Typical Friday Night

I'm getting sleepy and it's only 8:15. I woke up super early this morning (4am) to get a swim and a new spin class in before school. The new spin class was awesome. The instructor was great. I might keep going. I just wish it was a little later, but it is what it is. He teaches Wed too. I don't know if I can get up at 4am on a Wed. The only reason I can on Fridays is because I know I don't have to set the alarm Saturday morning. We'll see how long I can keep it up. Thursday:

• Yoga
• 3 x [5min walk, 5 min run] - lame but no pain

Friday:

• Swim (no workout in particular, just laps)
• Spin (1 hour)
• Push-up Challenge

I don't have anything planned this weekend except studying for a test on Monday. No fun. Sunday I have a run planned. Can I actually call it a run when I know I have to incorporate walking?

I picked up some good CD's from the library to download.

Fiona Apple - "Tidal" (I used to have this one, but lost it before I tunes existed)

Ingrid Michaelson - "Be Ok" (LOVE LOVE LOVE IT)

Pink - "I'm not dead" (major bust. I like her newer stuff ay better. I probably wont even download this one)



Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope (highly recommended)

Corinne Bailey Rae - (mellow, recommend it)

Nighty Night.

Meltdown

So for two days I have been trying to figure out how to get my freakin' wireless signal back. My nightly ritual (when hubby is in debtors prison) is to lounge on the couch watching my tv shows while surfing the Internet and reading blogs. Last night when I turned on the laptop I had no signal. Not a weak signal, but NO signal. wtf? Ok, fine whatev. It will come back later. Not last night it didn't. So tonight expecting it to be miraculously fixed I turned on the computer. nothing. wtf? I pulled out my router box with all the directions/passwords etc. and started troubleshooting. (thank goodness we have a desktop too - and thank goodness that never quit working). Anyways, about an hour and a couple of meltdowns later I finally figured out what the problem was. There is a stupid hidden switch that I somehow flipped and it turned of the wireless capability. Damn you sony. Why would you hide something so significant to the operation of my laptop. Was that really necessary? So this week is going fabutasitc. Eating well - check. Working out - check. I also got clearance from my PT to start that Pfitz 'returning from injury' 7week program. Monday: Sweet swim workout (2200m) Push-up challenge Tuesday: Walk 10, Run 5, Walk 5, Run 5 - (10min running total) Pilates workout that killed my arms last week. I'm going to try to do it every week - it's too good not to. Wednesday: laxidazical swim workout - warm up, 2x400, 2x200,cool down (~1200m) Push-up challenge

Weight Goal

I forgot one of the biggest reasons why I was posting today - My new weight goal. Duh! Helloooo. So now that I am off the pity party and back on the working out wagon, I thought I should check the damage and weight myself. Much to my surprise it was 141.5. Not bad. I thought it would be much worse. I feel heavier and bloated. So I started tracking my meals on this awesome website to monitor myself. I figure it should take 7 weeks to get to my goal weight which incidentally is the exact same amount of time I am using as my 'rehab' schedule from here. the totals work out to 1.5 lbs a week. Do you guys think that's healthy? It's not like I'll be starving myself, but if I am working out regularly and fueling properly. I thought about doing 1 lb a week too? Both would give great results. Comments?

Swim

As See Jess Run mentioned, I think the January gym rats have left the building. This morning I did a sweet 2200 meter workout that the masters class left on the board (from last night) and I had a lane to myself THE WHOLE TIME! There is a big white board by the pool that the masters class follows with three workouts usually ranging from 4500 - 2200 meters. Obviously I do the easiest one. Usually I start out doing the workout and then somewhere between the warm-up and cool-down I lose interest and just start doing my own thing and I HATE when I do that. I really need to start following a workout start to finish. I love my morning swims - There is something really rewarding about burning a few hundred calories before most people even wake. I am also learning how to play racquetball. It is fun, but it's for a PE class and as I knew would happen, I got stuck with a girl that has absolutely no hand-eye coordination and wont even run after the ball. IT SUCKS. What's the point? Seriously, it's like high school PE all over again. I tried to get out of taking a PE by using my training for the Seattle Marathon as a substitution but the Dean of "Movement Studies"(yes, that's actually what they are calling PE) was a total bitch and we didn't hit it off very well. Obviously it didn't go my way because here I am. I'll save that story another post....Anyways, one of my girlfriends used to be an avid racquetball player so she can school me until I am up to speed. Happy Monday!!

"test" run

So, good news. I went to the track this morning and did 1 mile pain free. Before I left my house I used the foam roller and stretched a ton. I was super nervous about this measly mile. You would have thought I was running a mile race. I got to the track and walked a lap. Then I did just as the doctor ordered: walk the corners, run the straights. After the first lap I was expecting the pain to start every time I ran, but it never did. WooHoo. It was so hard to hold myslef back, but I kept to the plan and forced myslef to walk. I have another appointment with the PT on Tuesday. I am excited to report the good news and see what I can do next. I came across a couple* of articles that spell out what to do after an injury. It looks like a long SLOW road to recovery, but to be honest, after seing some of the patients at the PT's office - I am VERY LUCKY! I am still nervous of course about every run in my near future, but today was a major step in the right direction! *check out that 7 week Pfitz training plan...

