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!

One down, two to go & a time of reflection

Yesterday I received the first of the series of three injections for my knee.  I expect to be running again  mid-February.  Until then, I apologize in advance for not doing much blog posting or reading. As many of you who have been benched understand, it's tough to read about everyone else's running adventures when you can't join in on the fun.

[FYI - I'll probably need to keep going back about every 8-10 months or so to repeat the series for as long as this continues to work. After that point, I'm not sure what will happen.  I'm not happy that my knee can't be 'fixed', but I'm happy to have a treatment plan that works well enough for now to allow me to do most of the things I want to do.]

In the past few weeks, I lost my motivation to focus on swimming and walking.  I just really miss running. And I guess that's okay.  Nothing wrong with taking a break, right?

Overall, it was a good year.  I started off with an unexpected 5K PR in February.  I had to give up plans to run a spring HM due to issues with my knee, but switched focus to shorter running events and triathlons.  Had another 5K PR July.  I had a blast at the inaugural Live.Love.Tri in August, the first all-women tri in NM.   I took a good ten minutes off my Patriot (sprint) Tri time in September, mostly an improvement in cycling.  I had a 10K PR in October.  Cycling training with Husband was successful and we capped it off with a strong 50mile charity ride with more climb than I thought I was capable of.  My knee held up until race season was over, and I'll be ready soon enough for next year.

Hope the New Year is a good one for everyone!!

not running -> not blogging

Still not running.  In fact, I'm still waiting on the insurance authorization for my treatment.  I think I'll call later today and find out where that's at.

Without running, and with the weather too cold for my liking for cycling, I'm at a loss for interesting blog topics.  Hence, this is my first post in over a week.  I can't think of a topic that you'd find interesting, so I'll leave you with a few random thoughts.

• One of my cats is over-weight.  In an effort to get her health back on track, I've switched both cats to canned cat food exclusively.  Rotating Natural Balance and Wellness brands at the moment.  I was also hoping to switch to an evening feeding to get my fat cat to stop jumping on my head in the morning when she wants to be fed.   Well, she still jumps on my head in the morning.  And now she begs for food at dinner time too.  *sigh*
• Son came home Saturday for winter break.  He will be here for 4 weeks.  He's not coming home for spring break and he's trying to get an internship in CA for the summer.  I will enjoy the time with him while I can.
• Daughter is on her third Christmas working in retail.  Her days off for winter break from school are filled with extra hours at work.  It's good for her bank account, but it doesn't seem like she's getting any real time off to de-stress from school.
• Husband & I are on day one of our two week break from work.  Ahhhhhhh.
• Yesterday I started taping in our bedroom to prep for painting.  Isn't that how everyone spends their time off from work?!  No? 
• I made a conscious decision to really scale back Christmas consumerism this year. I've complained about it for years, but was still stuck in the trap.  Not this year.  The result?  Much less stress.   More time reflecting on the true meaning of the holiday.  Wish I had figured this out years ago.
• It's snowing.  This is the third snowfall so far since November.  After an insanely dry spring/summer we certainly need the moisture.  I just wish it wasn't during the cold part of the year when the streets turn icy.  It also probably means that the inlaws are NOT coming down from Colorado this week.  Bummer.
• I bought a new phone about 10 days ago.  Upgraded from the original Motorola Droid to an HTC Rhyme.  Love it.
• I've started referring to our neighbors as Old McDonald.  Back in October, they build a shed and put up a little corral in the corner of their yard near our fence.  Then they bought chickens.  Including a rooster.  Uggg.  Then this week they brought home a burrows or donkeys or some such creatures.  I wonder what's next?
•  I held off on making Christmas cookies until my son asked specifically requested them.  I'd be happy not making them at all because I end up eating my weight in cookies.  But how could I say no?

Just keep swimming...

Got myself out of bed early and to the pool again this morning for another 800yds.  I'm thinking that next month I will increase the distance per swim, but for now 800yds is a distance that seems to be working for me.

We are now one third of the way into the month and my swim total so far is 3200 against my goal of 8000 or 40%.  Just like in Finding Nemo, I just need to stay calm and keep swimming, and I will achieve my goal.

Not doing quite as well with the walking goal.  I've only walked 8.5 miles so far this month, which is 28% of my goal.  However, just this realization alone is likely to motivate me to get out there and walk the dogs today and tomorrow to get caught up.

In other news, one more full week of work and then I am taking two weeks off.  Work has been crazy busy, so I cannot wait!

Also, only 12 more days until the days begin to get longer again.  WoooHooooo!!!

Knee update

Orthopedic appointment on Monday went as well as can be expected.  Bottom line is that I have Chondomalacia patella  or essentially "worn cartilage behind the kneecap".  Also the beginnings of a slight bone spur, but nothing too serious.  The shots I get for treatment are basically replacement joint fluid which works to lubricate the joint and protect the cartilage. Unfortunately, this only seems to last for somewhere in the 6mo to a year range.  Right now I'm waiting on insurance to authorize the treatment, then will need to go in for another series of three injections.

