2012 Running Thread

paradiju

Just read all that i missed -- Roan -- is your daughter ok? That must have been very scarey -- did she drink enough?

goldlining

Roan, thinking of you and daughter. Hoping for the best. 

We had fantastic weather in Toronto today so the 5K along the lake was marvellous, and the 5K started at a civilized 12:00 to sort of coincide with the stragglers of the marathon and half. We even got their leftover gatorade - nice for a 5K.

Not being in any shape whatsoever, I was happy to do 36 minutes. And they had medals for the 5K. I loooove medals. (The full marathon medal is the size of a tea saucer. Mine isn't!) 

goldlining

CLC congratulations on the 5K time. So easy to get hooked, isn't it?

groovygirls

Roan- thoughts and prayers for your daughter.

AFM- the Zobie Run was a total blast. Way more zombies then I thought were going to be there and they chased me- I thought they were supposed to go slow! Slogged thru tons on mud. I did get all my flags taken and turned into a zombie but it was tough to get away. At the end there was a huge water slide where you go down really fast and completely out of control and land in a huge pool of mud. I did not do this- good thing because the guy after my niece ripped both knees up rather badly on some rocks. I think he would need surgical debridement and repair by how awful they looked.

In order to cross the finish line I had to crawl on my belly under an electric fence! I did not get stung but the guy behind me did- I heard him swear- lots!

I have no idea what my time was and I am still trying to scrub off all the mud! Great day today!

Nightnurse

Paradiju:  thanks for the words of encouragement!  I have decided that I am not going to predict at this point what s/e I might have.  I could have some , none, or all.  But I am hoping for none! And youare so right, Listen to your body!  I will remember that.  Thank you! 

pat01

chrissilini - I am also doing couch to 5k, though I am a bit behind you - today will be week 1 day 3 for me.  My issue is not with my shins, but with a tightness right behind my knees - it is not very painful, almost feels swollen.  Feels better walking than jogging.  I stretch before and after running.  Anyone have any ideas on what this might be, and how to work with it?

Adey

Here I go again.......  Couch to 5K week 1, workout 1 done.  I am going to try to do it every other day instead of 3 times a week to speed it up a wee bit.  (c:  I want one 5K in before my stage 2B surgery in August.  Third times a charm!  I think I can, I think I can..............

pat and chris, good luck!

kks_rd

Yesterday's run was a total slog for me... just kind of willed myself through it, despite technical difficulties (music cut out, app didn't work correctly, etc.) and natural difficulties (I accidentally swallowed/choked on a bug and was far more dehydrated than I thought I was - I'd weeded, mowed the lawn, and split logs for several hours prior to the run and although I drank lots of fluids, it clearly was not enough).  Did well over 5 miles but with several walk breaks.

Today was a bit better. I decided on a shorter, faster run and found this podcast that cues you to jog at a moderate pace for 5 minutes, then challenges you to speed intervals for anywhere from 1-2 minutes.  My total was just about 3 miles.

I feel good about these two back-to-back runs - just upped to 4x/week as part of my 10K training plan.  Last year, just before my dx, I'd set a goal to run 75 miles in May.  I didn't even come close - I was emotionally derailed.  This year I've already run 18 miles in the first week of May!

CLC

Yeah, Kat!!

You know you're dedicated when, on the bad, slogging days, you just keep going.  I think that's the part to be most proud of...not the days when everything is easy...(although, let's face it, those are the ones that keep you slogging through!)

Me...I am like a little kid...so happy that I got up the guts yesterday...:)

Roan...wondering how your daughter is...hope all is okay.

kks_rd

Hey Claire, thanks for the reflection. You pretty much hit the nail on the head!!  And I appreciate the validation.

Groovygirls, yours is the first account I've heard of one of those zombie runs. Sounds fun!

Goldlining,so glad the weather cooperated for you!!

