My running, I pound my frustrations into the pavement, have long talks with myself and wear myself out so much that there’s not enough energy left to use on worry.

Baking is my creative therapy – it allows me to create new things, turn little batches of ingredients into as single, scrumptious cookie or pastry or pie, and it keeps my mind busy for a few hours at a time.

I’ve been injured now for weeks, rendering me unable to run. My irritation at not being able to run only makes my non-running stresses feel bigger, so what do I do? Naturally, I bake things that are bad for me. That’s just how I roll.

Early week I baked a (moderately healthy) strawberry rhubarb pie, and before that, I had tried by hand at a blueberry pie.

Late the week I tried a new whole wheat dark chocolate chip cookie recipe. Can I say…Nom Nom Nom? Because really, truly…Nom Nom Nom.

Here are the ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups Gold Medal whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 package (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup) (I prefer dark chocolate chips, and usually splurge on Ghiradelli brand chips, since they’re extra-plump and delicious)

Here are the directions:

Heat oven to 375 F.

Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in
chocolate chips.

Cookie Mix

And then, you:

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on
wire rack.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies depending on how big you like your cookies.

Number of Servings: 36

Cookies!

When I served these cookies to friends, they said they’d never have guessed they were made using all whole wheat flour unless I’d told them. The cookies are still soft two days later, and it’s pretty satisfying to know that they’re as healthy as a chocolate chip cookie is likely to be. Of course, now that I’ve eaten pie and cookies all week, I really wish I could run…

For the full recipe, go to SparkRecipes.com.

Injured Foot, October 2010

Now, six months later and despite more than six week of physical therapy, I’m still having problems with my foot. It hurts all the time, regardless of my activity level, and I’m concerned about the long-term effect an injury like this could have on my overall health.

Thankfully, I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon last week who has a specialty in the foot. He’s retired military, so I think he appreciates and understands the athleticism and the stubbornness that’s lead me to continue to run and train on my injury.

He believes I have a “neuroma” in between the third and fourth bones of my foot caused by the trauma of the haywagon running me over. His suggestion was to treat the neuroma with a cortisone shot. I had no idea what to expect, and man, was I in for a surprise.

The doctor sprayed a foam onto my foot that was of a consistency not unlike that of hair mouse, and which almost instantly froze my foot ice cold. Then the good doc gently pressed a needle into the nerve in between my two bones (roughly the same location as the purplish bruise in the photo above) and began injecting the cortisone into my body.

Pain shot through my foot, and I could barely breathe. I started taking long, deep, heavy breaths in and out trying to to manage the pain, but even as I tried to take those deep breaths, I was crying out in pain.

The injection may have taken 30-45 seconds – not long, really. Those were 30-45 of the most painful seconds of my life though, and it only got worse (remember, I was “numbed” at this stage).

Also, remember that my tolerance for pain is high enough that I’ve trained for and completed two half marathons on this injury. I thought the second half marathon hurt (by mile 10 I was in a good deal of discomfort thanks to this little injury), but by contrast to the cortisone shot, running 13.1 on this injury was cake.

Once the shot was complete, I was left shaking, nauseous, and pale. Each time I would try to sit up or stand up in the doctor’s office, I’d have to lay back down or sit back down again.

An assistant brought me a cold compress, ice water and pretzels in an effort to calm my cold sweats, ease my nausea and put an end to my light-headedness.

It took me at least 30 minutes to be able to walk myself out of the doctor’s office, and here’s what my foot looked like when I got home that night:

A few hours after the cortisone shot

When the numbing agent wore off that evening, I sat weeping quietly in my bed, the slightest quiver of my toe sending me into the air in excruciating pain. My heart raced involuntarily in reaction to the pain, and I was alone, in hurting and scared. Here’s what I looked like then:

Cortisone Shots Hurt

The next day, I was tired from the pain the night before and I had very little appetite. Here’s my foot on Day Two:

Second Day After Cortisone

In fact, it’s now two full days later, and my appetite still isn’t back to normal. My bruising is finally beginning to subside, although swelling has taken its place.

