Jan Totals

Numbers

• Injections #2 & #3 to complete the series
• 9 days with squats
• 24 miles walking
• 1 group run missed :-(
• 1 batch "death by Oreo" cupcakes to drown my sorrows
• 1 ten mile bike ride 
• 1 midweek, full afternoon, spa retreat with husband
• 1 son back off to college
• 1 daughter in her final semester of high school

Thoughts

• It wasn't a great month from a fitness perspective, but it was still a pretty good month
• Finally got out on that bike on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  Didn't go far or fast, but it was a start and it was glorious! 

Plans

• Vacation get-away with husband in Grand Cayman
• More cycling
• Start running again if knee cooperates

Weekend Whimsy

Well, my wiw2wtw post was better received than I expected. Whew!  I think I may do this again next week.  Remember, it helps me know which outfits look better than others and it gives me something to blog about while I remain benched.  Thanks for bearing with me as I attempt to be more of a fashionista at work.

Speaking of which, my running group met Saturday morning for the first time this season.  I stopped by to drop off my paperwork and say "hi" to the group.  I've been fairly patient with this running hiatus up 'til now, but seeing them all decked out in running clothes ready to start the season without me was difficult.  I'm hoping to join them this weekend or next.  Fingers crossed that my knee will cooperate.

Feeling defeated, I went straight from the running group meeting spot to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for "death by oreo" cupcakes (which are quite possibly the most fantastic cupcakes ever).  Perhaps my habit of compensating for lack of running by drowning my misery in cookies and cupcakes has something to do with the extra weight I've managed to "find" over the past few months.  Ya' think?

This afternoon it is supposed to be 52, sunny, and most importantly, no wind.  *Fingers crossed* that today I finally get out on my bike.  This cupcake-induced belly flab has got to go!!

wiw2wtw

Otherwise known as: "What I wore to work this week," a post that is sure to bore the guys and probably some of my other readers.  Sorry.  It's hard to figure out what to to blog about while I'm not running.

The dress protocol at my work is very casual.  As in, it's okay to wear jeans.  I had fallen into the trap of wearing jeans almost every day and was starting to look more and more like a slob as time went on.

In mid-December, I decided to try to dress a little more fashionably which has required expanding my wardrobe.  I'm also a bargain shopper, and as I'm experimenting with new outfits, I've decided to photo chronicle some of my them to help me figure out which look better than others.

I like the outfit with the blue print top better without the sweater, but it was chilly that day, so I wore the sweater.  The grey pants that you can't see very well are from the Limited.  The top is Calvin Klein.  Picked up the sweater at Marshalls, not sure what brand it is.

The skirt outfit was paired with boots.  I find skirts to be quite comfortable.  The only thing I don't like about them is that most of my skirts don't have pockets.  And looking at the photo, now I'm thinking that skirts might make me look pudgy.  I remember buying the top at Kohls and the skirt at Marshalls.

I'm big on wearing scarves.  I just love them.  I'm surprised that I only have one outfit with a scarf so far in my photos from the week.  No surprise, that outfit with the scarf is by far my favorite of the four.  The whole outfit is from Marshalls, and if memory serves me, I scored that sweater for a mere $7 from the clearance rack.

I succumbed to wearing blue jeans in the fourth photo.  I really like that top paired with the black bolo sweater.  But I think it would have looked much better with black pants.  Oh well, at least I wore dark jeans.

So there you have it, the first installment  (and who knows, maybe the last) of wiw2wtw.

Questions, Questions, and more Questions

A while back, I had read something about squats being good for OA of the knee.  Today at lunch time I was browsing some other sites and read that squats were something to be avoided.  So which is it, recommended or to be avoided?!?!?  For what it's worth, I'm doing what are called chair squats - no weights and basically squatting far enough just to touch my butt to a chair, then back up.

Also read to avoid long distance running.  But no definition of what constitutes a long distance.  In my mind, long distance means greater than a 10K.  What does it mean to you and more importantly, what do you think it means in this context?

I was told to wait 3 weeks before resuming previous activities, and that it might possibly take up to 6 weeks.  Not entirely sure what resuming previous activities entails.  I'm fairly sure it means that I can try run training  (3x week) starting next weekend if my knee isn't hurting.  But can I try running before then if it's really short or just 2x week?  Or do I avoid it all together for 3 weeks?

