I’ve been doing CrossFit now for the last 4 years, but hurt my thumb back in November. I noticed it the day after doing light clean and jerks and ignored it until it continued to get worse. I wore a thumb splint at work but would have to take it off regularly to start IVs. I got tired of the pain and got a steroid injection, which helped for the next three months. Then the pain returned and I found out  (via MRI) that I partially tore two ligaments in my thumb and I’ve been splinted for close to three months now.

I attribute the torn ligaments to overuse. I was lifting heavy on a regular basis and doing two a days at times. 2012 was my big CrossFit year. I hit a PR (personal record) on every lift and will probably never PR again. My deadlift when I started CrossFit was 105#. At the end, it was 200# (I’m 103lbs). I cleaned 100#. I was doing push jerks with 85# in WODs… After injuring myself, I was never even close to those numbers even when I did make it to the gym…

Obviously, I’ve decided to quit CrossFit temporarily since I’ve had the split on. I hadn’t been doing it much anyway because of the pain, but it’s been since the end of May since I’ve done any WODs (workout of the day).

I recently started to feel lazy since I wasn’t doing anything at all exercise wise, so I joined LA Fitness and decided to at least do some cardio. Last week I went to the gym with my good friend, Kassie, and we decided that we should run a half marathon! I really needed to set some sort of fitness goals for myself since that’s how I work, but can’t do anything with weights (in terms of record setting here).

Let me just state one thing: I have never ever ever ever liked to run. Ever. I’ve had to run 2 miles for my PT tests in the Army for 6 years, and that was plenty. Whenever people I work with tell me about running, I’m all like, “Yeaaah, I lift weights. I don’t run.” As a matter of fact, we had to run a mile at CrossFit a few months back and I wanted to die. Literally. Wanted to die. I think it was maybe my second or third time running all year.

Jon temporarily got really into running and I ran an insanely hilly, cold, miserable 5k with him. I think my time was right at 30 minutes, but I was also doing some CrossFit still. Then I did a Braves Country 4 miler with him and my time was 42 something. I also wanted to die, and I walked 1/2 mile somewhere in the middle cause my feet hurt. So those are my two big runs of the year, with probably not even a handful of smaller runs.

That’s another thing… I do CrossFit. I lift weights. I wear FiveFingers. I happened to buy New Balance Minimus shoes a few months ago but hated them. I learned how to POSE run (toe to heel) by running barefoot last year and then running back in my FiveFingers. I don’t want to run in anything else, but have no idea if I can withstand running in minimus shoes because I’m so flat footed. But I’ll find out.

 The date is yet to be set for the 1/2 marathon, but I’m actually really excited. Because I learned that you cannot run in minimus shoes on a treadmill, I resorted to the elliptical at the gym, which still really made me want to die. It just hadn’t been right to run outside over the last week (and I live in a newer area where I don’t feel comfortable just running anywhere).

But today!!!! Today I got out of my ACLS recert at 3pm and it was in the low 70s and cloudy! It was perfect! So I went to a park near my house and ran! I had just done 40 minutes on the elliptical the other day, so I decided my goal was to run 20 minutes out and then turn around.

I got into the run and decided I felt like I had gone at least 15 minutes and checked the time. 10 minutes. Really?! How disappointing! So I kept on running and running. The trail ran out (I didn’t think it would) and I just kept on going. My phone screen went so dark that I couldn’t see anything on it, but I heard the lady on MapMyRun telling me something about splits. I don’t even know what a split is, but I was glad at least my phone was still tracking it! I managed to make out the clock just enough to see that I had gone for 20 minutes and turned around.

At the end of the run, I stopped under a tree and managed to end my run on my app. I saw that I went 4.45miles in 40:18 and literally about shit myself. I had not a clue how fast I was going, but was so ecstatic that after running less than 10 times this year that I had just gone the farthest I have ever run in my entire life with a pace of 9:10!

I have no clue how I’m going to train for the 1/2. I need to figure out when I’m running it. I don’t want to get hurt in the process and my ankles were hurting today, so I need to take it slow. I’m not that concerned with the pace, and for the most part, I think I’m just going to set times that I want to run. Today I wanted to go for 40 minutes. Maybe next time I’ll go for 45 minutes.

Anyway, just to liven up this lengthy blog (eventually they’ll get shorter, but I’m giving a lot of background lately!), I’ll add some pictures.

   

These were taken in 2013 (can’t remember when) after already taking quite some time off from working out.

And that picture was back in 2012, not long before hurting my thumb, probably at my peak strength. Man, I sure miss that back…