Been a long time

It's been a while since my last blog entry and much has been going on.

Work has officially kicked my rear for the past three weeks. I returned from a few days down Maine to inter-agency politicking and a high  stress community forum. Not fun. Then we  decided to redo our  current website in a 6-8 week period. I became project manager and all our content had to be written and approved within 2 weeks. 2 weeks. While editing a new curriculum and feeling with all the other day to day crazy.

I worked this weekend on the car to New York- 4 goes there and sadl with printouts,a red pen, and a laptop. I've pulled two almost 12 hour days in the last 48 hours and am pooped. But the text is basically written and approved. Phew!

I've been leeping same with a 3-4 day a week running regimen and have gotten up to 5 miles on my long runs.  Only bummer is that my hip went put of line agsin (same issue that sent me to physical therapy last year after I developed runner's knee-subtext: inflamed and painful). So I figured out that I was hurting and got to the chiropractor. Have to go ove a well for a month, wear a brace while running, ice after runs,and take ibuprofen when necessary. Am also going to start some hip strengthening exercises because I apparently need them.

So I've stayed within 2lbs of my pre-summer weight, which is good as I've not been tracking and have been eating and drinking lots of treats. We've got one more holiday and then beginning September 6th I'm bsck on weight watchers with a vengeance. I could still hit goal by January 2012 and that's a fun goal.

So, now to relaxing , a little running (doing a midnight 5k run this saturday), swimming, cavorting and rejuvenating. Will try to blog some this weekand get on a regular schedule again this fall.

One stride at a time...

Well, another week is passing by. My first week on PointsPlus totally rocked. I excitedly tracked and exercised all week and, even after enjoying two munchy nights out with friends (beer and wine included), I lost 4.8lbs! What a jump start!

This week has been a lot slower. I'm still tracking although the initial excitement has waned slightly. I think that mostly has to do with stress at work. We're in our year end and the recession is finally hitting us for the first time in two years. And, as a program manager, I am stressed out.

As a result, the work schedule has also been a little wacky this week, which has negatively affected exercise. So far I only have 2 workouts in; although I have planned in bicycling for Saturday + Sunday + Monday along with some weights. Today I did "The Shred" and had my butt whupped! I'm also going to take the dog out later on today for a walk at the Arboretum which will be nice.

I received my MRI results this week. While I have no tears or fractures, the posterior side of my right knee is showing some cartilage degeneration and resulting chronic inflammation. I've been told no more running for at least 2 months, which puts me well though January. And even then it's dependent on inflammation coming down. So the only intervals I can do are either walking or on the bike. I'm not really supposed to be doing jump rope or jumping jacks either (anything that puts more impact on the knee, so I'm modifying The Shred aerobic workout sections a bit).

It's mixed news. I'm disappointed about the running. I did some walk/jog intervals over the past two weeks and was excited to be back on the path to running again. But, I'm glad it's not a surgical issue. And with continuing PT, regular icing, glucosame and vitamin D3, I'll be on the mend. Guess I'll put my sights forward to a 2011 bike race instead. Any recommendations?

On a different note, I had a breakthrough this morning in my thinking about food. My partner and I are having her two sisters over tonight. Originally I thought that we were going to cook tonight, but she had it in mind that we were carrying on a Fri night Chinese food tradition. I agreed that Chinese food was fine yesterday, but this morning I began to panick. We had a night out on Wednesday with wine and cheese, I had a Board meeting with desserts and wine last night, and Saturday we have friends coming into town and we're heading out for dinner at a local Mediterranean place (again, with wine). Now, I could not drink the wine, I know. But it's one of the things that I really enjoy. Saturday there will be no dessert as this restaurant has better entrees than desserts. Still, all I could think was, "I've not been exercising, I've been eating out, and now Chinese food?!" And then I thought, "I don't have to have it." Which is a little sad but empowering. And then I realised, "I can still have some steamed veggie dumplings." Which is awesome and empowering! They are my favorite Chinese food item and one is 1 PointsPlus. So 6 steamed veggie dumplings (6pts) + 1 cup of my roasted vegetable + tofu curry (4pts) will make up my very satisfying and happy 10 PointsPlus dinner! I can take or leave the lo mein/fried rice so that's no worry and will just have to be mindful to avoid the scallion pancakes (which I also love, but one 2.25 oz pancake is 7PointsPlus!!!)

So I have a plan and I feel very happy with myself for this mental enlightenment and behavioral compromise. Hurrah! And Saturday, I'll just be mindful all day, exercise and then enjoy dinner out. And, Sunday I'll do the same AND cook a vegetable rich dinner to be enjoyed in.

So watch this space to see how the PointsPlus Week 2 weigh-in goes on Monday!

Feels good to move...and not move.

Went to physical therapy tonight for my knee. I'm a few visits in so know the exercises; it was rough tonight. I struggled with my reps at the weights I used earlier this week. I cried on the table. Granted, my work day was emotionally undoing today, so I'm sure that contributed to physical tiredness also.

