walk 3 miles once a day

29. April 2017 · 3 comments · Categories: cross training, injury, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,

Bad news or good news first?

OK let’s start with the bad news. I’m not running the New Jersey half marathon on Sunday.IMG_9455

This will be the second half marathon I’ve had to DNS this year. I wasn’t able to run the Philly Love Run last month due to this toe injury (and I also wasn’t able to run the 3rd of the trail run series meaning I’ll only have 2/3 of my interlocking medal. )

How sad....2/3 of an interlocking medal

How sad….2/3 of an interlocking medal.

Good news….I can walk 3 straight miles before my toe starts to hurt.

walkin'

walk 3 miles once a day

IMG_9461This is progress. Unfortunately my entire body lost fitness and all my muscles are so sore, achy and tight. My “good” side has been bearing extra pounding while I limped for the last 5 weeks that everything is angry. My knee hurts, my foot hurts, my glutes hurt, my hamstrings hurt. Sigh! This is going to be a LONG recovery process. I’m actually wondering if I’ll even be able to run the Brooklyn Half in 3 weeks.

More good news. I’m going to be at the start and the finish line to cheer Mr. SOTSS on. Last time I was at one of his races he set a PR so hopefully I’ll have the same effect on him.

I saw a clip on Rachel Ray this morning with Bob Harper, the coach from the Biggest Loser who recently had an almost fatal heart attack. His story resonated with me because he spoke about his fear of returning to the very thing that is his passion….the gym/working out. I’m feeling similar about running.

So, with a stiff upper lip I accompanied Mr. SOTSS to the expo. This wasn’t the first time I went to an expo for a race I couldn’t run. Ah, Brooklyn 2015.

I’m truly excited for him and to be able to see him cross the finish line but I’d be lying if I said I’m not crushed that I won’t be able to run. Figures….good weather forecast too.

So until further notice my prescription for recovery will be to walk 3 miles once a day….with meals of course. 😉

And of course taking lots of cute photos of Duncan always cheers me up.

IMG_9440 IMG_9465 IMG_9466

Have a great weekend!

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No more limp

25. April 2017 · 10 comments · Categories: injury · Tags: , , , ,

No more limp. I really can’t believe it.

Almost 5 weeks to the day since I hurt my toe, I woke up on Saturday morning and realized as I was walking the dog that I wasn’t limping anymore!

This is Duncan's "YAY, no more limp" pose

This is Duncan’s “YAY, no more limp” pose

I couldn’t have predicted it would take so long but I’m just so happy I’ve made it through the hardest part. It definitely got hairy there for a bit. I’m not a graceful injured runner.

So now I’ve got to move into the next phase of getting my strength and balance back and to get rid of the residual stiffness that seems to have set in not only on the foot that had the toe injury but my other foot as well (most likely from spending so long compensating for the bad foot). I’m massaging my feet a few times a day (maybe I should propose to myself! LOL!) and stretching and foam rolling my calves a lot as well.

This coming weekend is the New Jersey Half Marathon that both Mr. SOTSS and I am registered for. He’s on schedule with his training and will definitely be running. I’m most likely going to have to DNS this one. Even if I try and run a mile or two at some point this week does it make sense to try and run 13.1 miles and risk sending myself back into the dreaded injured runner status? I will hold out a small glimmer and not make the call until the day of.

This leaves me with one more Spring half marathon that I registered for that hopefully I can pull off….the Brooklyn Half on May 20th. Stay tuned!

In other news, since my foot can now handle walking Mr. SOTSS and I went to the New York Auto Show in the city. It’s held every year at the Javits Center….the same place that the NYC Marathon Expo is held. It’s HUGE. I’ve been going since I was a little girl and I just love the tradition. As soon as you enter the exhibit hall you are overcome by the delicious new car smell! It didn’t hurt that most of the car brands had super padded carpeting where there cars were displayed. My foot said thank you!

Fiddling with the options

Fiddling with the options

I miss being a Jeep owner

I miss being a Jeep owner

This weekend we walked into town for root beer floats.

Wondering if I might share that float. (The answer is no. Sorry pal.)

Wondering if I might share that float. (The answer is no. Sorry pal.)

Root Beer Floats!

Root Beer Floats!

IMG_9391

Just strolling around town on a beautiful Spring day with no limp!

With the weather so nice yesterday we spent some time hanging out on the deck with the pooches too.

Just lounging

Just lounging

Wonder what they're thinking

Wonder what they’re thinking

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

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injuries are a great opportunity to build mental toughness

18. April 2017 · 4 comments · Categories: injury · Tags: , , ,

Hi there.

How are you? I watched the Boston Marathon yesterday while working and couldn’t help but tear up watching Meb cross the finish line at his final competitive Boston Marathon. He’s an amazing athlete but more than that he displays such grace and is an inspiration to so many. meb-final-boston

Watching the marathon also made me teary eyed because it reminded me how lost I feel without running and especially the structure of training for races. I’m working really hard at keeping myself positive and keeping things in perspective especially this week….tomorrow will mark 18 years since I lost my husband to cancer. I always get very reflective during this time of the year.

