Hi there.

Happy March! 3 weeks until Spring! So much to tell you guys…

First, I get my MRI results on my shoulder tomorrow. Then on Tuesday morning I have my appointment made to see the sports injury chiro about the knee. Now let’s backtrack…

Last Wednesday, I hit the gym during my lunch break and tested out the stationary bike to see if my knee would be bothered by it or not. I’m happy to report that it went well.

bike ride at gym

pedaling

boring stationary bike ride

boring stationary bike ride

Covert locker room gym selfie so people don't think I'm weird

Covert locker room gym selfie so people don’t think I’m weird

Honestly though, for me, biking and not going anywhere is very boring. More boring than running on a treadmill. So I needed to occupy my mind. Before you knew it I had my iPhone in hand and was Googling a bunch of stuff that I wanted to know.

I wanted to see what the finish time limits are for the 2 half marathons I have this month. The NYC Half on March 15th is a 3 hour limit (or a 13:45 pace) and the Love Run on March 29th is a 3 1/2 hour limit (or a 15 minute pace). So basically I can walk/run both of these with an emphasis on the walk and probably complete them without my knee going crazy. Of course I’ll wait for professional advisement when I see doc on Tuesday before I say this will definitely be my plan. But honestly the knee isn’t phased at all by walking.

Thursday I made a delicious dinner.

Chicken and Steak Shish Kabob

Chicken and Steak Shish Kabob

I hardly ever cook so this is very blog-post-worthy. I also made some amazing discoveries. Party cake Peeps…

party cake peeps

party cake peeps….for keeps!

And, the best discovery of my life…

Nutella and Girl Scout Shortbread cookie combo

Nutella and Girl Scout Shortbread cookie combo

Nutella sandwiched between two Girl Scout Shortbread cookies. Oh my it was so good.

More »

Today at lunch I went to a local sporting goods store for some new running socks. You see, most of my running socks are white, but I don’t have much else that is white and I end up running out of socks too frequently while waiting for a big enough load of whites to put in the wash. #runnerproblems #livingsingleproblems

So I made sure to buy some darker colored socks. GENIUS!

photo 3

A few stragglers of white, but mostly blue, gray and black. I love ASICS socks, I’ve worn the Intensity before but this will be my first try with the Quick Lyte’s. After I grabbed a few packages of socks, I walked around a bit and spotted a nice little iPhone holder that straps to the handle bars of a bike and a water bottle holder for the bike too. And then I remembered I used my last 2 pieces of KT tape this past Saturday so I got another roll. That ish is expensive! But it does help! As the cashier rang me up she said if I spent $6 more I’d earn a $20 gift card so I grabbed another package of socks! And now I need to decide what to use the gift card for.

Great news! I got my referral for physical therapy….my first appointment is Thursday! YAY!

Duncan has some great news too! He just won the latest game of tug…

photo 5

Also, I just added these two inspirational pics/words onto my Dig Deep page.

photo 2

Go the distance. Take it slow. Enjoy the journey.

photo 1

Walk through the fog to find your light

I’m going to try and be more dilligent about creating them more frequently. I don’t have a Pinterest board yet but eventually I’ll set them up there.

So I have a few questions:

1. What are your favorite running socks and why? Are they white?

2. What sporting good item should I get with my $20 gift card? Should I buy a $20 item like a hat or something more expensive and pay the difference.

3. Do you take a lunch break at work? Do you eat at your desk? Run errands?

Happy belated National Running Day! I hope you all were able to celebrate in some way. Whether it was running, signing up for a race, buying some new running gear, subscribing to a running mag or maybe donating to a fundraiser of a runner.

I was sad that my tendonitis injury wouldn’t allow me to run (technically based on dr’s orders) so I did a couple of other things.

First, after reading this, I went here. Go #TeamJaimie, Duncan and I are rooting for you. Then, on my lunch break I headed up to the ASICS store to see if they had the Cumulus 16s in.

asicsstore

I discuss my love of the Cumulus back in this post and how I ended up with Brooks Ghost when the Cumulus 13s couldn’t be purchased anymore. Well, I’m excited to say the 16s felt just like the 13s when I tried them on. Nice and cushy. And so I bought them.

asics cumulus 16

 

So after skipping over the 14s and 15s I’m really happy to be reunited. I still have plenty of mileage left on my Brooks Ghosts and I’ll be keeping them in rotation for sure. Of course I have to get past my fear that they caused my tendonitis.

