Month: July 2011

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Top 100 Running Blogs

Top Running Blog

Congratulations Darlene,

Your Blog has been selected as one of the Top 100 Running Blogs for 2011!

The Team here at HealthcareColleges.net spent the first quarter of 2011 searching the Internet for the best of the best in running Blogs, analyzing them based on their post content, layout and user feedback. We are excited to award you with our seal of approval as one of the best running Blogs on the Internet!

I do recognize many of the blogs on the list and they are on my BlogRoll.  There are some missing… such as Age Groups Rock and Sweat Once a Day and several others that I think are super!

Happy Running?  Any of your favorite blogs missing too?

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Success is …

Determined by how you handle setbacks.

I got that quote from AJH‘s header.

I went for an Ultrasound today on my right heel. 

Diagnosis: No tears but there is scar tissue and inflammation around the Achilles Tendon.

He thinks the scar tissue is there from a previous injury (maybe from waterskiing accident 10 yrs ago) but the inflammation is from overuse or overpronation related to running or tennis.

Treatment: Continue ice and anti-inflammatory drugs but NO RUNNING OR TENNIS FOR 4-6 WEEKS!!!!!!!  He orderd PT 3x a week for 4 wks and if that doesn’t help, then a cortisone shot and immobilzation.

I made an appt with the Dr’s recommended PT (which is near where I work) for next Wed. Next ultrsound is scheduled for Aug 12.

(Too bad, I didn’t go to the doctor 5 wks ago at the first sign of pain. I could be healed already…)

So how will I handle my setback?

  • I will cry.
  • I will complain.
  • I will make my hubby and friends miserable by my misery.
  • I will gain weight by eating lots of ice cream to make myself feel better.
  • I will have more time for reading and movie going.
  • I may even do some gardening & cleaning out of the house.
  • I will continue yoga and light walking to stay in shape. (May be even join a gym to build upper body strength.)
  • I will lose weight (since I don’t have to carb load).
  • I will heal QUICKLY!!!
  • No July 23 ,July 30 or Aug 13 5k races or Aug 10k but I plan to walk the Sept 25 Half Marathon!!!
  • I plan to race my 4th Half Marathon on Nov 6. (How’s that for optimism?)

Happy Running! Any tips for surviving a running injury?

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TTT – the Good and the Bad

 

 The Bad:

1.  I’m sick of obsessing about my foot (heel).   I’ve researched my symptoms to death on the Internet.  I have everything and yet nothing.

2. I’m having race/run envy.  See my last post.  Everywhere I look, there’s a jogger or an email or FB post about a race. Does that only happen when you can’t run??

3. This is week#2 of Half Marathon training and I’ve decided not to run again until my heel stops hurting or the doctor says I can or both.  (Ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow!!!!!!!)  Marathon #3 is Sept 25 but the real crisis is Marathon#4 which is in LA on Nov 6.  It’s too soon to freak out about that one, right?

The Good:

Amanda's Baby Shower

1. The girl I mentor is having a baby in 5 wks and I gave her a shower on Tuesday.

2003 HS reunion

2.  Some of my high schools will be in Vermont this weekend.  I haven’t seen them since in 8 yrs & we may rendez-vous.

Lake George

3.  The weather this summer has been beautiful & I have spent lots of time on our boat.  We’re going back up this weekend for 3 days!

Happy Running!

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What’s Up Next (in My Dreams)

Still in pain and supposedly training for a half marathon in September but you know how I love races…So…. (if I were healthy…)

This 5K is on July 23. I have run this race 3 times and I love Saratoga!  My friend Mary has already signed up.  It is also halfway from my home to Lake George.

OR

This 5k is also on July 23.  I have run the Susan Komen 5K race 3 times in Albany in Oct.  I have 2 friends who have signed up.  I have MANY friends who have had this terrible disease!!! I have never run a race in Vermont.

AND

This 5K is on July 30.  I have run this race twice but in Albany in Dec.  This is a NEW location.  It’s at an amusement park and it’s in Lake George plus I have July 29 off from work.

AND

This 10K  is on Aug 6.  I have never done a 10K.  It is in Lake George.

AND

This 5K is on Aug 13.  I have run this race twice already.  Each time I won socks – one 1st place AG and one 2nd place AG award.  The race ends with a downhill and it’s on the way to Lake George.

So, there you have it!  My races plans… (provided that my heel pain disappears and I can run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Happy Running (and racing)!

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Winning…

I posted this photo of my hubby on our boat on Memorial Day to FaceBook and I won $100 in gas from Boats By George.

Of course, they used in to market their business but the money was nice as well as the half page ad in the Glens Falls Chronicle and the Lake George Mirror newspapers.

Results of my foot xrays:

NORMAL – no bone spurs…everything looks fine….

But it still hurts…ultrasound on Friday…Stay tuned!

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New Week & Ignoring My Injury

Update from Last Week:

My goal was 12  miles and I  ran  for a total of 11 miles. (Heel still hurts so ran/walked most of my miles)
No Races  
No Tennis 
I  did yoga once.

