Injured

I never really thought it would happen to me. Or so quickly, anyway.
I haven't run in thirteen days. That's the longest period of time I have ever gone without running in the past five years. I have been a runner for a long time now; before I even ran competitively as I do now, it has just been something in my life for a very long time. But now I can't.
Injury, as word has it. I've run through pain before, a nasty pair of double shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and additional aches and pains that comes and go in the life of a runner. That being said, I can run through pain and hurt. But not this.
It came on near a month ago now, starting as small pain beneath my knee while I run, but growing into massive pain I can't even describe. It's to the point now where I am all limpy gimpy while even walking, and going up/down stairs is a nightmare. Well, not a nightmare, but it just takes a really long time because I have to do them one step at a time on my good leg, because the pressure it puts on my other leg is too extreme.

Because of all of this, I missed the first track meet, and will most likely be missing the second as well. But the good news is that I'm seeing a doctor tomorrow, and so I will hopefully be getting some answers. Because not only is it screwing over my collegiate race career, its interfering with my daily activities.

I'm back!

Lots of things in life take time and effort. Work. School. Running. Relationships. Blogging. And because the first four items are higher on my list of priorities, the whole blogging part has fallen to the bottom. Which is okay. But with a new year, and track season approaching, I figured I would try to get back on documenting my running career.

I haven't by any means stopped running since February 26. But I'm also by no means in the mood to type a long recap as to what has gone on the past ten months. So here is a brief recap instead:

• Lots of running. Lots of miles. During the first half of the summer I was going roughly 70 miles a week. It decreased after my trip to Haiti, which was okay with the approaching cross country season. 
• I can say that I have gone for a run in Haiti. That was cool. Given, it was in the compound I was staying at, and therefor I just ran a mile loop over and over. But it's still a great memory. 
• During outdoor track season, I broke 19 minutes! I ended the season with a time of 18:48.
• I ran the Riverbank 25k, and made the 2-hour club! I ended with a finishing time of 1:51:28
• I had a crappy cross country season. Which is okay. Or so I tell myself, because saying it's not okay is not going to change anything at all. 

Indoor Track Has Come and Gone

Wow, that kind of flew by. My first ever indoor track season. Heck, my first ever track season. Going in I was rather uneasy. That is, it felt so foreign to me. Was there rules of which I was unaware? Would it be difficult? Would I even compare to my competition? Would meets become boring?

The answer to all of these: no. And yes. Well, I suppose some yes, and some no. That is, Yes, there was rules I needed to learn, and training is difficult, but the best kind of difficult. I would in fact compare with my competition, but meets would not become boring. The first two months of my year (wow, it's crazy to think that we're two months into the year already. That's 2/12. or 1/6. Only 10 more months until Christmas! Okay, back to the recap) were filled with a meet nearly every weekend. The first one took place on January 16. I was completely nervous. And to add to my nerves, I was seated first for my race! (that is, the odds were on me to win, and I was given bib #1. Don't worry, I didn't know what that meant either, so when Casey told me my seat I was clueless. Just one of those things I had to learn, haha). Anyway, I raced the 3k, and lead it for 10 of of the 15 laps, and finished second with a time of 11:08. And not only that, but it earned me 3rd on the university's 3k record board! That was a complete shock, and not a bad way to start the season. That is, it definitely got me pumped up.

The next meet took place in Ohio, making it an over night meet which was fun. It was two days long. On the first day I raced the 5k, and broke the schools record! As well as slammed my PR. I finished in 19:08 (my previous PR was 19:42). This performance got me named Female Athlete of the Week at DU, which was kind of cool (and by kind of, I mean a complete surprise which made me rather happy:).



Day two I raced the mile. And hated it. Utterly hated it. It was too quick for my legs, haha. I finished in 5:40. And to put in perspective how not fabulous I did, the following week, on my meet on January 31, I raced the 3k and my first mile was also 5:40. The exact same. And I had so far to go yet. Therefor, my my race should've been faster, but it wasn't. So yeah, my meet on the 31st I made a new 3k PR, and broke 11 minutes! My new PR became 10:54.

The following week on Febuary 7, I ran the 5k and PRd/broke my school record with a time of 19:00. Nineteen flat. I, at first, was overjoyed. Though, I did become kind of disappointed soon thereafter, knowing that had I just been 1/100th of a second quicker I would've hit the 18 zone... But so it goes.
The next week I was back at the 3k. I didn't do too shabby, though not fantastically amazing either. I made a PR with a time of 10:51, which moved me up on the university record board from third to second. I was one second shy of breaking it, but so it goes. Improvement is improvement, no matter how small.

