I hit 35 years old and my body falls apart. Back pain hits (or right butt pain, take your pick). Running is excruciatingly painful. Which means marathon training is on hold. And frustration is all I'm left with.
I just can't catch a break with my training. Bronchitis hit a week in and hung around for 6 weeks. In spite of that, my marathon training kept going. My top training run was 16 miles in very humid Michigan weather. It ended with sopping clothing that I literally wrung the sweat out of, but overall it went well. And I was actually feeling healthy for a couple of days until it all went downhill with an attempt at a jet-lagged 17 mile long run, right off the plane. Matt had to come pick me up (at mile 3, I was hurting; at mile 10, I was over it; at mile 15, I stopped).
It all stems back to not having physical therapy post-femur break. I thought my own regimen of hitting the gym for 6 months and going back to running and riding bike right off of crutches would do the trick. Think again. Phenominal PT Jeff, laughed at me (in a nice way) as he tested my very weak right glute status last Thursday. Yep, I couldn't produce any resistance to his strength testing. So, I have apparently managed to overstress my Piriformis muscle, causing a spasm, and something like sciatic pain. Thursday, I saw the pelvic physical therapist in our department, the chiropractor, had an hour long massage, and had a session with PT Jeff. So far all is for naught. I'm still not back to running (I tried this morning and limped home after a couple of tenths of a mile).
So cross your fingers for me, say a few prayers, and send good thoughts my way. I only have 8 weeks before go time!
Sunday, August 21
Sunday, July 24
Sometimes I'm not too Bright but my RING is!
My first clue should have been that Matt decided not to go out and ride his bike. That was his plan earlier in the day. But when I came home from work that night 2 weeks ago, there he was not dressed and ready to ride. Instead , he decides to head out to the garage to "do something". Weird, but okay, whatever.
As a bit of a background, I bought Matt a record player for Christmas because he's got a bit of a fetish for old Punk Rock and has his own collection of classic vinyl. But there wasn't any place to put it, so it ended up upstairs and not convienent to use. So we've been looking for some piece of furniture to set it on.
Next thing I know, Matt comes back inside saying "Guess what I got?" Yep, an old, vintage record player stand. I admired it for a minute and before going back to what I was doing (opening mail). What should have been my second clue, was when he said "Aren't you going to look inside?" So I'm thinking "Okay, sure, I'll look inside; I guess I should've acted a little more interested." So I look inside the doors where there's slots for records and where the previous owner had left some old records in there. In my defense, I got it in my brain that someone had left stuff inside of it. So when Matt told me there was a drawer on the bottom too and I should check that out, I remained oblivious. There in the drawer was a jewelry box. (Third clue should have been it was a brand new jewelry box, but hey, I'm not too bright.) So this is what I say "Hey! Someone left a jewelry box in here!" And, as I open the jewelry box, "And there's a ring inside too!" Duh! It wasn't until I actually looked at Matt, did it finally start to dawn on me that, HELLO, this isn't just a ordinary ring! And that was when I got a very nervous "Will you marry me?"
Yes, Matt took me completely by surprise. And, yes, I most definitely said YES!
My humorous actions continued that evening when I texted my siblings: "Matt and u just got engaged!" (I got some funny replies back from that one.) And I'm looking forward to the many more years with Matt to come filled with humor, laughter, adventure, and love.
As a bit of a background, I bought Matt a record player for Christmas because he's got a bit of a fetish for old Punk Rock and has his own collection of classic vinyl. But there wasn't any place to put it, so it ended up upstairs and not convienent to use. So we've been looking for some piece of furniture to set it on.
Next thing I know, Matt comes back inside saying "Guess what I got?" Yep, an old, vintage record player stand. I admired it for a minute and before going back to what I was doing (opening mail). What should have been my second clue, was when he said "Aren't you going to look inside?" So I'm thinking "Okay, sure, I'll look inside; I guess I should've acted a little more interested." So I look inside the doors where there's slots for records and where the previous owner had left some old records in there. In my defense, I got it in my brain that someone had left stuff inside of it. So when Matt told me there was a drawer on the bottom too and I should check that out, I remained oblivious. There in the drawer was a jewelry box. (Third clue should have been it was a brand new jewelry box, but hey, I'm not too bright.) So this is what I say "Hey! Someone left a jewelry box in here!" And, as I open the jewelry box, "And there's a ring inside too!" Duh! It wasn't until I actually looked at Matt, did it finally start to dawn on me that, HELLO, this isn't just a ordinary ring! And that was when I got a very nervous "Will you marry me?"
