That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On

...moving on from injury and illness.

This week I'm starting over. For the past 6 months I feel as if I've gone from illness to injury over and over again. I need a fresh start without acting like I'm making up for lost time. I need to approach running and the whole fitness thing as if it's new. I feel like I get started again then I get sick, or injured, or both. I don't know the body I have right now and how it will react to what ever I'm doing. I started swimming two weeks ago then I got sick, which wiped me out last week. All I want is to be healthy. Last year was so promising and I was beginning to make progress again. This year is half way through and I feel as if it's been full of setbacks. It's time for some good karma and maybe a more conservative approach to my training. I don't think the  "full speed ahead" approach is working for me. I know I can't dwell over how the past 6 months have been,  PRs in sight (again) only to vanish between illness and injury.

FROM HERE ON OUT THERE WILL BE NO MORE INJURIES OR ILLNESSES THAT IMPEDES MY PROGRESS!

• I will rebuild.
• I will meet my goals.
• I will see some PRs. 
• I will persevere.

Unfinished business / randomness...

About a month ago The Black Knight had a random drawing for a Race for the Cure t-shirt from Italy.  Lo and behold, I won!

Front

Back

This T shirt is incredibly soft and I've been wearing it as a night shirt. I kept meaning to get a photo* of it ever since it arrived. Grazie molto, Cavaliere Nero!!

We received my daughter's graduation photos, finally!

Renee Alexandra Morton - June 3, 2010 - Associates of Arts - Dance, Certificates in Dance and Education **

Our senior citizen kitty, Cruiser, has to be about 18 years old, which makes him something like a hundred years old by cat standards.  He's slow.  He can't jump fences or stalk birds outside, but his head is all there, still seeks attention, and can meow louder than any other cat I've known.  He's a little scruffy looking due to his advanced age, but I captured a photo this morning that makes him look like the kitten he once was:

"Meeeeeoooooow! " translates to "Let me in!"

In World Cup Soccer today, Brazil shut out Chile, 3 to 0. Since the USA is out, I'm now completely behind Brazil, but I am out-numbered since 4 of the 5 people living in my house are part Brazilian.  Do I have a choice?  Yes, I suppose I could be a rebel and root for Germany or Spain since I have descendants from both of those countries, but it wouldn't be pretty. I'll root for Brazil and keep the peace.

Photo - Soccerfanhouse.com /Associated Press

Thursday's Song:
That's Not Me - The Beach Boys

PEACE

*Photo credit to my almost 7 year old grandson, Evan.
** How often do you use your kid's full name?

The Good Life

This past week has been a whirlwind of busy. I had all kinds of posts planned, but I just never had the chance to sit down and formulate the words.

As I had mentioned in a prior post, my sister was in town for a bit. We spent more time together on Memorial Day and just chilled out at the beach. It was also the first time in a long time that I was able to spend quality time with my own family. Yes, we see each other every day, but to actually have the five of us spending time together joyfully interacting was wonderful. Life becomes busy and we don't always get the chance to enjoy our own company.

My daughter graduated from Grossmont College with an Associates of Arts degree and a certificate in Dance, and will be transferring to San Diego State University.

Hooray Renee!

Next on the agenda is everything that leads to the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon & Half Marathon on Sunday, June 6, 2010.  I truly wanted to be running the full marathon, but it was not to be.  Next year.  I am thrilled to be participating in the half marathon with no time expectations.  I really haven't trained for it, but I know I can finish it since I already have the mileage base.  I'm not experiencing any pre race jitters, anxiety or nervousness.  I'm keeping an open mind.

Friday afternoon hubs and I attended the expo to pick up our race numbers and swag.  We brought cameras, but didn't take a lot of pictures because it's pretty much the same as it always is, since we've done a few Rock 'n' Roll events.  We did see our niece's BFF, Mandy, working at the Sports Authority  section, who we did not expect to see:

 Mandy has become like another niece. :)

After the expo and a quick trip to Movin' Shoes to use a gift certificate for Gu and a water bottle, we made a brief stop at home, then back out to the San Diego Track Club's annual Rockin' 'n' Runnin' pasta dinner.  I love attending this dinner because we get to see what everyone looks like all cleaned up.  We're used to seeing each other in running garb and sweaty.  There were many highlights of this evening for me.  I shared a table with friends:

"Making a difference" at our dinner table.

