« April 2005 | Main | June 2005 »
May 31, 2005
Price is Right
Today I had to drag out the suit. I had an interview for a fall internship and it looks like I got the job. I am super excited for this one. AND, I walked there. I have completely put everything I need within walking distance of my apt. However, my future boss did say parking was available and that it might be a good idea to have it in case of bad winter weather. I was like, oh, good idea, plus I get hurt a lot. She didn’t think that was weird. It turns out she used to run too and has had bunion surgery and toe surgery. We have so much in common! (I haven’t had bunion surgery, but do have the bunion).
I finally motivated to run late afternoon. I ran 25 minutes. I was aiming for a T station. It was like the Price is Right. In the Price is Right you want to get as close as possible without going over. I wanted to get a T station as far away as possible-without being unable to get home before my 25 minute running limit was up-in which case I would be unable to count the T station...AND, I set my sights too high. I did a loop run and miscalculated and had to walk the last ¾ of a mile home. No T station today.
I decided my calf is better but I am out of running shape-which at this point I’ll definitely take. The knee was fine.
I did a wardrobe change out of running shorts to longer, gym acceptable length shorts and then biked over to the gym to lift. (Do other people wear running shorts at the gym-when they aren't on the treadmill?) Now I have knee exercises on the schedule for later tonight. Oh yes, when I got ready to go for my run I thought, wow, my sneakers are super squishy. I guess that's what happens when you mindlessly put all of the pairs of orthotics you own (2 per shoe) in each sneaker.
Posted by Audrey at 08:07 PM | Comments (3)
May 30, 2005
Maine and CD Flushing
Maine was fabulous. It was my first time there. I enjoyed the water (looking at it), the trees, and the chilly temperatures. I also enjoyed being a part of a little family. My friend’s parents, sisters, a brother-in-law, a grandmother, and two outsiders (myself and another friend) were all there. We had meals together and played games together at night and talked to each other and shared reading material. It was really cute. They also completely ridiculed my bed making skills which are seriously lacking (who knew there were so many steps??) and which would completely mortify my mother if she knew another mother found out I was so bad at it! I did go for a walk by myself this morning during my normal running time. I wanted to get out of the house for a bit and sit by the water. I also chatted running with one of the sisters. She is getting more seriously into running and wanted to specifically talk about 1) half marathon training and 2) knee pain. Unfortunately, those are BOTH topics I can speak to. I am very excited for her though that she has caught the running bug. It was weird, her family was like, she gets up early, she eats healthy, and she is a work-out freak. I was like, hey cool, she sounds like me!!! Though I think she does get up even earlier than me and I did have to tell her family I had posted an entire blog entry that day about peanut butter. She was also very upset about her knee to which I can sympathize greatly.
Also, it’s amazing what stays with you. I have the weirdest memories. When I was 8 my family lived in an apartment and I remember my Dad once being annoyed that the neighbors asked him to turn down his music. We moved into a house soon after that and never had that problem again. However, to this day, every time I have my stereo on in my apartment I always think-is it too loud? Am I annoying my neighbors? Why would THAT little tiny thing stick with me all these years?
Speaking of music, my friend heard that if you flush a scratched CD (it’s too big to go down) it will stop skipping. Has ANYONE else heard this and/or tried it? I am hesitant to flush my CDs-though since they skip I guess no harm will be done...hmm....
Posted by Audrey at 09:54 PM | Comments (2)
May 29, 2005
Peanut Butter Runner
I absolutely would have entitled this blog the Peanut Butter Runner if Jon hadn’t cornered the market with the Chocolate Runner's Blog. (You may have to press Refresh on your sceen after clicking on the link...not sure why). I did mention to him, however, that I would have to have a peanut butter day.
I eat the stuff once or twice a day. I consider myself an expert on peanut butter. I recently had to fill out a food questionnaire for a research study and at the time I was eating predominantly (I exaggerate a bit) yogurt/milk/cheese (a girl needs her calcium!), peanut butter, and Luna Bars. :) I usually go for the chunky organic peanut butter but in an emergency I will eat any kind. Anyone else not feel full after eating cereal with skim milk? Try a bagel with peanut butter and banana (cut up on the bagel). It’s my favorite breakfast and perfect for when you are training hard. If you're worried about calories, eat half. What is NOT acceptable is fake peanut butter. It’s called something like, “Better than Peanut Butter.” It has less fat in it-but is not good AT ALL, and you have to eat 4 times as much to be satisfied. Stay away…
Here is all the different ways I have found to eat peanut butter:
On waffles/pancakes
On bagels
On bananas
On apples
On graham crackers
On Triscuits
PB&J
Mixed with chocolate chips
In cookies
In Reeses
Straight out of the jar (perfect accompaniment to web surfing)
With cereal mixed in it (esp. Frosted Mini Wheats)
On pretzels
With granola
(PB and celery just does NOT appeal to me.)
There is a peanut butter store/restaurant in Greenwhich Village, NY, I plan to go to the next time I am in NY:
http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com/
This morning I went running for 20 minutes (T). Everything felt okay and truth be told I thought more about my calf than my knee. It was okay though. I don’t know if I was excited about running in the morning or if it was simply that I had slept in the day before, but I slept horribly and was lying in bed waiting for it to be morning. Maybe I should have just gone running at midnight so I could have relaxed and gotten a decent nights sleep :) At times like this I am not sure I would want my kid to run. I mean, if you read my blog I am a mess! Maybe I was this crazy about soccer. It's hard to remember exactly how I felt. (If I had a blog then I could check, but alas, that was before I knew about the internet and way before blogging.) I also did my knee exercises and some core stuff. Now I am icing as I blog.
At 9 AM I am headed into the wilderness (kind of). My friend has a “Camp” in Maine (I think that means rustic rural house near water of some kind) and we are spending two days there doing…I am not sure. I think relaxing a lot. I can’t wait to get out of the city and truth be told I need distraction from (still) thinking about my leg. Happy Memorial Day all…and have some peanut butter.
Oh, I do have to share one last story. My friend is running the Vermont City marathon today. I think she is hoping to qualify for Boston...the last marathon she ran (2004) she missed by two seconds: 3:41:01 It broke all of our hearts-it still breaks mine to think about it. I don't think she reads this blog but I am putting the good luck vibes out there into cyberspace....
Posted by Audrey at 07:20 AM | Comments (3)
May 28, 2005
Medical Ranting Woes
I went to the doctor last week. As I mentioned before, my sports doc is NOT good. He doesn’t remember anything about me and he must not read my chart before he comes in. He asked, “What do you mean your knee has been bothering you for a year?” I mean, come on, that is WHY (well one of the big reasons) I go see him. I don’t think I have a choice in who I see either. I hate my student health insurance which also doesn’t cover orthotics which are super pricey too. I am definitely going to get a second opinion about my knee in DC this summer (I get 3 out of plan visits/year).
