Thursday, January 27, 2011

The Seal's Been Broken

When you get an envelope in the mail and the back of it says the above, wouldn't you rip it open immediately and then go for a run to test out a heel that's been complaining, loudly, for the past 11 months?

Um... yeah you KNOW you would!

I've run 3 times for a grand total of 27.68 miles since I was given the OK to run by the doctor (coincidentally, the same time I opened the envelope - is that fate or what?!) - and how did the heel hold up, you ask??

Monday: 10.5 miles on the treadmill (at a whopping speedy pace 5 seconds faster than last week's crawl) and .... drum roll....NO excruciating heel pain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (perfect time to use multiple exclamation points!)  I had hoped to do about 12 but the heel started to whisper and it had enough so I listed and popped off immediately!

Tuesday: Woke up and I could WALK.  I mean, I could walk without stumbling the first 20 steps in pain and stiffness.  More than the run on Monday, I found this feat crazy blissful!

Wednesday: 10.18 miles on the trails at the state park near my house....and again, NO HEEL PAIN!!!  (but I wore some  new trail shoes and ended up with some pretty nasty blisters on my bum heel foot - owwwwie - more on this later).
A gorgeous late afternoon on the trails!

Ran into this guy a few miles into the run

The Creek was flowing fast - and cold!

Thursday: 7 miles, 4 of them 400 intervals on my treadmill.  I had a little ordeal with the excessive athletic tape the trainer at school put on my foot (if there is a sudden shortage of athletic tape on the shelves near you, I apologize - it's currently on my foot!), along with the previous day's blisters so after dinking around with tape and scissors and Bandaids and popping blisters and antibiotic ointment and jelly pads the trainer gave me - I eventually had a very successful run.  YAY!!!
And what was in the envelope?  That'd be one MattyRunRun sticker, of course
Thanks, Matty, for the sticker and the hocus pocus magical spell you put on the envelope that will make all my runs from here on out awesome!!  And thanks to ALL ya all for encouraging comments from my visit with the doctor post a few days ago - you guys are incredible spirit pick-er-up-ers!  Your words and encouragement have been truly the reason I've never given up - thank you!  So far, the heel's been happy....but a long run over the weekend will be the big test.  But how I can fail, it's all awesomeness from here on out; the proof's in the envelope, the seal's been broken.

And to those lucky souls getting the Fitness Edge Sports Drink:
Thanks guys - can't wait to hear how you like the stuff.  I'm going to see if I can't get samples out to lots more of you here soon, too.

A HUGE shout-out to Jessica, an amazing runner I've had the honor of helping train for the past many months - she'll be running her first marathon this weekend in Houston and I am just so incredibly excited for her!  I will not wish her luck as luck is for the ill-trained and she has been training so hard and knocking out every one of the crazy 23 weeks we've worked together.  Go get 'em Jessica!   And best of everything happy for Jamoosh and Emz running their marathons this weekend, too! And can't forget Matty's Houston half.  Run strong!!!

68 comments:

Kate Geisen said...

Hurray! Your heel is (cautiously) behaving...and I won something! :) Actually, I've been lucky lately.

Love the trail pictures. I get to check out a new trail this weekend, so I'm hoping to have some good new pictures to share when I get back. The only bummer is that here in the St. Louis area it'll be in the 40's this weekend, while the forecast for the Chicago area is high of 31. :( Oh, well...that'll encourage me to keep moving out there!

juanitagf said...

Hooray! Running without pain must be seriousl awesome for you!!! Use all the exclamation points you want for that!!!!!!!!!!

DRog said...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

XLMIC said...

Running w/o pain = heaven!!!!!

So glad for you:) That trail is lovely! I really like trail running and haven't done any in a long while…your pictures have inspired me to get out there on the trails!

Anonymous said...

you really jumped back into it :) yay for the heel behaving lady. i'm so happy for you!

L.B. said...

So happy for you!! Ain't no holding Jill back now!! So go register for San Francisco now :)

Amanda@runninghood said...

So happy you're getting back and your heal isn't giving you too much of a fit! And look at that Colorado sky...so blue! Miss it!

Yippie! I won! My second ever giveaway win! Woo hoo. Can't wait to try it out and write about it. :) Thanks Jill.

Kim (Book Worm Runs) said...

Yay for no heel pain!!!! :)

ajh said...

Yeah! Isn't it great to step out of bed and not hurt??? I am still surprised each and every morning! Here's to a very successful long run this weekend. LOL. Right now 10 -11 is my long run. You are just pulling that off in the middle of the week! Yowza!
Got to go do my stretches! I couldn't sleep so I'm up reading blogs! But it's Friday so life is good!

