Outrunning Crohn's Disease

Yesterday, my morning run saved my day. I don't talk much about my Crohn's disease, because it is still in the mild/moderate stages (which I am so grateful for! ). Most of the people I know who have Crohn's disease have had severe cases, complete with intestinal surgeries and/or ostomy bags. Because of this, I feel like I have no right to complain about my current situation. The most I usually have to think about it is when I take my 4 large pills every morning and the occasional unexpected urge to make a pit stop (sorry ... TMI). Yesterday, however, was one of the different days. I woke up at 3 am in so much discomfort, I couldn't go back to sleep for 2 hours. I was so bloated and nauseated and uncomfortable. No position or restroom break brought me any relief. This continued throughout the day (go figure on the day I see my GI ... glad my appointment was that day, though). After my appointment, I stopped at the Avon Town Hall to run around the trails. I figured at worst, I would just have to stop early and head back home (or rush into the town hall building for a potty break). Thankfully, I was able to get in about 4 miles with minimal discomfort ... on mile 3, I may have had a happy tear in my eye ... or it could have been my eyes watering because it was super cold ;) . It was a reminder of why I am so thankful for running. It reminds me that I am stronger than I realize some days. I was fatigued and a little uncomfortable the rest of the day and into today, but at that time,  I outran my Crohn's. I pray I will never take that ability for granted. It was a small victory in a long fight.  I know that this disease is progressive, that there may be days when running will be impossible, but right now is not that time. I must stay positive, hopeful, and determined. 

Happy 200th anniversary, Indiana!

A scenic and chilly day!

Duck couples :)

A Well Deserved Break

Not much running has been done in the last few weeks after the Monumental Half (still smiling from my PR! woot!). This could be because Alex and I went on vacation! That's a great reason to take a nice break from running. Alex and I have been trying to check some places off our bucket list (also known as the "before kids" list), and took a trip out to Hawaii! We spent our first few days on Oahu. Beautiful and extremely busy. We stayed by Waikiki beach, near a whole bunch of stores I cannot afford to shop at ;) We ate a lot of good food, took a nature tour of the North Shore, and visited Pearl Harbor (on Veteran's Day ... pretty awesome). 

Waikiki Beach at sundown

Where they film all those Hollywood movie scenes

My tootsies in the sand at Waikiki Beach

Scenes from North Shore nature tour

Monk seal on the North Shore

Waikiki Beach at Sunset

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

 We then spent 4 days on the island of Maui! Maui is probably the most beautiful place I've ever been to! Amazing! Green scenery, mountains, blue water, beautiful beaches ... just paradise. One of our favorite things that we did was travel the Road to Hana. We saw waterfalls, stopped at local food stands, swan in the Seven Sacred Pools. It was awesome. We also went snorkeling, visited Haleakala National Park and drove to the summit (over 10,000 feet up!), and went to a luau. It is so much quieter there than Honolulu lol. Again, we ate lots of delicious food and our resort was beautiful. We also ate ice cream or gelato most nights ... it's vacation! 

Standing in front of a waterfall

The view from our balcony ... Amazing!

An artistic shot of Alex

Apparently this is from an opening scene in Jurassic Park

Eucalyptus Tree

Beautiful Black Sand Beach 

Self explanatory!

On our last day in Hawaii, we decided to hop a flight to the big Island and went to Volcanoes National Park. Alex really wanted to see the active volcano ... and hey, this was a once in a lifetime trip. Why not!? We saw some active lava flow, visited steam vents and hiked on hardened lava fields. It was a whirlwind trip, but I'm glad we did it!

Active Lava Flow

On top of hardened lava

It was an amazing trip! Some hiking, but no running! Alex and I did start back up when we returned home. I have just been doing some easier running to try and stay in shape and will build back the mileage up before half marathon training begins again. Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and Alex and I participated in the Gobble Gallop at our local YMCA. My intent was to just run it comfortably. I wanted to do this anyway, especially since I unintentionally found myself in a P90x workout class the night before the race. To my credit, it was supposed to be PiYo ... they had just moved up the class after PiYo because the gym was closing. My legs are so angry lol I did end up getting 3rd in my age group, no PR, though! Alex got first in his age group and won a pumpkin pie! Hooray for a fast husband :) Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A Triumphant Return!