Anyway, he said that sometimes there can be scar tissue in your knee which causes pain. I mean, my leg doesn’t hurt a lot, but with every single step (walking steps) I know something is not right. He said he wouldn’t recommend surgery unless I couldn’t do the things I wanted. So now I am faced with the questions of-where is that line of when can I not do what I want? I can’t elliptical-but is ellipticalling crucial to my well-being? Or can I elliptical and the weird twinge I feel is not a big deal? Can I hike? Is swimming bothering my knee? The answer to all of this is I can do these things b/c there is no excruciating pain, but there is a very small ache and things aren’t “quite right” either during or at the end of the activities. So I do go for surgery and hope for completely normal activities (and by that I mean my right knee feels the same as my left)-or do I not do surgery b/c that’s just not a good idea (my surgeries always end up infected) and hey, it doesn’t hurt that much so why mess with it? I just like to compete and workout hard, and I hate the idea of always working out super carefully and not pushing myself b/c I am afraid my knee might hurt. Has anyone else has surgery on their knee and had a good (or bad) result?
I think for now the plan is just try to ease back into running and see how that goes. I was able to in the fall so I am hopeful I can again now. We shall see…but I have to admit-I am getting pretty close to my limit of not being able to do what I want to do.
I biked around inside and outside for a while. Maybe 40 minutes. I know, it’s silly I was biking inside when it is finally gorgeous here. I had gone to the gym to try out the elliptical and decided biking felt “less weird” on my knee so did that instead…………arrrrggghhhhh…..
On a better note, this is the first summer I have been able to run in 2 years. In July 2003 and June 2004 I had big toe surgery. But I had an x-ray of my foot in January and it appears the problem has [finally] not returned… fun times.
Posted by Audrey at 04:56 PM | Comments (1)
May 27, 2005
Who Misses Being Single?
For those blog readers who are coupled, let me tell you what you are missing. These are the things that were said to my friend (a girl) and I last night:
*Hey, how are you doing? I totally remember you from the last time I saw you here with my sister. (Oldest pick-up line in the book-aka “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”)
*My friend is wearing a wedding ring but he is totally not married. It’s just for fun.
*I’ll buy you a shot if you two kiss (the bouncer says this).
*Can I buy you a drink? I’m sorry, that is the lamest pick up line ever. (Actually, we liked this one best!)
So there you have it. A look into the life of a singleton. Fun times, right?
I actually did have a fun time last night. We went to some bars I haven’t been to before and we got a little dressed up so it was nice.
As for exercise today, I ran 16 minutes straight to pick up my car. THIS is why I love running. No other cross-training workout is as hard as running. None. I only ran 16 minutes and was sweaty, hot, and pretty gross. I finally felt like I had worked out. Then, I had to quickly shower and change to head out to dinner and ended up blow drying my hair, which is hot too. I was still sweating. You know that feeling? When you are still sweating from working out even after showering but you are getting dressed b/c you need to be somewhere (work, school, out) right away? I was so psyched to finally have that sweating gross feeling back!!! It totally made me feel like a runner.
Everything felt okay on my run. The calf did not bother me (there were even hills involved) and the knee felt the same as when I walk around. I can’t ask for more than that. The only problem was I found out after my run I needed to be somewhere downtown half an hour later. This meant no quality icing time. Well, I guess my ice pack had to come with me to dinner. But when I go out at night (I thought there may be bars involved) I try not to bring anything valuable. This means only one credit card, the minimum number of keys, and limited cash. But now I was risking taking my ice pack with me?? (I love my ice pack-it stays cold for 8 hours). Also, I needed reading material for the T. I wanted to read the new Runners World-but what if I lost that?? So I ended up bringing this “classic” book which I hate that I almost hope to lose. Anyway, suffice to say I returned home with everything in tact. It wasn’t that kind of crazy night! And I ended up beating my friends to the restaurant after all that and iced while I waited for them. It was cool b/c they are all runners themselves and also know I am often on the disabled list :) When they walked in they didn’t freak out and assume I was crippled when they saw the ice pack. It was just like, oh, of course Audrey’s injured and icing! (I broke out the ice pack again at the second place we went and they were more impressed it was still cold than embarrassed by me!)
I wore a school shirt today, but it was for a college I didn’t attend and have no real connection to. It wasn’t as fun as wearing my own stuff. Tomorrow I will have to revert back to my own school and race t-shirts.
Posted by Audrey at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
May 26, 2005
Swimming Faux Pas
Over the past two days I have spent most of my time walking around in the rain. I walked to work/gym (same building), my other work, school, home, to the pool, to school, home. For most of my walking it was pouring rain. The winds were so strong they broke my umbrella. Then I was just walking in the pouring rain and it was me vs. the elements. All of my sneakers are wet and it is impossible to wear pants to work that aren’t black b/c they would look ridiculous with water stains all over them. I can’t go get my dry cleaning b/c it will just get rained on, but that’s okay b/c it consists of khaki pants I can’t wear anyway. I have to go get my car but I am putting it off until tomorrow so I can run to the dealer instead of walking in the cold rain. I am completely walked out.
I seriously lack pool etiquette. Actually, I don’t know what was going on, but I assume it must have been me. For starters, I was in the wrong lane. I was in the “slow” lane and I am more of a “medium” swimmer. I chose that lane though b/c it was the only one with a single person (the others all had two people in them) in it and I am hardly fast so it seemed appropriate enough. In retrospect, though, I am second guessing what was the least bad thing to do-add a third person to a lane at an appropriate speed or get in the wrong speed lane? The second issue is that the woman I was sharing a lane with got out and a guy got in. The woman and I had been splitting the lane-but the guy seemed INTENT on circle swimming. So I was splitting the lane and he was circle swimming so I think we were just frustrating each other-or at least he was frustrating me-until I figured out what he must have been doing and switched. Isn’t it weird to circle swim with just two people? I didn’t like it. It seemed silly. However, I may have been the one breaking the pool rules. Who knows?
As an FYI, if anyone lives in Boston you can go to the MIT pool for free tomorrow. It’s the end of National Employee Health and Fitness Week. Just bring a business card. Did I mention the pool facilities are beautiful?? I imagine the rest of it is too but Becky can speak more to that.
The swimming was good. It took a while to get there and back (the pool close to my apt is closed this week) and I was exhausted when I started b/c I lifted upper body yesterday afternoon. But after a few minutes all was good.
Again, I am a walking billboard. I was wearing all clothing from different schools I attended-and none the same school as yesterday: a sweatshirt from a college where I took a couple of summer classes, sweatpants from my grad school, and a t-shirt from my HS. If you let me go to school somewhere I will apparently wear your clothes forever. I still have a t-shirt from middle school. Maybe I will break it out tomorrow to keep the streak up. I think that may be it though.
