Guess Who's Back...Back Again?!

Me! I ran on Saturday in me new shoes and I did pretty well! I did 6.54 miles...my longest distance to date! My foot started hurting about halfway through the run, but we are thinking this could just be my feet getting used to my new shoes. It was pretty tough but also really exciting at the same time! I am really amazed that I am now a runner. I would have never thought I would ever be a runner. I am really praying that the more I run, the easier it will be on my body. We joke that I have the body of an 80 year old because I always have aches and pains, but the running magnifies my usual issues so much! I had some good running partners this week which really helped. It is so much nicer to run with people than by myself. I tried Sport Beans during my run and I really liked them! Our coaches and mentors have expressed the importance of finding an energy source in gel, block, bean, etc form for aid during our runs and our marathons. We are supposed to try all sorts of brands and see which we like best. I am pretty disgusted by the energy gels. They just make me nauseous even thinking about them! So, I decided to try energy jelly beans. I really liked them, though, I don't think I ate enough to give me a huge surge of energy. I am planning on trying a gel or a shot block this weekend during our 8 mile run. Lord knows I will need energy aid on that run! Right now it is all about trying new things and seeing what works best! I will report back how it goes on Saturday! I am really proud of myself for making it as far as I did on Saturday. It is amazing to me that I am now considered a runner. WOW!

New Kicks...

Well, we just returned home from the Running Center and I got a new pair of shoes! This time (my 5th time going there!), the guy who helped me, videotaped me running in my current running shoes. It was nice to be able to see my over-pronation. It is a very small amount of over-pronating, but either way, it is affecting my feet and ankles, so it was time for a shoe change! The guy that helped me today has been the most helpful so far! As all of the employees there, he is a runner and really knew what he was talking about! I really liked him and learned a lot from him! I have been thinking the issue has been my shoes for awhile now, but everyone seemed to poo poo the idea, telling me that I am a pretty neutral runner, so my shoes were ok. I just knew something was not right with them. I was happy today when he told me we should try a stability shoe. He said that even though my over-pronation was small, it was still big enough to cause issues with my feet and ankles. So, I tried on about 6 different pairs of stability shoes and he videotaped me in each one, so we could see what helped me the most. It was amazing to see how much of a difference the stability shoe makes with me turning my foot/ankle in. It was key to be able to watch on video. I ended up going with a pair of Brooks running shoes. They felt the best, but also looked the best of my feet as I was running. I am really hoping these are the magic shoe! I will be trying them out for the first time on Saturday when we do our 6 mile team run! Hopefully the ankle/foot pain will be long gone in no time!

Also, a funny story about our morning at the Running Center. I had to take my 18 month old with me, like I do every time I go in there. He usually walks around and looks at the clothes, shoes, watches me practice running, etc. Today he was all over the place and had a great time with the guy who helped me and another woman who works there. The guy was so great with him and really helped me with him so I could focus on finding a pair of shoes. At one point, while the guy was watching me run, we both turned around and Teddy was gone...now it's a pretty small store, so I figured he couldn't have gone far, but I did panic inside a little. Turns out, he had gone into the back room and was wandering through the maze of shoe boxes, having a grand old time! It was pretty comical! We had yet another great experience at the Running Center today! I really love that place!

