Well........

thanks to Lindsey for posting this one on my wall as it is perfect!

Okay, so I thought long and hard about this one and well, here goes.  I need a redemption race.  I know I can do this distance (50K that is) so I need to prove to myself that I can finish and finish strong.  I talked with many of my friends who are more seasoned runners and they all said GO FOR IT!  I also consulted with my coach and chiro.  Well, my coach was supportive and I think my Chiro's words were something along the lines of you are crazy, but I think i prompted him to call me crazy, so there is that.

This was the original race I wanted to do, but it didn't fit into both Mel and I's schedule.  I have decided to give the 50K distance a second chance and try this race.  It was a bit pricey to enter late, but I just can't end this year without a success in this distance that I have trained so hard for!  50K take two!!!!

Stella update

Just a quick update.  Stella has slowly started showing symptoms of a flare up.  She spiked a fever the first day we were on the every other day pred dosage (10 mg every other day).  I have called KSU and they have upped her dosage back to 20 mg a day to see if that takes care of her fever.  I am sick to my stomach with worry about her.  We were doing so well and then this.  I hate seeing my very active little girl reduced to nothing.  She is so sore and stiff, and I am sure scared.  Well, I am scared too.  Scared this nightmare will never end.  On one hand, we know how to treat this.  On the other hand, the symptoms on high dose steriods are horrible in there own right.  Just after taking the higher dose of steriods, her fever had come down, but she is still very stiff and immobile.

An update to an update:  Meant to publish this last night.  At 1 am stella was panting so bad that I had to lift her off of the bed and carry her in the bathroom to lay her on the cool tile.  I don't think her fever was higher but laying in the bed with all the covers was making her very hot.  I got her some cold water and she seemed to cool down. I left her laying there and went back to bed.  At 4 am I awoke to her standing over me (had gotten in the bed by herself) staring at me willing me to feed her.   She seems back to normal this morning and back to being pred hangry. Three lakes of pee downstairs (Which may have been an assist from Harley as well).  Will keep everyone posted.  

The post I didn't want to post. My very first DNF

Okay, you know the drill.  This session of training has been less than ideal due to some nagging injuries.  My original foot injury seemed to have healed, but then I had some tendonitis happen that had moved down my leg and then into the attachment point at the navicular bone.  I had some very aggressive taping done to ensure I could at least try to run.  We headed up to Ellsworth late saturday afternoon to do some carb loading and get settled into our hotel.

We found a cute little steakhouse right next to our hotel that had some yummy chicken alfredo pasta plus lots and lots of bread.  They cook found out I was a runner and made it especially for me, and later for Pat and melly was well.  Unfortunately a little later, we all had horrible gas and had multiple bathroom trips, so lesson learned, stick to what you know, even if the cook makes you something special.  It looked harmless, but had to go buy indigestion meds!

The race started late so we didn't have to get up super early.  We stayed about 30 minutes from Wilson lake and the trail head.  Note to self:  Be wary of races that start at 9 am.  Honestly, I know that it is a toss up in October as to whether or not it will be hot or not.  At the start, we were all bundled up as it was around 50, but it quickly warmed up to the low 80s.  

We had heard how brutal the trail was from Robin (who did a 15K out there previously), but we still were not prepared for how crazy it truly was.  There was pretty much NO shade the entire course.  IF you see trees, there is no trail there, believe me.  You basically ran a switch backs up a large hills and then topped the hills and ran back down switchbacks on the other side.  The trail itself was a bike trail,  so at times, the run-able surface was not much wider than a bike tire.  It was super hard for me to run in, because my feet tend to go out when I run, and they don't want to stay in a narrow track.  

The views were spectacular.  I am afraid of heights, so sometimes I had to not look down, especially when we were on cliff faces or over water that had big open holes in the rocks.  One time we were running up and between the cliff face and the trail was a rock.  On the rock were hundreds of lizards!  I was almost afraid to run by for fear they would all jump on me.  The biking trails also had funny names.  What wasn't funny when one was called homestretch and it was NOT the homestretch. 

 I mostly ran by myself the entire time.  At the beginning, there was a 5 K, so had a little congestion to start, but as soon as they were done, we pretty much spread out.  I was probably last the entire time but oh well, I knew that was probably going to happen.  The surface varied with the terrain from big boulder like rocks that we had to navigate up and down (and I honestly have no clue how you would bike on) to sandy soft soil, and then back to hard pack dirt or rock.  The trails kept you on your toes literally. I almost tripped 6 times and fell twice.  Both times I was able to kind of catch myself before hitting hard.

