Adrienne Langelier Racing

note: type-o now corrected in second paragraph!*
Fitness

We'll begin with the XT workouts, which have been a constant over the past 7 weeks and continue to help me maintain a bright perspective. Workouts are not, in this post, to be the central topic however, exercise = one of God's gifts and almost essential for life management for me. Lots more aqua jogging, lots more biking. With a day or two off still in the rotation, my two longer workouts include a 70 min aqua jogging session (with 8 x 5 min hard, then 3 x 1 min hard) and a 42 mile bike ride today-my farthest and fastest to date (reaching with the concept, but a PR) at a 20 MPH average (Ironman Perform-can't beat it!). No clips, just TWO Brooks with the laces tucked away for safety. I feel really strong from using so much resistance on a daily basis; so much so my mom had to make the observation that my arms no longer resemble sticks~a compliment (?) I guess! Speaking of....

My Super-Mom

I have been and have to brag a little more about this one...I learned something that I kind of already knew yesterday: my mom is a stud. Based on several other opinions, it is not exactly the norm for a middle-aged woman (sorry Mom if you're reading :)) to do some treadmill runs and transition to the roads for a few weeks and go out and break 30:00 in her first 5k. We went out the the Jailbreak Run in Sugar Land yesterday morning and I was in an unfamiliar position: family spectator/photog. duty. I think I did an ok job as photographer as I cheered and steadied the Coolpix simultaneously in order to get a finish shot-in 29:25 (see above). Although this was not an official competitive race, she did come in 6th Overall out of 65 and 5th Female. I believe she enjoyed it and this proud daughter hopes I don't get run over when I return to running! :)

Injury Progress 

The semi-launch (no pun intended with photo above): This is addressed last on purpose, but still pretty exciting for me. What woman doesn't like a good pair of shoes? Well, now I can fall back into that category as of Friday, when Dr. H. released my foot to serve a "parole" sentence. No more boot prison, but still no running for about a month or so, depending on bone growth and lack of mishaps. I was given some good advice from another MD friend this weekend in "behave yourself!". Well, I'm not in the mood for mishaps, so no impact-ful activity for Adrienne. Good behavior brings good rewards. I don't care if it takes an extra month, I want this resolved once and for all.

It did feel really weird at first when I slipped the shoe on the other foot. Lauren Fleshman discusses her rehab from a navicular fracture and one of my favorite and most pertinent quotes in there is "your muscles get stupid" when you don't use them. I agree with that sentiment. Ex. When walking from the desk to the kitchen while icing, or any other minimal two-footed mobility felt odd and floppy. I probably resembled an ostrich -or perhaps an emu, they're faster after all! Luckily, that effect did not last. Right now I'm working on adjusting to Ken's orthodics and continuing correcting my movement patterns. It was a relief to give a presentation sans boot. Nobody wants to see the sport psychologist gimping around before a major race!

In conclusion, great weekend, great race, good physical progress, and good times with others.

Run Happy!

What do you do when you can't race? Well, a few things: do nothing and mope around, delve into other ventures, go "under the radar" as we call it where I'm from, or get out there and help out. To me at least, I enjoy the environment and energy surrounding a race quite a bit. As much as possible, I'm trying to do the latter. In the spirit of road racing and marathon season, I have added a couple entries into my non-participant race calendar. I'm actually pretty excited about them, as I get to see the other side of things and just how much work goes into putting a major event. I imagine as a runner, I have underestimated the magnitude of the process. From a sports psychology standpoint, it is often helpful for an athlete to stay connected through layoffs.

While the list is not extensive, here's where I will be trying to lend a hand without messing up to badly at...

1. Rock 'N Roll San Antonio 11/13/10-If I can't run it as planned, I will be helping run the spectacle that is the Brooks Run Happy Cavalcade of Curiosities. Runner peeps doing this race, you know you wanna stop by and say hi!


2. USA Half-Marathon Championships- Houston, TX 1/29/11: Day 1 of the "extravaganza" downtown. I will be working alongside the elites on this one-perhaps I can sneak in some advice?! This one may be a tough one since I ran as a local elite in the more streamlined version (piggybacked with the regular Houston Half) last year.

3. Bill Crews Remission Run-2/5/11: Will be attending in some capacity...TBA (that is if Bill and Dana-Sue will have me;))

4. Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas 5/21/2011: VIP services and hopefully a gig with PowerBar at the expo, mixing some Sports Psychology in there somewhere-see the Your Competitive Edge Blog for more info.

This is quite a range of activities here, and I am happy to do them all. As I mentioned previously, this period has turned into a time of being open to do things a little differently, and let the running community and my sponsors know how much I appreciate them. I am priviliged to have Brooks and PowerBar backing me in any capacity, so a day here and there is the least I can do. I just may learn something in the process too!




Run Happy!

To the left is just a friendly reminder of what we're trying to get back to; how I do miss those early mornings freezing my behind off in a singlet (I'm just sayin). However, I will continue to be patient and take care of you, as long as it may take! Ok- just had to get that off my chest. Back to positive now.

