tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82181921373950971162024-03-19T04:07:00.814-04:00Run, Bike, Swim, Fight!The trials and tribulations of a vegetarian girl her journey in becoming a triathlete.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-62477463240210727472013-06-06T10:58:00.003-04:002013-06-06T10:58:58.668-04:00Anterior Femoral Glide - PT ExercisesStarting this off with a huge disclaimer. <b>I am not a physical therapy professional</b> - I'm just someone who has gone through a lot of physical therapy. The only license I hold is a driver's license. I have a masters... in Media Studies, so I'm prone to calling muscles and bones the wrong name. These exercises are only to educate people on what has helped me with anterior femoral glide syndrome post arthoscopic hip surgery (due to a 4cm labral tear). I cannot stress enough that you should consult your physical therapist/ortho/doctor before doing these exercises. The main reason I'm posting this however is that many out there do not have PTs that recognize anterior femoral glide syndrome. My <a href="http://runbikeswimfight.blogspot.com/2013/06/anterior-femoral-glide-syndrome.html" target="_blank">last post</a> covers my background with AFGS and the lack of information out there. Lastly, no complaints about the image quality. I really don't have time to do an awesome job because this isn't my job! I got websites to build and money to make! Alright, now the exercises...<br />
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First part of my regimen is doing some stretches. My hamstrings are always super tight thanks to my job as a freelance web designer and front-end developer. You can use just about anything that is long enough to do these stretches but I found it worthwhile to buy a cheap yoga strap on Amazon. I hold these stretches for about 30 seconds each, for a few rounds.<br />
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In my last post I talked about how you have to be really careful with hip stretches if you have AFGS. This stretch is a good way to stretch the hip - by lying on the ground the hip can't go forward and thus push the femur forward. Have the strap around your foot, and then take the slack and put it over the opposite shoulder, holding onto it while propped up on your elbows. This is a bit more stabilizing while still getting a stretch. My PT also had me just lay like this for five minutes with my legs down and propped up on my elbows. I had some issues with my low back and sciatica - these two stretches as well as the laying helps with my sciatica too.<br />
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Next up is what my PT called "lion drills". I do this for about 10 reps. It's quite simple. Kneel on hands and knees with your knees 8 to 10 inches apart, hands
directly under your shoulders, and arms and back straight. Keeping your arms straight, slowly lower your buttocks toward your
heels and tuck your head toward your knees. Hold for 15 to 30
seconds. Slowly return to the kneeling position.<br />
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Next is a simple leg raise. I had to be aware of my back and my PT had me arch my back ever so slightly because I have the tendency to sway my back. Also bring awareness to your hip, keep it straight, no twisting and don't bring your leg up too far up. Remember, you're trying to keep your femur stable, and avoid pressing it forward.
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Bridging helps with core stability as well as strengthening the glutes. Remember part of AFGS is that the glutes aren't firing properly and strengthening them is part of the solution.
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Once you've gained enough strength you can move forward to bridge single-leg raises. Start in a bridge position, then straighten one leg and then extend your leg up so that it's perpendicular from the ground. As you can see, I have a lot of trouble keeping my leg straight. Do the best you can. This is an exercise that I found needs your full attention. Keep your bridge high and your abs tights. Make sure your hips are level and your leg is straight at all times. You might experience some clicking from your hip - I know I do. When I focus on my abs and keeping my hips straight I experience less clicking.<br />
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Everyone's favorite! Clamshells!! I had to do clamshells as part of my post-op protocol. I thought I was doing clamshells right, but apparently I was not. I was still using my hip flexors and not my glutes. Make sure your back is completely straight when you're setting up to do clamshells. Put your thumb right over where your hip flexors are, yeah that's right, all up in your groin. (First pic, I'm over emphasizing where to keep your thumb.) Focus on firing with your glutes and not the front of your hip. If you feel your hip flexor bulge out STOP, reset and try again. The aim of this exercise is to strengthen your glutes and train your body to fire with the glutes. Your first time your glutes will be on fire! That means UR DOIN IT RIGHT! Once you got this down, use a theraband tied around your thighs to add extra resistance.<br />
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This is a handy exercise I do a lot, it's easy to do anywhere. I find it's best to have something to hold on to, just to make sure your posture is good. Stand straight, with your foot turned out. Simply bring your foot behind you, keeping the foot turned out. Due to the angle of how the camera is it looks like I'm bringing my leg out to the side, but I'm not. Just bring it behind you. Also, focus on keeping your hips straight - I'm obviously not, but by this time I was over the whole video yourself while doing PT thing. This is a glute and hip strengthener.
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Lastly, not an exercise but a joint mobilization. This has been the most helpful thing I've learned to stop the burning pain on the front side of the hip. The first image is just to help show where to put your hands, which is on the very top of your leg. You want the heel of your hands to be on the top of the muscle where your abdomen and leg meets - there's a lot of muscles all up in there. To me, when I'm pushing down, it feels like I'm pushing down a slab of meat, (which I sort of am) sexy!<br />
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Keep your back straight (even though you'll lean forward a bit) and push down with the heels of your hand. Press down with the weight of your upper body. I push down as hard as I can while keeping mostly upright and my back flat. Make sure you are doing this on a chair that is high enough that you don't have to hunch over but not so high that it's hard to push down. The chair I'm using is the perfect height for me. Also make sure that the chair will not move easily! You don't want to lose your balance or slip and fall! Hold this for about 10 - 20 seconds, repeat if necessary. I try not to do it too often in one day but the relief I feel after is euphoric. Especially if I'm having a particularly bad flare up.<br />
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There you have it, my PT exercises for Anterior Femoral Glide Syndrome. I have found so much relief from these exercises, I am extremely grateful to my PT for his help. One other exercise I do but didn't add was squats, mostly because I am a lanky weirdo and I just look completely wrong doing squats and I'd rather not post something that looks wrong. Ask your PT if you are seeing one on how to best to perform squats. Also, part of my PT program was that my PT did a lot of manual therapy and joint mobilization. He basically had to rock/jam my femur backwards, it was always so far forward. I'm sure doing it on your own is helpful but nothing beats having someone that actually knows what they're doing performing manual therapy and joint mobilizations.
hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-55699528842594037242013-06-03T10:47:00.001-04:002013-06-06T09:44:30.794-04:00Anterior Femoral Glide Syndrome<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UR DOING IT ALL WRONG</td></tr>
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I can't believe it's been <b>three</b> years since my hip surgery. I basically stopped writing about what therapies I was doing because nothing seemed to be working. Now, looking back on posts it seems like I was so desperate for anything to be the answer. The active release therapy worked to help relieve the tightness in my hips but the pain was still happening. (As you'll find out, this wasn't a failure of ART, but a failure of addressing the mechanical issue causing the pain.) I eventually gave up going after months of treatment. At the end of last summer I was still in so much pain that I started to believe I needed to have surgery again. I was so clueless, and every doctor seemed to be so clueless as to why I was still in pain, that it seemed surgery might be my only option.<br />
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I decided to reach out to the physical therapist I had way back in the beginning, Keith at Quinnipiac Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine. Before surgery, he had helped me with my shoulder when a trip while running sent my shoulder straight into concrete. The swelling had limited my range of motion before I did Swim Across the Sound. He found the issue, which I was actually quite impressed by. There was swelling in my chest from the fall that was radiating up to my shoulder, limiting movement. With manual therapy and some exercises I was better in a few days, just in time for the long day of swimming. Looking back, I have no clue why I didn't see him after my surgery. I don't like having regrets, but I can't help but regret not going to see him before/after my surgery. Sigh.<br />
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Anyway I reached out to him and had an evaluation. He spent a lot of time looking at my range of movement, posture and talking about the pain issues. When he told me that he thought he could help me and that he didn't think I needed surgery, I burst into tears. I wanted to believe him, but I was also so scared of putting all my hope into another treatment and not actually getting better. For the first time in 2+ years I had a name to put to this pain, "Anterior Femoral Glide Syndrome". If you want a detailed explanation of AFGS <a href="http://www.ericcressey.com/newsletter150html" target="_blank">I recommend this post</a> over at Eric Cressey's blog. In basic terms, the head of my femur is too far forward in the joint capsule, which was responsible for the constant burning pain I was experiencing. The other issue behind AFGS is that the hip flexors are activating when the glutes should be. So to correct this issue one has to train their body to activate the glutes instead of the hip flexors.<br />
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Now, I'm obviously not a physical therapist so I'm completely limited on knowing much about the AFGS debate - or even if there actually is a debate about it. All I can figure out from the lack of information out there on the internet is that not everyone recognizes Anterior Femoral Glide Syndrome. If you are reading this blog because you are searching for answers to your hip pain, I have some not so awesome news for you. You might have a hard time finding a PT that will recognize this issue. I don't know anything about the hows or whys to this, but I can say that it's incredibly infuriating how many people on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/FAIhip/" target="_blank">Hip Impingement Awareness (FAI, PAO, THR)</a> Facebook group have seen/are seeing PTs that don't recognize this issue or take them seriously when they bring this issue up.<br />
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All that I can say is that Keith at QPTSM knows his stuff and is the rare breed of PT that actually <u><i><b>cares</b></i></u> to figure out problems. I know first-hand that Keith and his staff will discuss patients issues, bounce ideas off each other and work as a real team to solve problems. During my first session with Keith I was so affected by the pain that I was a mess. My posture and gait were so bad that I was basically a sad diagonal line, my body was pulling to one side. Through joint mobilizations and other manual therapy solutions he had me walking upright again and reduced the pain significantly.<br />
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Over the next few months of sessions my pain began steadily decreasing. Thanks to his exercise protocol and joint mobilizations I could perform on myself, my flare-ups decreased in time. I can say with confidence that this was the biggest issue that was creating my pain. I hope to write a post detailing the exercises I did to help this issue. But I want to stress right here and right now that <b>HIP OPENERS are detrimental to anyone suffering from Anterior Femoral Glide Syndrome</b>. That means,<b> NO PIGEON POSE</b>. If you look back in my posts, I was doing lots of yoga. I was convinced hip openers were helping me. Especially pigeon pose, because that's a pose my original PT recommended I do, and DO OFTEN. Multiple times per day! Turns out that was making things worse. So I would have a bad flare up, get on the mat and do the exact thing that pulls my femur even further back into the wrong position and only <b>MAKE THE PAIN WORSE</b>. <br />
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Do I still have flare ups? Yes. But I will say that for the first time in 3 years I have had several weeks in a row, on multiple occasions, with no pain. That's huge. Also huge is that often, if I do my PT, flare ups STOP. Instead of going on for full days or weeks or more, if I push through the burny pain and do my exercises and self joint mobilization the pain subsides. Finally I have a real cause/effect/solution to this pain. I'm also going to a massage therapist to work on the residual scar tissue and tightness - which also seems to be helping. I'm not 100% yet but I feel like I'm actually making progress for the first time in years. More posts about Anterior Femoral Glide Syndrome to come because there's a lot more to it, I haven't even gone into the sciatica or exercises, stretches you can do, or anything like that. That will come in time, because now, due to the lack of information out there, I feel the need to be an Anterior Femoral Glide Syndrome evangelist.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-45726957065736240762012-03-26T21:59:00.003-04:002013-06-13T09:34:18.388-04:00Nearing the Two Year SurgiversaryNo more apologies for not posting, I'm just too busy. BUT I found out this blog is pretty high ranking in search results for hip labral tears, so I feel obligated to post about things that work. I still have pain but I've found the biggest relief from a few things. Here they are in no particular order:<br />
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1. Yoga. But not intense full sessions every day. Taking the time to just do a few helpful poses, just making sure things are loose works wonders.<br />
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2. <img src="http://www.banyanbotanicals.com/images/Jntb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" />THIS. Daily. Plus Arnica gel. You can find the Joint Balm <a href="http://www.banyanbotanicals.com/prodinfo.asp?number=3531" target="_blank">here</a>. Massage, massage, massage. My biggest issue has been scar tissue from surgery clinging onto my already tight psoas. My amazing massage therapist can actually feel the tightness running all the way down my left (surgery) leg into my foot. And I can definitely attest to the pain when she works on it, it's there. The best way to heal is to move and massage. I can't stress it enough.<br />
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3. <img src="http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/7194-HP_215_SuptaBaddha_248.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" />Breathe, breathe, breathe. And do this pose! But be gentle. I recently realized (Yup, it took me almost 2 years...) that I subconsciously tighten/pull around my surgery area. This is my subconscious way of protecting the area. Tightening it is my reaction to the fear of letting go, my fear of re-injury. Unfortunately this was only causing me more pain and as soon as I made a conscious effort daily to notice this tightening and taking the time to let go and breathe... relax, the less pain I had. I also notice during high-stress days I tighten this area more, so I've made a conscious effort that when I'm really feeling stressed to take note of my hip and how it feels and take the time to let go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_12-EcY6pa7g7iPMvPih29lu2IukxfdYLDj0iUurYJ_R4egNIJjU7F48hmYSNjmLPzXbrd9EhJCSyuVgZVaPoMg-BL8ZXGkjTyEl0zFE13uEVJdxpt8ZGZ9SuO88lH5KZARjxE-WV05sJ/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_12-EcY6pa7g7iPMvPih29lu2IukxfdYLDj0iUurYJ_R4egNIJjU7F48hmYSNjmLPzXbrd9EhJCSyuVgZVaPoMg-BL8ZXGkjTyEl0zFE13uEVJdxpt8ZGZ9SuO88lH5KZARjxE-WV05sJ/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