News

So, I took a couple weeks off from running, spinning, pretty much everything exercise related...except chasing my 18 month old around every day! I decided that everything else we were trying was not working, so why not try some rest?! It has definitely helped and I feel like I am doing a lot better. I ran/walked 5 miles on Saturday with my team and it went pretty well. The hardest thing for me was the fact that after taking 2 weeks off, I felt completely out of shape! Oh, and the fact that it felt like it was 100 degrees at 7:30am last weekend! Regardless, I made it! Afterwards, despite the water I drank, I felt really icky and just plain exhausted, so I tried one of my new electrolyte drinks and within an hour, I was feeling back to myself again! Yay! I am really tryting to be proactive about my fluid intake the day before I run now. It is so important! On Wednesday nights, there is a track workout that is led by our head coach or assistant coach. I have been dying to try this since it began on June 30th, but my injury has kept me away, so last night I tried it for the first time! It was extremely tough, but I have no doubt that it will help me immensely over the course of the next few months! We did some interesting stretching exercises, which made me realize my core is not strong at all. That is something I really need to work on! The main workout was to run 6 intervals of 800 meters! Wow! In hearing that, I was stressed. 800 meters is 2 laps around a track, which is half a mile! 6 of those! I was thinking it may not happen for me since I had been out of commission for so long, but I decided to put the doubt out of my mind and just run. It was probably my toughest run to date. I was the last to finish in my group each time, so I had minimal time to rest in between intervals! After the 5th interval, Coach Kerry, our head coach, asked who was finished and who could do the last interval. A few people decided to be finished at 5 intervals, which was still a huge feat, but I decided to try and do the last 2 laps! It was pretty tough, but I am so glad I did it! I even finished 11 seconds earlier than my prior intervals! I think one of my favorite things about the track workout, (besides the running of course) is how positive and encouraging most people are! It makes it so much nicer when you are dragging yourself down the track, so exhausted and feeling like your legs may give out, to hear "Go Ashley!" "You can do it Ashley!" "You go girl!" and the list goes on and on to what was said to me last night, during each of my intervals! It was so encouraging and I am so thankful for my coaches, mentor and teammates! I left there feeling very positive about my run and about myself! We headed to Mr. Taco for dinner afterwards and it was great to sit and chat with people. Getting to know new people has always been one of my favorite things to do! I was so tired after I got home last night...I slept like a baby, which is pretty rare for me! I had to ice both of my feet/ankles last night...I am just trying to be proactive about them. My left foot was starting to give me some trouble last night, which makes me wonder if my issues are actually coming from my shoes, like I have wondered all along! I am headed to the running store this morning to see what I can figure out...hopefully I will leave there with magic shoes!

With Love,
Ashley

Rockstar Status

Well, I did it! I have met my fundraising goal and then some! My required amount to make was $3,200.00 for Team In Training (TNT), so I decided to make my personal goal $4,000.00. As of now, I have exceeded my personal goal by $1,925.00! Last Saturday, I received my jacket, which all members of Team receive when they complete their required goal! I also received "Rockstar Status," which means, I got a "Rockstar" pin to wear on my jacket, a TNT frame and a cute TNT duffel bag! I am pretty surprised that I have gone so far over my goal, but couldn't be more thrilled. It amazes me how generous people have been with donations! It has been such a blessing and will be an even bigger blessing to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)! My goal all along has been to raise as much money as possible for LLS, so that is what I will continue to do! I have decided to up my personal goal $6500.00 and hopefully I will be able to exceed that as well! As of now I am at 91% of my NEW goal! I hope to make it to 100% in no time!Thank you to everyone who supports me and LLS! It is such a worthy cause and I am so happy to be a part of it!

Scentsy Wickless Candles Fundraiser!

A friend of mine from high school, Paige, contacted me a few weeks ago and wanted to host a Scentsy Wickless Candles party for my fundraising campaign! I was totally amazed and so excited! I am trying to raise as much money as possible for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), although my personal fundraising goal is $4,000. I hope to make way more than that! Paige is hosting a party for me on her website for the next 2 weeks and 20% of anything purchased under "run for life" party will go directly to my fundraising! If you are interested in purchasing some Scentsy Wickless Candle products to help support LLS, please go to http://paigejeanes.scentsy.us/ and on the right hand side under "open parties," please click on "buy from run for life party!" There are so really great products on her website! Even if you don't like candles, you could buy some early Christmas or birthday presents for your friends and family!

If you would like to make a direct donation to my fundraising campaign, please click on "Team In Training Fundraising Page" on the right side of my blog page!

Happy Shopping and thank you in advance for your support!