Best case scenario, the good doc is right and a few cortisone injections will leave me feeling good as new. Worst case scenario, he’s right, but cortisone doesn’t treat the injury long-term, and they opt to surgically remove the neuroma.

For now, I’m living on ibuprofen, nursing my appetite back to health, and relying on ice when I can. I still can’t lift or curl my toes without pain, so I doubt I’ll be running this weekend. Here’s to hoping the cortisone’s healing benefits take effect and I feel like a new woman in the new week.

1st Place in my Age Division

This weekend is the 49th Annual Azalea Festival in a small, southeastern Missouri town called Fredericktown. The Azalea Festival includes fair rides, a 5K fun run, a 1 mile walk, a car show, a sand volleyball tournament, an arts & crafts fair, a parade, and a queen coronation, among plenty of other activities for kids and families.

Fredericktown’s population is somewhere around 4,000 people, and the town is the county seat of Madison County, Missouri. Despite spending many weekends in Fredericktown as a child, I’ve never been back as an adult to the Azalea Festival until today, when I ran the 5K and attended the Rotary Club’s fundraising breakfast at the United Methodist Church.

The 5K road race was held at 8:00 a.m., and despite cool weather and heavy rain, there were still probably 100 or so runners at the starting line.  I’ve started incorporating  speed work, yoga, strength training and resistance training into my training regiment to try to relieve pressure on my injured foot while strengthening some of the core muscles of my hips and thighs (thanks for getting me started, Pro Rehab!). I guess the speed work paid off, because I cut a couple of minutes off of my previous personal best 5K time today, and I won my age division.

First Place in Age Division

If you’re interested in getting more active or adding running to your lifestyle, small town races like this one are a really fun way to get started. From spring through fall in Missouri there are countless opportunities to sign up for fun run/walks of various distances (1-mile, 5K and 10K are some of the most popular distances).

The registration fees  for races like the Azalea Festival 5k are usually reasonable, you’ll feel your adrenaline pulse a little bit as you line up at the starting line with other people who are trying to stay healthy, and you’ll feel really accomplished later when you wear your race t-shirt. If you feel even the tiniest itch to get more active, I can’t encourage you enough.

After the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon, April 11, 2011, Photo by Nick

St. Louis Sprout & About is a young but quickly growing online publication for St. Louis-area families. From summer camp listings to feature articles about upcoming events in the area, Sprout & About is a great resource for families.

Thank you so much to Beckie and Jessica at Sprout for sponsoring me in the 2011 Go! St. Louis Half Marathon, and for featuring me in their article on the Go! St. Louis Family Fitness Weekend.

Did you miss the story? Visit St. Louis Sprout & About to check it out, and be sure to remember St. Louis Sprout & About the next time you’re on the lookout for fun things to do with your family.

A month after leaving New York City in 2009, I ran the Go! St. Louis 5K. It was my second-ever 5K, and I barely finished the race without walking. Here’s a picture of me crossing the finish line in 36 minutes and 40 seconds (a 12+ minute mile pace):

I thought that I was in pretty good shape at the time, but I wasn’t exercising daily. When I did exercise, I was taking it easy – getting my heart rate up a little bit, but not really pushing myself.

My 5K was on Saturday while the marathoners ran on Sunday. I was in awe of anyone who could run 13.1 miles (a half marathon) or 26.2 (a full marathon) because I assumed that I’d never “be a runner”. The half and full marathoners at the Go! St. Louis race left such an impact on me that a year later, I started to consider training for my first half marathon.

I started out by trying to make myself go for a run – regardless of length – a minimum of three days each week. Once I had done that for a few weeks, I used a beginning half marathon training program available on Big River Running‘s website.

That training schedule helped me progress from running just three miles at a time to running my first half marathon in September 2010. I finished the City of Roses Half Marathon in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in 2:36. That’s not fast finish, but I was thrilled that I was able to run the entire 13.1 mile race without walking.

