First off, I know I said I'd get you an update about my crazy/busy life as of late on Monday evening, but . . . I lied. Haha, I know you're not going to believe this, but I was too consumed with the Olympics to finish it. I promise I will get it to you soon (but I'm going to have to admit that it may not happen until the Olympics are over, and my self-control has returned from Beijing).
Secondly, I'm guessing you can tell from the oh-so-pleasant title of this post that I have a not-so-good update on the knee front. I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Schneider today, and she said she's not pleased with the amount of progress (or lack thereof) I've made since my initial visit. I guess I shouldn't still have the amount of tenderness along the joint line that I do . . . so she's thinking I may have torn my meniscus in addition to the MCL. An MRI will determine if that's the case--assuming I can get the imaging center and my insurance company to play nice with each other (ah, health care!) The kind of good news is that she still doesn't think my ACL is affected, but she admitted that she's not 100% sure about that. Will this never end? I just about burst into tears in her office when she mentioned the S-word (surgery).
I guess I shouldn't really be surprised by all this. I know better than anyone that the knee hasn't improved all that much over the past three weeks. But I guess I had this small glimmer of hope that I was just being a wuss--or overly cautious--and that in a week or two I'd be running again. Boo. It certainly doesn't help that everyone in my new (awesome!) neighborhood runs and bikes all the time; and thus, the fact that I can't do those things is just constantly rubbed in my face. Blah. Oh well, I guess there's nothing to do but wait and find out what the diagnosis is. Pity-party over!
Hope you're all well . . . run a few for me :)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Olympic Fever
Hi again . . . does anyone out there actually remember me? Ha, didn't think so. Sadly, I'm still not able to run (sigh), but I wanted to check in quickly to confess my addiction to the Olympics . . . it's getting bad. I mean, I just moved into a new apartment--I should really want to do things like hang photos, unpack boxes, organize my crap, etc. But every time I turn those damn Olympics on, it's like I've suddenly lost all self-control. On Saturday, Wilson had to literally pry me off the couch and away from the tv to get me to go to Lowe's with him and get a bunch of stuff we desperately needed for the new crib. I don't think I've slept more than a few hours a night since our TV/cable got hooked up on Thursday! Oy. Anyway, my hat goes off to the amazing athletes . . . competing for their countries under such immense pressure. Wow. I'm sure I don't have to convince you all that they're just a teensy bit inspiring!
Oh, and I have to say that one of the funniest lines I've heard in a while came from Wilson as we were watching some men's swimming the other night. Wilson asked me who I was going for . . . and when I responded and asked him the same, he replied matter-of-factly, "I'm going for the green line."** Hilarious. I am still laughing about this now . . .
Anyway, tonight I will attempt to post a more formal update as to where I've been the past 2.5 weeks (other than watching the Olympics) . . . but for now, I should go back to working. Missed you all! I promise to never go away for so long ever again :)
**For those of you not in the know regarding Beijing Olympics swimming, let me explain . . . the "green line" shows world record pace during the races--it's kind of like the CG first down line shown in NFL games, only it moves. This year, about a zillion and a half world records have been set in the swimming events. Thus, Wilson was essentially going for the "underdog" in going for the green line. See? Funny. Okay, now go turn on the Olympics immediately and get yourself some edumacation!
Oh, and I have to say that one of the funniest lines I've heard in a while came from Wilson as we were watching some men's swimming the other night. Wilson asked me who I was going for . . . and when I responded and asked him the same, he replied matter-of-factly, "I'm going for the green line."** Hilarious. I am still laughing about this now . . .
Anyway, tonight I will attempt to post a more formal update as to where I've been the past 2.5 weeks (other than watching the Olympics) . . . but for now, I should go back to working. Missed you all! I promise to never go away for so long ever again :)
**For those of you not in the know regarding Beijing Olympics swimming, let me explain . . . the "green line" shows world record pace during the races--it's kind of like the CG first down line shown in NFL games, only it moves. This year, about a zillion and a half world records have been set in the swimming events. Thus, Wilson was essentially going for the "underdog" in going for the green line. See? Funny. Okay, now go turn on the Olympics immediately and get yourself some edumacation!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Can't Win . . .