The Weekend:

We spent Sat & Sun on Lake George.  We slept on our boat at the marina in Bolton Landing.

relaxing on the island with friends Sat.

During the day, we were on Commission Point.

playing mah jongg Sat eve.

7 of my Mah Jongg friends were staying for the weekend on Schroon River.  This is only 15 minutes from where our boat is docked.  I snuck away for a few games.

Running 5 miles around the Sagamore grounds Sun am.

I didn’t run Wed, Thurs, Fri or Sat. 

They say: No Pain. No gain! Sun. morning was too beautiful not to run.  And even in pain, I felt better than sitting around.  My heel is the same – just a nuisance pain which I can run on but don’t want to push it until I get the diagnosis.

swimming in the lake on Sun.

playing "Washers" on the island on Sun.

A great weekend all around.  And I discovered a new soft ice cream place in Warrensburg!! (which is on our way home and near the GU where you can rent a move for #=$1)

This week’s schedule:

Tues – baby shower
Wed- yoga
Thurs – mall w/bf
Fri – ultrasound on my heel, mah jongg after work
Sat & Sun – boating on Lake George

This week’s running:
(This is tentative, of course, depending on the condition of my heel)

Mon –  3  mi  – after work
Wed – 3  mi  – before Yoga
Thurs – 4 mi – after work
Sun – 6 mi in Bolton Landing
 
Week Running Goal =  16 miles 
July Monthly Running Goal = 70 miles, a race or 2

Yearly Running Goal = 1011 miles

 Happy Running!

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The Doctor Says…

Arrow Hitting The Heel Of A Foot, Achilles Heel, Symobolizing Weakness And Vulnerability Clipart Illustration Image by Maria Bell

After 3 weeks of burning pain in the back of my heel when I run, I went to the doctor today.

He took x-rays which he won’t know the results of until Monday.  He scheduled an ultrasound for next Friday. 

In the meantime, he prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs 2x a day, ice, heel lifts for my sneakers. He said to try running to see if the heel lifts help& if they do and there are no tears or bone spurs, I may need arch supports to use when I run.

He says it’s not PF which is easy to treat but maybe Achilles strain or heel spurs.  The treatment for that would be PT and no running!

So…………………. I may be walking Half Marathon #3  but I hope to be running in Half Marathon #4 (Nov 6 in LA)!!!!!!!!

This weekend, I will be crying having fun

playing mah jongg by the Schroon River

 

Hanging out on Lake George with my hubby

Happy Running! How do you stay positive when injured??

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Thursday: Things I Do NOT Love

 Several weeks ago, I posted about things I LOVE.

Here are the things I hate (or do NOT love):

snakes - hate em!

 
 

being sick or injured!!! esp if I CANNOT RUN!

 

YUCK!

 
 

I know - I'm strange!

Happy Running! What do you HATE?

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Rested But Not Healed

I am back from FOUR fabulous days on Lake George!!!

dinner at our marina

picnicking on the island

enjoying my first lake swim

 

watching the fireworks from our boat

 

relaxing with a good book & a view

 

scenic nature walks

 

dining at our fav waterfront restaurant

 
several painful runs

Yes, I said “painful.”

 
I have been  in denial for 3 weeks.   I have been running slow and walking hoping that the pain in my heel is just in my mind.
 
This is the first week of my Half Marathon training!  OUCH!!
 
Today I decided that I wouldn’t run until I saw a doctor.  The decision was the easy part.  I started calling podiatrists & orthopedists.  It started with the first appointment for a new patient being in September.  I said “Not possible.  I am a runner! ”  Then it was in August, then at the end of the month, then next week.  I made appts with each one hoping to get an earlier one. 
 
Finally, I got one for this Friday!!!  Then of course, I had to call and cancel ALL the other appts.
 
So we’ll see.  It doesn’t hurt now!  I only hurts when I run 😦
 
So the worst would be that I WALK this half marathon.  I can do that in 5 hours, right?
 
It’s too early to worry about Half Marathon #4 on Nov 6 (and non-refundable plane tix to LA)!!!  My heel will heal!!!!
 
Happy Running!
 
 
 
 
 
 
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To Race or To Train or Both?

Summer 2008, 2009, 2010 – I ran 5ks almost every weekend. My goal was to try to get faster.

April 2008 – 1st 5k – 37:36
November 2010 – 27:30  (I got faster!!)

Then it all changed…

January 2011 – 1st Half Marathon
April 2011 – 2nd Half Marathon

Since there aren’t many 5ks during the colder months, I didn’t feel like I was giving up much.

Silks & Satins 5k ’10
Mary & me before the CRSS 5k ’10

 

September 2011 – 3rd Half Marathon!!

The Dilemma…

Summer 2011:

Do I race the summer 5ks? (I LOVE races.)
Do I skip the 5ks and train? (I NEED to do long runs at a HM pace.)
Do I run the 5ks and train? (I think I am too COMPETIVE to just run a race.)
Should I move my long runs to a weekday? (What about RAIN & LACK of ENERGY after a long day at work.)

Do I Race or Train or can I do Both?

Happy Running (or racing  or training!)