KovasP said...

Running AND posting again? That is awesomer.

Questionably Texan said...

No pain? Finally!

Jennifer said...

Yay for magic envelopes and no heal pain! Nice trail BTW, looks like SOFT footing!

Johann said...

I had to double check I was reading your blog with all that running in there, wonderful!!!!! I love those trail pics. The water looks cold. All the best to Jessica! Have a good weekend!

C2Iowa said...

OUTSTANDING ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Glad that the heel has cooperated. The positive vibes are doing their job. Great pics to boot!

Anonymous said...

glad your heel is feeling better! beautiful run, with some nice furry friends it looks like. =)

ShutUpandRun said...

Yay for you Jill and your awesomeness...you are BACK. 27 miles in three days is incredible (I'm going to round up to 28). I would give my left arm for that. I am sure it is Matty's sticker propelling you along.

And good luck to Jessica!

Christi said...

Yay for running with no pain! That is so awesome!

Good luck to everyone running this weekend!

See.Kate.Run said...

That is great!! I am so glad to hear you are doing better!! :D Great trail pics! So pretty! :)

Marlene said...

YAY for the magical spell on the envelope and pain free runs!!! Love it. Have a wonderful weekend!!!!

Anonymous said...

YAY!!! That is sooo great Jill!! I know how good that feels!

Georgia Snail said...

awesome, awesome, awesome!

Adrienne said...

Yay for awesomeness from here on out! Always fun to "run" into deer on a run. Use to happen to me to when I lived in Colorado. Here in Arizona, not so much. Now I just keep my eyes peeled for rattlesnakes!

Emz said...

this is so freaking awesome Jill!!

10.5 miles on the treadmill --- you know I LOVE THAT!!

Anne said...

Great to hear you may have finally turned a corner on this persistant injury. And none too late. Love the photos.

A Prelude To... said...

FANTASTIC!!! I want an envelope, too!

Velma said...

Yea for healthy - send me some of your magic!

Matthew Bradford said...

Do you think that there was a correlation between the sticker and healing?

So many thanks for you, Jill! Can't wait to send you another sticker!

Unknown said...

That is some awesome mileage! Looks like you're on the right track and you're coming back STRONG!

misszippy said...

AWESOME Jill! So happy for you...look out spring, here she comes!!

funderson said...

HOORAY for being able to walk in the morning!!!

Molly said...

sending you happy healing heel vibes for the long run! : )

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

This is soooooooo great! (okay you use exclamation points, I use o's) ;-)

Praying that the wonderfulness continues!

Mark said...

Great news about the heel, Jill!!!!!!!!!

Aimee said...

Woohoo! That is awesome news about your heel!!! Yay!! Good luck with your long run this weekend!

Rose @ Eat, Drink, and Be Meiri said...

Yay for running without pain. And, man, those pictures are pretty!

Heather said...

Yay for pain free runs! Hope the long run this weekend goes well.

Scott McMurtrey said...

Great news! I never get good photos of deer on my runs because Sadie has already chased them 100 yards before I get my camera out. :)

Andrew Opala said...

The sticker works doesn't it ... I got one today ... and I quickly ran to the washroom!

Good luck Jessica!

(P.S. can't wait to see how you will do in the 2-minute Burpee contest - with jump at the end!)

Teamarcia said...

Woot for Jessica!
woot for the win!
Biggest woot for no heel pain!,
I need to chase down one of those awesome stickers.

Suzy said...

Great news about your heel!!! YAY for no pain. GL to Jessica as well.

Julie said...

Yea Baby....Jill is back!! Yay, I am so glad to hear that you are running pain free:) You will be back in action and back to your bad ass self in no time! Great pictures too:)

Happy weekend Jill! Hugs!

Chris K said...

Who wrote this post and what have you done with Jill? Maybe it's not too late to switch to the the 50K. Cortisone = good. I'm happy for the Running Godess.

Kristin Bradfield said...

Congrats on the pain-free running! I had severe PF in 2009 while training for my first Ironman and ruptured it about 2 weeks before the race. It shook my world significantly, not only in how it affected my race (ever walked a marathon really slowly at a blistering 15/mi pace?) but the recovery. It took all of 2010 to battle my way back and now in 2011 I'm training for a stand-alone marathon for the first time in years and doing speed work. Be thankful you caught it and didn't tear it, you'll have a much better recovery and before you know it you won't even remember what PF stands for :) Good luck!