Peace, Love, & Rehab,

Me


GE Run Thru the Woods 2009, courtesy of Bill and Roxanne Davis.

..."I just couldn't wait to get on the road again"

Willie Nelson parody aside, Tessa (my lovely bike) and I took a friend up on a small group ride yesterday morning. I was actually planning on going out for my first longer ride on Sunday, but I chose to be spontaneous and "run" today and ride on Sat, my long-standing long run and not long aqua jogging day. Spontaneity: something I admittedly don't come naturally by-but I'm slowly getting better at it! Since I have not ventured further than 20 miles on either a stationary or on a roadie, I was a bit apprehensive about how I'd do, especially with individuals who have been doing tris, century rides and, lets just say, experience.

I knew I had at least 90 minutes and/or 30 miles in me, so I met Scott and Century-rider de jour Susan R. ( In my opinion perhaps one of the best athletes in Montgomery Co) just before sunrise. Even though I totally looked the part- PowerBar Jersey, shorts, and helmet; with the exception sporting a Brooks trainer on the L, and a walking boot on the R ( I am SO being a good ortho patient!), I kept it real wearing my Brooks arm warmers. Anyhow, I wasn't 100% sure what I was doing, but managed to not make a total fool of myself:).My #1 rule was this: if the foot whispered anything at all, it was immediately turnaround time.

The first hour my thoughts ranged from "OMG-it's freakin' freezing!", to "is this all it takes", to "ok, what does that hand signal mean again?", and so on. We rocked through the country on roads I've never seen before at speeds ranging from 16.5 to almost 30, took a break and turned around at the hour mark. Even though I was feeling little fatigue, I made sure to munch on some grown-up fruit snacks, PowerBar Gel Blasts. Those suckers are tasty! (By the way, if you want coupons for some or other PB things, let me know:)) The second hour it finally warmed up and I got more comfortable, without any foot pain. After asking myself when the fatigue is going to set in, it finally made an appearance shortly after mile 30. Obviously, this ride was gonna last a little longer! Soon enough, we were on the home stretch towards Terramont Park. I was pleasantly surprised how a girl with a broken foot did for the first longish ride out: just shy of 38 miles, 2:02 total time, about an 18.5ish average. I put my competitiveness aside for this one and just let the Garmin roll at stoplights. Then the question became: how sore am I gonna be? I walked away experiencing no foot trouble that I could detect. Cycling is a bit different than running, but I think it's gonna really be a benefit later on.

Oddly enough, my neck and traps felt the brunt of the effort! My legs were a little heavier as I aqua jogged a moderate effort today-but nothing too out of the ordinary, plus I wore shoes. I probably put in 3.5 hours in the water this week, 2.5 on the bike, and the rest weights and core. equaling about 8 hrs total. After dealing with some soreness in the foot after volunteering and presenting on my feet W, I am on day 4 of next-to-know pain in the fracture site. Still a little knobby and misshapen, but a realistic optimism prevails. As I rode, I watched the marathoners training yesterday morning and still felt the odd sense of patience I have not felt before. I continue to get stronger. The next Dr. appt. is late next week.

'Til then, Run Happy!

P.S. For those who raced this past weekend, congrats and keep up the good work!

Wow, where shall I begin?

This has been a great week for me overall. While it had it's downsides, the positive definitely outweighed the negative. For starters, I turned 28 on Monday and got to celebrate it for nearly 5 days straight. Spoiled much;)?! Tuesday, I went in, got fitted, and took home my 2011 Scott Contessa Speedster. More cross-training is a must to help me get and remain healthy, and for gals like me who love to be outside (and lets face it, go fast outside),t biking is a good fit. I'm still getting used to having it racked up next to my desk.

Wednesday night a bunch of my running friends, new and old agreed to meet me at the Goose's Acre to celebrate. Many had upcoming races and such, so we talked shop for a couple hours and I got home a little later than I usually do-I don't have any runs in the morning, so why not?! Not that I was a hermit before, but when injured I can devote more time to being social. I couldn't be out too late though, because I had an important appt. with Ken Sly (see sidebar), bag of Brooks in hand, to receive my first pair of orthodics. I am excited about working with Ken as I continue to get stronger and finally get these pesky biomechanical things in order. Even just wearing one in my left shoe is already making a difference.

Speaking of biomechanics, I have been booted for just over a month now and if I said it has been a cakewalk all the time I would be lying. I have to set aside extra time in the morning and evening to foam roll, stretch, and release the muscles that unconsicously compensate for my right side being higher up and creating a discrepancy. I know this is all worth it in the end, and it is all manageable for now. As I looked down before a "run" the other morning, I noticed that the knob on the edge of my foot, while still there, is beginning to get a little flatter. Jarrett also has done a great job as well keeping everything as pain-free as possible. As I walk around with surgical grade foam tilting my foot angle, I feel a little more leveled out-we're not there yet, but getting a closer. I thought it was funny this morning when a guy pointed out "your left leg is a lot more defined than your right, it looks funny"...uh, thanks!

