I Made My Goal!

Yesterday I made my goal of run/walk at 5 minutes jog/1 minute walk 10 times. Or maybe 11, because, of course, I lost count, and my method of keeping track didn’t work. I know it was at least 1 hour, though, so it counts. Yes, I could have walked it faster, but that’s not the point! I learned more about pacing…at the end, I actually had something left, so I could run a little bit. I was especially happy because I had to get up at 5 that morning to go to the airport, and when I got home, I took a “nap” and slept all morning! At least I got something done!

I did have a setback. I had planned to do a 5K in mid-October, in Van Cortland Park, but when I looked up the course, it’s a real cross-country, with lots of hills, so I don’t think I will be ready by then. Flat, I can do, but hills wipe me out. Even penguins have pride, and the idea is to run (jog) it, not crawl! Bummer. I was really looking forward to it. But there’s another one in November…

Wish me luck!

Hurray! I’m a Penguin!!!

I discovered there’s a name for us slow runners..It’s Penguins!!! Yay, I have a name!

Here’s a link to a youtube of a penguin running…OK, I don’t waddle, but I still think it’s pretty funny.

There’s also a website for us penguins, a penguin support group, and even a thread for people who claim to be the slowest penguin on the block!.Hey, penguins, I win! This penguin is so slow that she finishes her run earlier than she started, because she can’t keep up with the earth’s rotation.

The sites don’t seem that active, but they are fun to read.

I don’t know why, but I think it’s hysterical! Somehow it helps make everything better…OK, I have lost a good bit of flexibility, my legs don’t have the strength they used to, I can’t get up gracefully from a front roll, and I’m losing my mind, but HEY! I’m a PENGUIN! (Funny, I always thought of myself as a duck!)

So when people start learning to run again once the foot has healed, you have a nice image to have in your head! At least as long as you don’t intend to be in the Olympics next time, in which case a faster animal might be better…Are runners who knock over slower ones to get to the front known as Skuas?

And remember, what is making it hard is the Anastrozole, not the Lisfranc Injury! The foot is doing just fine…just a little sore in the morning after I push it the day before.

Run with a friend!

I did my last run with my sister…now that the travesty of the World Police and Fire Games was over, we had time. I had no idea how helpful it would be! She has been running for some years now, so she could make some suggestions. I hadn’t realized how much using my arms a bit more would help! I got my heartbeat up substantially higher than I had been able to before. And just having the company helped keep me going.

Now I just have to learn to use my heartbeat monitor more efficiently!

Today when I went running, I found that the benefits continued. I actually hit a stride for a few seconds at a time! So if you find you are kicked off PT before you have learned to run again (and it’s very likely), try to get a friend to run with you. It certainly helped me! By the way, if my only problem was the Lisfranc injury, I think I would be running easily now. It’s the anastrozole that’s holding me back.

WPFG and Me

I took off from my “training” for a few days to watch my nephew ride, and to volunteer, I thought, in the World Police and Fire Games, which turned out to be the most pathetically disorganized event I have ever had the misfortune to be associated with! (I can’t imagine how these people can keep their not-for-profit status for one day! They overcharged, misrepresented, on occasion endangered athletes and the public, and barely scored the events after advertising world-class venues and officiating!) Eventually, my sister and I bailed from the volunteer corps! But watching and cheering on my nephew in the cycling events was fun. I was constantly on my feet, though.

At the end of two or three days the foot was hurting…the left more than the right, so all isn’t perfect there. Fortunately, a friend gave my foot a massage which cleared up all the problems. He told me to stay off it for a day, but I didn’t listen. I went out today and did my little run. The good news? The rest did me good. I did a longer walking warmup, and felt great when I started jogging. Probably started a little too fast, ’cause my sprint at the end lasted less than a minute.

So when your foot hurts after it’s supposed to be healed…get a good foot massage!