New 5k PR Post Injury

NEW PR for me post injury...I think we will start with Thursday night to give you a little back ground on how the week was going sleep wise.

My stomach had been bothering me all day Thursday for some odd reason so I didn't sleep too well that night. On Friday morning my mom and I drove to Medford to pick up my race bib and race goodies and then stopped off to have lunch at Red Robin. (yum) I had a headache and took some acetaminophen while waiting for our food to arrive.  I ordered the Banzai burger, sans the meat and cheese and with a gluten free bun. It's nice to know I can go there and get a meat and dairy free option.  When our lunch came I could only eat half the sandwich (it was amazingly good) and a few of the fries.  I spent the last half of the day in angony with an upset stomach and headache.  I am sure it had nothing to do with the food and everything to do with my neck and the acetaminophen I took.

I have chronic neck pain from an accident I was in many years ago.  I am used to dealing with migraines from my neck muscles that were injured. That being said I wish it had picked another day to rear its ugly head.  I slept fitfully Friday night read off and on if at all and awoke around 4 a.m. but stayed in bed until 5 a.m.  After getting up and around my stomach was still not happy so I only drank a tiny bit of water and ate a couple bites of a protein bar.  We left around 6 a.m. and arrived in plenty of time to warm up although I never got around to it.  My friends, D and J, from the running group found me and we were able to start the race together. I made sure to tell them both that I would be abandoning them early on but not to worry I would be waiting at the finish line to cheer them on. They already told me this was going to happen and that it was okay with them.

The race started on time and we were off.  J was running her first ever 5k and started off fast, (we told her the adrenaline and excitement would make her faster) D and I ran together for about a minute before I headed into the fray of the crowd.  I was soon zig-zagging in and out of the runners trying to make a path for myself.  I didn't want to trip anyone or get tripped for that matter.  You know how these things happen.  

Mile one went by fast as did mile 2 especially since the half way mark came sooner than I remembered it coming last year.  (That's good right?) All of the sudden here I am running trying to catch my breath around the 2.8 mile mark and out of no where a man passes me with a jogging stroller...oy vey! I am now highly incensed that I have been passed by a baby...so I pick up my speed and start picking off runners left and right.  (In all actuality I am just trying to pass the guy with the stroller, sadly I never do) 

I can hear the crowd cheering at the finish line and take off at a sprint, and look down to see that my timer reads 28:50 something.  I am actually going to beat 30 minutes and I feel elation...soon after that I hear my name announced as I cross the finish line in 29:47:1 (according to my timer) I never looked at the race clock so I don't know my official time, just that it was 29 something.  My sons face says it all, he is standing there with a big grin that makes me feel like a Bada$$ Mother Runner and maybe even a hero. 

(Last year it read 30:13)

I hug my mama, daughter and son and feel like I have accomplished something great.  It may only be a race to some of you but this was a huge milestone for me.  It proved that I can still run, my injury is healed, and I can do anything I set my mind to. I am back and I thank God for getting me through this last year of injury and frustration, not to mention heart-break. I am sore today but it's a good kind of sore.  I am proud of my legs for getting me across that finish line strong, and I'm proud of my heart and mind for knowing I could do it. J and D both finished strong and I am so proud of them.  I am looking forward to running with them again very soon.

J, me and D post race

Blessings and hugs to all who came by today.  May your day be a blessed one.

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck. "Limitations only exist if you let them" © 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

K Is For...Killing It

KILLING IT is a term I (and probably others) use for when I completely destroy a PR (personal record) or time I thought I could achieve. When any of my friends, here at home or out in the blogosphere, beat their PR's I always say, "You killed it"!

IT is such a rush to completely destroy a PR. Not only do I feel so accomplished (the rush of adrenaline could fly me to the moon and back) I also feel like a super hero (for a day or two) in the eyes of my family.  For example, when I ran my first 5k my finish time was 34:36, but when I ran The Pear Blossom Run last year my finish (chip time) time was 30:13...I KILLED it, by 4 minutes and 23 seconds. I was super excited and that feeling lasted several days.  I still get excited when I think of it. 

OF course, this Saturday when I run The Pear Blossom 5k I will probably not beat my last PR, read about my pelvic stress fracture debacle here.  I am not back to normal yet so I will just have to be happy with what I get. We shall see. Wish me luck as I try to come close to my pre-injury PR.

1. Have you ever "killed it"?
2. Do you want to "kill it"?
3. Do you think of hunting large game animals as "killing it"?   

HAVE a blessed day y'all.  Hugs and try not to hurt yourself when your "killing it".
 
Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck. 

 "Limitations only exist if you let them" 

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Prayer, My New Car And C25K Training

First things first, if you could take a moment and pray for a friend who is having a tumor removed from her brain, I would appreciate it very much.  She is a wife and mother now but at 18 went through a horrible life changing, memory erasing accident when she was hit by a semi-truck...it impaired her memory and motor skills for a long while...she recovered, got some memories back, grew up, got married, and had babies.  A month or so ago she was driving and had a seizure and was in a car accident, at the ER they found a large brain tumor.  She is in surgery now, it will take most of the day according to the surgeon.  I know this is out of the ordinary, but I would just ask, if you pray, please take a moment to do so! God is The Great Physician and He can and does work miracles. 

