The Green Girl Races On The Base

The Green Girl raced in the Los Alamitos Race on the Base 5k this morning at the Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB).

There was a 5k, 10k, reverse triathlon, and 1k for kids. The course looped around the airfield.

This was the first time I'd run since the Surf City Half Marathon three weeks ago. I taped my ankle up before I went to bed last night so when I woke up this morning and got out of bed, my foot felt really good. There was no pain in the arch for the first time since I sprained my ankle.

There were a number of groups of military personnel running in formation and chanting. Each time they went by me, I tried as hard as I could to keep up with them but I could not. Honestly, I got tired in the first mile of the race. My official finish time was 36:30. According to Mr. Green Garmin, I finished in 36:16.

I was thrilled to see bananas and orange slices as soon as I crossed the finish line.

I headed over to the Expo to check out the booths. I stopped to get a free five minute massage from Complexions Day Spa. I was really impressed with the quality of the Expo. It was much better than the Surf City one. I got a lot of really cool, free stuff. I even made my very first race apparel purchase. (My very first race purchase was a "Rock 'n' Roll" guitar Italian charm that matched the race medal perfectly.) I got a technical shirt with the Race on the Base logo for $20.

I watched the 1k for kids. It was so cute to see them in their starting positions. My favorite runner was this little girl dressed in all pink pushing a little pink stroller with a doll. I loved that she was taking her time. At the end, I saw her casually veering off the path to the finish line.

Penny, I'm sorry I missed you at the reverse triathlon. I headed home after the 1k.

I was uploading my pictures when I got a call from The Crossings at the Bay. I had entered my name in their raffle for a beach cruiser and I won. I couldn't believe it. Anyone who knows me will attest to how obsessed I am with getting a bike.

My boyfriend hopped in the car with me and I headed back to the base to claim my prize. As I was rolling the bike to the parking lot, the announcer congratulated me on winning the cruiser. I waved happily.

We folded the backseats down but the bike was too big to fit through the hole. Using some string, we secured the bike to the best of our ability and I slowly drove home. My car kept beeping at me to let me know the trunk was still open.

We got the bike home but, unfortunately, when my boyfriend was taking the bike out of the trunk, one of the screws scratched the bumper of my brand new car. It was the very first scratch.

I wanted to take the bike for a ride but I realized it's too big for me. I'm only 4'10.5" and there's no way I could get on that bike without stepping on something raised first. I'll have to figure something out.

The Green Girl's Two Week Running Hiatus

The Green Girl is going to take a two week hiatus from running.

After doing way better than I could have ever expected in my half marathon last Sunday, I want to give my ankle an opportunity to heal. I think repeated sprains have weakened the ligaments and tendons. Just last week, I remembered I had injured this ankle back when I was in elementary school. I had torn the ligaments so badly I ended up on crunches wearing this giant boot for months. I can't believe I completely blocked that entire incident out of my mind until now.

My next race is the Los Alamitos Race on the Base 5k on February 21. Depending on how my ankle feels that week, I might go for some easy runs before the race.

I'll continue to kickbox but I'll tape my ankle. I'll do the elliptical instead of running. This will also give me an opportunity to focus more on strength training.

The Green Girl Sprained Her Right Ankle

Bleh. I twisted my right ankle pretty badly in my boot camp class this morning.

I was doing those sideways suicides where you squat and move as quickly as you can back and forth. As I was trying to speed along, I tripped and twisted my right foot. Pain shot from my ankle up to my lower back but I kept on going.

According to my self-diagnosis, I am suffering from an eversion injury because my foot twisted outwards as I tried to "glide" across the gym. I believe I sprained the inner ligament which is called the deltoid. The good news is that it doesn't appear to be swollen and I am able to limp around so it's most likely the mildest kind of sprain, a Grade I. I've been icing it and wrapping it when I walk. I hope it heals up quickly.

The Green Girl Has Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (Runner's Knee)

My doctor has diagnosed me with patellofemoral pain syndrome which is more commonly known as "runner's knee." Now that almost a week has passed, my wandering knee pain has settled right above my knee.

Patellofemoral pain can be caused by a number of factors including overuse and overload of the patellofemoral joint, biomechanical problems and muscular dysfunction. Quadriceps strengthening is the most commonly prescribed treatment but I believe my quadriceps are pretty strong from doing hundreds of squats each week. In my case, I believe overpronation and tight calves and hamstrings are the culprits. My doctor also said my piriformis muscles are insanely tight.

He said if I wanted, I could use a patella strap just below my knee to help ease the pain when I'm running. I did a little online research and it appears the Pro-Tech Athletics brand Knee Pro-Tec Patellar Tendon Strap is the most popular.

I'm hesitant to go out and buy a patellar strap because this doctor is not a sports medicine specialist (I cannot afford to see an orthopedic surgeon right now because I don't have any health insurance). When I was seeing an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in sports medicine before, he said he preferred for his patients to correct their knee problems without the help of a brace whenever possible. He felt relying on the brace could do more damage than good if the person became too dependent on the brace.

For now, I'm going to do as much stretching and strength training as possible. I found a set of rehabiliation exercises and I ran across this blog describing some physical therapy procedures for runner's knee.

While not directly related to my current patellofemoral pain syndrome, I ran across the cutest stretches for runners web page ever. Look at how happy Mr. Stickman is!

The Green Girl and Her Knee

The pain in my right knee has settled to just above the kneecap. Per my doctor's instructions, I've been alternating between heat and cold.

The cold seems to make it hurt more while the heat actually gets rid of all the pain. My knee was killing me last night after I ended up standing on it for a couple of hours. I iced it when I got home and then used my heating pad with the cute camouflage cover Whimsie Dots custom made for me.

When I woke up this morning, I gingerly walked around the apartment and when I didn't feel any pain, I headed to my boot camp class a half hour early so I could get a good stretch in. After stretching, it didn't hurt but it did get really stiff.

I was able to make it through the entire class but I didn't push myself like I normally do. My goal was to finish the class without further aggravating my knee.

Tomorrow, I'm going to kickbox in the morning and then try out my very first spin class. Hopefully, I'll be able to do my interval run on Tuesday. At the very least, I hope I can get a good 3-5 mile run in.

Green Girl Down

The Green Girl's first tempo run didn't go so well.

When I got to the track, the cross country team was practicing. I watched their bodies glide across the track as I stretched.

I assessed the situation and decided I should be okay as long as I stuck to the outer lane. My plan was to do a 15 minute easy warm-up followed by 15 minutes of hard running with a 15 minute cool down. I started jogging. My body felt tired again, just like it did last week. I backed off and slowed down even more. I had jogged about 3/4ths of the track when a sharp pain suddenly shot through my right leg. It was below the knee on the inner part of the leg. I immediately stopped jogging and walked slowly. I didn't feel any more pain but I didn't want to push it.

As soon as I got home, I iced it. My knee was a little sore on and off the rest of the day.

When I woke up this morning, it hurt too much for me to go to kickboxing. I attended my very first aqua aerobics class instead. I also swam a couple of laps in the pool afterwards. It was the first time I swam a full lap in about 20 years.

I don't have a job right now so I don't have any health insurance. I went to see my doctor today and he twisted and contorted my knee and he didn't feel I did any serious damage to it. He did transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and ultrasound. After that, I was able to walk out of the office pain free.

Hours later, my knee is hurting again. I'll continue to ice it. My plan is to take the rest of the week off from running. Hopefully, I'll be able to run again next week.