Racing Heart

If you follow my facebook page for my blog, you would have seen the wonderful image of the giant wrap I had on my toe after I had the doctors remove most of my toenail. Well, if you haven’t seen the picture yet, here it is. Now you might be wondering, howd it go? Was it painful? How was recovery? Anything you can say for those who are about to go through the same procedure? Give me just a minute and I will explain everything. So let me share some back story for those who don’t know me well enough to know everything about my toes. I have thumb-like big toes. They are pudgy and round, and most the time, red and swollen. I used to think that the red and swollen aspect was a normal thing for feet, as that was how things have always been with my toes since I can remember (its not). So anyway, I get ingrown toenails frequently. Im talking like one every couple months or so, at least 3-4 times a year. Usually, when I get them, I soak the toe, use some hydrogen peroxide, and smother...

Im sure you've heard the story before. Either you have tried it yourself, you know someone who has been going for a while, or you've heard of the people who have gone for years. Im talking about run streaking, which is when you run at least a mile every single day. Now, its not for everyone and can be very taxing on the body to repeatedly put everything through that much stress if you arent in the best shape. Trust me, I learned this first hand, but I will get to that shortly. But for those who can streak and have been streaking, I commend you. For those who are interested, I would say give it a try. Listen to your body though, it will tell you when you can continue and when you should stop.  For me, I started off wonderfully on November 20th. I had been going to the gym with my mom every morning and started off by warming up on the treadmill, which I could hit at least a mile before finishing my workout. Other days, (mainly if I didnt want to wake up or move at 5 am), ...

Hey everyone! So I know I fell off the grid for a while, but I am trying my best to be back in the swing of things. My life has been busier than ever but things are finally slowing down and, hopefully, I will get back to where I was with updating everyone with races and the monthly calendars. Again, I apologize for stopping everything and losing touch, it was tough coming back after the second leg surgery, and after healing up from that, I had a wedding to finish up with, (yep, I got married), then work got a little hectic. But, like I said, things have calmed down enough to where I can get back to writing a monthly calendar and my legs are back to normal (I can feel my toes/feet/legs when I run!), so I will be running more races! After my wedding, I did run another half, crossing another state off my list, so you guys can expect a review of that soon. I do need some help, however; I am looking for at least 2 more halves to do next year, and I want to cross off a couple new state...

I have another for everyone! So yesterday was my last doctors appointment! (Well at least for my legs). If I haven't said it before, my doctor is someone who makes his appointments short, sweet, and to the point. Sometimes that is not a bad thing, but sometimes it sucks to drive a little over an hour to have a short, less than 5 minute meeting with him to discuss things. Well anyway, I get there and he takes a look at my scars, (which are a tad red from a sunburn), says they are healing well, checks my strength in my feet and ankles, says that the strength is good, then asks what I have been doing as far as activities. (Just to catch you up on things, I wasnt really supposed to do much until I went to this appointment...oops.) I was honest with him. I told him that I have been trying to walk a lot, taking it easy on days that I am more sore than others, and jogging a little, increasing the distance as things feel good. He told me that what I am doing is good, however I dont wan...

Hello everyone! This is my 100th post! Woohoo! I have been working on this blog for a little over a year and a half now, and I just want to say thank you. Thank you to those who read these stories or calendars that I share with you. Thank you to those who keep up with the updates and share their feedback. Thank you to you all. This blog falls right in line with the passion that I have for running and I love to share all that I can with as many people as I can. So an update to go along with everything. It has been a little over a month since I had my surgery on my legs. Things are progressing well and I have started to run (at an 8:30 pace too, keep in mind!!) about 100-300m every few walks. I try to get out every day and walk about 1.5 to 3 miles and am hoping to walk/run a 5k in July or August, (I have yet to pick a specific one yet). I recently set a goal to train and run (possibly walk some) the Rails to Trails half marathon in Norwalk, WI in November. I think that gives me plen...

The progression of my legs. There is an order to this from 1, meaning most recent to 5 meaning oldest, (top right 1, bottom right 2, bottom left (3 images) 3, right center 4, and top left (2 images) 5) Hey everyone! Back for another update! So my wounds are healing up very nicely. They itch like none other though. There are some mornings that I wake up and it feels like I have a giant bug bite (or two) on each leg. They sting every so often as well, but that is manageable. My day now looks along the lines of this: Wake up, put neosporin (or the generic crap) on my incisions, elevate and ice, take ice packs off and walk a little, elevate, walk around some more, ice and elevation again, reapply neosporin, go for a mile long walk, ice and elevate, more elevating, pain pills, bed and elevation. June 3rd mile walk/run I have started to walk more and more. I mean, I am now hitting my garmin goals for the day, which makes me feel pretty good (I still haven't turned the lazi...