My humorous actions continued that evening when I texted my siblings: "Matt and u just got engaged!" (I got some funny replies back from that one.) And I'm looking forward to the many more years with Matt to come filled with humor, laughter, adventure, and love.
Wednesday, June 29
I'd Rather Be Working
There's nothing fun about real, honest to God, sick days. Being stuck in a stuffy house when it's 100 degrees outside, with a husky (but not sexy) hoarse voice, a hacking cough and a blazing sore throat during the middle of the summer, which means there's nothing good on TV to watch (except my new guilty pleasure In Plain Sight on the USA Channel, which might only be good because there's nothing else to watch).
Day 1 of my cold started with my long run for the weekend (11.75 miles in total at the end) and I felt great. It was only when I ran into a friend (no pun intended) and ran with and talked to her for a bit, that I realized my voice was hoarse. Hummm. Was it because I forgot to turn on the humidifier to sleep the night before or maybe the dry hot air? I couldn't be getting sick because I felt good otherwise, right? But by the end of the day, I was starting to cough.
Day 2, I braved going to work. I didn't feel too bad. My voice still sounded terrible, and my cough had gotten a little worse, but not enough to keep me home. I only had to walk out of a patient room once to hack away for 5 minutes. By evening, I wasn't feeling to great, but hoped that this was a short lived cold and I was through the worst of it.
Day 3, my hopes were dashed and I woke up barely able to talk. I'm not sure it was more painful for me to talk or for people to listen to me. My throat had started to hurt and my nose to run. So I called off sick. Like I said, summer TV sucks. In Plain Sight occupied me for a mere 50 minutes. I was not amused to watch my newest yard pest, a multitude of California Ground Squirrels, eat my garden. I wasted away some more time by banging on the window to scare them away (they always come back) and attempting to shoot at them with a BB gun (yes, I really did), but my aim is bad and bb's won't kill ground squirrels anyway. (But more about that battle another time.) I find I can only surf the internet for so long, and Facebook has lost it's amusement factor for me. Fortunately, I had the newest bookclub book, "a visit from the goon squad" to take up a little more time.
Day 4 dawned after a night of little sleep -- it's hard to sleep when sleep is interupted by pain everytime you swallow and fits of coughing. At 7am, my blazing sore throat gave me fears of Strep throat, it still hurt to talk, and my coughing was none the better. So, call off day 2. I took some more NiteQuil (even though it was now day) and slept until a text woke me up at 11 am. At least I woke up feeling a bit better. I frustrated myself again by watching the ground squirrels, but only shot the bb gun once since it really was futile. Finding something to watch on TV was futile again too, so it's was back to reading. And that's what I did the rest of the day, until I finished my book club book and now I'm writing a blog. Fun times.
So tomorrow I'm definitely going to work. Sick or not (of course, there's little chance I'll be completely better). But I'm sensing I'll be at least a little better. And if I'd take another day off, I'd definitely pay for it in more way than one. Hopefully my patients will forgive my hoarse voice and a little coughing.
Day 1 of my cold started with my long run for the weekend (11.75 miles in total at the end) and I felt great. It was only when I ran into a friend (no pun intended) and ran with and talked to her for a bit, that I realized my voice was hoarse. Hummm. Was it because I forgot to turn on the humidifier to sleep the night before or maybe the dry hot air? I couldn't be getting sick because I felt good otherwise, right? But by the end of the day, I was starting to cough.
Day 2, I braved going to work. I didn't feel too bad. My voice still sounded terrible, and my cough had gotten a little worse, but not enough to keep me home. I only had to walk out of a patient room once to hack away for 5 minutes. By evening, I wasn't feeling to great, but hoped that this was a short lived cold and I was through the worst of it.
Day 3, my hopes were dashed and I woke up barely able to talk. I'm not sure it was more painful for me to talk or for people to listen to me. My throat had started to hurt and my nose to run. So I called off sick. Like I said, summer TV sucks. In Plain Sight occupied me for a mere 50 minutes. I was not amused to watch my newest yard pest, a multitude of California Ground Squirrels, eat my garden. I wasted away some more time by banging on the window to scare them away (they always come back) and attempting to shoot at them with a BB gun (yes, I really did), but my aim is bad and bb's won't kill ground squirrels anyway. (But more about that battle another time.) I find I can only surf the internet for so long, and Facebook has lost it's amusement factor for me. Fortunately, I had the newest bookclub book, "a visit from the goon squad" to take up a little more time.