Black Knight said...

I am very glad that you can run without pain. I must admit, sometimes the dreadmill helps because of its soft "ground". Great pictures of the country.

Unknown said...

First of all, YIPPPPPPPY(add 45 exclamation points here).
So happy for you and excited you're back to some more fun.
I have to agree wtih Kristin, I'm already starting to forget that I had PF...and walking around barefoot is feeling normal again.
Be happy :) !
Go Jessica!

Glenn Jones said...

Glad to hear you're back out and running!

trailturtle said...

You're on your way to S2S and PP! Be careful, though, as PF often takes months to heal enough to not be susceptible to relapse. And make sure you stretch, massage PF before getting up or at least walk slowly to the BR in the am, and have correctly fitting AND supporting shoes--blisters with new shoes isn't very encouraging in that respect. Try Drymax socks if you haven't already--the gray/orange or black/orange trail socks are some of the cheaper ones and work great--their more expensive ones are great, too regarding blister prevention. I haven't had a single person I work with dislike them, although there are defnintely other possibilities out there, too. Drymax, if you are out there and read this, please sponsor me:)))).
Have fun, Ann

Keeley said...

Um. So, the stuff written on that enveloppe is brilliant. Just saying. =)

YAY on the no heel pain! That must have felt like Heavenly joy. =)

Happy Feet 26.2 said...

this is great news Jill! So so happy for you! Loved the pics - thanks for sharing.

Allison said...

I got the same envelope and immediately had a better day!

HappyTrails said...

A big YAY for no heel pain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We'll be waiting for a positive (fingers crossed) report on your long run this weeken!

Terri said...

Hooray for awesomeness and NO PAIN!!! :)

Beth said...

I am so excited to read that you are running again! the trail near your house looks so beautiful.

Paul said...

Glad you are running without pain..that is GREAT. Wonderful trail run!

elaine said...

I love it. I have TWO appointments tomorrow related to my foot. Since we have parallel injuries sometimes, maybe, just maybe....

Lindsay said...

hmm. i wonder what magic powers i gained when i broke my seal? although i'm not gonna lie, at first i thought you'd been out drinking too much and went pee.

Jenn said...

WOW! You had a GREAT week! Yay for the heel cooperating! I also love exclamation points, can you tell!!!!

Why why why do I live in Minnesota....Once again, jealous of your trails!

I am hoping and praying you had an awesome long run!

HappyTrails said...

Ok. Here's another one for you to consider - we're 99.9% sure we're doing the Half:

http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/Run-Through-Time-Marathon.htm

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

HI! I'm a NEW follower coming over from Chris K's blog!

It sounds like you have had an injury set-back but are returning to your past form! CO is gorgeous--I am loving the pictures you posted!

Caroline said...

Hi Jill! New follower coming from Chris K's fine blog.
.now nothing is wrong with the world!!

One Little Jill said...

I cannot wait until my stickers come in :)

I hope your heel continues to cooperate! Next visit out to CO I will stalk you and have a chat with that heel!

Katie said...

Hiii Jill! I already was a follower, but now I'm commenting so you know who I am :D Nice pics!

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

This is the 2nd blog deer photo I've seen in 2 days. I want one! Here's hoping for many pain-free miles in that heel of yours. Thanks for the encouragement over at my blog!

2 Slow 4 Boston said...

Very scenic run you had there on Wednesday. Wish I lived close to a state park. Hope your foot keeps getting better!

Bubble Boy said...

Oh deer, what is that animal on the trail? Great news on the heal!! I found a new chiropractor that does ART Method and he swears plantar fascia is a calf problem and after just one treatment I am getting relief. I have read that marathoners and tri athaletes are getting great results with ART!! Good job coaching Jessica, she did great. Of course with a coach like you what else would anyone expect! My daughter was accepted to the New York City Conservatory of Dramatic Arts.Have a great week!!

RunToTheFinish said...

woot woot for no heel pain. I love when people think of random totally fun things to send or write!

i'm off to hit mr foamie now because your post reminded me to

The Boring Runner said...

No heel pain is AMAZING!!!!! so awesome. you can't imagine how happy I am for you.

I used to keep a list of the animals I saw on the run. Thankfully, no snakes on it since I've moved to PHX ;)

Irene said...

Hey Jill!!!!! Sorry I've been out of the loop. I'm so glad you finally received a real diagnosis! Yeah, PF is a real pain in the foot, as my hubs has it. He still runs. I'm so glad you're doing better.

I like what the back of that envelope said. I'll have to borrow it. :)