4. <b>Designs for Health - Inflammatone</b>: I know it totally looks sketchy (update: their redesigned product is far less sketchy) but I absolutely love this product. It was initially recommended to me by my ART/chiropractor and I have been buying it in bulk on Amazon. The formula includes: Protease, Turmeric, Boswellia, Ginger, Quercetin and Rosemary Extract. Before I came across this product I was taking those ingredients (except for rosemary extract) in individual pills. I found that this combination worked for me but it was annoying to carry around all the pills. I casually mentioned this to my my doctor and he was like, "I think we carry a product with all those ingredient." and voila, my love affair with Inflammatone began. The best part about it? The ingredients are also good for my gastritis/stomach issues. It's like those old Tums commercials, "It's something my body needs anyway." Indeed.<br />
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So there you have it, four tips for healing from hip FAI, post-labral tear surgery.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-71599417950198977792011-01-25T18:50:00.008-05:002011-01-26T09:33:49.592-05:00Falling Open<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/2657-18.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/2657-18.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>I've added to my New Year's resolutions: At least one blog post a month! Honestly though I have so much to write about these days I want to do more. With my semester starting tomorrow, I thought I'd at least try to get one more post in. I've been successful in keeping up with yoga as a daily practice. Even though it's only been a few weeks since I've started I already feel a lot of rewards. Taking a half hour or more every day for myself has been important. "Me Time" has been one of the things I've missed the most about my previous gym rat lifestyle. Yoga has helped me gain more acceptance of myself. At the end of every practice, when the old thoughts of "Oh this isn't enough of a workout, do more" begin to rise I tell myself, "This is enough, I am enough." Then I think about all the benefits one can attain just from yoga practice and I feel so much better about myself and where I am right now.<br /><br />We've all had our memory jogged by places and scents. Through daily practice I've found that my memory and emotions can be brought forth by poses. Every time I'm in Downward Facing Dog and I move my left leg forward so it's between my hands to do a lunge, I am so grateful. A month after surgery that pose was impossible for me. Now it's a reminder of healing, of progress and hope. Most days, when I do <a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/486" target="_blank">Baddha Konasana</a> I find my left knee coming closer and closer to the ground. And some days, I'm tight, and it doesn't go so far. I don't get discouraged as much anymore. I know that each day my body is different and especially now that my hip is going through <a href="http://activehealthllc.com/services-and-treatment/active-release-techniques/" target="_blank">ART (Active Release Technique)</a>. Muscles are loosening, scar tissue is releasing, there is a lot going on and that's just in my hip!<br /><br />Besides doing yoga I've been focusing on a "detoxifying diet"*. Most days I have a green smoothie that consists of kale, broccoli sprouts, tart cherry juice, fiber supplement with probiotics, shredded carrots, aloe juice, frozen blueberries and frozen mangoes. Some days I also try to add brown rice protein. This smoothie is a combination of foods that help both my stomach (the now latent gastritis/h. pylori) and reduce inflammation. I recently found out that broccoli sprouts are really good for controlling h. pylori, which is awesome! I'd rather have broccoli sprouts as a preventative than take <a href="http://www.acu-cell.com/dis-hpy.html" target="_blank">Mastic Gum</a> and <a href="http://www.wellnessresources.com/studies/monolaurin_effective_against_h_pylori/" target="_blank">Monolaurin</a> when I feel symptoms acting up (as in when it's already too late). I've been eating a later, "second breakfast" of oatmeal with flaxseeds and raisins or craisins to keep me going until lunch time. Most recently I've tried to make quinoa for breakfast, and I've got to admit I really like it! I've been doing really well at making big, filling, delicious salads with some help from my friend Diana and Gena at Choosing Raw's awesome blog post <a href="http://www.choosingraw.com/how-to-build-a-meal-sized-salad/" target="_blank">"How to Build a Meal Sized Salad"</a>. In a world where I have all the free time I could want, I would love to write about different foods, their benefits and how to integrate them into your diet.<br /><br />Last Saturday was the first day in three months that I didn't have noticeable hip pain! I spent most of the day so happy, so grateful that I'm feeling proof that all my efforts, all the pain I go through in ART is paying off. Overall I've seen a significant decrease in my daily aches and pains. I know that I'm going to continue to have ups and downs, but I feel I'm doing everything I can mentally and physically to push through the hard days. I know now that if I push myself too hard, even if its doing upper body strength training, it can set off a chain of reactions within me that can send my body back months. I hope to continue all the hard work I've been doing this winter break and keep with it through this next semester – hell, through the rest of my life.<br /><br />I must note that the title of this post comes from a <a href="http://www.fallingopen.ca/yoga-philosophy-blog.html" target="_blank">yoga philosophy blog by the same name</a> that I have recently discovered and really enjoy. I've been working a lot at opening myself, to my own body and to those around me. It's just another way I've been trying to heal and that's helped by yoga practice. I've come across a lot of blogs and such that I really enjoy and have made an impact on me. Please check out:<br /><a href="http://www.itsallaboutyoga.com/" target="_blan">The Everything Yoga Blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.ihanuman.com/jenniferosullivan/" target="_blank">Jennifer O'Sullivan at iHanuman</a><br /><a href="http://flyingyogini.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Flying Yogini</a><br /><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html" target="_blank">Brené Brown's TED Talk</a><br /><br />* Note: I don't mean "detox" like I'm following some set plan by some guru, quack, former model, current celebrity where I drink water with maple syrup and lemon juice, fast for days, subsist on juices or anything like that. I mean "detox" in the sense that through research I've mish-mashed together an idea of foods that are good for me. Some of this has been through trial and error since I've started eating a healthy, mostly plant-based diet: Eating what I've noticed my body likes and avoiding what my body doesn't like. The main foods I avoid: sugar, dairy, coffee and alcohol. All of which are foods that increase inflammation. Oh and I've added in a lot more greens and antioxidant rich foods, ie foods that reduce inflammation.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-57171757398536796572011-01-12T12:09:00.007-05:002011-01-12T21:31:38.960-05:009 Months Post-Op<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/4939-hp_195_02.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.yogajournal.com/media/originals/4939-hp_195_02.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Three months have passed since my last post, and not that much has changed. The cortisone shot that I had didn't do anything. Bad News: I received no relief from the pain. Good News: That means the pain isn't coming from my hip joint. It was good to know that I could stop worrying about the actual hip joint and focus on the muscles around my hip. Through regular massage via the amazing Jessica (<a href="http://intuitivelotus.com/" target="_blank">intuitivelotus.com</a>) and <a href="http://runbikeswimfight.blogspot.com/2010/10/6-months-post-op.html" target="_blank">tennis ball humping</a> I was as close to pain-free as I've been since before the tear. A week or so before Thanksgiving I was feeling so much better that... I started running. Yes! Running! I ran a mile in 15 minutes or so, ok... that's not running that's "jogging" or whatever, but in any event I was going in a forward direction faster than walking. Muscle memory is incredible. Although I hadn't ran in a year I felt my body moving as though only a few weeks had passed. I had to keep slowing myself down. My whole body tingled with glee on that first "run". I ran again that week, two miles in one week after almost a year of zero.