Last week I had my final meet. It was bittersweet, for I've greatly come to love indoor track. I raced the 5k, with secret hopes of making another PR, and maybe even qualify for nationals, because I was 25 seconds away. Though that is great, it wasn't impossible. So I entered the meet with great expectations and aspirations. Only one thing... Due to an unforeseen injury which occurred the week prior (yes, at the meet on the 14th) I was no longer in prime shape. I had to spend two days on the bike rather than run (which broke my 230 day running streak, by the way). So yeah, with an owie foot, my I was also entering the meet kind of scared. Well, not scared but nervous, because I had no idea how it would go. I really really wanted to run fast, but wasn't sure if I could. I was more nervous for this race than any race before.

And so I ran. And I ran. For 25 laps I ran. And then, I finished. 19:03. In tears I finished.
I was... Kind of sad, haha. Knowing I have the ability to do better, but it didn't happen. I was blessed to have an encouraging team mate at the finish line able to give me a hug remind me there's still outdoor to come! And then my [quite amazing] coach came and gave me a few encouraging words too. He told me he was proud of me, and that I raced well "especially after the week I had."

Needless to say, I have loved the experience I have had during the indoor season. Generally my training has consisted of speed workouts two days a week, 7 mile run on 4-5 days a week (depending on whether or not there was a meet), and a long run (10-13 miles) on Sunday. I love to run. So much. I hate it too, but generally I love it. And I take it for granted. I never realize how blessed I am to do it until it is threatened. I would go crazy if it was taken away from me, but injury could plague at any time and do just that.


In closing, it's crazy to see how far i've come. With the training, pushing, and encouragement of my coach, team, family, and friends, I have chipped nearly two minutes off of my 5k time in 6 months. As for now, I'm taking it one day at a time, because I hate making assumptions. That is, how this upcoming running season will come about. But let's just say that i'm entering it very eager to see how it goes.

"It's time to see what I can do to test the limits and breakthrough."

The adventures of Brenna: The runner.

I run daily. Sometimes my runs are dull. Sometimes my runs are normal. But sometimes something out of the ordinary happens. This was one of those times. 

I was running in town (as opposed to at home). I was on a trail, and saw some cross the path about 1/4 a mile ahead of me from a parking lot to a neighborhood. When I reached the point they had passed in front of me, I saw them in the driveway of a house near the trail. It was about four guys, the age being younger than 40. Maybe in 30s. Maybe in 20s. Couldn't say for sure, because I didn't want to stare. 

Though, I did see them watch me as I passed. I then turned off of the trail onto the road (or more accurately, the side walk on next to the road). I didn't go 50 yards, when I hear noises behind me. It was the guys. I began to get paranoid, thinking they were following me. And I think they were (though I wasn't at all scared, because there was a constant flow of cars passing). I turned a corner. They did too. But I ran faster. So they never caught me. And then I crossed the road. I lost them. 

The love/hate relationship, and what to wear when.

I am a runner, and so I run. Or do I run so I am a runner? I'm not sure it matters either way.
People ask me why I run. To be honest, that's a difficult question to answer. Running is the biggest love-hate relationship. Because I do not always love running. In fact, I often abhor and dread it. Especially in the winter. Because although the cool, crisp air in my lungs is one of the most refreshing and wonderful feelings I have ever had, it is still winter. Meaning, there is either ice or snow on the ground (or both) which makes it completely difficult to run, and therefor must run slower. And it is cold, so therefor it's uncomfortable, and I must wear, no joke, a whopping 5 pounds more of clothes. Which is uncomfortable, and makes me go slower. Also, choosing what to wear is quite difficult. Especially when I'm already cold before I go out, and so of course I'll want to pile on a lot, but if I do too much I'll get hot. And hate the run. So I pretty much try to follow this rule of thumb when I run:

But yeah, choosing clothes is tricky sometimes. And I'm good at dilly-dallying pre-run. That is, when I'm running at home (as opposed to school), I can take a good 45-minutes to get ready. I just begin to over-analyze what is about to happen. Thoughts begin to cycle through my head: 

"I'm going to run and I'm going to be running for X amount of time. When I begin, that is only minute number one and I still will have X to go."

 "What if I hurt. What if it's a super crappy run."

 "What if I haven't waited long enough since I ate and I will feel like I'm going to explode, but I can't explode because I'm only three miles in and have three to go."

"Ahh, this is going to suck."

