Fall Update

Before the tomato-throwing commences, yes, I am aware that I haven’t posted much of substance lately. Here I will try to encapsulate much of what has been happening in my life, and I promise to make more of an attempt at regular updates in the future.

Probably the biggest change this fall has been going back to school. Most people think I am crazy for taking classes in pursuit of another graduate degree (being that I already have one), but truthfully I am most happy when I am learning, studying and intellectually stimulated. Normal everyday life just doesn’t require me to perform the brain acrobatics that school does and I bore easily. Right now I am considered a non-degree seeking student, and I have to make a decision as to whether I should apply to a Master’s or PhD program. My professors are encouraging me to apply for the PhD which is incredibly flattering and such an ego boost. When I talk to my professors about the PhD and my future it makes me feel so hopeful and happy. I wish there was a way to bottle up that emotion and save it, so I could always carry a bit of hope with me.

On the work front, I have officially been working in the education field for six months now. It has taken me about that long to mentally transition out of suicide prevention and mental health. Anyone who has worked with social issues understands how they can become ingrained in your life and I believe this to be especially true of suicide prevention. I really defined myself as a preventionist, and when I rather forcibly left the field it caused me to re-examine my inner purpose and goals. I think I am finally starting to understand that my job does not make me who I am. I know I can excel at many things in many different jobs, although it is of course preferable that I enjoy those jobs.

Regular readers will have noticed that my running ambitions tapered off a couple months ago. I have not given up. Let me repeat that. I have NOT given up. I have been walking several times a week, and when I feel secure that I won’t be in pain I’ll start running again. Thanks to keeping a close watch on my nutritional choices I have now successfully lost 86.5 lbs. I will most likely write a separate blog addressing that issue in the future, but right now I’m still processing this change in my body.

In three weeks, I will fulfill #18 on my Thirty Before 30 List and go on my very first cruise! I booked the trip so long ago I can hardly believe it’s finally here. The next three weeks are going to be crazy with all the deadlines I have to meet and tasks to be done, but I want to get everything out of the way before I go. Sipping mojitos on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean sounds absolutely blissful.

– An American Twenty-Something

Photo courtesy of Carnival.com.

Misadventures In Running

If you’ve been dying to know how my running is progressing, prepare yourself for a disappointment. It’s come to a screeching halt. It seems I’ve developed a (self-diagnosed) case of plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is the inflammation of the plantar fascia, the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot that connects the heel bone to the toes and creates the arch of the foot.

Image courtesy of PubMed Health.

The pain is mostly on the bottom of the foot, especially with applied weight, but sometimes it extends up the back of my leg to my hamstring. I have tried walking, but after just half a mile my foot starts to hurt.

To make things worse, last Sunday I was walking at the lake close to my apartment and had a minor spill. My toe caught on an uneven seam in the concrete sidewalk and I fell sideways into a wooden fence. I am grateful that the fence was there, because had it not been I would have fallen into the lake. But, I did walk away with this rather nasty scrape and bruise.

Day 2 of healing.

Don’t ask me how the scrape and bruise managed to line up so perfectly with one another. It’s like a rainbow of injury.

With this disruption in my training schedule, I question whether I should attempt running the October 2^nd 5K or wait for a later race when I feel more prepared.

My friend Louise has asked me to join a beginning running class with her that starts on September 21st. If I don’t have any conflicts, I think I’m going to do it.

– An American Twenty-Something

C25K Week 2 Complete

Last night I completed Week 2 of the Couch to 5K running program. After I finished my run, I also walked part of the race route again and snapped these photos.

Nice paved running trail.

This is the paved trail where I do most of my running. It is wide, paved and clear of debris that I could trip on. There is good visibility and I feel safe when I run here. It is also really green and lush and generally provides a nice view.

Unpaved forest trail where I'm afraid of being attacked.

This is the unpaved forest trail that comprises approximately half of the upcoming 5K race route. When I walk here, I feel secluded and vulnerable. There are a lot of roots and sticks protruding from the ground for me to trip on. It would also be easy for a psychopath to jump out of the bushes and attack me.  Don’t let the light in the photo fool you – it was brightened with photo-editing software. There is also greater potential to encounter wild animals, like rabid raccoons and possums, or venomous snakes. (Can you tell that I was raised in the city?)

Unpaved trail with boardwalk where I feel mildly safer.

