It’s FRRRRIIIIIDDDDAAAAYYY night and I’m feeling alright!!! But first let me tell you about yesterday.
I made the executive decision not to run to let my entire left leg (literally from hip to toe) calm down a bit. Instead I did a short bike ride through the neighborhood. Not my favorite way to bike because of all the stop signs and such but at least I moved my muscles and that’s all that counts really. Not to mention I love riding right up to my doorstep and being greeted by the doodle.
Later in the day I drove out to my brother and sister-in-law’s house. My brother was working late and the kids are at camp so just me and my sister-in-law went out for dinner. We hit up Cheesecake Factory and after splitting a bunch of appetizers we each got our own unique slice of cheesecake.
White chocolate and wild blueberry -VS- caramel baked apple streusel….it’s a tie!
My sister-in-law was appalled when she saw this pic of my bare fridge on my Instagram, so she cooked for me and sent me home with lots of goodies including the most delicious chicken cacciatore I’ve ever had. Plus, I stopped in to my personal organic veggie store (a.k.a. my dad’s backyard garden) And pulled some lettuce to go with the chicken.
He’s growing a lot of great stuff.
So this morning I got up before the alarm because nature was calling and Duncan swiftly stole my spot. But I couldn’t get mad….he’s just so stinkin’ cute.
I started to make a list of what I need to pack for my trip to San Francisco next week and this wave of optimism came over me. I just feel really good about the trip. I’m a lucky girl. Grateful for my family who pities me and feeds me. Grateful for my running family. Grateful for my inner peace tonight.
What are you grateful for? Are you naturally optimistic or do you have to work at it?
Yep. No more trying to delude myself into thinking I could possibly complete the full in 11 days. Last night we had a break in the crazy thunder/lightening and rain storms here and I was able to go out for a quick 3 miles before the next storm rolled in.
I call this Watch Dogs (HAHA)
In those 34 minutes I paid attention to my head movies and realized they were all in the horror genre. I kept seeing myself crawling on my hands and knees trying to get to the finish line and not making the time cutoff. I gave it my best effort but seriously I hurt EVERYWHERE! My original injury isn’t so much the issue as some of my new aches and pains. I’m just feeling crappy day in and day out. Mornings are the worst as everything is stiff and sore. I go down 3 flights of stairs like an old lady. I spend more time foam rolling than I do anything else. I’m sure the heat and humidity have made my return to running more challenging too. Perhaps this is just plain ole too much too soon. Here’s a diagram of the major issues:
So here’s my new plan: TAPER! =)
I made it to 10 miles this past weekend and that’s where I peak for 1/2 marathon training anyway. Instead of trying to reach 13-15 this weekend I’ll just go out and run easy for as long or as short as I feel like. I’m going to focus on walking and stretching and icing and cleaning up my eating habits.
perhaps I should stock the fridge first
I guess I’ll need to hit the grocery store first. =) I know I originally said I’d make my final decision the day before but frankly I have been obsessing over this daily so I realized I just needed to release myself of the worry.
I’m really cool with this decision. It won’t change anything about my RUNcation other than crossing a different finish line. =)
This weekend sure was a whirlwind after my Jeep’s breakdown Saturday. I had to cancel some plans to visit a friend who lives out of town and I went through a whole lot of emotional crap as I slowly got myself used to the idea that I might have to just stop pouring the bucks into my Jeep and look into buying or leasing something new(er). I’m sure you’ve all had some object that you’ve just grown so attached to. (humor me so I don’t feel like a dweeb). Well this Jeep is like my soulmate and she’s so symbolic of how far I’ve come since the hubby died. This was the first vehicle I bought on my own. I haggled for 4 hours at the dealership to get the price I wanted. I was so proud of myself.
And Duncan only knows this car.
Dear Jeepie: I will always love you even if I junk you or trade you in for a few cents. Love, me.
OK enough about that. I’m getting a little ridiculous now! Yesterday, since I was vehicle-less, my dear running peeps Lisa and Mike came to Staten Island and we ran 10 miles here in my ‘hood. It was hot and humid and even rained on us some. We did 9 and 1 run/walk intervals. Overall pace was 11:47 but the running intervals were more in the range of 10s which is GREAT for me as I haven’t run 10s since the injury. And this was the longest distance and my first double digit run since the injury as well. I’m gettin’ there! I returned home soaked and sore but after a shower and some foam rolling and tennis ball massaging my ankle/foot feels pretty decent.
Next week is going to be my last long run where I hope to hit 13-15. I’m STILL not decided on whether or not I’m going to run the full or the half. Frankly, as I’ve said before I’ll have to speak to someone at the EXPO and see what my options are. I’m sort shifting into the mindset of less pressure and just half it. Oh the suspense!!!!!
Don’t you just love reading blogs written by indecisive, overly sentimental running, chicks?