18 1/2 years since this photo. I can only smile but still feel sadness when I think of all the things he never got to do in life having it end so early.

18 1/2 years since this photo. I can only smile at the memories but still feel sadness when I think of all the things he never got to do in his short life.

And I can’t help but to think about the journey my life took from April 19, 1999 to today. I had 2 choices when going through such a traumatic experience. I could let it swallow me and withdraw from life or I could work really hard every day to do my “grief work” to help myself heal. I chose the latter and while I had plenty of pity parties along the way I truly made an effort each and every day to live fully.

So in the midst of this toe injury I’m starting to connect those dots (again!). I have 2 choices right? Well I want to do whatever I can each day to help myself heal.

I was feeling a lot of improvement with the toe last week and then this weekend I had a setback and it felt more achy and uncomfortable but today it’s starting to bounce back a little. Another reminder that the healing process isn’t linear. There will be ups and downs but if I continue to do the work and rest and ice and massage and strengthen I’m on the right path.

I have that tendency to spiral when I don’t see progress fast enough and this injury is just another opportunity to build mental toughness and to get better at handling this kind of stuff. Really, if you look at it from the perspective that any setback or bad time in your life is an opportunity to build mental toughness your ahead of the game. Like looking at a glass half full right?

I rode my bike again this weekend while Mr. SOTSS ran and it was awesome. bike-daffodils12 miles for me and 10 for him. teamsternwellWhile I don’t feel like biking replaces how running makes me feel it definitely helps. And knowing that I’m making an effort to be active rather than sitting on the sofa all day sulking means I’m doing my “work”.bike-imposter

We drove out to Long Island to his Dad’s for Easter this weekend and spent some time at the beach with the dogs before the festivities began. smile-sallyboy-dogIt almost didn’t happen because Mr. SOTSS had some really bad poison ivy and after a few days of some major discomfort we decided to go to an urgent care facility to see if he could get some stronger meds. Unfortunately since it was Easter Sunday, they were the only location open around town making them so crowded that we bailed. Mr. SOTSS didn’t want to sacrifice the time slot we had set aside to take the dogs to the beach and decided he’d just suck it up and deal with the poison ivy discomfort for now. I don’t know if I could have done the same. sternwell eastbeach

Good catch Chester!

Good catch Chester!

What opportunities do you use to build mental toughness?

Are you a glass half empty or glass half full kind of person?

Anyone else dealing with an injury or other setback?

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Just keep pedaling

14. April 2017 · 3 comments · Categories: cross training, injury · Tags: , ,

Since the anti climactic MRI results at the beginning of the week I’ve been lucky to be super busy with work and not really dwelling too much on all that I was missing out on. OK well, missing another hike sucked and seeing other runners enjoying our great Spring weather sucked too but I I’ve been riding my bike whenever I can to get some physical exercise and mental health benefits as well.IMG_9110

I enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the marina for 11 miles on Tueday. Yesterday was a not-so-enjoyable 8 miler around the neighborhood. And today I tried out a new greenway near my house that actually worked out well. I like riding where there aren’t any traffic lights and car traffic and this greenway is almost completely free of that. Just 1 traffic light. 7DED65E2-01BB-4E17-8889-8EF967A8779FIt’s about 2.5 miles I did 2 out and backs for a total of 10 miles. And tomorrow Mr. SOTSS will be running 10 miles so I’ll most likely bike along for the same mileage. I got a great tip from a commenter on another blog I commented on. She said to attach my step counter watch to my sneaker to track steps while on the bike. It worked! YAY!

So when Mr. SOTSS and I first met in 2014 we only really got together every other weekend. We realized after a couple of months that we wanted to spend more time together so we decided to get together every Thursday evening. It’s been “Date Night” ever since. And while mostly it involves just walking the dogs and watching some tv and catching up on how each other’s week has been I’ve always felt it important to put on a little makeup and do my hair as if it were a real date.

A little eyeliner and some tinted lip balm. Just the basics...

A little eyeliner and some tinted lip balm. Just the basics…

So last night when we were deciding what to do he suggested walking up the block to the local pub for a drink and a bite to eat. I loved that idea. It’s only a mile away so I was fine to walk (oh and my toe is improving….more on that in the next paragraph!). It was really nice. Just to mix things up a bit.

I'm hooked on Ace Pear Cider

I’m hooked on Ace Pear Cider

So today while biking up a hill I felt a pain under the toe and at first got worried that I further injured it but in fact I think just the opposite happened because after I was done riding I noticed I was limping less and feeling more confident to put weight on that foot. Maybe this is a sign that I’m close to being healed. (27 days and counting since the limp began). I wonder if scar tissue had built up or if my toe was just stiff from lack of use and maybe the movement helped.

Cautiously optimistic!

Have a great weekend.

The tortise and the hare!

The tortise and the hare!

Happy Easter if you celebrate!

 

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