With Love,
Ashley

Believe

I had an experience last week that has stuck with me and I can't seem to get it out of my head, so, I decided this needed it's own post. I have always tried to be a positive, upbeat person. We all have our days where we feel negative. So, during this whole foot/ankle injury, I have really tried to be positive because I feel it's important for the recovery process! Well, as I mentioned in a previous post, Dr. Rob and my coaches were concerned it was my shoes that were possibly causing the issue...that they were too "cushion-y". So, in an attempt to try and resolve the problem, I headed to a specialty running store again, for special fitting and help with purchasing another new pair of running shoes. I tried a new place last week, per a recommendation from a few people, plus our team had met at this store the Saturday prior and our coaches highly recommended it. I got there and explained my issue to the girl and gave her the list of shoes Dr. Rob had given me to try on. She only had a few of the shoes he recommended and none of them felt right. With running shoes, it is important that you feel like the shoe is one with your foot, like you can barely even feel the shoe...hence, why I love the pair I have now...they were 1 of 15 pair of shoes I tried on originally. So, I ended up trying on pretty much every women's shoe they had in the store...my foot is too small to try men's shoes, or I would have tried them all too! As I was trying on shoes, I explained to the girl who worked there, that I am new to running and have really never been a runner. I told I played tennis all through school and how I spin and walk regularly. Her reaction to this, was that I was crazy for training to run 13.1 miles! She mentioned I should train for a 5K first to see if I could even do that before setting my sights on such big mileage as 13.1! Um, excuse me?! I was shocked and actually kind of annoyed because Team In Training recommended us to buy shoes from this place and here is this girl who is basically telling me I can't do this?! Throughout my experience with fundraising and training so far, I have not run into one person who has tried to deter me from doing this! I immediately told her that I was doing this and that I was committed to raising money and running the half marathon!!! I told her I know that I can run the 13.1 miles! I believe in myself. I know I can do this. Every single runner I have spoken to has told me that injuries are common and they happen all the time and I WILL bounce back from this. Luckily, I have a supportive husband, family and friends who believe in me as well! I left the store without a pair of shoes. After trying on every pair of women's shoes, I decided none of them were "the shoe" for me. Having this experience with the girl at the running store definitely left me feeling bummed that a stranger could have such little hope in me, but it made me remember, on a day that I was feeling pretty discouraged, that I do believe in myself and I know I can do this!!! It also reminded me to be sure to always be a cheerleader for anyone who tells me their story, you never know when they might need your words of encouragement! Thank you all for believing in me and cheering me on! Your support means so much!

With Love,
Ashley

Update

Some news on the foot...I decided to take a few days off from running and spinning just to see what would happen. Well, I didn't spin Friday and I didn't run Saturday. I jogged in my mom's pool a bit on Sunday and decided to try and walk a few miles with my mom and sisters on Monday. I didn't have too much pain! It has gotten better! It still hurts, but it is not excruciating...just an annoying pain! I am thinking this is due to not doing high impact exercise. Hopefully I am on the road to recovery! So, I had an appointment with Dr. Rob and we discussed the plan. He was happy to hear that it was feeling better. He also noticed a difference in how my foot, ankle and leg felt, as he was working on them. So, all positive things! As of now, my foot is sore from the bodywork and electrical stem he did on it today. I am hoping that with some Advil and ice, the pain will be long gone tomorrow! As of now, I plan not to run on Saturday with my team. I actually ran into one of my coaches at Dr. Rob's office today and she said our run on Saturday will be on a trail, which is not good for ankle/foot issues anyway, so it is ok to miss the run. I am hoping to go to a weeknight run next week and try to run a bit and hopefully I will be able to run some next Saturday as well. I am really praying that I am recovering because I am ready to get back into running without pain!!!!! This has been a very frustrating injury! I should also mention that Dr. Rob and I discussed that if the pain does not go away in the next week or two, it is time for an MRI. I am hoping we don't have to go that route! Prayers and positive thoughts are greatly appreciated!

With Love,
Ashley