Running in circles

I managed to get around the lake twice this morning and felt great. No pain at all in my butt. A slight twinge in my hip but nothing significant. I threw some running in and was surprised that there was no memory of my butt pain, even on a slight incline. Great news, indeed. I iced when I got home and that seems to have relieved any after workout tightness although I do plan on using the therapy balls again today. I really need to keep my butt and hip area from getting too tight.
I'm going to try for 3 loops around the lake tomorrow (or 6 miles) which will be the longest I've run/walked in about a month. Slowly I'll get back to where I ws but I really need to keep reminding myself to not push it too much too soon.
Tomorrow afternoon we're going to a get together with some of the members of the MTC running clubat Marie Lewis's house. That will be fun as they live on a lake and have a boat. I was thinking how much fun it might be to try water skiing but then my sensibility kicked in and I remembered by age and condition. I think I'll watch. We missed the shirt run last week and I'll miss the Sweaty Butt 50K next week so this will give me an opportunity to stay connected to the group. I guess the next group event will be the 24 hour run around the lake. That will be my goal and I figure that my loops around the reservoir will be perfect training for it!
Hope I don't get dizzy!

Miracle Balls

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday I was very discouraged about my recovery from my muscle issue and today I'm encouraged. After doing more research and continuing to read the same recommended treatment of using a tennis ball under the butt and hip. I had been doing this but apparently not often enough. Yesterday I did it 3 times and the relief was almost immediate. I've also seen the chiro and will get a massage on Friday. For the first time in a long time, I am not aware of the constant annoying pain in my butt and feel very hopeful about that. It hurts like he** when I use the balls under my butt and hip and let my weight apply pressure to the tender spots. It's incredibly painful but the relief is worth it for sure. I can actually remove my shoe and get in and out of the car without pain in my hamstring! Yea!!! I'm still going to take it easy until I see the sports doctor on Thursday but am looking forward to getting the go ahead to increase my running as well as stretching and strenghtening.

Did I overdo it again?

I'm a little concerned because the tightness in my butt seems to be back again. I'm not sure if it's because the steroid treatment is winding down or if I overdid it. I ran/walked yesterday for 5 miles. I felt pretty good so I probably "ran" more than I should have. I never made it to the pool which was probably a mistake. I think swimming is probably very good for it. I'm not so sure about spinning and running. I've never had an injury that has side-lined me like this and have always prided myself in running smart. Boy did I blow that reputation by doing too many long hilly races and not enough recovery followed by too much cross-training. I guess I was just too anxious to get back into it as my running and working out had not been all that great leading up to Umstead due to the initial butt problem. Hopefully a little TLC will coax it along into a full recovery!

Not cured yet!

I did manage to get out yesterday and walked/ran 4 miles around the lake. It felt good to try to run a little although I was surprised that I could still feel the ache in my butt. It's not as cured as I thought although I guess it just takes time for the inflamation to go down, even with the help of steroids. It was a little achy after I got home. I did decide to also go to the pool for a swim and a little pool running. That felt great and I did 1/2 hour of each. So although I'm a little disappointed that I can still feel the pain in my butt, I still have to be encouraged that there it is getting better, albeit slow.
This morning I did my upper body weight routine and I'm really getting to love that and actually look forward to it. I keep looking at my arms to see if I can see any definition yet, no not yet but I'm still hopefull that I"m not too old to see nice muscle definition. I also think that swimming will also help develop my arms and my legs. Soon I'll be able to start weight training for the lower body, but not yet.
I also plan on spinning and swimming later today. I was going to go to the noon spin class but Frank asked me to go to lunch at Paneras and after a very tense weekend, it'll be a nice recovery. I'll go to the evening spinning class and follow that with a swim. That will probably be better anyway as I won't end up having to cook or eat a big meal. I'll have my "big" meal at lunch and a light dinner. Maybe cereal, I love cereal for dinner. Sounds like a plan. Frank will be on his own for dinner which I'm sure he'll love.