Posted by Audrey at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2005
Jerry Maguire
Here is what my return to running has looked like:
4X Walk 4, run 2
Rest
3X Walk 4, run 3
Rest
3X Walk 3, run 4
Rest
4X Walk 1, run 4
Rest
2X Walk 2, run 8 (Today)
There has been some cross-training in there in the form of outside biking. lifting, core stuff, and swimming.
Boston is having record low temperatures and it has been raining for about 2 weeks. My options today were walking home from the car dealership in the cold rain (and run at the gym later) or just run home. I chose the latter. The weather left a lot to be desired. I also looked like a billboard for my undergrad. I had on the shorts and because of the rain I threw on a visor with my school logo on it while running out the door. My calf still freaks me out b/c it doesn’t feel perfect. But it doesn’t hurt. So I will continue on.
I went to the doctor yesterday for a follow-up visit. I learned nothing new.
I had a Jerry Maguire moment in the middle of the night last night. I figured out what I want to do with myself.
Earlier this week I received this link from someone in my running club:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,2763,1457570,00.html
The gist of the story is that women in Pakistan who are running in races are being attacked. It is unclear from the article exactly why the women were being attacked, but it has something to do with men and women racing together. It appears to be an extension of the gender segregation in the country.
I want to do human rights work. It’s not that I think being able to run is the most important thing in the world-but I do think the inequalities that prevent people from participating are the most fundamental things in the world. For years I “cared” about inequalities. We have all studied them. I can list them. I have experienced them on a small level. But somehow, I didn’t get it enough, and I didn’t act on my feelings. What finally reached me was the article on running. That’s kind of ridiculous, and I am embarrassed about that, but I am grateful something finally did reach me. Receiving the article coincided with the start of a friendship with one my classmates from Iraq, and I have been thinking a lot about the role of women in his country. I do have a more defined career path in mind, but that will take more than one rambling blog entry for me tease out. Yeah sports.
Posted by Audrey at 11:06 AM | Comments (3)
May 24, 2005
Why So Hard to Blog?
I’ve been trying to write this blog entry for at least ½ an hour and keep starting over. I am going to have to leave it as is for now. The day was busy with work and appointments. Interesting things did happen to me, even related to working out, that I am not sure are internet worthy or of any remote interest to anyone else. I just can’t decide what I want to write. That is very strange, but at this point I have to move on with my night :) As some of the other elitebloggers have mentioned about an occasional entry of theirs, I guess this is my first uninspired post. How sad! 8 minutes elliptical. Abs class. Lots of walking.
Posted by Audrey at 07:44 PM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2005
Ben and Jerry's
Where were you at 10:30 last night? I was at the supermarket tracking down Ben and Jerry’s Frozen Yogurt. I have been craving ice cream for a week (I ran out of all things chocolate and peanut butter during finals) but never felt like leaving my apt to go get it. However, last night I was already out and was basically like, enough is enough, I NEED ice cream. Once home, I decided I would see just how much a serving of ice cream actually is (as I mentioned in an earlier post, you can’t let me get bored…). I would like to ask, who actually eats just one serving of ice cream?? It’s like A spoonful. Why don’t apples taste like chocolate? It’s a cruel twist of fate...
Last night I was in charge of calling my friend who was on a first date. The guy invited her over to his apt to cook dinner. She told me she was happy to go-but it did sound sketchy. I was supposed to call at an appointed time to check in. I did, she informed me she was not drugged and/or dead, and we had a very awkward conversation in which she could only answer yes/no questions. :) She has done the same for me. I was going running with a guy I didn’t know at all and I was supposed to e-mail when I got back to ensure he didn’t drag me off in the woods. Obviously, all was good.
Today: 4X (Run 4 minutes, 1 walk). Since I already added an extra day of lesser mileage (um, maybe “minutes running” is a more accurate phrase than “mileage”) than the schedule I found calls for I decided to cut the walk breaks by two thirds (they were supposed to be 3 minutes each). I figured (and by that I mean guessed) the main damage when you are building up like this comes from the pounding from running, not from how long the walking recovery is. I kept the one minute of walking in b/c that time is supposed to be “good for evaluating how you feel.” I buy that.
Tonight I am going to see Crash with some public health girls. It was recommended to them by their “violence” professor. Over spring break we watched a movie on the tobacco settlement recommended by our “law” professor. Yeah, we’re fun. I know.
Posted by Audrey at 11:46 AM | Comments (3)
May 22, 2005
“Just Finishing Up my Warmup”
I usually don’t have problems getting motivated to workout and I am guessing most people reading this are pretty self-motivated as well. However, I still have my moments and this morning I was thrilled (though not as I heard the alarm-but the glad feeling returned a few moments later) to be meeting Becky. I was out late Friday and Saturday nights and it was hard to motivate to swim. It was early (I was meeting her at 9 so I guess not that early), I had to go somewhere else besides immediately outside to exercise, and it was not my beloved running. Becky commented that she was also forcing herself to cross-train today instead of running. [I would like to briefly commend us on our smartness!] However, as is usually the way of things I was very happy once I was moving and out of the house. I love being up early and starting my day with exercise. AND, MIT has the most beautiful swimming facilities I have ever used. Becky was disappointed the 50 m lanes were being used for a swim meet, and we were relegated to the 25 m lanes, but I was secretly a little happy because I didn’t realize until today how long 50 m is! The pool is scary long. The point of all of this rambling is that the exercise tip they give everyone-make plans with a friend to keep you on track and accountable-definitely worked for me this morning.
I swam for 30 minutes, mostly with the pull buoy. I think the flutter kick might bother my knee so I am experimenting with different things this week to see what is good and not good for it. There is also definitely no breast stroke kick. THAT is the worst thing I can do for my knee.
THIS is why Becky is so hard core. I had to meet someone at 10:30. “Hey Becky, I’m headed out. How much longer is your workout?” –“Oh, I am actually still finishing up my warm-up. I’m not sure.” Her warm-up was longer than my workout?!? If that isn't the most fitting way to say good-bye to Becky as she heads to NY later this week I don't know what is!! BYYYEEE!!!!
Posted by Audrey at 04:02 PM | Comments (2)
May 21, 2005
3X Walking/Running
First things first. I want to congratulate Leilani for using the words “placebo effect” in a blogging comment. Unanticipated, and impressive.
This morning, after rehydrating slightly from last night, I went to the gym for my usual Saturday morning core class. Then I did some monster biking around the city. My cousin is graduating today from college and I figured, if she is anything like most college kids, she NEEDS work clothing. So I got her a gift certificate to Banana Republic. I also returned the too big sneakers I bought. I won’t say that having a bike has saved me money, since I did have to buy the bike, but now that I have it I get a kick out of avoiding paying for parking around the city-though depending on the time of day you may be taking your life in your own hands.
In the afternoon I went run/walking. 3X (walk 3 minutes, run 4 minutes). The schedule called for 4X, but I decided doubling my minutes running since my last session wasn’t the best idea in the world. When I ramp up too quickly I get this pain in the top of my right foot (not a stress fracture, it’s been checked in the past) and I have to start all over again. So I decided to be conservative. Everything felt good during the run. Running actually felt hard, even for 4 minutes! But it was such a novelty to be running again. I loved it. It was raining. I felt hard core.
