Does This Count?

For a few years now, I have had this goal:  To run a half marathon by second year of college, but to train like I am going to run one for my first year and if I can, do it.

Friday afternoon my mom picked me up from college.  We drove all the way up to my grandparents.  We stopped a couple times, once at the outlet mall.  As my mom was checking out in one store she just happened to ask if there was anywhere you could get a treat around there, such as a caramel apple.  My mom thought the answer was going to be no, but the cashier said yes, a new candy store just opened right down around the corner.  Another shopper said that she was just in there and said they had some caramel apples that looked amazing.

So, we went down to this candy store.  We looked around a bit.  I was eyeing this caramel apple, and when the lady was telling me the different kinds of caramel apples and said that is one was turtle, I knew it was for me.  It was DELICIOUS!

When we got up to my grandparents, my grandma hopped into our car.  First we stopped at a cute antique store that my mom had seen the last time she was up there and then we made our usual stops at Trader Joe's and Costco.  

We spend the night we my grandparents (Hi Grandma & Grandpa!).  It was great to see them!

The next morning my mom and I got up bright and early.  I am now in college, so I tried my first half marathon.  This last summer when my mom and I had gotten together with some friends from our old neighborhood, a few of us decided that we should do a half marathon together this fall.  We signed up for the Gear Western Half Marathon. 

I hadn't trained at all for this half.  All summer I had been running 6 miles most days.  Towards the end, I ran a couple 8 milers.  And, then I went to college.  All of a sudden couldn't run 3 miles.  Something on me hurt, it was hot, I didn't know where I should run... I am sure there were a lot of factors that explained why I was not able to run very well. 

For a while, I really didn't do too much exercise.  I did do some, but not what I am used to.  A couple weeks ago, I started getting up and going to the gym right when they open in the morning.  I have just been doing the elliptical and weights.

I didn't know how this half marathon that I signed up for was going to go.  My mom didn't know if we should even do it (She was signed up too, but hadn't been training.  She thought she would just walk it, which she knew she could just do.)  But, I still really wanted to do it.  I just didn't know if I would just walk the whole thing, walk and run, or try to run it all.

Then, last weekend I did a 10k.  It went better than I thought it would go.  I gave me confidence that maybe I could actually do this half marathon.  I kept getting up and going to the gym.

And, sooner than later, the day of the half marathon came.  We met up with one of my old pre-school friend and her parents.  She and her mom had been training to do the half marathon.  My mom decided not to do it... it would have taken her too long.

On October 11, 2014, I somehow ran my first half marathon.  My time was 1 hour, 43 minutes, and 26 seconds.  It felt really good.  There were a couple miles that went by really slow, but all together, it went by really fast.  The route was BEAUTIFUL.  The leaves were all colorful, we ran by a lake, on a gravel trail, and all over the place.  It was a perfect day for a half marathon.

Betsy and I both won a prize.  I got first in our age group and she got second, so our trophies were old record albums.

Afterwards, my mom and I went out for lunch with Betsy and her parents to Panera Bread.

The half marathon was completely worth doing.  It was great to see my grandparents and an old pre-school friend, it was a beautiful day for a half marathon, and the half marathon itself so much fun.  Now I want to do another one!

I just don't know if this should count towards my goal though.  I successfully ran a half marathon.  But, half of doing a half marathon is training for it, which I didn't do.  So, I probably could have done a lot better.  What do you think?  Should this count towards my goal or not?

Monster Cookies

Here is our favorite monster cookie recipe.  They are so good.  I made a batch for my track team to have after our meet last Tuesday.  Speaking of track, here are some pictures from the season...
Three of us are in track this year.

All John wanted to do in track was pole vaulting...

...but of course he has to do SOME running.

Thomas and I are distance runners... and distance runners only.

Now, back to the cookies.  These cookies are REALLY good.  It is almost like eating a granola bar.  This are soft, chewy, and thick.  But, better.

Monster Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp. corn syrup or honey
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
6 whole eggs
4 tsp. baking soda
9 cups uncooked quick oats (I did part quick & part old fashion)
1 (9.4 oz.) package M&M candies
1 (12 oz.) package chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter, peanut butter, corn syrup/honey, vanilla, sugars, and eggs.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheets and flatten a little.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes.  Do not overbake or cookies will not be soft.

Securian Winter Run 2014

Today I ran (jogged) a 10k.

I was not at all prepared.

My time was 56:36.

I jogged very slowly.

It was cold.

My leg hurt.

The last time ran over 5 miles was July 15, 2013, when I ran 6 miles under 40 minutes.  And, then... I got injured.