Day 4 dawned after a night of little sleep -- it's hard to sleep when sleep is interupted by pain everytime you swallow and fits of coughing. At 7am, my blazing sore throat gave me fears of Strep throat, it still hurt to talk, and my coughing was none the better. So, call off day 2. I took some more NiteQuil (even though it was now day) and slept until a text woke me up at 11 am. At least I woke up feeling a bit better. I frustrated myself again by watching the ground squirrels, but only shot the bb gun once since it really was futile. Finding something to watch on TV was futile again too, so it's was back to reading. And that's what I did the rest of the day, until I finished my book club book and now I'm writing a blog. Fun times.
So tomorrow I'm definitely going to work. Sick or not (of course, there's little chance I'll be completely better). But I'm sensing I'll be at least a little better. And if I'd take another day off, I'd definitely pay for it in more way than one. Hopefully my patients will forgive my hoarse voice and a little coughing.
Monday, June 13
Training Day
Training Day #1. For the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon on October 16th. Only 125 more days of training to go! So I'm back to running. I always knew I'd end up back as a runner, I just didn't realize it'd be by necessity. But I'm glad to be back here. I forgot how good it feels to run and be in good shape to do it. Ah, the running endorphins... So 10 1/2 months after breaking a femur, I'm training for a marathon. 5 months ago, I started out with shuffling/walking/jogging sessions. In March, I did a duathlon with some awesome friends, and limped through the run, but finished out in 2nd place in my age group, go figure! And 2 months ago, I ran the Run Through Redlands Half Marathon on a whim and finished in 1:57, when I never even thought I'd be able to run the whole thing without walking in the first place (which I did). So I'm so thankful to be where I'm at: healthy, happy, and walking (or rather running). This weekend I did a 9.65 mile road run and a 9.35 trail run (19 miles total). So I figure I have a pretty good base to start out my training. My goals for this marathon aren't big. I have no illusions of setting a PR or qualifying for Boston (which I was 5 minutes off from the last time). I just want to make it through and finish. (But with a semi-decent finishing time, of course.)
Sunday, June 12
You Pick
I felt like I was in Michigan today. Well okay, minus the 90+ degree weather with 90% humidity; it has actually been cooler here in sunny Southern California, than in my home state, go figure. But I won't complain. But anyway, who would've thought that I could do some good ole' blueberry pickin' down here in the desert. I planted my own blueberry bushes last winter, but they have only yielded 4 ripe blueberries so far (with not much more to ripen on the horizon -- but considering I can count the number of branches and leaves on each bush, that's not so surprising). So yesterday, I was driving down San Bernardino Avenue and saw "U PICK BLUEBERRIES" on the corner of San Bernardino and Dearborn, and I just couldn't get the thought of blueberries out of my mind. So after a beautiful run up Crafton Trail, guess where I ended up? And the best part? I could eat while I picked. Yum!
Wednesday, May 11
Things that annoy me when....
Before today, I wasn't sure which to write about:
Possibility #1: The things that annoy me when I'm driving -OR-
Possibility #2: The things that annoy me when I'm riding a bike.
Well, this morning decided that for me and I'll have to save #1 for a later post. So that means #2. Let's just say I've had enough injuries while riding a bike. So I thought I had solved this by: A) Mostly running, B)Riding by myself, C) Not racing (and therefore riding by myself), and D) Not riding a mountain bike. Well, as most riders know the number one annoying thing about riding a bike (nearly equal to riding with people who are squirrely on a bike) is CARS. And, unfortunately, you can't ride a road bike without riding around a bunch of really stupid drivers.
So this morning, I decided to take an early morning (that is, relatively early because I have trouble getting out of bed too early) short spin out to Greenspot Market and back. On the way home, I specifically avoided riding past REV (for all you non-Redlanders that is Redlands East Valley High School), because everyone knows that teenagers are the absolute worst drivers. So I headed up to Citrus (which in reality isn't that far from REV but at least it doesn't go directly by it), and as I ride down Citrus (note: downhill = fast) some idiot teenage driver (or it could be an equally idiot driver parent, just to be fair), takes off in front of me from the King Street stop sign to head to the school. Should I have been 0.5 seconds later, I would have been roadkill. I think all of the cars waiting at the stop sign (and there were quite a few) probably heard my scream of shear terror.