In January of this year, I ran my second half marathon in Pheonix, Arizona, cutting roughly twelve minutes off of my finish time. The P.F. Chang’s Rock N Roll Half Marathon is famous for being a “fast & flat” course, so it’s not a surprise that I ran a better time there than I had in hilly Southeast Missouri in September. I never expected to shave 12 minutes from my finish time though! I finished P.F. Chang’s in 2:24 and some change.

Go! St. Louis will be my third half marathon, but it will be the first half marathon that I’ve run in St. Louis half. I’m excited to announce that a fantastic St. Louis-area family publication, St. Louis Sprout & About, is my Go! St. Louis race sponsor. Watch for me in a white tech T bearing the St. Louis Sprout & About logo on Sunday!

This race is special to me, since it’s the race that planted the seed in my mind two years ago to begin running long distances. Go! St. Louis is a nonprofit whose mission is to help St. Louis-area families adopt a healthier lifestyle all year round, and their mission affected me.

Good luck to all of this weekend’s Go! St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend participants. Whether you’re doing the Mature Mile, a kids’ fun run, the 5K Run/Walk, the half or the full marathon, your commitment to racing this weekend helps inspire people like me.

If you’ve never walked or run in an event like one of these, it’s never too late to start! It took me two years to go from 5K to half marathon, and it happened gradually. Take the first step. Get out there and get moving, and you’ll be glad that you did.

Look closer…

Both shoes have a slight rightward lean, and the right shoe is roughly 1/8^th of an inch taller than the left.

Still don’t believe me?

Look closely at the silver-colored plastic on the back of the shoe. You can see an indentation in the right shoe that doesn’t appear in the left shoe. That’s because the left shoe is made so differently that the indentation is mounted within the foam sole of the back of the shoe.

Can you see it?

I had my first-ever fitting for running shoes about a year ago when I first thought I might train for a half marathon.  With each new half marathon and each new training schedule, I’ve typically hit high enough mileage to replace my running shoes.

From that first fitting a year ago to my most recent fitting just after the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘N Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix, Arizona, I’ve bought my running shoes exclusively from Big River Running  Company in St. Louis.

***

This isn’t a paid endorsement. In fact, Big River has no idea that I’m writing this. I just want to rave about the service I’ve gotten at Big River because I’m proud that St. Louis is home to such a great locally-owned business.

When I went into the store for my first fitting, I’d never run more than five or six miles at a time. I sheepishly told the super-buff, built-like-a-runner sales guy that I was hoping to run my first half marathon. I explained that I wasn’t ‘really’ a runner, but that friends had suggested I come to them to get ‘real’ running shoes.

He looked at me without hesitation and said, “If you’re training for a half marathon, you’re a runner. Congratulations! Let’s find a great shoe for you.”

***

That was the first time someone called me a “runner”.  I doubt that the sales rep know that he was building brand loyalty for the store with that statement, but seriously…what better way to make me want to come back again than to boost my confidence and make me feel like a member of that elite club of super-fit people called “runners”?

Big River Running has three locations. I’d purchased my shoes from the South City location, but returned them to the location on Manchester Road. I was surprised to see that the sales rep at the Manchester location was the same rep who’d sold me that first pair of shoes a year ago.

When I showed him the difference between my shoes, once again he didn’t hesitate.  He sent them home with a brand new pair of the same shoes (updated model) with no questions asked.

I absolutely love great customer service, and I really do prefer to shop local. When locally owned businesses provide service like this, I want to call out from the rooftops that these stores deserve a pat on the back. My voice probably wouldn’t carry very far from the roof of my cabin in rural Missouri, but my voice as A Small Town Girl carries a bit further.

Big River Running, thank you for providing such supportive, welcoming, understanding customer service. As long as I live near St. Louis, you’ll be my running store of choice.

***
Big River Running has three locations in the St. Louis Area; South City, West County, and O’Fallon, Missouri. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Grace in Small Things

There’s always plenty to be thankful for, though lately I keep coming back to the same things; solid employment, great friends and loving family. This week I want to push myself to find grace in things that are specific to where I am at this specific point in my life; right now, this week, on this day.

