Monday, July 12, 2010

Marathon Madness Monday: Week 6

It all started with a proclamation made by my soon-to-be-six year old nephew/Godson, James.

He said, "You are the most athletic person in our family!"

This proclamation was met by a chorus of laughter. Honestly, in the past, Lisa + athletic would only be used if I was trying to explain what an antonym meant! Trust me, people. I was more of the band/choir/speech/drama/student council type in high school.

But in the eyes of my James, I am the most athletic person. That morning, I had explained that I would be running a marathon. Running 26.2 miles is hard for the adult mind to grasp, so I imagine it's even harder for a child to grasp. To help him understand how far it is, I explained that I would basically be running from his house to my parents house. Putting that distance in understandable terms for him resulted in a wide-eyed/shocked/"you must be crazy" look.

Hence, the reason for the proclamation that I am the most athletic person in the family.

This is certainly not the case. My brothers were good at football in high school. My sister would leave me in a trail of her dust if we were able to go for a run together.

But earning the admiration of a 6 year old apparently made me believe in myself and my abilities a bit more.

Couple that with the fact that I seriously SCHOOLED my family in bocce ball on the 4th - and, well, I was feeling pretty darn athletic.

So in the evening hours of the 4th of July, I thought it'd be a great idea to show my nephews how to do a cartwheel and a round off. As a child, I had spent hours upon hours in our yard, practicing cartwheels and other acrobatics, so I figured I still had it in me.

I will say, I successfully completed the cartwheel and round off and I really felt like I stuck the landing.

The next day I woke up in pain and had a swollen ankle. I thought I had maybe tweaked it on my long run on Saturday (which went horribly by the way). Then, last Wednesday, the light bulb went off and I realized that the ankle issues could be traced back the freaking 4th of July acrobatics.

Although I am basically in the best shape I could be, apparently my 29-year old body is not built to do cartwheels.

I often say, "Know your strengths." Now I will follow that up by saying, "But know your limits."

I will say - this injury freaked me out. I am a bit of a schedule follower, so taking a couple of extra days off sent me into a tizzy. I may have called my mom and cried. There was a flurry of bbm's sent to my training partner, Amber.

Luckily, I was able to run again by Friday and had a great 12 mile training run yesterday.

I learned my lesson, though.

Marathon Training + Cartwheels do not mix

*************
Training Tally:
Miles ran last week: 21 (should have been 29 if not for the ankle issues...)
Training-to-date mileage: 120

21 comments:

Kyla Roma said...

Oh no! lol Oh Lisa, I hope that you're on the mend, but that's the cutest injury :)

Kyla Roma said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
abbi said...

Glad you are on the mend! I've never been considered 'athletic' either. I'm not sure I'd want to attempt a cartwheel these days. I'd like to think I could still do one but not sure I'd do too well!!

Emily Jane said...

Oh goodness!! :( I had a similar experience last year at work - we decided after clearing chairs post-meeting one day that cartwheels in the resource area would be a good idea. My shoulders were pretty much out of commission for about three days!

I hope you feel better soon <3

Charbelle said...

Injuries freak me out right now. I know that we have to get so many miles in, in order to keep going and do well and the idea of being out of commission makes me feel anxious!
I do think it's very very cool that you were able to do the cartweel!!! Yay for an awesome 12 miler!!

Becky said...

Aw, so glad you're better! And I love love love that you called your nephew "my James!" :)

Jess said...

I second Kyla's comment - that truly is a cute injury. (And, knowing that you're feeling better makes me feel like it's probably ok to say that!)

Knowing your limits is definitely important! Even if those limits are not doing cartwheels and round-offs. (Who knew!?)

Nicole said...

I often get the urge to do cartwheels. Then I remember I was never able to do them properly. I hope you're feeling up to par again soon. Way to be athletic!

Marlys said...

I am so glad that your ankle healed as quickly as it did, because I knew you were very anxious about your running schedule! And you rock at Bocce Ball! Go Lisa!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

Well, at least you figured out that it was just from cartwheels and not from the stress of running! Nice work on the LR!

Abby said...

I am so so so glad you are feeling better! SInce all is good now - it is a darn good story!

And hey, props to you - I never have, (and decidedly never will) be able to do a cartwheel. I've given up.

And, Lisa - you are a true athlete. Basketball/sports stars from high school aren't true athletes. Because they go to college, drink tons of beer, and never work out again the rest of their lives.

You, my dear, commit to be fit every day - rain or shine - no matter how crazy work is! And, you've gotten so fast over the years from your last marathon! You rock!

Gracie said...

Scary! I always worry a little when I play football or something during training. However, so far I've managed to only injure myself while actually running (I'm talking to you, knees!). Where are you in your training? I feel like I'm all off since I re-worked my schedule. I did 14 for last week's long run.

Mandy said...

I am sorry that you hurt your ankle and know that was so frustrating for you, but I'm guessing your nephew most likely thinks you are absolutely amazing. He would be right on with that line of thinking. 120 miles is incredible.

Amber said...

Hehehehe. I had never heard the real reason behind the cartwheels before - now the truth comes out. All to impress a boy, tsk tsk ;) Jk!

Haha, anyways, like I told you, you still did GREAT for being injured. Still running 21 miles? And in three days to boot? No harm, no foul! You are back and ready to rock the next 13 weeks (how is there ONLY 13 weeks left!! Yikes!)

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

hahah.. i've never been able to do a cartwheel. my aunt would spend hours trying toteach me ha.

Ally said...

Oh, how I dispise ankle injuries! At least you got yours with style. I tend to get mine doing graceful things like stepping out of the bathtub or, you know, walking.

Unknown said...

Does this mean the next time you are in Wyndmere you are going to run to Emily's house for a visit?

J said...

I hope your ankle is better! Ankles are so annoying if they don't heal right.

Nicole said...

Wow! Can you believe you are 6 weeks in to training already?! I am glad to hear your ankle is feeling better! I agree with the others... it is a cute story to pair with an injury. [Though I'm sure it was much less cute when you were in pain.]

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

When I was first training for marathons, some of the best advice I received was, it's always good to have a bad run before your race. You learn how to run through an injury or not feeling great or bad weather conditions or bad clothing choices or whatever it is and figure out a way to finish.

I might also add to that that it's also good to be thrown off track in your training. It happens to everyone. And it's really important to not lose sight of the long-term goal and not lose confidence in yourself when it does happen. Because, you will get back on track, even if it means altering your journey a bit.

Stephany said...

Hey, I'm 22 and I always feel like I'm 80 when I try to do a cartwheel with all my bones cracking! ;) Sorry about your injury and I hope everything's better! It really sucks to miss runs when you're training.

You're doing GREAT, though! Inspirational.