Let's Get It On

I had a half way decent week workout wise. Still not running but I get to tomorrow. More about that later.

I finally went to the gym this week and got some workouts in. It feels really good to sweat and work again.

Monday: President’s day – worked on homework all day

Tuesday: Had lunch with one of my girlfriends whom I hadn’t talked to in a couple of months. We sat in a café for 3 ½ hours catching up. It was great. She’s one of my triathlete girls. We met last year in the pool, clicked right away, and became good friends fast. Last year we were able to do some open water swim workouts together and of course we run together. However, she does road triathlons and I have only participated in off-road events so we have never actually raced together.

I also did a spin class which was sweet then after a Pilates class that absolutely kicked my ass. I think we did about 200 bicep curl variations (no exaggeration!) and let me tell you for two days I only had about 30% range in my arm mobility. Seriously-killer-workout. Of course I will go again! I also met one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in real life. She was drop dead gorgeous – and to top it off super nice. I think I have a girl crush. I hope she will be there again this Tuesday. Stalker.

Wednesday: Swim in the AM. I did not do any workout in particular. It was the first time I had swum (swum: is that past tense for swim?) in a couple of weeks. The last time I had to use the pull buoy the whole time and let’s face it – who wants to do that? Not me! I couldn’t even do flip turns because I could feel it in my knee. It felt great. No pains. 1hr total, but probably about 45-50mintues less breaks.

Thursday: I was going to do Yoga, but this was the day my arms really started hurting and I didn’t think there was any way I could do it. This Yoga class’ instructor is a runner and she does a good job keeping my muscles engaged. My poor little arms could not have taken it! I did go to the PT though. More about that in a minute.

Friday: AM Swim. I went to Port Angeles again to see my hubby. Yay!! It was fantastic. We were able to rent a room and spend the night together. What! What!

Saturday/Today: Tired out from last night!

Saturday morning before leaving Port Angeles So the plan tomorrow is to go back to the track and do 1mile. Run the straights, walk the corners. It’s a start. I really really hope my knee is well. Last time I tried this I ran once around and had to stop around 350meters. Cross your fingers. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Funkdified

Thank-you for all the kind words you guys left for me regarding my last couple of posts. It did make me feel better to have some positive feedback. I have also enjoyed reading about all your running endeavors this week despite my setback. So it has been 1 day short of a week since I have bothered to blog. I wanted to spare you all, because I have had nothing worthwhile to report about. As a result, I have spent the last three days in a drunken overeaten stupor. So it’s been a week of stretching and icing the IT band. I have also been going to the PT for those crazy therapy sessions. Today he actually had me sweat which felt great. 10 minutes on the bike, 7 minutes on the stair stepper. I forgot how good it felt to sweat! So here is the short story of my week: Wednesday: Felt depressed all day. In a funk Thursday: Still in a funk. Can’t seem to think about anything but running. Went back to the PT. Met with a foot specialist to learn more about the supination issue and discuss the possibility of orthotics. Friday: went to Trader Joe’s to stock up on 2-buck-chuck for the weekend. Started drinking around 4:00. Polished off a bottle of wine. Yay me! Saturday: mustered up some drive to do schoolwork. Started drinking around 4:00. Polished off yet another bottle of wine. Yay me! Sunday: mustered up more drive to do schoolwork. Started drinking…you get the picture. Monday: I was supposed to go for a swim today, but woke up with a 3 day binge drinking hangover. Ouch. Why did I do that to myself? No swim. Went back to the PT and sweated out some wine. So now, it’s a new week and I am feeling better about my knee. And let’s face it – even if I can’t start running within the next couple of weeks, eventually I will be able to run and I don’t want to have to lug around another 20lbs with me. I have to stay on top of this. So this is my workout schedule for the week: M – Swim – Crap! It’s too late for that. T - Spin class, Core* W – Swim Th – Yoga* F – Spin class, Pilates *I also need to incorporate the stair machine for my upcoming event. So there it is. No more self-pity. I know it happens, but I have snapped out of it thank GOD. Or let's hope

heartbroken

So, I just got back from the PT's office again. They figured out that my left foot supinates more than my right and to compensate, when my foot pushes off the ground I am torquing my knee. This would explain why I get such vicious blisters on the outer ball of my left foot. Viscous blisters! They also figured out that my left leg is about 1/8" shorter than my right. Who knew. So, now we have to figure out how to correct it. I am going back on Friday to see another specialist and to talk about the possibility of orthotics. So in response - I am drinking tonight. Will I ever be able to run long distances again? I am trying to stay positive, but I am feeling heartbroken. I went to the track on Sunday and made it around once before I started feeling the onset of pain. I stopped immediately. I wish I could just get steroid injections like A-Rod.