So since my last update a lot of things have happened. My legs are no longer super purple, more green/brownish, I have had my first post-op appointment, and I have somewhat of a plan of my next steps. My legs are feeling quite a bit better, I have taken off the steri-strips from my incisions, which makes my legs feel less constricted and less like something is pulling off my legs. I can walk easier, and a lot of the swelling has gone down. As you can see from the pictures, there is not much purple and pink remaining anymore, more brown and greens and yellows left around the wounds. I do love how the area around the cuts is white. So what happened at my post-op appointment? Well, I will first let you know that I have one of the most "straight-to-the-point" kind of doctors. My visit lasted a whopping 10 minutes, if even that. He walked in the room, asked to look at my legs, I told him to mind how hairy they are (as I am afraid to get too close to them/I dont have the best ...

I told you all that I would keep you updated on how my recovery is going. Let me tell you the truth. So the worst part of this whole thing is that I feel like I am growing into the couch. Being sedentary is not something that I enjoy to do. Yes, I can move around some, but the more I move around, the stiffer and more uncomfortable I tend to feel the next day. So, to combat this, I sit on the couch, watch some netflix, prop my legs and knees up, and make sure to ice for a half hour every hour. My days are typically the same. I do try to vary what chair or portion of the couch that I sit in, so I literally do not grow into the couch like this guy . So the first day back, or 7 hours, were pretty easy. This might have been because I was still coming off a pain-med & anesthesia high. I woke up after the hospital and was so nauseous...(keep in mind that next time I have to go under to ask for more meds...) so they pumped me full of other drugs to help, and I slept the whole way h...

So I just had my pre-op appointment this morning, and good news, I am cleared for surgery! Wooh! Wooh for being cleared to get my problems fixed, wooh for being able to run without pain (in like 3 months), wooh for being (somewhat) healthy. I am excited and nervous that I have a chance to solve my problems and be able to relieve the pain and numbness that I get when I run, walk, bike, and basically anything. I know, it will be a while before I am able to do another half, but honestly, I will wait. I just want to be tingling, pain, and discomfort free. I want to be able to put my new watch to the test. I just purchased the Garmin Forerunner 235, which I will be sharing my thoughts of it soon (or at least my opinions on the functions that I can use of it). I just want to use it for about a week before I give my opinions. I will say right now, it is pretty cool. So for now, I am counting down the days until May 10th, the day of my surgery. I will be updating everyone on my recovery, p...

So as you guys know, I am not running right now and I won't be until I heal from my surgery (cross my fingers for June 21st date! (that'd be 6 weeks, supposedly the fastest healing time)). But its tough. I have learned a few things from not being able to run. Let me share them to you. When you don't run, you gain weight. This sucks. Not running for over half a year, including the dreaded holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, makes you put on weight. Since I can't run, bike, elliptical, or even speed walk/walk for a long period of time, and if I swim, I sink to the bottom, doing any sort of cardio is tough and when I go to the gym, its hard to lift if I cant warm up or if I am stuck looking at the treadmills/bikes the whole time.  Beautiful days are the worst. Knowing that everyone is out running or enjoying the weather, sucks. Waking up to see my phone saying 50-60 degrees and sunny and knowing that the trails are packed with people, is rough. I can put my runnin...

So I have my surgery scheduled, woohoo! On May 10th, 2016, I will be going under the knife (endoscopically) to have my anterior fascias released in both legs. So whats the difference? Rather than a 6 inch incision on the outer portion of both legs, I will be left with a 2ish inch incision on the outside of both legs. Heres some images to best describe it (Heads up, the open fasciotomy picture is not very detailed, but I did that for a specific reason. Do not look up compartment syndrome fasciotomy on an empty stomach.) The open fasciotomy, again, I know its not very visual, but it gives you the right idea without being as gruesome as can be.  The endoscopic surgery. Much smaller incision.  So yeah, thats where I am at with my legs. I have to have one more appointment with a doctor to make sure I can deal with anesthetic but thats about it! Everyone heals at different paces with this, but my doctor said, typically, at worst, it might take 3 months, but some people h...

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...

