Lost in Translation - The voice of an immigrant finding her way!

Next blog coming soon!!!

Half Marathon - My finale

Half Marathon;   GOAL,  SET AND ACHIEVED.

It took guts

It took hard work

It took commitment

It took wanting the feeling of great joy

It took compromise

It took good shoes, a pair of legs, a heart and lungs,  healthy

nutrition choices and a will to achieve

to get me across that finish!!!

And I can now proudly say it 

I Frikkin Did IT!!!! 

No guts, No GLORY

I had the guts and I now have the glory....and you can too!

I MADE IT yes folks I crossed that finish line and completed my year goal set of 8 half marathons for 2014.  But let me say not without a tug of war with my heart and my body. I met great people along the way, I joined a million plus people who have a mutual understanding of what it takes to accomplish a goal, set and achieved.  

You see during my training and race schedule I suffered from a hip issue 4 races in (can't say the I word if you are a runner you know what I mean) and then came on the plantar fasciatis grrrrr and it has lingered ever since.

BUT I made it to my last race The Vancouver Historic Half.  A superb race covering two laps around Stanley Park.  Magnificient views of the city and the northshore mountains, a flat, speedy course and the finale to a well earned running year.  BUT I started the race at -5 degrees, bad plantar fasciatis and ended limping and bitterly cold at -3.5 degrees.  Crikey it was cold and I never ever warmed up the whole race.  I got home showered to warm up and crashed on the bed for 1.5 hours to enable my body some sort of start to recovery.

I feel just fabulous, proud and I applaud myself for getting across that finish line.  I have bragging rights to my goal set and achieved. And although I now am unable to run for some time due to very bad plantar fascia tis,  I am excited to get back to the road because I have some new goals up my sleeve.  I never thought I would ever say that.

I held the hand of a young girl as I crossed the finish line for my second race.  She had stopped to walk 500m from the BMO finish line and I said you can't stop now the finish line is right there, we can do this.  I later received a surprise email of thanks.  She took the time to find me and email, it touched my heart.  I had a young man come to me in Victoria and said your encouragement was wonderful it got me through the last 2 km's.  These moments have truly added to my overall experience and memories.

I am now currently playing doctor doctor with ice packs, rolling the underneath of my feet with cold tennis balls and using the infamous Strassburg Sock.  On the road to recovery..... Thank you to the team at The Running Room cnr Denman and W Georgia I have reaped helpful information to aid in my recovery (ice, roll, stretch and REST)  and left with a challenge to come back to pick up my new goal post.

Tennis Balls in the fridge to roll under the feet

 

The infamous Strassburg Sock to help alleviate and heel
the ever dreaded Plantar Fasciatis - 

      

So before I leave I share this pertinent information with regards to 

training, nutrition and your recovery.

Use google folks for training programs there is a wealth of knowledge at your keyboard finger tapping tips. Anywhere in the world I know there are running groups that will be a great support for training programs such as half and full marathons.

Nutrition - I logged my food and training schedule on www.myfitnesspal.com to ensure I ate all the required calories (oh and don't try and diet whilst training for a goal, seriously you need the calories for fuelling the body)

Complex Carbohydrates, lean proteins and essential fats made up my daily diet. After long runs I did spoil myself with my favourite treat Tim Hortons Apple Fritter "oh yum" 

Thanks to My Fitness Pal I was able to monitor my calories to ensure I ate what I needed to to fuel the body and speedy recovery to keep running.

Recovery; Epsom Salts Baths, Loads of Yoga and I did not start early enough but ended the year well with visits to my Registered Massage Therapist (a secret weapon to eternal mobility).  

REST =  I admit folks this was hard for me to do....

BUT is integral to your bodies overall well being and I have learnt the hard way!

I hope I have inspired you to set an athletic goal bigger than you can dream and wish you all the very best and speed beneath your wings as you cross those finish lines.

Till next time remember Goals Set and Achieved is a truly invigorating, awe inspiring tidy business

Paula C

Proud - 8x Half Marathoner 2014

Half Marathon Paula Lamb - #gotlegs must run!

PART TWO

Here I am folks Race # 5, 6 and 7 DONE AND DUSTED!  
147 km's of racing and over 600 km's of training later.
#killingtime

Race number 5 was my peak all I had to do was push myself over the edge, start rolling down that hill cause race number six was in clear view.  I had to dig deep to complete this race, I started with an injury and ended very very sore and was off my feet for two weeks post race.

It had not been a happy time.  The only time I think I will feel human again without aches and pains is when I have fully rested my body and not pushed myself so hard. That will have to wait I guess as I have the race of all races NUMBER 8 left to cross off the goal posts.

How did my injury occur.  One week into my trip overseas after race number three I started with a left hip ache which radiated down the left leg (ITB) and felt a pinch in my left glute crease (you know where the glute and the hamstring meet).  This concerned me and I realized why,  it was from the beds I had been sleeping in.  The mattresses were too soft and had pushed my sleeping alignment out of whack.  PLUS I aint gonna lie my body was tired yes ma'am which I think added to the stress.  I had this dull ache which worsened as time ticked on.  I still completed short runs and stretched as much as possible but the dull ache lingered this was truly concerning for me.  At that point it was only three races left and I had an injury I was not too sure how long it would take to heal or how bad I was injured.

What I will have to say before I go on is take your running shoes with you because you can capture the most awesome picture perfect moments during your runs in a city.  The best time is when the streets are quiet in the early hours of the morning - not a tourist in sight.  
                                     

Love Locks in Cologne, Germany

After running for 8-10km I climbed 298 steps to a gorgeous
view of Passau, Germany

Vienna, Austria a runner's paradise massive park available to
runners along the waterways.

Anyhow back to the serious stuff.  Five races down and I now relied on my hot yoga classes, maintaining flexibility, visits to my RMT and less time on the road to get me across the finish line!  I have to say once you have a good cardiovascular and endurance fitness base under your belt its easier to maintain the running. Hence my weekly distance has decreased somewhat so that I can finish my set goal (re-covering from an injury) for 2014. You gotta do,  what ya gotta do!

It is now October 17th and I have only started feeling relief since I started treatment with my massage therapist, hot yoga and taken some rest.  This injury has tortured the life out of me since after race four the Scotia Bank half.  And again I realize how magical our bodies are and if we don't look after them they give in or sure as hell show us the signs we are over doing it!  It is imperative we listen to our bodies or we may never be able to run again.

Yes, training for eight half marathons in one year has been gruelling on my body (gosh what does marathon training do to the ole bod!!)  and on the mind.  I enjoy my running, I miss it when I don't do it but I have had to slow down somewhat to ensure I make it to my last race in November.

Injury prevention is key to success when you are running near or far.  They creep up on us, one minute your galloping the next your limping out the gate.  I am plagued with plantar fascaitis and for those of you reading this who know what I am talking about will understand the heel pain one feels and more so after a race.  I also suffer from tight hip flexors, ITB, hamstrings, achilles and lets just stop there....

So how do I still get to run.  I have a injury healing and prevention team as I like to call it.  My magical Registered Massage Therapist Nikki works wonders painful but delightful all at once (I giggle or groan alot in her treatments but boy do I feel magical a couple of days later).  Then I visit YYOGA for my YHOT classes and flow classes (although right now I am just doing YHOT).  Its marvellous stretching out the body in the heat as the sun rises on an autumns day. #Bliss

I have at home my epsom salts baths and often soak my feet and calves in icy icy cold water (with epsom salts of course, works wonders). A foam roller with and without the knobbies is great to release tension but be careful with the knobbly one it can bruise the body.  I also have this little ball (you can use the spiky balls they have for use in tumble dryers) that I roll under my feet and heel.  This helps with my plantar and massages my tired, sore feet.

Post race I take a warm epsom salts bath (as soon as I can) and after a good soak I apply a magnesium oil to the ole leggies.  It truly helps.

I am almost at my finish line and my half marathon race day is about turning my dream, my goal into reality and astonishing myself each step of the way.

My journey is not complete - exciting really.  With race number eight set for late November with yet another three week international journey before that.  I hope and pray nothing holds me back because I can see that finish line I just have a 21km hurdle ahead to accomplish.  

  

I have more too share so please come back as my journey is not complete.  Food, Workouts and all that I have learnt along the way.

"Achievement is true glory, exhilarating to the heart and joyous to the beholder"

                                                                                                      Paula C Lamb

Race Number Six - (Spirit of the Shore, Oct 5th, 2014)

Race Six and Seven (Victoria Half Oct 12th, 2014)

See you on the road, #killingtime

Paula C

7x Half Marathoner