Howdy there! It's been a while again, I know. Sadly, this isn't going to be the happy "comeback post" that I was dreaming it would be. Nope. Instead of having great things to report back about my new training plan, I have had another stroke of bad luck. On Tuesday night during--what else?--a soccer game, I suffered a bit of a knee injury. It was really just a bizarre (and admittedly, kind of embarrassing) incident. A girl on the other team went to take a shot, and I lunged sideways in an attempt to block said shot. As I did this, I (unfortunately) managed to get my foot in front of the ball to block the shot, but I somehow DID NOT manage to lock my ankle before doing so. Her rocket of a shot hit my foot, bending my ankle back awkwardly until, all of a sudden, I felt an excruciatingly sharp pain travel up the inside of my knee. I could kind of tell that something was just "not quite right" with my knee, but after talking to my sister, we decided that I probably just freaked out a tendon attaching my ankle to my knee. I opted out of getting it checked out, and instead hopped on the subway to head home. Well, by the time I got home, I was in so much pain, I was in tears. My knee had also swelled up so big that I could not bend my knee, no matter how hard I tried. I knew something was up.
I lay awake all night long in a ridiculous amount pain. I simply could not find a comfortable position to put my leg in. I would move it into a spot that seemed comfortable, but within about 5 seconds of doing so, would feel a huge wave of pain hit my knee. UGH. I knew I had to get to the doctor the next day . . . as hesitant as I usually am to seek medical attention, this simply could not be ignored. So I called up my sports med doctor yesterday and begged to be seen. She agreed to see me despite the fact that she was double- and triple-booked all day long (thank you, Dr. Schneider!!). The verdict? Some kind of MCL sprain/tear. She said she couldn't quite tell how bad it is since the immediate pain and swelling were making it a little difficult to properly examine. Thus, I am being forced to wear a big ol' hinged DonJoy brace for now, and will follow up with her in a few weeks to check my range of motion/stability/etc. and see how the injury is healing. I've also been prescribed at least six weeks of physical therapy--can't wait to fight with insurance over that one!
So . . . I guess Chicago is up in the air at this point. There's a chance I *might* recover in as little as 2-3 weeks, but for some reason, I just don't feel all that optimistic at this point. I guess I'll just have to take things one day at a time, and focus right now on healing the knee. I'm not sure how much I'll be posting in the near future, as I'll be at weddings and moving to a new apartment and working quite a bit . . . but I'll be sure to keep you updated with regards to what's happening in that old gimpy knee of mine. I already miss running so much--I am desperate for a nice slow long run :(
Best of luck to all you racing this weekend!! I'll be thinking about you!!
I lay awake all night long in a ridiculous amount pain. I simply could not find a comfortable position to put my leg in. I would move it into a spot that seemed comfortable, but within about 5 seconds of doing so, would feel a huge wave of pain hit my knee. UGH. I knew I had to get to the doctor the next day . . . as hesitant as I usually am to seek medical attention, this simply could not be ignored. So I called up my sports med doctor yesterday and begged to be seen. She agreed to see me despite the fact that she was double- and triple-booked all day long (thank you, Dr. Schneider!!). The verdict? Some kind of MCL sprain/tear. She said she couldn't quite tell how bad it is since the immediate pain and swelling were making it a little difficult to properly examine. Thus, I am being forced to wear a big ol' hinged DonJoy brace for now, and will follow up with her in a few weeks to check my range of motion/stability/etc. and see how the injury is healing. I've also been prescribed at least six weeks of physical therapy--can't wait to fight with insurance over that one!
