Ouch

It's been so long since I trained and ran an event that I forgot what it feels like in the days after.

I woke up Monday and could barely move. I can't believe how sore I was. I had the day off from work so in the morning I did Day 1 of Couch to 5k at the local trail. That loosened me up until I got home and tried to get out of my car. I hobbled to my front door like an old lady! I actually decided to go to the store and invest in a foam roller to help loosen me up. I contemplated going back to MMA but I was way too sore. I'm hoping to try on Thursday or next Monday. I sure do miss those guys! It's been 2 months since I stepped foot in there and I just know that when I go back it's going to be tough.

Health-wise I am okay. I have gotten a little light headed this week but both times I took just 1/3 of a Mecklizine tablet (the pills they gave me back in August for my vertigo) and then I am as good as new. I will never take a whole one again because of how much it knocks me out. So far, just taking that little piece helps get rid of whatever vertigo is left. Hopefully soon, I won't even need that. :)

My next race is the Pittsburgh Officer's Down 5K in November. Other than that, I have nothing planned so I'll be working on getting back into training and setting some goals for 2015. I have already decided to join a co-worker and some friends from the Facebook group RunJunkees and participate in the 2015 Pittsburgh Marathon as a relay team. We're doing a Superhero theme and our team name is the Runtastic Five. :) I volunteered to take the first leg...5.5 miles. I refuse to do the 3rd or 4th leg both of which are 6 miles and all uphill. My leg seems fairly flat. I may not be running the entire 26.2 miles but I am so excited (and nervous) to be running alongside actual marathoners in an actual marathon! Who knows, maybe it will inspire me to do the half the following year, or maybe the Pittsburgh 10-miler in 2015.

Not sure what other goals I will have for 2015. I heard someone talk about setting birthday goals. Every year on her birthday she sets the goals she would like to meet before her next birthday. My birthday is coming up in November and I am thinking of doing something similar. That way I don't have to wait until the new year. It'll be interesting to see what I come up with. :)

Great Race 5K

Well, this was it. My first event since June (not counting the virtual run I did a couple weeks ago).I actually woke up this morning without any vertigo symptoms. That alone is a miracle. Everyday I seem to wake up with a little light headedness, but it eventually goes away and then it will come and go through the day. It truly is annoying. Yesterday was specifically bad. I even had to miss out on a party I was looking forward to going to and wound up in bed at 7pm.

But this morning was different. I woke up feeling awesome, which is a good thing considering I had to get up at 5am. My cousin picked me up at 6am and we headed into the city where we took a shuttle bus to the start line.

There were 5500 people in the 5K and 10,000 in the 10K. I have never been in a race with so  many people! I'm not the biggest fan of crowds but I figured the crowd would eventually spread out once we got started. There were no corrals so all the 5K runners AND walkers started together. the 10K people began an hour after us.

The first mile was amazing. I think it helped that most of the course is downhill which is new to me. I usually wind up doing events where everything is uphill, so this was a nice change. I ran the entire first mile. I have never been able to run an entire mile, so I thought I'd do great.

Then came mile 2

Making Hard Decisions

The more I think about it, the more I am thinking that I should probably NOT participate in this weekend's Gladiator Run. Although I have waited all year for this, I'm just not ready. Yesterday I bent over and got a horrible headache and some dizziness. Obviously the symptoms from my vertigo are not completely gone. A friend of mine had vertigo and it took him two and a half months for all the symptoms to end. I have heard similar stories from others. I am about a month and a half into this already. I do feel tons better than before, but I am obviously not at 100%. I hadn't had any symptoms for three days until I tried bending over all the way (bending over to pick things up is actually fine...attempting yoga poses, not so much. LOL)

I'm not worried about the running part of Gladiator. I'm worried about the obstacles. I am wondering whether or not an obstacle might set off some symptoms. I'm not sure how I am going to feel climbing high walls or cargo nets. I dislike heights but I actually love cargo nets; however, I'm worried that being that high and having to look down will cause some dizziness. I'm wondering if the intensity of the course will just be too much for me.

It's also an hour drive to the event and I would be driving by myself. If something does happen and I wind up with some dizziness or light headedness, how the heck am I going to drive an hour to get back home? 

Besides having symptoms from vertigo, I haven't trained in 2 months. I'm not ready for this. I will probably make a last minute decision but right now I am leaning towards not doing it and oddly enough, I actually feel peace about it, although this is something I have looked forward to for months. I finally know how other athletes feel when they're sidelined and have to sit something out that they've been wanting to do. It stinks. But I also have the Pittsburgh Great Race at the end of the month that I really want to do and I would hate to have something happen at the Gladiator Run that might also knock me out of doing the Great Race. Although my running stinks, that is something I can do without having any problems so I plan on doing the Great Race even if it means coming in last because I'm slower than a turtle. :)

Gladiator may have to wait one more year.

Then and Now

Thought you might enjoy a look at my transformation. May not be as huge as some, but I am still pretty darn proud of myself!

Haiti

This year I traveled overseas for the first time when I embarked on a mission trip to Grand Goave, Haiti. It was truly a life-changing event. It's one thing to see images on a TV screen, but it's quite another to see it all up close and personal. I have decided to go back in 2015 with a church group from Ohio that I met and served alongside side with in Haiti. Below is my Go Fund Me page for those of you who would like to make a donation to my trip. I'm trusting God to open hearts and wallets to this mission. It's so disheartening when you hear stories of people raising $50,000 toward a stupid potato salad recipe (Potato Salad) but you can barely get anyone to donate to a much more worthwhile cause. I can't help but wonder what goes on in the mind of someone as they donate their own money to a potato salad recipe.

But if you feel called to give to a cause that will reach out and help those in need, I hope you will consider my upcoming trip:


2015 Mission Trip to Haiti

Overcomer

Today is Day 1 of feeling completely normal. Haven't had one episode of vertigo...yet. :)

Yesterday was pretty awesome as well. Although I woke up with some light headedness, it quickly went away and I proceeded to get myself out to the trail and run/walk 3.1 miles. It was a virtual 5k race in honor of 9/11. I've never done a virtual race before but it was just what I needed to push myself. My tush hurt and my legs wanted to give out, but I finished it....and got my first leg cramp afterward. Now that I seem to be getting back to normal, I really need to start eating healthy again. I can't believe I haven't gained any weight these last 2 months considering all the crap I've consumed.

When you're so used to being active, it's hard to spend so much time sidelined and unfortunately it's also hard to get back on track. My pace yesterday stunk and I felt like a slug. But I kept going. I don't expect to do anything spectacular this weekend at the Gladiator Run, but I still plan on kicking some booty. I'm also hoping to be back to MMA and Insanity after that.

I get knocked down but I get up again

Going on a month and half now and I am still experiencing some light headedness, although I do believe it's improving. On Sunday I went to the trail and knocked out a mile. When I got back to my car I actually felt like I could do more. Had one of the best night sleeps in a while that evening. Today I feel like there is a lot less light headedness and hopefully this means it's on the way out. I had an MRI today of my head and ears and it came back NORMAL, praise God! I just wish I knew what was causing this and that it would all just go away. I'm not so sure it is vertigo anymore and if it is, it sure likes to linger! I saw a physical therapist last week who did a funky head maneuver that is supposed to help. He did tell me, "This may feel like it's going to last forever, but it's not." Let's hope so!