration) but it's just rotten and it kinda sucks!

Here's hoping that this all works out for you

Thank you for the kind words. I really, really appreciate it.

Oh, so sorry that you are feeling some injury and pain. It's so frustrating especially when you've been feeling strong and healthy. Taking a break is smart even though I know it can feel defeating. Get yourself some rest and maybe get it checked out with a physician if it doesn't improve some.

Thanks Gisele. It's definitely frustrating more than anything...I was not in a good place about it this morning but I am feeling better as the day has been going on (taking 3 Advil may have something to do with that ). I HOPE I don't need a doctor...in the past when I have gone to docs for this they have given me pain killers and (when the spasms were bad) muscle relaxers, and I am definitely not that bad right now...but if it doesn't improve with rest I'll definitely be making an appointment.

What's good is that you are physicially strong and healthy and yes, young! Those factors are a big deal and even if you do have to take a temporary break to rest and heal, all the work and conditioning you've done leading up to this will make recovery that much quicker and you'll come back stronger than before.

THANK YOU for saying this. I needed to hear/read something like this - I know you're right and I probably shouldn't freak out so much.

Sending you good healing thoughts!!

Thanks friend.

 

[dmross]

Thanks for sharing the tough days along with the good. Great reminder for me that success is not accomplishing a goal without problems, but solving each problem on the way to what you want...

I've just lost 11 days due to bad upper respiratory infection, been very very down and stressed. I read your post, and then I did some math---realized that these two weeks represent less than 1 percent of my running career so far. Encouraged me to rethink my current mental state and rest while my body needs to rest.

Thank you for posting!! Best wishes to you for strength.

 

[Ariel484]

Thanks for sharing the tough days along with the good. Great reminder for me that success is not accomplishing a goal without problems, but solving each problem on the way to what you want...

I LOVE that quote! So true!

I've just lost 11 days due to bad upper respiratory infection, been very very down and stressed. I read your post, and then I did some math---realized that these two weeks represent less than 1 percent of my running career so far. Encouraged me to rethink my current mental state and rest while my body needs to rest.

Oh no! I hope that you are feeling better. That's a great point about how this is a small amount of running time lost in the grand scheme of things. In general I try to put a positive spin on things in this thread but I wrote that post quickly this morning when I was pretty down in the dumps. My mental state is much better now.

Thank you for posting!! Best wishes to you for strength.

Thank you so much for this nice post. I hope you are recovered from your sickness soon!!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm sorry to hear that you're not feeling great. I hope you're starting to feel better after taking some time off.

I hate to say this, but ... do you think that changing your plan could have contributed to the return of the back pain? I'm wondering if slowing down so much is hurting your back.
(To the people who know more than me ... is that possible?)

Whatever's happening, I hope you can figure it out and get better soon!

 

[Ariel484]

I'm sorry to hear that you're not feeling great. I hope you're starting to feel better after taking some time off.

Thanks Sarah. I already feel better than I did this morning, so that's encouraging.

I hate to say this, but ... do you think that changing your plan could have contributed to the return of the back pain? I'm wondering if slowing down so much is hurting your back.
(To the people who know more than me ... is that possible?)

I do think that changing things up is what caused this. My guess is it's a combination of the slower pace (and most likely my not having the correct form to run at that pace) along with cutting back on the lifting.

Whatever's happening, I hope you can figure it out and get better soon!

Thank you!! The kind words are very appreciated.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I hate to say this, but ... do you think that changing your plan could have contributed to the return of the back pain? I'm wondering if slowing down so much is hurting your back. (To the people who know more than me ... is that possible?)

It's definitely a possibility. Anytime you make changes to your running training plan you have the risk of increasing pain in new or old areas. In addition, as Shannon eluded to there is a technique to running slow that takes time to become accustom to. If your form is off, it can add stress to the body. If your shoes are old and have little to no cushion remaining it can add extra stress to the body. An important part of any training plan is to be flexible. If something isn't working, evaluate why you believe it wasn't working and try to approach the plan from a different angle. In my effort to ease her into running training safely from her back injury in the summer, I might have inadvertently made her back issues worse with paces too slow for her.

I agree that taking a break and resting is the best option. Shannon and I have talked elsewhere and maybe the training paces in Phase 2 would be more appropriate (paces can be used without actually using the plan as developed).

I wish you the best. Injuries are a bummer. But, I'm glad to see you are feeling better than you were this morning.

 

[Ariel484]

In my effort to ease her into running training safely from her back injury in the summer, I might have inadvertently made her back issues worse with paces too slow for her.

I hope you don't think I am throwing you under the bus or anything...I sort of felt I owed you a PM before posting because I didn't want to make it seem like I'm trying to place blame on you for this. I understand what your reasoning was with the Phase 1 paces - you were just going off of what I told you via PM. I should have recognized what was going on earlier, I think.

I wish you the best. Injuries are a bummer. But, I'm glad to see you are feeling better than you were this morning.

Thank you, and thanks for your help and advice!! I really appreciate it.

 

[FFigawi]

Hang in there. We all have temporary setbacks along the way. Rest and recover, and you'll be back out there before too long. Gentle yoga will help, if not for your back then your mind.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I hope you don't think I am throwing you under the bus or anything...I sort of felt I owed you a PM before posting because I didn't want to make it seem like I'm trying to place blame on you for this. I understand what your reasoning was with the Phase 1 paces - you were just going off of what I told you via PM. I should have recognized what was going on earlier, I think.

Thank you, and thanks for your help and advice!! I really appreciate it.

Don't worry, I'm not taking it like you "throwing me under the bus". Everyone is an experiment of one, which means, what works perfectly for one person may not work for another. Part of getting better as a runner, or anything in life for that matter, is finding what balance works best for you to maximize your potential. I do believe what we planned in Phase 2 will likely work well. We can always dial back the plan if you choose to when you feel the time is right.