In the beginning....

Here is my first post or blog. I think that it would be helpful to me to see my accomplishments if I were to track them. In order to track them I will have to start at the beginning. So here I go...

I was so sick and tired of how I looked after I had my second child. I was always a slender person and I have genetics to thank for that. But after having two kids within 2 years of each other can really send a body into a funk. I tried to do random things to help me get back my figure but I wasn't seeing the best results. So, I set a goal to start exercising and made it my New Years Resolution. I never keep a New Years Resolution and thought, I better do this. So I started to get to the gym upstairs in my condo at least twice a week. I loved it! I was never a runner prior to this and now, I loved the freedom of going upstairs away from the confines of my home and all the people in it. It really refreshed my mind and reset my mood. That was the first noticeable change in me since starting on the treadmill. I then saw the love handles slowly diminish and the sway under the arms start to firm. After a few weeks, I was in the gym at least 3 to 4 times a week. I would start with 20 minutes on the eliptical to warm up and then run for 30 minutes on the treadmill. The room was usually empty and the view of the Chicago skyline and the Lake were so beautiful that I found myself lost in my music and pace. Many times in my run I felt that it was easy to run and that if I could run 3+ miles and feel this great that I should consider the Chicago Marathon. That would be an awesome goal to accomplish for myself. Running a marathon has always been one of those things people say they wish they could do or would like to do in their lifetime. Many people don't get the opportunity to do it because life happens. So, I mentioned it to my husband. He thought it was an awesome idea, but he also said that it isn't as easy as running 5 miles at a time. I knew that this would be a huge deal and took it to heart. I would really need his support since training would really be difficult with two children, both under 4 years of age. I would have to rely on him to watch the kids at night so I could get upstairs and run when he came home from work. He was on board. So, I was ready and mentally decided I would sign up for the marathon.

On February 1, 2008, my husband sent me a message from his work. It was one of the most frightening messages I had ever read from him. The header read "2008 Marathon", the message, "I signed up. I encourage you to think about it. I will help you find time if that's what is holding you back." And he added the link to the registration. My heart raced as if I was int he midst of my first race. A hot wave of heat seared through my body and my hands shook. Here is the moment *I* had wanted to do. That *I* thought would be an awesome task to accomplish. Carpe Diem! It was the day to sign up for the marathon and yet I was scared. I got up from the table and had a bazillion thoughts race through my head. I loved running but could I do 26 miles and 385 yards? I never finish goals and this is the first one that would have a tangible deadline. I sat back down and clicked the link. I registered at 9:52 AM and received my confirmation. I was signed up to run the longest run of my life in 8 months. I felt relieved and refreshed and inspired. This inspiration sent me to the gym nightly for a good hard run for the next few days.

I was shocked at how fast I started out and kept trying to go further and faster. To me the marathon was 8 months away and I was already doing so well that this training stuff was in the bag. This was my first mistake. As I was running on February 8th, I felt a twinge in my left shin. I thought I was having a shin splint but I was still able to run but not as fast. I slowed down a little and finished the last mile in my exercise. I got off the treadmill and had a hard time walking. I made my way back to my condo and told DH that I needed to get off my legs because they hurt so bad. I had stretched for the first time PRIOR to running that evening. I used to just jump on the eliptical and warm up with that and then hit the treadmill running~ sprinting. But I just felt like I should stretch for a change to get the best work out. That was a mistake in itself. I sat on the couch and iced my leg and complained about the pain but kept referring to it as a shin splint. I went to bed about an hour later because it hurt so bad and felt that if I stayed off of it, it would heal. Saturday morning was HORRIBLE. I could not put any weight on it at all. It was so bad. I was bummed that I hurt myself but assumed it would heal in time.

Time did not help at all. I had not been able to get a good exercise in since the fateful day. On my birthday, March 1st, I still had a hard time with steps and any tip toe action. I finally went into my physician. She sent me for an x-ray and assumed it was a stress fracture. The x-ray came back normal. She suggested that I get a hold of my physical therapist and see what she thought. I called my PT Loren at Athletico. She is great. So down to earth and really sweet. I told her about my pain and how it happened and I was off to see her. She gave me some exercises to do at home and said that an injury such as this usually runs its course 6-8 weeks. I continued to do my stretches for the next 3 weeks with no relief. I called her again and we set up a few appointments. She figured out that I had strained my soleus muscle pretty bad. In fact, it was trying to heal but my fabulous flat feet were making it difficult. I was fitted with prosthetics and I started my twice a week visits to Athletico. For one month we worked to strengthen my soleus and my feet and I could feel some relief, finally. She gave me the go ahead to start to run again, on May 21st. She said to start out slow. I was so thrilled. I was so depressed that my body was falling back into a slump and my mind was so beat up at the fact that my body was failing me but not my will. And so, I was on my way to make it back to the gym.