My Missed Half

This past weekend I gave away not one, but TWO race bibs. I had over committed myself because the date on the website for The Haunted Half was incorrect when we first started looking at it so my day was free to register for The Brent Event with a local girl who is trying to get trained for the Tinker Bell Half in January.

Wellll... I double booked. So I gave the 10k Bib to one of the girl's other friends and then... the leg... so I gave my Haunted Half bib to a friend of my BRF Sara. SO BUMMED.

From the get-go I was jealous... She Insta'd this picture of them at the start.

That's me there on the left. I am SO FAST. 

And then this one.

Buuuuut, I can take it. I really wanted to see how she did because, if you remember, when we did Big Cottonwood she finally left me to sprint the final mile and her thirteenth mile was an 8 minute mile. So she finished 3 minutes ahead of me. This girl had the potential to kill this. 

I waited for more news and then there was THIS...

Her official time was 1:47:10. And that is ridiculously fast!

I am so happy for her! If I were there I would have only slowed her down - I didn't even want to race it I wanted to have fun in costumes! I am so happy for her that she got this PR!

If I ever get below a 2 mile half I know I can retire. (I won't but I know I could...)

She made me feel a little better by telling me she prefers to race with me, even if she is slower. She said I am far less annoying to talk to than the voice in her head that kept telling her to go faster!

Yay for Sara! So sad I couldn't play too but knowing she did so well made me feel so much better. In the meantime I went to the PT and found out exactly what my issue is. More on that later.

Congrats Sara! You rock!

I am pouting.

Hey!!! Sorry about my little blogging haitus! My twins turned six and what do you know? They notice. everything. So I have been quite busy making it special. Not to mention playing with new toys.

Disney Infinity - it's for the whole family ya'all.

My second half marathon was supposed to be on the 26th, this Saturday. I say supposed to be because I can't do it. I am giving away my bib. And I am so upset about it! I guess you would call this pouting. I am pouting.

I went to the doctor to have my leg checked out. I was starting to think it was likely a stress fracture from the down hill running (in prep for this half!) but I had no idea. I was kind of nervous about that because they take so long to heal! Not good.

In talking the doctor he basically had no idea what I did to my leg. It was unlikely a stress fracture would show up on an x-ray. He said they would need to do MRI's to confirm but instead of spending the money we can treat it like a stress fracture. Buuuuut let's do x-rays just in case to rule things out.

The x-rays were super clean. After he left I took charge of the computer and this is what you get...

I just added this one so you can see what my fat butt looks like on x-ray. 

There is another x-ray of my hip but that is rated R.

There are no bright spots or anything to cause him concern and we looked at my hip and knee which looked great (good to know). 

He did an examination and wiggled my knee around. Not terribly comfortable but everything seemed great to him! He was now 100% sure it was soft tissue and not bone. Hallelujah. Aside from people thinking I am making it all up, the healing time for soft tissue injuries, made up or not, is significantly shorter than a stress fracture! 

So now what? He recommended that I got to Physical Therapy for a month because obviously something is going on. He recommended their therapist that works specifically with runners (he called him a "giant running nerd"). He will hook me up, make me run and analyze my run. This is something I was considering paying out of pocket for because my hip flexor issue was this same leg so it's possible there is something going on with my form that I can tweak. I will do that and four therapy sessions. 

Also - bad knees run in my family and the doctor said it is definitely possible for people with bad knees and hips to run! As long as their form is correct. 

In the meantime, he told me that running the half on Saturday wouldn't do any permanent damage but it would significantly set back my healing time. I hadn't trained now, having taken a couple weeks off, and the idea of going back to where I was after my last ten mile run? Not able to walk? No thanks. So I had to break my BRF's heart and tell her I am out. 

My first appointment with the PT is next Tuesday and I will keep you posted how that goes, I think it will be fun! 

For now - No running. None. All low-impact exercises only Elliptical, Stationary bike and swimming. We are two for three here at home but I don't think all my begging will get Matthew to buy me a pool. Not even a little one. I haven't done anything though because my leg still hurts. I think I will give it another week or two then pick things back up again... but still no running, that will get a few weeks more and then I will start slow again. I need to be in tip top shape for the Princess, training starts in December!

DisBroad What! What?

You may have noticed by now with my hints along the sidebar over there ------>
that I am totes in the club! I am a DisBroad! We are a group of great gals who love Disney!

Except for one thing... I have only ever been to Disney once, and it was half my life ago...

What?!

So how did *I* get to be a DisBroad? Here we go...