Most of the aid stations were manned by one or two people, but a few just had tables and coolers with ice.  I had started up a conversation with the guy at mile 14ish aid station.  I was telling him how the heat was really starting to kick my butt.  I had my pack and my two 17 oz bottles, but I was not taking a chance and filling them up at every aid station just in case.  He suggested I dip my hat in the ice water left in the cooler, and then he took a cup full and doused my back.  Wow, it felt so good and helped me put major pep in my step.  So much so that I caught up with Melly.  I had seen her several times during the race and we always called out and waved to each other.  She was pretty far ahead of me for most of the race, so when I caught up to her I was super surprised.  She was nursing a leg injury that she couldn't figure out and also was feeling pretty sick.  At that point, we were in between aid stations at mile 15.  I didn't try calling my hubby right away, who was at the trail head, as I didn't think I had cell service.  I left her at mile 15 sitting and resting even though I did NOT want to.  I went head to tell the next aid station where she was.  She had water and was resting, and I just wanted to run as fast as I could to get her help.  I decided to turn my phone off of airplane mode and try to call and low and behold, I got through to tony. He alerted Melly's hubby, who had already finished his 30K (and won first place overall!!!!) and the race people and they headed out to retrieve her.  I later heard them honk at me as they were heading back to the trail head to shower and rest.  

It was about mile 18 or so that I started having major issues as well.  I started getting super dizzy going up hills, and also was having huge issues with nausea.  At one point, I had to just sit down on the trail in the shade.  I had been having no troubles getting my honey stinger waffles down, and had been drinking water like a boss.  I got my pretzels out and started munching on them, and surprise, the nausea went away.  I got back up and continued on, and any time I had that feeling, I would munch on pretzels and feel better.  I was still doing a walk/ run and was slowing down mightily.  I had previously been accomplishing a 14:30 mile, which made me so happy.  That would put me finishing around 8 hours, which wasn't great but doable.  At every aid station I was dipping my hat in the ice water in the coolers and washing my face as well. 

It just wasn't enough.  I just couldn't beat the heat.  At one of the last aid stations before the trail head, I chatted with the lady manning the station.  She suggested to take the 30 K loop at the end and be done as all of the runners were struggling.  I decided to be stubborn of course and go ahead and finish the 50 K loop, and then make a decision.  Well, that decision ended up being stopping at the 22.5 mile mark, which was at the trail head.  I was toast.  I had stopped sweating all together (at this point it was 82) and was walking pretty much all the time. I probably could have attempted that final 9.5 miles, but it would have been stupid to try.  Much of the second 50 K loop was back into full sun. My body was telling me to stop, and I had to honor it.  I didn't feel like I hit a wall, but more that the heat was too much for me to overcome.  

As I sit here typing this, I feel sunburnt, tired, still sick to my tummy, and I think in denial.  I hope that I really am not too upset tomorrow still, because right now, I just feel happy to have gotten as far as I did, and happy with my decision to end when I did.  I so hope that I keep that feeling, that I gave it my all, and even if I fall short of my goal, I still tried as hard as I could for as long as it was safe to do so. I am still waiting to hear results, but I think only 4 people actually finished the 50K of the 12 that started.  I know I was in good company with many others at the trail head relaxing before their long drives home.  Many of us just had to stop.  I will attempt another 50K for sure.  Maybe not one as brutal as this one.  There is one at the end of October, but that probably isn't a good idea with my foot and all.  Signing off now, going to bed and licking my wounds.  Going to enjoy biking this week and then a few months of easy runs before marathon season starts!

The Hay is in the Barn. Let's go!

I am not going to write up a day by day workout this week, because I have been mostly biking and resting.  My leg/ankle/foot feels much much better, but I don't want to push my luck.  I was planning on biking tonight, but we had soccer practice, and then I decided to just go out and run a mile.  Mostly, I wanted to see how the tape felt while I was running.  Previously, when I have been taped up for tendonitis, it didn't feel well as it put too much pressure on the ouchy spots.  I am happy to say that the tape isn't really bothering anything and feels helpful.

I go back for re-taping on Saturday morning.  I have to say, I haven't been distressed about my injury, and have been thoroughly enjoying my down time and biking.  Kind of scary right?  I am one of those hard headed people who will run on one leg if need be.  Apparently so is miss stella, but that is a different blog post.  Anyway, I have been going to bed early and sleeping till the last moment that I can and still get andrew and I ready in the morning and to school and work.  I have been eating good food and having a few beers and relaxing.  I honestly feel good about this weekend, even with the lay off.  I am ready.  The hay is in the barn.  I have trained all summer diligently, and I have pretty much enjoyed every humid, hot sunrise/sunset.  I have had so much fun training with this crazy lady!!!!!

