Alyson The Runner Sustains an Injury

Don’t worry. I’m alright. It happened back in August. I had just completed running a 16k loop and noticed my hip hurt. Nothing really comes to mind what caused it but it hurt. After a week of limping I decided to go to the doctor. I was put on anti inflamatories for two weeks and sent for an x-ray. I think the x-ray came back ok cause I haven’t heard anything.

To make a long story short, I am seeing a guy on the 9th of December. I still try to run once in a while but it hurts, so I walk. I have to say this has been discouraging. I was 1 pound away from my phase 1 goal weight. I was training for a race. Now I just sit and watch the scale go up and I have missed my race.

My hip is feeling much better than it originally did and lateral movements don’t send shooting pains. Chasing Tweedle 3 is a bit easier. I trying to figure out what I did and trying to learn something from this. Maybe I need to slow down, but really 7.5 minute K is about the slowest one can get. Ba dum bum.

In the mean time my sons have kind taken up the torch. On Saturday they ran a 1K race. Their very first one. These happen monthly at different parks around Calgary. Who knows? They might run another.

Cana-we-do it? Yes we can!

As some of you know I have taken up running as a form of weight loss therapy exercise. I’ve been doing it since the end of september ‘08. I have seen some progress and now when I go on walks with my husband I can keep up with him. Years of walking with little Tweedles had slowed my pace some and I never could keep up with him. Now I can. Weird thing is we just discovered the my inseam and consequently my legs are longer than his, so whats up with that? My stride is shorter and faster. Anyway….

The catalyst to all this training was my sisters and I were unhappy with our bods (at least three of us were) so we made a fitness goal to run 5k at the Raymond family fun run on Canada Day. Just our luck Raymond moved it to the saturday before and well none of us could make it the 27th of June.

Don’t think that we let that stop us, NO WAY. We were all meeting Canada day anyway so why not do our own fun run. So we did. It was/ is called the “I Cana-Do-it L____ Family fun Run.” My sister Carrie wanted it to be “Carrie’s run for a better tomorrow”, but none of us wanted a better tomorrow. Just kidding.

We gave my Dad the assignment of planning the route.

My mom put herself in charge of a water station.

Everyone who wanted to participate did and we even made T-shirts. They were designed by my loverly niece Lady Em.

We have decided to make this an annual event and each year a different grandchild will design the awesome Tees.

The funny thing was when we reached half way we had only ran 750m. Apparently nobody had decided to drive the loop. Ooops. Our 5k turned in to a 1.5k. Oh well we did it anyway and we had fun.

So here is to better health, happiness and tomorrow. I guess Carrie got her wish after all.

Alyson The Runner, Runs A Race

So race fans, the moment you were waiting for the story of my run. Two saturdays ago (April 25) I got a ride out to Canmore and ran in my first fun run. Back in February, I think, I registered for the 6k. I wanted to start my running life off feeling good and confident. The last week before the race I changed it to 12K. Needless to say I was nervous and not so confident.

The race was sponsered by the Rocky Mountain Soap Company. A portion of the profits went to the PInk and Green foundation. Pink for Breast Health and Green for Environmental stuff. Pretty clear eh?

The race consisted of a 6k loop with two ginormous hills that I had to run/walk twice because I was doing 12k, and I like torture. I was feeling pretty good at about 7 or 8k. I got my groove, but then the hills started to get me. I wasn’t ready for them, so I had to walk up most of them. I did run in parts and at the top of the steepest hill there was a chocolate station so it wasn’t all bad.

Aside from the hills, one of the hardest parts was the finish line for the 6k was right next to the turn off for the 12k. There was music and bells and cheering and announcements of awesomness and I still had to do another loop. I think if I didn’t have Leslie (coach) with me I might have jammed out like so many other and just completed the 6k, but I didn’t and I was glad. I’m still glad even though when I got to the final hill and was running to the finish line people were leaving and there wasn’t any fan fare.

The final hill, I did run up, my legs were burning and I almost couldn’t do anymore, but then I saw the finish line. My brain shut off my body took over and ran me into the line faster than I had been going the whole race, or at least that is how it felt. Kinda weird, kinda cool.

I only got a little veclempt twice. Once while I was lining up to start. I couldn’t believe I was here and it was my first run and all these people were doing the same thing. The second time was when I saw these kids running down one of the steep hills until they found their mom. They started yelling “come on mom you can do it” and then they helped run her up the hill. I was trying so hard to choke back the tears that I lost my ability to breath for a moment. Just so you know breathing is important in aerobic exercise.

I was a little sad that my family couldn’t make it, but I’m sure Tweedle D felt the same. You see he had his Kub Kar rally the same day, so we had to divide and conquer. He came in second in his class and I finished a 12k so all went well. Maybe next time they will come and see me.