1. Flannel.

Yep. I’m admitting it. I really like flannel. Flannel is soft and warm and cozy on cold March nights when – against all odds – there is still snow falling from the Missouri sky.

2. Laughter.

My laugh tends to be very quiet, and because I’m usually so serious. I love to laugh though, and it’s wonderful to connect with people whose senses of humor compliment my own. Luckily for me, I have a handful of those folks in my life right now, and I SO appreciate the happiness that comes when we laugh together.

3. Running.

I really enjoy the freedom of running. I like the feeling of competence, knowing that I can run more than ten miles. What a great thing to have a body that’s healthy enough that I can train it to tackle such distances! Good health isn’t a “small” thing, but it’s one I probably don’t consciously feel thankful for often enough.

4. My Physical Therapists.

Crystal, Todd, Theresa, Karen, Bobby and the rest of the gang at Pro Rehab in Farmington, Missouri, have been amazing to me over the last six weeks of physical therapy. I’m frustrated at how slowly my foot injury is healing, but each time I arrive at the clinic, the combination of their caring professionalism and their personable outgoingness make my appointments a lot easier to manage. Even in the beginning when the pain was intense, the staff kept me positive and smiling. I’m so thankful that my foot is in such good hands as I recover.

5. Bread crumbs.

Sometimes you find (figurative) bread crumbs in your life that lead you down good paths. The bread crumbs themselves may seem small, but when you have the patience to pick enough of them up, they can lead you to great places. I’m really thankful for one specific path of bread crumbs I’ve been picking up for the last few months.

As you begin your new week, what little things are you thankful for?

What: A St. Patrick’s Day Parade Run Post-Race Tweetup

Where: Robust Wine Bar

When: Saturday, March 12th from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Drink Specials:

“Green” wine specials (one red wine and one white wine)*

$2 domestic bottles

$1 off Guinness

*These green wines won’t be green in color, but green in spirit. These will be Robust’s featured eco-friendly selections, especially for our St. Patrick’s Day Parade Run Tweet-Up!

Join A Small Town Girl’s Guide’s @MilliGFunk as she celebrates with her race sponsors at Robust Wine Bar on March 12th. You don’t have to be a runner or a tweeter to come out for this “green” event. Bring your friends, bring your partner, bring whoever you want. The important thing is that you come out and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in St. Louis with Robust’s “green” wine selections and some of the funkiest tweeps in the S.T.L.

***

Special thanks to Robust Wine Bar for sponsoring me in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Run in St. Louis on March 12, 2011.

Last fall I incurred an injury that wouldn’t rear its head fully until several months later. I was part of a community hayride program at work, and one of the wagons (fully loaded with thirty people and dozens of bails of hay) ran over my entire foot.

Bruises - Several Days Later

Granted, I don’t bruise easily, but it’s still remarkable how little bruising there was (look closely at the knuckles of my smaller toes), considering that the wagon probably weighed between to and three thousand pounds. I couldn’t stand up after it ran me over – couldn’t move my foot at all. I’ve never felt pain like that in my life, and the fact that the wagon was only going a few miles per hour only made things worse, since it seemed to take forever to roll over my foot.

In the months after the injury, my foot and ankle bothered me in higher mileage runs. I finally saw a doctor and had x-rays done, but no fractures were visible and they weren’t sure what was wrong. Off to physical therapy I went…

My foot had gotten so bad by late January that my mobility was severely limited and the pain was significant. This photo was taken after my third PT appointment. The left foot is pointing normally. The right foot is pointed as far as it would point:

Limited Mobility (still) After 3 PT Apps

I had no idea that I was running on two dislocated joints – only that it didn’t feel good to run. To put my pain tolerance into perspective, at the point when those joints were dislocated, I described it to my physical therapist as only “a little bit uncomfortable”.

Physical therapy, however, has been painful. There have been days when I’ve fought back tears in the PT clinic, and there have been nights when it’s taken all of my will power to force myself through the exercises I was supposed to do at home on my own.

What’s been worse than the physical pain is the psychological effect of being injured.

I was accustomed training five days each week. Suddenly cutting myself down to no runs at all meant that all of those endorphins I was used to producing weren’t being produced. Less endorphins = worse moods.

