I ran! I ran! I RAN!!!! 6 weeks and 3days later.....

I got my X-rays yesterday and took them to my doctor today...everything looks clear!!!!
SOOOOO....he gave me the okay to RUN A HALF MILE! not much but it is something....

he told me to walk .25mi then jog .50mi  at an 8:30 pace and then walk another .25....so that's what I did and I had ZERO pain!!!!!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO happy!!!

The plan is to just try this same thing every other day for the next week and then go from there!!

here's my happy face on the Treadmill tonight!!!

I didn't even have time to break a sweat but it just felt SOOOO good to run!

I have learned through this experience and especially the last 2wks that there are LOTS of other cross training methods that I LOVE and I don't want to give them up! ( I honestly didnt' expect to feel this way).  I think this is perfect since I prob won't run over 50miles a week for at least the next year.
I am excited to keep working on my cross fit and my spinning and turn this scrawny body into a sculpted one:)!

Today I went to Sara's Chisel class where we did rotating circuits...it was TOUGH..then after that she dragged me onto the "Gauntlet" as she calls it...it's the stair/escalator machine thingy....I was sweating like you would NOT believe! see for yourself: yuck!

So, I have been doing all sort of different things the last 2wks to target diff muscles and I LOVE it! I am already feeling more fit. I have gained 3lbs and i'm HOPING it's muscle;) lol....I'm kidding actually I really don't care how much I weigh as Long as I'm fit. I don't even own a scale.........and lets be honest I've been eating a lot more cheeseburgers and ice cream the last 2 wks also so it could just be that;)

I feel like this injury was a blessing in disguise b/c I NEVER would have tried all these other things if it hadn't been for not being able to run again. Amanda was right when she said 6wks ago "When one door closes, another door opens!"....well I feel like MANY doors have opened! It's really hard to see it in the beginning....time off from what you love can seem so terrible...but if you force yourself to get out there and try something new you just might find something you LOVE!
* I have learned that running is not EVERYTHING to me! If I couldn't run anymore, i'd be OKAY. I just love to exercise! I love to sweat! I love to push my body and there are LOTS of ways to do that!!


I really feel in my heart like I will be a much better, more well-rounded, athlete a year from now b/c of this:)
so grateful!!
I can already feel my thighs/quads getting bigger and stronger and my arms and abs as well. Running was never going to get me toned the way I want to be so adding on cross fit and Sara (she's my secret weapon) it is!!!!

cheers friends!

6wks down...2 to go

I promise once my routine is back to normal I will start blogging more..I suck right now.

today is 6wks:) celebrated by going to crossfit and lifting some weights...
I get a follow up xray tomorrow but today at my appt with John I passed all the testing to see how i'm healing:)
no pain when i jumped on one foot (the injured leg)....so within 2 wks I should be back to some VERY LIGHT running:):)
excited!!!!!!!! woohooo!!!!

what's next?......5wks and counting and a surprise.....

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE:

well today marks 5wks since I've run. (crazy huh?)

do I miss it? Oh yes..I miss it soooooooooooo much. IT IS TWICE AS HARD this year b/c I just went through this 11 mos ago. blah.


A year ago today I was finishing my first marathon....with a stress fracture. ironic, huh?;) I just realized this as I started writing actually.

SO.....I have had zero desire to write lately...OR to share OR to read. I'm sorry...there is no excuse for my lack of friendship I've offered....it's not that I haven't been reading b/c it makes me sad...or maybe it is.
I have just sort of ostersized myself from the running/blogging world b/c it just reminds me that I'm not running and then I end up focussing on that and those feelings so I guess my coping mechanism has been to just try not to think about it more than I have to, hoping time will pass more quickly:(.
 I haven't felt bitter or anything at those who are running, but I just haven't been able to stay "involved" in my current state the way I'd like to....or perhaps I've just chosen not to, I don't know...I haven't conciously thought much about it...just did it.
Hope my ramblings make sense?.

The last few days i've been struggling with the feeling that I'm not a runner anymore...it's strange...I hope that this doesn't continue b/c I love to run....but lately I feel a bit indifferent.  It's hard to describe. It just feels like too much some days -  that i've had 2 stress fractures in less than a year. it kills me!!!

Last year when I hit 7wks of time off with no running, I plumitted into a deep depression and decided to go on anti-depressants bc it was so bad. it sucked. I didn't see it coming, I didn't anticipate it, I just woke up one day and it was there.
So, now here I am at week 5 and I feel that darkness just barely starting to creep in...It's the feeling of 

"okay, enough is enough...5wks is enough, I just can't do another 3 weeks, (maybe more) without running".

BUT....I don't have a choice, do I?;) sooooooooo...pressing on I go.... trying to be optimistic, trying to fill my time with other good things....and hoping I can keep out the darkness for a few more weeks.


CROSS TRAINING:
I started spinning last week and Love it! It is really challenging....mostly b/c I have an AMAZING teacher. I have NEVER been to a class where the teacher was SO inspiring, SO motivating and knows JUST what to say to get you to work your hardest...and mostly she says Exactly what I need to hear! she speaks to my fitness heart:)
She has also quickly become a good friend as we learned we have lots of mutual friends, go to the same church and are having some similar struggles in our lives right now. This has been a HUGE blessing to me and I'm so thankful for her.   It is rare that you meet someone and within 5minutes you feel a kinship that is so real that you just KNOW that God has put them right there in front of you at that  TIME for a reason!.

