Rest & Recovery: 19 more days of blogging 'til the marathon

Today was a scheduled day off from running for my training program.  My knee is a little hurty, but feeling much better overall.  It did start to bother me while sitting down for a long meeting, and then again while sitting in Spanish class.  Unfortunately, this is a repeat injury for me and the symptoms are way too familiar.

I have been taking a medication that a specialist prescribed for me last time I had the same knee injury: diclofenac.  For some reason Aleve doesn't really work for me, even the prescription strenghth.  But this medication really helped with pain very quickly.  I remember last time that I felt great by the end of my 1st 30 day supply.  After I went off of it, and the pain returned in 2 days.  By the end of the 2nd 30 day supply I was healed.  I'm about 2 weeks in so far, so the meds should having me feel great by race day.

I hate Physical Therapy.  I've done it twice before, different injuries and PT's.  I've learned a lot about my injuries and my body.  But I still hate it because I feel like all the exercises and poking around in my trouble areas just makes it worse.  Sometimes you need to just heal and rest.  My Chinatown acupressure guy is so much better, I seriously might go to him soon.

Izzy must have pulled something in his back because he burst out squealing in pain tonight for no reason.  Actually, as he was eating cookies and milk he suddenly keeled over in pain.  I laughed, because all I could think of is that the milk was bad and he had stomache cramps and explosive diarrhea was eminent.  I know, I am such a lovely girlfriend!  So I took my muscle roller stick to his back and backs of his entire legs.  I could tell that he enjoyed it, I think he was even able to block out the lecture I gave about how foam rolling.  And then I made him do it to me and it was magical and so much better than doing it to yourself.  They sell much more expensive ones, or I've heard people take a rolling pin to their sore muscles.  I got this one from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GTLOUDM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Seriously, they have a stick roller massager for pets: http://www.amazon.com/The-Stick-GW-740-Pet/dp/B001HTX80C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413255517&sr=8-1&keywords=The+pet+stick

I put some icy hot on my knee, popped a pill before bed, and put on my knee brace from Back On Track, which has ceramic powder within the fibres which creates infrared thermal warmth which is supposed to increase blood flow to the injured area and reduce inflammation: http://www.backontrackproducts.com/People-Products/Knee-Calf-Braces/Knee-Brace-w-Strap-p306.html

I did not foam roll and I did not wear my night splints for plantar fasciitis.  Still feeling a lot of tension in my hips, going to see if Izzy will hang me upside down tomorrow night in the gravity boots.

What else can I do???

30 Day Abs: Shit is gettin' REAL.

I noticed a few of my friends publicly committing on Facebook to do 30 Day Abs, and I thought that this challenge could help me established a new healthy fitness habit and would benefit my marathon training.  There are several free and paid iphone apps, I settled on "30 Day Ab" free version by Jozic Productions (www.jozicproductions.com).  There are 4 exercises: sit-ups, crunches, leg raises, and plank.  Day 1 is 15 sit-ups, 5 crunches, 5 leg raise, and 25 second plank.  Pretty easy!  And didn't take so long.  But for some reason it took me a week to mentally prepare for Day 2.

The program is 3 days of exercises, followed by a rest day.  Each day is a little harder than the previous.  By Day 11, I could barely finish.  So after a day of rest on Day 12, I decided that I would repeat Day 9, 10, and 11.  I did Day 9 on Friday, and yesterday I justified skipping a day since I had to run 9 miles for marathon training.  Now I find myself at the crossroads of procrastination.  I am telling myself right now that as soon as I finish and publish this blog that I will go to my bedroom at complete Day 10.

I starting running in 2009 using the Couch to 5k program.  I read somewhere that if a week was really hard that it was best to repeat a week rather than move on.  I repeated many weeks and took extra rest days between run days.  But I finished it.  And I've run 3 half marathons to date.  So I thought the same method could be applied to 30 Day Abs.  My journey, at my own pace.

If anyone else is considering doing this challenge, I highly recommend buying an ab mat.  I bought one for $20 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Workouts-Machines-Equipment-Trainer-Exerciser/product-reviews/B00BBLDN56?pageNumber=2. It's basically a little curved mat that supports the small of your back.  It also helps you get a better range of motion and do the exercises more effectively.

Here's a similar 30 Day Abs program, the one I saw circulating on Facebook:

Transportation Alternatives New York Century Bicycle Tour

On Sunday September 8th, 2013, I will be riding in the New York Century Bicycle Tour for the 5th consecutive year. There are different routes available: 15, 35, 55, 75, or 100 miles. I completed the 55 mile route twice, and attempted the 75 mile and 100 mile routes. My longest ride to date is 86 miles.
For my first ride in 2009, I chose the 55 mile route to ride with my friend Ira Cogan. I remember riding over bridges and doing laps in Central Park all summer long. I rode my bike practically everywhere. I built a summer wardrobe that was not only day-to-night, but also appropriate for the streets of Williamsburg and the wine bars of Chelsea. My training paid off. The ride was difficult, but we finished, and was probably the biggest bonding moment Ira and I have had in the 10 years that I've known him.

