Tag Archives ⇒ disneyworld_10k

Injury (part 2)

· Lauren

After hurting my knee during the Disney World half marathon on January 10th I was a little worried about the next couple of races I was signed up for. They weren’t too far in the future. I was flying back to LA on Monday and the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend was happening at Disneyland the following weekend. Yikes! Back in June when I registered for the Star Wars races I decided not to try to run the half marathon since it was only a week after the Disney World half marathon. As much as I really wanted to do it (and complete my Coast to Coast Challenge in record time), I figured it was just too ambitious for me at this point in my running career. And it’s a good thing I set those low expectations since my knee problems would have made a subsequent half marathon excruciating. As a consolation for skipping the half marathon, I registered for both the Star Wars 5K and 10K to still enjoy the weekend, just with less running. After my injury I was definitely concerned that I wouldn’t be healthy enough for the Star Wars races less than a week away, but I actually felt pretty good after resting and icing my knee for a few days. So on Friday morning when I crossed the start line of the Star Wars 5K I thought everything would be fine. It was just 3.1 miles, right? Too bad my knee was hurting so much after the first mile that I had to walk the rest of the race. I was so disappointed. To avoid further injury I ended up walking almost all of the 10K the next morning too. It was probably a mistake to even do that, but there was no way in hell I was going to miss getting the inaugural Star Wars 10K medal! Maybe that makes me materialistic, but I paid quite a bit of money for that race and it was going to take a lot more than a sore knee to keep me from participating. So despite the difficulties, I crossed both the 5K and 10K finish lines, but I felt awful. About a week later I decided I needed to do something about it.

To be concluded…

Injury (part 1)

· Lauren

This is hard for me to say, but I’m injured. It took me a long time to admit that to myself, but I am no longer in denial and now I’m facing the problem head on. It all started back in Orlando. On my birthday I ran the Disney World 10K and felt absolutely fantastic. It was one of those races that runners dream about. It was effortless. I kept waiting to feel like I was exerting myself at all! I believe that’s what they call a runner’s high. I’ve experienced it so few times myself that I’m unfamiliar with the sensation, though. I never thought it would actually happen to me during a race. In addition to the spectacle of running through Disney World (EPCOT Center, specifically), the runner’s high made the 10K completely magical. I couldn’t have asked for more on my birthday.

Fast forward 24 hours. I was standing in my corral before the Disney World half marathon and I knew something was wrong. My knee was hurting and I hadn’t even started running yet. I’d been having some pain on the outside of my left knee intermittently since October, but I hadn’t thought much about it. I always felt better after a little rest and reducing my mileage. No big deal. But something changed on January 10th. Due to the cold weather and lack of shelter prior to the half marathon, my parents and I spent about two hours in a tiny tent at the start line standing shoulder-to-shoulder with as many other people as could cram themselves in there. Everyone was just trying to stay warm! Unfortunately I think that was the tipping point for my knee problems. I knew I was in big trouble when it hurt before the race even started. After feeling amazing during the 10K the day before, I felt pretty awful during the half marathon. There were a few moments where I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish the race, but I kept running and still crossed the finish line in a respectable time (for me, at least). I spent the rest of my time in Orlando icing my knee several times a day (many thanks to my mom who thought to bring an ice bag with her!) and taking a lot of ibuprofen. I figured I’d rest for a few days and everything would be fine. Wrong.

To be continued…

Catching up (January edition)

· Lauren

Historically January is the month that I blog the most, but this year has been an exception. January can seem relatively quiet and dull after the excitement of the holidays is over. During this winter month I normally fill my extra free time with writing (specifically documenting how I spent my Christmas vacation). Not so much this month, but it’s been an unusually busy start to the year so far! Where do I even start? I’m planning to write more on all of this soon, but here’s a little recap for now.

After New Year’s I was back to work for a grand total of three days before I was on vacation again. My five days in Orlando were pretty great! On my birthday I ran the Walt Disney World 10K and felt fantastic. Then my parents and I spent the afternoon at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (and froze our butts off!). The next morning I ran the Disney World Half Marathon and crossed the finish line injured. That was really discouraging. On Sunday we went to Universal Studios to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which was amazing. I flew home on Monday and went back to work on Tuesday. Then on Thursday I went to the Disneyland Hotel for the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend expo. On Friday morning I started running the Star Wars 5K, but quickly discovered that my knee was still injured. Very disappointing. I still participated in the Star Wars 10K the next morning, but I walked the majority of the course. At least I got my medal!

Now it’s Sunday and I’m back at home preparing for a very busy week at work. I spent the afternoon roasting vegetables and putting together lunches for the week. It’s funny, but I think this is going to be my first normal week since the holidays. I still have a lot of things I need to do before I’m caught up with all of my usual chores, but I’m already starting to feel less stressed. Phew! I’m looking forward to having a little down time to get organized, gather my thoughts, and write about the crazy 2015 I’ve had so far. And the best thing is that I know there’s so much more awesome stuff to come this year!