Six months post accident

Today marks six months since I was hit by a car while running. While I found information on pelvic fractures in the elderly, I could not find much for younger people and nothing for runners. If someone has a pelvic fracture and has questions (or needs to vent), I am always available.

Flashback:
Super Bowl Sunday (February 2nd) I was scheduled to go for my 10 mile run during my Glass Slipper Challenge training. I successfully complete a HOT 5 mile run the day before so in order to beat the heat, I ran at 6 am. My plan was to run up the hotel zone in Cancun. I figured this would be the easiest and safest route since I did not have to cross any roads. A little over half way through my run, I heard a loud noise and turned to the side. I had a split second to process a car was sliding towards me. The pain was excruciating. I was on all fours screaming (I am not too proud to admit this). Later, I figured this was because I was putting pressure on my broken pelvis. 

Despite the corruption of the tourist police of Cancun, I was eventually able to find out that the guy who hit me was drunk. He went over the median, two lanes of traffic, and the curb to hit me. This was at 7:10 in the morning. The ring in my pelvis was stable so I was able to fly home and did not need surgery. My American doctor diagnosed me to have three fractures in my pelvis which required 6 weeks of non weight bearing on my right leg. I could not move. It took all my strength to get out of the wheelchair to go to the bathroom. By week 2, I noticed significant muscle loss in my right leg and butt. I started physical therapy later that week and continued physical therapy for 16 weeks. This was a huge turning point for me because it helped wake up my muscles so by my 6 week checkup I could start walking with crutches. A week later, no crutches (yes, I still got sore if I tried to push myself too hard the first or two after I started walking). I missed almost all of my winter and spring races, but salvaged the NJ Half by signing up for the relay and walking my portion of the race.

Shortly after that I was cleared to run. It was 12 weeks and 3 days after the accident. Four weeks after I started running I was able to complete my first race- Hibiscus 5 miler. 

blurry action shot

Today:
I am mostly symptom free there are still a couple of issues. My achilles feels like there is a knot or something movable on it. It was bothering me since I started walking, but with a recent week off of running it has been pain free. 

Recently while walking I felt a pain in my pelvis (roughly 5 1/2 months post accident). I am not sure if I just twisted my leg slightly while walking or what, but every once in awhile I felt a pain. It did not seem to bother me running until a week or so later. After the Electric Run I took a week off from running, cycling, everything except strength training. The next run I had was in Mexico City and it went well. I do not feel pain, but it feels like my pelvis/hip area is always popping in and out of place. Example: like cracking your elbow or another joint. Oh yes I did survive running in Mexico this time. I ran along a major road but then into a park. No cars here.

There are smaller issues that I am not sure will clear up. My hip flexors are always tight if I am not always stretching them (like at my desk during the day type stuff). I seem to have worse circulation in my right leg. Whenever I crouch down where my leg and knee are bent then stand up, my leg then feel like the it was asleep and painfully waking up. This is only after a few seconds. Other than those issues, all of my other pains and symptoms have cleared up. I am still a lot weaker and slow than before, but am working on it. My longest run post accident has been 7 miles and I plan on duplicating that next weekend.

Moving Forward:
I have an aggressive plan for the fall. The Philly Rock n Roll Half Marathon in September, the Wineglass Half Marathon in October, and the Philly Marathon in November. I am seriously considering downgrading the marathon to the half marathon. While for the most part I am meeting my mileage marks, I am so much weaker than where I feel I should be for training for a marathon. The deadline I give myself is the end of August. I will see how my body responds to adding more miles while I really get into half marathon training. Even if I have to downgrade, being able to compete and complete these races will be a huge accomplishment. It is not about winning a race, but about being able to run. I feel fortune and blessed to be at the point I am. I just want to get out there and run.



Don't forget to vote for me for the Runner's World cover contest 

or if please consider donating towards the Wounded Warrior Project. Every dollar helps! I am running my first half marathon post injury and hoping to raise $500.

