Thunderstorms are Cool!

What a great day! So I went to see my chiropractor today (have I mentioned that she is also a runner, ran in college, for U of MN, and runs marathon, including Boston) and she looked at my foot, touched all areas that would indicate PF and in her opinion it is NOT PF. There are tons of muscles and things there and most likely it was, like I have been saying it feels like, a bruise. She said to keep icing it and take it easy….after I told her that I was taking myself off rest, she was fine with that. She did berate me a tiny bit for the heels I was wearing (but agreed they were cute) and I promised to stay off heels for a while, even this weekend when out, so it’s given more rest. Anyway, I did have them do massage and ultrasound on it too, so hopefully that all help make it better.

Also, big congrats to my friends Andy and Hugh who ran the Boston Marathon today. They both had huge PRs…hills agree with them apparently and both had times that qualify them for Boston again next year (maybe they can be convinced to come with me next year) and Andy finished only 8 minutes or so behind Lance Armstrong, without speed work and went under 3 hours for the first time.

And to make things even cooler…we are in the middle of our first thunderstorm of the year!! I love thunderstorms…and nothing like rain (and 70 degree temps) to clean up and make things green.

I’ll try to update more tomorrow night. I’m traveling for work this week out east, work things on Wednesday and Thursday and then visiting a friend over the weekend…had I been smart I would’ve gone out the weekend BEFORE and watched the marathon yesterday…so dumb somedays!!

Frustration…Resolved in 7

"It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse." - Ann Trason

So after the heel feeling OK after the 10 days rest and all that, I ran last Sunday easy, 2 miles, then biked two days, then ran Wednesday (thought I was short but maybe I wasn’t on the 3 I had mapped) and it felt good. Was going to run yesterday but weather forecast had today as better so I waited, and only biked yesterday and the heel was sore yesterday, and today…but I said enough. I’m tired of this and I don’t want to deal with it anymore. So I iced it, then I threw on running clothes and headed out. I think I had planned an easy 4…well, into the run, heel wasn’t really bothering (I have to reiterate here that I’ve never felt major pain, just a bruised feeling, kind of like I stepped really hard with it on a stone and it bruised) and as the run went on, it wasn’t hurt. Only thing that was is my cardio. My cardio has always been what keeps me going, or what tells me that I could keep going, my body, muscles, mainly legs, have always been the failure…fatigued…but the biking is building up the leg strength I think, and some of the light strength I’ve been doing, so now my cardio is down, but I’m going to build it back up because I decided today enough with the injury and I’m just going to run. Now I’m going to be smart about. I have been on light duty for 3 weeks so I’ll not run again till Tuesday, then every other day if I can manage it away (work trip this week) and slow build back on the mileage (hope to be back to 40 miles a week by end of May). Today I ran 7…and I averaged an 8:23 pace. Somehow. Maybe cardio isn’t THAT bad (this was just an easy run). I had one mile, fairly hilly one even, at 8:12 pace…and I hit the zone…that magical runner’s high place…and I went with it. That was in between miles 5 and 6…I just took off, and my legs were flying, and I felt detached from my body, and while I was only able to feel that for a few seconds before cardio gave out and I had to slow down, but still it felt simply…wonderful…

Grandma is meeting with her surgeon on the day after Mother’s day. She’s home. With an oxygen tank…hopefully all is good and things are fine for promoting surgery for her and that goes easy. I wish she would find out sooner but the surgeon is a busy man. I heart the internet…I searched him out on the hospital he works for. He’s the head of the cardiology department there. And he did his cardio thoracic residency at Johns Hopkins. If grandma has to have surgery, I want her to have the best surgeon…and he seems to be good.

Also…spring, that elusive season is finally rearing it’s head big time. Sun is out (after it looked to be a bleary day) and it’s at or close to 70. I cleaned up my balcony after my run. Cleared out the planters of the dead stuff that froze before I got it outlast year. I swept and washed the windows and now I’m sitting on my comfy chair, typing this and reading a book…soaking up the sun in a tank top and shorts. Have I mentioned that I love spring?

Running

In the hopes that one of these days spring will come (the forecast does show upper 50s into the 60s this week, I'll believe it when I see it!!) I'm posting a picture of tuplips...if I wasn't feeling so lazy right now I'd get up and take a picture of the ones I bought at Trader Joe's today (they are this color) and brought into the house to make it more spring like.