The Monumental Half Marathon has come and gone. All of the training miles have been completed and now it is time to rest. And I can rest knowing that I have done my best! I was not sure what to expect with this weekend's race. I still had some residual foot issues and had been working on my right hamstring muscles. Alex did one more round of dry needling on me Wednesday before the race .... in my opinion, it helped tremendously! I felt minimal strain in my hamstrings during the race, which was great! I was hoping to get in the ballpark of my PR (1:49:59 set in May 2014). I was not expecting to smash that PR by 4+ minutes! I ended up finishing in 1:45:50! With minimal discomfort in my hamstrings, and some mild foot issues, I was able to focus on the mental aspect of my running it seemed. I decided before the race that I was going to dedicate my efforts to the memory of my Grandma who passed away last month. She experienced so many hardships in her life and managed to stay strong in her faith and sense of self regardless of these struggles. If she faced these challenges with grace and strength, certainly I could focus for less than 2 hours on running a road race. My first mile was my slowest, but the rest of my race was consistent. My last 3 miles were actually my fastest. Usually, I tucker out around mile 11 and just try to keep moving to the finish line. Not this time! I feel like my training, better eating habits, and better fitness helped me tremendously. I also had thoughts of my grandma and all of the people I love to keep me strong in those final miles. It kept my head in the race. The 40 degree temperatures (perfect for running!) didn't hurt at all, either :)  Alex also had an amazing race! He set a PR by running the half in 1:39:02. I am so proud of him and how hard he has worked. We both made some big life changes this summer by kicking our eating and exercising habits in better gear, and it seemed to pay off.

Me ... waiting to dive into that post race chocolate milk!!! And Alex is there, too :)

The Monumental races are great. I love the course. It is so nice and flat! The volunteers were enthusiastic and helpful. There are cookies at the end ... and chocolate milk! I love chocolate milk. The medal is awesome (the Statehouse is on it ... my old tour guide stomping grounds)! Many of my friends also participated in one of the races that day. It is always fun to see them work for their personal goals. The only unusual race day detail was probably the announcer at the beginning of the race. He kept telling us to get into our "carols" .. pronouncing corrals like the tunes you sing at Christmas time ... lol. He must not have announced any running races before. Several of us who were already hanging out in our "carols" were getting some good giggles at this. Overall, it was a great day for racing. I am proud of my efforts and proud of my husband and his hard work. Now, it is time for some much needed rest. I need to work on my left foot a bit and hit some heavy glute strengthening so my hamstrings don't do all the work when I try to run fast. So here is to the beginning of an "off season." My next big race planned is the Mini Marathon in May 2017 (with the training series for this prior to the Mini). I will be sure to keep you updated on my running adventures and include some more personal posts over the next few months. 

Also .. go vote on Tuesday! I did my early voting last week!

Hallowellness 5K and the Tapering Chronicles

This past Saturday, Alex and I participated in a Hallowellness 5k at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds. My glute screamed the first quarter mile and I felt a little disheartened, but magically ... it eased up. I felt pretty good after this and had a pretty good race. Not as seamless as the Fallen Heroes 5k, but pretty good! Some mild strainI ended up getting 3rd overall woman and Alex won his age group! He had a PR! The weather was spectacular for the end of October and pretty good for running (if not a little warm). The wellness event was great and well attended. Looking forward to doing this one again next year!

Volunteering at the Hallowellness event with my borrowed shark hat!

Like Mother, like son - Tobi in an adorable shark outfit ... that he utterly hated!

