Mind Over Matter

Things that hurt require a lot of mental energy. My two prime examples. . . running and childbirth. Both of them hurt but both of them are manageable. But I don't think either one can be accomplished, drug free, without some serious mental stamina.

When I was pregnant with Sam, I read all the books on natural childbirth. I was determined to do it without an epidural. Not because I'm some naturalist,drug free, tree hugger or anything like that. But because I was scared to death of a giant needle in my back. Yes, ladies, that's how it's done. The first time I watched an epidural insertion in nursing school, I blacked out and had to eat a donut in the nurses station. That's why I'm a psych nurse. And yes, I HAD to eat it. They made me.

So with my strong fear of the needle in my back, I set my mind on natural childbirth. I spent hours visualizing the hospital room, how I would remain calm, how I would breathe through it and everything would be smooth. When you picture something enough in your mind, it's that much easier when the time comes. And while I admit childbirth hurts, I was ready, and it helped so much.

Today, I decided that is how I will approach this half marathon. Like childbirth. Starting today, I am going to spend time visualizing each mile, each step, and each breath. . . . pain free. I know it's going to be hard, but in the end it will be well worth it. And I'll get to sleep when it's over, NOT like childbirth.

I encourage you to try this. Next time you face a really tough physical challenge, picture yourself succeeding. Watch yourself, in your mind, jumping higher, running faster, pushing harder. You CAN make it happen. Our minds are amazing. . . and that's really why I'm a psych nurse.

If you've ever been to a yoga class, you probably know what a sun salutation is. If you haven't, it's a series of movements with accompanied breaths that allows you to stretch and strengthen your body. Yoga also includes a spiritual component and most of you who know me well know that I have a pretty hard time with anything spiritual. I can't put blind faith in things that don't make sense to me. (Hence the irony of the Mary in the Bathtub that remains in our back yard to this day)

So today I went to yoga class and in celebration of spring, we did 108 sun salutations in one hour and 20 minutes. I have never done more than 15 sun salutations in a row. I was the youngest one in the class so I did every single one of those salutations without any pose modifications. I was not about to be out done. Let me just say, for the record, I don't think there was any competitive component to the class so I'm not sure why I had this point to prove. Well, there was snow on the ground this morning and it was cloudy and gloomy when I left for class. After the hour and 20 minutes, the sun was brightly shining. The real me believes this had something to do with jet streams or air quality or any other scientific method of observing weather. But the me who did 108 sun salutations would like to believe that somehow the sun gods or Mother Nature or Mary in my backyard or the Dali Lama or SOMEONE greater than Pete Petoniak (the meteorologist on Fox 11) witnessed our efforts and rewarded us with the sunshine on this first day of spring. Now if that same higher power would make my pain disappear, she would surely make me a believer.

As I take on the next week, I will be starting with a call to a doctor's office. Yes, after 3 weeks, I have decided this pain is not healing on its own and I may need the help of a physical therapist or sports medicine doctor who can help me get back on my feet and start training again. I dread the paper gown and the foreign hands touching my hip (that is not well toned to say it as nicely as possible). But the time has come. No amount of yoga has helped. I've pretty much acheived frost bite from the amount of ice I've been using. And I think all the ibuprofen has created an ulcer in my stomach. For the next two days, I am not going to sit here and dread making this call. I think instead I'll go out in the back yard sunshine with a cup of coffee and ask Mary what she thinks I should do.

Have a great week everyone.

Making a Comeback. . . .

I have no real topic today. Just a collection of rather random ideas. In case you are wondering, I haven't seen a doctor or a nurse or a chiropractor or physical therapist or anyone else who might diagnose and help my hip pain. I, instead, put my hip to the test at the Black Eyed Peas show. I danced and jumped for a good 3 hours and it was ok. Now I will admit that I had to do about a half hour's worth of yoga stretches when I got back to the hotel room. I never had to do that in my 20's!!

Then I got some new shoes. Another good solution to pain associated with running. Today was the Shamrock Shuffle, a 5K at UW Oshkosh. Donning the new New Balances, I managed to run the majority of it and feel pretty good. Not bad considering there has been no running going on here for a couple of weeks. Thanks to my gals Edna, Sandy/Tamara, and Annie for joining me and giving me a good laugh just toward the end of the course.

A note to those of you who live in or near Ripon. . . .Jenny Tumas does a great yoga class on Saturday mornings and Wednesday nights. Those classes have helped my hip pain more than anything else I have done and I still felt like a got a good workout.

So this may be a turning point, a fresh start. I can't wait to get back on track. I can't wait to come up with a better, more creative idea for this blog next week. I can't wait to get out of these stinky running clothes! I hope you all have a wonderful week. I will be begging mother nature for some sunshine and hoping to start logging some good miles again!

An Uncertain Future

Running is hard. It's hard mentally and it's hard on your body. I keep questioning, why is it that something meant to make you so healthy can cause so many problems? It's been a hard week. Mentally, emotionally, physically. My hip is on fire. Not sure what caused it but my guess is that I increased distance too fast. Tried to over do it. And now I'm kind of stuck below square one, if there is such a spot to be.


Here is the problem with this scenario. I HATE doctors. Funny, huh, being in the medical profession. If I saw a patient with this pain, I would suggest they see someone in a fast hurry if they ever wanted to recover and start running again. But when it's myself, I will do nearly anything to avoid going to the doctor. I have no idea where I aquired this trait from. Hmmm. . . . maybe it has something to do with having a nurse-mother who forced my sister to keep ice skating even though she had fallen and was screaming in pain. In the same incident, we had to go to the grocery store before finally deciding something was probably wrong. Um, yeah, she fractured her arm. Oops. Then there was the 3 days I had to wait to go to the doctor while doubled over in pain with a burning fever. Oh, yeah, a perforated appendix. Hmmmm. . . .


So, I learned as a child that you have an immune system and endorphins for a reason. Your body is designed to heal itself and in most cases, it does just fine on its own. You will never see me at a doctor for a cold, cough, or fever. I rarely go in for the necessary female stuff. And I will have to drag myself in the door to get this looked at.

So I'm upset. Race season is just around the corner and I am losing my conditioning by the minute. My first 5K is next weekend and it looks like I'll be walking it. At least I'll be with some great gals. But, for the record, I will run this half marathon in October no matter what it takes. Even if it means getting the help of a medical professional. Maybe I'll just avoid the doctors. I like nurses better anyway.