Still, I'd planned on a short cycle tonight post-PT and it didn't happen.

But, I'm okay with that.

This week is my second week back in on regular exercise post-injury and doctor's orders to lay off my knee for over 3 months. This week I've walk/jogged for 30minutes (Mon), cycled for 40 mins > 12mph (Tues), and did a combo 15 min run/walk with a 20 min > 12mph cycle (Weds). I'm doing well.

So tonight for me, health and fitness and exercise means not moving (at least after physical therapy) and taking a day to rest and heal my self and my body. The cycle will be there smiling at me tomorrow morning at 7am I'm sure. And I'll be ready for that 40 minute release of tension and building of strength, self, and fitness.

Knees, chiropractors, car crashes and cupcakes

What a lot to catch up on.

I'm glad I ran today. I made it to 4.6 miles, which is a blessing as over the past couple of months I've been experiencing crippling knee pain when running. And, thanks to my wonderful chiropractor, I may have a solution: shoes.

Now, I was fitted for my running shoes at a reputed running store here in Boston. They fit lovely at first try, but after 3 weeks of foot-time I was concerned that they weren't as comfy as my last pair. Too late to return them I plodded along from mid-April through mid-May blaming achy legs and numb feet on my badly out-of-alignment back. And, with a wedding our wedding in May my mileage decreased anyway (and I had about 3 weeks off).

So forward to mid-June. Wedding over. Honeymoon over. And I'm 7lbs heavier and back on the pavement. I've started going to a chiropractor to correct my back and the arm numbness and dizziness I've been experiencing progressively since Jan 2010 is disappearing. The aches in my back are lessening. The knots are releasing. And my knee is killing me. My right knee.

As my back is getting fixed and my hips are aligned I find that I can't run without intense knee pain past 1.5miles. Not great at all. So I switch to a run-walk combination thinking that my newly even hips are affecting my gait and I just need to ease into it. No matter if I'm walking or running it's painful after 1.5miles. And, though each visit I leave the chiropractor with flying colors on my strength test (left and right sides) when I return after a few days off I'm still consistently failing my strength tests on my right leg despite the lessened back pain/new equilibrium.

And then my chiropractor asks me to bring in my shoes. My new shoes that are only 3 months old and have seen only 9 weeks of running or so. No more than 130 miles. We talk about my issues and my chiropractor adjusts my back. We run strength tests on both legs. Passed with flying colors. He asks me to put on my work sandals and walk back and forth across the waiting room floor. We do strength tests. I pass with flying colors again. He asks me to put on my running shoes and walk back and forth across the waiting room floor (once). We do strength tests and he watches my gait. I fail all the right leg strength tests. I feel like crying.

And so he looks at my shoes. First, he points out that the right one looks like the heel is sloping in toward the left shoe. Next, he tests their shocks by tapping on the back of the heel. The left shoes bounces slightly back/forth in response. The right jumps around back/forth and left/right. Aha. He says. Structural issues with the shoe.

So I go back to said well reputed running store to be fitted again because I trust their fittings. One bum pair of shoes does not turn me off from being a customer. I'm fitted and tell my story as I'm there. I get 15% off the new shoes (nice!).

So, I'm now 2 weeks and 4 runs into the new pair. The first two runs were a little shaky as I got used to the new fit and lacing. My left knee and right knee both hurt a little after the first 2 runs, but eased after icing. Although after run 2 I did feel significant pain the next day. These last two runs (yesterday- 2.3miles and today- 4.6miles) were golden. No pain. None at all. I've proactively iced the right knee just in case. But no ibuprofen has been necessary. No wincing has occurred. It feels like a miracle. I've not run over 4miles since May (the Charles River 7.5miler was cancelled; and I didn't attend the 5k but ran on the treadmill instead). This gives me hope for the Sproul 10k in August.

So, was it the shoes? I'm thinking so and am hoping today signals future success and pain-free running. Watch this space for updates.

With Knees and chiropractors down, time to touch on the car crashes and cupcakes.

This short of it is that I was in a wreck this afternoon. My car suffered significant front end damage so now is at the body shop in JP and I am car-less. Thankfully we're headed down Cape for a few days and I have rental coverage for work next week if necessary. But really? My car.... it's my work lifeline.

Part of me wants it to be totaled so I can get that dog-accessible vehicle our household needs. The other part of me hopes that its fixable and all covered so I don't have to find down payment monies. So crossed fingers.

I'm typing glibly about the whole affair now; mainly because it's been a couple of hours and the claims process has started. But also because I made the conscious decision to self-soothe with a Sugar cupcake and a glass of red wine. It's likely bad to self-soothe with food and alcohol, but I was definitely not up for another run and too shaky for my bike. So I opted for food and Facebook (uploading wedding photos) and am feeling pulled together enough to pack for our trip.

I'll dive into the ramifications of food-soothing on another post I'm sure. For now, I don't want to go too deep with it, but note that it is an effective coping method under significant distress. At least for me. And by Friday I'll be back to running with my non-gimpy knee!