Happy Friday the 13^th…hope you have a Fabulous, Fabulous Friday!
 

I went to my first Active Release Therapy (ART) on Wednesday.  For those of you who are not familiar with ART, ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART.  (I got that statement off of their website, and you can visit it at http://www.activerelease.com/.)
 

It really worked!  For the first time in over a week, I had no pain and I told Dr. Brian Flournoy, my ART practitioner/physician/therapist (I don’t really know his ”title”), that for the first time in over a week, I felt like I could RUN!  Unlike the expected response, he instructed me to!!  WOW!
 

So, on my way to the car, I tested it out.  Sure enough, I was able to run – to my car – pain free!  (Oh, it’s the little things in life!)  However, by the time I made it home, it had tightened back up and I decided to get on the TPQuadballer (before my first “real” trial run). 
 

That loosened it back up, but by the time I was ready to run, Mother Nature delivered 25+ mph winds and a severe thunderstorm!
 

Fast forward to yesterday…
 

I took my TPQuadballer to school, and used it off and on throughout the day – my students were enamored by the site of it, and many just had to get on the floor and “try it”!  It was quite hilarious!  Anyway, after school, I geared up for my first run in over 9 days.  My goal was to run 5K or a little over 3 miles – easy. 
 

Starting out, I was surprised at my initial feeling of not missing a beat!  My “belly” breathing was good, turnover was normal (96 steps a minute), and my perceived effort was surprisingly right on!  This lasted for about the first half mile, when I seriously thought to myself, “I should turn back”.  I was noticing a decreased range of motion or “tug” in my left hamstring, followed by a dull ache that started to appear below my knee in the outer part of my left calf.  Once again, my ego and stubborn pride refused to stop at just 1 mile!  Man!  How humiliating, to not even be able to run 3 miles!  I ran on…
 

I was approaching a few runners on the trail that stopped to walk right before I reached them.  As I passed, I told them, “great job!”  They laughed, almost as if to respond, “yeah right!”  I looked at them as I passed and said, “No, really…GREAT job!”
 

It made me wonder what was going through their minds…they did not know me, and seemingly couldn’t accept someone running “past them” with a compliment as they were shutting their run down to walk. 
 

Which led me to the next point I pondered…why do you stop running or why do you keep running?
 

Yesterday, though my body was telling me I should’ve turned around at the ½ mile marker, I had a goal.  I would keep running to attain my goal of running 3 miles, and I was determined to get to the 1½ mile marker so my goal could be realized and logged. However, the dull ache had turned into a stabbing pain, and it was all I could do to get to the 1 ½ mile marker…leading to the reason I would stop running.   
 

I was faced with the reality, my ego would take a backseat to my body – it had done all it could do.  So, I began my walk back home. 
 

The two runners from earlier passed me – they were running.  I again tried to run – three steps, and I was back walking.  I walked on. 
 

Then, a larger, male runner passed me.  Again, I just had to try again.  Nope.  I walked on.
 

I then just started soaking in the beauty of the day, and really observing everything around me – the squirrels, the geese, the ducks, the rabbit, the beautiful sky, the spirit of spring, and the other runners and walkers. 
 

Once again, I pondered what makes a person stop running or what is the motivation to keep plodding along? 
 

I witnessed three different runners simply stop – between markers!  What was their goal?  They hadn’t reached the next ½ mile marker, they just stopped!  Were they injured, too?  Had they reached their goal between the markers?!  Was the discomfort they were experiencing too much?  Had they taken more running steps than before?  Regardless, I was glad to see others out exercising.
 