Before the dinner started, Hubs noticed a couple of people talking to Meb Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic silver medalist, 2009 New York City Marathon winner and our guest speaker.  Since there weren't hoards of people wanting to talk to him, I took the opportunity to meet him.  He was so gracious.  I mentioned that we shared a similar injury, the hip fracture, and, without missing a beat, he said, "what is wrong with us?"  LOL.  Then HE started asking ME questions about my injury, if I had surgery, if one leg is longer than the other, about therapy and if I'm still running, etc.  I'm sure he's had a busy day, since he spoke at the expo and met people for a few hours there, THEN came to our track club's event.  I was impressed that he took the time to talk to and listen to each of us who met with him. I must admit that I kind of dorked out and was all giddy afterward. 

Meb & me.

Is this so cool or what?

In all seriousness, it was wonderful meeting Meb.  Ever since I found out about his hip fracture, and to come back to WIN the New York City Marathon is such an inspiration to me.  Even though we're at polar ends of the running spectrum, he gives me hope that I, too, can persevere.

I'm well trained as ready as I can be, considering I couldn't run for nine weeks. Hubs and I have reservations at PF Changs for our last carb load meal.  We just need to have an "easy" day. 

It just wouldn't be a pre race blog post if I didn't post a picture of my race number and what I'm wearing:

My new fuchsia tank top and a Runningskirts.com floral print skirt.  If I can't set any PRs, then I might as well look cute.  I have this thing about numbers, and this race number contains 5s, which are usually good for me.

Send some positive thoughts to my hubs.  He's running the full marathon and dealing with plantar faciitis.

See you on the other side of the finish line!

Wednesday's Song:
Don't Speak - No Doubt - Katiefeldmom

PEACE

Don't Stop Believing

 Guard(en) dog

It has been kind of a long and busy week.  I even missed Wordless Wednesday.  I would have posted the above picture. I'll try to catch up as best as possible without putting you all to sleep.

Tuesday
Went into orthopedics for X rays and chat with a PA. The PA seemed to think my bone was calloused over enough and I could resume normal activity, with reason. She suggested building up to running again, giving myself 3 weeks to do so. The boot got the boot and they don't want to see me any more! 9 weeks is how long it took for the bone to heal enough. It's still healing, but now I can move around without that boot again.

Wednesday
I went in to my usual RU session. I had sent Bryan my very last set of x-rays, and he knew I was good to go. First thing he gives me a big hug because I've been given the OK to resume "normal" life, but then it's business as usual, and I was back to a really good and sweaty workout. He also had me work out longer than normal. My time slot is usually an hour, but I put in about 2 hours, plus I had my foot and shin worked on due to shin splints from the 6 mile walk last Saturday, then ice. The the foot massage still isn't a fun experience, but having the shin worked on was extra special. I really had to dig super deep to find my happy place. He said it would feel better later, but in the mean time he told the PT next to him to hide all sharp objects from me, because I might hurt him after that therapeutic massage. Oww.  All joking aside, I no longer had any foot discomfort what-so-ever because my shin hurt so much after that.

After fun and games at RU, I actually set foot in Costco. I was very aware of foot placement in conjunction to other people's carts. I wouldn't use the term "paranoid." I was just more mindful. It figures that in the time I've been out, they've rearranged where they put some of their items. I couldn't find the only dog treats my dog will eat, but I did discover chocolate Cheerios and big bags of precooked frozen brown rice.

Once I got out of Costco I soon discovered two phone messages from my grandson's school. He's sick and his mommy isn't available, and it's up to me to rescue him. Poor kid. He was pretty miserable with his "throat on fire," but didn't have a fever. The fever kicked in later, though. Mommy took him to the doctor but there's still no infection, it's just a bad cold/flu.

Thursday
I stayed at home with the kiddo. He's feeling good one minute, lousy the next. He camped out on the sofa with a big blanket, some herbal tea and toast while I sat next to him and hemmed my jeans, the ones I bought at AKA Alice's party a over month ago. I actually had some place to wear my new jeans!