This has been a busy weekend in the racing scene. My buddy John competed and PR'd in the Ironman World Championships in Kona yesterday (go John!), on the local front, after a good aqua jogging session early, I headed down to the 10 for Texas race was yesterday morning and piggybacked a light, cautious bike ride with watching the runners whiz by. Nobody recognized me as I yelled my head off for them-funny stuff! I actually had a lot of fun and minimal running withdrawls (perhaps the bike is an antidote, lol). This morning, I woke up to an early alarm to work at On The Run's USA 10-Miler, a race I was supposed to compete in this morning. I'm not gonna lie, the desire to run was present as I watched everyone kick it in towards the finish. I felt disappointed, yet I accepted it and got down to business having one of the best volunteering experiences yet this morning. Here's what made it so:

Besides catching up and receiving meaningful words of encouragement from my fellow runners, I made the decision early on that I am going to use this experience constructively and positively. If I were to get Freudian over here, it would be called a sublimation experience: taking something negative and turning it into a positive. Not to get too sappy, but I have really been able to sit back and see how satisfying the whole experience of our sport is; on the whole, we are all striving towards bettering ourselves and enjoying the process along the way. Today, for instance, as I handed out race numbers and collected race fees there were a couple individuals who needed some assistance with their chips, needed questions, or just some extra help etc. I always do my duty, but for some reason, I found myself wanting to do more, wanting to help them have a smoother pre-race. Usually, I would be either getting into my racing zone or just too busy to bother. Today, I wanted to give back. My team at On The Run has been incredibly supportive with race fees and equipment, and I wanted to make sure they knew my appreciation.

I also had the opportunity to work with some individuals volunteering and going through the program at Open Door Mission in Houston. These guys have encountered obstacles in their lives and are working towards a better life. As a counselor of course, I was interested, but as a person I was impressed with these guys' attitudes, especially at 7:00 on a Sunday morning. Even though I am not currently racing, I am using my passion for it by doing what I can. The way I see it, it's not all about winning, split times, and PR's.

As I continue to aqua jog, bike, and work the core longer than ever before, I feel the rest of me getting stronger. This actually may turn out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to me in the grand scheme of things.

Re: 3rd line in title bar: "Keep the faith"!

A couple weeks ago, climbing stairs and walking around the courtyard was a slow, difficult, and a downright chore with foot encased in plastic. Luckily for me, my ever-helpful mother offered to take Nicky, my chihuahua, off my hands for a few weeks while I healed and gained some more mobility back. At first, I honestly did not miss having to look after the dog; feed, rush him outside while still half-asleep before he pees on the floor or furniture, leave places earlier in order to let him out, or walk him up and down the stairs. This was fairly short-lived, however, and I was excited to have him back yesterday. I also think Mom was ready to call the humane society if I didn't take him back soon! He's a pretty good dog, but has his quirks (like questionable bladder control for instance!). To the left is a pic taken this summer at a night time race-as you can see my dog enjoys events of the running variety too!

All in all it's been a pretty good week. An old friend came in and we spent the day shopping and catching up before going out to The Grove at Discovery Green to celebrate my birthday early and some organic/locally grown fare. We had a good time and I went to bed probably the latest ever for me in the past 6 mos! The life of a square ever creeping towards 30! Next week brings more fun to the mix:

Tuesday I go get fitted for my first road bike- yay for soon getting to enjoy going outside in some fabulous weather! Hopefully, once I take it out I will not look too much like a newbie and/or fool. Hopefully, the cross-training will translate to better strength and leg turnover-plus and most importantly another needed active recovery option, especially as I begin work Pfitzinger's return to running schedule later this year.

Back to the subject of age, ailments and related items, Thursday morning I get to go pick up and have any necessary adjustments made to my custom orthodics. PHS Med. was kind enough to possibly pick me up for sponsorship, which is incredibly appreciated. This is to follow a Wednesday night get-together with my running friends to drag out the b-day even more-may make for a long and tiring day, but totally worth it- My friends are the greatest!

This coming weekend I get to take in some racing-at least as a volunteer and spectator. The USA 10-miler was to be my first-ever attempt at that distance, so it may be a little tough for me to sit on the sidelines, but it's just life and I will prevail. Unfortunately, not everything unfolds neatly as we hope for, but it ultimately works out in the grand scheme. Like I stated in an earlier post, I will encounter things eliciting some disappointment, but why sit at home (or holed up at 24 Hour) when I can support my friends and teammates. As Ryan Hall eluded in his post about withdrawing from Chicago earlier this week, if you can't enjoy by participating, you can enjoy by supporting-whether that be in person or by FB/text.

Workouts this week have also been productive. Lots of long pool running intervals, core/strength, and stationary cycling. Highlights include a simulated 20 miles on the stationary averaging 18.5 mph (of course in the comfortable confines of the gym), and yesterday's "long run" totaling 75 mins. and consisting of 7 x 5 min hard amidst steady work. At the end, I added shoes for a few minutes and observed no discomfort. As I become more "organic" in my nutrition practices and habits, I tried the sauna out to detox for a bit ...the jury's still on it being my scene!

Somehow, I went from talking about my dog, to volunteering , then to the sauna...lots going on I guess... anyhow, happy racing, training, and happy October!