"I could be doing so many other things in the time it takes to run"

I then realistically ponder that last question. That is, what would I actually do if I was not running? More often than not, the answer is not much. For when I enter my run, it is after I had been studying all day and so I'm taking a break. I could look for things to do on Pinterest, but chances are that is as far as it would go. Truth be told, surfing the web is what I would end up doing. Or baking cookies. 

And so I run. And it happens. And I never regret it. I end it feeling accomplished. I get a runners high where I'm super happy and everything is awesome. And I feel all "I love running it's so good I should have kept running!" Until I crash and tomorrows tangle begins. 

"I'm going to have to run. Again."

Happy Running!

The 5th year anniversary to my very first race is coming up.

Because I'm a runner.

Yeah so I totally have become a running critic. That is, when I pass someone while driving, I totally analyze their run, making sure to check their stride, pace, whether they are listening to music, their shoe brand, their apparel, whether they look like they're enjoying it, etc. If they're doing great, I whisper to myself "oh, good job buddy" or some such phrase.

I'm still running. Updates and stuff.

Figured I should go ahead and give this a quick update since it has been months and all.
Though I have not said much on here, that doesn't by any means mean my running too has come to a halt. Still going strong every day.
Weekly: Currently logging 30-40 miles a week. Six has become a regular for me. Which is so funny, because a year ago I never thought I could go that far. I could count on two fingers the number of runs that I did that were greater than five miles. And now, well, I can do 16 (though, the only day that I did that was the day of the Riverbank Run)...
Long Run: For me, a long run is 8+ miles. Usually when I do one, I do 10. Takes a little over an hour. I think that I almost take for granted the fact that I can run. Meaning, apparently not everyone can run that far. Or, more like will run that far (for I am on the Steve Sears belief that anyone can run).
Pace: For short runs, I can manage roughly 6:32s, for long runs I do 7:50-8:00, and for my mid runs (6 miles or so) I do 7:00-7:40 (depending on if it's a press hard sort of day, or a rest day).
Post Race Thoughts: Now that those large races which I did this past spring are run and done, I have come to the conclusion that distance running is primarily mental. I never thought I could go that distance. In fact, I was set on not doing that. But then I decided to do it, and I did. And since then, I feel i've grown a greater respect for myself, and also built a greater confidence. And it's fun to have something to feel good about. Like, I see my race bib from Gazelle Girl Half on my wall, and I can't help but smile.
Coming Soon: Anyway, very soon my distance will be shortened because i'll be running for Davenport. And ohmygosh, i'm so entirely excited for that.
Next Race: Anyway, next race is Saturday. Just a 5k. We'll see how it goes. Honestly, unsure what to expect, for I still have been doing far more long distance than short. But i've also been better at pushing myself. And need to re-learn how to run short and fast so yeah...

I guess it runs in the family.

Tomorrow is Saturday. I want to do a long run on the trails, but can't go alone. So I text some people to see what they're up to.




Me: What are you up to tomorrow morning?
Colin: Long run
---------------------------------------------------------
Me: What are you up to tomorrow morning?
Dad: Thinking a long run on the trails.

Score.

Great minds think alike (or so they say).

Yeah, i'm one of these people.

The kind that put a bumper sticker on their car. Because it makes me happy.

Spring has hit, y'all.

And I live on a dirt road.

In hindsight.

It's so weird. I was so nervous going into the half marathon. Almost scared. I waited for so long for the race day. And then it came. And it happened. And it's over. And i've already got a new race in sight, one longer than the other. Like the day after my big race, I was like "alright, might as well do the 25k." Which is kind of funny, because I remember immediately following the half, I was like "OH GOSH, I'm for sure only doing the 10k." But nope. All signed up for the 25k (thanks, dad!). 

My reasons for this are the following:

1. I'm pretty much all trained, and I don't know how trained I will be in the future.
2. My dad is doing it, and so it's an opportunity to do it the same time as him, and like I said with the other reason, don't know if i'd be able to do it with him in the future.
3. It's the largest 25k in the United States. I think that it would be awesome to get to be a part of it. 

So yeah, already less than two weeks away and i'm not even nervous. Maybe I will be in a week. But right now i'm all good. I guess I've resigned myself to the distance already. And I know I can do 13.1 (actually, on that race at least 14, because Colin and I jogged to the old bridge to watch Lisa when she crossed it). 

This is what I often felt when running at school (not versus the track team, just the general workout folk). If I passed runners at home too, I would probably feel it then as well. But as it currently stands, I rarely see another runner at home.

