Racing Heart

March 5th Freezin for a Reason 10k Trail Run; Garrison, IA;  register Johnston Running Club Scholarship Run 5k; Johnson, IA;  register Nearly Naked Mile and 5k; Iowa City, IA;  Register Solon Survivor Extreme 5k; Solon, IA;  Register WDTF 5k; West Dubuque, IA;  Register Miller Park Zoo Stampede; Bloomington, IL;  register Welsh Prairie Livewires 4-H Shamrock Shuffle; Cambria, WI;  register Coulee Chase 5k; La Crosse, WI;  Register Freezin for a Reason 5k; La Crosse, WI;  register March 6th Seas the Day, Be the Match 5k; Iowa City, IA;  Register Tropical Indoor Triathlon; Iowa City, IA;  register March 12th Kiwanis Shamrock Shuffle; Burlington, IA;  Register CB Shamrock Shuffle; Council Bluffs, IA;  Register CASI's 34th Annual St. Patrick's Day Race; Davenport, IA;  register Leprechaun Chase 10k; Des Moines, IA;  register Gaelic Gallop; Dyersville, IA;  Register Corridor Running's Shamrock Shuffle; Iowa City, IA;  register Frosty Nose, Cold Toe

Hello Everyone. You may have noticed that I haven't made any race reviews in a while. I am here to tell you that I will not have another for a while. I, unfortunately, have been recently diagnosed with CECS or chronic exertional compartment syndrome (for short, I will be calling this CS). What is compartment syndrome? CS is a disorder that when you exercise, (for me, it occurs when I run, bike, walk, and elliptical), your muscles expand to a point where the compartment or fascia surrounding the muscle cannot take. When this occurs, the oxygen supply is cut off to the muscles and they fall asleep. The best way of thinking of this is to imagine a balloon in a waterbottle. The balloon is the muscle and the waterbottle is the surrounding fascia. When you inflate the balloon, this is showing the muscle expanding. The muscle can only expand so much. This is what is going on inside my legs. About a mile and a half in during a run, I lose feeling in my toes and feet and it works its w

Something I hear very often is: "Oh, you know, I'm not a runner" or "I only run some times, I am not a runner." It makes me think. What really constitutes a runner versus not a runner? I made a list of some of the qualities that I think a runner has. A runner is someone who runs because it is what their gut is telling them to do. Yes, everyone who has ever went on a run, knows how much it sucks most of the time. But when you are able to get yourself off the couch and go for a run because in your head, you hear, "go for a run" or "you should run," you are a runner. Whether there be motivation, like getting in shape, or not, you just do it without questioning it. Yes, you may moan and groan and question "why the hell am I doing this to myself," but you still go and do it no matter the speed.  A runner is someone who realizes that beauty is not rule of the sport. Runners are people who will go out and run, whether that be the midd