This last month I have jogged up to 4 miles... but, only a couple times.

I love doing road races (I don't really race them, I just run them for fun).  Since I haven't been able to do one for a while, I really wanted to do one... in the winter.  My Mom asked if I wanted to do the Securian Winter Run (this was my third year doing it).  I did.  It was going to be pretty much the only weekend that there was a race and that I was open to do one.  My Mom also asked me if I wanted to do the 5k or the 10k.  I said I would prefer to do the 10k.  I would feel better about myself if I did that one.  So, I did.  And, I probably should have done the 5k.

The beginning and the end of the route went through the downtown area.  For some reason this area is a lot colder.  Everywhere outside was cold... I mean really cold.  But, the downtown area was even colder.  But, the middle part of the race wasn't too bad.  It was still cold, but not unmanageably cold.

In my mind I had 60 minutes.  Since I wasn't really prepared for this 10k I told myself that if I needed to walk some it would be ok.  I didn't walk ever.

Today, for some reason my leg really hurt.  The entire time I was running (jogging) it hurt.  But I lived.

And, I finished.

I"M JOGGING!!

Ok.  It's been a while that I haven't any any cast on... since the beginning of October.  Lots has changed since then... so I haven't blogged about my ankle for a while.  After I got that darn cast off, I could barely walk.

At physical therapy I pretty much had to re-learn how to walk.  Limping can cause other problems, and I really didn't want that to happen.  The physical therapist gave me some exercises to do to strength my ankle back up.  With a couple visits, I was making progress.  I started to go out for walks (...and, ok, I did do a LITTLE jogging during them).  Then, the physical therapist gave me the ok to walk for a couple minuets, then jog for a couple minuets, and repeat that a couple times.  Each week I was to increase the amount of jogging.

The first couple times I went for a walk/jog (about mid-November) I felt like I was flying.  But, then my leg realized that it hadn't been used for a while.  Everything in my leg hurt!  A day after I would do some walking/jogging I was pretty much limping.

About two weeks ago I biked a little on our stationary bike.  The next day jogging felt good!  Then about last week, someone suggested to me that I maybe I should do some biking.  So, this past week, I have been biking and walk/jogging every other day, and it so far has been making jogging a lot nicer.

Last Saturday there was a benefit 5k for this guy at our church who has cancer.  I really wanted to walk/jog it.  I did.  It was very laid back.  It was slow... but that was ok.  It was so nice outside.  It was on a bike path and then did a loop on a trail in the woods.  Everything was covered with snow and it was pretty warm out.  It a great "race" to start back with.

So, I haven't really had any contact with my coach since the cross country season.  He sent me an email with just a question mark.  But, I wasn't going to respond to just a question mark.  Then, he sent me an email actually with words.  I responded that I was doing some walking/jogging.  Then, last week, we sent me an email saying "update".  My Mom replied that I was going to walk/jog a benefit 5k.  And, he replied, "Too soon!!!!".  Well, I discarded that.  He can't tell me what to do.  And, I felt like a robot with those emails.  I could tell that this benefit 5k was going to be very laid back... and it was.  I didn't plan to go "hard", I wanted to do it to motivate me to get out and walk/jog and because it was for a guy with cancer.  I am so glad I did it!

Only a couple weeks ago did my ankle look actually normal.  I could actually see all my bones down near my ankle.  That was pretty exciting!

Cross Country

 Last Tuesday night, we had the cross country awards night.  That means that there is no more high school cross country for me.  It is kind of sad, but I am kind of ready to move on and try college cross county.

Cross country has been a great experience for me with all the years I have participated (7th - 12th).  Well, I didn't really participate (run) this year because I had that darn stress fracture.  I went to all the practices that I could make and all the meets.  It was hard because I really wished I could have been running.  But, the girls did an amazing job (good job everyone!).

These are the sweatshirts we got this year.  I absolutely LOVE the way they turned out!

The Hard Cast

Today, I got a hard cast.  I could tell that my ankle wasn't going to heal with just an ace bandage and a boot.  I could still walk on it, so it was hard not to.

Right away this morning, my Mom and I went to the doctor's office to get a hard cast on.  I could of gotten a hard cast right away when I found out that it was a stress fracture, or I could just stay off it and use the wrapping and boot.  I thought the wrapping and boot would be easier, because then I could take it off for showering and sleeping.  But, I ended up being on it more than I should.  As time went on, I could tell that it was starting to hurt more.  I decided that I really need a hard cast, even though I really don't want one, so that it can heal.

The doctor said that the stress fracture is going across my tibia.  A stress fracture in the tibia really requires a hard cast to heal.  So, it is probably best that I got the cast.  I really don't want to end up in surgery for a broken bone that needs pins and screws.