Red Rose Run recap

My goal is to add a few smaller races through the summer in order to help me with my speed. This past weekend I decided to run the Red Rose Run- a 5 mile race in Lancaster, PA. My running club was offering a discount so I signed up with them. This small race has been around for 38 years and had about 500 participants (or so I heard).

Expo:
Very small. With such a small race, the organizers had a table before the race at a plaza right in front of the starting line. There were a few tables of vendors. 

Race Day:
The race started at 8 am, but my alarm was set for 4:45 (ugh). My running club and I wanted enough time to get there, park, and get out packets. This meant I was eating breakfast and having my ritual pre-run drink three hours before the start. Not ideal. We ended up parking in the Prince Street parking garage which was right next to the starting and finishing line. It cost us $6 to park there for over 3 hours. There were 6 or 7 porta potties which had a huge line. We debated looking around for a store or mini market to go to, but at that hour nothing was open. It was predicted to be 62 at the start and 68 by the finish. A touch warm for my liking, but the course would be mostly shaded due to the tree lined streets and the park. 

Shortly before 8 am everyone finished up their warm ups and started to gather around the starting line.

My race:
I came into this race really only wanting to improve on my Hibiscus 5 miler time. The conditions were a little better- less humid, in the 60s, not as large of a hill to climb. Unfortunately I did not realize that this course was all hills. A minute before 8 am, my running club went up front and I went to the back. There are no corrals for a race of this size. You line up wherever you want, but since I knew I would be slow I made sure to stick to the back. It is really annoying when people who are slower are at the front clogging up the course for faster runners. 

ready to go!

The first mile and some was through downtown Lancaster. It was actually scenic going through tree lined streets with cute little shops.

About a mile and a half in we hit our first water station. The cups were filled really high. I had to actually stop to drink it and even then I couldn't finish. I never thought I'd actually complain about too much water.... Right before the 2 mile marker, we entered into the Lancaster County Park. 

Sadly this part did not last long and we were out back on a road around mile 3. We passed the same water station and hit mile 4. I heard there was a large hill around mile 4, but I never noticed it. The whole course was up and down so it was hard to narrow in on one hill being the 'big one.' I was excited since the clock at mile 4 read 44 minutes. I knew I was going to beat my Hibiscus time! Unfortunately my high did not last long. While going up a hill, an older guy on the course ran up next to me and said he was following me the whole race. He said I was slowing down and I guess tried to offer words of encouragement. 1) I was going up a hill. I tend to go slower up hills and faster down hills. 2) my mile 4 was faster than my average and my second fastest mile. So thanks old guy! Shortly before the last turn before the home stretch I saw my running club cheering me on. They sort of knew my situation so they understood I would be finishing a solid 20 minutes after them. The last part I had a nice talk with a 64 lady who was running. She was saying how she did half marathons and ever since she retired loves to do races. Hopefully I'll be able to keep running and racing into my 60s (and beyond). Crossed the line around 54 minutes and changed. Official time was posted: 53:55.8! Pace of 10:48 seconds which was a huge improvement on my 11:27 pace of the Hibiscus 5 miler. 

My Garmin and Nike Plus app were not too far off the official time.

oh Garmin how I missed you!

The finish area was in the same plaza. It included bananas, oranges, chips, water, green tea, and some juices. They were spread out in boxes in crates.

A band played the whole time and after the 5 milers were finished a kids mile (I think) run was done. Overall I was on a nice runners high from doing well and making good progress. 

The course:
Rolling hills. Like much of Pennsylvania, it was full of gently rolling hills. There were any bad hills but it felt like a constant roller coaster. I am not sure which I prefer- constant rolling hills or one large hill like the Hibiscus 5 miler. The course took you through downtown Lancaster then through Lancaster County Park.