At the beginning of the year I was talking to a couple of my imaginary friends Patty and April. We have been online friends for over five years (wow, what a trip eh girls?). You have heard of them if you have been following this blog since the beginning.  Patty was a RunDisney fanatic and she had recently recruited April to do her first Princess Half Marathon. They were hitting the recruiting pretty hard and well... it didn't take much to talk me into a group trip February 2014!

I need a girl's trip so bad I will run 13.1 miles to get one! Wait... what? Run? I don't run! What was I thinking?

So I did what I had to do and I started running... and running... and here I am (when I am not injured which is like... all the time...) running!

Enter Disney. It is my goal to get the kids to Disney in 2014. I just couldn't make it happen this year. But I have such a great Disney network now that they (and you!) can help us get there right? So stick with me and let's find the Disney magic together!

You can read a little more about me on my family blog.

For short, I have five kids, ages 5, 5, 3, 2 and 1. I am one busy lady! In addition my daughter has special needs due to a brain and spine malformation. She is one of a kind and pretty darn awesome. I love to watch her inch stones and how she influences others which is why I journal in my other blog.

I love my husband, reality TV and being a mom and that's about as much as I have time for. There will be plenty of time for other hobbies (and sleeping) later right? Right?!

In my spare time (ha!) I call myself Colorfully Twisted and I make custom ornaments and jewelry and I am just gearing up for a busy couple of ornament making months. I will have a Princess 2014 ornament hanging on my tree next year!

My blog is mainly running focused but the DisBroads and I have a little something in the works to help you to follow along in my Disney journey. (As well as keep up with a whole host of other things!) Stay posted and keep up with the DisBroads on FaceBook.

I am looking forward to sharing a lot of my running and Disney firsts with you!

Remember how...

I went off about that article a little while ago... and then I went off about a follow up article not too long after?

Remember how I tweeted the author of the article to let him know his article was #weaksauce?

Well he can take it...

Not long after that Tweet from me he started following little old me on the tweeter. Which I found hilarious. I am not a big tweeter-er and I really have nothing important to say. Not only that but the Tweeter removes what little filter I have! I just go out there and spout off... sometimes when I shouldn't!

This author, let's call him Kevin shall we, tweeted a picture of a raccoon in a garbage can that he took late at night while running through Central Park. I responded with something silly (raccoons are scary yo) and he tweeted me back telling me that the picture was definitely not a close up!

So even though I don't approve of his writing (okay, I have only read two articles)(and okay he does happen to be a Pulitzer Prize winner) and I told him so, he can take it and he just keeps on running.

Seems like a pretty stand up guy no?

So Kevin, let's see what else you've got. I will be watching you!

(Poor guy...)

Slowest Generation - revisited

Remember that WSJ article I got all worked up about? Here is a link for reference. Well - they responded to me!! Okay, okay - maybe not me specifically but they responded to the general masses. (Sounds so much more exciting the other way no?)

After all, I certainly wasn't the only one that has notice this article. There was a whopping 283 comments from WSJ subscribers to the original article while readers duked it out on whether or not parading through races was a good thing or a bad thing. The author nailed the controversy and buzz right? Considering it's a narrowed target audience and you have to be a subscriber to comment? So there is something to this?

Now that we see that there is interest, let's follow up on it! He did! He knew there was more to the story so he wrote another article that published yesterday.

The Slowest Generation Strikes Back.

I do love this opener "Anyone worried about apathy among the young nowadays ought to try this: Call them slow."

But other than that this article... for lack of a better term, stinks.There is nothing to it. In fact, the only cool piece of actual information that I read in it was the response from The Color Run's founder: "In two years, 2 million world-wide participants have toed our start line. If that isn't impressive enough, 60% of them had never done a race before." (Note, my first 5k was a similar novelty run just a couple months ago and now I am training for my second half.)

REALLY, that's it? There is no information on WHY people choose to run these type races over others? No information on the US obesity rate and why it's okay to bag on anyone choosing to just move? No information about how much money is here? (It is the WSJ after all, mixing things up!) That's it?

What about this?
Defending the "Slowest Generation"
This Runner's World Forum
Another Blogger's Response
And another one...

Oh boy - okay - There are far too many responses that provided a much more WSJ worthy information piece. A simple Google search clearly proves that this article fired up a whole host of responses from people ready to share what they thought, and it's good stuff too! Stats, resources, etc.  (Don't worry Kevin - I won't do all the investigating for you... you get paid more, and I have like... one reader.)

I will just ask again... Is it a shame to get people moving for the "wrong" reasons? An entire industry of 'Novelty Runs' has been created... and it makes MONEY. Not to mention the races that attract serious runners and novelty runners alike, hello RunDisney.  More and more children are wanting to get involved because being active looks like less of a chore and more like fun! Any stats on the ages of new runners?