Date Night - for the Twilight fans out there

Yesterday afternoon I drove up to Port Angeles to have a date with my hubby. His ship goes there for bunkers (feul). It's about a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive, but well worth it of course. Usually I get to board the ship and stay the night, but they were leaving too early this morning so I just drove home last night. So we had our Valentines dinner.... So, this is for all you Twilight fans. I was reluctant to read the series but I did and it was pretty weird becuase I knew so much about the locations she wrote about. Specifically the restuaruant Edward and Bella went to on their first day. This is my husbands favorite restuarant to eat at when he's working, and whenever I come to visit in PA we always go there. So I snapped a picuture. I only took a couple outside because it's very small and I didn't want to irritate the other patrons. It's funny because since the book came out they've had a ton of tourists and they even did some upgrading to the interior. New paint, new lighting etc...Before it was just a small aged Italian resturant. I guess they had to up thier game.

The best mussels in the world - Penn Cove Mussels (from Bella Italia)

Ok, the second part of this post I wanted to show you that patch I was talking about. This is what I left the PT's office with. That knob in the middle is something they used to hook up a little piece of technogy for a few mintues to "jump start" the IB into my skin. Weird.

I was going to try my 3 mile run today, but I have decided to wait until tomorow. I figure 1 more day of rest will not hurt, plus since I drove up to PA yesterday I didn't get a chance to ice or stretch. I will be home all day to do that today.

I have also pretty much given up on my weight loss goal for now. There is no way I can achieve it since I have not been able to run. It's cool. I've accepted it. I will pick up where I left off once I get to start running again. I'll be happy just to hold steady until then.

So, I just got back from the PT and first off, I would just like to say God bless America and our medical technology. Seriously, am I that ignorant that I had no idea they could do that kind of stuff. They did an electromagnetic ultrasound something or other that basically shot hot heat waves into my knee. Crazy. I even left with a patch that will slowly release ibuprofen and Dextra-something into my skin for the next two hours. After poking and prodding around my knee he thinks it’s my IT band. He also showed me this weird swelling pocket that moved around my knee area. Freaky. He also got me thinking that maybe it’s time for new shoes? It sounds stupid, like duh, I know how often I’m supposed to change my shoes, but is it time? I think maybe. So these are the Dr’s orders:

• Take ibuprofen (1800mg/day)
• Ice
• Stretch (he showed me a new one)
• Foam roller (2 x 2 min)

All about 3x a day. This sounds pretty routine, but I will do it religiously....

He told me to run on Saturday on FLAT surface. That is a problem because it's hard to find flat surface around here. You can't go more than a couple of miles without hitting some monstrous hill. Sounds like an exaggeration, but it's really not. I will have to go to the track. I will shoot for 3 miles nice and easy.

I'm off to the Physical Therapist

So, I made an appointment to go get my knee checked out. It has been a nagging pain that actually started around mile 16 of my marathon in November. It just came back last week and I want to nip it in the bud before it really screws me up. But before I head out to see what the diagnosis is I want to share the funniest pictures from an email I got. It was titled: "When Someone Steals Your Kodak Moment" Anybody having a beach wedding this year…? Enjoy!

Puget Sound

Today I took the ferry to West Seattle to visit a girlfriend. It was a beyond gorgeous day -55 and sunny. I took some pictures but my camera is on the verge of shittin’ the bed and there are some weird-black-sperm looking spots on the photos. It has been doing this the last couple of times I used it so before heading home I stopped at Costco and got a new one. I tried to pick the best ones….Bear with me, the next ones will be better, I promise.

On the way out...

On the ferry...I look like a dork....it was windy....

Reading material on the ferry for our next road trip

View of Downtown from Alki

Alki Beach

the land in the distance is my home - Gig Harbor

The Big Climb

So I just registered for the Big Climb. 69 flights of stairs - 1,311 steps with 788ft of vertical elevation. It’s pretty popular here in Seattle and I think some of you have done it, but it’s the first time I’ll be doing it. I’m doing it with a team called “the Brady Bunch” named after the sweetest little baby just born into the family a couple of weeks ago. It’s gonna be fun…and hard as hell!! I am having some weird knee thing going on. It’s not the usual IT band issue. It seems different. I don’t know where it came from because I was sick for a week and didn’t run so I know it’s not from overworking. When I ran Thursday night I felt it and then I ran a 5miler Saturday morning and I felt it again. It wasn’t excruciating or anything, but somethings not right. I have been icing the hell out of it and using the foam roller, but I don’t know…I guess we will see Tuesday night. I have the name of a good PT, just in case. I won’t hesitate to go get it checked out. I have too many goals this year for a nuisance injury to be tagging along.