The Rehab Report

One of my weird(er) phrases that I enjoy using to describe people is 'illusive pigeon.'

Example: Recently I have been a bit of an illusive pigeon when it comes to this whole marathon training thing.

Actually, when it comes to running in general it seems that I’ve been a big vague on here, don't you agree?

Remember the other day when I told you I was going to see my bff the orthopedic to have my knee checked out, and then never followed up? Yeah me too. Well, it turns out that after dealing with my left leg (IT band & stress fracture) issues, there’s been some compensation issues going on. And now, all of a sudden my right knee/leg is like:

“Alright lady, I’ve taken just about enough pounding for the year, so just a heads up I’m going to start shutting down soon.”

Oh the wonderful adventures of running.

So that conversation ended me up here:

Look familiar to some of you? Physical therapy b*tches.

The good news: This isn’t like last time. I’m still currently running almost pain free, and even plan on doing my 10-miler tomorrow morning. (SO PUMPED FOR THAT)

This is very proactive. Remember when I told you my word of the year was proactive? LOOK AT ME GO.

With some excessive icing, foam rolling, perhaps a little more yoga, and (hopefully) just a few weeks of PT…  I have my fingers crossed that marathon training will continue on as scheduled.

The shoe report: Recently I had been thinking about switching shoes again. I’ve been loving running in Brooks… but was beginning to question if maybe my 5’11’’ 140 lb frame needs a little more support?

(omgeeee did she just post her weight on the internet?!)

The verdict: No. According to Sean who I trust with my life legs, he said my running form is much more natural in the Brooks versus the ASICS. I believe him, because he has now filmed me running on the treadmill several times, barefoot, Brooks, and ASICS, and studied the shit out of my film.

This is good news, not only because I’m a Brooks brat, but because the bank account really wasn’t going to allow me to buy a new pair any time soon anyways. Once I saw Sean on Wednesday and got the OK to keep running, that’s exactly what I did:

Today I did a short WOD this morning, and then went swimming after work. Because apparently I still have that triathlon in two weeks?

I will leave you with these two things…

Have I ever shared my favorite starbucks drink with you guys? Green tea soy latte, unsweetened, 1 shot of espresso. Hot or iced, I find it quite magical.

Did you know people in Maryland literally put this on everything? I caught my roommate putting this on her ice cream the other night. Weird.

As fun as this has been, it’s restaurant week in Baltimore, and this guy I know is taking me on a hot date. Tell me, what’s your favorite Starbucks drink?

Cheers!

Heating up

I have a small confession to make.

I’ve become slightly addicted to ABC’s TV series Revenge. My CO friend wolf has been riding me to check it out for about two months, so one night I finally caved and checked out the pilot. 
I was hooked.

Luckily there are currently only two seasons, so I don’t have toooo much to catch up on. It still peeves me a bit that I found a new series to love, as I would rather spend my time doing anything else in the world than have my face glued to a screen.

No more new series this summer, you have my word.

I discovered this guy at Safeway the other day:

I’m not sure if you’re a dried plum/prune fan or not, but I am. And listen to me when I say a handful of those chopped dried plums and a dollop of almond butter thrown into my overnight oats is one of my new favorite on-the-go breakfasts for summer. Throw some cinnamon and almond milk in there, let it soak overnight. It’s good stuff.

Have you heard the news? It’s summer, and it’s hot.

What my week has looked like

Moving on. I’ve only gone to my new trial gym, Canton Club a handful of times thus far but as of today I’m giving it a thumbs up. It’s smaller, much less crowded, and has a simple lay out. I tried a one hour spin class the other evening, and left sweaty and not angry – those are really my only two expectations when it comes to spin class.

Speaking of spinning, I did my first brick of the summer last night. I rode a couple of miles on my bike around Patterson Park, and then hopped off and ran a 5k along the harbor. It felt pretty good considering the heat and humidity. In the process I realized there are way too many bikers out there who aren’t wearing helmets. Listen, I don’t care if you’re biking for transportation or training competitively - strap that b*tch on. Don’t make me post that picture from I left half my face on a Colorado bike trail.