So . . . I guess Chicago is up in the air at this point. There's a chance I *might* recover in as little as 2-3 weeks, but for some reason, I just don't feel all that optimistic at this point. I guess I'll just have to take things one day at a time, and focus right now on healing the knee. I'm not sure how much I'll be posting in the near future, as I'll be at weddings and moving to a new apartment and working quite a bit . . . but I'll be sure to keep you updated with regards to what's happening in that old gimpy knee of mine. I already miss running so much--I am desperate for a nice slow long run :(
Best of luck to all you racing this weekend!! I'll be thinking about you!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Updated Marathon Plan
Howdy y'all! So . . . in case you couldn't tell from my lack of posts and comments lately, I've been busy. Super busy. Between my four soccer leagues, nursing some insignificant but nagging injuries, cleaning out/packing up the apartment, preparing for upcoming travel/weddings, and working more hours than I might like to . . . I've become one seriously over-extended chica. Thus, the four-running-days-per-week SmartCoach schedule just hasn't been cutting it. I'm pretty sure with everything I've got going on, it's not actually possible to fit all of my scheduled runs in. And sadly, I think this reality has led me to fall into an "all or nothing" mentality with regards to my training. I started out in the "all" category, doing anything and everything to squeeze in training runs; but over the past couple of weeks, I've been seriously pushing the limits of "nothing"--so much so that I actually skipped my long run last weekend. Now, in all fairness, it WAS a fall-back week, and I was still in quite a bit of pain from my deep thigh bruise . . . but seriously. It's time to get my a$$ in gear if I'm going to run this marathon.
I figured the best bet at this point is to switch to a more cross-training friendly program, considering I AM playing soccer four nights a week. Thus, I think I'm going to (more or less) switch over to the FIRST plan for the next eleven weeks. I just feel like decreasing the number of days per week I run and making it so that every run "counts" would help me to re-focus a bit. I also think that, given my current situation, this plan is much more feasible. It's hotter than Hades out these days, and considering the two week-day runs in FIRST are a) speed workouts and b) tempo runs--which I like to do on the treadmill--I can squeeze these in at lunch or after work on the days that I don't have soccer. So yay!
Okay, I should probably get back to working, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive and that I have this new magical plan that's going to get me back on track with my training.
I figured the best bet at this point is to switch to a more cross-training friendly program, considering I AM playing soccer four nights a week. Thus, I think I'm going to (more or less) switch over to the FIRST plan for the next eleven weeks. I just feel like decreasing the number of days per week I run and making it so that every run "counts" would help me to re-focus a bit. I also think that, given my current situation, this plan is much more feasible. It's hotter than Hades out these days, and considering the two week-day runs in FIRST are a) speed workouts and b) tempo runs--which I like to do on the treadmill--I can squeeze these in at lunch or after work on the days that I don't have soccer. So yay!
Okay, I should probably get back to working, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive and that I have this new magical plan that's going to get me back on track with my training.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Bad-ish News
Okay, so I scored ONE goal last night . . . and came really darn close to another when I sent a rocket past the keeper--unfortunately, the wind kicked up at the last second and the ball ended up hitting the far goalpost. Bummer. It would have been the winning goal! Oh well. I guess I'll take the 2-2 tie, considering it's not a loss (but we were WAY better than the other team).
The "bad-ish news" is that I suffered a deep thigh bruise towards the end of the game. I went one-on-one with the other team's keeper in my attempt to win a 50/50 ball and hopefully score . . . and the keeper (legally) stuck her knee up in the air to protect herself. My thigh, of course, crashed directly into her knee at about a billion miles per hour. Ugh. I could tell my quad was pretty pissed off by the way it was swelling and spasming last night (and still throughout the day today). It was reminiscent of when I tore the hamstring last year (shudder!). Luckily, I can walk without TOO much pain, so I don't think it's going to set me back all that far (whew!) . . . but it looks like I'm going to have to do nothing but rest for the next several days. That means no soccer tonight . . . and once again, no running. Ha, I think I'm starting to learn that 4 soccer leagues and marathon training really don't mix! Yikes . . .
Moving on. I have to ask you all your opinion on something that's been a rather hot topic for a while now: running skirts. Growing up as a very competitive athlete, I was always trying to prove to myself and others that I could play with the boys--which honestly--I could. In grade school/junior high gym classes, I was forced to play with the boys in pretty much any sport we covered . . . because our gym teacher insisted it was "unfair" for me to compete against the not-so-athletically-gifted girls in our class. Still today, when I play in co-ed soccer leagues, I find myself sizing up my male opponents and comparing their skill-levels to my own. As a result of this silly need to be on an equal playing field with male athletes, I have never wanted to do anything that might bring attention to the fact that I am-gasp!-a woman. Thus, I have never bought into the feminization of sports gear.