All in all not bad for a first run, chocolate, Rocky Mountain Soap company Swag, beautiful scenery, and knowing the next runs are going to be a piece of cake, because, as it turns out this one will be my longest this year.

New Goal

I would like to be able to run 12K by the end of April (mostly running, or all) I would also like to be able to run up the hill (at the end of a run) at Sandy Beach By June.

PS. Sign up For Melissa’s Tomorrow Morning

One Goal Reached

So “coach” asked us to set goals for our running. I set one that I would like to run a whole 6k, no walking at all, by April as that is when my first fun run is. Last Saturday I ran 8k. So now I need a new goal. Crap.

She also wants me to phone the nice people in Canmore and change my 6K to a 12k, but I don’t know. I want my first race to be awesome and build my confidence.

What do you think?

Coach- person with the most experience running. I don’t think she likes being called coach

Running Goals for The Year So Far…

Edited: I did it I just finished registering for the Rocky Mountain Soap Co. Women’s Run. Now I just need to find time to go out there and collect my foot butter. Hee hee.

I hope I know what I am getting myself into. Actually I don’t because I have never done this before. So I’m entering the following fun runs or as Yasir from Little Mosque on the Prairie named them “The Poorly Named March of The Damned.”

The Rocky Mountain Soap Company (6K)

Footstock Cochrane (10K)

Melissa Road Race (10K)

Not to mention the 5k on Canada Day in Raymond Alberta with my family.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

I have to admit I’m a little nervous

Yeah-Take that rewind it back, little Usher got the beat to make your booty go “snap”

Word on the street with consistent running one can get from 1-2 k all the way to 5k in 12 weeks. Thats about how long it took me and I only run on Saturdays. That may change when it gets warmer out.

Anyway I was trying to inspire myself and thought somebody must have a “running remix” out there that lasts about 40 minutes. I saw some suggestions on one website but that was a week ago and now I can’t find it. I did download the training for my first 10k from the Nike website but I couldn’t sing along with those.

So what I’m looking for is some songs that aren’t too fast, that have a good beat and you can dance to it. Dick Clark would be so proud. I’ll get things started.

1. Yeah – Usher
2. Bring Me To Life – Evanescence (warm up)

Now its your turn and maybe one of your songs will make the playlist. Then I can think of you every time I hear it.

Run Ally Run

Well for those of you who care…I’m still running. Not as often as I would like but I make it out almost every Saturday. Last saturday I ran for about 7.5 K (walked twice for a short distance) and I did it in 54 min and 58 sec. I know that is a little slow, but considering when I started I ran/ walked under 6 K in an hour. I’m surprised at how quickly I have improved in the area of endurance and I can run up those little hill that used to kill me. So yay me. I still don’t like it very much but i do like it a little more than I used too. As for the weight loss, its not happening right now but i’m not really doing it for that, so I’m not discouraged. Maybe I will be able to run the Melissa 10 k race next year.

Re-evaluation

I’m going through one of those fall evaluations where I decided if I even want to blog right now. If I do is this how I want others to see me? Is this the direction I want to go in? I have hit a bit of a plateau in my life. Not really a crisis of faith but a day to day list that doesn’t allow for much other than cleaning, homework reading to my 1 year old and piano and I am finding it hard to keep up with that. I do however get my running in on saturday. Last Saturday I ran 6.3 K . Yay me but I digress. I know there would still be time to do the stuff I am doing, and my other stuff if I would just put my other stuff first, but its really hard for me to sit down and read the scriptures when my dirty kitchen full of dirty dishes is screaming at me and my MIL is coming to stay with us tomorrow night.  You think it would be better now that I have a working dishwasher, but nope someone still has to unload it and that my friends is where the bottle neck happens.

Well I gotta go now my sons are in need of a referee and my CH isn’t home yet. Plus I haven’t started dinner yet either. Who doesn’t want to be me really?

Alyson The Runner

I’m sorry for not being on here sooner. With my sensitive internet connection and my lack of time since school started I’m surprised I made it on here now. That being said I am here for a good time not a long time. Yes that was lame but I am out of practice so pbbbbbt!

I’m not sure I should mention this because usually when I tell the world I’m going to do something, I don’t follow through. I don’t stop intentionally, I think, but something happens and well I end up stopping and then I’m embarrassed. So with fear of being a quitter, and you all finding that out, I am announcing that I am entering a new phase of my life. Today I started running. I made a goal that next July I will enter a 5K (3M) fun run and possibly a 10K (6M) in September. 

This is truly big as I am one who hates running, but today with the help of a few nice, patient ladies I ran about 3k (1.8M) non stop and then walked-ran another 3K. The plan is to be on my own twice a week and with them once. I will try to run through the winter, but lets face it I’m a wimp. If I pass that hump I think I will be set.  I really hope I am Alyson the Runner and not Alyson the Quitter.