There’s your public service announcement of the week: Wear your freaking helmet. I don’t care how cool you think you are.

Sometimes I even wear it around the house for extra precaution. Am I kidding?
You can decide that.

Ummm let’s see… I went to see my orthopedic doctor today. I figured it’s been a few months since our last visit and she probably missed me.

In all seriousness, I had her check out my right knee. Going into the appoint I was lacking the correct medical term, so let’s just say that it’s being weird.

The diagnosis can be discussed tomorrow, but I'll leave you with the fact that I DON'T need to stop running, as long as things continue to get better.

WHAT!?! A doctor who supports running? I know, I found a keeper.

Alright, wrapping up… this girl has some miles to knock out. And (hopefully) a marathon to continue training for.

Cheers!

Facing the Facts

Once upon a time, about 10 years ago now to be precise, I fractured the L5 vertebrae in my back.

let's have an anatomy lesson, shall we?

 Does anyone else think that looks like an elephant?

That whole summer was full of a crap-ton of physical therapy, back braces and tears. It was me standing on the sidelines with my club volleyball team at the National Tournament down in Atlanta, half-cheering, half choked up. It was a hard summer.It also taught me a lot.

Also known as Spondylosis, a lower lumbar fracture such as mine doesn’t heal, ever. It’s always there. And so I was warned by my physical therapist at the time that my entire life would be a battle of keeping a strong enough core so that the fracture didn’t bother me. And I’m blessed to have made it through a collegiate volleyball career without it ever really becoming a problem.

Fast-forward 10 years, to about 2 weeks ago now. Day 1 of Physical Therapy with abusive Sean down in Baltimore, I was surprised when he randomly asked me ‘have you ever had any kind of lower back injury?’ 

Why yes, yes I have… and what does that have to do with my knee, and my IT band?

Funny how our bodies work, isn’t it? Actually, funny isn’t the world. Fascinating is more like it. And even in the midst of the lower back issues resurfacing early last week, I couldn’t help but be simultaneously fascinated along with frustrated. Sean called it, Day 1. It’s all connected. And as my weak hips/glutes (AKA ass muscles) slowly stopped working over the past 6 weeks, my IT band started overworking… eventually getting super angry, causing it to rub and cause that pain in my knee.

And my back? My back started trying to take over and help me where my hips and glutes no longer were. And today, as I sit here popping advil like it’s candy, icing my back and trying not to be bitter… I can officially say that I feel like I’m falling apart.

this came in the mail this week. perfect timing. i cried. 

So when I got home from my last ‘test’ three mile run last night, once again limping and in tears… I knew it would be nothing more than insane and irresponsible to try to run New York. And although the word insane has often been used on here to describe myself, and runners in general... well I’m just not that insane I guess. Because there’s too many other things I want to do than be injured for months on end.

who better to take advice from than Dumbledore.

Sidenote - whenever I'm sad, I often find myself turning to Pinterest for some encouragement...

You see, I have big plans. And at the age of 24, keeping the perspective that an IT band injury isn’t the end of my running career is what is helping me to keep my chin up. And after a long discussion with Sean this morning at PT, I know what it’s going to take to get where I want to be.  I 100% plan to run the Chicago Marathon next fall, and an abundance of halfs and even tris… possibly even a half ironman in summer/fall 2013.

Whaaaaaaat?? You don’t even know how to swim well Kait.

I know. But I can work on that.

I’m sad, but you guys already know that. And it helps me to do nothing but focus on forward progress at this point. I’ve been told coming back from an injury, if done the right way can be an extremely gratifying experience. That if I get strong where I need to get strong, and find some balance, that I can come back a stronger runner than I was say… this past September.

And I believe that, and will continue to tell myself that, even over these next couple weeks when running is completely out of the picture. (grimace)

So that’s the plan, there you have it. My evening will be full of putting together a ‘get strong’ workout plan for the time being, and getting creative with cross training options. That, and a whole lot of Taylor Swift's new album. Because let’s be honest, I’ll always be 14 at heart.

Would love some encouragement or any advice you guys. I’ll take anything I can get :)

Cheers to a chin-up type of week.

