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

The Foot...Dun Dun Dun....

Well, I had my follow up with Dr. Rob, my chiropractor, yesterday. The good news is, he is positive that we WILL work through this. The bad news is, we have no idea how long it will take to heal. Bummer.com! He still thinks this is coming from the way I run, but as of now, we don't know for sure. The other issue is, it has also started hurting all over my foot, including my arch, so walking or even just sitting is pretty painful. Dr. Rob worked on my ankle/foot a bunch, which was pretty painful, but in a good way. Then I had the electrical stem on my foot, which is trip...I hate how it makes my toes tingle! I also had a laser work done. This was all new to me! It was pretty interesting. The laser could sense where my problem areas were and it would spend time "zapping" the area. It was obviously working because it spent a lot of time on the areas that hurt the worst. Technology is such a neat thing! So, I am supposed to give it a few days and see if these things have helped. As I type this post, I am icing and elevating my foot. It is always worse at the end of the day. Being a stay at home mommy to a VERY active almost 17 month old, means I am on my feet a lot throughout the day, so it's no wonder it hurts badly towards the end of the day. As of now I am not supposed to do any running. I can cross train (like spinning) if my ankle isn't too sore, but it has been too sore to do anything the past two days. So, Saturday, if I am not in too much pain, the plan is that I am to try and run 20 minutes. If I can do 20 minutes without pain, great! If it hurts, I can stop or try and finish, depending on the pain level. I am really hoping and praying I can do 20 minutes without pain! After the 20 minutes, I will ice it immediately and keep it elevated as I cheer on my teammates coming in from their runs! I am a tad sad that I cannot do the 5 miles that I am scheduled to do, but I know that the most important thing to do is to heal so I can get to 13.1 with ease and no pain! I am scheduled with Dr. Rob for the next 6 weeks and will most likely continue to see him throughout my training for the half marathon. I told him yesterday, that is is on my team..."Team Keep Ashley Going!" He totally agreed with me! It is really great to have an awesome support system to help me get through everything! I also got adjusted yesterday...neck, back, he tried to do my ankles and legs, but they wouldn't adjust. I am pretty sore today, but think I should be feeling better by tomorrow! All of my muscles are pretty tight, so the adjustment was much needed. All in all, it seems like I am on the road to recovery...let's hope it's a short one! This girl wants to run! :) Stay tuned for a post on another new member of my team, my nutritionist! She is awesome as well and I am really enjoying working with her!

With Love,
Ashley

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." -Theodore Roosevelt

The Pink Glove Dance

So, as the title of my blog reads, " I run for Life," and even though I am specifically fundraising to support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I still want to recognize other cancers as well. The video below is dedicated to Breast Cancer, which also has a special place in my heart, because my mom was diagnosed with that towards the end of her Chemo for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. This video was made at a Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon to raise money/awareness for Breast Cancer. It is such a great video and I cry every time I watch it. It is truly amazing how many people out there in the world, support finding a cure for cancers of all kinds! Hope you enjoy this video! :)

Low

Low is what I am feeling tonight. It has been a rough evening. I was planning to go for a run around 5 tonight...my ankle has been hurting pretty much all day but it's been bearable...then around 3:30, it started to hurt worse and it didn't get better. I decided it was best not to run on it this evening, but I am really struggling with it tonight. The pain is annoying, but I can deal with it. It's the training that I am upset about. I have fully committed myself to this marathon, to the fundraising, to Team In Training and I just want to be able to do my training without pain. In the grand scheme of life, I will get through this and I will run the marathon in October, but right now, I am having a tough time. I made this blog to document my journey in all aspects, so I feel it's important for me to remember days like this. I see the chiropractor, Dr. Rob, on Wednesday, so hopefully he will have some more info for what we can do to fix me! I tried to get in tomorrow morning too, but they said I could come in but would have to wait awhile, which I can't do with Teddy in tow. He sat in his stroller for an hour and a half the other day while I saw the Dr. Rob and I just can't do that to him again. Sean made me an ice bath tonight and I tried to put my foot in it a gazillion times, but each time, it was sooooooo freezing, I couldn't stay in! He said it is "mind over matter," but the pain was shooting up my leg! My mom used to do full body ice baths when she trained for her marathon and I have no idea how she did it! It is so COLD! I am going to continue with ice, elevation, compression and Advil tonight and tomorrow and hopefully I will have good news to report here on Wednesday! Meantime, I will stick to spinning since that really doesn't hurt my ankle. No matter how low I feel tonight, I know it could be a billion times worse if I or someone I love, were lying in a hospital, ill with cancer. Instead, I am running for all these people. As one of our mentor's has on his training shirt "Running is a bitch, but Cancer sucks!" So true. This is a minor speed bump on my way to 13.1!

With Love,
Ashley

Skin

Here is a music video of a song that I love. When my mom was first diagnosed, a friend of mine turned me on to this song. As I listened to it, while crying hysterically, I knew I had to share with my family. I went home and booted up my computer and we all sat there listening to the song, over and over again, crying. My sister, Kelley and I, used to listen to it a lot, while my mom was sick and going through chemo. It has a lot of sentimental value to us. About 2 months ago, I was driving in my car and this song came on...I couldn't believe it because it's not a very popular song and I had never heard it on the radio before and not many people have heard of it! My sister called me a few days later and said it came on randomly on her ipod...so crazy that we both heard it around the same time. We both still cry hysterically every.single.time. we hear it. After you listen, you'll understand why...

Also, I would just like to add that I pray that my son would someday do the same thing for his girlfriend if she were ever (God Forbid) in the same situation as Sara Beth. It takes a very special person to do something like that. :)

With Love,

Ashley

My Misson Moment

Here is a video of me doing my "Mission Moment" at our TEAM training yesterday morning. Every week, one person on the team explains their reasons for doing Team In Training. This is strictly a volunteer thing, so not everyone has to share a story. So far, we have heard a couple amazing stories from some gals on our team about their direct connections with blood cancers. This has become one of my favorite parts of our Saturday sessions. I really love to hear people's stories for why they are doing this. As you know, I have a direct connection to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, seeing as my mother is a Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor, so, I chose to share my story with my team this week. Please take a peak...you may want to grab a Kleenex...I started crying on the video before I even started telling my story! Hope you enjoy it! :)

With Love,

Ashley