Slept well last night after the relaxing massage, however, the back spasms continued today. This morning, while sitting at my desk, I had the occassional spasm as I sat up leaning forward and back. I got online to read up a little more on my symptoms. This is not recommended, as by the end of the web search I was pretty sure I had 7 days left to live or was pregnant with aliens. I should have known better when a massage therapist referred to my lumps as a back mouse. Really?
However, most of the more reputable posts continue to refer to the use of a foam roller, and I had been advised to use a tennis ball against a wall previously. I've read many of my running friends talk about using a foam roller, so today seemed like as good a day as any to try. Picked one up on my lunch break and was rolling around on the office floor the rest of the afternoon. Okay, it's really not that glamorous, in fact it's somewhat painful, but hopefully it will work.
When I got home from work, I ventured out for a walk/jog/walk - 0.7 at a 15 minute pace, 1 mile run at 9:30 and an equal walk home. The pain in the back was prevalent but tolerable. I think it will loosen up a couple miles in and as long as I can stay in motion, should be fine, but of course I worry about the minute that I actually stop. Maybe I should just walk home afterwards too? Either way, I will be doing nothing the rest of the weekend!
My diet consisted of 800mg ibuprofen twice daily and a 24 hour Claritin-D...with a chocolate milk chaser.
Seriously though, only a granola bar for breakfast again, and ventured out for the Pizza Hut lunch buffet at noon. Not my best choice - met the goal of carbs with the pasta and breadsticks, but the couple pieces of pizza I had were just greasy and in general not even good tasting. Molly made a taco salad for dinner, but I didn't eat much of it. Chugged a 32 ounce Gatorade on top of water all day, so should still be well hydrated.
As for the race, here is the link to track my progress
http://tracking.endresultcompany.com/2013/carmel/index.php
I hope you'll consider tracking me. It's motivating to know that others are monitoring my progress.
This seems like as good a time as any to discuss my goals. It goes without saying that the first goal is to finish. Given the back issues, getting to the finish line is always goal #1. However, being my 4th marathon, goal #2 is to PR. My previous PR is 5:04:54 from Nov 2010. I fully expect to meet goal #2 as I am much faster than that average pace today. The question is how deep into the race can I sustain that pace. That pace is goal #3 which is the 10:30 average pace - this would get me to a finish time of 4:35! A 30 minute PR would be an emotional accomplishment for me! What's that you ask? My dream goal - well of course 3:10 would qualify me for Boston, but since that is a 7:15 pace, and I can barely run 1 mile at that pace, I'll wake up from that dream and say my realistic dream goal would be 4:22 - yes a sub 10 pace would be a dream come true. So in true dreamer fashion, I plan to hook up with the 4:25 pace group and stick with them for the first half of the race. If they're on pace, I would expect a 2:10 first half, and pray I can hang on for a 2:15 back half. If I begin to fade more than they do, then I will be crunching the numbers mile by mile to get in by 4:35!
These are my goals and they are what drive me. Think about it - when was the last time you set out to do a task for four and half hours NONSTOP! I'm not talking about sitting and watching TV for that long, I'm talking about doing something that you must be actively engaged in and focused for that length of time. The mental component is as important as the physical. It will hurt - I know - it always does. But I'm mentally ready to take my body to a place it has rarely, if ever, gone before to try and reach these goals.
Finally, I need to be sure to continue to thank Indiana Vein Specialists. When Dr. Schoonover and his wife heard of my desire to run a full marathon in 2013, they contacted me proactively and offered to sponsor my entry into the Carmel Marathon. I can't thank them enough for the opportunity! Jeff and Kari are the best!
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