But yeah, I'd be running on the track and if a faster person joins while i'm doing a long run and not going full force, then i'd be all like [on the inside] "yeah, i'm in the midst of a nine mile run dude. You're not as cool as you might think."

School's out.

I think I mentioned before that through the winter, on Monday and Wednesday, and sometimes Friday, i've done my runs on the indoor track at school.

Well, today was my last indoor run until next winter, because school is out! 

When I got home today I took out my log book and added up my track miles. 

Since January, [on the track] I've done roughly 270 miles. 

This is a 1/8th mile track. 

Meaning, roughly 2160 laps. 

That's a lot. 

Obviously. 

Until next time, track. Until next time. 

"Running isn’t a sport for pretty boys…It’s about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It’s about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It’s about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It’s about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there’s not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you’ve finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that’s all that you can ask for."-Paul Maurer

Hit the brink.

Today I hit the brink. Meaning, during the final sprint of my run, I felt like I was flying; my surroundings zoomed past me and my legs seemed to have a life of their own.
The phrase "hit the brink" isn't any sort of technical term, or even common running jargon. It's just a phrase that I came up with on my own, for myself. It's just what comes to mind.

This feeling is not one that I get during every run, or more specifically, every sprint. But I know it when it comes. I remember the first time I got this feeling was Turkey Trot 2010. The final sprint at the end there. I felt like I was flying.

Day 100

Oh hey, apparently I've hit day 100 of my current running streak. That's kind of cool. My last running streak was 145 days, so not there yet. But here's to hoping.

My first half marathon. The story.

October 31, 2013. That is the day I decided I would do it. It was a spur of the moment decision, really. 

For years I said I was NEVER going to run more than a 5k. Okay, sometimes I could be convinced to do a 4-miler (such as Resolution Run), but that was it for me. I had zero intentions on EVER going farther. For me, a long run was 4 miles. No more. I mean, come on, who would WANT to run for any longer? Who would enjoy doing such a thing? 

Well, me it turns out. 

The day I decided to do it, it was a pretty easy decision. I basically work up and was like "oh hey, i'm going to run a half marathon. I don't know when, but i'm going to do it."

And I did.

In the beginning, like December, my older sister was planning on running Gazelle Girl Half Marathon (with a friend of hers). She's not a runner. And so it was like, I knew I was going to run one eventually, so I better get on this bus too because I can't let her beat me to it! Maybe I am a little competitive at times after all. 

I began training for this race at the start of the year. By that I mean I began long runs. That was the only element from the training guide that I decided to follow. I was already I die-hard runner. I only needed to add the weekly distance run to my routine. It was easy at first. But that's only because it basically started from square one, and so I had already been doing the distance that it was instructing. 

I signed up toward the end of January. The day that I did my first 8 mile run. This was like a breakthrough to me. I was like "AHHH! I ran so far! Wow!"At the time I signed up, the race was so far into the future that I tried not to think about it. Though, as the date drew nearer that kind of became hard to do. Considering my long runs were actually becoming long runs. Since the first of the  I signed up for Gazelle Girl toward the end of January 2014. It was at this point that I was committed. I mean, I wasn't going to spend all of that money and have it go to waste. That would be silly. 

February rolls around. As does my first 10 mile run. Up to this point, I had been doing my long runs on Wednesday. I did this for the following reasons:

A. I had a 4 hour break between classes, so it was something to do. 

B. I could run indoors. The throughout of running outside wasn't too appealing. That, and not necessarily safe on some of the days. This winter was crazy.

So yeah, I had been running inside, but on this day I was on spring break. Not at school. And so I had to run outdoors. My first outdoor long run. I hated it.  So cold. So much running. It took forever. 

Also, unfortunately my sister's knee was injured in February and was told my the Dr. not to run on it for a good 6 months. So she was out of the race. March rolls around though and my sister-in-law signs up. So that's cool. 

March was an amazing month for me. I got a new high in miles. And grew a love for long runs. I hit the 13 mile mark and was like "okay, downhill from here."

And then came April. Ahh, April. Really, i'm not sure that there was a time where the race wasn't in the back of my mind just a little bit. The week before the race was the worst. I was so nervous. But as the week before turned into just days before, the nervousness wore off. I resigned myself to the fact that it would happen. And took comfort knowing that a week from then, it would all be over and I would be able to say that I had done it.

The day before the race a did a really easy 3 mile run. It felt fantastic. That night I was able to fall asleep surprisingly easy. 

And then, it was the day.

