Another Marathon Didn’t Happen – BUT Wait!

Hello from Calgary!  Well, I made it through the second weekend of my original goal of running back to back marathons, but because of injury that goal has had to be postponed.    Instead of not running at all, I decided I’d go ahead and run the 5K  so that I could experience the race and celebrate alongside others.

running80'sThe  Calgary Race Weekend was celebrating 50 years of running through the decades and encouraged its participants to dress up from the 60s through to current day (50 years of running).   I decided that although I could not run the race I had hoped to, I would still be involved and have fun.  So I put together a running outfit and got out of my comfort zone 🙂 (I’m not usually one to dress up).

When I hit 4K on the run, I was so thankful for running the 5K event.  It turned out to be a gorgeous day, lots of sun and HOT!  I really felt it–the lack of training, the heat and the elevation change (approx. 3000ft.) proved to challenge me more than I expected.

My daughter and I had a great time volunteering on Friday imputing the last minute distance switches that were coming in.  I personally love volunteering for races–seeing things come together and seeing the excitement in the faces of the racers. There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that racers experience the best the day can offer!   Calgary did a fantastic job of providing an experience where memories were made!

runningmemories

It was a great race and Calgary celebrated new course record holders in both the men and women’s Marathon. (Kip Kangogo 2:19:47 and Emily Chepkorir 2:46:21).

Here is a video highlight of the marathon:  Calgary Marathon Highlights

I’m still in Calgary visiting with family.  My eldest boy, Ryan, is out here pursuing his own goals and dreams and I’m thankful I’ve been able to spend so much time with him.  We are off to camp today!  Lows of 3 in Calgary could mean below zero in the mountains–brrrr!

I get back to Ottawa on Monday and then the real serious training begins for a fall marathon!  So excited to get focused and back into a rhythm.  The new summer running clinic starts in a week and I look forward to the routine that it will bring.

My heel fracture (stress) has me a tad concerned about putting in the extra miles, so I think I will set up an evaluation of my running and make sure I’m in the right shoes.  It’s funny how life works out, through my injury I’ve made some great connections with a group of guys that are helping me run healthy.  I’m also focusing a lot on “diet” this time around.  I’ll be very intentional on what I eat  and how I fuel my body.  I’ll be posting recipes that I try in future posts.

If you have a favourite recipe, I would love for you to share it with me!

I’m currently loving the Oh She Glows Cookbook – great recipes!

‘Til next time,

 

When Plans Change

Do you set goals? 

I have to in order to be focussed and disciplined to get workouts in.  I love to run and planning for races helps me stick to a schedule that pushes me past what I might “feel” like doing.

I ran my first marathon in October 2013.  It proved to be a challenging but memorable experience.  I decided the day after that race to run another marathon, Ottawa Race Weekend, kind of as a do over.  It didn’t take me long, but I’ve since realized that there is no need for a do over, but instead it’s a new opportunity to do something great for me!

After signing up for Ottawa’s Marathon, I learned that Calgary was celebrating it’s 50th race weekend and I decided to sign up for it’s marathon as well.  No big deal, right?  Well, it happens to be the week after Ottawa.

I like to push myself and challenge myself to see what I can do, so the training begins.  End of November I starting running with the RR groups half marathon clinic just to keep a decent foundation in my running leading up to the Jan. start of the marathon training.  Ran through the most minus stupid weather throughout the winter months, outside, usually after a snow storm!  Challenge, character building weather, but great fun with great fellow runners.

By mid-February, on yet another snowy long run, my foot was achy…by treating it at home and icing it I continued to run another week or two, until after a 19K run, I realized that something was wrong and I was in too much pain.

Took 3 weeks to get a proper diagnoses, in which a bone scan showed that I had a Calcaneal Stress Fracture (across the body of the heel bone), a minor tibia stress fracture, a bone spur AND minor plantar fasciitis!  I believe this was due to a combination of things, some avoidable, some not.

So suddenly my big marathon back to back plans were in jeopardy!   What now?  Treatment consisted of a boot, for likely 8 weeks up to 12!  I immediately booked the half marathon in Calgary as a back up plan.  Figuring I could at least run the half.  Maybe, possibly run half in both cities instead.

No workouts aloud for the first 4 weeks!  Four weeks later, I’ve been cleared to start swimming and doing some non-impact training, but still in the boot.  Likely not able to even test my foot for another 4 weeks, and even then I need to start with walking!

What about my plans, I can’t run the marathons, that’s a given, but now I can’t possibly do the half marathons without risking injury.  *sigh*

Okay, there are worst things in life, right?  YES!  So how can I experience these great events and continue with my racing goals?  Well, we will volunteer (my daughter and I).  We usually do race kit pick up (we’re kind of pros now LOL).  My daughter and I volunteer for race kit pick up for a number of races every year.  I do it to be involved, she does it for the free shirt, ha!

So we are signed up to volunteer in both cities.  I’m planning on running the 5K (maybe 10k) in Calgary and I’m already preregistered for Calgary Marathon 2015!

I plan to run another shorter distance race in the summer, signed up for the  Army Run (half) in September.  Looking at a 5K/half in Nova Scotia for the fall as well AND then will focus on doing Ottawa and Calgary back to back in 2015 (full marathons).

Plans change, we cannot always control what happens to us or around us.  Life happens, I just love to run and love having goals towards to achieve new levels of training for me.  I love the friends that I’m meeting along the way and the shared experiences that I get to have with others.  I love how my family never questions the insane choices I make, but instead they support me all the time and challenge me if I do anything contrary to the goals and plans I’ve set out for myself.

Do you set goals?  What do you do when your plans change?

I’d love to hear your experiences as well 🙂

Happy RUNNING!

 

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