I've Been Shot TWICE!

Well, not with a gun, but with a needle! Saturday's anticipated 20 mile run was a huge disappointment for me when after 10 miles, ITBS reared it's ugly head. Only this time it was not in my left knee (which I have been battling with for 3 months) it was in my right knee! The good knee! The strong knee!

After going to the doctor last week about my left knee, he prescribed me some pain patches to try before going the cortisone route. So I wore the patches, continued with my physical therapy and cut back my runs, everything I was supposed to do. I made a back up appointment for a cortisone shot just in case the patches didn't work. Good thing. The patches really helped, but I still felt I needed the shot. Who could of guessed that I would need one in each knee!

As of now my knees feel great now, but the doc said I would hate him in 6 hours when the numbing medication wears off. Then my knees will be sore for a couple of days. After that we hope that I will be able to run without pain. Here's praying!

Without my long runs, I am taking the SLC marathon as a training run for San Diego, nice and easy. If my knees don't feel better by marathon time, I will swallow my pride and bump down to the 1/2.

Marathon Training Week 22!

Due to my freakin' knee injury, I took the whole week off to rest it. I can't believe how awful I felt not running. I was more tired and lazy feeling and was really looking forward to Saturday when I would at least attempt to do the 10 miles scheduled.

It was a beautiful day, almost everyone in my group made the lottery cut for the Moab 1/2 (except me and my friend Jim) so they were kicking butt there. Jim was out of town so I ran with Stacie (one of the girls from the slower pace group and our Ragnar captain). I didn't mind going slower as I thought it would be better for my knee anyway. I am happy to report that I finished the 10 miles without much problem. I am going to the doctor tomorrow to get my knee looked at. I am praying that it will be OK! Marathon countdown: 26 days to go!

Marathon Training Weeks 20 and 21!

Well it has been a while since I posted because I have been so busy catching up after our 8 day cruise to Mexico (I will post photos when I get them downloaded-we had a great time).

Even though I am at the height if my training, I thought my knee could use the rest, so I only ran two times when we were gone, once in San Diego and once on the ship.

Last Saturday I returned to my training schedule and was relieved that we were only doing 10 miles. Unfortunately, my knee would only make it 8 and I decided to stop as to not make it worse. I have decided not to run all week for extra rest as we are scheduled to do 10 this weekend, but all week my whole left leg has felt achy. I made an appointment with a good sports medicine doctor on Tuesday and I hope he can shed some light on my situation (or shoot me full of cortisone so I don't feel the pain- last resort of course). With the marathon one month from today, my knee MUST STOP HURTING!

R.I.P Nicholas Caravella

Roddy Caravella, a dear friend and former dance partner of mine called me this morning to inform me of the passing of his father, Nicky. As Roddy and I have been friends for almost 15 years, I spent lots of time and became very close with his family. In fact, I always called them my family in New York.

I was very fond of Nicky and he was always very nice to me. I spent many Christmas Eve's at Rita's (Roddy's mom) house where Nicky would come over and we would feast on different kinds of seafood that she prepared. His white hair and round belly always reminded me of Santa.

I have not seen him in many years, but he will be missed. Losing a parent is the worst. My thoughts and prayers go out to Roddy.

Prayers for Miss Lillie and I Have a Black Eye!

Last night I got a call from my sister saying that my mom was being taken by ambulance to the hospital. She got a piece of meat stuck in her throat while eating dinner and couldn't breathe. Sh seemed to be OK, but the doctor wanted to keep her there overnight of observation. Thank goodness!

This morning my sister went there before work to check on her and while she was there, mom went into convulsions. Not sure if she was having another stroke or a seizure, she was rushed to the ICU for a cat scan. The cat scan showed no bleeding (thank goodness), but having a seizure is bad too (she has never had seizures before). She needs a MRI but she can't stay still and the doctor does not want to give her anything to knock her out. So now we wait.

I have been upset and crying over this and to make matters worse, my co-worker came into my office to check in with me and see if every thing was OK. I told her what I knew. Then in a concerned voice she asked, "Where did you get that black eye?" "What black eye?" I answered. Thinking that it was just cried on mascara, I took out my compact and sure enough, I have a black eye! I didn't have it when I came to work, but I think all the crying and wiping my eyes caused it. It is a good thing I didn't have it when I came in this morning or my co-workers would have thought I was getting beat!

Update: Mom is home from the hospital. She had a mini stroke which is common after a large stroke. I still worry, but I am thankful she is OK.

Marathon Training Week 19

Well, I got some decent mileage in this week, but I think due to the lack of time, I ran a little faster than I should have during my weekday runs to get my miles in. Saturday, we were back to our base run of 10 miles (it really feels like an accomplishment when I can say 10 miles is an easy day). The weather was cold in the morning but warmed up to be the most beautiful day!

As usual, I was running late and didn't have time to get on the foam roller before I left and about 8 miles in, my knee started hurting (which I attribute to running faster than I should have). I made it through, but I need to stay smart about training now. Which means going at the right pace and doing my physical therapy homework (which I have been slacking on a little bit).

I Just Registered For The New York City Marathon!!

There is nothing left to do until the lottery!