April 13, 2014, 6:05AM. My alarm goes off. Actually backtrack like five minutes. I woke up a few minutes before my alarm having no idea what time it was; I didn't know if there was minutes before my alarm, or hours. But I didn't want to check around for my phone, because then if it was hours I would be too awake to fall back asleep. So I laid there contemplating what to do. That is, check the time, or not check it. As I said before, I didn't want to check it because I didn't want to stay up. But as you can see, it didn't really do me much good because I was still quite awake in my thoughts. 

A few minutes pass and I hear my dad downstairs. This is good news, because it means that there is only a few minutes until the alarm. And so I continue to lay there, waiting for the alarm to chime.  

Okay, back to 6:05AM. I got out of bed. Did normal waking up stuff (wash face, pee, etc.) and then had breakfast. Afterwhich I brushed my teeth, gathered my belongings and was out the door my 6:30AM. I was dropped off at Colin and Lisa's apartment to ride with them  to the race. On the way Lisa handed my bib to me. Excitement grew. I had no nervousness. I knew it was the day, I knew it was happening, I knew that it would all be done within the next 4 hours. 

Photo Credit Lisa

And then we arrived. After parking, we walked to Rosa Parks. As we crossed the bridge, Colin said "I know, let's play the "who can spot the most runners wearing their race shirts" game."This was in sarcasm, and referring to our being against when people wear their race shirts during the race. In my opinion, you don't wear it until after you run it.

Photo Credit Gazelle Girl Half Marathon Facebook Page

We got to Rosa Parks probably at 7:30AM and stood around. People begin to fill the starting corral, the pacers included. Only, at first there was only the 9min/milers-the 12min/milers in the gate. And so I said to Colin "I guess people don't think that women can run any faster than a 9min/mile in a half." He laughed. In the next drew minutes though, the 8min & 8:30min pacers entered.
7:50AM rolls around and Lisa and I decide to enter the corral. Colin gave me a hug and told me he was proud of me. After Lisa and I entered the starting area, we wished each other luck, and headed our separate ways. I had no idea what pace I would be running. I didn't time myself during training. At all. And so, with Colin's advice, I just went to the front (as my last race I had been doing 6:47min/miles).

8:00AM. National anthem. A guy rambles, burning time because a car is stalled 15ft in front of the starting line. People can't get the car started, and decide to just begin the race.
And GO.

Photo Credit Lauren Petrecca for Mlive.

You can see me in the photo above. The one in the gray and purple tank, smiling at the camera.

It was honestly so exciting, that I ran a good 30 yards before starting my iPod. And then I was like "Oh wait, there's no music going..." And side note, my plan for this race was do mile 1 with music, miles 2-4 with Adventures in Odyssey, mile 5 with music, miles 6-9 with odyssey, and the rest music. 

Mile one was a breeze. I recognized this part of the course. It was the same as the turkey trot. 

Mile two. Again, easy. Colin was at the mile two marker, that was cool:) It was fun to have him encourage me. And he got a few photos too. 

Photo Credit Colin

Miles 3-4 were still easy. And fun. Like, this was still the distance of my no-doubt-every-day run.

Miles 5-8 were tricky. Not as in I was tired, it was just mentally difficult. There was just so far to go yet, and that's really all that I could think about. But once I hit mile 9, it got a lot better. I was past the half way mark, and from here it was only only 4 miles to go. Which, when I run at home, that's a distance I often do. 

Photo credit Rob Meendering for StellaFly

Photo above is around the 9-mile-mark.

Mile 10 was super encouraging. I heard the 8min pacers behind me call out "It's a 5k from here, baby!"

Colin was waiting at mile 11.5ish. That was encouraging and fun to see. His cheers encouraged me a lot. 

Mile 12 was annoying. Because it began with a hill. Hill's aren't something i'm unfamiliar with, for the roads at my house are purely hills. My reaction was more just like "ahh, seriously?"

Finally I came to the blue bridge. And then through the city. And then 1/4th of a mile from the finish was Colin. He snapped a picture of me and then sprinted alongside of the road making me go faster.

Photo Credit: Colin

And then came the finish! That part is kind of a blur. It was just an amazing feeling to sprint down through the corral, which was surrounded with so many people watching, and cross the finish line.

Photo Credit Robert Wilcox for StellaFly

I did it. Half Marathon. 

Time: 1:43:55

Age division place: 3rd!

Overall place: 60th!

I was quite pleased with these stats, it being my first half marathon. Less than 8min/miles. I was also less than a minute behind the person who placed first in my age division.

Photo Credit Colin

I'm totally going to do another in the future. Also leaning towards doing the Riverbank 25k in a few weeks...