Since I am making a fresh start to running here are the new rules I am setting for myself:
-don’t run with other people if they are too fast for me
-don’t race too often
-this one is boring b/c it is everyone’s rule…DON'T INCREASE INTENSITY AND MILEAGE (AND HILLWORK) AT THE SAME TIME. Yes, I know better. Yes, I do it all the time.
-take a rest day after every long run (at the very least a rest from running)
k, these are my rules, and I am sticking to ‘em.
I haven’t made my summer schedule/goals/plans because I want to see how the return to running goes before I get excited…
Posted by Audrey at 04:55 PM | Comments (1)
May 20, 2005
Good/Bad Wellness Day
Good Wellness Things About Today
-Healthy Food for Lunch
-Vitamins
-Lifting Upper Body
-Light Biking Around Town
-30 Min Swimming
-Put on sunscreen
Neutral (I refuse to put this on the good list b/c I only have to do them b/c i am broken!)
-Icing Knee
-Neproxen
Bad
-Going to a party later :)
I met the nicest woman at the pool. We were sharing a lane and we are about the same age and it turns out she works at my school and we have the same interests as far as what we want to study. It was cool meeting her swimming laps.
I also got three movies:
-In Good Company
-Let's Talk About Sex (It's a Golden Globe Nominee!)
-Meet the Fockers
I ran some errands. Made some appointments for next week. I figure an oil change once a year is good, yes? Cleaned my apartment. It has been a good day.
Oh yeah, the elliptical kind of hurts my knee. Anyone else? I know Becky mentioned to me that kind of bothers her knee as well. That's a bummer, but I am going to avoid it for a bit and see if that helps.
Happy weekend!
Posted by Audrey at 01:43 PM | Comments (4)
Sneaker Storage Question
In my attempt to find my discontinued shoes I went to the internet and found a store selling my discontinued pair, in only my size, for $46. Score!!! This is very exciting. How many pairs can I buy? I heard sneakers only last so long before they lose their spring. I bought 2 pairs. Can I buy more? Or by the time I get to a third pair(maybe 6 months) will they lose what makes them good? Anyone else a stockpiler and know?
Thanks!
Posted by Audrey at 09:01 AM | Comments (3)
May 19, 2005
Walk-Run-Walk-Run-Walk-Run-Walk
This morning I did 3X (walk 4 min, run 3 min) with a short walk home at the end. To be conservative, I am calling it about 14 miles. Kidding. Everything felt okay, which is good. I just have to take a deep breath I guess and calm down. After the last run two days ago I was having a hard time ever believing I would be better!! I have also been biking to school and the pool and that feels fine as well. The annoying thing though is having a hobby I can only do for 9 minutes every two days. Oh yeah, walking isn't that bad. On a walk section of my outing a cute bike rider (commuting-so he wasn't working out either) said hi. I bet that wouldn't have happened if I was concentrating on a hard workout-well, at the very least it hasn't happened in the past when I've been running! That's the mini bright side I guess.
Today was my last class and I am in the home stretch of the schoolwork (at least due date wise :) Yeah.
Posted by Audrey at 04:46 PM | Comments (1)
May 18, 2005
Double Post Blogging Day
I am on the e-mail distribution list for a local running group that meets at 5:30 or 6 each morning. They e-mail back and forth all day making plans to meet up for the next day. No one in the groups knows me because I have only been once. I wonder what would happen if I chimed in, “Hey, I’m new here. Does anyone want to meet at 5:30 tomorrow morning to walk 4 minutes, run 3 minutes X3? Hope to see you then!” I wonder what they would say…
Things I am going to do when I am done with finals:
-Leave my apartment and laptop
-Send my laptop in to get fixed. Can you IMAGINE how annoying it is working on a laptop all day long with a loud broken fan?
-Read a newspaper at a coffee shop
-Go sailing
-See my non-school friends…if I can find them at this point
-Go hiking
-Be in another research experiment (I think. This one sounds fun. It’s a research experiment for CPR instructors). Oh yes, it also pays. I am stockpiling for my unpaid summer work experience-or more pool time. One or the other.
-Did I mention distance myself from my laptop?
Okay, I should stop dreaming. At my current rate it will take me 6.5 days to finish my last paper, which is due in 2.
Posted by Audrey at 06:17 PM | Comments (2)
Outlook
I feel completely guilty that all I want is for time to elapse so that I can be better. There have definitely been serious ups and downs so far in my life, but right now, everything is “up” except my calf. (That is dangerous to write. I need to knock on wood). I know that someday I am going to look back and say, “I wish I had one more day in Boston/at that age/with my grandparents. I wish I had one week without the kids! I wish I had one more day before [insert life event here].” And right now, all I want is for time to pass so that I can be healed. How I feel is the exact opposite of “appreciating every moment.” Plus, I am quite aware there are actual problems in the world. In short, I want time to elapse (which I can't do anything about), I realize someday I'll regret it, and I feel completely guilty for caring so much about my leg. Awesome combination of emotions to work through as I type this, huh? I'm going to work on my outlook.
The reason I feel this way is because something just feels off with my calf. I can kind of feel my calf being a bit sore when I walk and it felt weird even when I was swimming this morning (30 minutes, ¾ “normal”, ¼ pulling). I can’t believe it didn’t get better in 2 weeks. I don’t know. I am going to try to run again tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. The good news is running yesterday seemed to stretch everything else in my leg out and make it feel better (knee, behind the knee, quad). That all feels fine. Off to spend some quality time with my laptop. Well, I am not actually moving anywhere, but I have to open MS Word and start typing about something other than my calf.
Posted by Audrey at 07:38 AM | Comments (3)
May 17, 2005
?
Hard to say how this morning went. 4 X (walk 4 min/run 2 min). I don't know if I still felt the calf (it felt "weird") b/c I am hyper concerned (I need my own sports psychologist) or if it is still not completely better. Hmmmm...off to school...
Posted by Audrey at 09:04 AM | Comments (2)
May 16, 2005
More Sneaker Surgery
This morning I went swimming for 30 minutes (half pulling and half “normal” swimming) and walked about three miles. The walking wasn’t planned. I didn’t realize how early the no parking restrictions around the school/pool went into effect and since I overslept I had to park far away-and had to make the trip to my car twice since I left my keys at the pool. Fun times at 7:30 in the morning.
Also, Staples sells ink cartridges. There is a Staples right next to my gym. I am at the gym a lot. My printer ran out of ink the night before my final paper is due. If the ink ran out ANY OTHER TIME I could have gotten ink in the next time I was at the gym. Which leads to my trip this morning through rush hour traffic to Staples/the gym, when I am not going to workout, and where I will probably be every other day this week. Naturally.