Anyway, today was D day...I had set today to get out and try a run. I decided I would do it at the gym, softer surface and guaranteed weather. Anyway, I had gotten up today with no discomfort again, so figured it was a good trial day. I started off first mile very slowly, and it felt great to be running again. I sped up on the second mile and while I felt like maybe I was noticing something, it was more of an "well, is it hurting or not" kind of thing than a yes, it's definitely complaining to me. I stopped at 2 miles, not wanting to push things too much and I jumped on the bike for an addition 45 minutes of cardio. I had already done a core workout and some yoga at home while watching Eragon (I've recently signed up on a trial deal with HBO so catching up on some things I haven't seen as of yet). After the workout I was feeling heel was bothering slightly, but not terribly. I swung by Trader Joe's on my way home too and picked up some pasta with flax and a pineapple and a few other items (including dark chocolate covered soybeans that sound healthy and yet an indulgence!!) and came home and made myself a very healthy dinner of this pasta with flax, spaghetti sauce (homemade with only a little meat, very low in fat and full of yummy for me stuff), a salad of spinach and romaine and a side of really good fruit (had forgotten about the strawberries and raspberries I bought yesterday and cut up and included some pineapple too). I'm really trying to get better. Right now I'm reading Performance Nutrition for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald and finding some very interesting yet sound advice as opposed to so much other stuff that's out there.

Anyway, little update on grandma. She's feeling better and getting over the pneumonia, but there is a meeting with the cardiologist tomorrow, basically to discuss what damage there is (she's had a leaky heart valve) and what they can do...I'm worried, but trying to keep optimistic about it.

March 31st, And We Have...

This, for a forecast:

Yes, that's a 72% chance for snow. We are getting snow right now. It's supposed to stop a bit, then really start up this afternoon with 3-6 inches likely...and then another 2-3 this evening...umm, yeah, that means we could get a total of 9 inches!! Thankfully they are usually off, but it is snowing. It is March 31st too. We have been in spring season for 10 days now. I think God forgot us here in the frozen crappy north!! Oh why do I not live where it gets warm...where the temps average in the 60s, not the 40s...(I'd prefer 70s, but even 60s would be fine at this point!!).

However, much as this forecast could make me depressed...bringing on something like Friday, thankfully it hasn't. OK, I woke up this morning, not having had QUITE enough sleep (but getting a good amount from Saturday night into Sunday morning so felt rested) and got up and got my butt to the gym. I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical to warm up and then headed to the weight room…hottie hadn’t made an appearance and I was a little bummed, but just adjusted my workout so I could strength tomorrow too in case he is there then…I’m sneaky that way!! Anyway, did my strength and then headed back up for a 45 minute bike ride…well, as I’m coming up the stairs to the cardio floor, I come to the mat pretty much right at the top of the stairs and who should be stretching there…I was slightly shocked and a little thrilled cause he had turned his head and looked right at me and I started my, hey how are you smile, that I tend to reserve for people I know, and stopped myself last minute cause hey, I don’t know him and you know, that shyness thing hitting…he looked so hot too…I think I’ve determined another thing though…I’m assuming he’s a fairly serious biker (one day I saw him in a bike shirt) and I am pretty sure I was noticing shaved legs…which made me start thinking…hmm…I wonder if he’s a tri guy…if so…that would mean he’s in the pool some days too right?? Hmm…I sooo need to see him in the pool!! Might be time to start morning swims!! (maybe that’s where he is mornings I don’t see him!!) Regardless of the fact that I’ll never talk to him, he still brightened what is otherwise looking to be a crappy day (weatherwise that is, due to the weather I’m going to have to put off my trip to the chiro as traffic is just going to suck). In his honor, I’ve put up a couple of pictures…he reminds me of someone, but I have yet to determine who…this pic of James Marsden kind of reminds me of him in the eyes…and Johnny because my hottie has, believe it or not, even nicer cheekbone structure, (think that’s what draws to his eyes)…And finally, my favorite hottie, even though I had to remove him from my list since he’s now married…Ah Matt…I still love you!!!

Oh, and yeah, heel still bothering, I skipped a run, did only 35 minutes of bike (when I saw hottie decided I could do some ab work before he left so I could stare a bit longer) and might go back and do a bit more today. I have determined where my heel hurts though, and really don't think it can be PF. It's a spot at the back of the heel...and I can fully find the hot spot and push on it...wonder if a massage would help...