<br /><br />On Thanksgiving, with my boyfriend's family acting supportive but worried, I went out into the freezing rain and ran a mile. It felt awesome although it was simultaneously freezing. Unfortunately the next day I went to the gym, and I pushed myself a little too far. I'm not mad at myself. I have to relearn my boundaries every day. Every day is a test of what I can and can't do. There is no clear forward/linear direction in this healing process. (I will get to more of that later.) So I overdid it at the gym not running (I stopped when I was starting to have the old shooting pains, my hip had had enough.) but with tiny stupid weights. I was trying to strengthen my back and triceps to prepare for swimming again. I am completely useless in the water unless I have built up my arms and back. I ended up pulling the muscle that runs along the bottom of the scapula; so badly in fact that I had to take muscle relaxers and sit with a heating pad on my back for a week. After several days of using the heating pad, then doing the yoga pose <a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/479">plow</a>, my back returned to normal – but my hip returned to a near constant state of pain. I'm sure the fact that I pulled a muscle that is right next to where my psoas connects to my spine did not help my situation.<br /><br />I went to a follow-up appointment with my orthopedic a few weeks ago. Luckily (or not so luckily) the pain in my groin was flaring pretty bad that morning. I made my doctor feel where I was experiencing the pain. The thing with orthos is, no matter how great they are, they are concerned with bones and joints, that's it. The surrounding muscle and fascia could be on the moon for all they care. Once he felt where the muscle was pulling he had a very surprised expression on his face. "It's... it's like a cord! That's... impressive!" "That's not impressive," I responded, "it f*cking hurts!" He decided to refer me to Dr.Orefice at <a href="http://activehealthllc.com/" target="_blank">Active Health</a>. I went to my first appointment with Dr.Orefice last week. He decided that he will mostly be using ART or <a href="http://activehealthllc.com/services-and-treatment/active-release-techniques/" target="_blank">Active Release Techniques</a> to help my psoas calm down and break up scar tissue. I really hope that this is finally the procedure I need to break up the sh*t residing in my hip. During the first visit, even though it was painful I felt that he was getting to the major sources of my pain. OK, so what is ART and how does it work?<br /><br /><i><a href="http://activehealthllc.com/services-and-treatment/active-release-techniques/" target="_blank">From Active Health's website:</a><br />"ART providers utilize highly developed tactile skills and knowledge of physiological symptom patterns to locate scar tissue adhesions on and in between muscles and nerves. A precise hand or thumb contact is applied to the correct area (tension to the tissue) and the recipient is directed to move the effected region of the body through a specific range of motion (muscle is shortened then lengthened). This causes the muscles to slide under the ART providers contact. This technique has proven to rapidly break up scar tissue and yield recovery of many types of soft tissue pain conditions found in the work place and in sports."</i><br /><br />2010 was a long and frustrating year. I've decided that this year, in order to better deal with my pain and anxiety issues I will try to be a more faithful yogi. I came across the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1930485158?ie=UTF8&tag=yoga0b4-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1930485158" target="_blank">"A Year of Living Your Yoga: Daily Practices to Shape Your Life"</a> by Judith Hanson. As I was searching to see if there were any blogs that reviewed 'A Year of Living Your Yoga', I came across a blog called <a href="http://www.yogadork.com/giveaways/yogadork-giveaway-a-year-of-living-your-yoga-by-judith-hanson-lasater-365yoga/" target="_blank">Yoga Dork</a>. Yoga Dork is just one of the blogs trying to practice yoga daily and put into practice Hanson's daily insights to approaching life and yoga. So I will be trying to do yoga every day, on days where my psoas/hips are really tight I will be practicing my new favorite type of yoga: <a href="http://www.yinyoga.com/" target="_blank">yin yoga</a>.<div><br />I've been doing home practice since most of the yoga classes in this area (at times I'm available) are vinyasa. Though every teacher is different, I've found that most vinyasa classes move too quickly. I've always preferred slower paced yoga, being able to stay in poses and really enjoy their full benefit. I've noticed great improvement in my flexibility since practicing yoga regularly a month or so after the surgery and now. Practicing has made me grateful for how far I've come. Even though I still experience pain, my hip has more flexibility and is able to do more poses without modifications. </div><div><br /></div><div>I set up an account with <a href="hhttp://www.myyogaonline.com/" target="_blank">MyYogaOnline.com</a> so that I can practice using their videos. MyYogaOnline provides videos of a wide variety of yoga styles. Classes range from a quick 15 minutes to longer hour and a half sessions. They also have pilates videos and guided meditations. This year, besides continuing with grad school, I hope to make further progress in my recovery. It is my intention that through regular yoga practice I can learn to be more patient with my body and regain a higher awareness of its ups and downs, and learn to respect whatever it may be able to do day by day.</div>hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-43000845452304297512010-10-21T11:48:00.008-04:002010-10-21T12:34:29.270-04:006 Months Post-Op<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqpTwL2FUoar31H917H1vJq1_py_lyXZyA5uWy5DryjH5VudhmFXohAGp3AXDmgmsvw3O5IKBJUMwDoV_YiHSD3rEQj9LBAT3PUKZ9-nNuvWa9OeFWdetTImontYEyytUIuPzKm0K8WC-/s320/hipcompare.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530529720932193666" /><br /><br />So, to say I've gotten a little behind in blogging is quite the understatement. School, work, life, post-surgery care have all been much more important to focus on than this blog. When I have any spare time, I'm trying to do PT or exercise or just RELAX! I also haven't had a lot of fun and happy things to report. My recovery is going much slower than I was told and I'm still having pain. The pain is pretty persistent in my groin, on the front of my leg where my hip and upper thigh meet, and my butt. I have been trying everything to help with the pain. Natural remedies, not so natural remedies, pilates, yoga, massage, you name it. AETNA, who are BASTARDS, will not give me any more PT sessions. My doctor prescribed more sessions, my PT submitted all the necessary info, but Aetna won't call my PT back, or even ANSWER THE PHONE. My PT has tried for months, and they've gotten no word back about more appointments. I'm pretty much disgusted by the whole thing.<div><br /></div><div>A few weeks ago, my doctor sent me for another MRI. This MRI sucked in a few ways. First, the contrast shot hurt a lot more than I remembered. My knee felt completely locked and I hobbled for a good 5 hours after. Secondly, they did a crap job taking the images. My first MRI is so much clearer than this latest one. There's only one decent image of what's going on. As you can see there's a bunch of black crap around my labrum, which had me freaking out. My surgeon was worried too, so he took an X-Ray when I saw him a week after the MRI. He thinks that the black areas are the MRI's reaction to the sutures in my hip, because they have a little, very fine, bit of metal in them. I'm hoping he's right, though it did worry me that he was so nervous about it. I feel a bit assured though that that's what it is, because my boyfriend's father looked at the MRI images before I saw my doctor (he was an occupational therapist) and thought that's what the mysterious black areas were too.</div><div><br /></div><div>After spending the money on an MRI and another doctor's visit, and the pain I went through to have the MRI, I was really hoping my doctor would have some answers. He didn't. "It could be this, it could be this, we know it's probably not this..." I was/am really disappointed. I want a name to call this pain. I want to just hear "hip tendonitis" or SOMETHING. But he doesn't want to make any decisions until he knows more. So I'm getting a cortisone shot next Tuesday, in my hip joint. I'm not really pleased about this, especially since I think the real issue is my hip tendon. I want that shot there, where my doctor was thinking of putting it before the MRI. I've seen two massage therapists and they both exclaimed surprise when they've gotten to my hip tendon/abductors. It's so tight, all the time, I stretch as much as I can. Some days I just want to rip my leg off. Both massage therapists have recommended tennis ball therapy, where basically, I put a tennis ball on my groin/hip area and hump a wall, rolling the ball up and down. It's really uncomfortable and I can assure you it's not as much fun as it sounds.