So all of you drivers out there, ONCE AGAIN!:
1. No, our breaks do not stop us as fast as car breaks stop you... Do not pull out in front of us, or turn in front of us, or stop fast in front of us, because we will not be able to stop!
2. Don't drive too close; Share the Road means SHARE, not drive as closely to us as you can without actually hitting us.
3. Yes, we don't come to a complete stop and unclip at all stop signs, but slowing so as to make sure the way is safe and clear is safe riding too. We will stop fully and clip out, if needed, no problem. And if you still don't understand this, get off your f** a** and try riding a road bike and see what a pain it is to clip out at every single stop sign in Redlands: There's a lot of them!
Okay that's my rant about cars and cycling. I'm sure if I thought longer, I could come up with more things, but that's about the gist of it. Stay tuned for my rant about cars and driving...
Possibility #1: The things that annoy me when I'm driving -OR-
Possibility #2: The things that annoy me when I'm riding a bike.
Well, this morning decided that for me and I'll have to save #1 for a later post. So that means #2. Let's just say I've had enough injuries while riding a bike. So I thought I had solved this by: A) Mostly running, B)Riding by myself, C) Not racing (and therefore riding by myself), and D) Not riding a mountain bike. Well, as most riders know the number one annoying thing about riding a bike (nearly equal to riding with people who are squirrely on a bike) is CARS. And, unfortunately, you can't ride a road bike without riding around a bunch of really stupid drivers.
So this morning, I decided to take an early morning (that is, relatively early because I have trouble getting out of bed too early) short spin out to Greenspot Market and back. On the way home, I specifically avoided riding past REV (for all you non-Redlanders that is Redlands East Valley High School), because everyone knows that teenagers are the absolute worst drivers. So I headed up to Citrus (which in reality isn't that far from REV but at least it doesn't go directly by it), and as I ride down Citrus (note: downhill = fast) some idiot teenage driver (or it could be an equally idiot driver parent, just to be fair), takes off in front of me from the King Street stop sign to head to the school. Should I have been 0.5 seconds later, I would have been roadkill. I think all of the cars waiting at the stop sign (and there were quite a few) probably heard my scream of shear terror.
So all of you drivers out there, ONCE AGAIN!:
1. No, our breaks do not stop us as fast as car breaks stop you... Do not pull out in front of us, or turn in front of us, or stop fast in front of us, because we will not be able to stop!
2. Don't drive too close; Share the Road means SHARE, not drive as closely to us as you can without actually hitting us.
3. Yes, we don't come to a complete stop and unclip at all stop signs, but slowing so as to make sure the way is safe and clear is safe riding too. We will stop fully and clip out, if needed, no problem. And if you still don't understand this, get off your f** a** and try riding a road bike and see what a pain it is to clip out at every single stop sign in Redlands: There's a lot of them!
Okay that's my rant about cars and cycling. I'm sure if I thought longer, I could come up with more things, but that's about the gist of it. Stay tuned for my rant about cars and driving...
Sunday, May 1
The Scene
I went back to the "scene of the crime" today (as Matt would put it). Or rather, the scene of the end of my short but sweet mountain biking career.
Note: realatively straight and very wide. Freak accident at it's best. Anyway, this time I was, sadly, on foot. I hiked/ran to the gate at the top for a total of almost 11 miles. It was a beautiful but bittersweet day. It reminded me of how much I miss the beauty of mountain biking. The road (as in cycling) just doesn't hold the same feel. But trail running definitely gives mountain biking a run for it's money. So I'm back to keeping my two feet on the ground and enjoying my return to running. From personal experience, Crafton Hills is a gorgeous run too; those of you who pedal it should try it.
Note: realatively straight and very wide. Freak accident at it's best. Anyway, this time I was, sadly, on foot. I hiked/ran to the gate at the top for a total of almost 11 miles. It was a beautiful but bittersweet day. It reminded me of how much I miss the beauty of mountain biking. The road (as in cycling) just doesn't hold the same feel. But trail running definitely gives mountain biking a run for it's money. So I'm back to keeping my two feet on the ground and enjoying my return to running. From personal experience, Crafton Hills is a gorgeous run too; those of you who pedal it should try it.
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