Just to share about what I was looking for in a sneaker in case you are wondering I have a wide forefoot but a narrow heel. I also tend to get metatarsalgia (feels like you have a pebble in your shoe under the ball of your foot) on the bottom of my left foot so cushioning is really important. My gait is quite neutral so stability isn’t as important. Asics tend to be roomier in the toe box and forefoot area.

On my way back to the office I passed this port-a-potty in an abandoned storefront that had been gutted but then construction stopped (for probably a year now). Something tells me it’s in worse shape than one at the start of a marathon. LOL!

scary potty

your welcome

On my commute home as I was scrolling through news feeds galore I saw that on Staten Island (and all 5 boroughs of New York City) they were celebrating National Running Day until 8pm at one of my favorite parks. With new sneakers, and a huge craving to run I roped my friend Mike in to coming with me and Duncan for a “walk” there. I just wanted to check it out. =)

I run to Sweat Out the Small Stuff

I run to Sweat Out the Small Stuff

They were giving out free bandanas and had race bibs that you could fill out.

nrd-bib

Once I filled out my bib I knew I had to at least run a few strides. And so I ran about 100 yards.

This video shows my entire run! LOL! I think that was a perfect compromise to following Dr’s orders. Then Duncan and Mike and I walked for about an hour.

Thin Ice

June 4th, 80 degrees….I think it’s safe to take this sign down. LOL!

Just a duck

Just a duck

note to self: Hill repeats to prepare for San Francisco should happen right here

note to self: Hill repeats to prepare for San Francisco should happen right here

YAY! Honeysuckles are finally appearing!

YAY! Honeysuckles are finally appearing!

National Running Day with Duncan

Clove Lakes Park, Staten Island

scenic

scenic

After the walk Duncan got dropped home to eat his kibble and we went to the diner where I had a roast beef melt sandwich and sweet potato fries.

sandwichOn the way back we noticed that in the same shopping center as the diner that a Tasti DLite is coming. This shopping center is only 1/2 a mile from my house. This could become my new obsession. Especially since duncan’s groomer is also in that shopping center.

tasti-d-liteThen I came home to see the progress of my kitchen cabinets. My dad started this project back in 2010 and then lost the mood but after some gentle nagging from my mom he’s finally back to business and progress is being made. Basically he’s painting them with this special, made for kitchen cabinets paint/process by Rustoleum called Cabinet Transformations. They used to be a washed oak color:

oldfinishBut will now be chocolate brown:

cabinetdoor

door

cabinetframe

cabinet

Did you get to do anything for National Running Day? What are your favorite running sneakers?

Have you ever done a kitchen renovation? I’m so hungry for breakfast but can’t access anything because my dad is on his way to put the second coat of paint on and everything is all masked off. Sigh!

 

 

 

Happy Monday!

As it seems every year Spring is the wildest month temperature-wise here in the North East. I was running with practically full winter gear last weekend when temps were in the mid 30s and yesterday it reached 84 degrees! The good news is it was perfect for me to try my last new clothing purchase from my running gear splurge, the Under Armour Fly By Running T-Shirt.

Under Armour Fly By T-Shirt

business in the front and party in the back

And let me tell you, this shirt IS fly! I’m a fan! I set out for a nice easy 4 miles. I had to stop at my folks’ house to bring in their mail and newspapers (they were away for the weekend), so I ran. Of course they live at the top of a very BIG hill. Not a problem…I just took it nice and easy.

4 miles

4 easy miles

And although it felt like Summer, the trees are just budding…

pear tree

baby buds almost ready to bust open

Meanwhile the dog was at the groomer getting a bath and haircut. Talk about multitasking!

When I picked him up he looked like this:

labradoodle haircut

i’m too sexy for this grass

I’m off today. Got up early to run a few errands. Even went to the bank to inquire about refinancing my mortgage. Yep that’s been on the “to-do” list for quite some time. And of course the person I need to see was unavailable. They said he’ll call me within the hour. I gave my cell number because I want to head out for another short easy run soon. I’ll just take the phone with me.

Hope your week is off to a good start.

Question: Do you keep lists? Do you keep up with your tasks? What always falls to the bottom of the priority list. For me it’s doing my nails. They are currently ragged and naked but I just bought a new color polish this morning to incentivize me to get them pretty asap! =)