I started reading a book that Erin loaned to me called Three Weeks with My Brother. What a terrific book. I can hardly put it down. It's a true story of the authors life and I love true stories so I'm really enjoying it. It makes me wonder though, how some people can be so successful and others not. The brothers were from a very poor background and a strange family dynamic but both seemed to have turned out to be very successful. I hope that the book with highlight a little on what they did to attain their success. It also made me think about Tim Russett and his life. I watched the memorial service the other night and he was amazing from a very young age. It's just so interesting how some people just have that gift or whatever it is. Maybe I'll discover the secret!

Drugs are working!

I went to the sports doctor yesterday and it was concluded that my butt pain is caused from overuse (that's a surprise) and is an inflammed bursa at the attachment. So I guess it's not my hamstrings or my periformis although they're all connected and affected. I'm not sure about all that but he did give me a presciption for Cortisone instead of a shot due to the location of the inflamation and I started feeling relief shortly after taking it this morning. Now, several hours later, the pain is only negligible so that is great. I can sit and walk without too much pain or discomfort. It will be tempting to go right back to running and overdoing it but I'm going to follow instructions and start back slowly. I can bike and spin so that is great and I can walk with bursts of running so I'm happy about that. I see him again in two weeks and after that hopefully I'll have the go ahead to get back to training although I'm sure it will be gradual and no hills for awhile. And I thought hills were my friend! He also recommended strengthening as well but not until the inflamation is gone so I can only do upper body weights still which is fine. I will work with a trainer at the club that he recommends for some rehab strengthening work. I'm not thrilled about taking steroids but I guess sometimes it's necessary so hopefully I won't have any adverse reactions.
So my next big goal is the Hinson Lake 24 hour run. It's flat so I won't have to do any hill training to get ready for that. After that, I should be pretty much back in good running shape and can then figure out where to go from there. I'm still not sure about doing another 100 but do think about Rocky and Umstead so we'll see. Way to far away to really think about with any seriousness although it is fun to ponder.

Helping Nola Escape!

 
Looks like Chico is trying to help Nola escape from her prison! Maybe he'll miss her. She goes home today so all will be back to normal???? It's been an adventure.
I'm looking forward to seeing the sports doctor today. I'm pretty bored with swimming and want the go ahead to do something besides just pool running. I think I'm going to go to the reservoir today and walk around the lake and maybe try a little jogging to test the hamstrings. It's pretty flat and it's beautiful here this morning. The heat wave is taking a break so I'd like to take advantage of the cooler temps and lower humidity.
I met with the owner of the salon yesterday and I can use her room to do massage and it looks like it could work out great. My only concern is that the room is very small and is combined with the foot bath and chair used for pedicures. There's not much room for moving around but we'll see. Hopefully it'll work. I plan on going back there today or tomorrow to get a better feel for it. Yesterday someone was in it getting a pedicure so I couldn't really evaluate it. The salon is very busy so I think it would help to generate new clients and the owner also offered to place an add in the local newspaper announcing my arrival which would be very cool. I'll be preparing brochures and flyers to advertise what I do etc so it'll be pretty exciting and fun to work on the details. I'll be able to work my own days and hours and will only go in when I have clients. Pretty cool. The location is really good too as it's only a couple of miles from home and from the club. I'm hoping that it may even lead to other possibilities of meeting women that want to get fit and maybe start running. I'd like to introduce a beginners running group to the local running club and this could be the place to start making that happen.
Time to get the creative juices flowing!

To the sports doctor

I've decided to go see a sports doctor to see if he can speed up the hamstring healing. I went to the chiro again today and he said it should be progressing so recommended I go to a sports doctor. I made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon so that will be interesting. I ran in the pool again today and that feels fine so it is definitely getting better cause I couldn't have done that a week or so ago. I really miss running and realize how much I took it for granted. I could probably run a little but I think that will hinder my recover and am convinced that the only way to get it cleared up is to stop running and continue doing what I'm doing. It's hard to remain patient but I'm trying. It's hard to see Frank continue his training and not to be able to join in. I'll miss the shirt run on Saturday and probably the Sweaty Butt 50K on July 5. :(

I have an interview with another spa/salon tonight. It's a day spa but predominately a hair salon. They do have an estitician but currently don't have a massage therapist so it might work out great. The owner sounded very interested. We'll see what she has to say. Hopefully we'll be able to come to some type of mutual agreement. I would probably be able to work as in independent contractor like I did at Inge's and give her a percentage. It's only about 2 miles from the house too so that would be great. Stay tuned!

