WHAT IT MEANS TO ME

Good morning.

Well, yesterday was a really good day for me in terms of eating right...but...the scale had other ideas. I weighed in a 179.4...sigh. I really thought I might be at least 1lb down. Usually when I'm good like I was yesterday I lose at least a whole lb. Oh well, at least it's going in the right direction.

Alright, so, what all this means to me. Why do I care about getting faster as a primary motive for losing weight and not just simply losing for health and aesthetic reasons. Well, the health and aesthetic reasons go without saying but as I said in my previous post, I am a competitive person. Having said that, no, I don't want to be the fasted runner out there...necessarily, lol. But it is an attainable and clear, almost, tangible goal. I can see results of my efforts as I go in a way that just seeing numbers on a scale can't do. Somehow, seeing faster times is more satisfying in the short term.

Seriously, what this all means to me is multi-faceted. The competitiveness is mostly within myself. I previously said that I always want to improve on my best time. Why? Because that is part of the fun. Some people find simply running to be enough. That is always nice. But when you throw in the competition element it makes it a challenge to conquer. For me, that is fun. Whether it is a faster time or a really difficult course or both, it is just plain fun to conquer it. Then there is friendly competition between your runner friends. That is fun too. Some people define fun as going to a club and partying where others may find fun curling up on a couch with a good book. It is all relative.

I love the running world. I love the other runners and their comradery. I love the bling (finishers medals) you get when you cross the finish line. On that, no, the finishers medal is not a "participation award." It is a finishers medal meaning you have to earn it by finishing the race, crossing the finish line. For me, it is a personal trophy of sorts. Every time I complete a race I feel very proud that I did it, even if it is a simple 5k. I love to hang the medals on my wall as they are not only pretty to look at but they bring back great memories of the events.

I never take the fact that I can run for granted as I see so many who cannot due to various physical disabilities and my heart goes out to them. I love that so many of the races raise money for so many great causes and charities. Those who cannot run hits a little close to home for me as I had a temporary experience that illustrated just how depressing it was that I could not run.

In 2012, my friend and I were training for a big run weekend, a race called The Tour de Pain Extreme (which no longer exists, unfortunately). It was composed of a 5k, 10k and a half marathon in 24 hours which was to take place March 31. The training was going well till the Gate River Run, a huge 15k race in Jacksonville, Fl that March, the early/middle of the month. I felt a tinge of low level discomfort in my left groin/hip after I completed the Gate. I thought I probably pulled a tendon or a muscle. So I thought nothing of it and figured it would nag me a few days and get better. As the running went on the nagging discomfort started turning rapidly into a companion low level pain but, still, it was a pulled tendon or something, right? I would just go easy on it for a few days and continue to train. Well, we were doing well, despite the pain and about a week before the big day we decided to test our ability to pound our bodies with multiple hard runs for two days in a row to see how we would fare in such a challenge. So Thursday, we ran 4 miles, Friday we ran 5 miles. Now my leg was really hurting pretty bad but, runners are amazing when it comes to perfecting denial! I figured I would complete our last run slated for the next morning. We were going to run the March of Dimes which was 8 miles. So, we lined up the next morning and did just that. But about a mile from the end I had to stop anything that resembled running and hobble. I got within sight of the finish line and was hell bent on running across it, not walking. So, I mustered up the spirit and did just that. When I crosses the line I collapsed in utter and complete pain. I simply could not walk at all. My "bestie" became a human crutch for me, got me cold packs from the aid tent and even talked the shuttle driver to give us front door service to her house! Now that's service!

Ok, now, you'd expect someone in this position to go to the Dr. immediately, right? Remember what I said about runners and denial? Yep, I was still convinced I pulled a tendon and would be able to run my crazy race the next weekend. I had a whole week to heal, right? All that despite the fact that I had to use my crutches that I still had from breaking my foot many years before. Glad I kept them! Ok, a couple of days before the race I gave my entry into the race to another friend. Reality was now sinking in and I even went to my Dr. She is, fortunately, also a runner. Yep, she sent me to the orthopedic sports doc right away who immediately sent me for an MRI. Long story short, I was within 1mm of requiring surgery for a pin to hold together my broken femur! YES! Thant's right, I broke my stupid femur.  How? It turns out proper running form is a big deal, lol. I had been running on sore shins and was apparently, running lop sided and sheered my femur through repetition of lop sided running. Here's the kicker...The next year another friend of mine did the very same thing!!!! So, pay attention to bio-mechanics and running form! It matters!

Anyway, I was on crutches for 18 weeks and out of running altogether for 8 months! I got very depressed and angry. This was when I started to really appreciate the fact that I can run. I went through many months of physical therapy and was taught how to run properly... I will never take running for granted! A piece of advice, if you're new to running or planning on getting into it go to a running shoe store. So many of them offer free running evaluations. Get your gait checked out before you do something silly to yourself!

I did wind up running that race the next year...the last year. It was a great experience!

Me running one of the 3 races of the Tour de Pain, 2014.

Ignore the Gate River Run shirt-the bib is correct, lol.

It was also during this time that I discovered a lot about proper running and eating. It was, in fact, during this time that I discovered Dr. Fuhrman and lost 25lbs while on crutches! I fell off the wagon, obviously, lol, but more on that in my next post.

I just wanted, in this post, to give you a bit of what running means to me.

TTFN!