OK, tell me….do you have some object you are sentimentally attached to?
Hope your weekend is buzzing along nicely. I kicked mine off last night when I met my friend at the diner for a bite to eat. It ended like this…
Rice pudding topped with whipped cream
I’m blaming the supermoon for my lapse in judgement.
But let me tell you it was so worth it! Best rice pudding I’ve had in a while. And whipped cream is my favorite food group.
This morning I took the doodle to the groomer and then traveled to the park where the big fundraising event for the dog park was taking place. I parked the car here:
End? Hmm….Foreshadowing perhaps…read on!
I saw lots of friends and they all were so confused to see me without my doodle sidekick. There was a “dog wash” where you could get your dog squeaky clean for a small donation, pet store and pet care vendors with free samples and goodies, an animal rescue organization with some of their available pups (be glad I didn’t take pictures because your heart would have melted and you would have wanted to travel from wherever you are to come adopt one.) It was quite the turnout and with the 50/50 and themed basket raffle combined with the sale of some other items the dog park organization raised lots of money to go toward the maintenance of the dog park. Success!
Finally I looked at my watch and realized I needed to hightail it out of there to get back to the groomer where Duncan was ready for pickup. Got in my car. It didn’t start on the first try or the second. I freaked for a second. I just replaced the battery. Hmm….maybe the alternator? Nah. It’s gotta start. So I tried again and this time it turned over. Whew! I made it not a mile up the road when all of a sudden the check engine light came on, the RPM tachometer needle literally started going haywire from 0 to 7 over and over. I tried to make a quick right and pull onto a side street but the car died and power steering locked. Next thing I knew I was coasting right toward the curb where the street sign pole was. I quickly threw the car in park and put my hazards on. Called my friend Nicole who was still working at the event with her husband (she’s the owner of the pet care company I use for Duncan) She sent him to come help me out. We got the car started and he said he’d follow me the 3 miles home. So off we went about one more mile and then the same thing happened but this time we were now on the highway! So I coasted over to the shoulder. There was white smoke coming out of the muffler and it smelled like a combination of gasoline and exhaust fumes. We tried to start the car again and hoped we could get a little farther since I was only 2 miles from home now. No good. This time it wouldn’t start again. That’s when I realized Duncan still needed to get picked up at the groomer.
Ever see an emergency call box up close? I did! Then I gave my “oh well” selfie a shot, and finally panicked that i only had 2 sips of water left because I’m a drama queen
So I gave Bobby my house key, Duncan’s leash and cash to pay the groomer and he left to go get Duncan and bring him to my house while I called up GEICO emergency roadside assistance. I get a free tow but since I was on a restricted access highway I had to pay and I’ll get reimbursed. About 45 minutes later my knight in shining armor a fluorescent yellow t-shirt arrived.
In all the years I’ve been driving (close to 25 years) this is the first time I’ve ever needed to be towed. So I shouldn’t complain =) We got my girl to the mechanic but they were closing so it’s now parked there until Monday when they return. I didn’t know if I wanted to ask anyone else for a favor so I started to walk home. It was hot and almost 4pm already and I knew a 3 mile walk would take me an hour. So I caved and called another friend who scooped me up and brought me home. I was now stuck in the house and thirsty and needed to decompress from the ordeal (yeah, don’t ever let me sign up to be on Survivor) so I decided to make an adult beverage.
Mango, Pineapple and rum cocktail in the works
I had frozen mango and pineapple in the freezer and two types of rum, perfect for a summer cocktail!
It’s all good!
Once I was finally relaxed and over the whole breakdown thing I decided to research a little bit more about my ankle tendonitis. It’s been starting to get a little achier and while I know it’s because I’ve started running again I just had a feeling my nagging tight and sore calf muscle was related. Sure enough it turns out that there is a trigger point which I vaguely remember from when I had acupuncture that causes referred pain to the outside of the ankle right where my discomfort is. While I’ve been using a tennis ball to massage the back part of my calf I haven’t been digging in to the trigger point area to get a good release. Now I’m on to something! I spent about 30 minutes tonight working on it and I can’t believe the almost immediate relief I felt. The human body never ceases to amaze me. Duncan wasn’t exactly thrilled that I was using his tennis ball and rope toy for stretching and trigger-point massage.
He wasn’t too thrilled that he got a haircut and bath either.
Meanwhile I was feeling sad when I realized without a car I wouldn’t be able to drive to Brooklyn to run with some of my peeps. But tonight I got a text that said they’d come to me!!!! WOO HOO!!! So I’m off to go map out a 10 mile route for us.
I’ll report back tomorrow on that. =)
So tell me your breakdown stories. Also, if you’ve recently bought are leased a car tell me what you got. I’m starting to think it’s the safe way to go even though I love my Jeep.
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