Keep running.
lisa

I was quite honored by Carol’s blog (the first of her many infamous blogs) when she nicknamed me “Cheetah”, as a reference to my running ability.  The morning run of which she was referring was a huge confidence builder for me.  Prior to Team Camp, I had been doing a lot of long slow mileage, keeping my heart rate down to build a huge base, and then top off the last few weeks prior to the Oklahoma City Marathon with a hill-bounding + speed/tempo workouts to “sharpen the saw”…this is the Lydiard Training Method which focuses on building a huge base of target heart rate miles, which has proven to build/increase the amount of mitochondria in the cells – parts of the cells that are key in breaking down enzymes in the blood.  Not to bore you, but theoretically, this will enhance my body’s efficiency of breaking down and eliminating lactic acid – one of the “monsters” inhibiting optimal performance.  So, all this to say, I hadn’t really incorporated much tempo or speedwork, and the thought of “running with the pros” was pretty intimidating…
Well, the first run went well and even the second run was good…but, then my ego and stubborn pride got the best of me, and I haven’t run a step for a week! 
You see, Rachel was running long on Monday morning – roughly 20 miles – which was to be my third consecutive day of “higher intensity running” after doing nothing except lower intensity, target heart rate miles.  Common sense should have taken over, but I just wanted to get in as many workouts with my Teammates as possible, and glean from their experiences and knowledge!
6:00 AM…I arrived in the lobby.  No Rachel.  I abided by the “10-minute” rule (giving a running partner 10 minutes of tardiness before leaving), and then at roughly 6:10 I set out to run a loop, and then meet back with the second group of athletes meeting to run around 7AM.
It was beautiful, peaceful, and spirit rejuvenating for the first 45 minutes. Then, I noticed my left calf was really starting to speak to me.  I finished the first hour of running, and met back with the 7 o’clock group, who were also observing the “10-minute” rule. 
Again, common sense was telling me I had run enough and should have just gone to the swimming clinic (swimming…YIKES!) that Melanie was putting on, but my dern ego and stubborn pride wouldn’t allow me to.  I had told at least one other person I was doing “20”, and that’s what I was going to do!
For the first 15 minutes, I was fine and the pain in my calf was “uncomfortable”.  However, within the next mile, my body was done and I was reduced to a walk.  So, I succumbed to my own body’s chastening of stubborn pride, and turned back.  I ended up “walking” at least a mile, before I was actually able to jog back to the resort.
For a week, I have been forced to spend more time on my swimming – Heaven knows I needed it!  I am going to an ART therapist today…
Train smart!
Lisa “cheetah” Butler
 

I am officially a “red-eyed” teacher! After spending an incredible weekend with new and veteran members of the 2007 Timex Team, and seeing presentations from reps of our key sponsors (educating us about the products the Team will use to enhance our performances), I ventured home to Tulsa, OK via air travel. I actually arrived early enough to the San Diego Airport, that — had I been “on my toes” and paying attention — I could have caught an earlier flight to Dallas and most likely avoided what was to follow…Really reminds me of the movie Sliding Doors with Gwenyth Paltrow where the movie unfolds two separate stories of her life — one when she catches a subway train and the other when barely misses the subway.

After having a final lunch with a few fellow Team members and Tristan (one of our incredible Team mechanics), I headed to my gate. Pretty uneventful flight, until we began to approach the Dallas Airport and a HUGE thunderstorm put us in a holding pattern for quite awhile — got a little nervous when the Captain came over the intercom and announced we would be diverting to Abilene for “refueling”!! Hark! Refueling…what if… “Don’t panic”, I told myself.

After hours of delay and looking at my watch to realize it was 10:45 PM, we finally landed in Dallas and the “race” to the ticket counter was on!! I knew my options would be pretty limited so I knew I needed to get to the counter ASAP!

Opting for 2nd in line at one counter over 5th at a different, I became increasingly irritated when the other counter’s line helped all of those that were in the other line and I was still standing. *%#@!! Once I gave my ticket to the lady, she informed me I had been rebooked for a flight out to Tulsa for 11:30 AM the next morning, and there were no other flights out to Tulsa tonight. GASP!

