Some technical difficulties...

For some reason the second to last post (before this one) showed up on February 18th instead of the beginning of March, when I indeed wrote it. So some of the information may seemingly be a little bit out of order and not connected to anything, but it is.



I also promised some links to hip exercises and stretches. Most of my information is taken from Runnersworld.com which anyone can go to and search and find some great running tips. If there are other websites you swear by as I swear by this one, let me know.

Hip strengthening exercises. (Just click)



Hope that they help!

I think we need to take a break...

2010 Jerusalem Half Marathon! Woohoo! Let's do it! Are you ready???

I was so pumped and full of energy the day of the race. I had cancelled my registration 2 days before as a precaution so that I couldn't officially run. The day of the race I made sure not to wear the right running shoes nor a sports bra. I was still so pumped. I went to pick up Danielle and I was definitely more pumped than she was, it took her most of the walk to the start of the race to get excited. I made sure that we had everything, or at least that Danielle had everything she needed. I was going to be spending the 2hrs waiting for her to come back studying for my test the next day. The only thing I forgot was sunscreen, it was raining for christ's sake that morning, who would have thought I would get to school looking like a tomatoe! On the way we stopped for coffee, which helped a little to wake Danielle up. We walked part of the race to get to the start, so that helped some more in getting the adrenaline flowing. We got stuck in a downpour but kept on going, getting even more pumped. We got to the stadium where the race was starting and there was a lot going on. Danielle took advantage of the port-a-potties and in the process almost got accosted by some idiot who didn't understand that red meant there was someone inside and that the door was locked for a reason. The funny thing about that was that the same guy took our picture later on with Shneller before the race started, reinforcing my original assessment of his idiocy. I was not the one to ask him to take the picture, that was Shneller.

After Danielle got all the things she needed, I have to say that the schwag was a little on the shvach side, we put on our shirts that I had made the day before. The story behind the shirts is a funny one. Our really good friend, Noa, has been fighting lymphoma for the past 6 months and we are happy to say that she is all better, her hair is growing back, slowly and ever so blonder making her look like a punk (I wasn't going to say the L word) and we were so proud of her making it through this really trying time that we wanted to support her and run the half marathon in her honor. So I took up the idea with Danielle about making the shirts and obviously her answer was "helz yeah!". We just needed the right line for the shirts...The shirt read on the front: "Our friend got cancer and all we did was run a marathon." On the back it said: "Hanley & Koenigson for Buchman" with a running decal beneath: (minus the Hebrew)

The part of the story that can be found amusing is that we didn't tell Noa we were running with the shirts, it was a suprise. Then I got really nervous that she would be mad at us for making the shirts in the first place, its not like we didn't have one for her, but maybe she would be offended by what we chose to write on them... When we were all dressed we got many compliments on our endeavor, people didn't seem to think that it was offensive, or at least they didn't tell us to our faces. We took pictures, obviously, and I will post them as soon as I get them. Then Shneller wanted to get pictures with us, but that made me even more anxious, "she's going to tell Noa before we get a chance to!" so we told her that she had to keep the shirts a secret. So we have everything on file and I was so nervous about letting Noa know that we said we would ask her mom if she thought that we should tell her about the shirts. I don't think it got around to that, since Danielle told Noa that night and Noa just laughed in her face. So, phew. All that pressure and being nervous, for nothing. We will gladly and proudly wear the shirts in each race that we participate in in 2010.

The next race for us will be the Tel Aviv Half Marathon in May. In the meantime, getting to the title of this entry, I think its time for me to cut back on the mileage and let my hip flexor heal. I think I diagnosed what seems to be the problem with my hip. A tight iliopsoas muscle that has caused some sort of tendonitis/bursitis in that area. I do believe that might be the origin of my back problem since the tight muscle in my back is exactly where the psoas muscle originates from. Yes, you can call me a nerd, everyone else does... Anyway, it would be smart to lay off the running until it heals, which will be extremely hard for me, harder than not running on Thursday. I will try, I can't promise I will succeed but I will stop running if it gets worse and just try and ice the area and do lots and lots of stretching and strengthening of the iliopsoas muscle.

Now for some pictures from our trip to Pro:Sport:

Photographer: Noa Buchman

Rolling up my sleeves to start the analysis... Danielle's Feet!

Sporting my fuel belt...

We all came out happy!

You may be right, I may be crazy...

So, no 2010 Jerusalem Half Marathon for me. I made the right decision and pulled out of the race. My back is alot better but not fit for 2.5 hrs of pounding. I will run a half marathon in a month from now, in a race or on my own, it doesn't really matter. I don't have to prove anything to anyone, especially not to myself when it would mean being in danger of causing more harm to my body. I'd rather sit this one out inorder to be able to run another 100 races.



