I was thinking today how normal it is for me now to NOT run like a crazy person. I used to run so much but since returning from injury this time around I’m basically down to one run a week. After the Fall Flat 5k two weekends ago I waited a week and ran 4 miles the day after Thanksgiving. It was an AWESOME run. Just felt so happy and appreciative. Great fall weather and a quiet day since most of my clients weren’t around.

A beautiful Fall day  run

A beautiful Fall day run…my Black Friday… #optoutside

My feet took a beating though over the next two days.

Saturday Mr. SOTSS and I took his two daughters and my niece into the city to check out some of the department store holiday windows and see the big old tree at Rockafeller Center (unlit since the tree lighting doesn’t happen until tomorrow). Of course it ended up being more about shopping, SnapChat and selfies as my niece is 17 and his girls are 12 and 14. #teenagers 🙂

Taking their SnapChat selfies

Taking their SnapChat selfies

They were SO excited because there was a special “pop-up” store of Kylie Cosmetics and they waited on a huge line to get in and buy some makeup. It was fun though.

waiting for the girls

just two kids skipping ;)

just two kids skipping 😉 And those french braids are one of my braid masterpieces of the weekend.

These ornaments are displayed every year for what feels like forever. I feel like they've repainted them to be extra sparkly this year.

These ornaments are displayed every year for what feels like forever. I feel like they’ve repainted them to be extra sparkly this year.

My niece is such a hoot. And a great role model for the girls too. I love to see them hang together. We walked a ton and then, the next day we went back into the city with Mr. SOTSS’ parents and the girls to see Wicked, the broadway musical.

3rd row!

3rd row!

She wanted a french braid to the side. Mission accomplished.....and I did it while standing on the train.

She wanted a french braid to the side. Mission accomplished…..and I did it while standing on the train. 

Needless to say after another full day of strolling the city my feet were achy yesterday. I did manage to go to yoga but today I tried to rest my dogs as much as possible today. The old me would have run today because I had the time and the weather was great. But I just don’t want to risk injury. I’ve got a 5k on Saturday and I’d like my feet to be happy so I can run happy.

I can’t even wrap my head around ever getting back to a training schedule. I’m just going to continue to listen to my body. I haven’t signed up for any races in 2018 yet. I’d like to gradually build back up to 3 runs a week but who knows when that will be.

November is almost over and so are my Thanksgiving leftovers.

Last  of the TG leftovers

Last of the TG leftovers

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I’m almost done designing my holiday card. I’ve even done some Christmas shopping. Hoping I can stay ahead of the game this year.

If I get stressed I'll just hit the bottle....not the wine...the whipped cream! LOL!

If I get stressed I’ll just hit the bottle….not the wine…the whipped cream! LOL!

Duncan's dropping the hint about what he wants for Christmas....he needs more tennis balls.

Duncan’s dropping the hint about what he wants for Christmas….he needs more tennis balls.

What’s new with you? Are you a fan of the holidays? Are you the type who gets more stressed or more spirited?

I’m a little of both. I do get stressed trying to get it all done but I LOVE when my tree is up and decorated and I’m wrapping gifts and listening to some holiday music.

For all my injured readers give me an update and let me know how you’re doing.

Well hello there.

Been super busy working but I’m finally catching a breath and thought it would be a great time to tell you about yesterday. I ran the Fall Flat 5K trail race here in Staten Island and got to catch up with my good friend Gina. She and I ran this race last year. I blogged about it here.

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So before I tell you about yesterday’s race let me first admit something that I haven’t told anyone yet. I had a bit of a freak out a week before the race. I woke up limping. Not kidding! It’s really pretty ridiculous. I feel like I’ve been a broken record the entire year! My “good” foot was hurting. I realized that it was the first week I’d run 3 times in a single week since the original toe injury and I also went to yoga twice and I probably just overdid it. I forget sometimes that for months that foot worked about 150% every single day. Every single downward dog I put more weight on that foot because I was still giving my bad foot a break. Needless to say I kept this to myself and decided to take an entire week off to see how things would go. The limp went away after about 2 days and since then I’ve been doing much better. I’ve been icing and stretching and while the foot is achy today I don’t think this is anything more than some mild tendinitis. 2017 has been rough. Clearly my body is letting me know that I need to take even smaller baby steps with this whole return to running. So I’m going to keep to only 1 or 2 runs of 3ish miles a week for the rest of the year. If there’s one thing I can do next year to help the situation it will be to start incorporating more strength work into my DAILY routine. I’m not going to allow myself to train for anything more than 5k until I feel more secure physically. Between the toe injury X2, the back spasms, the knee strain in my sleep, hurting the arch of my foot during physical therapy….am I missing anything? Yeah, I don’t want to have to utter a single word about injury in 2018! Ok, enough about that. Now on to my recap…

 

Fall Flat 5K Trail Race Recap:

The race starts at 10am at a park that’s only about 15 minutes from my house. Bib/shirt pickup opens at 9am. I like to get  there right at 9am to park at the entrance right nearby. There’s a second parking area but you have to walk a bit. Because this race is held by the same organization that runs the night hikes that I go on, I was able to see a few friendly faces.

I grabbed my cute shirt and walked back to the car to toss it in.

Fall Flat 5k 2017

Fall Flat 5k 2017

And then of course my running buddy Gina arrived. She and I met back in the mid 90’s! We worked together. We’ve stayed friends ever since. Gina is a Crossfit/Spartan Race kinda girl but every so often she likes to do a trail or road 5k.