</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's where I am. Clueless. I realized the other day that this week a year ago, is when I felt the "big tear". I'm sure my labrum was beat to hell, but I definitely felt it completely go. I don't know what to feel about the surgery at this point. I'm sure it had to be repaired, 4cm just flapping around isn't going to heal by itself. But to still be in pain... it's really disappointing and it makes me worry I will never run again. Part of me has been preparing for that to be the reality of things. It's been hard too because I know if I had more time to do PT, pilates, yoga, tennis ball humping and other things that help, I would be in less pain. If I had more money I'd get massage therapy once a week. I hope to update more often, since it seems a lot of people on the Facebook group "Understanding Hip Impingement, FAI" (yes, there is such a thing) are experiencing similar issues. It has been a source of comfort to know that I'm not alone and that other people are out there, with this weird, pretty obscure, f**king annoying orthopedic issue.</div>hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-36215562044231136282010-06-17T16:31:00.007-04:002010-06-17T18:03:03.612-04:008 Weeks Post-Op<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeCgGpxKvHj_RCgQ97d46oRs6JjU4BVbjqSOcASCLoKVdez1y8tnWP20mUOG_oK5yNDEIF4ctC0K4Yz7PhTasHdAFDfaHmhnSapxc1YMFSUHwYN-w0pDSK6m7Z0_QffRa0_00MQ0tUMCq/s1600/crutchdance.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYeCgGpxKvHj_RCgQ97d46oRs6JjU4BVbjqSOcASCLoKVdez1y8tnWP20mUOG_oK5yNDEIF4ctC0K4Yz7PhTasHdAFDfaHmhnSapxc1YMFSUHwYN-w0pDSK6m7Z0_QffRa0_00MQ0tUMCq/s320/crutchdance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483863375698174082" border="0" /></a>I feel this obligation to say, "I'm sorry, I wanted blog more often..." It would have been a great resource to blog every week about my progress, but honestly, I wasn't up for the emotional toll. A few friends have asked why I haven't been blogging more. The answer is that I've been focusing much of my free time on getting better. When I do have the time to take it easy, I do. Writing isn't easy when there aren't a lot of fun things to talk about. I don't want this to become a place to vent and seek pity. That being said, the weeks that have passed since I last wrote haven't been easy.<br /><br />As much as Twitter seems like a useless social arena, it will definitely be helping me write this post. According to my "tweets" May 21st was the first time I got into the pool post-surgery. I felt bad getting to the pool a month after surgery. My doctor and my PT wanted me in there as soon as my stitches were out. I just wasn't feeling up to it. I was exhausted and miserable. It took me about 5 weeks to get off the crutches, a little longer than expected. Everything involving this healing process has been slow and patience has never been one of my virtues. So, I'm making it one. I've been making a lot of changes in my life these past few weeks. I'm trying to be more positive and focusing less on the end goal of doing triathlons again, and more on the present.<br /><br />Three weeks ago I started doing yoga again. I did some Instant Watch yoga DVDs from Netflix. Then I downloaded a yoga app for my iPod Touch called <a href="http://appshopper.com/healthcare-fitness/pocket-yoga" target="_blank">Pocket Yoga</a>. I figured spending $2.99 was better than spending $15 - 20 a session on a yoga class. It was difficult at first to do a 30 minute session. I remember taking things very slowly, and even a simple pose like "Child's Pose" was hard to do. Since then, yoga has become easier and I'm noticing improvements in my flexibility. Even my PT has noticed added strength as well as the flexibility. The yoga has been great for me mentally as well. Not only does it help to alleviate some of the massive amounts of stress I've experiencing, but seeing the little improvements as well as doing something physically active (albeit slow) makes me feel like I'm making progress.<br /><br />After Pocket Yoga, I kind of went app crazy. My iPod Touch has now turned into my iZen. I have several different yoga apps on there. The best one is <a href="http://appshopper.com/healthcare-fitness/hatha-yoga-%E2%80%93-your-portable-yoga-studio" target="_blank">Hatha Yoga</a> which is a pricey app at $9.99. It is the most authentic/traditional yoga app available. You can customize your own yoga sessions, the stop-motion video of the woman doing yoga are well done, and the audio instruction is very good. I have customized the standard session to have more poses that are beneficial for opening my hips and taken out the ones that are too hard for me right now. The yoga has also helped with the back pain I've been having from the epidural.<br /><br />I have also downloaded some apps to help with meditation. My favorite being <a href="http://appshopper.com/healthcare-fitness/isamadhi-meditation-timer-and-journal">iSamadhi</a> which is a meditation timer and journal. I started practicing meditation after I realized that the emotional after effects of this injury and the surgery were becoming too much for me. I was letting the pain and the negativity overwhelm me, own me. I have felt a large range of emotions in dealing with this. A huge part of it is guilt. There are people out there in far worse circumstances than I. Why does this feel so huge? So terrible at times? I'm not paralyzed, I can walk and will most likely be able to go on to doing triathlons again. I feel stupid and selfish for feeling so upset at times. I know I have a history of depression, which is usually just letting myself consume me. Does that make sense? Depression, for me, is letting my sad emotions overpower happiness or even just simply being. I give more importance to the depressive feelings than any other feelings. I feel they must be dealt with, but in the past I've dealt with them just by rolling around in them for weeks, months, years at a time.<br /><br />Meditation gives me a break from focusing on those emotions. Just 10 minutes or so spent focusing on my breath, on the present has made such a difference. I have been interested in Eastern... well... everything ever since I was a child. Yoga is something I practice, then let go of, then return to. While I don't consider myself a Buddhist, I do like to read about it and about practicing mindfulness. There are certain negative stigmas attached to meditation and yoga... perhaps you're thinking, "Shit, Heather's gone all hocus pocus." If I could I'd show you 11 year old Heather off in the woods burning leaves and calling herself a Wiccan, I'd say: "No. That's hocus pocus Heather." Also, you can be an atheist and still believe in the benefits of meditation and mindfulness. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Confession-Buddhist-Atheist-Stephen-Batchelor/dp/0385527063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276810523&sr=8-1" target="_blank">(Shout out to Stephen Batchelor.)</a> In any event, I'm feeling a bit more positive about things, even when I have setbacks.<br /><br />My current setback is a "groin pull". YAY! Another opportunity for me to say "groin"! You know how I love to say it. Anyway, these past few days my walking has been going downhill. As much as I tried to hide it, a couple coworkers asked me if I was okay. I've been having trouble starting to walk after sitting, then I had trouble walking at all. I hoped a trip to the pool yesterday after work would help, but alas after swimming, doing my water walking and hip exercises I hobbled to the hot tub. When I went to PT today I had to have another therapist because my usual one is at a conference (One part of the conference is focused on my surgery, that's how common it's becoming). I told the assistant PT about how bad the pain and walking has been, and so the PT took a look.<br /><br />She touched the spot where I've been having the most pain and exclaimed how tight it was. She started to massage it, and I started to do deep breathing exercises. It was incredibly painful. She took me to a private room, and continued to massage the tight areas. I had tears streaming down my face as I focused on my breath. Yeah, it was painful but it had to be done. After ultra-sound and ice, my walking was already improved. I'm to ice 3 - 4 times a day for the next week and lay off exercises, even yoga for a couple days. I'm relieved that the pain wasn't from my surgery, like it was failing or I did something wrong. The worst days have been the ones where I've been scared of a pop or pain and worried that the surgery didn't "keep".