I have to return the sneakers I got. They are too big and my orthotics slip around in them. I am going back Tuesday afternoon and hopefully someone different will be working who can help me. To compensate, so I can still run/walk tomorrow morning, I cut an even larger section of my current sneakers. This is getting ridiculous. Here is the sneaker. Chelle has the pre-cut picture of her sneaker on her blog so I will give the post-cut picture. (Of note is I think her sneaker surgery took place on the part of the shoe closest to the big toe and mine is on the part closest to the small toe.) I tried not to cut all the way through the fabric. Instead, I cut through some of the “overlay part” that crosses over the shoe and the outermost, most restrictive layer of the mesh. I used scissors and a Ginsu knife.
Posted by Audrey at 08:48 AM | Comments (2)
May 15, 2005
Addendum
I just called my dad to check in on how his race went today (9ish miles) and he asked me how I was doing. I told him the knee, calf, and bunion were hanging in there. He mentioned he had the same knee problem when he was my age. He went to PT for a while and then stopped exercising (for about 20 years) when he got busy with work. Eventually it just cleared up and he forgets exactly what worked to make it better. At which I point I ask, "So, why did you not mention this to me in the YEAR i have been dealing with my own knee issue??" His response, "Oh, I guess I forgot." I mean, really??? I have been PT'd, MRI'd, he has seen my knee exercises, he has heard me talk about it endlessly, and he FORGOT?? That is so strange.
Posted by Audrey at 02:46 PM | Comments (1)
Sneaker Shopping
I thought I would get on the blog bandwagon and talk about my bunions too. Like Chelle, I too recently performed sneaker surgery. I have a bunion on the outside of my right foot that pretty much always irritates me (that goodness it is flip flop season now, but I have no idea how I am ever going to get another job where I have to wear shoes all day)-and I think I am getting one on the inside of my right foot. It just started this past year (I do have orthotics but I don't think they are helping this). Anyway, now I am paranoid about sneaker shopping. I bought one pair that was good, the 04 Radius by Brooks, but the 05 version was horrible (and needed sneaker surgery). Oh yes, the Brooks "Adrenaline," previous to the 04 Radius was also bad. The surgery was effective-but only for a little bit. Go figure. The outside of my foot is bothering my again just from walking in those sneakers. So I had to go buy new sneakers today. I had a similar experience as Chelle where I felt like the salesman had no real idea what he was talking about. I ended up with the 04 Nike Air Pegasus-medium width since the rest of my foot is narrow. They seem to have some nice mesh at the forefoot which should accommodate my gross foot, I think. Anyone else-with bunions-have experience with these shoes? Do I need the wide instead of the medium? It is so hard to tell without putting some real mileage on them if they will be okay-at which point you obviously can't return them.
I ellipticalled for 15 minutes today and did some jogging when I was shoe shopping. It all felt fine. I mean, my knee is not perfect, but I am hopeful that when I start exercising again I will strengthen my quad some more. It did last time and I was in worse shape then. Also, be thankful I didn't post a picture of my foot (it also permanently only has 4.5 toenails). I fleetingly thought about it and then realized...who would want to see that??!!!
25/38 completed
-2 days-
Posted by Audrey at 02:04 PM | Comments (1)
May 14, 2005
6 Minute Elliptical Session
I never have dreams. I am a very sound sleeper. I am blaming last night’s dream on the wine.
I was in a foreign country with my public health classmates and for our final we had to put on a play. Right before I had to go on stage I couldn’t find my notes so I ended up jumping onto the stage and mumbling something completely incoherent about genetics and Mrs. Robinson (yes, the Mrs. Robinson from the song). Afterwards the professor said I had the biggest ego (b/c I ran and jumped on stage) but was the worst one in the play. When I came off of the stage a guy I dated (not even a boyfriend, just dates) 6 years ago was there. He had managed to somehow submerge and then burn my running orthotics. To make amends he went to an internet kiosk that happened to be in the room and transferred $400 into my account with online banking so I could buy new ones.
At this point I am freaking out b/c I did badly in the play and I have burned orthotics in my hands. Consequently, I managed to miss the bus to the airport with all of my classmates. When I went to the lobby of the hotel to get a cab I saw a tanker fall on a 10 year old girl in the parking lot. I managed to lift up the tanker to release her and yelled at people to go call 911 (yes, even though I am in a foreign country and they probably don’t use 911 there). No one is paying any attention even as I hold this tanker truck up off of the girl. Finally, someone tells me in English, “Calm down, it’s just a drill.” He was right, there were people faking death and injuries everywhere around me.
Thankfully, I woke up at this point. It never ceases to amaze me how the mind works. The dream managed to incorporate my school finals, the genetics paper I am working on, running, and emergency preparedness in a foreign country. My friend e-mailed me the other night from abroad where he is doing work that involves emergency training for the community. I am guessing that’s how that ended up in my dream. However, I have no idea how that guy I dated, who I haven’t seen in 4+ years, ended up in my head.
I did a core class at the gym and lifted. My calf feels so much better. I can only feel where the therapist was working a little bit. I biked to the gym and I even ellipticalled for 6 minutes. I figured the world wouldn’t end.
24/40 pages left
-3 days till running-
Posted by Audrey at 11:57 AM | Comments (5)
May 13, 2005
Sports Massage
Knee update: feels as usual for me. Not perfect but no more acute pain.
Calf update: I was passively stretching my calf in class yesterday and when I got up my calf hurt in a different place just behind my knee. At first I freaked out and thought, why oh why was I stretching. But then I realized, if gentle stretching hurts my calf there is just something plain wrong with it and it is not my fault for being impatient with the healing process! I refuse to blame myself for this one. Which leads me to...my sports massage this afternoon. Yup, in general, I avoid them b/c I had a bad experience once with a masseuse who stretched too aggressively leaving my unable to run for 2 weeks. However, Becky suggested it during our swim this morning (well, not during, that would be pretty amazing, but at some break during the swim) and I thought, yes, there is some underlying tightness or something, so I will go.
I booked at appointment for this afternoon. Basically, my IT band is fine, my hips are in line, my muscles are balanced on both sides of my body, and she didn't really notice too much wrong with my calf. So that is good news and bad. Good b/c I appear to be healthy-but bad b/c i am obviously NOT all together and it would be fun times for me if someone could figure out why. Also, the massage was NOT relaxing at all. I spent the whole time wondering-is that movement going to make it worse? Is that one? Is that too much pain to be helpful? Anyway, she went to town on my calf and NOW it hurts. She says it will clear up in 1-2 days, i am icing and neproxening (my prescription ibuprofen). I really want to bring my ice to my friend's place tonight but they still think Becky's and my running is crazy so I don't know if I feel like dealing with all the-oh wow, are you okay?? questions. We'll see.
25 pages left. Yeah...not too much progress since yesterday, but there was some editing that doesn't get counted in the page count! Also, my writing style has deteriorated from blogging. When I blog I find it so convenient to use parenthesis (often excessively)-and it has carried over into my paper writing.