BUT. After the August issue of Runners World focused so much on the "Rise of the Skirt Culture," I have to admit, I am a little intrigued. After all, if Runners World is touting cutesy running skirts, surely it doesn't make me any less of a runner if I take the plunge and don one myself. Right? (Please note: I do not look at other women in running skirts and think they are "not runners"--this is actually just a personal issue I seem to have). Despite my personal prejudice against them, I still feel like there is a part of me that would embrace running skirts were it given the chance to do so. After all, I like to consider myself a stylish chick . . . and I do like to look my best. Oh, and have I mentioned that I HATE running shorts? So um . . . I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think I want a running skirt! AH!
If any of you running skirt experts out there have any advice for what works best or what to look for in a running skirt, I would love to hear it!
The "bad-ish news" is that I suffered a deep thigh bruise towards the end of the game. I went one-on-one with the other team's keeper in my attempt to win a 50/50 ball and hopefully score . . . and the keeper (legally) stuck her knee up in the air to protect herself. My thigh, of course, crashed directly into her knee at about a billion miles per hour. Ugh. I could tell my quad was pretty pissed off by the way it was swelling and spasming last night (and still throughout the day today). It was reminiscent of when I tore the hamstring last year (shudder!). Luckily, I can walk without TOO much pain, so I don't think it's going to set me back all that far (whew!) . . . but it looks like I'm going to have to do nothing but rest for the next several days. That means no soccer tonight . . . and once again, no running. Ha, I think I'm starting to learn that 4 soccer leagues and marathon training really don't mix! Yikes . . .
Moving on. I have to ask you all your opinion on something that's been a rather hot topic for a while now: running skirts. Growing up as a very competitive athlete, I was always trying to prove to myself and others that I could play with the boys--which honestly--I could. In grade school/junior high gym classes, I was forced to play with the boys in pretty much any sport we covered . . . because our gym teacher insisted it was "unfair" for me to compete against the not-so-athletically-gifted girls in our class. Still today, when I play in co-ed soccer leagues, I find myself sizing up my male opponents and comparing their skill-levels to my own. As a result of this silly need to be on an equal playing field with male athletes, I have never wanted to do anything that might bring attention to the fact that I am-gasp!-a woman. Thus, I have never bought into the feminization of sports gear.
BUT. After the August issue of Runners World focused so much on the "Rise of the Skirt Culture," I have to admit, I am a little intrigued. After all, if Runners World is touting cutesy running skirts, surely it doesn't make me any less of a runner if I take the plunge and don one myself. Right? (Please note: I do not look at other women in running skirts and think they are "not runners"--this is actually just a personal issue I seem to have). Despite my personal prejudice against them, I still feel like there is a part of me that would embrace running skirts were it given the chance to do so. After all, I like to consider myself a stylish chick . . . and I do like to look my best. Oh, and have I mentioned that I HATE running shorts? So um . . . I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think I want a running skirt! AH!
If any of you running skirt experts out there have any advice for what works best or what to look for in a running skirt, I would love to hear it!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Update time!
First of all, thank you for all your kind words and encouragement. As planned, I took last week off from running (but still played four soccer games), and then managed to get in a pretty darn good long run of 10 miles on Sunday morning at a 10:29/mile pace. I originally set out with a loose goal of running 12-13 miles, but I DID have a soccer game to play later in the day, and I didn't want to completely obliterate my legs! Plus, it was freaking HOT out there. Or maybe it wasn't that hot, but it WAS hella humid! Wilson and I got up at 7:00 a.m. with the intention of being out the door by 7:15, but we didn't end up heading out until nearly 8:00 . . . whoopsies!
Anyway, the run went really well, all things considered. My leg was a little ouchy . . . but not so much so that I had to quit. So that is DEFINITELY good news. I really felt like I had at least 2 more miles in me when we finished up, but I really didn't want to make playing soccer later in the day more painful than it had to be. Plus, the park was PACKED with obnoxious people . . . and I was a little scared I might commit homicide. So yeah. You win some, you lose some.
