Run and NYC half

Day 1 of vacation: ahhh sleeping in!! I never ever sleep in anymore- but after a busy weekend it was much needed.
I decided to take a run around noon, when the rain finally stopped ( not that rain has stood in my way before but I was feeling lazy). I took a slow 4 mile run through my neighborhood- was feeling kind of drained probably because 1.) I did Bikram yoga last night and then refueled with wine, diet coke and only one full glass of water and half a powerade. 2.) I didn't have any breakfast before my run... Pretty much 2 no no's! Yeah, that was pretty dumb on my part.
When I checked my Garmin and saw I ran at a 9:01 pace I was like hmmm...maybe more hydration next time!!
By the time I got back from my run I was starving and had one of my favorite staples for my late brunch:

YUM! Cant go wrong with Oatmeal- especially when it is topped with brown sugar!

Besides a bunch of errands I also knocked off another important "to Do" off my list- Applying for the 2012 NYC half marathon. I thought I had remembered NY Road Runners saying something last year about guaranteed entry in 2012 with a course that could accommodate more runners...maybe I dreamed that up. So I spent $5 towards a processing fee of possibly being chosen through the lottery...at which point my credit card gets charged $128.
I completely understand the need to put a cap on races- I have run races that I have felt were unsafe due to the amount of runners and lack of organization and supplies, and nature of the course. So, I get it....just really hoping to get in!! Although, if I had run just a little faster my last half I could have gotten guaranteed entry based on time....time for a new goal!!!

What do you think? Are the fees ($128 plus $5 application) "fair" for a half marathon? What do you think of the cap of 10,000 runners?

Longer RUN

Yesterday I ran at Mendon Ponds....drumroll....8 glorious miles!! The most my foot has tolerated since the marathon. It was a beautiful morning (26 degrees!) at the start of the run, but slowly the sun came up and I couldn't imagine being anywhere but running in this beautiful park.

I feel so alive- more than I have in a long time~ and I swear it is because I can RUN again. Being sidelined sure makes you grateful for the ability to run.

I must admit~ I was very nervous as to what today might bring in terms of pain in my foot...But I woke up feeling great- So good that I jumped out of bed and put my running clothes on. However, as I was walking around my bedroom I felt the smallest twinge in my ankle and decided that I better take my running clothes back off and play it safe....It was definitely hard for me to remove my garmin from my wrist before I even had left my bedroom..BUT no more sidelines- I will not overtrain.

Later this afternoon I went to Bikram Yoga- great class- 90 minutes of sweat beads stinging my eyeballs- loving every minute!

MRI and Turkey Trot

Quick update: My MRI results are in! - No fracture and all ligaments intact....however, I do have a plantar ganglion cyst (probably a complication of a sprain). Now the pain makes sense. I am still reading up on what a ganglion cyst is - so if anyone knows anything about them please let me know!!!

In other news...Since the MRI showed no fracture or torn tendons...I RAN the Turkey Trot!!

 First time running in over a month...boy, was I sucking wind. Swimming does not = running. Also, staying out until 3am the night before does not help! ha. I played it safe and ran slowly...embarrassed to say that my 5K split time was 25:11....BUT I am learning not too push myself too hard and cause more problems! And honestly I was just thankful  to be able to be running at all.

4.1 Mile Turkey Trot: 33:57  Definitely not a PR but happy to be back out there on a beautiful day running!!!!

The best Garmin?

The best toy I ever received??? Obviously my Garmin 305!!!

(otherwise referred to as Inspector Gadget watch, LiLo house arrest watch, and "Does that watch weigh down your left arm???")

Cristina (left) and Me- yup matching house arrest watches!

So I am a smaller person- and this watch is a bit big...honestly, it has never really bothered me based on size....BUT I am wondering if the newer watches have a "better" ability to upload to computer and smaller would be nicer....

Also, since I have gotten into doing Tri's I am wondering if I should just get the new Tri Garmin?

What is your favorite Garmin watch???

Sweat, Sweat Sweat! :)

Ok- So my ankle has gotten slightly better- I am not sure how... but it is!!

So last night I decided to try to cycle. I wrapped my ankle first, and put my special $60 orthotic in my cycling shoes......AND it went pretty well.... The best part...I felt like I finally was "really" working out because I was SWEATING!!!! (I still don't feel like swimming is a real workout). Just looking in the mirror and seeing my hair drenched made me smile and pedal away! I can't wait until I can do this again:

TRIATHLON!

Ok, So I had a little pain this AM- but nothing that 800mg of Ibuprofen couldn't cure...12 hours later have not needed ibuprofen and ankle still feels ok!

Tonight I decided to play it safe and reluctantly got back into the pool...20 minutes into my swim my iShuffle battery died...Opps I forgot to charge it! I only managed to swim 30 minutes of laps, but I suppose that is better than none!

And.....in the back of my mind..If things continue to improve...I really really want to do the turkey trot...8 days from now. Crossing my fingers!!!

Officially in love

So it has been really hard for me (especially on these beautiful fall days) not to run...I know that I can't because I have pain at rest, but it still doesn't make it easier. Yesterday, my awesome mom ran a 5k race- She did great and I was so happy to be there and support her...but it was hard to watch a race and not be running it. I did volunteer to help at the finish line so that was kinda cool to see the fast runners come in.

My mom did great- PR'd actually- 33:39- for 61 years old that is pretty awesome!

While I haven't been able to run my swimming skills have definitely improved and left me with more upper body strength than I have had in a long time. I have grown to enjoy swimming, however, being in a pool for long amounts of time is sooo boring. Meet my newest toy:

Waterproof headphones for my iShuffle!!!!!!! LOVE THEM!!!!

It definitely was a great day in the pool! Beautiful outdoors (sunny in the 30's but water was 80 degrees) AND I was able to ROCK out to my running music while swimming laps- Made the time fly by and all of a sudden I looked at my watch and had swam for 90 minutes. Swimming still doesn't feel like "real cardio" to me, but I am hoping by the time I am able to run again I won't have lost all my endurance. It's also hard for me to kick with my left foot so I pretty much let it drag in the water- definitely could be swimming harder if I was kicking harder!

Orthopedic Doc and ? fracture

So last Friday I met with the Orthopedic doc- he assured me that I did not have a fracture- rather my ankle is weak, possible strain/sprain, I need PT and an orthotic. Oh and it was fine to run 2 miles...I said "Really?!! I can't even walk around the hospital at work without pain. I can run???" He assured me I could but to go slow. Kinda sounded like BS to me. So of course, I decided I would run the next morning. I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I laid out all my running gear for the next morning. New long sleeve technical shirt from the marathon, new lulu shorts, and new compression socks.

It was cold out so compression socks were perfect choice and I figured the compression would be good for ankle.

That morning I ran 3 miles- so Ok I ran one more than the doc said I could but I actually felt okay during the run. When I finished I could feel my ankle, but not too bad. He also had told me I could spin- So, I went to one of my favorite spinning classes- started to feel the ankle more when I got off the bike. Went for a nice 20 min swim- felt good to be in the pool. However, the next few days my ankle HATED me. I went to physical therapy on Tuesday AM, worked with a really intelligent athletic trainer and finally felt like things were going in the right direction (she said no spin and no running- but I had to agree with her).

When I went back to see her today she told me something I wasn't ready for- She mentioned that she had reviewed my XRAY herself and was concerned for a fracture or floating bone. She brought it up to the Doc, but apparently he thinks I just need PT and an orthotic and its not a fracture (even though the radiologist noted that fracture couldn't be ruled out). So I am frustrated right now. If this doesn't get better in a week I am demanding an MRI.