In May of 2010 I rode in the Five Burroughs Bicycle Tour, which is 42 miles plus additional miles biked to and from the event. In 2010 and 2011, I attempted the 75 mile and 100 mile routes of the New York Century. Both valiant attempts were cut short by weather and technical difficulties. I made new friends along the way, and I still enjoyed a victory beer or two. My body did not ache as much as you would think, but the run down feeling and recovery can last for DAYS.
Last year (2012), I decided that I had lost sight of why I was really doing this. To be honest, I was not putting in as much mileage regularly because bicycling did not fit into my life with the same ease that it once had. Izzy and I bought our first scooter, so I was having fun learning to ride and it was something that we enjoyed together. So I opted for the 55 mile bicycle route, so I could ride with friends, stop at Nathan's in Coney Island, have a beer if i feel like it, and relax a bit.
In less than 2 weeks I will be riding the 55 mile route once again. I did very little bicycle riding this year, BUT I am happy to report that I ran my first half marathon this year. This past year was my break out year for running, I really fell in love and I broke past my 5 mile wall. And now when I ride a bike, I can tell how my muscles have changed and become even stronger from running.
And one day I will ride 100 miles. I think I probably only need to do it once in my life, but who knows. For me, it's not just about that 1 day when I get to ride all day long. It's about the training that goes into it, and the learning process. Setting a goal and accomplishing said goal takes a lot of effort, but the pay-off of finishing feels good. Setting a goal, investing large amounts of time and money, then having to admit defeat is a learning process and a valuable lesson. Finishing despite all costs is not always the best choice, this I definitely did not know in my 20s, but learned later in my 30s.
One of the best parts of living in NYC is having alternate methods of transportation available. I would not feel the same level of affection for this city had I not rode my bike over all of the bridges countless times. And now our Vespa provides a faster (and less sweaty) method of getting around on 2 wheels. I also have the option to take the bus, the subway, the ferry or even a Citibike. And of course, my own two feet!

Posted with Blogsy

Countdown to 40: Saturday, October 24, 2015

In 802 days I will turn 40.  This realization hit me this weekend as my mind was wondering during a long run.  I recently got engaged (to my best friend, YAY!) and the tentative time frame for the wedding as of now is September 2015.  NYC summer is too hot, September is beautiful.  October is always jammed packed socially because everyone I know seems to have an October birthday, including me, my fiancé (Izzy), and my mom.  Then there's Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years.  It goes by very quickly.

This got me thinking about resolutions and goals.  I keep saying to Izzy how happy I am that we were able to accomplish so many goals in the first half of this year:

• I started a new job this year.  It started out very rocky, but then I was thrown into a sink or swim situation and I rocked it.
• I saw my original textile designs on my new favorite show Orange is the New Black.  On episode 6 Spanish mom's boyfriend visits her in jail wearing a flocked shirt that I designed for Jhane Barnes.  Earlier this year I also saw a print that I designed in the movie "Lay the Favorite".
  
• I got my motorcycle license.
• We got a Vespa!  Meet the family: That's Rocco (Vespa GT 300 Super) on the right with Luna (Kymco People 50cc) on the left.
  
• Izzy started bartending again on Thursday nights (He does it mostly for fun, and it makes him really happy when he does it just once a week).  To say that he is an extrovert and high-energy is actually an understatement.  He waited on Jimmy Fallon for the 2nd time, and Jimmy gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
• We got engaged and picked out a custom ring that we love and reflects both of our style.
  
• Finally getting renter's insurance.
• We hired a house cleaner.  Izzy fired the last house cleaner a year ago, promising that he could and would do a better job.  He didn't.  But it's ok, he's a hard worker, he shouldn't have to.  I didn't need to be convinced, he did.
• We now have a real guest room.
• I ran in the Brooklyn Half Marathon, which was my first 1/2.  I got my first running medal and came really damned close to my goal of 2 hours and 30 minutes.
  
  
• I joined New York Road Runners and have guaranteed entry to the 2014 New York City Marathon.  I earned my spot by running in 9 qualifying NYRR events and volunteering at the New York City Half Marathon (which earned me a guaranteed space in next year's half as well).
• I raised $1315 for the National Kidney Foundation and ran the Healthy Kidney 10k in Central Park on May 11th, 2013.  My run was dedicated to my brother who was a double transplant recipient (kidney AND a pancreas!) last winter after having kidney failure.
  
  
  

By 40 I will have run a marathon and be married!  I've been making a list in my head of some other things that I would like to accomplish - personally, professionally, and fitness-oriented.  I am going to list my goals on this blog and document my trials and tribulations.