BTW, he assures me that my knee issue isn't/wasn't caused by running.  In fact, he thinks running is great, as long as it doesn't hurt.  But when it does hurt, I need to find ways to be active that don't worsen the pain.  Which is why I'm focusing on swimming and running for December and January.

On that note, I did manage to drag my lazy butt out of bed on a cold 9 deg morning (which is a quite a feat in itself, let me assure you) and got myself to the pool this morning.  My goal was to get in at least an 800yd swim; however, I stopped and got out of the pool at 600 yds because at that point I was both bored out of my mind and having problems with my goggles.  Sat in the hot tub for a bit and quickly realized that I wasn't going to be happy ending it at 600yds at my total for the day, so I decided to suck it up and jump back in for another 200.  Yay me!

New Month & Progress to Goals

For those who read my November Tally post, you know that I said I was ready to stop pouting about my cranky knee and start getting active again.  We're one weekend into the new month, let's see how it's going so far.

I set a swimming goal of 8000yds this month.  That breaks down to ~2000 yds per week.  Or 10 swims of 800yds each (which seems doable) or 8 swims of 1000 yds each (which seems less doable based on my current swim habits).

So far I'm at 1600 against my goal, or 20%.  Not bad!  As long as I stay committed, I know I can achieve my swim goal.  The hard part is finding those times that work with my schedule when the pool isn't being used for an aquatics class.


NOTE:  I should mention that I find swimming laps to be incredibly boring, which is why I have a hard time staying in the water past 800 yds.  I'm pondering some sort of waterproof mp3 system  that allows me to listen to music while I swim.  If any of you have experiences, good or bad with this, I'd really appreciate hearing about it.  

I also set a walking goal of 30miles.  That breaks down to 15 walks up and down the hill (2mi route) with my dogs.  Or maybe 9 walks with the dogs and 3 longer walks of 4 miles.  It's aggressive, but also doable.

So far I'm at 6 miles against my goal, also 20%.   Nice!  This one requires more time investment, but it's easy to do from home.  And as an aside, I only count intentional fitness walking, not the walking that I do from the parking lot to my office, up and down the stairs at work, etc.

One last item worth commenting on.  I originally added yoga to my list of goals for December, but later crossed it off my list.  The truth is, I'm really not committed to doing yoga right now.   Plus I find that many of the postures bother my knee right now.  I'll revisit this in Jan or Feb.


How's the new month coming along for the rest of you?

November Tally

Numbers

• 32.3 miles by feet (11.3 miles running, 21.0 miles walking)
• 4 hill workouts
• one cranky knee
• one mysterious heel pain incident

Thoughts

• Worst exercise month in a long long time, and I'm ready to stop pouting and get active again.

Plans

• Orthopedic appointment next week
• Get to the pool and start swimming! 
• Do yoga
• Walk more regularly

Updated with December Goals:

• walk 30 miles!
• swim 8000 yds!

GAME ON!

Update

Where to begin?  Let's see....

I had friends lined up to run with me me on Thanksgiving morning.  Which is good.

However, Son's flight was very late.  Daughter picked him up from the airport so I could sleep.  Which is good.

But they didn't get home until about 2am, and I couldn't really didn't sleep soundly until after they got home.  Which is bad.

So I overslept in the morning and missed out on running with friends.  Which was also bad.

Rather than skipping running, I ended up running solo.  Which was good.

But then my knee started acting up about 1.4 miles into the run.  Which was bad.

Since then, my knee has been bothering me even when I walk.  Which is bad.

I haven't even tried running since then.  Which is also bad.

I think it means that I'm going to need to go in for my injections again. But I haven't called for an appointment yet.  Which is not so good.

At least I have a potential treatment plan that seems to work and this last time kept my knee working well for about 8 months.  Which is good.

But it probably means I'll need to take off a few months from running.  Which is bad.

I'm thankful that my knee didn't cause problems during the peak part of my race season.  Which is good.

And I suppose I could get back in the pool this winter and swim.  Swimming doesn't bother my knee.  Which is good.

But I really dont' like swimming all that well.  Which is bad.

Anyway, I haven't called for an appointment yet.  Stay tuned...

[update:  I called today and got lucky as someone had just called to cancel for Monday afternoon and I was able to snatch up that slot!  score!]

Being Happy

I truly believe that our happiness is the result of our attitude rather than about the things that happen to us.  It's that whole glass half full, or half empty thing.  Today I choose to be happy.  I've compiled a list of ten things that make me happy today:

1) Got the glass replaced Monday afternoon in the Fit.  Still need to have the tint applied, but that is a nice-to-have thing not a necessity.  The Fit is back in action.
2) I ran yesterday!  2.8 miles with hills and my heel was okay until the very end.  Yay!
3) Son is coming home for Thanksgiving.  He didn't last year, so this was a somewhat unexpected surprise.
4) Son seems to be doing well, albeit very consumed with homework, at school.  He's also now considering double majoring in Cognitive Science and Electrical & Computer Engineering.  Sounds super cool to me.
5) Daughter is making good progress on college admission and scholarship applications.  She is considering a degree in social sciences, possibly Anthropology, Communications, or Advertising.  This also sounds very interesting to me.
6) Seems like the worst of my required overtime at work has passed. Should be back to normal next week.
7) Mitts, our oldest cat, has been on supplements to help with his arthritis for the past several weeks.  I think his activity level is increasing, which suggests that the supplements are working.
8) My Ipad arrived.  I'm still not entirely sure what to do with it, but I discovered a free Euchre game application which I am now hooked on.
9) The running that I did yesterday was with a friend who is new to running.  It's great to be able to encourage new runners.
10)  Husband is working a modified schedule for the next several weeks.  There are some downsides to this, but the best part is that we will have a few Friday's off together.