There were clocks at each mile marker. Even though I had my Garmin (yea!), it was really helpful knowing about where I was and my time. There was one water station which you passed by twice. It was spread out enough that I felt the need to take water both times.

Final thoughts:
I probably would not do the race again unless I was really looking for a race to do. Maybe it's materialistic of me, but I like a finishers medal or at least something at the end. I like having something concrete to say hey you finished! The course however probably good training for races in the Mid Atlantic. It also was not too expensive- $25 which included a shirt. The race itself was pretty well run especially for being such a small race.


Next up: Maryland Women's Sprint Duathlon 

Hibiscus 5 Miler recap

This race offers a half marathon, 15k, and 5 miler. I originally had signed up for the Hibiscus 15k, but since I only started running a few weeks prior there was no way I would be able to run 9.3 miles. I downgraded a month or so before the race and concentrated on training. The week before I was able to run 4 miles so I was pretty confident about the 5 miler. This was going to be my first race since my injury that I was going to be able to run. Going into it, my hip felt fine. I have no more pain from my fractured pelvis. What I do have to worry about is endurance and strength. Everything is still weaker which means I wear down a lot sooner. 

The expo:
There was none. There were three opportunities to pick up your packet. I chose the one in Kailua since this is where I was staying. Kailua is a town about half an hour from Honolulu. I received a sweet blue shirt which said 'Half Marathon' on it. I feel kinda badly taking one since I was only doing a 5 miler, but hey, it's a free shirt. 

shirt design and bib

Race day:
All three races had an ungodly early 5:30 am start time to avoid the Hawaiian heat. To get there in time, I had a 3:20 am wake up time and was out the door by 4:30 am. I wasn't quite on Hawaiian time so it was not overly painful waking up at that time, but a lot of green tea was still consumed. 

There was parking at the Honolulu Zoo and by Diamonhead plus any street parking you could find. The zoo lot was a little after 5:00 am so we went up and down the streets looking for parking. Finally we found a spot kinda far away. I remember thinking 'well this will be my warm up.' Unfortunately I really had to pee before the race and not surprisingly there was a massive line at the bathrooms in Kapiolani Park. I learned while waiting in line that they do not put up porta potties because of the multiple bathrooms in the park. What the race organizers do not realize is that our building (and I assume others) only had 3 stalls. There were times the guy bathroom would be empty and females would start taking turns going in. 5:30 came and we saw the runners go by. Finally around 5:40 my bladder was drained and I was at the start line.

My race:
While I was not stressing about starting late, the people at the start line were trying to rush people through. I haphazardly threw my iphone into my armband and started my Nike Plus app. Unfortunately my Garmin was still on the Big Island. I left it in our rental car and seriously debated flying back to the Big Island to pick it up. It would have been cheaper than buying a new one! Luckily the people at Avis found it and would be shipping it back to my house in PA. 

The race apparently had about 2000 people sign up and 1700 runners on race day.  Since I was starting 10 minutes late, this meant very few people were around when I started out. 

beginning of the race

The first section of the race runs along the park. My legs immediately felt heavy. All the walking and hiking had taken its toll. I kept trying to focus on the race and my music and not think about how I felt like I was carrying bowling balls on my feet. 

blurry picture courtesy of my husband

Miles 2 and 3 were dominated by the climb up and around Diamondhead. These were also the best views of the race. You could look out over the ocean and see the sun shining down on the surfers. Wish I could have taken a picture of it, but my new armband very tightly seals my iphone in. Too hard to get in and out. Even though I slowed down considerably going uphill, I really started passing people. There were quite a number of walkers doing the 5 miler. I also started seeing people going the opposite direction. I assume these were all of the fast 5 mile racers. By 2 1/2 miles I kept looking for a turnaround point, but still nothing. It wasn't until mile 3 that the 5 milers started to turn around. There was no turn around sign or marker but I noticed a bunch of walkers turning onto another road. I decided to go with my gut and follow them and asked the policeman down the road if I was going the right way. Thankfully I was. Once I turned around it was all down hill and I got a second wind. Nike Plus said I went from a 12:00 minute pace going up to a 10:14 pace going down. The last stretch runs alongside the Kapiolani Park. 