Posted by Audrey at 05:57 PM | Comments (1)
May 12, 2005
Spread the Running Love
In the past couple of weeks I have gotten three e-mails from people who I think are running (at least a little bit) because I run. They are from three different places I have worked.
To paraphrase:
1) I completed the marine corps marathon last fall and it was amazing. I wanted to write and thank you for encouraging me to do it. I don't think I'll do it a second time-but I have started running shorter distances again!
2) You’d have been very proud of me. Last Wednesday I ran 5 miles with some work folks in 45 minutes! I’m part of a running group at work. No marathons in my future, but I think I’m ready for another 5k or 10k. [He ran his first 10K on a work team I helped organize and he ran a 5K with me as well].
3) I am thinking of training for the marathon-but first the 1/2, with some shorter races before then. I have also lost about 15 pounds. [I think the fact that she e-mailed me is indicative of some sort of exercise bond we have! We were on a corporate wellness team together.]
Anyway, their accomplishments are amazing I am not trying to take credit for THEIR hard work. But I think I helped get them out the door at least a little. And hey, I admit I only run because my Dad runs, and I know some of my friends and relatives have gone running because I suggested a race or they saw me do it-which is really only because my Dad started me down the path a while ago. (And let's not forget I only went swimming b/c Becky helped so much.) Anyway, it's these short e-mails and comments from people that made me want to go back to school to learn how to really affect health change-and not just wing it. It makes the 27 pages left seem worth it....But think about it-who influenced your start to running (You should e-mail them!)-and who do you think you influenced? Probably lots of people. Anyway, I just got one of these e-mails today and it was a good pick me up school/career-wise (since I am attached to my laptop) and mentally (since I think running is evil at the moment :)
Posted by Audrey at 12:45 PM | Comments (2)
May 11, 2005
7/40
That's how many pages I have written. (I forgot an assignment last time). I'm actually starting to get nervous about it. This entry will be brief.
How do you know you're a runner: When you find yourself walking in the dirt next to the path-when you're not running. Anyone else?
Good things about not being able to workout: less laundry.
That's the only thing I could come up with.
I went to the gym for a core class. I could not motivate to lift, plus I wanted to keep working on the next 33 pages. I was in a research experiment today-it pays and it's not invasive. It involved a computer test. I figure it will fund my buoy and a few swims at the pool. Plus, I had no class today and it's good to get out of the house on days like this. I am the SLOWEST writer in the world.
Posted by Audrey at 05:58 PM | Comments (3)
May 10, 2005
Done Brooding
I wish I could write that enough time has passed, I've accepted my injury, have discovered other interests I now have time to explore, and have moved on. But that's not the case. I think I am done brooding b/c I am starting to feel better-not b/c I have come to any sort of inner peace. I biked to school today, I went swimming, and I did my knee exercises. Who knows how I will feel tomorrow-which is the real test-but for now I am happy.
I was only able to go swimming b/c Becky essentially held my hand (figuratively) throughout the process. She helped me figure out that pull buoys exist (so I don't have to kick), where to get one, and how to use it. This actually led to some pretty lewd hand gestures on the bus yesterday as we attempted to demonstrate the correct positioning of the buoy. (It is not that complicated but I STILL couldn't picture it and had to do some internet research looking for pictures before I went!) I "pulled" for 30 minutes, which I think is the correct phrase for the swimming you do with just your upper body. It was slow going using just my arms and I think my heart rate was one or two beats higher than when I watch tv. Also, I have no idea how to turn when I am using the buoy so I was going in these really weird/large/slow circles at the end of my lane. Thankfully I had my own lane. I think Becky and I are swimming together later this week and I am looking forward to seeing how you are SUPPOSED to use the buoy. I tried to spy tech on the other swimmers today but no one else was using one.
Things I was thinking about when I went swimming:
1) Does Lance Armstrong ever have to hit the pool?
2) Am I going to have hot arms?
3) Swimming isn't so bad. I could see myself sticking with this.
Posted by Audrey at 06:10 PM | Comments (1)
May 09, 2005
Cane Shopping
I bought a cane today. It’s cute. It’s green with small pink flowers on it. It’s the first one I ever bought and I had all these questions for the people at the store. It’s for my grandmother. I called her yesterday and found out she has started using one b/c of her hip. Specifically, she has been using my grandfather’s old orthopedic canes. They are all of the aluminum, basic orthopedic variety you get from the doctor. I mean, how not cute!! I can tell she isn’t exactly excited about using one. That I can more than understand. So while I don’t imagine anything will ever make her feel good about it, I hope a more fashion conscious cane (or at least more feminine one) will make the process amusing and/or a topic of conversation at her bridge game and/or let her feel prettier while using it. I mean, if I had one I would want it to be interesting and attractive. I guess that’s why they make different colored casts and band-aids, etc.-anything to make the process more bearable. Plus, this one will be HER size. I cannot believe she is using my grandfather’s. For the record, since this is a community of athletes, I would like to add that my grandmother would fit right in. She played basketball back when girls had to wear long skirts and they weren’t allowed to run all the way up and down the court (there were different zones and more people on the court than today). Now she is a huge college basketball fan and an only slightly less huge internet geek (like all of us).
My knee is getting better. It doesn’t hurt when I walk or squat. Thank goodness. I was having these anxiety attacks about it never getting better-what if I had permanent knee damage? It was painful and I was so discouraged to have a repeat knee injury. Now I can move on to worrying full-time about my calf, which wasn’t getting enough attention before :) and my bunion-a constant bother. (Can you see why I want to marry an orthopedist?) I have no way of knowing if the calf is healing since it has never hurt when I walked even at the beginning of the injury. Hmmmm…Eight more days to worry about it. Honestly, this is why you can’t let me get bored. Last summer my parents asked, “Why are you so obsessed with your foot and knee? What you need is to start school!”
I hate Mondays. Let the fun begin.
Posted by Audrey at 09:37 AM | Comments (3)
May 08, 2005
Asymmetric
My knee hurts where the blue dot is. (To give due credit, the picture is from emedicine.com.) It doesn't hurt very much at all now and my calf feels okay. I can jog a couple of steps (this was attempted in the deserted computer lab of my school) without it feeling weird. I have spent more time researching swimming...and I am not going to go, at least today. I really don't like swimming. I am giving myself permission to not go. I mean, if I have an extended layoff from running I will go just to get some exercise and be a healthy person. Otherwise, I will probably not go. I guess I am on some sort of vacation from running/working out :)
I completely rely on the internet to treat myself. A problem I have never faced before with this method of treatment is that now when I google my injury I often come up with my own site or with the other elitebloggers' sites. For example, Leilani suggested a good recovery schedule when Becky came back from knee pain last year that I am going to try. But hitting my own site with google searches is completely unhelpful!