This is my first time ever getting a cast.  The cast is actually heavier than I thought it would be.  I really need to do leg lifts with my leg with the cast.  That way that leg won't atrophy.  I think the cast my act as a weight for doing leg lifts!

The doctor was the first to write on it.  He said that he is always the first to write on the casts he puts on.  He drew a little, very simple diagram, showing me where the stress fracture and sprain were.

We are pretty sure that the stress fracture (which occur over time) came from a combination of the sprain that I had and running.

It is relatively hard dealing with not being able to move around normally.  I love running, and I love just getting things on my own.  Going to school is harder too, especially when you really don't want to be there is in the first place.  Crutches are very uncomfortable.  It is actually hard to deal with a lot of things.

I can tell that my coach isn't too thrilled about me getting a hard cast.  He doesn't really care about my will being, it seems.  It seems that he just wants me to run on the team, so we can win.  It seems all he wants is to win.  He asked me if the doctor said that I would be all ready to go after I go back in October to get the cast off.  Of course not!  The doctor isn't ever going to guarantee anything like I am for sure going to be all better by a certain day, especially it being 4 weeks away.  Actually, the doctor said that if my ankle is not better after they take the cast off (and take another x-ray to double check it), he is just going to slap me in another one.  So, dealing with coaches is sort of stressful too.

What Would The Ride and Tie Be Without Taco Dip?

One of our annual events for cross country is to do the ride and tie.  The ride and tie is where you team up with with one other person.  As a 2 person team, you have one bike.  One person starts off running and the other person starts off biking.  Then after a few minuets, the bikers will park the bike and start running.  Then, when the runner gets to the bike, they hop on it, and start biking,  and pass their partner.  Once they are a little ways ahead of their partner, they drop the bike and start running again.  So, it creates a leap frog affect.  We do this for about 8 miles.

The start.

Out on the course.

The first to finish!

Finishing.  My cousins were here because afterwards they went to play paintball.  They had fun cheering them on (even though you only see the participants at the start and finish, unless you go out on the course) and watching for them to come in.  When they saw them coming in in the distance, they ran out a ways, and then ran the very end with their cousin.

We have always been partners.  We started off doing it together in 7th grade, and then 8th grade, so we wanted to be partners for the rest of the times.  But, with my darn ankle I obviously couldn't.  Sad:(  We have always taken a picture together after we finished, so we still kept that tradition.

 This is a race, but is relaxed and fun.  There a bunch of crazy records, like same middle name, mother-daughter, middle schooler and high schooler, varsity boys.  We have record as 7th grade girls. Either that means we have a record of taking the longest in 7th grade, or we improved most form 7th grade to 8th grade.  The record isn't that clear.  When we first started doing this, we were dead last, and took a long time.  But, somehow (neither of us really know how this happened), we won it last year!

On our little girls team this year, two of us are on crutches.  So, I guess we could be "partners" this year... the cheer-team partners.

After the race, we have a potluck.  It is usually held at someone's house that lives near by where the event takes place.

My Mom is know for this taco dip.  Every one LOVES it.  This is what we bring when there is a cross country potluck or party.  One year, my Mom didn't know what to bring, so I reminded her that she is know for this dip.  Now, she knows what to bring everytime.

 Serve it with tortilla chips.

The little, but lovely girls team (one girl is missing).

Taco Dip

This is really called 7 Layer Taco Dip.  But, my Mom never puts all 7 layers on.

16 oz. Refined Beans (we use fat free)

12 oz. Guacamole

1 cup Sour Cream

1/2 cup Mayo

1 Pkg. Taco Seasoning (Mom does about 2 T.)

Salsa

Cheese

Mix together the sour cream, mayo, and taco seasoning.  Spread the refined beans on a platter.  Then guacamole and then taco seasoned mixture.  Spread some salsa over it, and then sprinkle some cheese on top.  Serve with chips.

Mom doesn't do the guacamole.  But, I sometime want to try it with it.

My Stress Fracture

Well, yesterday, I went to back to the doctor because my ankle hasn't seemed to be getting any better.  They took another x-ray, to make sure I didn't have a stress fracture.  Stress fractures don't usually show up on x-rays until they have started to heal.  As they heal, they form a cast, and that is what you see on the x-ray.  Anyways, the doctor didn't see any stress fractures, when he looked at both the x-rays that they have taken individually.  But, today, my Mom got a phone call from the doctor.  The doctor was able to compare the two x-rays taken (one from the first time I went there and they concluded it was a sprain, and the other one from yesterday).  When he compared them, he was able to see that I do have a stress fracture.  Thankfully, it has started to heal... but obviously, barely any, because he couldn't see it with just looking at the one x-ray.