This woman is my rock.  She has been by my side for almost every sweaty minute of this journey.  I love her so much, and I am so excited we are going to rock this course together!  We may not be running together for this race (we run our own races when it comes game time), but she will be with me every step of the way, just a few steps ahead.  

This course is going to be absolutely gorgeous, and I can see me taking lots and lots of pictures.  I am going to enjoy this course, and not be in a super hurry.  I hear there are only about 13 people registered for this event, and I will probably be DFL, but I just don't care.  What matters to me most is again getting my nutrition right, honoring this course, and finishing with a smile on my face or at least a grimace that resembles a smile.  I hope my body/lower leg behaves and lets me honor my goals.  

Well, I guess I will see y'all on the flip side!  I am hoping we have some sort of service so I can post to my instagram throughout the race.  Feel free to give me some cheers on my FB page (Michelle Gordon Coleman) or my instagram feed (redaussie3). I am so excited to be doing this race and so excited to take y'all with me!!!!

Stella ella recheck take 4 or 5???

I thought I had updated about her last recheck, but I can't find the post.  Basically, when we went last time, everything was good except the dumping of protein in her urine.  It was time for her recheck, in which they wanted me to collect urine for three days, refrigerate it and bring it in.  They would pool it to get an average to see what she dumps over a period of three days.

Unfortunately a few days ago, well maybe a few more than that, Stella became lame.  September 17th to be exact.  We had run 7 miles together, and she was completely fine during and post run.  Many hours later, she was laying on the bed with me, and she proceeded to jump down to get a drink.  She started limping on her front right leg, almost like her shoulder hurt her.  She continued to limp on that leg the remainder of the day and night, but was completely fine the next day.  Reminder, she is still on 10 mg a day of steroids once a day.  Anyway, I just chalked it up to her jumping off of the bed oddly and landing oddly.

Fast forward till September 20th.  We ran 6 miles post Konquer the Konza.  In fact, I took her and Deuce, which is probably not a good thing.  They run, rough house, stop, go, play, bump, and just generally act like NUTS.  They were both covered in mud, but very happy when I got home.  The lameness didn't start immediately, but I noticed over the course of several days, she was favoring a back leg.  She then would go from holding it up and being three legged lame, to running around like no problem.  I took her in with Deuce on friday September 23rd for his yearly check up, to just make sure we weren't missing anything.  We did palpations on every part of the leg, and could not find anything wrong.  We felt like it couldn't be too serious if she wasn't 100% three legged lame.

Fast forward again till last night September 25th.  Again on and off again lame, but sometimes to the point of not using that leg at all.  I started to think about how i was going to get another loan to pay for a TPLO.  The lameness so reminded me of how berry acted when she blew out her CCL.  I tried not to jump to conclusions because again, she wasn't like that all of the time.

September 26th.  KSU recheck.  Went in to pool the samples of her urine, but quickly unloaded all of my thoughts and fears about Stella to my poor student.  What if this is a flare?  What if this is a tear?  What if the steriods are going to make all of the test results null and void?  Can we taper again?  What about Tick borne disease again?  Are we still confident in our diagnosis of IMPA?  Here is what we know so far:

The KSU vets do NOT feel like this is a flare up (YIPEEEE).  However, they do not want to decrease the steriods in this case, until the lameness resolves.

Yes, the steriods could skew the results.  Even with the taper from 20 mgs to 10 mgs once a day, we still may not see the numbers change, or it still could be she just dumps protein naturally because she is a freak of nature.  OR the steriods could be causing the dump.  Still won't know till possibly months after she is off the roids (which doesn't look like it is going to be happening any time soon).

They do NOT think this is still some unresolved tick borne disease.  They did not feel like a new panel would give us any information other than drive up my already huge vet bill.

They are calling her injury an "athletic injury".  They felt she had response in her knee and hock in the back left leg.  She had no fluid so no inflammation in either of those joints.  They felt like she had some sort of subluxation somewhere, and that was why she was good one minute and not so good the next.  If it is a tear that is causing the instability, it is a partial tear and could have some stability in a month or so with inactivity (wish me luck).  The Ortho attending gave her an exam and felt like a month's rest was the best way forward.  No running, no rough play, just leashed walks and lots of rest.

We are going back in a month for an ortho re check and then after the test results today, should know more about the protein in her urine issue.  She did have an accident in the bed last night, which is kind of unusual, but in true stella form, she also got into the beef bullion cubes and consumed who knows how many cubes, and could have just drank a ton of water, thus the accident.  I will keep everyone posted in my normal weekly posts and then in a separate post on her recheck in a month.  I feel like we are moving in the right direction and this is just a temporary detour.