<br /><br />Besides the hip, I finished my first semester of grad school with As. I'm quite proud and feeling confident about that part of my life. I'm currently taking a summer course online which is overwhelming right now. I'm hoping I get used to the format in a couple weeks. The above picture is me ripping the dance floor up to Lady Gaga at my friend Maura's wedding. It's hard to tell from the back but she looked absolutely gorgeous. It was the best wedding I've been to. Congrats again you two!hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-84406138572686008922010-04-26T21:43:00.012-04:002010-04-27T11:30:05.620-04:00First Week Post Labral Tear Surgery<span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 1 Post-Op:</span> After what seemed like an eternity, 8am arrived and so did breakfast. It was gross eggs and gross Cream of Wheat so I didn't eat much. I remember crying at one point because I was just so stressed out and in so much pain. The amazing nurse Steve sat down with me and talked to me for awhile. He said that it was understandable I'd be crying after such a rough night and especially after such little sleep. He also said the pain meds don't help with emotions either, which I've definitely found to be true in the past. He told me about his ACL surgery and how there will be downs but there will also be ups, and recovery will happen though it seems so far away and overwhelming right now. Steve is an incredible nurse, to take the time to sit down and talk to me made me feel so much better.<br /><br />Some random doctor came in to take the epidural out of my back. It was a quick pinch but my back was so sore it hurt just to lean over so he could take it out. Then my doctor came in to check up on me. He told me I could get on a stationery bike the next day as long as I pedaled with my good leg and left the other leg resting on the pedal. I laughed at that because I was in so much pain I couldn't imagine pedaling. Even a week later I feel uncomfortable with the idea. There's no way I'm getting on my bike (on the stationary trainer) until my hip feels better.<br /><br />I was barely lucid when physical and occupational therapists came in to teach me how to use crutches. First of all I thought they were insane having me move in the amount of pain I was in. I was on the verge of passing out the entire lesson which consisted of me crutching down the hallway, up a little model of stairs and down, and back to the room. Voila, the entirety of my crutch training. The OT helped me learn how to use the bathroom and put on clothes. At this point I'm allowed to put 20lbs of pressure on my left (operated side) foot, which is basically just touching the foot to the ground.<br /><br />Soon after they left Scott arrived and nurse Steve came in to answer any of our questions before discharge. Scott grilled Steve on all the medications and everything I (we) should be doing this first week. So glad Scott was there to be so assertive and ask everything. I'm not really good about asking medical staff questions, although I am getting better at it. Also I was still on the verge of passing out so having him there to write things down and clarify was essential. After that I was discharged and a nurse wheeled me out of the hospital.<br /><br />Most of the day was spent in pretty awful pain and keeping myself from blacking out. From my waist down was still waking up and I was paranoid I was peeing all the time. I couldn't really feel my stomach but I was bloated from all the fluids and meds. My hip was obviously quite swollen. Some lady dropped off the CPM machine at my house, which I talked about a couple posts ago. It moves my leg really slowly from straight out to 45 degrees. It's important to do this (4 - 6 hours a day!) so that my leg doesn't get all knotted up and stiff. Controlled movement helps keep things loose so that I don't have permanent damage. I slept on the couch that night so Scott could have the bed to himself, he was completely exhausted as well. I woke up a few times to the room spinning around and to use the bathroom, which seemed to take a half an hour each time.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Using my CPM wearing the sweet double-sided tread socks the hospital gave me.</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWaoXA1vgJAe2atij41ioNZ7ZoGkWyyBGB0bf-RM7bQwcE79VWlcY68mxvGyYIPbRfpa5nAM0aiP4KK67CkUWikLeIjrZnhbI5tT98LzbqE5pGX5VB1i2FWcl3WOCry4vHqj3_cLWqDos/s1600/stryker.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWaoXA1vgJAe2atij41ioNZ7ZoGkWyyBGB0bf-RM7bQwcE79VWlcY68mxvGyYIPbRfpa5nAM0aiP4KK67CkUWikLeIjrZnhbI5tT98LzbqE5pGX5VB1i2FWcl3WOCry4vHqj3_cLWqDos/s320/stryker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464839610913887442" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 2:</span> Wednesday was a good day. I felt pretty positive and was already feeling a bit more mobile. The worst part that day was still feeling bloated from the Percocet. It's gross to talk about but seriously, it's important after surgery to drink a lot of fluids (although getting up and down is a serious pain) and take in fiber, probiotics, fruits & veggies and if necessary a laxative. It's the icky side of surgery that I was grateful other people blogged about, so there you go. <a href="http://susie711.blogspot.com/2007/07/learn-from-my-experiences-mistakes.html" target="_blank">I wish I saw this post from Susie at Goodnight Nobody before surgery.</a><br /><br />Throughout the week Scott slept at my place so he could make me breakfast and make sure I had what I needed for the day. That usually involves making sure I took my morning pills, leaving a glass of water (or my favorite, coconut water) around my bed and feeding my cat. He also biked over from his job during his lunch breaks to make me lunch. I'm still in awe of how much he's helped me this past week and I don't know how I would've gotten through this without him. He definitely helps to keep me positive and I'm sure that without him I would be a depressive, bitter mess. Later that day my friends Kelly and Jason stopped by to visit me. It was so great to see my friends! Kelly had me laughing so hard I thought my stitches were going to burst.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 3:</span> Spent the morning being miserable. For some reason I thought I would be feeling much better than I was. It seemed like before surgery the doctor and other people I had talked to acted like I'd be fine in a few days. I still felt pretty terrible and wondered if I was just being a baby or if its normal to feel so bad. I guess everyone is different when it comes to these things. With a lot of things in life I'm prone to wondering if I'm handling things "okay". Feeling quite helpless has had a way of amplifying my already self-conscious nature.<br /><br />Scott gave me a massage during his lunch break. My body felt so scrunched up, twisted and gnarled post-surgery. The stress, the actual surgery itself, the epidural and then having to mostly lay in bed left my body so sore and my muscles tight. I started crying it felt so good. Since then I've noticed my body in general has felt a lot better. I highly recommend rubbing sore muscles with <a href="http://www.boericketafel.com/commerce/product.jsp?prodId=4603&catId=&companyId=140" target="_blank">Arniflora</a> and <a href="http://www.boericketafel.com/commerce/product.jsp?prodId=4605&catId=&companyId=140" target="_blank">Triflora</a>, which are natural topical gels that I've had much success with. I also love the fact that they don't smell like IcyHot or other muscle rubs, they have a light herbal scent. The <a href="http://www.boericketafel.com/commerce/product.jsp?prodId=4603&catId=&companyId=140" target="_blank">Arniflora</a> contains arnica and witch hazel. The <a href="http://www.boericketafel.com/commerce/product.jsp?prodId=4605&catId=&companyId=140" target="_blank">Triflora</a> contains comfry, poison ivy (yes weird I know, but it shouldn't cause a reaction) and wild rosemary. These two gels also help with bruising. I've been using them since before the surgery and I've noticed my hip usually felt achier if I've forgotten to apply them in the morning. The bruising from the surgery hasn't been so bad. Usually I bruise quite easily and expected my hip to be a purple and black mess, but I've only had light greenish bruising.<br /><br />Later that day Scott brought me to my first post-op physical therapy session. I am back to going to Excel Physical Therapy in Hamden. I was happy to see my PT again. First thing she said to me was "No wonder you weren't improving!" and she said how happy she was that I got a second opinion and how she knew I wasn't going to stop trying to figure out what was wrong. Scott sat in on the PT session so he could learn along with me what I can and can't do. It's so great to have his active support in my recovery. I was still woozy that day and started to realize the Percocet was causing me to have acute nausea throughout the day. Not enough to make me completely sick, but enough to make me miserable. Anyway, it was great to have Scott there because I still wasn't feeling lucid enough to remember everything my PT told me. She reviewed my crutching and said I was actually doing really well. I was sure I was doing it wrong. I went home feeling really hopeful and positive about my recovery.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 4:</span> I was upset once again that I wasn't getting any schoolwork done and was feeling pretty scared about returning to "normal life" in a few days. Avoided the world by watching a lot of stupid TV shows on Hulu. Took my first shower since before the surgery (they wanted me to avoid changing the dressing and showering as long as I could) and felt sort of human.