This is Sara. 

Sweet, wonderful, CRAZY, Funny, inspiring, AMAZING Sara:)
Love her.

 I am hoping by spinning 2x a week and swimming 2x a week I can gain back some cardio fitness the next few weeks so I can slide back into running fairly smoothly....I am thinking I might need to use the Alter G treadmill for a while so i can get in some miles without putting all that weight on my leg:)

I am also planning to try CROSS FIT this week. I have always wanted to be more toned and Sarah ( my spin teacher) does it and is going to go with me:) yay!!!
I love new challenges! I THRIVE on productivity and progression.
If I am not progressing in my life in something that is very personal to me, it is impossible for me to feel happy.
I think that this spinning and crossfit will make me  a stronger athlete and for that i'm excited:)



SURPRISE!!:

So....I sort of....uuuhhhh..on a whim....without really thinking about it......Registered for the
St. George marathon on Oct 6.......
AAAAANNNNDD.....I sort of GOT IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I am SURPRISED and unsure of what to do now! I haven't even told steve and he very well might tell me we are not going but we'll see.
I want to get another 26.2 under my belt. I can't keep training for marathons to RACE them and end up injured...I think I want to try to run a few just for fun so I can get more experience before I try to RACE one....does this make sense??

so GOD WILLING (and my husband) I will be running St. George this year! CRAZY and SOOOOOOOOOO not part of my plan....but I am still secretly excited about the POSSIBILITY.

Hopefully Steve doesn't freak out when He finds out about this crazy thing I've done!:)


PICTURES:

Here are some photos of recent happenings and things that have made me happy:)

 My husband gave me his Cannon 5D...and I've been learning to use it. I have NEVER been interested in photography but I guess my new free time and having My own VERY fancy camera has sparked an interest!

 My new dark hair....i have A LOT of dark chunks in it. At first it freaked me out, but now I love it:)

My Abs....from LAST year:( after marathon training...I am hoping this will inspire me to get them BACK!

Celebrating Steve's 36th birthday at Ruth's Chris this past saturday. YUMMY!!!

Mothers day with my BEAUTIFUL little girls. 

Megan on the left at 7.5yrs and Erika on the right at 4.5yrs

 My new Mothers day outfit. I LOVE pencil skirts and I've always wanted a white one. 

Love the cardi too, thanks Steve!

today I took the girls out of school and spend the day at KAHNEETA!  with my girls and my super FAST friend Becky. Check out her blog at: http://bexrunman86.blogspot.com/

The warm spring mineral water was AMAZING!!!!

Feeling Inspired!

I have been on a blogging Hiatus. I really havne't had anything to say and I've just been ingnoring blog world all together...trying to keep myself busy and distracted.

I'm not even sure where I left off....
I'm at week 3 of recovery. 5 more to go before we can re-evaluate. I'm living with it.
I've done a few great Pool Jogging workouts and they are TOUGH...but I like it. Just harder to get myself to the pool and in the water compared to putting on my shoes and running out my door but that's okay. I better get used to it b/c it's gonna have to be part of my new life post-injury. I am just taking one day at a time right now and trying to do what I can each day instead of looking forward to the daunting 5wks ahead of me.

So...a few things that got me on here today: here we go ...it's gonna be bullet-point b/c I need to get my house clean!

1. Thanks Melody for doing an athlete-bio on me. So sweet and fun...you can check it out here;
http://willrunformargaritas.com/2012/05/athlete-bio-nicole-wagner.html

2. Amanda called me this morning and told me about Emily's race in Eugene. I HAD to check it out. I have followed Emily (when I am actually reading blogs) and the last I knew she was coming back after a broken foot....so to read that she ran a 3:08 at Eugene, I about pee'd my pants with excitement!
This post inspired me so much today!!! THANK YOU EMILY!


Why the hell CAN'T  I come back from this stupid stress fracture and run a kick-ass marathon next year?
I CAN...and I WILL! SHE is living proof....and Like Emily, I also have great mental strength when it comes to racing. When I was reading her blog I imagined it was MY race report next  year...and that I will have the same type of amazing experience. I am STOKED! so WATCH OUT....3rd tries a charm right? ha!

3. After reading some race reports on Eugene on Sunday (this was BEFORE I knew about Emily's experience)...I felt something pressing in my heart that THIS was the marathon I want to run next year. I can't explain it but thinking about it, it just felt RIGHT.
Then after reading Emily's Blog post this morning....I felt a stirring in my heart, a spiritual confirmation if you will of the feelings I had Sunday that Eugene 2013 will be my next marathon. I don't think I'm going to go back to Boston quite yet. I know some of you will think that's a stupid decision but Eugene just feels right and I've never been disappointed when i've listened to my GUT feeling:)

So there you have it......
that's my update.
Trying to keep strong...doing RandomAbs.com/today workout every day for the next 6 weeks....come join the challenge with me !!
and just trying to remain positive and fight through the next 5wks.
cant' wait to get back out there and kick my own butt!!

xxx
N.