2 weeks till Hell Creek on Heels 50K! Training Week 17

Perhaps doing a race two weeks out from our 50K was a mistake, but I had fun and am hoping I didn't beat up my body too much.  Here is how the week went, and here are a few cool pics that Barb got at the race.

This is the best shot EVER!

Monday:  Rest day.  YES!!!!!

Happy wet and muddy puppies

Tuesday:  Planned speed work.  Nope.  Big nope.  6 easy miles full of walking, pokemon hunting, and running easy.  I honestly didn't know how I would feel, especially after not getting much sleep thanks to a toddler not wanting to go to bed.  Another phase we are going through, and I really hope it passes quickly.  Took the doggies along and while they both did 6 miles no problem, Stella is now oddly lame again.  She isn't limping, but I can tell she has a back leg that is bothering her.  Looks like both of us are having issues at the same time.  Back to KSU for her next week:(  Hoping that it was just too much mileage too quickly, and not a relapse.

All three of us in one shot!

Wednesday:  Planned strength training/cross training.  I biked 10 miles.  I am at this weird place where I feel super guilty if I leave my kiddo and hubby at night to do anything.  I am not sure why this has reared it's ugly head again, but mom guilt is real.  Still not 100% comfortable biking in the dark, but need to give it a try so that all of my work outs are done prior to anyone getting up in the morning.

Hiding in the pink hat

Thursday:  8 miles planned.  6 miles is what happened.  My foot/ankle/leg is very hateful right now. I am really getting nervous about my 50K.  I do feel like the shoe with the lift is causing most of the issues, so I am hoping a reduction in mileage, plus giving my lift shoes a break will help.  I am hoping that I haven't literally shot myself in the foot (sorry about the pun) with using my lift shoes plus the stabilizer.  I haven't had pain while running in a long time, and my foot is pretty much hurting the entire run now.  Going to pow wow with my coach.  It's possible I may be taking the rest of this week and all of next week off to try and get any healing done that I can.  This is NOT ideal, but I want to be able to run the race that I have trained so hard for all summer.

Friday:  Planned strength training/cross training.  I biked 12 miles. The corn is being harvested and the beans aren't too far behind.  I would like to bike longer than 12 but I have to bike after work for light at this point. I bike on gravel so not sure how that would work to avoid bigger rocks.  I need to just try and see how it goes some time so I can get in longer bike rides.   I almost got hit not once but twice.  People really do NOT pay attention.  I am glad that i am super vigilant when I run and bike and could tell that they were super distracted.

Saturday:  Rest day.  We didn't have soccer or anything going on, so we took it easy.  It was family day at KSU, so we headed over to partake in the activities.  Unfortunately, rain was threatening, so all activities were sent inside and downsized.  We got to see a nice band play, make powdered sugar pixie sticks, and andrew won some junk to be donated prizes.  About the time we were heading back to our van, the bottom fell out, so we headed downstairs to try and bowl.  Andrew wasn't hugely into it, but we promised him M&Ms, so he made it through one game.  The games were free, we just had to buy socks and rent our shoes.  We had fun, even if he didn't really get addicted to the new sport of bowling.  Bumpers make the game way more interesting for us grown ups!:)

Little red also got some new KSU clothes.  His current KSU clothes were 2T and very tight, so we fixed him up with a couple of new sets of KSU clothes, that are slightly bigger than what he needs.  Lots of room to grow! No running or biking all day, just slept in, took it easy, and had fun!

As I posted on Instagram, target is the devil.  Did we need a pickachu sweatshirt, no, but it was too cute not to buy.

Sunday:  A repeat of saturday.  A target trip, a whole lot of laziness including sleeping in, and some biking.  I got 13 on my bike and even got to ride through some pretty big puddles, none deep thank goodness.  

Total miles run:  12

Total miles biked:  25

Well in retrospect, I should have biked early in the week, and then run towards the end of the week.  I am not too freaked out by the fact that I missed two runs, including a long run, because honestly, the hay is in the barn.  If I don't get to run next week either until the race, I won't freak out then either.  Right now my focus is to arrive on the finish line as healthy as possible, even if that means loosing some fitness in the process.  Seeing my chiro monday and will go from there.  Have a great weekend and week!

Konquer the Konza 2016

Another Konquer the Konza in the books.  Still on a super runner's high from this one, minus the feeling of ick, and not being able to eat.  At least this time, I am not heading to the ER:)  I am overall very pleased with how the race went.  While it got hot towards the end, and did slow me down and make me take some walk breaks, I was able to get a 6 minute PR from the last time I did this race.