I want to say thank you to the people who have gotten in touch (through blog commenting and otherwise) to check in on my injury and mental state. I really appreciate it. I will be fine-but I have to say it’s a good thing I don’t make a living running! I cannot even IMAGINE the stress of fearing injury when you are in that position. Is there workers' compensation for hurt runners? Really, other jobs have it…
I lifted upper body today and all was good. Well, kind of. I am so ready to move up in weights-with my right arm. I have a gimpy left arm that I didn't even realize was gimpy until I moved up my weights to this amount. I have alluded to it before, but I had a bad softball accident in HS. I was putting down the tag at second and a girl slid into the base. It was my fault. You need to put down the tag and get your arm out of there (in a sweeping motion). My arm was just THERE. The accident broke my arm above the elbow. It was disgusting.
The other gross thing is that I had a body composition scan done as part of this runners/rowers research study I participated in. The women who read me my results told me my left arm had greater mass than my right arm. I couldn’t figure out how this made sense b/c why was my left arm weaker then? Then it occurred to me that the greater mass in my left arm was probably due to extra bone where the two edges of the break molded together over one and other (I didn’t have surgery but just let it heal as is and it necessarily wasn’t a 100% perfectly matched molding). So I think I have extra bone in my weakened left arm-not extra muscle.
Anyway, I am not sure what to do as far as weight lifting goes. I guess I will stick with these weights for a few more weeks but I have already been using them for a while. I can't imagine it's a good idea (at all) to go up in weight on one side but not the other. I hear everyone has a stronger arm (at least a little bit). What do you all do-same weights with each arm?
My last drama for the day involved leaving a copy of all of "My Documents" and "My Pictures" from my home computer on a burned CD in my school's computer lab. My home computer is on the fritz so I backed everything up and had it in the computer lab-and accidentally LEFT IT THERE. When I got to the gym and saw the empty jewel case I quickly doubled back to school. I am pretty sure it was untouched and I am very glad about that. Can you imagine if someone had access to everything important on your computer?
Posted by Audrey at 12:30 PM | Comments (1)
May 07, 2005
Trifecta
6: hours I have spent reading Paula Radcliffe’s book
1: hour I spent researching the possibility of swimming
5: number of times I have stretched my hamstring so far today
1: number of times I heard the mouse last night
1: number of Kentucky Derby parties I am attending
1: number of horse racing phrases I know
A lot: amount of sit-ups, planks, and back exercises I did today
0/31: Pages written for the third week of May
Also of note is that the trainer for my core class at the gym seems to have gone through some sort of training himself. For the first time he started walking around the room observing people and vocally encouraging students. “Nice job.” “Good form.” “Nice control.” We also did some new exercises this week. It was a marked difference from his usual style. Hey…now that I am sitting here thinking about it, one of the other trainers from the gym DID attend the class last Saturday as a student. Maybe he got some feedback. Anyway, it’s interesting in any situation to actually see the immediate effects of any training/feedback. People spend a lot of time and money trying to prove interventions in different situations actually work-and I totally feel like this one did! (I really think he must have had some training or feedback. Just my hunch here.)
Posted by Audrey at 11:45 AM | Comments (2)
May 06, 2005
Decontamination
I got nervous about Saturday morning and then not nervous. City personnel were going to practice their emergency response skills in a full scale exercise and they needed patients/victims for their scenario. I volunteered to be a patient. My instructions were, “Breakfast and lunch are provided. Wear a bathing suit.” It turns out I was going to be decontaminated in some way. I have actually spent a lot of time faking injuries and illness so people could practice their skills (yes, that probably requires explanation) but I have never been decontaminated. I was a little nervous. Unfortunately, the impending bad weather forced the event to be postponed. Now I am not nervous and do not think I will have to be decontaminated-or I might be. It depends on how the make-up fits in with my summer plans.
I will be interning (ie. performing unpaid labor) in DC. People have suggested I look at is as an investment in my future and as a continuation of my schooling. I actually feel a bit old to intern but apparently I am not. :) In truth I am very excited for the position and am really looking forward to it. I am also excited just to be back in DC for the summer. There are some people I can’t wait to see and there are also some fabulous and amazing places to run. Bridget wrote an entry about how she fell in love with running in Boston and I feel the same way about DC/VA. I hope I am better!!! It’s a bummer though that I spent the winter in Boston and am going south for summer. Who does that??
I made it the gym today. I lifted upper body. I saw the same trainer on my way into the gym and on my way out. He must have wondered (in truth he probably didn’t notice) why I was only there for 15 minutes total.
I did core stuff. Tight hamstrings are supposed to be one cause of my knee issue so I did some hamstring stretches as well. Ever since the summer, when I used to flexible, I have noticed a serious difference in flexibility between my left and right hamstring. Sometimes I can’t even kneel down and sit back on my feet because of tightness in my right leg and when I go to stretch my right hamstring my leg doesn’t touch my butt. Slightly alarming…
Posted by Audrey at 07:10 PM | Comments (1)
May 05, 2005
eliteslothing.com/Audrey
This is bad. I am reverting to exercise habits I had a few years ago-ie. putting it off or not going. I haven’t done that since I moved. One reason is that the gym is further from my place here so putting it off makes it more inconvenient (there used to be a gym IN my building, which is not uncommon in DC/VA) but I have also had way better motivation than I have right now. Yes, I will admit it. I am having slothlike feelings concerning lifting and sit-ups. I may do some core stuff as I watch the OC in 10 minutes-maybe :)
I also got my last x-mas present today. My mom ordered me Paula Radcliffe’s autobiography in November/December and it was late being published and was backordered so it took a while to get here. I started reading it. It’s too early to say how I feel about it yet.
I typed up my sailing notes so I can study for my sailing test. Everything makes so much more sense now that I have been out on the water. I am going to try and get out again tomorrow.
I am sending healing/get healthy vibes to the bloggers. It sounds like it’s a rough week for bunches of people.
Posted by Audrey at 07:52 PM | Comments (1)
May 04, 2005
Eliteinjuries.com
There is a class I don’t much care for at school that I have to take because it’s required. Important information for this story is that I can’t read maps and have a hard time with different spatial pictures (geometry was hell). Also, a lot of what we are talking about I don’t understand. This is partially because people are still trying to figure it all out and partially because I am me.
Today, for the first time since I got them in October, I forgot my glasses so the whole power point presentation for this class was literally very fuzzy. Then, at the end of class my professor starts diagramming this ambiguous information on the board in a giant spatial diagram with lots of bidirectional arrows-which is all blurring together b/c I completely can’t see it b/c it’s too far away. I give up!! I was obviously not meant to know whatever he was drawing!
Before class yesterday I stood in my apartment and tried to decide what would be best for my knee. Walking 20 minutes to school or biking 5 minutes? Both hurt a tiny bit. There is no good choice but I opted for walking b/c I had to stop along the way to get more anti-inflammatories. Being injured: booo!!