Okay...next, but SERIOUSLY down on the scale of importance is...I got my new car yesterday! Here is what she looks like...(Yes I said she) Her name is Poison Ivy!

Moving on...
 
I have been training for a 5k in April...my first race since the pelvic stress fracture...and we are in week 6 out of 9 and doing well.  The running is getting progressively longer and the walking times much shorter, I don't think I will make or beat my PR but I'm going to try with all I have in me.  The compression sleeves seem to be doing a great job..my new shoes are awesome and feel as if they are already broke in...I think things are looking up.  Although I have been having some nagging IT band issues..nothing big just irritating. I am hoping nothing more comes of it!

Have a great day and thanks in advance for your prayers. Blessings and hugs!

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck. 

 "Limitations only exist if you let them" 

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Calf Compression Sleeves & The A-Z Challenge 2013

First things first, I bought a pair of compression calf sleeves and what a difference they made! I ran without pain the other day for approximately 6.5 miles...woohoo! I am going to be using them on all my longer runs for sure and even the shorter runs until my shins are 100% better. I feel more confident about running The Pear Blossom Run now than I did before I bought the sleeves. I may not run faster but I will run without pain, and to me, that's a good thing. Okay now onto The A-Z Challenge...

For those of you who have never heard of the A-Z challenge, let me tell you all about it. This challenge is put on every year by Arlee Bird over at Tossing It Out (It started in 2010) and the idea is to blog every day (except Sundays) and to do it Thematically/Alphabetically.  Every day you blog (starting with the letter A on April 1st) according to what letter of the alphabet you are on. It's a blast! (I will still be posting on my running and life in general)


So for example starting April 1st we will blog starting with the letter A.  April 2nd we will blog starting with the letter B, and so on. We will blog every day except Sunday.  You can write all the posts and schedule them ahead of time or you can write every day.  You can have a theme or just wing it. You can even post a recipe or poem.  This year I have my A-Z words picked out already and will pre-schedule some...others I will write the day of.  This challenge is a fun and informative way to get to know other bloggers in the blogosphere. Feel free to join us or not...just go over to The A-Z Challenge blog and follow the directions. Hope to see ya there. Please do not feel obligated to join in, but do come and visit as usual. I will miss you if you don't. Blessings and hugs.

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

 "Limitations only exist if you let them"

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Coffee, Shin Splints and Life In General

 Coffee √ Shin Splints √ Life In General..In Process!

Life is good as usual.  I have much to be thankful for, and little to complain about.  Shin splints in the grand scheme of life are really nothing big.  I think I have found the problem, the school track I've been running on is very lumpy and uneven so I am going to stop running on that track asap and find another with less lumpiness and more evenness. (Not a very grammatical sentence, I know)

I'm getting more running in (even with sore shins) and working my way back up in mileage.  May not be a good thing, I know.  I have been wrapping my shins at home with ace bandages, the compression is a miracle worker.  I also wear my compression soccer socks and they are helping as well. The shins feel great-ish, not perfect but better by far.  The 5k is not until April 13th so I have plenty time if I need to take some training time off. I am running slowly and very carefully but I do stop if it hurts.

In other news, my son's ortho appointment is getting closer and he is restless waiting for it.  Not being able to weight lift affected his grade in Weight lifting class (although he can make it up) and he's not happy about that at all. He's 15, he'll get over it. 

The 17 year old is doing great, his father is trying to teach him to drive the old truck (1969 Ford) which has a very long and awkward stick shifter that does not shift normal, lucky hubby right! 

My 12 year old daughter is...well...a 12 year old, love her hate the age, it is full of hormonal angst and whatnot. She is beautiful, tall, slim...funny as the day is long, creative, and sweet....just sooooo not a morning person. She can make or break my day, anyone out there feel my pain? Ha ha ha!

The other day my hubby and 17 year old son replaced the screen on my screen door for me (I've only been asking for 2 years, lol) and fixed both gate doors outside (they close and latch now) woohoo! 

Exercise for me has been a little running, biking (at the gym) and the Arc trainer...I have also been running my two little wiener dogs (mini-wiener dogs mixed with short leg jack-russell terrier) around the yard outside to get them used to being out "there".  They have always been inside dogs and the outside is a brand new and exciting endeavor for them both.  That's about all I have to say, my life isn't that exciting. Have a great week y'all...blessings and hugs! Anyone racing or traveling? Tell me all about it.

ANNIE

WEENIE

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

 "Limitations only exist if you let them" 

 © 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Will It Ever End...Injuries

Oy Vey...Shin Splints? Really? Seriously, I thought only newbies got those...apparently even famous athletes get them, and more often than you might think.  In fact, shin splints are actually a symptom of an underlying condition, according to THIS POST at WebMD, ermergerd! I am so over this already. 