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 5:</span> My parents came down to visit. We all went to brunch down at my favorite diner in West Haven. My parents took me to the grocery store and I got to ride the motorized cart. I felt like a jerk when I passed an old woman going the opposite direction in the dairy aisle who was somehow controlling a walker as well as her cart and looked like she was about to fall over. Whatever the cart is as fun as it looks. My parents cleaned around the apartment while I fell asleep, the events of the day had worn me out. Most of the day was spent feeling nauseous from the Percocet, even though at this point I'm only taking one at night and dealing with the pain during the day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxdpSOv-C-JMk4588ljl8QFeyz6DolRixPavF16e-iqebjKBW-DbrhdXSZ9Fz7LMFK_z196G5EkRX2QOATZfl_VEh1wQWDl8qAtQ71gd7a0-OCQyd5CgyYco-DTX7OTNIoowIdWeD1vQN/s1600/25067_589894479799_22801112_34067738_3845256_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxdpSOv-C-JMk4588ljl8QFeyz6DolRixPavF16e-iqebjKBW-DbrhdXSZ9Fz7LMFK_z196G5EkRX2QOATZfl_VEh1wQWDl8qAtQ71gd7a0-OCQyd5CgyYco-DTX7OTNIoowIdWeD1vQN/s320/25067_589894479799_22801112_34067738_3845256_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464658313835345890" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 6:</span> My parents stayed at a local hotel so they could see me two whole days in a row. We went to lunch and my parents proceeded to clean even more of my apartment while I rested and used the CPM. Finally did some schoolwork that night and started to feel better about returning to "normal life". Decided not to take a Percocet before bed so I'd feel better about driving the next day. Took a Benadryl because I've been spending a lot more time with my cat Björk this past week. I slept pretty well for the first night since surgery, I think the Benadryl helped.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 7:</span> I went to my second post-surgery PT session in the morning. My PT says I'm already showing increased movement and I'm doing well. We went over my exercises again and she answered some questions I had. Called my doctor's office complaining about the Percocet. Now I have a prescription for Vicodin, so I will be taking my first one tonight. Hopefully it will treat me better. I have been in pretty significant pain most of the day. When my parents were here they gave me their TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator) machine. My PT uses one on me, but the one I have is a little consumer model. It's the size of a beeper circa 1997 and it connects to little electrodes I have to stick on myself. "A TENS unit is an electrical impulse generator that is used to relieve post-operative, acute and chronic pain," reads my instruction manual. I'm hoping I can use it during the day and then only take pain medication at night. Apparently they're not completely sure why TENS works and there are limited studies about its effectiveness. I will say that when it is running I feel the buzz sensation of the machine and it does seem to "block" the actual pain I'm in, which is a deep, burny pain.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />More about TENS from my machine's manual:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How does TENS work?</span><br />"TENS, or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, means the transmission of small electrical pulses through the skin to the underlying peripheral nerves. TENS is thought to work in two different ways.<br /><br />First, "high frequency" continuous, mild, electrical activity may block the pain signal travelin to the brain. Brain cells perceive pain. If the pain signal does not get through to the brain, the pain is not "felt".<br /><br />The second way TENS is thought to work is by stimulating the body's own natural pain-control mechanism. "Low frequency" or short bursts of mild, electrical activity may cause the body to release its own pain erasers, called beta endorphins."</span><br /><br />I'm getting better at crutching, definitely moving faster than Day 2. I feel a lot more mobile and my bruising is already gone. I was happy that I finally got out to drive myself around, and I'm feeling more confident about going back to work and school. Like I said, I'm still in pain but it is manageable, then again I've been "managing" life with pain since last October. It's hard to believe that at this time a week ago I was lying in bed at the hospital completely miserable. Feeling much more positive compared to that experience!hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-79979504522526228492010-04-22T13:31:00.004-04:002010-04-22T14:53:25.975-04:00Surgery DayOn Sunday I turned 26. On Monday I had hip surgery.<br /><br />I got up at 4:50am and took the last shower I knew I was going to fully enjoy for quite awhile. I took my time and shaved and just stood there in the scalding hot water, relishing it. We got to the hospital for 6am and I tried my best to keep it together. We got to the SurgiCenter and a very sweet nurse took me to my pre-op area. She would be the first of many amazing nurses I'd come across at Milford Hospital. She saw how nervous I was and did her best to calm me down, she didn't talk down to me (like a lot of medical staff tend to do) and put on extra blankets because I was already shivering. Scott came to say goodbye but the anesthesiologist doctor decided it was time to do my epidural and Scott had to leave. I started crying and that bought me a few more minutes with Scott. I vividly remember looking up and him, sobbing, scared and just wanting to be held.<br /><br />The spinal was awful. I don't care what the hell the Russian doctor and over enthusiastic assistant he had tried to tell me. That shit hurt. Even on the Valium or whatever he put in my IV to calm me down I just wanted to rip the assistant's throat open with my hands as she braced me, repeating in a sickly sweet fake voice "SEE it's not so bad!?!" while the doctor shoved a needle in my spine. After that I met my anesthesiologist nurse and I was rolled down the hallway to the operating room. I looked up while people in scrubs walked around me and it was just like the movies. So surreal. I remember entering the OR and looking over at the "table" which was really a bunch of platforms and the foot braces that they would lock me in. I looked up at the giant lights and I thought back to alien abduction movies. Then I looked over to Dr. Schachter setting up the video screen for the camera. "So you gonna record it for me?" I asked. He said something about taking stills of the best shots or something and then...<br /><br />I woke up in the recovery room shaking uncontrollably. One nurse there, who knows what I said to get her to like me so much, but she really took a shining to me. She piled warm blanket after warm blanket to get me to stop shivering. I always shiver after anesthesia but never this bad. Then I realized my throat was so sore. Not just sore but it felt like there was glass in there every time I tried to talk. She kept giving me sips of ginger-ale through a straw. She talked to me, asked me some questions. I told her how I lived in New Haven and we talked about restaurant week. I remember her telling the nurse upstairs who'd be taking care of me that I was "just a kid" several times and that I was a triathlete and made sure my boyfriend was in my room. When they wheeled me out she said something about how rare it was to get such a sweet kid in the recovery room and wished me the best of luck. I wish I knew a way to tell her thanks for being so comforting.<br /><br />I was wheeled into my hospital room and I was so relieved to see Scott there. He was equally relieved to see me. I found out it was 3pm and I had been in the OR for 5 hours. That was two hours more than I remember them telling me it would take. Scott, my parents, his parents had all been worried because they expected me to be out much sooner. The tear was bigger than expected and I would find out later, bigger than average. Usually it takes 2 - 3 staples to repair a tear, mine took 4. My doctor said that when they put the camera in, the cartilage was flapping around in front of the camera. As promised, he took stills of the video for me. It looks like fish and the "staples" look like the plastic twine you use to tie down a pool tarp. My friend Kelly said the stills look like "a whale's vagina". Enjoy that image.<br /><br />After I had finally stopped shivering, the worst symptom from the surgery was the sore throat from having the tubes put down my throat. I was drinking water, ginger-ale and chewing on ice chips trying to make my throat feel better. Scott went for a walk and came across a Carvel and brought me icecream. :) I didn't think I'd eat the whole thing but I did, it was so sweet of him. The nurses also gave me lozenges but nothing seemed to help my throat.