After our run, we stopped by our friendly (not) neighborhood Dunkin Donuts for iced coffee and donuts. We returned home with our treats, only to discover that the cat REALLY likes glazed donuts. I'm not kidding you, she was going apeshit over my glazed donut. I thought she was going to claw my eyes out, trying to get to it . . . so I was nice and shared a little piece with her, figuring she would discover it wasn't meat and move on with her little cat life. Nope! This only fueled the fire. Has anyone else ever encountered a cat who loved donuts like that? I was seriously confused . . .
In other news, our landlord (yes, the same one who created the birdseed mess all over our apartment while we were away on vacation, and then didn't bother to clean it up) decided to jack our rent up by nearly 15%. GRRR. While I was originally up in arms about this, it is really a blessing in disguise. I think I was more than ready to get out of the ghetto and move into a nicer area, and my landlord's dillusional thoughts regarding how much her top floor is worth pushed us to finally take that step.
After all but promising our first-born child (seriously, the new landlord is ANAL!), Wilson and I managed to snag a great duplex apartment in Brooklyn Heights . . . AKA our dream neighborhood. Now historically, I have always been very anti-broker. Let me explain for those of you who do not reside in NYC. In NYC, many people find apartments by searching on craigslist. Also in NYC, these same people end up having to pay a BROKER'S FEE . . . sometimes up to 15% of the annual rent . . . to snag an apartment which the broker simply LISTED ON A FREAKING WEBSITE. Now, as you may or may not be able to based upon my excessive use of capitalization, I am NOT okay with this. I would never in a million years pay a broker's fee to some jerk who did nothing more than post a listing on a stupid website.
However, I tend to turn homicidal at just the THOUGHT of having to search for a new apartment. So this time around I figured, "Why not hire a broker, but actually make the guy WORK for his commission?" Well, this turned out to be a brilliant plan. Wilson and I showed up at this dude's office on Saturday morning not really knowing what to expect. We talked with the guy and explained our situation and price range . . . and he managed to convince us to extend our range by an extra $100, saying that a lot of extra places would show up within that hundred dollar range. Well, I'm glad he did . . . because the first apartment that he showed us (which was in our NEW range) was a sweet duplex with a huge private outdoor area!
Ha, it was the first time he'd seen the place since it had just gone on the market; and he was CONVINCED it had to be a mistake. He kept repeating, "now don't get your hopes up quite yet. I have to check with my boss to make sure this is the correct unit, and the correct price is listed." Well, luckily enough, it was all correct . . . and after turning in more paperwork than I knew existed, we got the news today that the apartment is ours as of August 1!! YAY! I'm pretty excited to get to run along the water . . . and do some Brooklyn Bridge runs! And I'm even more excited to live in a neighborhood that DOESN'T TERRIFY ME! YAY :) Perhaps apartment karma really does exist?
Oh well. I'm off to one of my many soccer games for now! I'm aiming for at least two goals tonight . . .
Anyway, the run went really well, all things considered. My leg was a little ouchy . . . but not so much so that I had to quit. So that is DEFINITELY good news. I really felt like I had at least 2 more miles in me when we finished up, but I really didn't want to make playing soccer later in the day more painful than it had to be. Plus, the park was PACKED with obnoxious people . . . and I was a little scared I might commit homicide. So yeah. You win some, you lose some.
After our run, we stopped by our friendly (not) neighborhood Dunkin Donuts for iced coffee and donuts. We returned home with our treats, only to discover that the cat REALLY likes glazed donuts. I'm not kidding you, she was going apeshit over my glazed donut. I thought she was going to claw my eyes out, trying to get to it . . . so I was nice and shared a little piece with her, figuring she would discover it wasn't meat and move on with her little cat life. Nope! This only fueled the fire. Has anyone else ever encountered a cat who loved donuts like that? I was seriously confused . . .
In other news, our landlord (yes, the same one who created the birdseed mess all over our apartment while we were away on vacation, and then didn't bother to clean it up) decided to jack our rent up by nearly 15%. GRRR. While I was originally up in arms about this, it is really a blessing in disguise. I think I was more than ready to get out of the ghetto and move into a nicer area, and my landlord's dillusional thoughts regarding how much her top floor is worth pushed us to finally take that step.