I had no time goals in mind. Gina was hoping to shave a few minutes of last years time so I basically followed her lead. The course was changed up a bit this year which was nice. The only part of the course that overlaps puts you going in the reverse direction so at least you never feel like it’s Groundhog’s day 🙂 I totally forgot to turn my Garmin on but I sort of knew when we hit the first mile just by how I felt. I said that to Gina who looked down at her watch and confirmed we were at 1.03. I’m fairly predictable 🙂

photo courtesy of Run & Shoot Photo

photo courtesy of Run & Shoot Photography

We ended up finishing in 36:28 which was 2:30 faster than last year! Mission accomplished!

I love this race for so many reasons. It’s a local race but it’s one of the more popular events (size-wise) that this organization (The Greenbelt Conservancy) runs. There were about 300 runners (and walkers) of all ages and paces. It’s so nice to recognize so many familiar faces and to see the local running family. There are lots of local photographers capturing the event and they post their pics on Facebook which is such a lovely bonus.

©run shoot photo

photo courtesty of run shoot photo

It’s an event that truly appeals to all levels of fitness. The main goals are that everyone enjoy the trails that are maintained by The Greenbelt Conservancy and that the event raises some money to help ensure the trails can continue to be maintained. Win win! And the price is right. I think I paid $25. But even on race day the registration is only a few dollars more.

Photo courtesy of Run and Shoot Photographu

Photo courtesy of Run and Shoot Photography

My foot felt fine the entire run. It was definitely achy all day afterward. I iced it on and off and even wore compression socks. Today it’s feeling improved. I’m not freaking out anymore. I think with the continued TLC and the lower mileage I’ll be fine. Dear Santa: For Christmas I’d like to be free of injury next year mmmkay?

Do you run on trails?

Do you run local races?

Have I asked these questions before because I feel like I have 🙂

Whew!

After (mostly) resting my knee for 3 days (and icing it the first 24 hours) I bounced back! I can’t remember the last time I healed so fast. And I even went on that walk in the park with Mr. SOTSS and the pups on Saturday. Go figure.

two of my favorite boys

two of my favorite boys

I have had this sweatshirt for about 6 or 7 years and if it weren't for Facebook/Instagram and the blog I might not have realized how much I wear it!

I have had this sweatshirt for about 6 or 7 years and if it weren’t for Facebook/Instagram and the blog I might not have realized how much I wear it!

The magical state park a mile from Mr. SOTSS' house

The magical state park a mile from Mr. SOTSS’ house

Welcome to our "church"

Welcome to our “church”

We didn’t go for the walk until I got to watch Shalane Flanagan win the NYC Marathon.IMG_3799

Yesterday I got back to full activity level. I went for a 30 minute run earlier in the day AND hit up yoga at night.

This is the right place!

This is the right place!

another easy 30 minutes of healthy and happy running

another easy 30 minutes of healthy and happy running

Still loving these New Balance 1080s!

Still loving these New Balance 1080s!

And I found a new use for my old yoga mat. It’s now a great cushion for my feet when I stand at my standing desk a long time. Gotta keep those feet happy!

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This morning Duncan and I had a rough time getting going

Is it really time to get productive?

Is it really time to get productive?

So now you’re all caught up.

What’s new? What’s the weather like by you? 

Hi there. Happy Saturday!

Yesterday, the first Friday of November and OMG it was 75 degrees! Just beautiful!

I looked up and was rewarded with this view

I looked up and was rewarded with this view

I went to yoga on Monday and while not much new to report as far as progress goes I am definitely getting stronger with Crow Pose and that’s really exciting. I can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I started practicing yoga.

On Tuesday I finally had chance to run a few miles in those New Balance Fresh Foam sneakers and I loved them!

New Balance Fresh Foam maiden voyage

New Balance Fresh Foam maiden voyage

It was a quick 30 minutes so I’ll need to run in them a bit more to confirm but my toes felt comfortable and that’s really the most important thing for me right now.

And then on Wednesday I got a haircut and blowout.

Straight hair Sally (for a few hours anyway)

Straight hair Sally (for a few hours anyway)

But the straight hair didn’t last long. I went on a 5 mile hike that evening and the air was fairly damp.

hiking in the dark with flashlights/headlamps

hiking in the dark with flashlights/headlamps

But for a few hours my hair looked amazing! 🙂 I wore my new Altra Lone Peak hiking shoes that Mr. SOTSS got me for my birthday and they were awesome!

Altra Lone Peak hiking shoes

Altra Lone Peak hiking shoes

Oh, and my sister-in-law got me some Sketchers boots for my birthday that are really comfortable too.

happy feet

happy feet

So my fall footwear arsenal is starting to shape up 😉

Thursday I took a rest day and yesterday I planned to go for a run but I somehow twisted my knee in my sleep! I woke up yesterday and could barely walk. I think I know what I did. I tend to sleep on my side with the knee of my top leg sort of up and over the edge of the bed. I think I must have overextended it. The inside of the knee going down the leg hurts. I took some Ibuprofen yesterday and have been icing it and it feels a bit better today but I guess I’ll have to wait another couple of days before resuming running or yoga. I’ve slept in weird positions and woken up with stiff neck or sore arm before but never did anything to my knee before. Sigh! I’m truly injury prone. 2017 has been quite the year for sidelines.

all of her injuries are crimping my dog-walking lifestyle

all of her injuries are crimping my dog-walking lifestyle

I was happy to see this finisher photo of me from the Trenton 5k last weekend. I’m smiling! 🙂

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Gonna take a cue from the universe and just relax this morning. I’m hoping Mr. SOTSS and I can take the dogs for a walk in the park later. If the knee doesn’t cooperate I’ll be bummed.

Have a great weekend! Good luck to all those running the NYC Marathon tomorrow.

 

What does your Saturday look like?

Ever injure yourself in your sleep?