Anonymous

Thank you, all of you so much for your concern about my daughter. It was very, very scary! I down loaded her Garmin today, and found that just prior to her collapse, she was running a 6 min, mile pace! She was at 10 mph, and then suddenly, 0. Witnesses say that she never weaved, tripped, or slowed down...just fell out. She was unconscious and stayed that way a few minutes. Thankfully my friend who is my kids' cross country coach found her and dumped a cooler of ice and water on her and had someone call 911. The volunteers on the side of the road we're just sitting there with her, unsure of what to do. Her temp was 104 when she settled in the ambulance. Her blood sugar plummeted from 215 to 50 about 30 minutes after her collapse. She became very agitated and would not talk or respond to any questions for almost 3 hours. She ripped out her first IV, and my husband and I struggled with her to keep the subsequent two in. Finally she was transported to the ER. There she given adavan ?? so she would calm down enough to have her temp taken (now down to 100) and have a CT scan of her head. That was normal. They continued to cool her with a fan mist...then we were admitted. She regained her normal mental status, and thankfully had no memory of the whole ordeal! We were kept for 24 hours...she has been just wiped out, and would not eat until today. We had repeat bloodwork today, because her liver enzymes went from 30-500 while she was in the hospital. We will get the results back from that tomorrow. She will be checked until that is back to normal. No running for now! Much to her disappointment. Also during the initial 24 hours her temp. fluctuated up and down, and she vomited a few times. Many people have asked, but hydration was not the issue. She drank all day Friday, and also Saturday morning before the race. She is well-trained. Her body overheated to the point where she could not cool it down, and although she probably had warning signs, she is just 14, she had a time goal, and she was just trying to finish the race. My husband is going to run with her in races from now on.

Like I said, this has shaken me! I slept with her in the hospital bed, and I am sleeping with her here at home. I know she will recover completely!

firstcall

Roan - thank you for the update.  I know many of us have been very concerned for your daughter.  Thank goodness you had some ice for her.  Early cooling is critical.  That is one determined kid. 

Nightnurse

Roan:  You experienced every parents nightmare.  I am so thankful for the good outcome for you daughter and you and your husband!   She sounds like a very determined and disciplined young lady!  

CLC

Roan...I am glad to hear that she is doing better.  If it was my daughter, I'd be sleeping in her bed, too, probably for as long as she let me!

pat01

Roan, glad your daughter is OK, how scary for you!

So I did week 1 day 3 of couch to 5k yesterday, and my knees were killing me. They had hurt on day 1 and 2, but day 3 was much worse. By the time I got back to work, My left leg was almost buckling under me, and they still hurt today.  Pretty discouraging.  I am a regular walker, but thought I would step it up to jogging gradually with couch to 5k.  So I have only been jogging for 8 minutes out of 30, and after 3 days my knees are rebelling.  Off to the running shoe store at lunch to see if a new pair of shoes might help with this.

Anonymous

Pat01---

I hope new shoes will help! Maybe you can still run the same amount in each session, but shorter spurts.



My daughter's liver enzymes came back this morning....now elevated to 1500. We will repeat the bloodwork on Wednesday and Friday. My husband has consulted another dr., so we will just continue to watch her. Firstcall--what do you think?

iswimibikeirun

@Roan:  I hope they're able to find out what's going on with your daughter soon so you can treat it!

firstcall

Roan - The elevated liver function tests could be from the hyperthermia, but I would also want to consider whether she had something going on before this happened.  For example, mono (Epstein Barr Virus).  I would want to be sure she didnt have something underlying that set her up for the hyperthermia.   It may be all from the running, but I would run a few tests, like hepatitis, Mono, just to be sure.  She likely had her immunizations for Hepatitis, but there is none for mono.  If she had some underlying viral infection, she may have overheated more easily than she would have otherwise.  Either way, this is likely to resolve over the next several days. 

CLC

Oh, Roan...hoping for quick resolution for your girl...

goldlining

Roan, Wow glad for early progress but like everyone, I am hoping things sort themselves out soon. My daughter suddenly had a prolonged 104 fever at the age of 13. It took two weeks to diagnose systemic juvenile arthritis. Fever of unexplained origin flummoxed two family physicians and the children's hospital emergency department. Thank heaven for stubborn pediatricians and eventually rheumatologists. I completely understand where you are right now with no answers and feeling powerless! Stick with it.

eulabt

Roan- thinking of you and hoping that you daughter is feeling better.

Adey

Roan- Oh my goodness, prayers to you, your daughter and the whole family.

Couch to 5K week one, day 2 done.  I walk on 3 and jog at 4.5 is that a decent rate?  Should I try for higher?