I could see the finish line in the distance and it just motivated me to "sprint" as fast as my legs would take me. 

right in front of the finish line, I'm in the pink

After the race a guy I was running close to said I inspired him to go faster since I was "sprinting" down the hills. Heck I just let gravity do its thing! My official time was 1:00:05 with a 11:27 pace. My unofficial Nike Plus time was 59:58 at a 11:14 pace. 

Every racer got the same half marathon medal. Again I felt badly having a medal that said half marathon, but I wasn't about to turn one away. 

After the race I was also able to meet up with a fellow Instagram runner- @paleorunner808.

Before we left the park, my husband treated me to shaved ice. (PS: apparently in Honolulu shaved ice is a snow cone. Definitely not the case in others parts of Hawaii. Very disappointing.)

The course:
Hilly. Hot. I did not anticipate the long hill up about 1/4 of the way through the race. It felt like I was going uphill the whole race. But what goes up, must come down. The second half was much easier since it was downhill. 

(source: Tropical Triple Crown)

The half marathon, 15k, and 5 miler all start at the same place and finish at the same place. This means three turn around points on the course below.

(source: Tropical Triple Crown)

The 5 miler course split off right around mile 3 at Fort Ruger Park. This was not marked off at all. I only knew to turn because I saw some walkers make the turn. Not sure if the 15k had their turn around point marked off. Also, the course also seemed to be quite off 5 miles. My Nike Plus app had me at 5.34 miles. I did the course on Map My Run and it estimates 5.35 miles. Unfortunately this messes up my estimated pace. The math is not hard- 5 mile race at 1 hour and I have an 11:27 minute pace?

Final Thoughts:

I would do the course again mainly because I like smaller races that still give the impression of big races. There are definitely improvements to be made though. The course needs better signs and more refreshment stands along the way. It was hot and humid so water was necessary. One great aspect about the race was the yummy after race snacks- tons of fruit (watermelon, bananas, oranges) plus snacks (chips, oreos, energy bars). There was a huge tub of water you could refill your dixie cup with. 

Next up: Red Rose Run (still not signed up for, but planning to sign up)

Another big week of firsts

This week has brought two big firsts- walking unassisted and driving! Completing both means I am fully independent now :) I have a slight limp although when I concentrate and don't walk slowly I think it goes away. The limp has decreased during the week. The PT suggested wearing supportive shoes and keeping one crutch around in case I get tired. Frankly, it is more tiring to use the crutches than it is to walk on my own two feet!

The PT also thinks I should progress really well since I am in shape (very out of shape for me!). Another PT who hadn’t seen me in a month saw me walking around and was very impressed. It is little things like this that make me feel like my hard work is paying off.

Walking unassisted was my next goal in the recovery process. There are a number of smaller goals I want to achieve to get to my next big one: running. There is no magic week for me to get back to running. The PT said it will depend on how my body responds and progresses. I wish I could have some number to aim for, but for now my personal goal is to start running sometime in May. I decided running 9 miles for the Hibiscus 15k was not going to be possible so I switched to the 5 miler. It is a much more realistic goal,

I also am assuming by summer I will be running and able to train so I signed up for my first half of the fall! Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Philly.

I really wish I could do a marathon in November, but is it too much considering I just started walking at the end of March? Pre-injury my knees were acting up on longer runs. The weeks of rest could have helped heel my knees as well…. Since I did not get into the Marine Corps Marathon (I hate race lotteries!), there are two Marathons I am looking at: Philadelphia Marathon and the Harrisburg Marathon. The good thing about the Philly Marathon is that I might be able to down grade to the half if I feel like I would not be able to complete the full. Has anyone done the Philly Marathon?