Running in the pool

Well, I tried running in the pool. Yesterday I joined a group class called Aqua Jogging. It was a little more about socializing than aerobic conditioning but at least I got my feet wet. (so to speak!) After the class I swam laps for another half hour so it was a pretty good workout although not like running. Today I went back to the pool and swam for a half hour and then did more pool running on my own. Tomorrow I'll probably do it again and will bring my heartrate monitor as well as my IPOD. It's always better with music.
Not much else going on. Erin's bulldog Nola is still here. Chico is not thrilled and just tries to stay as far away from her as he can. He hides under the coffee table where she can't get to him. She wants to play and he doesn't. She's pretty rough on him cause she's so heavy but is really pretty harmless, just not gentle. She definately lives up to her breed. I'm sure Chico will be glad to have his house back when she goes home on Thursday!

There's a squirrel in my birdhouse!

 

Hey, check out the squirrel in our birdhouse! He ripped open our new loveseat cushion and was building a nest in the birdhouse! Is he getting ready for winter? It has been a chilly 90+ degrees all week! Go figure.

Ella is mesmerized by Chico!

 

Here's Frank and Ella on our visit to Raleigh last weekend. Ella was very mesmerized by Chico and she thought he was pretty funny. She's really gotten big and really changing by the day. She's almost sitting up and I'm sure will be crawliing soon!

Days are long

Days sure are long when you can't get out and run. Today I lifted weights (upper body only) and that's about it. I thought I'd get over to the club to swim but I never made it. Frank drove to Charlotte to spend the night at Erins and bring their dog back here for the week while they're on vacation. Must be nice! It'll be very interesting to see how their dog is here. She's a little uncontrolled and bull headed, living up to the breed, Bull Dog. Hopefully Chico will be able to put up with a little competition.
Tomorrow I see the chiro and hopefully I'll see even more results. My hamstrings are relaxing a little but still not healed enough to run. I had a massage yesterday and I think that really helped loosen up my muscles around the hips and hamstrings so I feel very optomistic. I'm doing everything I can so should see results soon. Hopefully I'll be able to recognize overstrained muscles in the future so this doesn't happen again. A lesson I needed to learn I suppose.
Frank and I are still looking for jobs. I haven't heard from the spa so I have to assume that someone else got the job although I would think they would let me know either way. Oh well, I don't really think it would have been a good match anyway, but I would have liked to have a say in it. I'm not sure what my next step is as there's not a lot of options around here but hopefully something will come along soon. I'm even thinking about taking an Esthetics course at the local community college but I'm not sure if I want to tie up a whole year and then still not be able to find a job. I'm going to look into it and then make a decision. It would be nice to do facials instead of massages for a change but it would take a year to get certified and I'm not sure I want to commit that much to it. I didn't even want to work at the spa that much (which may be why I didn't get a job offer!) In the meantime, I am planning on pursuing all options and hopefully will come up with something exciting or at least fun. I did sign up for a photo class today that should be fun. It's about organizing your digital photos etc. I really need to do that as I have hundreds on the computer and am pretty lax about doing anything with them. I'm looking forward to that but that's not until later in July! I will definately start taking classes at the college as a way of getting more involved in the area as well as pursuing other interest. They really seem to have a lot to offer.
Gotta run!!!! Soon I hope!

Thank God for the heat wave!