Even though it was pointed out that I am older than the generation spoken of in the first article, it still gets to me a little. I think there is a lot more to this story than this simple (weak) response from the WSJ. Did you read it? What did you think? All fluff?

(PS. I may or may not have tweeted the author and it may or may not have included the tag #weaksauce. Someone might need to take my Tweeter away!)

Deep tissue massage?

Uhhh... 

A couple of weeks ago my quad started really bothering me, it was tiiiight, so tight, big knots. And for some reason none of the normal quad stretches would get it. I tried the foam roller too... to no avail. It was too deep. 

I thought I could massage it myself, what an ideal location to be able to really get in there, but I could never find it with my hands, only my elbow. I just couldn't find it to work on it! 

After my long run last Saturday I bought a "The Stick" which I looove, love. For real. But more on that on a slow day. That would work for short period of time but not for the long haul. So I took this week off of my two shorter runs. 

Back at it Saturday morning and I ran 9 miles of the course I am running on the 26th. Ouch! Still a problem, the entire run... and don't even think about stopping because starting again is one big joke! 

It just so happens that the girl I run with's sister-in-law is a masseuse and she works from her home. (And for a Chiro.) Can she squeeze me in? Oh please, oh please! 

Huzzah! 

Welcome to my first deep tissue massage. And HOLY OUCH! Really! Apparently it wasn't my quad but a muscle that runs UNDER my quad so you can imagine how fun it was for her to have to move my quad to the side and work on it! 

At one point I said "Oh mama!" and she actually said "your mama can't help you now!" and laughed maniacally. (Or maybe I made up the laughing part, but she definitely said that.) 

I think I expected to walk away and to be better but Saturday night I could barely walk! So I Google (what can I say, it's what I do...) and it's totally normal to be sore for 24-48 hours and to stick with it because it's worth it! 

limp, limp, limp

I would totally do it again though, I am a glutton! 

Ever had one? Care to share your thoughts?

The Slowest Generation

I don't think I had stopped glowing from the Electric Run when I saw this article come across my feed.

The Slowest Generation - Younger Athletes Are Racing With Less Concern About Time

Read it. It's good stuff. Some high lights include this photo caption "A lack of competitiveness among younger runners is turning some races into parades." and the linking to a blog post called "Dumbing Down, Slowing Down". Yep - You get the gist. This article is largely about how younger Americans are totally lazy and slow. "The lack of competitiveness in the newer generation should be concerning to us all!"

[enter more 'cry for action' type wordy words]

I, for one... am totally offended by this article! I mean, I know one CHOOSES to be offended and you can let it slide, but I CHOOSE to be offended! I have a few 'novelty races' under my belt now, none timed... all a BLAST! In addition, even my races I hadn't set a goal for, I just wanted to get out there and finish.

I didn't recruit my friend Sara to the half marathon by talking about how fast we were going to be... in fact, I warned her I was going to be sloooow. I said "imagine running down that street! Listening to our feet hitting the pavement next to the sound of the bubbling river! Seeing the leaves of the trees just starting to turn! Feel the crisp, almost fall, air in our lungs! It is going to be amazing!" I was not intending to go fast, or even see how fast I could go. I just wanted to run!

Heck, Traci and I didn't even time ourselves at Color Me Rad! (We regretted it, but whatever...) Come to think of it Matthew and I didn't even look at the time at Foam Fest either!

So, as far as the article goes? Guilty... so guilty. Does that mean you calling me lazy?

Lack of competitiveness! Everyone gets trophies! We all hold hands! We all win! It's a travesty, we are killing competitiveness!

And to that I say...
More people are participating in sporting events than ever before. Be them novelty races or Boston qualifiers. The numbers cannot be argued. People are now seeing runs like The Color Run and obstacles races like Tough Mudder as obtainable. They are setting their sights on these races because it feels like something they can do, and something that they can have fun doing! Race prices are reflecting that races are becoming big business because they are ever increasing and even small town, well run marathons are having to use a lottery system because demand is so high.

What is the harm in giving people an active goal that they can achieve? Crossing a finish line, no matter what pace? The more they do it, the faster they will naturally get anyway, and the healthier they will be. Who are other "athletes" to judge? Really who even cares?

As a newer runner the elitist attitude is embarrassing.

The whole reason I started running was to be able to not keel over and die while doing the Princess Half Marathon at Disney World. Is that going to be a competitive race for me? Nope. It's not about the race, it's an experience. It will be my first time at Disney World, I can't wait to see what new sights are around every corner. I need to take it all in, slowly.

I am the only person I am competing with, and even then... if I score a new PR? Good on me. If not? Meh.

Isn't it about feeling alive? It is for me.