First, a few half marathon announcements for local folks:

Rock ‘n’ Roll just announced their Brooklyn half marathon! The date is October 10, 2015 and registration opens on Monday, March 16th. It’s the day before the Staten Island half so it looks like I’ll be running back to back half marathons that weekend 🙂 Anyway, if you’re local and want to run it consider yourself in the know.

Also, I’ll be sharing a post with a discount promo code for locals that want to run the Queens 13.1 on March 21st! The race is put on by Lifetime Athletic Events which also runs the NJ Marathon so I’ll be working as part of the NJ Marathon Street Team at the Finish Festival. Come say hi if you decide to run.

I had my 3rd ART and Graston yesterday. And guess what? I didn’t feel like puking this time. It hurt but it was much more tolerable. Dr. Williams said the inflammation went down a bit. Anyway, I mentioned to him about my rotator cuff injury and he immediately took a look and could see I’m on the way to “frozen shoulder” which is not good. I told him I was waiting to wrap up fixing the knee before starting physical therapy on the shoulder mainly for financial reasons (I pay a $60 copay per visit so that’s $120 a week at the moment for my knee. If I added another twice a week doc visit we are talking $240 a week. Sorry. I just can’t afford to sustain that) but he said starting the exercises is important to do sooner rather than later so he showed me a couple of different exercises to do to get me started. Anyway, just another reason to love Dr. Williams.  The exercises are really hard! I can’t believe how limp my arm has become. And it has been hurting a lot more the last few days too. I even got numbness and tingling in my fingers again which I haven’t had in weeks. Phooey! 

Meanwhile I ran another 3 miles this morning and the knee was fine. I was aware of it but it never hurt or slipped or gave way. It is slightly sore now 4 hours later. But during the run, my entire body felt sore and sluggish.

slow, sluggish, stiff, sore, snail's pace....what other S adjective can I add?

slow, sluggish, stiff, sore, snail’s pace….what other S adjective can I add?

I literally was 45 seconds per mile slower than Sunday’s run. My lower back hurt and my other leg felt sore. I guess i’m just thoroughly out of shape at this point! I’m really grateful to at least be able to run without the knee forcing me to stop.

I have been spending extra time with the foam roller as instructed by Dr W. Duncan wanted to show me how flexible he has become. He’s been practicing Doga. He can do downward dog of course and now he has perfected the doodle duck pose.

Doga

Doga

You foam roll....i'll just practice my doodle duck pose

You foam roll….i’ll just practice my doodle duck pose

Well tomorrow I will shoot for 4 miles. Reaching for the stars here.

Do you have a foam roller? Which one? I’m looking to get one that has the little nubs on it. I would love your input.

 

Well it’s Monday. And someone wasn’t too happy that I had to leave for work this morning.

Please don't go to work ma!

Please don’t go to work ma!

My weekend ended on a high note yesterday. It was 48 degrees and sunny and I completed 3 miles outside without knee issues. The second treatment of ART and Graston must be helping a little. Just a little bit of tightness when I was done. I could tell that if I ran another mile or two it would have been sore so I’m glad I didn’t push it.

outside running is always better

outside running is always better

Other things that made me giddy this weekend….

I finished all my house cleaning and shredded old bills.

I dropped the shredder down the stairs and needed to tape it back together

I dropped the shredder down the stairs and needed to tape it back together

I also baked an apple/pear/cranberry crisp….and then polished off the entire thing! And I polished off a bottle of wine too! Now you see why I was so giddy? It was a very productive weekend 🙂

all gone

all gone

And of course the walks in the snow with Duncan made me giddy too.   Tomorrow is treatment #3 with Dr Williams! 

How did your day go? Was it Mayhem Monday or Mellow Monday? Mine was fairly mellow. 

Happy Saturday!

So I followed Dr. Williams orders and went running on Wednesday. I had to use the treadmill at the gym thanks to snow, ice and time restrictions. But I was only planning on 2 miles…and 2 miles is exactly what I completed…

IMG_3704The knee held up fine until I stopped. Usually it gives out while running but this time it locked up on me after running. It ended up being sore until the next morning. I was relatively calm though because I wasn’t “sneaking” in a run. Oh, and I wore my new New Balance 1080’s and my new custom inserts and LOVED them both!

FullSizeRender 6Such a cushy ride. So there’s the good thing about only being able to run 2 miles….perfect way to break in new gear. =)

Thursday we had ANOTHER snow storm. I worked remotely but managed to spend a few minutes outside enjoying the white stuff.IMG_3769
Guess we won't be barbecuing for a few more weeks...

Guess we won’t be barbecuing for a few more weeks…

In his glory

In his glory

Weee!!!! An unplowed street to run down!!!!

Weee!!!! An unplowed street to run down!!!!

After playing in the snow they defrosted on matching towels.

After playing in the snow they defrosted on matching towels.

And then yesterday after battling ridiculous traffic painfully slow bus rides (resulting from the snowstorm the day before), I went back to Dr Williams for my second ART session.
waiting again for another bus

waiting at the bus stop for the bus.

waiting for a bus

waiting for a bus again!

He also used the Graston technique on me. The combo of these two things made me almost puke from the pain. I told him I’m a wimp but he said “no, this stuff is really very painful.” Well at least he cleared that up. Just give me a puke bucket, but FIX MY KNEE! I mentioned about my knee locking up at the end of my run on Wednesday but he wasn’t concerned…he insisted I keep running. He said even if it’s a mile. In addition to foam rolling and stretching the quad I have to do some hip flexor stretches too. Bottom line is that the ART and Graston create some inflammation which will force my body to focus on healing. Oh and he said the knee might feel bruised. Well apparently it is…

i guess the bruise is more noticeable next to my pale skin.

i guess the bruise is more noticeable next to my pale skin. I don’t have the most shapely legs…sorry bout that!