That said, I have some exciting news. This is where you might think that I am slightly insane. Since I was getting a bit depressed about not being able to run the race tomorrow and the fact that I most probably won't be running the NYC Marathon in November, I decided to look for races in which I was guaranteed entrance, outside of Israel. I stumbled on the Venice Marathon, which is in October. I thought, that's cool, I always wanted to go to Italy and this is a perfect opportunity to have a little fun. Then I saw that its the 25th Annual Venice Marathon and it falls out on my 25th birthday! There is no way I'm missing out on that one. So I have paid and received confirmation on my entrance and now I have to start planning. So many questions! What's the weather like then? Where should I sleep? Where the hell is the race? Who am I going to go with? How long will I go for? Granted I have like, 6 months to figure this all out, but I think that my body is just wired wth energy from not having trained hard this passed week that all the thoughts are racing back and forth inside my head. I have been doing the elliptical and bike and trying to swim. I think that I have mentioned that I got more massages in the past week than in all my years in school. So I am feeling much better but I'm not running and nothing tires me more than the hills in this city. So, I have the adrenaline to run 3 marathons tomorrow, but it aint happenin'. My time will come, I just have to be patient, right? I say this as my leg is shaking so much it will probably fall off.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish lots of luck to those who are running the Jerusalem 1/2 Marathon tomorrow. I will be in the bleachers running vicariously through you all and studying for my final on Friday. I will also be armed with snacks for the finish line. If my back is feeling up to it, maybe I'll join the rest of the Reidman students in the massage tent for after the race. Ugh, sweat...

Good Luck!

Peace out.
Next year at the 1st International Jerusalem Marathon!

Houston we have a problem...

Its like, deja vu, all over again.

My first big running race was 2 years ago, March 2008, the Jerusalem Half Marathon. I was running the race to raise money for Sderot victims. At the time I was working in Givat Shaul for Tikva and I would run home from work 2-3 times a week while I was training, thru most of the course. I was also playing flag football for some fun since I wasn't really that busy after 5pm. One day after practice I had to get home pretty quickly so I ran with a messenger bag that I had, on my back. It wasn't the smartest of ideas, I know that now and I am sure that I knew it at the time but there wasn't that much I could do about it. Anyway, the bag kept on swinging and my body kept on compensating for the weight on one side by contracting on the other side and I had a stiff back. I also needed to start practicing squats for school and I decided what better time to do it than that weekend. With no weights on my back, just in a living room, I squatted down, I felt a "pop" in my back and I couldn't really stand up. I was in pain. It wasn't so bad starting off but then I tried to walk. Very awkwardly, I made it to my friend's for lunch. Let's just say the whole day was very painful, standing up, sitting down, walking up and down stairs. I went home, took some painkillers, made an appointment to see the doctor the next day and went to sleep. There is a reason that I have taken up the field of alternative medicine. My experience the next day at the doctor was just a reinforcement. I took a cab, just thinking of walking to the bus gave me a panic attack, to the doctor, sat and waited for him (peeve #1) and after he checked me out, he told me that I tore a muscle in my back and that it would take a long time to heal. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I had a half marathon in a month that I needed to be healthy enough to run and did not need a tear in my back. I was not a happy person and I went to the physical therapist who told me something else entirely. Not that what he told me should have made me happier, I just understood him much better. I had pulled my left posterior sacroiliac joint (yes I'm an anatomy geek) out of place since the muscle was so tight. I didn't tear anything, just dislocated a hip joint. He told me that he could put it back in place and would work on the healing process and that I could run the race in a month. I did end up running the race, not as fast as I had hoped and with lots of walking breaks due to pain and not eating enough throughout the race, lots of rookie mistakes.

I thought that this time would be different. I am older, wiser, more experienced when it comes to fitness and races and preparation. I guess I was wrong and that's not easy to say. What did I do this week, the week before the 2010 Jerusalem Half Marathon? I decided to do some squats with a barbell on my back. Just 20 kilo, nothing my legs couldn't handle. I thought that I was stronger and prepared for such a big step. I haven't touched a barbell to my back in a long time though and I should have known that a week before the race was not the best time to revisit old habits. Yet alas, I did it anyway. Did it feel ok the 1st and 2nd rep? Yes it did. Even the 3rd went well. On the 4th, apparently I went too low and boy, did I feel it. There was no "pop" this time, just a painful stretch in my lower back, the sacral area. I got up, slowly, put the bar back and walked around a bit. It wasn't that bad and I asked one of the massuers to stretch my lower back for me and it helped a bit. As the time went on, it got worse. I went to school the next day and had them work on my lower back in massage class. That didn't really help. I couldn't really sit for long. I was antsy and in pain. Thursday was even worse. I had at least 4 different people massage my lower back in the different techniques they know. In acupuncture class, they used me as a guinea pig to teach us something new in pain management. I went to the clinic that night for another treatment and in every class, I lied down on the side on a mattress with my feet up. Friday I was a bit better, still couldn't sit but I could walk around. I had a massage that afternoon and was pretty much horizontal all shabbat.

I can't stand not being active and lying around. I can walk pretty much pain free and the little jogging I tried didn't hurt at all but I think that I am going to take it easy. Last time I ran because I was running for a cause and made a commitment. This year is dedicated to me and not running would probably be the smart thing to do. I will see what the physical therapist says tomorrow and how I feel on Wednesday. I was going to run this race for a cause, if I end up doing it, you will see pictures. If not, I will just run the distance another time, on my own or in a different race giving me the opportunity to see another city.

Lesson learned? Do not repeat past mistakes, especially not before big races. I hope.

Oh, and a secured entrance to the NYC Marathon is a lot of money... Is it worth it? I haven't decided yet. I will let you know when I do.