So, now I am back, all wrapped up, in a boot, and on crutches... lovely.  I could go to the doctor and get a hard cast, but I think I am just going to wrap it in an ACE Bandage, wear the boot, and keep it immobile.  That way it will be easier for showering.  I pretty much can't do any physical activity, and I am going CRAZY already.  Stress fractures are actually pretty stressful.  Actually, this entire ankle problem that I have had to dealt with for the last month and a half has been pretty stressful.  I have been told that it is an autoimmune disease, lyme disease, a joint ankle infection, a sprain, a stress reaction, and now a stress fracture.  The funny thing is, that, they all make sense that I could have it.

I don't really know how long it will take for me to recover.  For a typical stress fracture, the recovery time is 4-6 weeks.  But, for me, it may be longer or shorter.  I don't know if it has been a stress fracture all along (since the middle of July), or what.  So, when I go back to the doctor on September 24 to get my orthotics, we will see how it is then.

For some reason lately, I have been on a popcorn kick.  I don't know why.  I used to eat popcorn a lot, but then I got sick of it.  So, I didn't have any for a while.

We make it on the stove top in this big pot.

 It is Friday night, so why not have some popcorn and watch a movie (if I can keep the patience... probably not)?

Lets go eat some popcorn!

My Ankle...

Well, since I have gotten my soft cast off, I have started to do a little running.  The first couple days I did some running,  I just ran about 100 meters.  No problem.  The first day I really ran, I ran for 7 minuets and 44 seconds, probably just under a mile.  Super exciting!!  Then 2 days later, I ran 0.8 miles.  And, another 2 days later, I ran for 13 minutes... and, my ankle didn't feel that great.  On days that I didn't run, at first I did some biking, and then I started to do elliptical workouts.

Last Monday, I started to do a running workout... with the girls.  YEAH!!  We were doing four 0.6 mile repeats.  We would run a loop (about 0.6 miles) fast, take a 3 minuet break, and do it again.  We were going to do it 4 times.  I was to do whatever felt comfortable, since I was still getting back to running.  I was going to take it one by one, to see how my ankle felt.  I made 2 of them.  Towards the end of the second one, my ankle acted up.  Oh my ankle!  So, I didn't do any more running, and finished my workout on the elliptical.

Since I have done some real running (not 100 meters), my ankle seems to still be irritated.  It is mainly impact that irritates my ankle, but of course, I feel it sometimes just walking.  When I am on the elliptical, my ankle is feels fine, but I'm not sure it was doing it much good a while after I was done.  As the day goes on, my ankle only gets more swollen (not as bad as before I had the soft cast on though).  My coach, Vies, says that with a sprain, I should be ready to run by now... it wouldn't take this long to recover.  After he found out that my ankle never really turned black and blue (which most sprains do), and that it wasn't getting better, he thought it probably wasn't a sprain, but a stress fracture.  So, he insisted, to me and my Mom, that we go back to the doctor immediately and get another x-ray, to see if it is a stress fracture.  My coach wanted my Mom to plead with the clinic, so I could get in asap (thankfully this doctor is good about getting athletes in quickly if an injury occurs).  My coach just wanted to know what was wrong with my ankle.  He didn't want any guessing.  He didn't want me to be out of running, if I really could run.  He didn't want me running if I really shouldn't be.  He didn't want me doing any other exercise if I shouldn't be doing it.  He wanted to know what was wrong, so that I could get back running asap (hopefully by sections).  And, when I do get into the doctor, he want me to make sure to ask lots of questions, like what the recovery time is, can I do pool workouts, and questions like that.

So, the doctor was able to get me in this morning at 7:30.  They took another x-ray.  No brake or fracture.  So, he concluded that I had a stress reaction in my growth plate, and a stress reaction can lead to a stress fracture.  Since my growth plates aren't fused together (I'm not done growing), my bones are rubbing and bagging against each other at my growth plate.  To cure this I just have to rest.  Thankfully, I can still walk on it.  And, yes, I can bike and do pool workouts.  But, the elliptical still has some impact (wasn't helping it at all).  Now, my coach wants me to go over and do pool workouts with another school's cross country team... he seems pretty excited about me doing that.

I was just at the foot doctor this last Monday.  I don't think I have ever been to the doctor this much in such a short amount of time.  I was at the doctor on Monday to get fitted for orthotics.  I go back on September 24 to get them, and I am to aim to have it better by then.

Now, something nice.  Flowers.  I LOVE having flowers in the house, especially in the winter.