My friend at LivingLovingRunner (check out her blog at https://livinglovingrunner.com/ )took this pic and sent it to me.  She was not in the race, but she was doing her long run out at Konza.   I tried to get some pics as the sun came up, but they aren't near as beautiful as this!  Thanks to her for sending me this and then hooking up with me during the race and helping me during a time when I needed some company.  Okay, getting ahead of myself.

Here is my attempt.  Not near as pretty.  

Here is the Wamego crew pre race.  Matt and Jen did the 10K while Tom, Pat, Melly and I did the 25K.  We all rode together to let the littles sleep in.

This is the only picture I got during the race.  Barb got a few that I hope she posts later, but she had to deal with some down runners more than she could do photography.  We started out with the 10 K people, which is quite crowded on a trail, but they very quickly headed off while we kept trudging on.  The race started out nice and cool, but then the sun made an appearance, and quickly heated things up.  I think it was feels like 84 when we were done.  I felt like I was on point with nutrition and hydration for once.  I fueled every hour, so two times with the honeystinger waffles.  Since I was getting towards three total hours, I decided to take the third waffle I had brought along, and just have a big bite.  

This cool pic was taken by Matt Piper.  I can't wait to see what Barb got as well!

Some observations during the race:  

I saw Lindsey towards the end of the first loop, as I was heading back up the stairs again for the second loop.  I wasn't down, but I had been alone for a long time, so it was nice to see a familiar face, well someone other than the first place runner Joe lapping me on his second lap, while I was STILL on my first.  

A lot of people seemed to be undertrained and over dressed.  Yes, it was in the 60s when we started, but it quickly heated up.  I also saw tons of people in black, which just made me hot looking at them.  It's hard to not feel the pain of those struggling.  I seriously wanted to give each and every one of them a big hug and tell them they could do it!   

I tried to talk to many people on the second loop to try and lift their spirits, but they all had their head phones in.  The very few that didn't were fun to talk to, and we commiserated about how hard the race was.

Towards the end, a gentleman whom I had passed early passed me.  As he was motoring past, he yelled out, "come on, don't quit now! " (my pace had not changed, so not sure why he yelled that out)  I quickly told him that I was doing a 50K in two weeks, so no sprinting home for this one.  He laughed and finished ahead of me.  He made me smile for sure.  Well, him and my kiddo running with me to the finish.  I am pretty proud of the pace I was able to maintain for pretty much the whole race, minus the gigantic hills.  

Andrew ran the last little bit of the race with me.  He SMOKED me!  He never even looked back and then wore my medal the rest of the day.  I hope we are bringing up a kiddo that loves running as much as me!  I will try and embed the video, but I am technologically challenged, so don't hold your breath.  

Miss Kansas was handing out the medals so Andrew wanted his picture with her

Overall I was very pleased with my effort.   I feel like my fueling was on as well as my hydration, even if I did sweat very salty.  I quickly after the race drank three cups of water and NO Gatorade this time.  I tried to eat about an hour post race, but my stomach just didn't want it.  Not that I felt sick, thank goodness, but it just didn't feel like it wanted food.  What I did crave other than water?  Soda!!!! I had some soda at lunch, and then had to stop at a gas station and get more.  Why does my body want soda so bad and nothing else post hard races?  It's diet soda so not getting any more sugar in.  It also craves coffee, so had some coffee post race too.  I am still feeling good as I type, so hopefully no repeats of what happened last time.

Imagine my surprise when not only did Melly won first place in our age group, but I got 3rd place!!!!  When she checked my bib number, she exclaimed I got 3rd, but I honestly didn't believe her!  I made her look it up again.  I didn't get a medal, but I was excited just the same.  Now a couple of qualifiers, apparently we didn't have a ton of runners run the 25K this year. I think we only had 4 in our age group total, but heck, I will take it!  I guess a whole bunch of people changed from the 25K to the 10K, due to lack of training which was due to the horrible summer we have had with regards to weather and humidity. 

I am excited for my 50K, although I will be taking it a bit more easy in the 50K race.  I have heard it is super hilly, and NO shade, so going to respect that, hydrate like a boss, and walk those hills.  I want to thank each and every volunteer out there today!  I have volunteered for this race and it is tough, especially when the weather heats up.  I so loved the banjo player playing on the course.  Wanted to request rocky top, but was too busy running.  Thank you to Manhattan Running Company and to Konza Prairie for putting this race on.  Great job everyone!!!!  Till next year.........................