Holidays, Frustration and Determination

Hello Everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was very enjoyable- I cooked and spent most of the day in the kitchen, but I didn't mind since the kitchen seems to be one of my favorite rooms in the house. There were six of us in total and we had more than enough food. We spent time playing Apples to Apples (it's a card game, I highly reccomend it!) and it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed having four days off in a row. We went into the city on Friday night to the lighting of the big tree in Union Square and we also saw the Macy's window's all decorated for the holidays, they were so cute!! I hope you all enjoyed the holiday as well!

In regards to running, boy oh boy, I am not in a good position right now. Since I last wrote, I have visited Dr. Morganstein twice. First, last Tuesday, my first visit, I discovered I had horrible shin splints in my left leg. The Dr. worked on getting the knots out of my legs (which, for those who know me, I started giggling as I didn't want to cry in front of the doctor with how painful the treatments were. Knots in your muscles are no fun!!) and he even hooked me up to a machine with an electric pulse, in an effort to get the blood flowing and the muscle loosened up. He also told me not to run for a couple of days.

Taking the Dr.'s advice, I didn't run until Saturday morning when I went out for a nice easy jog. I started off feeling tight but I kept going hoping I just needed to warm up. We got about 2 miles out when I started having knee pain and tension in my Achilles tendon so I told Kyle we should turn around. By the time I got back, I was still having pain, and it progressively got worse throughout the day. So I went back to Dr. Morganstein's office yesterday and he said my legs felt okay but to continue taking it easy. He taped up my foot/leg in hopes of giving me more support over the next couple of days with just daily walking and I am going back to his office tomorrow for more therapy before my run on Saturday. He said to see how I feel on Saturday but to brace myself, because if I don't feel good after, 4, 8 or even 10 miles a marathon might not be the best idea as it could potentially cause long term problems. As much as I want to run, I don't think it would be worth any long term ailments.

I am really bummed as you all know how hard I have been training this season to not only become a runner but to train for one of the hardest races a runner can ever run. I am stretching and thinking positive thoughts in hopes it will heal all of my sore muscles and tendons and if worse comes to worst, I will WALK the marathon because I am determined to cross that finish line. Can you send some positive thoughts my way though as I really want to RUN the marathon?!? I'll keep you all updated as to how I feel after the run on Saturday because the countdown has already begun...11 more days until the race!!

I would also like to take this moment to say thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout the season. This journey has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life but the whole thing has been wonderful. Thank you for your kind words, generous donations and encouraging comments. If you haven't donated yet, there is still time...I'm only $663 away from my goal! http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/honolulu08/cwebster (please pass this on to anyone and everyone you know!)

PEACE, LOVE & a CURE!

-C.

PS. GOAL ACCOMPLISHED: Back on Sept. 23, I wrote "if one good thing comes from me blogging, I hope I inspire at least one person to sign up for team in training". Well last week I recieved a comment from a total stranger who told me my blog had encouraged her to start running and to run a marathon with team in training. Isn't that great?!? Good Luck HEIDI!!


Pictures: Kyle and I at the Union Square tree lighting. My homemade apple pie for Thanksgiving! Our home at Thanksgiving ( and yes, my Christmas tree was already up!)