LisaMomOfFour

Hi...  I'm a running newbie....   completed couch to 5k, then had to take two weeks off due to revision surgery, now climbing my way back... I lost a lot of aerobic capacity in those two weeks, even though I walked most every day.  

I'm hoping to do a 5k sometime this summer, but am not willing to put a time limit on it, as I'm finding this to be pretty hard!  

I had a false sense of confidence as i was running on a treadmill, but with 0 incline.  Found out recently that 1.5 grade simulated running outdoors?  So I'm working that incline into my running and OMG it is so much harder!  

I am so impressed with distance runners, it's just not in me, so I'm working my way through my own inertia.  In middle school, when they would send us out for a three mile run.... my bff and I would run until we were out of sight of the coaches, go to the store, and eat junk food, than run the last quarter mile back to school.  That was my one and only season of track, no surprise!   

So I'm joining in for comraderie (I didn't spell that right, now did I) and encouragement.  

Roan -- just starting reading the posts..... hope all is well with your daughter.  

Lisa 

goldlining

Adey, I walked at 4 mph on the flat treadmill. My main aim there was getting back in motion after the surgery. Any slower than 4 and I was borrrred. The slowest walkers allowed to finish at the runDisney events go about that pace (they require 16 minute/mile but you need to allow for bathroom stops so realistically 15 minute mile). After doing that for 60-90 minute durations, I found that I was able to pull off a 4.6 alternating run-walk in a 5K with the adrenaline and distraction of all the other participants around me. Bear in mind the fastest pace in mph that I have ever done 5K is 6.2mph and I see girls in the gym running at that all the time, even on a slope.

If you want to challenge yourself without overdoing it, you might want to nudge the pace up by .1 at a time, get used to it, nudge it up again, etc. until you are conditioned to a faster pace without being too hard on your heart or lungs and general physical condition. The suggestion of doing a non-flat slope is a good one. I read somewhere the suggestion to go up to a fairly good slope for 20-30 seconds every 5 minutes or so, and I had been trying that before going down for the latest surgery. I found it effective to condition but 20 seconds is not so long that it wears you out.

Hang in there Lisa. Some of us are "good" runners, and the rest of us are just avid or aspiring, but this is a very positive thread and we like it here :-)  

Adey

Lisa- We would have gotten along in HS!

Goldlining- Thanks so much.  I will kick it up slowly.  (c:

paradiju

Roan -- Like everyone i am wishing your daughter a speedy and complete recovery. How very scarey. I thought i could stop worrying when my kids grew up but now i have four grandchildren as well and i still worry about my "kids."

Pat01 -- i don't even know what the couch to 5km that everyone is talking about is -- but your knees should not hurt so much. I am not an expert but i have had knee issues and new shoes often help, running more on soft surfaces if you can do that (like a track or even a treadmill) and iceing.

I do many runs indoors on a treadmill during the week and my long runs out side on the weekends -- that is much easier on my knees. I also ice them after every run and ride a bike at least one day instead of running. Really has helped over the years.

LisaMom -- your highschool story was pretty funny -- i too used to hide and used every excuse under the sun to miss gym and here i am a "runner." Don't know how that happened? Just do what you feel comfortable doing, walk/run and enjoy. That's how my husband got into it many years after i started running -- 5min jog at whatever pace was comfortable and then 1 min walk. When that got too easy he moved the 5 min to 6 min and so on. Now he is a runner too, but i still beat him -- and he doesn't care it's all about having fun and staying active. Keep it up!

Adey

paradiju-  It's a program that gets non runners to a 5K in two months, gradually, three times a week.  It's on coolrunning.com.  Kinda what your hubby did!  (c:

orangemat

Couch to 5k

Hoping for all the best for your daughter, Roan. 

CLC

Lisa...I never ran a day in my life until a year and a half ago.  Right after I started, I had an excision for adh.  Then, got back to running.  Then, last fall, had the mx for dcis.  And I just ran my first 5k.  If I could do it, anyone can!  I started with walking, then built up.  When I first started running, I walked for 5 minutes, ran for 2.  Walked for 5 minutes, ran for 2.  Eventually, I was running for 20...then 30...then 50...then 70.  Then surgery and back to 20...and have been building it right back up again!  Best of luck (and fortitude) to you!  Claire

Adey

Claire- I had my stage 2 reconstruction in March and am just starting to run.  Thanks for the inspiration.  (c: