Despite the rainy weather this weekend, my running mate and I decided to tough it out and run our longest run before the half in two weeks. Since the half is 13.1 miles, our goal was to do 12 this weekend, then 8-10 next weekend, and then rest until the race. Unfortunately, at about mile 7 my knee started acting up, and by mile 9 I could hardly even walk on it, so we only made it to 10. This is a little disconcerting considering we only made it 10 miles, and it was so painful I am now really nervous about the last 3 that I will have to grit out during the real thing.
I went to the orthopedist a few weeks ago, and he had diagnosed me with ITBS (Ileotibial band syndrome) which is pretty much labeled "Runner's Knee" for the exact reason I have it now. The IT Band runs from your hip to your knee, and is like a piece of leather that doesn't stretch very well. The problem comes when that band gets repeatedly stretched to its max, and the friction against the bones in your knee causes it to start this kind of horrible pain. You can't really tell exactly where it's coming from, but if you touch the bony part of the outside of your knee and then move toward your thigh about an inch or so, you can push and make the pain. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do for it except ice it, rest it, stretch it, and take NSAIDs (which I'm on) daily to try and combat the pain. Further down the road there is the possibility of injections in the bursa of your knee if it becomes inflamed, but that is more of a last minute type of resort.
I had been doing well with it the last couple of runs, even our 9 mile long run last week, but this week wasn't so lucky. AND of course, my orthopedist is on vacation this week! I'm hoping I can just take these two weeks to rest WELL, run a few short runs (3-4 miles) and hopefully it will rally for the race on April 7th.
Dreaming of a happy knee...
Love,
Brittanie
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
CDCTA Combined Test & Dressage Schooling Show at Morven
This past weekend I had the opportunity to take "Waldo" to the CDCTA Combined Test & Dressage Schooling Show at Morven Park in Leesburg, VA. As far as I knew, it was Waldo's very first show experience, so I was a little nervous about a few things, one being how he would act on the ground, and the other being his temperament in front of a judge.
I arranged enough time to get there nice and early, and tacked him up before I left home so I wouldn't have to worry about tying him to the side of the trailer. He pranced around a little once I had gotten him off the trailer, but settled once I had gotten on, and we had a nice long warmup before our first test (after a spook at the port-o's, a person walking toward him, and a small gust of wind...).
The first of our rides was for our Elementary Level Combined Test, and it was just an Intro dressage test. He was spooking at pretty much everything and I wasn't wearing spurs, so our ride was a bit lazy and very much like a noodle! The judge's comments consisted of things like "needs more energy," "could be straighter," and "lacks confidence." We ended with a 42.0% (yikes!) which put us pretty far down on the placings list! I was actually thrilled he didn't jump out of the arena!!
Our second test went a LOT better. Unfortunately it was just a schooling dressage test, so it didn't count toward the jumping part. We rode Beginner Novice Test A, and ended with a 34.0%, giving us 1st place! I'm glad I entered him in the second test so I could see if he improved over time, and he definitely did. Also, I didn't forget my spurs this time, so he had a lot more energy!
After the dressage, we had our jumping part of the Elementary Level Combined Test. The jumps were only about 2'3", which is pretty tiny. Our warmup was a little nerve-wrecking, because he was WAY over jumping everything and tripping over himself when he didn't have his lead right. We got called in to the arena, and although I had to use my whip as a backup a couple times, he just trotted through the course like a champion! We had no jump or time penalties, and he just cantered over the last fence, so I was THRILLED with him!! We ended in 5th place out of 10 riders. Not too shabby for his first show!
The show jumping steward kept commenting on what a nice mover he is. My response was, "Thanks! He's for sale!"
I went ahead and paid for the videos, so I'm interested to see what they look like. It's usually a few days to a couple weeks before they come in the mail.
ALSO, it was St. Patrick's Day, so everyone was in green and we got all sorts of fun prizes. The show was packed, but they did an exceptional job keeping everyone organized. My only con was that scoring took a while.. my last ride was before 10, and I didn't get our official results until about noon. Otherwise I had a great time!
Happy Jumping!
Love,
Brittanie
I arranged enough time to get there nice and early, and tacked him up before I left home so I wouldn't have to worry about tying him to the side of the trailer. He pranced around a little once I had gotten him off the trailer, but settled once I had gotten on, and we had a nice long warmup before our first test (after a spook at the port-o's, a person walking toward him, and a small gust of wind...).
The first of our rides was for our Elementary Level Combined Test, and it was just an Intro dressage test. He was spooking at pretty much everything and I wasn't wearing spurs, so our ride was a bit lazy and very much like a noodle! The judge's comments consisted of things like "needs more energy," "could be straighter," and "lacks confidence." We ended with a 42.0% (yikes!) which put us pretty far down on the placings list! I was actually thrilled he didn't jump out of the arena!!
Our second test went a LOT better. Unfortunately it was just a schooling dressage test, so it didn't count toward the jumping part. We rode Beginner Novice Test A, and ended with a 34.0%, giving us 1st place! I'm glad I entered him in the second test so I could see if he improved over time, and he definitely did. Also, I didn't forget my spurs this time, so he had a lot more energy!
After the dressage, we had our jumping part of the Elementary Level Combined Test. The jumps were only about 2'3", which is pretty tiny. Our warmup was a little nerve-wrecking, because he was WAY over jumping everything and tripping over himself when he didn't have his lead right. We got called in to the arena, and although I had to use my whip as a backup a couple times, he just trotted through the course like a champion! We had no jump or time penalties, and he just cantered over the last fence, so I was THRILLED with him!! We ended in 5th place out of 10 riders. Not too shabby for his first show!
The show jumping steward kept commenting on what a nice mover he is. My response was, "Thanks! He's for sale!"
 |
| Waldo with his winnings! |
I went ahead and paid for the videos, so I'm interested to see what they look like. It's usually a few days to a couple weeks before they come in the mail.
ALSO, it was St. Patrick's Day, so everyone was in green and we got all sorts of fun prizes. The show was packed, but they did an exceptional job keeping everyone organized. My only con was that scoring took a while.. my last ride was before 10, and I didn't get our official results until about noon. Otherwise I had a great time!
Happy Jumping!
Love,
Brittanie
Sunday, March 11, 2012
8k.. DONE!!
Today was the St. Patrick's 8k in downtown, DC. It was also my very first legitimate running race, and the debut of "Team Noob-A-Roo" (though we only had 3 people so it didn't count!). I'm ultimately thrilled about how my running mate and I did, and am looking forward to seeing what happens in 4 weeks at our HALF MARATHON!!
But not to get ahead of myself... I still have a bit of training to do before I will be comfortable taking those 13.1 miles "in stride."
Today started out pretty nerve-wracking. I set my clocks forward last night so I could make a good effort at actually arriving in DC on time, and woke up at 6am to shower, eat a fiber muffin, and drink a water. I left my house at 7 thinking there would be quite a bit of traffic, but it only took me 10 minutes. Luckily I have a parking space in my office garage, so I had a free space to park and didn't have to search for an hour! My running mate met me at my office at 8am, and we walked to the festivities area to meet up with other members of our running group and map out the necessities. It was COLD. I made the mistake of drinking an energy drink before the start, so not only was I shivering from the cold but also shaking all over the place from the caffeine!
The start ran kind of tough since there were SO many people. We were all given tracking bands to stick to our laces, so they could track our start and finish electronically. As we stumbled through the start in the masses, my running mate and I kept together for the first mile and a half before we were separated by a slower 'team' that trapped me in, so I waved him on and we kept our own pace from then on. I think it actually worked better since we're different paces in a race situation, and at one point around a loop I passed him heading in the other direction, so that was a little motivation!
Mile 2 went awesomely (is that a word?) and I had a rush that I think was great for making up the time from the bottle-necking of mile 1. After mile 2 I ran out of steam a bit, but settled in to a pretty consistent pace for 3 & 4. The last mile was the killer. We rounded a bend and I could SEE the finish- its balloons waving in a perfect little arch of glory... and picked up the pace a bit. AND THEN EVERYONE STARTED TURNING... and we had an extra half mile loop to do before the actual stretch home!! So that was a bit disheartening, and I was pretty tired from my speed-up (my running mate calls them "after-burners!") but I was still able to push it out for the last stretch home.
What a relief it was to cross the finish :) My running mate was waiting for me there, and we high-fived and grabbed water to cool down. Overall I felt pretty awesome about it!!
I ended at 44:12, which is a pace of 8:54 a mile. Not too shabby! If only I could go back to high school P.E. class now... :)
I liked the way the race was run, though I wish they had done the start a little different. It was crazy to be starting with all those people, though a little motivation watching all the crazy fast people running by in the beginning. I also passed a guy JUGGLING while he was running as he started out and I was finishing. All-in-all entertaining!!
Now I'm off to have an "epic" night of sleep!!!
Happy Running!
Love,
Brittanie
But not to get ahead of myself... I still have a bit of training to do before I will be comfortable taking those 13.1 miles "in stride."
Today started out pretty nerve-wracking. I set my clocks forward last night so I could make a good effort at actually arriving in DC on time, and woke up at 6am to shower, eat a fiber muffin, and drink a water. I left my house at 7 thinking there would be quite a bit of traffic, but it only took me 10 minutes. Luckily I have a parking space in my office garage, so I had a free space to park and didn't have to search for an hour! My running mate met me at my office at 8am, and we walked to the festivities area to meet up with other members of our running group and map out the necessities. It was COLD. I made the mistake of drinking an energy drink before the start, so not only was I shivering from the cold but also shaking all over the place from the caffeine!The start ran kind of tough since there were SO many people. We were all given tracking bands to stick to our laces, so they could track our start and finish electronically. As we stumbled through the start in the masses, my running mate and I kept together for the first mile and a half before we were separated by a slower 'team' that trapped me in, so I waved him on and we kept our own pace from then on. I think it actually worked better since we're different paces in a race situation, and at one point around a loop I passed him heading in the other direction, so that was a little motivation!
 | |
| My running mate and I post-race! |
What a relief it was to cross the finish :) My running mate was waiting for me there, and we high-fived and grabbed water to cool down. Overall I felt pretty awesome about it!!
I ended at 44:12, which is a pace of 8:54 a mile. Not too shabby! If only I could go back to high school P.E. class now... :)
 | |
| A post-race brew at Blackfinn |
Now I'm off to have an "epic" night of sleep!!!
Happy Running!
Love,
Brittanie
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
What a Mellon!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to travel with the President/CEO & the Chief of Staff to check out the location of an upcoming event. I am assisting in the production of a tribute video to two honorees at the event, so seeing the location and planning out exactly where the video will be shown was essential to the planning process. Anyway, here is a picture:
The event will be at the Mellon Auditorium in June, and will be all fancy and important. I'm excited to see our turnout this year, and even more excited about the potential of being sent to fun places to do the video interviews!
The Mellon, in all its grandeur, is great because it needs very little decoration to look impressive. It's a bit pricey to rent out, but definitely worth it for an event with prestigious guests like this one. Hopefully I will have some pictures post-event to show how it turned out!
Happy March!!
Love,
Brittanie
 |
| Andrew W Mellon Auditorium |
The Mellon, in all its grandeur, is great because it needs very little decoration to look impressive. It's a bit pricey to rent out, but definitely worth it for an event with prestigious guests like this one. Hopefully I will have some pictures post-event to show how it turned out!
Happy March!!
Love,
Brittanie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)