Weekend Woes

The BAD (aka "Why my weekend sucked")

1) Had to work on Friday (normally one of my days off)
2) The car that Daughter drives was broken into Saturday morning while she was at work.  Smashed window, stolen ipod, camera, purse, wallet, etc.  Our insurance deductible won't be met, so the cost to replace the window is coming out of pocket.
3) Had to work Sunday (also normally one of my days off)
4) Going into work early today and will probably be staying late.
5) Haven't run for 10 days

The GOOD (aka "In the grand scheme, it's really not that bad")

1) I'm valued enough at my job to be pulled in for critical assignments.  Sometimes this means working overtime/ weekends, but I do recognize that being valued at one's job is not to be taken for granted.
2)  Nobody was hurt.  It's just glass and stuff.  The glass is easily replaceable.  Her ID and debit card weren't in the purse.  It could have been a lot worse.  Plus now I have some ideas about what to maybe get her for Christmas.
3) Heel is no longer throbbing; I think it is getting better. I'm hopeful to be running again this weekend.  In any event, this happened after my scheduled races, so it's as good a time as any to need to take a few weeks off.

Ouch

Spent the weekend in Nashville attending my nieces wedding.  I had never been to Nashville before, so it was interesting to check out someplace new.  While we were there, we walked around a museum, we walked around downtown (stumbled upon the end of a multi-day relay race), walked around the grounds for the wedding/reception, walked to breakfast, walked around the Vanderbilt campus, and walked through the airport.  Lots and lots of walking.  Which is a good thing.  Except that my left heel started bothering me.

Now that I've been home a few days, I've done a little online research for heel pain and of course the first thing that comes up is plantar fasciitis which is NOT something that I want to be dealing with.  [Granted, I don't know for certain that it actually is plantar fasciitis, but in this age of instant online self-diagnosis, I'm assuming for the moment that it is.]

On Monday, I bought some Dr Scholl heel pain orthotics for my shoes. Tuesday, my heel was feeling better.  Then I wore a different pair of shoes and Tuesday and forgot to move the orthotics.  This morning, my heel is bothering me again.  So I guess I'm back to trying the orthotics today.

Needless to say, I haven't run since last Thursday. At the moment this isn't breaking my heart because I don't have any races planned, but nobody likes to be sidelined due to pain/injury. *sigh*

Question of the day:  Have you ever experienced heel pain?  What did you do about it?

Thursday Thirteen

1) The race from the weekend has posted photos.  There really aren't any good ones of me. 


2) However, this one (you'll have to click the link) gives a good idea what the single track portion was like.  I'm in the middle (black and pink) and my running partner is right behind me.  


3) I'm really struggling to find my motivation. Monday was a planned rest day. I skipped my run on Tuesday.  Walked the dogs yesterday.  Ran and then walked the dogs today, although shorter distances for both than I originally intended.


4) Daughter turned 18 today.  Despite my protests, her first act of adulthood was getting her nose pierced.  Twice.  


5) While I applaud her for expressing her individuality, I can't say that I'm all that happy about it (just to be clear, I'm okay with a single nose piercing, but I'm not fond of the double on one side that she decided to do).


6) I had two dozen raspberry filled chocolate cupcakes with chocolate butter cream and a raspberry on top specially made for Daughter's birthday. They are delicious. 


7) I've probably eaten six already. 


8) Oh, and I also ate the majority of a pumpkin pie over the weekend.


9) This, combined with the lack of motivation is wreaking havoc on my waistline.


10) Tried on the dress that I'm wearing this weekend for my niece's wedding and realized that it looked better 5 pounds ago.  


11) Luckily, nothing that a pair of control-top nylons can't fix.  I haven't worn nylons for a long, long time, but desperate times call for desperate measures.


12)  I got a notice that the Ipad that I won has been shipped.  Expecting to receive it on Monday.  


13)  I'm still not entirely sure WHAT one does with an Ipad, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

October Tally

Numbers

• Miles by feet:  59.6 (15.5 walking, 44.1 running)
• Miles by seat: 185.2
• Hill workouts: 5
• Events: 1 10K (PR!) , 1 half-century
• Rest days (planned): 5
• Lazy days (unplanned) : 6
• Pounds gained: see Lazy days
• days remaining for parenting a minor: 2

Thoughts

• I feel like it was successful cycle-focused month aimed at the half-century with a bonus 10K PR at the end.  Good stuff.
• In two days, my 'baby' turns 18.  How did this happen?

Plans

• I don't currently have anything on my calendar for Nov/Dec.  Need to fix that so that my lazy days and weight don't continue to creep up!