Why does the weather not cooperate with my plans?  I mentioned in an earlier post about trying to get out on my bike for cycling last weekend.  Decided to aim for Sunday.  Saturday the weather was lovely.  Sunday, not so much.  So now I'm hoping for this coming weekend.  Is cycling under that umbrella of previous activities or does it depend?  I was just going to try something short-ish like 10 miles.

UPDATED to add:  A few people have asked me about supplements.  It has been recommended for me to take Move Free Advanced which is a glucosamine/condroitin product.  I believe that it helps.  I've even started my mother on it and she noticed improvement.  Recently, I decided to start taking Move Free Ultra as well.  This is a collagen type II product.  Which some research says works better/differently than glucosamine/condroitin.  I decided to take both rather than one or another.  The question here, how will I know if this is helping since I started taking it a few weeks before I got the injections?  Probably the real test will be about 6 months from now.  Also, are there any other supplements that I should be considering?

Eleven

I was recently tagged by Marcia at The Studly Runner, and I am playing along especially since it gives me something to blog about.


The Rules (as stated):
1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!


My Randoms:
1. The channel I usually watch before bed stopped showing reruns of The Office in favor of The Big Bang Theory beginning in September.  After about two months, I finally started to enjoy The Big Bang Theory.  But I really wish they'd go back to showing The Office. 
2.  I don't drink alcohol anymore, so now a Roy Rogers is my go-to "cocktail" when we go out.  Husband cuts me off at two, otherwise I get jacked up on sugar/caffeine and can't sleep.  LOL. 
3.  My guilty pleasure - powdered donuts from the vending machine at work.  Recently they vendor interlaced chocolate donuts and powered donuts.  I walked up 4 flights of stairs last Tuesday, checking the machines on each level for a machine with powered donuts.  On three floors, they were blocked by chocolate donuts.  On the fourth floor I finally had success! 
4.  We bought and sold our first house in just over a year.  It wasn't planned.  We were living in Ohio at the time and had just gotten married.  We expected to stay there for a while, when a great job opportunity unexpectedly came along, bringing us to New Mexico. It was a good move in the grand scheme of things even though we lost money on that first house.
5.  Three of my first four cars were totaled within two years of owning them.  Two by my mother, one by me.  Yes, you read that right, my mother totaled two of my cars.  Isn't it usually the other way around?
6.  When I was in high school, it was required to take either Home Economics or Industrial Arts.  I signed up for Industrial Arts.  The school called and told me that I needed to take Home Economics because I was a girl.   I'm sure this wouldn't happen today, but it did back then.  I told them I didn't want to take Home Economics, and I didn't see why I couldn't take Industrial Arts since the requirement was to take one or the other.  I ended up talking them into it and was the only girl in my Industrial Arts class.  By the way, I got an A.
7.  I collected feathers one spring/summer when I was a little girl so that I could make myself some wings.  I jumped off the picnic table and tried to fly.  Needless to say, it didn't work.  
8.  I know I've mentioned this before on the blog, but I've melted not one but two tea kettles by leaving them on the stove and forgetting about them.  I now have one that whistles when the water is boiling.  
9.  When I was a teenager, I didn't like pizza or soda. Weird, huh?  BTW, Now I like both.
10.  Not a fan of football.  Or basketball.  But I like baseball, preferably live, especially minor league.  Go Isotopes!  
11.  I try to park in roughly the same spot on the top floor of the parking structure at work otherwise I have trouble finding my car.  Most of the time that I try (and succeed) to get a closer parking spot, I end up forgetting about it after work until I've already gone all the way to the top floor anyway...


