Today's Run

I did my first 5K today (Greece Police Athletic League 5K) since the middle of July and I didn't feel too bad. I had some minor pain initially, but it faded after the first mile and I felt good the rest of the run. My time wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be after not running for so long, so I'm happy with the whole morning. I did start to have some minor hip pain about 20 min after I was done running, but nothing I couldn't handle. I think I might be able to get back on track and I'm definitely planning to do the Rochester half marathon in a few weeks. Of course, I'm going to take it easy, I certainly don't want to aggrevate the injury too much!

Running again......

Little by little I'm starting to run again. Yay! OK, very little running, but I'm planning a nice little 2.5 miler for tomorrow, and that will be the furthest I've run since the hip injury. I'm hoping to do a few 5K's this weekend....we'll see how the next few days go! Oh yeah, I did have a minor set back within the first 5 min of arriving at our friends house the first day of vacation. Their 90lb doberman and my 55lb aussie were chasing each other at mock 10 and in their furry, they slammed into my left hip which crushed my body weight into my right hip. Tears were in my eyes immediately as the pain was unbelievable. After a few days, I was feeling a bit better again, but damn! That was not a great way to start off!!

We are back from vacation and it was fantastic! Many good times were had by all! We had amazing weather all week and spent a good about of time on the beach in Cape Cod and then Gloucester, Ma. We took Guinness with us and introduced him to the ocean.......while he loved the water (yeah, he thinks he's a water dog), the salt water was a new and interesting taste for him. He took in enough of it to make him vomit around 7am and then have diarhea the entire next day. Sweet! Otherwise he loved it and I have some beautiful pictures of him and Alex romping in the ocean at sunset. So cute!! Guinness also made a new girlfriend in the 90lb. doberman named Nikki, that we stayed with our first night in MA. He had a blast chasing after her, he is such a ladies man! They even shared a goodbye kiss when we were saying goodbye to her owners (they thought no one was looking).

We also spent an absolutely wild and crazy night in Provincetown for Carnival. Wow.....that's about all I have to say about that! It was absolute insanity and I loved it!! We were at the parade and then stayed in town to party our asses off all night long! It was a kick ass night that ended with Spiritus pizza and some very interesting pictures.....



We also spent 2 of the most perfect beach days of the entire summer at Good Harbor beach in Gloucester with our friend Patti. It was so relaxing and gave me an opportunity to finally finish Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I pick up that book during all of my breaks from grad school and I have been so anxious to finish it before classes start next week, so, these 2 beach days were the perfect opportunity for me to lay on the beach and finish a fantastic book! Alex and I both got great tans and had an incredible time crashing into the huge waves that were rolling in during Sunday's beach trip. Neither of us could truly remember the last time we had that much fun in the ocean!! It was a blast!!

All in all, it was a great week and a perfect way to bring the summer to a close! Here's to the last few days of summer fun!! CHEERS!!

Unemployed, Vacation, & a fantastic weekend....

Today is my first official day as an unemployed woman! I left my job at Nazareth College to finally finish my Masters degree in School Counseling at the Warner School, University of Rochester. I have my final internship this coming academic year, so I won't be able to keep a full time job and spend a few days a week in a high school. I'm absolutely looking forward to the internship and graduating in May '09! I began this degree program at Suffolk University in Boston back in January of 2005. I can't believe I'm finally going to graduate!! I have an internship placement at East HS which is part of the Rochester City School district and also has a very solid School Counseling model in place. This is exactly what I'm looking for because I am very drawn to working with urban youth and I feel this placement will give me the experience I need as a counselor. So, today begins my year as a full time student, wow, it's been soooo long since I have held that title!! Thank you to all my new friends from Nazareth! You have been amazing to work with and I look forward to keeping in touch.

Today also marks the beginning of vacation! Alex & I (along with Derek, Jodi, Chris, & Alana) have tickets to the Maroon 5, Counting Crows, & Sara Bareilles concert at Darien Lake tonight and then we leave for Cape Cod/Gloucester/Boston tomorrow morning. We will spend time visiting with friends back in MA and hanging on the beach. I can't wait!! What a perfect way to end the summer!

This weekend, we also celebrated the marriage of our friends Nancy & Dwight and it was an amazing ceremony and reception. Congrats to Nancy & Dwight!! Alex & I had a fantastic time!!

Ortho Appt.

No real news here, I met with the doctor and he (just like everyone else) says I have a stress fracture. He wanted an immediate MRI and to see me back on Monday before I go on vacation....however, due to my husbands insurance being out of area, they couldn't schedule anything until it was approved. Sweet, gotta love insurance companies, but I'm not going to start on that one. Anyway, I have to call back first thing Monday morning to schedule and hopefully get it done before I leave, but it's not looking good.