I'm so glad that we're having record heat and humidity with temps over 100 degrees. Everyone tells us it's not normal. Nothing has been normal since we've been here so hopefully one day we'll get to experience normal. Why am I happy for the heatwave??? Because I can't run and it makes it an easier pill to swallow. I went back to the chiro again this morning and asked his opinion about taking time off from everything and he thought it would probably be the only way to get this thing healed. He suggested 2 weeks but I am thinking more like a week but will determine how everything feels as time goes on. I still plan on swimming and doing whatever I can that won't aggrevate my butt and hamstrings. I've never really had much experience with running related injuries and am not accustomed to how it feels to not be able to run but if that's what it takes to recover, than that's what I'll do.
Still no word from the Spa about a job offer. I'm not so sure I would even want to work there but I did want to have the option. Thinking back during the interview I did mention that I really didn't want to work weekends and would want at least one off a month and that I had a commitment phobia!!! Probably not smart to mention that until a job is offered. So much for honesty! Anyway, we'll see what happens and will go from there. I'm still checking out other types of work as I'd really like to find something part-time that would be fun and might lead to other possibilities.
Know to figure out what to do with my time for the next few days. It's so strange to have a schedule to follow of working out and going to the gym. I feel pretty lost. I suppose this would be a good time organize closets and even go through my photos. Hopefully I'll do more than just sit around and watch TV. Actually since it hurst to sit I probably won't do that too much either!

Still not running!

Although my butt issue seems to be improving I still cannot run without discomfort. I am pretty discouraged and try to remain optomistic and cheerful but it's pretty hard. I now plan on taking off another week to see what happens. Swimmimg seems to be the only thing I can do without discomfort so I'll do that in the meantime. If it's not better in a week, I'm going to see a sports doctor that I met and he seems pretty knowledgeable. He gave a talk at the running club meeting the other night and is quite the athlete himself. I'll probably go to the chiropractor at least once this week and will continue to roll on the ball and ice it. I don't ever remember having anything like this but I guess after running my first 100 miler and following that by a tough 50K and still not taking time off after that, takes a toll. Too many hills! Hopefully I'll learn to not overdo it next time. I really miss being able to run and socialize. We don't do much socialization around here other than that so it's pretty lonely and depressing. Oh well, I'm sure that all will be well in a week or so. In the meantime, I just have to learn to find something else that I like to do and start doing it. Enough for now. Pity party over! (probably not but at least for the moment!)

Almost painfree!

After spending yesterday feeling sorry for myself (Yes, I had a pity party for one!) I started feeling better and can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am finally convinced that the injury was a result of doing too much too soon after Umstead followed by Promise Land. I felt great and decided that I was ready to run/spin and do weights in that order. The squat machine just put too much pressure on tired muscles and they didn't like it! Anyway, continuing to run and workout during my "recovery" was not a good thing and made it worse. I thought running wouldn't make it worse! Wrong! Anyway, I'm going to come back a little slower this time and will gradually get into longer distances and cross-training. We signed up to run a 5K tomorrow and I'm still on the fence as to whether to do it or not. I guess I'll decide in the morning. If my leg still feels week, I will just pass and work the Striders booth which might be fun anyway. Plus the heat is here and it's going to be in the 90s with high humidity so it won't be much fun especially since it doens't start until 9:00! It's amazing how hot it is here. I guess this is it until October so we will just have to deal with it although the treadmill sure looks good!
Tomorrow we're going to Raleigh to see Colleen, Steve and Ella. We'll babysit while Colleen is at the hairdresser and then go out for dinner. I can't believe it's been so long since we've seen Ella. I'm sure she's changed quite a bit so it'll be fun. Stay tuned for pics!

Slow recovery

I'm still perplexed that my butt issue is not resolved. It was much better over the weekend however, after getting a very deep massage yesterday morning it has been aggrevated, hopefully a tempory side-effect of the deep treatment. I did some weights and can really feel the pain in the butt again. I'm thinking I should avoid any and all activities that uses the hamstrings so I'm not going to do any weights for the lower body or spin until I am sure that it's not making the matter worse. I am very discouraged as it doesn't seem to be responding to the things that worked in March/April to get me through the 100 miler. I'm so frustrated and concerned but am trying to remain patient and postive although that's not easy for me to do. All things in time!