We are down to the last week of training for the Monumental Half Marathon this weekend! I am hoping for the best. The dry needling has been helping my hamstrings. They aren't perfect, but they are better. I am hoping my hamstrings and that pesky left foot hold up. I am not expecting my PR, but if the race goes like my training, I think I could be in the ballpark of that range. Let's see how it all plays out. Alex is running it, along with many of my friends! This may inspire me to push myself more than I would on my own! After the half, I plan on taking some time off to help with some of the residual injury issues. I think Alex and I would both like to work on improving our speed for 5k distances. I think we could both be really good at this distance with some work! Anyway, it's go time this weekend, wish me luck!

Ugh ... my pesky Hamstring. And RUN317!

It's been an interesting week of training. I've struggled with hamstring strains (high hamstring, which are hard to get rid of!) over the last year. After working last Wednesday, I tried to sprint to my car because it was raining super hard and I didn't have an umbrella! I stepped off a curb and a jolting pain shot up my right hamstring, causing me to limp for several steps. My first thought was, "crap ... I've torn my hamstring..." It hurt to sit in my car on the ride home. It hurt to sit period. I got a little more hopeful because it ended up not hurting with standing or walking (I probably would not really be walking well with a true tear!).

I felt okay enough to do the RUN317 run last Thursday. Again, another rainy, rainy run!!! I decided to not push it on this run because of the hamstring. If I stayed around a  9 min mile pace, I did not feel too bad. It was a neat course, I really enjoyed getting to run through Fountain Square and down Virginia by all the great new restaurants. I saw my boot camp buddy, Teresa, and some of her running pals, as well (way to go on the 3.17 PR Teresa!). You get a cool pint glass as SWAG, I bought a RUN317 shirt ... because... running shirts!!! There was free beer at the end. I had to get one just because it felt like something I had to do! Anyone who knows me knows that beer is not something I ordinarily drink (sorry! I never got used to the taste and now it seems to bother the Crohn's if I have too much!). I drank about a third of it before having to set it aside. Sorry to disappoint you all :)

Beer selfie ... to prove I got one.

Finish line!

Thursday, after the RUN317 race, I had my husband try and dry needle my hamstrings. Did I mention he is a PT, also? Man, it was uncomfortable, but I think it worked some. My mid-substance hamstring was more comfortable on my Saturday long run. I still felt like someone was punching me in the upper hamstring/glute. It was my last long run prior to the Monumental Half Marathon. Overall, not bad. I think we are going to try another round of the needling to see if we can get some other trigger points in the upper hamstring and glute. I will report back on the effectiveness. I did do a tempo run today and felt pretty good through about three quarters of the run. I felt some strain in the same areas as Saturday, so I am hoping we can tackle it with this extra round of dry needling!

Other than the above, I have started my tapering for the half. I do love having fresher legs with tapering, so I am hoping this will be good for the hamstrings, as well! This weekend we have a wellness event with a 5k that is put on by my place of employment. Being that it is taper week, I will have to keep the competitive juices in check for the run :) Have a great week everyone!

Training updates, Vacation, Metal Walk 5k

Things have been up and down and just all around busy the last 2 weeks. The monumental is in about 2 and a half weeks! I have had good and bad running days, but overall, things are going pretty well. We will see how this translates into race day. We went to Disney World last week and let's just say there was no running with our jam-packed days at the park. We did stay active, though, walking about 10 miles (per my Garmin step counter) each day at the parks. This did not necessarily correlate into running speed and fitness! 

We had the Metal Walk 5k this past Saturday (Oct 15th). It is a fundraiser for a foundation with my husband's company. It was the first run I had done in a week! The first mile was very difficult to try and run quickly. The next two miles were a little better. My performance was not as fluid and speedy as the Fallen Heroes 5k. I was still the first female across the line (buuuuttt .. the field wasn't too large lol)! It's taken me a few days to get back to where I felt like my training was at prior to vacation. I did a speed workout today (repeat Half miles) and felt pretty good by the end of it.