What I did learn is that a stress fracture can be detected with an X-Ray, but not very well. The MRI will actually show the stress fracture much clearer than the X-Ray. So, until I meet him again, he absolutely forbade me from running at all.....and of course I was thinking 'yeah, I got it!!' I love running, but at the same time, I also love walking and dancing and all the other fun stuff I can do with two functional hips! :) I promise, no running until I'm totally healed!!

On another note, Alex & I went to our friends house for an amazing homemade Italian dinner. Colleen & I met through running, but Ange and Alex bonded over bolognese sauce while we were running the Boilermaker last month!! So, Ange told Alex he would have us over for dinner and make his famous bolognese sauce. It was nothing short of fantastic! We had a wonderful dinner, wonderful conversation, then enjoyed dessert (thank you Wegman's) while watching some of the Olympics. It was a fantastic evening! Huge thanks to Colleen & Ange!

Still Resting...

Yep, still inactive. I went for a hike with Alex yesterday at Letchworth State Park, and it was going well until I slipped on some uneven ground and landed on my right leg. The blast of pain that shot through my hip was blinding. Anyway, my hip is still sensitive to some weight bearing activities, but it's definitely getting better. I just have to make sure to come back slowly and continue to stay on top of how my body is responding to running in particular.

On another note, Letchworth is amazingly beautiful and exactly what Alex & I needed yesterday. It was a really easy walk along the Gorge Trail and I took some amazing pictures! We are definitely planning a trip back there to hike some of the other trails (once I'm feeling much better of course). I think the fall would be perfect at Letchworth!

Injury Update & Wedding news...

I am lucky to have a Dr. that is also an avid marathoner and understands running injuries and how to work with them. Anyway, she was great and confirmed it as a stress fracture in my hip. She had a lot of x-rays taken of my hips & lower back from all angles & gave me a prescription for an anti-inflammatory. She also referred me to a sports orthopedist, who I actually saw last summer for knee pain, as he will be able to work with me more specifically on how to heal the hip. I will see the ortho on Aug. 15, so it will be a little over a week before I know what is going on. Per my Dr., I am not to run, bike, or even take a brisk walk. Sweet. That totally made my day.......I have to say, it's really tough on the psyche to go from a lot of activity & a goal to no activity at all.

We also celebrated my sisters nuptuals in Watertown, NY this past saturday. It was a super fun day where we were able to spend time with our family and celebrate my sister and Rich as well as my parents 40th anniversary and renewal of their vows. Congrats Karen & Rich and Mom & Dad!

To be continued.......

Bummed.....

I know it's been a little bit since I've updated my training status, and that is most likely due to my denial of an injury. I have been dealing with increasing hip pain over the past 3-4 weeks and last week I simply couldn't ignore it anymore. I tend to view pain as a temporary thing that I can just work through and move on. However, when the pain begins to prevent me from sleeping, walking, sitting, or just about anything that I'm doing, I need to pay attention. This hip pain has just been annoying for a few weeks, but I figured I'd eventually go to the chiropractor and be all set. When I set out on the 10 mi run last week, I was in excruciating pain with every step. It eventually wore off and I finished the 10 miles, however, I had difficulty walking within an hour of that. So, based on the coaches recommendation as well as my teammates, I made an appt with my chiro for 8am that Monday morning. When I saw my chiropractor, he thought it might be bursitis based on the location of my pain, and possibly some tendinitis. No biggy, he told me to cut my running by 50% and substitute with biking. I could totally do that....or so I thought!

I spent all last week half biking and limping through a short run. A mile here and there, but the pain was getting to be too much. I was having problems sleeping, I can no longer lay on my right side at all, and every time I put weight on my right leg, I have shooting pain. It's like a shock in my hip with every step. It radiates out from the hip joint and then fades after a minute. So, I was back at my chiropractor on Thursday, extremely frustrated b/c I had been resting, icing, taking Ibuprofen, and doing everything he told me to do, but not feeling any better, in fact, possibly feeling worse. So, he poked and prodded and pulled on my leg, then did an ultrasound to check some tendons and decided I needed x-rays because I may actually have a stress fracture in my hip. Sweet! So, now I'm totally banned from running until further notice and sooo not happy about that. I am going to make an appt with my primary care doctor for tomorrow and have her check me out, do the x-rays and go from there. I will have another update when I know more of what's going on.

On another note, I had to recommit to the fundraising and marathon training this past Friday (Aug. 1). With my current condition and just not knowing what is going on, I was not able to recommit. Hopefully I can transfer my fundraising to a later marathon, but that is pending doctors and stuff. All of this does not mean I'm done running, it just means I need to take a little break, take a step back, and build more slowly toward my goal of a marathon. So I don't make it this year. You bet your ass I'll be at Marine Corps next year!! And, I will be stronger than ever!

So, I will update again when I know more.........