Questions from Marcia:
1. Do you have any pets? Yes! We currently have two dogs, Bandit and Stymie, and two cats, Mitts and Cookie.  I can't imagine life without pets.
2. Most embarrassing moment?  Probably wiping out coming out of the swim during my first sprint triathlon, resulting in scrapes & bruises to my face, shoulder, etc.
3. Favorite brand of running gear?  Ummmmm, is that a trick question? No way I can pick just one single favorite.
4. Dream vacation?  My favorite vacation was Moorea with Husband for our 20th anniversary.  I really want to go back.  
5. Dream race?  Wow, that's a tough one.  I guess I don't really think about dream races as much as dream race performances. I wish my knee would hold up for another half-marathon, but that seems unlikely.  
6. Favorite GU flavor?  Strawberry Banana Powergel.
7. Snow ski or water ski?  I prefer snow skiing to water skiing, but I'm really not fond of either.
8. Do you get a flu shot?  Absolutely!
9. Gold, sterling silver or platinum?  Gold, and I really like jewelry with mixed yellow/gold. 
10. What grade in school did you enjoy most? Least? - I have fond memories of 3rd grade, so that must have been my favorite.  I think I liked 7th or 8th the least, awkward teenaged years.  
11. How often do you get a haircut?  Last time I went about 11 weeks between haircuts, but I usually go in every 6-7 weeks.   


My Questions (Please embellish your answers):
1.  Superman or Batman?
2.  Coffee or Tea?
3.  Sunrise or Sunset?
4.  Facebook or Twitter?
5.  Spring or Fall?
6.  Breakfast or Dinner?
7.  Books or Movies?
8.  Beach or Mountains?
9.   Early Morning or Late Night?
10.  Glass half-full or half-empty?
11.  Hill repeats or speed work?


My Tag-ees (is that even a word?):
ajh
lily on the road
raquelita
christine
laura
amber
lbtepa
irene
wes
amanda
carolina john
big daddy diesel

This and That

Still not running, but I did get around to reading and commenting on some blogs.  You all have been a busy bunch!  Makes we want to take some time to mention a few things that are going on.

• I read something about squats being good for OA of the knee. So I decided to try it.  I've done three sets of squats 5 times and each time my knee makes all kinds of weird noises that I don't think it's supposed to be making when I do these.  Kind of freaks me out.  So I'm not sure that I'm going to continue.
• I've been trying to do a decent amount of walking.  Hoping to hit about 30 miles for the month (avg 1 mile per day).  I'm at 20 miles for the month and it's the 20th, so it seems I'm on track for that.  Yay, me!
• It is also my son's 20th birthday.  Man o' man, time flies!
• There is a local 5K in 3 weeks, essentially right when I'm ready to start running again.  I may or may not sign up for it.
• I'm going to be doing a 365-day photo project starting on March 1.  At the end, I hope to be better skilled with my camera.
• Husband & I have a trip to Grand Cayman booked for 5 nights in February, just the two of us.  Woot!
• I've been thinking about doing a local spring triathlon that is scheduled for mid-April.  I'm holding off just to make sure I know which weekend it is. I would need to start cycle training SOON if I decide to do this.
• I'm anxious to get on my bike again.  Maybe this weekend if the weather holds up.  *fingers crossed*
• I started painting our Great Room this morning. We have to paint with a brush to get the adobe bricks covered, which seems to take about 4 times as long as painting a flat wall with a roller.  Plus, it's a fairly large room. Trying to break this down into smaller segments so I don't get discouraged.

Almost...

Thought I'd check in.  I've completed the series of three injections for my knee.  I'm already feeling pain relief, but it will still be about 3 weeks until I can run again.  I promise that I will be back to regular posting and reading by that time.  I'm almost ready for my re-entry to the blog world, but not quite.  Until then, I hope everyone is doing well!

Dec Totals

Numbers

• 30.0 miles walking
• 4000 yds swimming
• 1st of 3 injections for knee
• 1 son home from college for break
• 1 daughter on break from high school
• 2 weeks off work
• 3 movies seen in the theatre
• 1 piano concert
• 1 bedroom painted
• 2 work-related Christmas dinners

Thoughts

• I'm a wee bit envious of those of you who are starting the year off with a New Years Run.
• Lost my motivation for swimming in the middle of the month and fell way short of my 8000 yd goal
• Did okay with walking and hit my 30 mile goal.
• Happy that the days are getting longer again.
• Back to work on Monday.  Ugggh.

Plans

• Injections #2 and #3
• Trying a new supplement - Move Free Advanced Ultra
• Patience, grasshopper, patience...

Happy New Year everyone!  May it bring health and happiness to you and yours!