This is also part of the unpaved rape forest trail. I consider it to be the first sign of approaching civilization. For some reason I feel a little bit safer when I see these wood bridges even though they are totally irrelevant to the level of my personal safety.

Week 3 of training begins this week which involves 3 minute running intervals; the longest interval thus far in the program. Let’s hope I don’t have a heart attack.

– An American Twenty-Something

Running Behind

I am behind schedule. My running schedule that is. I finished Week 1 of Couch to 5K on Saturday but have yet to start Week 2. Between the sweltering heat and summer lightning storms something always seems to get in the way of my training. I don’t belong to a gym, so running outside is currently my only option (and I prefer it as well). Excuses, I know.

Big Bend Cares finally posted the 5K race route, so on Sunday I decided to head over to the park to check it out.

Image courtesy of Big Bend Cares.

It was around 7:00 pm when I arrived at the park, but it was unusually dark because of angry, black clouds signaling an impending storm. Although I’ve hiked several trails in this park, the race route trail was unfamiliar to me, and I was a bit apprehensive about walking through the woods in such poor light.

Nevertheless, I pushed my apprehension aside and started out on the paved part of the route, then descended down a hill onto the unpaved, wooded part. Now, when I say wooded, I mean you are in the FOREST with nothing but trees and wild animals. Occasionally, the trail will veer close to more populated parts of the park such as the dog run area, but for the most part you are extremely isolated. As I walked into the woods I saw a bloated, dead squirrel, which felt like a bad omen.

When I started walking through the trees I grew more and more nervous. The thunder was getting louder and more ominous, it was dark under the tree canopy, and it was eerily quiet. Normally, I gain a sense of peace when hiking in the park, but this time I was seriously creeped out and my over-active imagination began to think of how easy it would be for some psychopath to attack me and dump the body for forest creatures to nibble on. (Before you dismiss me as paranoid, keep in mind that Tallahassee has already seen the likes of two serial killers: Ted Bundy and Gary Hilton.)

I had meant to snap some photos on my walk, but I was so eager to get the f*** out of there that I forgot. I kind of felt like Snow White when she flees from the wicked queen and she encounters something more terrifying around every corner. In my urgency, I also made a wrong turn and didn’t even complete the whole route. Overall, this trial run was a major fail.

I will definitely start Week 2 tonight… unless there is another lightning storm. Only 8.5 weeks until the race.

– An American Twenty-Something

C25K: Week 1, Day 2

The Couch to 5K program recommends running three non-consecutive days per week, separated by either rest or cross-training exercises. I have designated Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as running days, leaving the remaining days for activities like walking my dog, Zumba, or simply lounging in bed.

Yesterday was a Wednesday and my second day of training. I arrived at the park around 7:15 pm, so the sunlight had began to wane and the temperature was much cooler than the previous training session.  This time I made sure to wrap both my ankles with braces which helped alleviate blisters, pressure on the joints, and my constant fear of another sprain.

The fear of a fall or injury is a big obstacle for me. This fear always persists in the back of my mind, but the fact that I’m out there training is a huge step to hopefully overcoming it one day. I have sprained my ankle somewhere between 6 – 8 times, so often that I’ve lost an accurate count.

The last time I suffered a sprain, I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon who told me that the ligaments in my ankle had been torn away from the bone and they would need to be surgically reattached. He said this was a relatively simple procedure, but that I would need to take two weeks off from work and recovery time was at least 6 months to a year. That was almost three years ago and I still haven’t had the surgery.

When I started running yesterday I forced myself to start slow. I think that part of my problem with cramping on Sunday was that I pushed myself too hard at the beginning. I need to train my body and mind to understand that running is a test of endurance and I have to preserve my energy to finish the whole run. Most of the running intervals were fairly comfortable and my breathing was more controlled, as opposed to Sunday when I felt like my heart might beat out of chest. The only time I struggled was going up an incline, but even so I still finished the interval.

In the past, for some reason I always had the perception that experienced runners find it easy – that at some point it becomes effortless. Some runners just look so natural and at ease. Yet, as I pass other runners at the park I find that everyone is working hard. I imagine that running, at some point, becomes easier and even enjoyable, but I’m not sure it will ever be effortless.

I will complete my first week of 5K training tomorrow. Approximately 9.5 weeks until the race.

– An American Twenty-Something