Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Finally Answers to Malissa's Hip Pain

Written by Malissa

I wanted to give an update about all that has happened with my hip since my last race:

I took a month off of running in hopes that my pain would go away. I iced and stretched daily. The pain in my quad went away but I still had really bad pain in my hip. I started strength training in hopes of building leg muscles that would help me run more efficiently in the future and then maybe my hip pain would go away.

I was getting more and more frustrated because nothing was helping my hip pain. One of the many times I complained about my pain and frustration on facebook, a friend mentioned that I might need a hip adjustment. That got me thinking and I remembered how on all my running shoes my right heal is more worn off than my left.


I made an appointment with a sports chiropractor. Dr. Bill told me that I had a tilted pelvis and that it was important for me to keep my hamstring loose. He wants me to stretch it a couple times a day and also wanted me to strengthen it so he wants me to incorporate the pelvic bridge into my strengthening workout.

Dr. Bill said the regular pelvic bridge was too easy for me so he wanted me to do the pelvic bridge with a ball.
Towards the end of my appointment he noticed that my left leg was shorter than my right. He measured from my belly button down to my inner ankle bones on both legs. Sure enough my right leg is longer by 5mm. He said most likely it has been like that since birth. That made so much sense to me because I've had joint/hip pain most of my life but it has only gotten worse since I started running. He gave me a heel insert to put in my shoe and told me I should notice a big difference when I walk and run.

*side note* When I told my dad that my right leg is longer than my left, his first question was, "does he think it has been like that since birth?" I guess when I was 2 or 3 my parents took me in to the doctor because I was falling all the time. The doctor had me walk for him and then told my parents that babies fall a lot. I have tripped a lot in my lifetime so much that one of my nicknames growing up was Gracie.

Dr. Bill gave me the okay to run. He said I should start off slow by running a mile and then I could slowly add more miles as I strengthen my left leg. The first week I noticed my hip didn't hurt to walk but it still hurt while I ran. The most I could run without it hurting was a half mile. By the second week I was up to a mile twice a week. On National Running day I was determined to run 3 miles. I got the ok from Dr. Bill, grabbed my running partner Lynne, and hit the greenway.


We took it very slow but it felt so good to be out running again. My hip felt pretty good until about two and a half miles. The pain was a little different, it was more like pressure instead of sharp pain.

I'm getting really excited for my next half marathon training. Dr. Bill said I should notice a huge difference because I will be running more efficiently. Now I just need to find a place that I can get specialty flip flops made because running shoes and dresses just don't look cute together...

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

2013 Hatfield & McCoy Marathon

June 8, 2013 7:00 AM
South Williamson, Kentucky

Time Pace Division Division
Place
Gender
Place
Overall
Place
Bib #
Owen 3:44:32 8:34 M35-39 5/28 26/230 30/440 254

Written by Owen:

Oh, what a fun trip/race this was.  There is so much history in this area.  If you haven't watched "Hatfields & McCoys" on the History Channel, I highly recommend it. It's on Netflix, so you have no excuse!

Our trip started on Friday, which was the kids' last day of school.  We gave the kids the option of staying home so we could leave early.  Michael and Kyle took us up on it, but Alicia couldn't miss her last day.  Her award ceremony was at noon, so we left immediately after that.

It's a five hour drive, but the last 120 miles or so are all on highway 52, which is a small windy road through West Virginia towards Kentucky.  We didn't like that part of the trip at all, the kids get car sick pretty easily, but luckily no one did on this trip.

I always look forward to my marathons, counting down the days, but I was especially looking forward to this one because my mom and Torre were meeting us there.  We always have so much fun spending time together.

When we arrived Friday at about 6pm, we went to packet pickup to get that out of the way.  We hadn't really planned where we'd meet my mom, we just assumed we'd call and arrange that.  I had forgotten how horrible AT&T is in West Virginia from our last trip.  I had absolutely no cell coverage the entire weekend.  My phone was a paperweight, except for in the hotel that did have Wi-Fi. So it was a little frustrating not being able to contact her, but she found us at our hotel and all was well.