Guys, I am sorry that I take so much time off between posts. As I am currently in a different city, I am having a hard time doing shoe reviews and such, but I promise that as soon as I am able to, I will review some new shoes. I just bought a new pair of Nike Vomero 10s and I am pumped to get running in them again. A little over a week ago, I ran a super fun run called Relay Iowa. Be on the look out for my post about it. It will be a little longer than usual, but that is only to give you all the stories and memories from the 3-day trip. A sparknotes edition, it was a blast and I am looking forward to creating a team for next year. I will update the calendar. I promise. I have to go and find the information and such, but I will have it done by Sunday. Keep an eye out for that. Again, sorry about my disappearance again. I will be sharing some new information with everyone as soon as I can. Thank you for sticking around! Kelsey

Wow. I am truly sorry... I have disappeared for about a two weeks now, and I apologize for that.  That is what happens during finals week to a college student and when that student moves to a new town and tries to organize everything. It has been a CRAZY week for me, and a couple busy weekends for racing! Again, I will be fixing up the calendar either tonight or tomorrow and posting the results and new races that I have found recently. As a reminder, sign up to follow my blog! Remember, those who follow me will be entered into a drawing for some awesome running things. So why not? Even if you dont read the emails, what does it hurt to enter a contest? Well stay tuned for some more posts coming up, I have a few ideas in mind for a few new things, but until then, see ya soon! Kelsey

So this weekend has been a busy one. With a few major races from this past weekend, I am sure people were busy! I know I was! Just a snidbit from this weekend, we had the Linn-Mar Growl Prowl, Y2Y, and The Hyvee Road Race At Drake. I competed in the Y2Y, and I had a lot of fun! You can see my review of it  here!  I mean the race did not go as well as I wanted for myself, as I severly strained my toe and could not put pressure on my foot. I finished the race, but was 10 mins slower than my predicted time. Oh what fun that was, but dont get me wrong! The race was a blast! I am excited for next year! As for this weekend's races, we have quite a few! Girls on the run 5k, Cornbelt Running Club 24 hr Run, Nacho Ordinary 5k, Cuba City Family Fun Run 5k, Prairie Du Chien Half Marathon & 5k, and the Red Shoe Run! I hope everyone takes advantage of these fun, local races! I may go down and try to run the 5k at the red shoe run! So maybe I will see y...

Hey Everyone! So an update on things. I know I usually do these updates on Mondays, however, my life is so jam-packed right now, that I am going to do things as I find time for them. So this past weekend, we had quite a few wonderful local races, and I hope that all of you were able to take advantage of them and run or volunteer at one! As for this upcoming weekend, the list of races are as follows. NICC Student Veteran Spring Sprint 5k, Dubuque Diabetes Dash 5k, Spring Chaser 5k, Bishop Hill 5K Swedish Stomp & Skamparoo, Growl Prowl , Iowa Walk For Epilepsy & 5k, The Color Dash 5k, Foamy Fun 5k , Y2Y Time Prediction Race , River Run 5k/10k, and Hyvee Road Races at the Drake Relays. I will be in attendance at the Y2Y, so maybe I will see some of you there! Keep an eye out for a new "Check This Race Out!" post, as there is a new one coming each week. I will be updating the race calendar as I find out about other races coming up, or as you share them with me, and ...

Hey Everybody!! Happy Easter! I hope all of you had great race weekends with all the wonderful Easter races that just passed. I will be posting the results for all of these races on the upcoming races page. All you will have to do is click on the link that says results, and it will take you right to them! Also, if you did run any of these races, let me know what you thought of them. This upcoming weekend, we have some great races! Starting with the Opening Doors Dash 5k, Red Shamrock Foundation Survivorship Trail Run, Bandits Race to Home 5k, Quad Cities 5k Run and Walk for Epilepsy, Springtime Sprint 5k, Midwest Medical Sprint into Spring 5k, AIDS Walk/Run, Beer & Bagel Off Road Run, Hawkeye 50k & 25k, Brett Smith Memorial 5k, Live Healthy Iowa 5k and the Hollywood in the Heights 10k on the 11th. On the 12th, we have the River Queen Track and Field Color Run 5k, Hoops Hustle 5k, Springtime Hill Climb 10k/5k, Autism 5k run/walk, Iowa State VK 5k, and the Rehab Run. There ar...

So this past weekend was a fairly busy couple of days! We had 4 different races: Penguin in the Park 5k, Doc Dash 5k, Prairies of Miracles 5k, and Run D.C. to DC. I will be updating my race page to include the results for these races so you will have easy access to your own results. Like I said in that post, if you have any races that you have coming up that you would like to share, please let me know! I will gladly add them to the race list to share them with others. As for shoes, this week, (or more specifically, April 1st), we have 2 shoe updates. The Nike Vomero 10 and the Saucony Kinvara 6 both are released. I will go into detail about the shoes when I do the reviews, but let me give you a couple of hints. So with the Kinvara, there are not too many updates. The biggest update is a new, sleeker look to the shoe. It will still use the same platform as the Kinvara 5, and the same cushion, but the new look of the upper looks slick. The Vomero, you wont recognize. The upper is g...