I use running as a form a stress management.  With running (or any other aggressive activity) out of the question for several weeks, I found myself discovering all of the negative ways stress impacts me (worse sleep, junk food cravings, irritability, etc.).

I was used to feeling physically competent, strong and independent. Suddenly I was worried, wondering, “will I heal completely?” or “Will I start hurting again after mile 8?”

While the physical and psychological effects of injury are fresh on my mind, I wanted to voice encouragement to other athletes who might be facing an injury or a period of rehabilitation.

Here are some tips from my experience working through this injury:

1. Focus on the Long Term.

When you have to take time off from training, remind yourself that it’s going to make you healthier in the long term.

2. Do a Quick Priorities Check.

Take advantage of the time off to spend time with friends, family and pets who you usually don’t see during your training runs.

3. Expect Body Changes.

Mentally prepare yourself that your body might settle a little bit in your off time. When you’re used to logging 25+ miles a week or more, you also get used to lean muscle mass and speedy metabolism. Weeks off – especially in the winter months when we tend to eat heavier foods and drink less water – will make you feel heavier and more sluggish.

The faster you come to grips with that, the easier your recovery time will be. Of course, eating healthy and staying hydrated will help you curb some of this. (Note: I anticipate that women runners will feel this change more dramatically than men will).

4.Be patient with yourself.

Be patient with yourself when it’s time to ease back into training. Your lungs and your muscles will both feel different after taking time off. Have faith that the base endurance that you have from prior months and years of training will help you get back up to speed – literally.

5. Don’t skip your physical therapy.

A lot of the exercises PTs give you seem easy at first. I learned very quickly that even small movements and low resistance do a lot to help you strengthen and heal when you’re repeating those exercises several times each day. Also, stretching is key. Don’t rush into training again so quickly that you don’t allow yourself time to properly stretch before and after training.

As for me and my foot injury, this is the weekend I begin training again. I managed three miles yesterday with mild pain in my ankle, and I’m hoping to get through four miles each today and tomorrow. Stay tuned for fun news about upcoming races and running-related Small Town Girl events in March and April.

Melissa and Nick in Pre-Race Warm Zone, photo by Jan

On Sunday, January 16th, I ran my second half marathon. This time my race wasn’t in small town Missouri, but rather in big city Arizona. The P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘N Roll Arizona Half Marathon was held in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa – a glorious part of the country to run in in mid-January.

Nick and Melissa Pre-Race

I finished my first half marathon with a time of two hours and thirty-six minutes, so that was the race time I submitted as my anticipated finish for the Phoenix race.

This race time placed me in Corral #18, behind, as you can assume, behind 17 other corrals of racers. I waited 35 minutes after the initial gun start to begin running. After around thirty minutes, I could finally see the starting line.

Corral #18

The race was, as promised, “fast and flat”. The weather was ideal, hovering in the mid-60s and remaining a bit overcast for most of the morning. With live music roughly every mile along the course, an iPod wasn’t necessary.

I made fast friends with another female runner who matched my pace. We ran together until Mile 9, when she stopped for a bathroom break and I began picking up my pace for the tail end of the race.

Nick, the friend who invited me to run the race, finished before I did, and he met me at around Mile 13 to take pictures and cheer me on.

Mile 13, photo by Nick

I crossed the finish line with a clock time of 2:23 and some change. That’s almost thirteen minutes faster than my fall race. I was thrilled with my finish time, and I was also excited to finish the race notably less sore than I was at the finish of my first race.

Small Town Girl with her Finisher's Medal Post-Race, photo by Jan

After crossing the finish line, I found Nick and his parents who had hosted me for the weekend and who had already finished the race. After some stretching and water, we were ready to head home, shower, and seek out celebratory margaritas and Mexican food.

Nick, Jan, Melissa and Tim Post-Race

Rock ‘N Roll Arizona was a great race, and my hosts were amazing. Only a few days later, I’m already antsy to sign up for my next long run, and Rock ‘N Roll races will definitely be contenders.