We had a nice dinner at Pizza Hut (not a lot of restaurant choices).  Then we hung out at the hotel until bedtime.

Saturday morning, Torre drove me to the starting line in South Williamson, Kentucky.  The finish line was a block from our hotel in Williamson, West Virginia.

Marathon Maniacs group picture before the race, I'm on the left in white with red shorts.

The race started with perfect weather.  All week long I had been following the weather predictions, and was expected near 80° temps with sun beating on me.  Luckily that was wrong.  It was in the upper 60's with total cloud cover and a nice breeze for most of the race.

Elevation Profile
Because of the elevation profile, and knowing that I still wasn't in peak shape, I knew this was not going to be anywhere near a PR, so I decided too take it easy.  Here was my plan, the red miles indicated where port-o-potties were, the black lines indicated where they were handing out the Gu.

I was actually looking forward to the hill at mile 7.  It was a pretty brutal hill, my quads were on fire by the time I reached the top.

This truck was blaring it's air horn, letting us know how much we had left until the top. 
At the top of the hill it immediately turned straight down and it was all I could do to not get out of control.  Definitely the steepest downhill I've ever run.  

From there it was lots of green, lots of historical sites, and even the worlds smallest horses:



I couldn't wait to get to mile 13, where we go into Matewan for a small loop. That's where my family was waiting for me.  It's such a terrific boost to see them cheering for me.  I got to see them twice within a half-mile because of the loop we made.


Standing in both West Virginia and Kentucky at the same time.
After the halfway point, the course moved to a smaller road that was only wide enough for one car, as it winded next to the river that separates West Virginia and Kentucky.  Because of the hill at mile 7, I assumed the second half would be much easier than the first.  I was wrong.  There weren't many hills, but the terrain was brutal in parts.  It was a dirt road for a few miles, and it had rained the night before.  My feet were heavy with mud.

Then there was this bridge:  It actually swayed and bounced with every footstep.  The boards had gaps between them and were very old.  It was a little scary.





At about mile 22 or so, the sun made its appearance, and it got HOT.  I had enough gas left in the tank to stick to my pace, and finished 28 seconds ahead of my goal.

The Hatfield and McCoy representatives gave me a high-five as I crossed.
The night before the race Alicia wrote "It's my daughter's 9th birthday today!" on the back of my shirt.  I bet 50 people made comments like "wish your daughter a happy birthday for me", as we were running.  It gave me a boost every time.

Alicia's note on the back of my shirt.

Kyle and Alicia got the face painted.
After the race we had lunch at a steakhouse, where we had a birthday party for Alicia.  Then we picked up a cookie cake and enjoyed it at the hotel.


Saturday night we had a nice dinner then hung out at the hotel until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Sunday morning we slept in, had breakfast at McDonald's, then said our goodbye's.  Grandma and Gramps took the kids with them to Virginia for the week, while Malissa and I drove home alone and are enjoying a week alone together, but missing the kids terribly.

Here are the video highlights:


Here is my Garmin data:


Here is the shadowbox.  Marathon #16 (Favorite bib yet)



Monday, June 3, 2013

2013 Ducktona Dash 5k/Fun Run

June 1, 2013 9:00 AM
Concord, North Carolina



Time Pace Division Division
Place
Gender
Place
Overall
Place
Bib #
Owen 20:32 6:37 M35-39 1/1 4/32 4/88 5497
Michael 20:36 6:38 M9-11 1/4 5/32 5/88 5496
Alicia 27:06 8:43 F1-8 2/6 10/56 26/88 5494
Malissa, Kyle, Reagan, Liberty, and Jack ran the Fun Run


Written by Owen:

Malissa's brother, Mark Jr., and his family were staying with us for the weekend.  We I decided it would be fun if we found a race to participate in.  I found this one at a nearby park.  It was a lot of fun.  Mark watched the baby (Alice) while everyone else participated.  Everyone did a great job and we had a lot of fun.

The 5k course was very difficult, not because of hills, but because of the heat and the terrain (grass and gravel).  Alicia got a new PR, I was just a couple seconds off from my PR, and Michael did great too.