Thursday evening Hubs and I went to a MS fundraiser sponsored by RU. It was held at the Double Deuce downtown, only $20 per person, which included 2 drinks, substantial appetizers and a raffle ticket. The Double Deuce is sort of a Western-ish bar/night club, complete with electrical bull riding and a stripper pole. The stripper pole was in the same area as the appetizers and I made the mistake of leaning on it, to which Hubs immediately made some snarky comment. Sheesh. I was able to catch up with a lot of people who ran the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon in December '09. People paid to see the PT's ride the bull, with all the proceeds going to the MS Society. I also got to see my PT, Bryan, ride the bull, which was pretty funny, since he was wearing a few pairs of underwear and a pink women's tank top.

He really needs to come out of his shell...

Not just the guys did this.  Jessica, a PT, was amongst several of the women who rode!

Friday
The kiddo is still sick at home. He spent the morning sleeping. I took that time to garden a little, and discovered that some insect got into the roots of my seedlings and killed a whole bunch of them. I did what I could to save the rest and I might have planted a few too early, but with the hopes that they'll do better in the ground.

Friday evening Hubs and I attended a live art exhibit. A friend of ours paints models bodies, methodically and very strategically, then the model lays on a canvas or foam core board to make an imprint. It was quite the event and fascinating to watch.

  It was incredible to watch him work. 

Saturday


I went running with the track club. It started out as a walk/run, with a ratio of 2 minutes of walking to 2 minutes of running. That walk/run thing only lasted for about the first couple of miles. I found it less stressful to actually run, but at a much slower than normal pace. If it were not for the stop lights I probably would have ran the entire way back. I wasn't intending to put in 9.3 miles, but I felt good and just went with it. We also had PERFECT running weather, which was cool and overcast. It felt chilly afterward, while we were sitting on the grass listening to our guest speaker. Even though the speaker was fun to listen to, I was chilled and decided to warm up in the car. My foot feels OK, just a little weirdness in the ankle, but my knees are telling me that there's a storm on the way, but that has been an ongoing issue due to arthritis. I don't feel thrashed or as if I had never run before. 9 weeks is a good chunk of time off from running, and I feared not being able to handle more than the 6 miles I walked last week. I could of handled 13.1 slow miles today.

Hubs brought his camera on today's run:

 Mik and AKA Alice

"C group, GO!"

The next couple of weeks are going to be busy ones:

• Getting in what ever running I can get in, within reason, of course.
• Making sure my garden survives.  Some of my seedlings in K Cups were eaten at the roots. Stupid bugs.
• My sister and husband will be in town for a week.
• My in-laws are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
• My daughter is graduating from community college with two degrees.
• My nephew will be in and out of town (a few times).
• The pasta dinner with the SDTC is the Friday before the marathon, and it's going to be a full house.  
• The 2010 San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon is in just two weeks.
• My birthday. Edit -- It's not until June
• Life.
• And laundry...  It goes on, and on, and on, and on...

Monday's Song:
Feelin' Alright - Joe Cocker


PEACE

All Figured Out

My father recently went to Chicago to attend the college graduation of my eldest nephew Brandon. It was a very proud moment for the family. Brandon graduated with honors and received his Bachelor's degree in Political Science. His younger brother, Kyle, commented to my father that he should not expect a big deal college graduation from him. Instead, he plans on becoming a famous actor, and having some school of higher learning or university bestow upon him an honorary degree. My dad said actually said that sounded like a good idea. Knowing Kyle, that scenario is more likely to happen than not. Yes, he is THAT cocky, and he knows it. That's Kyle pictured above.


Yesterday's song:
The Hardest Part - Coldplay - Run-DMZ

PEACE

Photo from Ian Merritt - ian@idmphotography.com

Time Passages

Evan graduated from pre-school today!

Yesterday's song:
Can You Read My Mind? - Brian McNight, Maureen McGovern

PEACE

Rest Stop

My niece graduated from college this weekend. She worked full time while attending college, so earning her degree took some time, but she did it. I didn't attend the ceremony or the party, but I think she'll understand why I'm not there.

My good friends came by to visit today with their 1 year old daughter. They haven't been to the house in a while and we had a present for their little girl for her first birthday, which was a few weeks ago. I am always amazed how quickly babies change. They all visited me when I was in the hospital and the baby was barely walking, just holding on to everything as she stepped. Today, a week later, she was walking everywhere.

Not a lot going on, really, just more rest and fitting in some PT when I can.

Yesterday's song:
American Television - Ben Lee

PEACE