Hol-i-day Re-cap...........

Gratituesday, many blog about this!

Things I am grateful for, with a sprinkle of Hol-i-day CHEEEEEER!!!!

1) My ibuprofen-- still chomping on it, (not really) but nonetheless the ITB is getting "less" sore and mo better..Fabulous. Running is coming back. S L O W L Y. But I am up to about 45 min, every 3rd day. It seems to be working

2) My foam roller. Josh, my sometimes-lane-mate-at-swimming-when-I-get-there-late, thank you for your hilarious comment. I do feel like a total tool carrying that thing with me that looks like a weapon from American Gladiators (remember the giant Q-tip!) but that thing is so masochistically phenomenal! Rockn' it!

3) My safe drive back to Ohio....What a nightmare this weather pattern has been as of late. EVERYONE's facebook status' included "stuck at airport;" "cancelling Christmas;" "snowed in;" etc etc. Made it back to the homeland after wading out the snow and ice on Wed last week, in time for a lovely celebration with the most important people! Hooray for that!

4) Spending the Week with Family! As mentioned above, 3 full days to hang with mom, bro, sis, dad, extended fam, etc. Good food, good wine, some quality conversation, and for the first time in a long time, a chance to be get home a lot faster than when I lived halfway across the country!

5) My cross country skis! Technically my mother "gave" me her old ones, used only 2x's...so they are new to me! I am gonna rip it up tomorrow and Thurs....

Oh and on that note, one more just because

6) A SHORT WEEK!! Yay for the office being closed all day Thurs and a half day tomorrow!

Random Thoughts on a Random Thurs

I am first responding to Amanda Lovato's thoughts on the LOVE/HATE Treadmill (b/c of some nasty blogger, I guess you can't leave her any messages anymore??) The irony is I was JUST THINKING THE SAME THING last night as I trudged through the snow....

I HATE THE treadmill...I would rather pick my nose and eat it.....I would rather pick up someones dirty diaper and accidently get their crap on myself...I would rather do just about anything in the world EXCEPT run on a treadmill...its boring, its bouncy, there's nothing fun to look at, I can't focus as well, I get too sweaty, I hate how I feel like I don't get a "Real workout" in when running on one...but I am starting to think with the temps hitting the -10's that it may be my only option if I train early....bummer.....

Other randomness

YAKTRAX....HELLO!! Who is the genius that invented these!?!? After 30 times nearly-falling last night running (nearly cracking my skull) I walked to the running store on the way home from my work (where I also walk to and from everyday)and bought some of these fun little additions. Best damn $25 I ever spent, as I felt like my feet were GRIPPING the ice on my run last night.....they are cheap, they are easy, and you can even wear them with real shoes...score!


2nd thought (not as fun.....My knee is STILL giving me troubles...I have found that it doesn't hurt per se but it does seem to feel stiff if I stand in one place (ie, work) or sit for too long...but running doesn't hurt it???

Thoughts!?!?? I am interested in anyone's feedback...I can pinpoint the ITband and also the fact that after I run the next day the back of my knee feels "tight"--as if I pulled my hamstring/and/or/calf muscle a little...no "pain" but stiffness, and it remains a little swollen....ok well, I know, I've seen an MD, whose a friend and a runner, and he thinks bursitis...my ? is when does it go away if you are only running a few times a week for very short distances???

SWIM SWIM SWIM

I just finished a swim-heavy workout week....And I am loving it! I think I may have posted this before, but I am certain that I missed my calling in HS...grade school, for that matter!! I would've been a half-decent swimmer had I received better instruction earlier on, but you can't go back, right!?!?!?

My new Masters' group is kicking my booty...tons and tons of drills, lots of timed efforts, lots of ways to really work myself in about 50-60 min....Now, truly, some will think this is crazy, but I have NO PROBLEM most days being in the water for 90/+ mins of training....so a hard effort in less than that I really feel it....Today we did lots of 100's timed, broken up into easy, build, and all-outs, and then some deep water kicking!! Fun stuff....

I am happy to report that 40 min on Wed of "SNOWSHOE" running proved to be ok for my ITb to tolerate and I am going to keep at it this weekend...a high of 40degrees Sunday may even allow for some outdoor riding! OOOOHHH, excitement!! More to follow, but my patients are waiting and there is work to be done!!

Enjoy your weekend!

A Snowy Weekend ;)

What a weekend!! I thought that after the first snowfall, about a week ago, I'd perhaps be ready for my Tucson winter of 70-degrees...But I am suprising myself and adjusting ever-so-nicely! (I know, I know, talk to me in a month....I may eat my words!) For now, things are pretty fun!

Fri AM I joined fast-mama Aimee for a gander on the golf course in the Snowshoes..For those not familiar, these are NOT your Grandpa's tennis-racket style kind used to hike thru the woods in search of dinner....We runners buy the light, aerodynamically-minded style that slip on and off, allowing you to pummel through mounds of snow and get your HR up to a solid LT effort! Can you say MAX Test?!!?? I forgot just how challenging of a workout I get on these..And I am not kidding when I say you can absolutely do some damage in about 30/+ min on the hills! Even my little 3hr-marathon friend was feeling it after 40min!!! Not too shabby....So much fun that I ended up out there again on Sat, for a 2nd go at it....one nice little lady x-country skiing muttered to her husband, "I didn't even know you could run in Snowshoes!"

Back to my reality, post-snowshoe, about 3hrs later that day....my ITband is "better", but that is all relative...I spent some of Sat doing damage control, as my knee became stiffer by the hour! I am so ready to throw the towel in on this one...I ice, I rest (but apparently not enough!), I chow Ibuprofen for dinner (not really, I know about GI bleeds!) and its still there...I have backed off my mileage but unfortunately I need less time running and more time healing...Thanks to Tina's boyfriend/MD resident/SUPER STELLAR runner-and-knower-of-all-run-injuries, he assured me that I was on the path but this little nagging $hit of an injury will take time and I should probably do even less running..

So the answer to that? Purchase a set of rollers for my bike, and work it like the Euro riders do leading up to the races....I managed 1.5hrs on Sun and despite my white-knuckling the hallway door (in fear of FALLING!) I was able to two-hand the latter portion of the ride...not too shabby....I highly recommend for anyone interested in breaking up the boredom of an indoor trainer or those looking to improve bike handling skills...there is NO SLACKING with rollers.



Ahh, all in a day's work......On that note, I am off to pop some more Ibuprofen, ICE the knee for the 8th time today, and wish that I were out running the streets of Madison in anticipation of the 12in we are expected to get tonight....oh the life!