Speaking of vacation, Disney World was magical :) I have always loved Disney. There are no really young kids in our family, just a bunch of crazy kids at heart. My favorite part was the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. I love the Magic Kingdom at night. It was nice to have the whole family together, ride the rides (short lines due to limited crowd for the party!) ... and there were candy stations throughout the park! So much candy! We will probably just save some for trick-or-treaters ... if it lasts that long ;)

The view from our room in the Animal Kingdom Lodge - Amazing to wake up and see giraffes out the window!

The Mouse himself ... Mickey Mouse!

Toy Story Midway ride - with our sweet 3D glasses

So what's coming up next? Tomorrow is Run317 ... my first one! Should be fun! My last true long run before the Monumental will be this weekend, as well. Here goes nothing! 

Race Recap: Fallen Heroes 5k

It has been a whirlwind weekend! Alex and I participated in the Fallen Heroes 5k in Bourbonnais, Illinois this Saturday. Each year they honor a fallen officer, firefighter, etc., from the community. This year, they were honoring the brother of my former roomie, Jordan. He passed away entirely too young at the age of 35 late last Spring. What a great way to honor his life. It was a rainy morning, but the temperature was perfect for running. Alex and I both had great races, despite the soggy conditions! The race was run in a neighborhood and park behind the police station. The park trail went right by a river, and it was very nice! I felt really good during this run! Everything just seemed to click. No hamstring tightness, no foot pain. I ended up running the race in 22:47 and winning the women's division! My watch showed that we ran 3.03 miles, so I guess I can't consider it an official 5k PR, but it probably still would have been if I stretched it out. Alex also had a great race time and got 3rd overall male and 1st in his age group. The winner trophy is so nice! I am going to have to find a place for it to keep it safe from my cats :) It was great having a good running day, but it was even better to be around my old roomie and her family. They are a special group of people, and Alex and I were glad we were able to travel to do this race. After all, family and friends are truly the most important things in this life :)

Monumental Half Training Update

A little running update for you. Personal posts will be interspersed among the running updates and race recaps! There are about 6 weeks until the Monumental Half Marathon! I haven't decided just how hard I want to run this one just yet. It's kind of a comeback race after dealing with a neuroma and synovitis in my 2nd toe! It's feeling about 80-90% better and I generally feel pretty good when I run. I have been following the free plan that was sent out from the Monumental staff that was created by Matt Ebersole for Personal Best Training. I am just doing the "Finisher" plan and this has been great for allowing me time for cross-training in my schedule. I love the quality sessions - they make me feel like a hardcore runner again :) I do an easy run, a moderate run (which sometimes I substitute with indoor soccer), one of the quality runs, and a long run. This week's quality run involved 4 miles of steady state running and a few fast 1 minute intervals (with warm up, cool down) - I was pleased with my pacing. I may be able to race this half after all! However, the 12 mile long run was a little tough. My legs were a little fatigued, especially after about 9 miles. Must have been some bike rides from the previous 2 days! Oh, well ... 

My post long run therapist!

This week we have the Fallen Heroes 5k. Alex and I are doing this with my old roommate and her family. Her brother was a police officer who passed away last year, so they are doing this to honor him. It should be a nice tribute. 

The weather is looking great for running. After a hot few first days of fall, the temps are looking more fall-like! I love me some fall weather!!!

Can't wait to see these beautiful colors again soon!

Have a beautiful week everyone!

An Introduction of Sorts

Hi! Welcome to my blog! I want to keep this introductory post short-ish and sweet-ish. You can find out more fun facts about me under the "About Me" page (see what I did there?). My goal for this blog is to relay all of my fun running and training adventures (the literal "Miles" in the "Miles with Megan" title) and to discuss my path to body acceptance and battling my autoimmune issues through running and other resources (the metaphorical "Miles," if you will). I also plan to incorporate some of my other life adventures in here, as well! My plan is to be as open and honest as possible, I tend to be a gal who keeps things to herself! I've found that I have a much easier time revealing who I really am with written words versus speaking. That makes this blogging thing seem like the perfect venue for my thoughts. Here's to the beginning of what should be a beautiful friendship!

Here's a photo of me with a penguin! I love penguins :)