Finding Balance

Apparently running up too many hills in too short a time period can be a bad thing. After running up Tiger Mountain I became a hill addict and ran all the hills I could find during the week. Then, my heels started to hurt a little bit, which felt like the beginning of a common running injury called plantar fasciitis, an irritation and swelling at the bottom of the foot.

Dr. Jeff
I knew that the first step to healing my heel pain was to stop running for a little bit. I could do that. I also knew that I needed to loosen up my lower calf muscles and heel area. That's where Dr. Jeff came in.

Dr. Jeff is a chiropractor that works at Elite Sports and Spine in Bellevue. He's been giving me crazy intense massage treatments called active release technique (A.R.T.) for my arthritic left big toe off and on for the last six months. Ten years ago, a podiatrist told me that I needed joint replacement for my toe if I wanted to continue running, and that I should never run a marathon. I decided that advice didn't work for me.

So, I went to Dr. Jeff on Monday for some A.R.T on my calves. Though the session was painful, my calves felt better the next day (though they were both bruised from the treatment). Thank you Dr. Jeff.

Yoga as Balance
Though I cut back on running, I continued following my training plan with some modifications. I added four yoga classes into my week to help improve my flexibility and strength. One class was a blindfolded yoga workshop taught by my friend Kat at Two Rivers Yoga in Carnation. Have you ever tried balancing on one leg with your eyes closed? It's hard!

Speed, Run, Long, Slow, Run
Regardless of my heel pain, I did two good training runs this week, which included one speed workout and one long, slow, run. Dan and I did the long, slow, run together during a short window of dryness during today's rainstorm. Dan will be running the 25K trail race as well, so we've been following the same training plan and supporting each other along the way. Today was one of the first days I didn't want to run because of the weather. Meeting up to run in the afternoon kept both of us accountable and made the run enjoyable. We even raced the last 1/4 mile, and tied.

The Journey Continues
After three weeks of training I'm feeling strong, motivated, and inspired to continue this journey. I'm doing my part. Are you doing yours?

I'm constantly reminding myself why I am training for this race. It's for Andy. For Multiple Myeloma. For a cure. It's because I am healthy. Because I can. Because I care.

So far we've raised $300 for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. That's awesome! In the next four weeks we're going to raise $1,700 more. Because we are healthy. Because we can. Because we care. Click here to join the journey. And, thanks for your support.