Another race missed

Days like this are the toughest. Today I should have been participating in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. I was really looking forward to this race. Enough so that I signed up to run it for charity and fronted most of the fundraising requirement. Due to my circumstances, the race organizers were kind enough to let me defer the race until next year. Today I needed a reminder of how far I have come.

(yep my Garmin recorded the accident)

Checked up on all of my gear I had during the accident. My Garmin and heartrate monitor have a few scratches but seem to be working. I had a handheld water bottle that is now somewhere in Mexico. My compression shorts had to be cut to get them off of me. My white tank top has black marks that are not washing out. I was most concerned about my Garmin 620. I had just bought it to train for this race and by far is the most expensive piece of running gear I own.

I cannot believe it has been 9 weeks already. This past week I walked a mile without hip pain. This is HUGE for me. I still have a goal of walking 6.4 miles for the New Jersey Half relay. Originally I was to run the half, but had to downgrade. My fall race scheduled is all booked up. I signed up for the Wineglass Half Marathon in Corning, NY. The finishers medal is made out of glass and the course is point-to-point (my first one!). 

(course picture is from wineglassmarathon.com. Spots still available!)

The race starts near Campbell, NY while marathoners start further up in Bath, NY. *If* I can train for the full marathon I will need to tack on 3 extra miles to the race for my 16 mile run. Do you do it before or after the race? I assume after since before you will be waiting in your corral. I am very much looking forward to getting the champagne bottle and wine glass that come with the kit. mmm wine :)

Injury update: The swelling in my foot has gone down considerably. I finally fit into shoes normally although I still have some pain in my calluses and top of my foot. My Achilles is stiff and has a weird bump it (no pain though). My lower back is still hurting regularly. Unfortunately it does not seem to like being at work for 10 hours straight. I get lightheaded a lot, like pressure in my sinuses. I thought it might be allergy related, but it feels different. My doctor thinks it might be from the accident and eventually might go away in a few months (um thanks). My hip still has some tenderness to touch. If I place my body on my right side in just the right spot it will hurt. The bone is still healing even though new bone has formed so I assume this will still need a few more weeks. My bruised/cracked/something was wrong rib is feeling significantly better this week. It hurt the most when I would lay down and now I don't even notice it. Like my pelvis, it took about 6 weeks to feel better. There are crazy things that happen during a trauma that you never think about. My toenails on my right foot are finally starting to grow again. They simply stopped growing for almost 2 months. The PT says it takes 6 weeks to gain muscle back. If I start the clock at the beginning of week 7 when I started to walk this puts me at the beginning of week 13 (or a full 12 weeks after being hit). I started noticing that my right leg muscles are feeling more firm but still soft compared to my left leg.


Side note: one thing I regret not putting in my previous blog post was the power of prayer. I prayed often while being in bed. I truly believe this helped me heal closer to the 6 week mark. My faith helped me put the accident behind me. I do not hold ill will towards the driver nor am I angry. I am simply focusing on getting better and appreciating how lucky I truly am. There are people in my life going through much worse illness than my fractured pelvis. All of my injuries will eventually heel and I will get back to normal. Just takes time. 

Two week progress

Swelling has gone down, although my foot is still sensitive. My back feels a lot better, but not quite 100%. Today I can hear popping in my sore rib. The doctor in Mexico said a fracture might develop later even if he could not see one on the X-ray. I still have a black and blue elbow but it is not sensitive to touch anymore. I have been working on using the crutches but still feel like a baby giraffe learning how to walk.

I can sit for longer periods without feeling sore, but my rear end is pretty much always sore. With running, I am use to being hungry ALL the time but now I’m rarely really hungry. With a few exceptions I am trying to keep up with eating well.

I have had some good milestones these past couple of weeks. For one, I can get to the bathroom on my own. I can get in and out of bed although I still need helping prepping the bed to go to sleep. I was able to take the crutches downstairs, but I do not feel steady enough to do this without someone nearby. These little movements have made me feel more independent.

My Glass Slipper Challenge and Cherry Blossom 10 miler were both deferred. Unfortunately the Hershey 10k would not defer my entry. I am still hoping to be able to walk the NJ Half, but I will know more once I get to talk to the PT. The doctor has allowed me to do some basic movements in order to help keep muscle atrophy at bay. I fully expect to be able to run by the Hibiscus 15k although I am not sure how much training I will be able to get in. Before being hit, I joined a Glass Slipper Challenge group on Facebook. It is really disheartening to see the excited ladies talk about their costumes or the details of the race. I had to leave the group so I could avoid negative thoughts. Luckily I bought outfits I could reuse for running anytime. However, I was wearing the red Under Armour compression shorts when I got hit. (of course that was my first time wearing them grr) We simply could not get them off and over my broken hip without cutting them. 

My new goal is to register for the Marine Corps Marathon. It is a lottery system this year so I may or may not get it, but I want that to be my ultimate goal back to health.