On Fire

Did ya’ll hear? I have developed a southern accent.

Fall is on fire.

taken right outside my work

The fall colors are in full force out here on the East Coast and I gotta admit, the colors are rivaling the Rocky Mountain autumn that I went through last year. I think it’s too soon to declare an official winner yet.

In attempt to not get fired from my job from being out of office so much lately, I had to pull some strings for the scheduling of my physical therapy.

One of those strings entails me having a PT appointment on Monday mornings at 7:30 AM in B-more.

at least the sunrise was pretty...

I don’t think yesterday morning would have been so bad if Sean (my PT) hadn't made the executive decision to aggressively start preforming ART (active release technique) on my knee. I’ve mentioned ART in past posts… and when I had it done on my foot I really didn’t think much of it.

ART on my knee is a WHOLE different ball game. A whole new world of pain. I was literally sweating from trying not to scream/backhand Sean.

I figured you preferred pics of my bruised legs over my stupid faces. No? 

That being said, that kind of pain is good and necessary. It’s progress, so I’m all for it.

Bring on the Painnnnnn.

whether it's emotional or physical, this is too true.

Lately I've been sleeping in my cycling capris in order to get myself out the door for 6 AM spin class. So far so good; I’m actually started to enjoy the classes versus simply tolerating them.

And remember that pumpkin butter that I bought awhile back? I’m still putting it on just about anything, include my morning oatmeal. SO GOOD.

Let’s wrap this up with a closing thought: Tuesdays are the most worthless day of the week. By far. Does anyone else agree?

Cheers!

Head Above Water

Have I ever told you guys what the ultimate key to my heart is?

And no it isn’t pumpkin… although that’s probably a close second.

source ... because I ate it too fast to take a picture.

Cheesecake.

Last night my baller boyfriend dropped by my house with a piece of amazingness straight from the Cheesecake Factory, and I have to say, it made my freaking week. Just wanted to share, and make you drool on yourself.

Let’s run through some other important updates, shall we?

I ‘ran’ in the deep end of the pool this morning for a solid 50 minutes. And when I say run, I mean essentially treading water in a running-like motion. I’m pretty sure the swimmers hated me, the pool was completely full by 6 AM, and I nearly drown from the guy who kept blowing past me with his aggressive breast stroke in the lane next to me.

Good times.

Following that gem of a workout I rewarded myself with Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie Overnight Oats.

What’s that, you want the recipe? Certainly.

Combine in bowl/container:

-1/2 cup of old-fashion oats

-Pinch of cinnamon

-1 (softer) banana

-1-2 TB of peanut butter

-Chia seeds/vanilla extract (optional)

Pour in enough milk of choice to cover ingredients and mix it together. Let sit overnight in refrigerator.  Enjoy the next morning!

Other developments… I recently cut my hair. I wanted it to look like this:

 I even showed her this exact picture. She didn’t listen, because hair stylists never listen to me and so I ended up with this:

They are too long to wear like that pretty girl up there wears hers. Maybe next time they’ll get it right. Or maybe my face is just shaped strangely.

In case you’re wondering, those odd pictures of me above are from an outdoor concert we attended this past weekend that actually turned into a rave that night…. Yeah.

In other news, I fell in love with my orthopedic doctor yesterday. She. Is. Amazing. She was super relatable, LISTENED TO ME, and kept me feeling encouraged. 

and i'm officially the creepy girl who takes pictures of doctor offices. 

She referred me to an awesome physical therapist who I called immediately afterwards and begged asked for the next available appointment.  Which I will go to tomorrow. Where I will then run on an anti-gravity treadmill so they can figure me out.

Cool.

Hopefully they need me to run a solid 10 miles to get a diagnosis?

my official papers

Last, but certainly not least… my favorite topic. Pumpkin.

Today at Trader Joes I found this:

And yesterday, my coworker found this:

Life is Good.

How is everyone’s weeks going? What is the key to your heart when it comes to food? And more importantly, have you ever gotten a hair cut that you actually liked? 

(I haven't)

Cheers!