After all but promising our first-born child (seriously, the new landlord is ANAL!), Wilson and I managed to snag a great duplex apartment in Brooklyn Heights . . . AKA our dream neighborhood. Now historically, I have always been very anti-broker. Let me explain for those of you who do not reside in NYC. In NYC, many people find apartments by searching on craigslist. Also in NYC, these same people end up having to pay a BROKER'S FEE . . . sometimes up to 15% of the annual rent . . . to snag an apartment which the broker simply LISTED ON A FREAKING WEBSITE. Now, as you may or may not be able to based upon my excessive use of capitalization, I am NOT okay with this. I would never in a million years pay a broker's fee to some jerk who did nothing more than post a listing on a stupid website.
However, I tend to turn homicidal at just the THOUGHT of having to search for a new apartment. So this time around I figured, "Why not hire a broker, but actually make the guy WORK for his commission?" Well, this turned out to be a brilliant plan. Wilson and I showed up at this dude's office on Saturday morning not really knowing what to expect. We talked with the guy and explained our situation and price range . . . and he managed to convince us to extend our range by an extra $100, saying that a lot of extra places would show up within that hundred dollar range. Well, I'm glad he did . . . because the first apartment that he showed us (which was in our NEW range) was a sweet duplex with a huge private outdoor area!
Ha, it was the first time he'd seen the place since it had just gone on the market; and he was CONVINCED it had to be a mistake. He kept repeating, "now don't get your hopes up quite yet. I have to check with my boss to make sure this is the correct unit, and the correct price is listed." Well, luckily enough, it was all correct . . . and after turning in more paperwork than I knew existed, we got the news today that the apartment is ours as of August 1!! YAY! I'm pretty excited to get to run along the water . . . and do some Brooklyn Bridge runs! And I'm even more excited to live in a neighborhood that DOESN'T TERRIFY ME! YAY :) Perhaps apartment karma really does exist?
Oh well. I'm off to one of my many soccer games for now! I'm aiming for at least two goals tonight . . .
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
MIA
Okay, so I've been MIA for a while again. Sorry about that, folks. The fact of the matter is that I am taking a week off from running, and thus . . . I don't have a whole lot to blog about.
As you may recall, I am currently suffering from death-ass-shin syndrome on my right leg. In a half-assed attempt to "fix my leg," I took a couple days off from running late last week (Friday and Saturday) . . . and then finally attempted my long run of "12 miles" on Sunday evening around 7:30 p.m. Coincidentally enough, this happened to be IMMEDIATELY after one of my soccer games (great planning there, Irish). In case anyone out there is wondering, this is a terrible, terrible idea. Do not attempt a long run after playing competitive soccer!
Anyway, long story short--my shin got so bad during the run that I practically had tears streaming down my face. Considering the horrific humidity we were up against--combined with tired legs--combined with my awful shin pain, Wilson and I quit after running just 5 miles. I was semi-convinced I would never walk again. But I did. In fact, I've even played a soccer game since then. But sadly, I have not run.
My plan is to take the week off from running (but not soccer--running on the grass is actually bearable) . . . then I will give things a go on Saturday, and attempt my long run. But until then, there will be no running for this chick. Bummer. Oh well, I guess some time off now is better than not being able to run come October 12, eh?
As you may recall, I am currently suffering from death-ass-shin syndrome on my right leg. In a half-assed attempt to "fix my leg," I took a couple days off from running late last week (Friday and Saturday) . . . and then finally attempted my long run of "12 miles" on Sunday evening around 7:30 p.m. Coincidentally enough, this happened to be IMMEDIATELY after one of my soccer games (great planning there, Irish). In case anyone out there is wondering, this is a terrible, terrible idea. Do not attempt a long run after playing competitive soccer!
Anyway, long story short--my shin got so bad during the run that I practically had tears streaming down my face. Considering the horrific humidity we were up against--combined with tired legs--combined with my awful shin pain, Wilson and I quit after running just 5 miles. I was semi-convinced I would never walk again. But I did. In fact, I've even played a soccer game since then. But sadly, I have not run.
My plan is to take the week off from running (but not soccer--running on the grass is actually bearable) . . . then I will give things a go on Saturday, and attempt my long run. But until then, there will be no running for this chick. Bummer. Oh well, I guess some time off now is better than not being able to run come October 12, eh?
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