I had to get back to work — my students were taking standardized benchmark exams in two days, and I needed to be back to answer any unanswered questions — at least ONE day prior to the exam! So, I inquired about flights into Oklahoma City. Although this would put me about 2 1/2 hours from home, I would at least be within the state and I could rent a car to drive home. Luckily, there was a flight that had been delayed and was still holding — I could make it! My only other option was to remain in Dallas, get a “discounted” hotel rate at the Super8, get put on standby for an earlier flight, and just hope I could make it to at least review one of my classes of students!

Well, I decided I should call my “knight in shining armor” to inform him of my “brilliant” plan to rent the car and drive home. He would have nothing of it! Instead, he chose to make the 5 hour round-trip drive, starting at 11PM. Yep. I’m a lucky gal ;)!! So, I then scurried to the gate and made the flight. Again, uneventful until arrival in OKC…

No luggage. No new wetsuit. No new BodyLink. No new uniform. No new NOTHING!!! %$^#%(#&*@!!!!! Worse, my “Knight’s” new wetsuit was in the luggage, too! Double ^&%#(&^#^&!! I thought I would have at least ONE “brownie point” for his major sacrifice he was making — NOPE! Denied!!

I just knew I was going to be up “crap creek without a paddle”, but there is something to be said for the saying absence makes the “heart” grow fonder ;)!  Anyway, I just got in another line, filled out my paperwork for lost luggage, and hoped it would be found — and delivered to me!

After my “rescue”, my knight drove home and listened to my blabbering about the incredible Timex Team Camp – all the incredible athletes, Ben, Keith, Tom, Doug, Tristan, working out, and ALL the new information I learned about the products we have from our sponsors. We finally made it home around 4 AM. Quite a long day!

So, I am back to the “grind”. Though my eyes were red and I was feeling tired, my heart was warmed when my students were seemingly thrilled I was back and appreciated my “knight’s” (and night’s) efforts to get me back to them!

This past Friday was the “first day of the rest of my life”. I have been coaching girls’ basketball this year and our season came to an end Thursday evening when we were beaten in the playoffs. So, immediately after school on Friday (I am a high school math teacher), instead of giving hours to basketball practice or hours devoted to the responsibilities of coaching, I headed straight home to get back in the saddle again!

When I got home, I checked the weather channel for the direction of the wind and temperature, and changed into my brand new bike shorts and gear. After the normal pre-ride routine and strapping on my Bodylink, I carried my bike downstairs and was officially back in the saddle, again!

Initially, the entire “feel” of my bike was somewhat awkward. I use PowerCranks, and was surprised at how quickly I adapted to riding in my aeorbars – last season it seemingly took me a week to be able to ride in the aero position for more than 5 minutes! Though the wind was awful (there were gusts up to 40 mph and we were under a “red flag alert”!) and being pelted by the residual sand (from all the ice and snow we have experienced) was a little obnoxious, I was excited about the opportunity to be on my bike and getting my bike legs back.

Remember, I am the sadistic idiot that enjoys running in the heat of the day. Well, as a result, my size 8M shoes are no longer efficient for my swelling, flat feet. So, as a result I have blisters on the ends of both big and second toes, both bunions, and both heels – aaah the price of increased mileage in the heat!

SPENCO to the rescue…

Before I left for my long run today, I decided to use my Blister Kit from Spenco. I used the second skin (ooooh, so cooling and refreshing!) and the flesh colored adhesive strips that could effectively “glue” your butt cheeks together!

I began my run without incident…but, about 2 miles into my long run, I could tell I was developing a new blister on the “arch” (a word I loosely use since my feet are FLAT) of my right foot. DARN IT! So I stopped, took off my shoe, and assessed the damage. It seemed to be okay, so I continued. About a half mile later, I decided my best course of action would be to peel the Spenco bandage from my heal, and place it on the new blister area. Honestly, I was reluctant and seriously expected the “butt-cheek” adhesive to fail within a mile!

I was wrong! That dern bandage lasted the duration of my run and prevented further development of a blister on my “arch”. WOW!

So, I have found yet another “must have” for running…Spenco Blister Kits!

Cheers!

Lisa