I had dinner with my co-worker and our clients. I mean, it’s work. I had to chat and be personable and give a good impression of the company and wear real clothing. But it was also dinner. It’s hard to complain about the work environment since the clients were both nice. Today and yesterday were absolutely the most relaxing assignments I have ever had for my company. There was walking involved as far as getting to dinner, showing them around a little, and getting home, but I don’t mind. It is nice to move around a bit (same with school). If I had to go 14 days being completely sedentary then I would be REALLY crazy!!
Finished..well, currently finishing...a paper.
-12 days-
Posted by Audrey at 11:27 PM | Comments (4)
May 03, 2005
Entry for Those with Time to Kill
I will have to do my best to be creative and think of blogging ideas since there will be no running, or other lower body exercise or swimming, until May 17.
I have:
1. Pes anserine bursitis (an inflammatory condition on the inside of the leg just below the knee where-I think-tendons and ligaments come together)
2. Calf strain
Treatment:
1. Don’t do anything that hurts my knee and try to minimize things that hurt my calf for two weeks. The doctor suggested I might be able to continue running at decreased mileage (since running hurts my knee the least) but this will delay the calf getting better. The best thing for the calf is to not run. Apparently calf strains take a very long time to heal. When I asked why I could potentially keep running, he mentioned he is trying to “treat the whole person” (ie. understands runners are intent on continuing their training) and is willing to let me try running. I decided not to run at all or do any lower body workouts since I only ran about 6 miles last week and it still felt weird. Really, how much more decreased mileage could I do? Also, the fitness is gone. Once you pass that point it makes it much easier to accept.
2. Ice the knee
3. Take a prescription strength anti-inflammatory around the clock for two weeks (which I actually have been taking already-except for before I was working out)
4. Don’t do lunges! Those might hurt the knee.
When I told him that I already tried taking time off he wanted to know SPECIFCALLY how much time. I told him a few days and he looked at me and laughed and said time off is measured in weeks, not days. When I tried to hammer down how long I should not run I suggested a week and he suggested two. I will go with two.
I am okay with sitting still. I mean, it sucks. It’s gorgeous out. But it hurts to walk b/c of my knee!! Even I know that is NOT GOOD and needs to be remedied. I feel broken that I have what I call chronic knee pain at my age and the doctor reassured me that older people do not get this and it is an actual sports injury. He thinks since I returned to running once before after the knee pain there is no reason to think I won’t be able to again.
In non-body obsessive news: My work for my company right now is fun and very low-key. Today it involved taking digital pictures of different places in Boston. I also love working with my friend. In college people used to confuse us all the time. This afternoon I went to where she was waiting for me to show up (specifically, a bar) and walked in. They thought I was the girl who had been eating on the patio-ie. her. It floored me that people still think we look that much alike which I had completely forgotten. In college, some people thought SHE was my boyfriend’s girlfriend. (Um, I think that’s b/c we look alike, but in retrospect that IS kind of sketchy…) Speaking of boyfriends, I found out from her today that one of my college boyfriends got married last weekend. That brings the total number of people I have dated who are now married to two. It’s great I know this statistic but not other important ones!
Mini-countdown back to when I can run starts now.
-13 days-
In the mean time I will lift upper body and do core stuff-it IS almost summer!! I will only blog if there is something of interest, which could take some very creative writing. I mean really, how many times can I write: "Studied for finals." "Wrote a paper." "Lifted upper body." Maybe I will cut and paste.
Posted by Audrey at 11:40 PM | Comments (2)
Mini-Galloway
I walked 4 minutes, ran two this morning. I tried the patella strap but took it off after two cycles b/c I didn't like it. My calf felt weird. No serious pain, but I can tell its not pulling right. I'm not getting better and by my calculation it has been about three weeks since I got hurt. I decided to go to the doctor. A few moments ago I made an appointment for later today for the one in my network.
I don't like this doctor for a few reasons. In the past he was conservative with resources that I feel were warranted-ie. MRI after 6 months of knee pain and/or PT. (Or at least a handout of PT excercises-he told me to search the internet!) I do think his hands are probably tied in some way as to what he can or is supposed to proscribe. I can just tell b/c his style (again, may not be his fault if the system constrains him) is so different than my sports doc in DC (who was one of DC's "best" according to the Washingtonian). Anyway, I may go out of network if I am unsatisfied again. I did have to seek out of network care for my knee in October/November.
Other news is my work load suddenly increased with a simultaneous IM and phone call from my boss and colleague last night. My "colleague" (who also happens to be a friend from college) is in town for work today and I am meeting with her later which should be fun. I also woke up this morning and discovered all of the e-mail messages in my Inbox (about 100) were gone. Can you imagine? I wrote some hasty e-mails to the HelpDesk and they returned at some point on my walk/run.
Posted by Audrey at 08:51 AM | Comments (1)
May 02, 2005
Now the Knee...
I am in a better mood today, probably because b/c I just got back from the gym and feel a bit better than yesterday. I ellipticalled for 30 minutes, lifted upper body, and did some balance exercises. My knee kind of bothered my on the elliptical, but not in the same spot next to the knee cap, so I kept going. I seem to remember from the last time that it will stop bothering me in a few days with moderate exercise, ice, stretching, and ibuprofen. I think there needs to be a period of me not "babying it" (but gently) for it to advance and adapt to taking on more stress. It felt better after I finished than before I started which is nice. I also biked to the gym and to do some errands and that felt okay.
I watched Hotel Rwanda last night and I don't know how anyone can see that movie and not want to personally do something to change the world. The movie absolutely floored me.
Off to school for a gazillion hours. It's so cliche that Mondays are the worst days for me. Including today, three left.
Posted by Audrey at 08:27 AM | Comments (2)
May 01, 2005
Unhappy Audrey
Calf hurts. I tried to go running this morning for 30 minutes (T). I felt fine for 15 minutes, and then my calf hurt for the first time in a while. I had to stop and stretch (and stand there in the rain deciding-do I walk? do I run?). I NEVER stop on my runs. Ever. Maybe for some traffic lights, but other than that, never, for any reason. It was very disappointing. I did finish by running, but now I have a whole new injury to google. I mean, why does my calf hurt again? I tried running around my kitchen-which doesn't hurt (granted, by default it's only a 4 step run). I tried toe raises-which don't hurt. I tried contracting the muscle-which doesn't hurt. There is a little bit of tenderness when I touch my calf. I have theories...like the leg presses and lunging I was doing for my knee overstretched my calf...but I really have no idea what the problem is. My knee felt great though. I found a "ramp up" schedule for people with calf strains off the internet that I am going to try. Surprise, surprise, it suggests walking and running for a week rather than running 30 minutes. I guess I'll try that...in 2 days. Booo!!!
I hope the eliterunning bloggers who raced today did well.
It's gloomy weather here...matches my mood!! :) Have a good one.
Posted by Audrey at 12:10 PM | Comments (1)