Hurt...AGAIN??

Okay so after the marathon I was FINE! Felt great and even danced the night away at the TNT afterparty! The next day Terry and I even took a wine tour of Napa! Something happened on the plane ride home though.....After sitting for almost 4 hours on the plane when I went to get up....my knee would not MOVE! The right side of my left knee was stuck, and yes I mean STUCK! It was a horrible pain that can only be described as ummm...well HORRIBLE! I prayed it would go away, but NOPE, it didn't! It only managed to get worse as the days went on! I finally could not tolerate the pain anymore so I broke down and went to a bone a joint specialist. I am not sure if I have mentioned before that i am a TOTAL hypochondriac!! Yes I know I admit it. I usually think I am dying or have a life threatening disease but this time I really was in PAIN and not just uncomfortable! So I went and they did x-rays and MRI's all to find out that I had IT Band syndrome...thats right IT Band syndrome...who know a little IT band could cause sooo much freaking PAIN! They suggested I do physical therapy! What?? I need something to make it feel better NOW!! So there I was STUCK in physical therapy for 10 weeks...blah!! I tried the cortisone shot, only for it NOT to work! I was so disappointed. I had worked so hard to be at the point where I was at in running, all to watch it slip away :( However, something CRAZy happened on week 11...my knee stopped hurting? As fast as it came, it just went away? Sounds crazy uhhh?? Well I believe that God had a plan for me and that plan was STOP running for a few months so that I could really appreciate the power of running. Appreciate how lucky I was to have 2 legs that worked and allow me to do what I really love and thats running and spending time with my best girlfriends!! So now....I'm back running and funny thing is, it only took me a few weeks to pick up right where I left off...Amen!

Nike Women's San Francisco Marathon

There are truely not enough words or pictures to describe the accomplish of running a marathon!! Its something that in hinesight, just about anyone is capable of doing, but only about %1 of the population has done. I think thats what makes it so great, to know that its not impossible, but takes a lot of hard work and determination!! As you know I signed up through Team in Training to do this marathon (a marathon on my bucket list I might add) but BOY did I get a whole lot out of the experience than just running a marathon. My husband (whom I could never thank enough) was my biggest supporter and really helped me get through everything!! I met some of the most amazing people through my journey and helped raise money to find a cure for cancer! I love to challenge myself to do things that are bigger than myself and this was definitely challenging!! The training was LONG but so worth it in the end. The hills were TOUGH (I'm from the gulf coast, the biggest hill we have are sand dunes which we dont run up) and the weather on the day of the even was brutal, but in the end we finished and thats all that mattered..our time was not so great, but thats okay...I will have another marathon to do to improve my time...this one was all about finishing!!
This picture is probably my favorite...the 4 of us girls that trained together, all finished together!

Disney Wine and Dine!!

Okay so here I am again...blogging about my running!! I stopped for about 6 months or so, but since I have been running some pretty cool races lately, I figured I would start blogging about them!! So let me go back about 6 months....In September 2010, I ran Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Disney World!! I LOVED it!!! I even talked my husband, close friend Tiffany, her husband Brant and my brother-in-law Keving to all come and run it with me!! We had a great time! It was a great course and what I liked most was that it started at 10 p.m. at night! We ran, then had a great time at the after party! My best friend, Lisa also came down and ran it with me and 2 friends from Daphne Stephanie and Sheila also ran it so it was a lot of fun to have so many friends down there! PLUS my favorite cheerleader (my sis-in-law) Patty came to cheer us on. I actually PR at this race...I ran my half marathon in 2:15 which was very good for me considering that my last half I ran in a 2:39!! I think running in the dark really helped because I had no idea where I was at or where I was going! Overall I thought the race was great! I think the only improvements that need to be made is better transporation to the starting line for DW resort folks, but it was still good considering it was their first event! The afterparty was awesome and probably my favorite part!! Can't wait to do it again next year!!

Us before the race!!

Terry and I at the starting line!

Jeff Galloway and I!

Snow White and I after the race!!