I got home in the late afternoon, grabbed Duncan and took him to the park so we could both unwind and enjoy the winter wonderland around us. When there is sunshine on my face and nature’s beauty around me I can’t help to be anything but happy.
drawing in snow

I can’t remember the last time I professed my love this way but it sure felt good. If you’re reading sweetie, you know I love you because I wrote it in the snow 🙂

snowy bench

Come “chill” out on this bench with me! LOL!

park snowscape

Snowy serenity

Duncan at the park

I think i want to paint this picture and hang it in my house somewhere. I love it!

After the walk we came home, I made a quick dinner and then poured myself a glass of wine.
friday evening fun

Friday evening fun

I have a nice quiet and relaxing weekend completely solo which is rare these days between all the fun I spend with my friends, my family and Mr. SOTSS.

Duncan and I even slept in until 7am!
good morning!

Good morning!

Then Instagram reminded me that the NYC Half is just 8 days away.

NYC Half

this should be interesting

I have my 3rd visit with Dr. Williams on Tuesday and I’ll probably get in a 4th visit on Friday which can only help I suppose. I’m meeting my friends after the race for some brunch and to catch up on life so hopefully they won’t mind waiting a little extra longer for me to finish…my plan right now is to walk briskly (15 min pace) for the first 10 miles and run the last 5k…but like I said, I’ll have my MetroCard so I can just bail and hop on a subway to the Starbucks afterparty 🙂 I have already run the NYC Half and have more medals than I can count so it really doesn’t matter if I finish or not. Actually last year I had a MISERABLE time at the NYC Half.

Today, I spent a lazy morning cleaning house and then decided to take the doodle for yet another walk in the snow. We changed it up and visited a different park this time. But still the most beautiful views.

a dog and his human

a whole lotta curls…well mine were looser because i had leave-in conditioner in it and had it in a bun most of the day. #themoreyouknow

bobbing for apples?

bobbing for snow apples?

clove lakes park

Red fences make pictures so perfect

IMG_3844

snow and dog

peek a doodle

I’m now cozy on the couch and will probably go to bed a little early tonight since I’m a sad sack we lose an hour of sleep this weekend. Ah Daylight Savings….love that sunsets will be later but not looking forward to darkness at 6:30am. Tomorrow I’m planning on running 1-2miles. It’s going to be a mild 47 degrees out. I can’t wait to have just 20 minutes of outdoor running bliss.

Have a great weekend!

Anyone running a half marathon this month?

Are you an early riser? Night Owl? What’s your favorite time of the day?

H all!

It’s Friday! Can I get a WOOT WOOT??!!! I have all that I need to get this blog post complete: Coffee, my laptop and the doodle resting his little head on me. I love that furry boy.

blog essentials

bloggin’!

I’ll catch you up on my last few days. Wednesday I had to take some more head shots but this time I had to go to a building downtown in the Meatpacking District. The building was super secure and you could only get access to the floor you needed to go to. Except I was having such a hard time getting to my floor that a messenger going to a different floor told me to follow him. Next thing you know I’m in Alexander McQueen space.

Alexander McQueenIf you’ve ever watched the red carpet at the Oscars or the Golden Globes you know Alexander McQueen is a fashion designer. Ooh-la-la! Of course not my thing. I’d rather land at Asics or Brooks. LOL! Eventually I got to where I had to go. I was on my lunch break so I needed to hop on the subway to get back to work fast. I noticed this cool public artwork set of sculptures by a sculptor named Tom Otterness.

Tom Otterness

2 of many bronze sculptures in the subway at 14th street (The C train)

14th street C

Down Under

How cool? How did I not see this ever before? This is why I love living in New York City. There’s always cool creativity, art, fashion, music, food….you name it!

Yesterday I did some freelance work and then I went for a run.

winter running

First run with the Garmin 10

I wore my new Garmin Forerunner 10. I like it. I really like that the main screen only shows distance and elapsed time. I never toggled to the secondary screen to see my pace and I think for the bulk of my training I’m going to do the same.

So the knee seems to have made some minor progress. I wanted to share what I’ve been doing because I think it’s helping. (I’m not a doctor folks!)

  1. I’ve been foam rolling both legs in all areas focusing on rolling the quads, hamstrings and calves and making sure to get the outside of those areas like the IT band and peroneal tendon. I’m doing this daily and try to roll a little before my run as well as after.
  2. I’ve been taking Ibuprofen for the last 2 days in the morning and evening hoping to help reduce some inflammation.
  3. I’ve been doing lots of strengthening and balancing exercises for my hips, quads, glutes and core. Step ups, bridges, planks, front leg raises, clam shells, side stepping with resistance band etc.
  4. I’ve slowed my pace, shortened my stride and i’m keeping my knees bent a little more than usual while running, especially on the downhills.

I made it through all 5 miles yesterday without the knee ever “slipping”. It felt a little tentative but didn’t cause any acute pain or discomfort. And by the time I got home, showered and stretched I didn’t even feel any discomfort around the knee area. And this morning I feel great! Apparently, so does Duncan…

labradoodle

Feelin’ good!

I’m going to just keep doing what I’m doing. Let’s see how the next few weeks go. I’m going to shoot for 8 miles on Sunday.

Tonight I’m meeting my grade school friend Tara. We try and catch up over dinner once a year. We met in the 3rd grade! Crazy.

Have a great weekend!

What’s your favorite part of where you live? Do you love where you live? What’s your least favorite part?

I hate traffic/commuting.