I feel as if my body is at war with my will! I love running so much, yet right now it seems as if all the fates are against me, that is if I believed in the "fates". Last week I took off from running due to exceptionally sore inner shins.  They felt completely better Sunday when I ran, but Monday while running the horrible pains started and continued throughout the run.  Running felt fine but when I walked it was excruciating.  As soon as I got home I iced them with ice cube to bare skin to get deep into the muscle and now they hardly hurt, only now I'm afraid to run because I don't want to have it happen again.  

It could be that I need new shoes with shock absorber inserts, lol...I am not sure what to do at this point...what are your thoughts? I need some advice from other runners.  I haven't had this problem since I first started running 2 plus years ago. I'm a mid-foot striker already and as far as I know do not over-pronate, and I take short strides so I don't pound so hard when my feet land.  I always run on the road, but a few weeks ago I ran on a school track that has sand (not like sand on a beach), and I ran on that track a few times.  Could that be the problem? Ergh!

Anyhoo...I have been at the gym riding the recumbant bikes and using the Arc trainer so that I can give my shins time to recover and I have been working on my food.  I have decided to add in heart healthy fish and some egg into my diet so that I have a more rounded food list.  I was extremely limited in food choices due to the fact that I was trying to eat a limited amount of soy and a lot of vegan products are soy rich. I now try to eat fish 1-2x a week, starches only at breakfast and lunch and dinner is vegetables and protein. It has been difficult to break that snacking (on sugar foods) habit but not as hard as I thought it would be.  It is an ongoing process but I am healthier because of it.  That's a good thing.

I am going to try to run The Pear Blossom Run April 13th, but only if I can stay injury free. We shall see how it goes.  How have YOU been? Drop me a line and tell me all about it!  

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck. 

"Limitations only exist if you let them" 

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Running Clubs...Yea or Nay?

Anyone out there in a running club? I have always had to run alone, or have always been too lazy to seek out other crazy like minded individuals to run with, so I guess you could say it has been my stupid ingenious plan all along.  

Seriously though, I ran with my new running club the other day and enjoyed every heavy breathing sweat dropping delicious second of it.  The girls I am running with are training for a 5k in April and even though I've been there done that, it's just fun and a great way to meet new people as well as get back into the habit of running at least 3x a week.  They are up to 90 seconds running 2 minutes walking and have also invited me to join them at the before mentioned 5k and to use them as an excuse to not beating my previous time.  Awwww, how sweet.

You see, I was not planning on running it because last year I ran it 4 plus minutes faster than my previous 5k.  I was thinking of not running it at all this year because of my horrible, irritating, summer stealing injury from last May and I know that I won't make or beat my time...boohoo! So, the girls said "Hey, just use us newbies as an excuse and then you won't feel bad at all, you can just say you couldn't leave us behind."  Hmmm, do you think I can really do that and not allow that inner whinny nasal like voice to drive me batty as a baboon crazy? It could work...right! How many of you are in a running club?

In other news, I am going out of town with the hubby in April (back the day before the race) to a trade show for our store...it is being held at Seven Feathers Casino and Resort I don't normally go but decided it would be a nice getaway for the two of us, we don't get out much.

I don't know who that lady is but this is the casino

My son who broke his collar bone will NOT have to go through surgery, it should heal on it's own with only a small bump, so we are happy about that.  He is doing well, is back to riding the bus and doing his chores...lol, he didn't get much time off, but he is pretty strong, in fact we call him the beast, so it's all good. 

I have started to do tae-bo again and I love it.  It was something I use to do back when the kids were all little so it was easy to pick up again, it's amazing how fast things like that come back to you.  I am only doing it at home, so it's not like I'm in a class but there are some great videos out there on kickboxing/tae-bo, who needs a class, not me!  I currently use Billy Blanks tapes.

Blessings and hugs, hope y'all have a fantastic week and weekend. Oh and I even managed to run a couple of negative split runs this week...woot!
   
Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck. 

 "Limitations only exist if you let them" 

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

New Running Style...For Now

Hello there everyone...Happy Thursday!

I have decided to go ahead and start doing run/walk intervals instead of just running the entire time, mainly because my body seems to like this style better.  I have been trying to channel my old self (pre-injury) and it just has not been working out, at all.  I so want to be back where I was before my pelvic stress fracture, but I now realize I am just not that person or runner any longer.

I am coming to terms with the realization I am where I'm at in my running and that where I'm at is a good place.  I don't have to compete with my old self any longer.  I have joined a ladies running group here in my home town and my first run is Sunday the 24th.  These ladies are doing the C25K in preparation for The Pear Blossom Run in Medford, Oregon in April.  I figured it would be good to just get back into the habit of running even though I can run a 5k already...it is all good!

I am okay with the new me...the plant based diet is going great and my heart definitely loves it, life is Great at this time.  The exception is that my son was in an accident last Saturday and was run off the road by a truck while he and his brother were long-boarding near our house.  We took him to the ER and found that he broke his collar bone and injured his shoulder and may need surgery.  Please keep him in your prayers, he is home and will see surgeon Friday.  Blessings and hugs to you all! 

*Black Knight if you are reading this let me know how you are doing as I could not comment on your posts. Hope you are doing well my friend*  

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck. "Limitations only exist if you let them" © 2012 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.