<br /><br />A few hours after surgery I realized that I was allergic to the epidural medicine. I couldn't stop itching. I couldn't feel my hip at all but the sore throat and the itching were too much to bear. There were even places on my skin where I had broken out in hives. The nurses gave me Benadryl but nothing seemed to help. I would try to sleep but I was overwhelmed by crazy, fast-cut editing visions of nonsense that freaked me out. I would look over to the wood cabinet in the room and it would swirl, warp, become fuzzy in places. I thought I was going insane. I would "fall asleep" and wake up hoping an hour had passed and it was only 15 minutes. I remember being so incredibly lonely.<br /><br />After dealing with the extreme itchiness and sore throat for several hours I just broke down in tears. The nurses asked me what was wrong (like I hadn't been complaining for hours) and I could barely speak, all I could say was "I'm... so... fucking... miserable... I'm.... so... itchy, my throat... I can't... sleep..." Finally they called a doctor who recommended they stop the epidural drip. I spent the rest of the night watching TV, checking Facebook and Twitter on my phone and just hoping for the itchiness to subside and for 8am to come because that's when I knew I'd get breakfast, people would be coming to give me PT or whatever, and most importantly Scott would be there soon.<br /><br />Next post will be about Day 2 and hopefully after that my successful recovery.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-8022872351615265412010-03-30T12:50:00.007-04:002010-03-30T23:31:10.600-04:00Labral Terror<img src="http://www.arthroscopichipsurgeon.com/images/labral-tear.jpg" /><br /><br />So after my last whiny post a lot has happened. I wrote that post on a Wednesday night and by Friday I had an appointment set up with a new orthopedic doctor. This was the doctor my coworker recommended to me months ago, but for some reason didn't go to. Now I wish I had, but hindsight is always 20-20. Dr. Schachter realized my problem right away. It was NOT "snapping hip syndrome" but most likely a labral tear. As defined by the <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hip-labral-tear/DS00920" target="_blank">MayoClinic</a>: "A hip labral tear involves the ring of soft tissue that follows the outside rim of the socket of your hip joint. This ridge of cartilage, called a labrum, works a little like a suction cup to help hold your hip joint together."<br /><br />Guess what sports are attributed to such a tear? Well among them are running, biking and kickboxing! Yay! We're thinking the combination of my naturally deep hip sockets with all the sports caused this tear to happen. An MRI confirmed the tear, and while they put contrast in my hip joint to show on the MRI better they also gave me a cortisone shot. It was SO worth the giant needle in my hip for 10 minutes. On one side of me was a doctor putting in the needle and on the other side was the x-ray image of my hip. The image would refresh every minute so I got to watch the needle go in deeper and deeper, then feel the fluid going into my hip and then watch the screen show the fluid dispersing. It was a highly unnerving experience. Also nobody tells you how LOUD an MRI is!! The protective headphones hardly masked the crazy sounds the machine made. I thought MRI's were these highly advanced silent machines but I was wrong.<br /><br />So what happens next? Surgery. The day after my birthday to be exact. Last year on my birthday I rode 25 miles to celebrate my 25th year. This year I get crutches. I went to Dr. Schachter today for my final visit before the surgery. He explained that there is some hip impingement so along with fixing the labral tear they will do some very minor bone shaving. I actually got really lucky because in some cases of FAI there needs to be some significant alterations done to the bone. <a href="http://www.hipfai.com/" target="_blank">(Read more about FAI here.)</a> I found out today that I will be staying in the hospital overnight because my doctor is worried I'll have adverse reactions to the anesthesia and get sick. Also, unlike my first and very shitty orthopedic, he has taken my gastritis into account.<br /><br />When Dr. Schacter first told me I would probably need surgery I Googled the bejesus out of FAI. Instead of scaring me I actually found a lot of relief. I found my symptoms described in perfect detail. I found people who went on to do Ironman triathlons. I found a lot of encouragement and I also felt so much better! This post at <a href="http://www.understandingfai.com/2009/10/understanding-fai-for-friends-family.html" target="_blank">www.understandingfai.com</a> describes the writer's experience with her symptoms and I felt a weight of guilt lifting off of me when I read it. She too had intermittent and sometimes unbearable pain. I felt guilty because I thought that "snapping hip syndrome" could be fixed easily and that I must be doing something wrong because it wasn't getting better. I also felt guilty because some days it feels fine and other days it burns so bad, so I thought that the pain must be in my head. I must be the one making it out to be worse than it was. Chronic pain is an emotional roller coaster, and I'm ready to get off and enjoy the things I love to do again.<br /><br />The recovery includes: 3 weeks on crutches and two weeks of this baby:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVxL787YUYK-2eO20Ywqp6CZwaLx8Rrygm4AZLkXCpw7uCxTlGNHuqubTlxGFVUMvzvd5Mo4fWSSSHHL4xh4KcMXVhuIbwL7-dIg7XmrqlWXOmqwsnByh_bw3CHehKvyd2LUvqU88C0nv/s1600/qcpm.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 349px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVxL787YUYK-2eO20Ywqp6CZwaLx8Rrygm4AZLkXCpw7uCxTlGNHuqubTlxGFVUMvzvd5Mo4fWSSSHHL4xh4KcMXVhuIbwL7-dIg7XmrqlWXOmqwsnByh_bw3CHehKvyd2LUvqU88C0nv/s400/qcpm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454635242936426610" border="0" /></a><br />Look! She's loving it! And soon so will I! PT sessions probably twice a week for a couple of months and the doctor says I should be able to train again in about 4 months. I was hoping I'd be able to do a September triathlon but it looks like I will just have to wait until next year. The doctor wants me to be very careful and to "cool my jets" for awhile. A lot of people have seen the recovery A-Rod has made (who has this exact surgery... and I still think a douche bag) and think they can go back to running around in 6 weeks. Unfortunately since A-Rod <del>exists</del> had this surgery people have been increasingly getting tendinitis because they're pushing themselves too soon.<br /><br />Despite the fact I need surgery I'm pretty optimistic. From what I've seen on blogs, people have gone to five or six orthopedics before finding a doctor that recognizes what this is. It is often misdiagnosed as snapping hip syndrome, hernia and other issues. Because it's a relatively new procedure there aren't that many doctors who do it. There's one guy in New York I keep hearing about, who is highly recommended except for the fact he takes CASH ONLY, UP FRONT. Um, sorry but I don't have $20,000 just hanging around. The other doctor who is "the best" is Dr. Philipon out in Vail, Colorado. Since finding out I need surgery I've had everyone giving me other orthopedics they've heard about. While I appreciate it, I'm happy with my current doctor. My coworker's brother-in-law is an orthopedic doctor who knows Schachter very well and I like that he is very thorough and cautious and treats me like a human being, which I've found to be a rare quality amongst doctors, especially orthopedics.<br /><br /><em>*It should be noted that "labral terror" is my boyfriend's amazing pun, not mine. I like to give credit where it's due. More of his amazingness can be found at <a href="http://scacinto.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">this site</a>.</em>hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-8359701468653900722010-02-24T18:59:00.003-05:002010-02-24T19:17:05.150-05:00Low PointThis will probably be the most unedited, emotional mess of a post yet. I'm at a loss for what to do. I keep building myself up only to have the pain return. I dropped $200 on swimming stuff Tuesday. Flippers, kickboard, new goggles, 2 suits because I lost one and other is severely stretched out. Swam my first 1000 yards of the year, mostly with flippers, feeling like I was cheating having them on, but whatever my hips are weak. I took Advil later. The pain burned and gnawed at my groin for the rest of the day. Yeah. Groin. I have fucking groin pain. It's embarrassing and uncomfortable and so painful. Pain that just burns and feels like someone is pressing between my lady bits and the beginning my thigh. If I sit too long it hurts, if I walk too long it hurts, if my back isn't straight, if my legs aren't a certain way, it hurts. It hurts every fucking day and I'm just so sick of it.<br />I've been pouring time and money into PT. Into yoga. I try to do my exercises but then I'll have a day where I've gone to PT and it still burns, and I'm left wondering if I'm getting worse or better. Yoga hurt. Elliptical hurts. Swimming hurts. I just want to move again. My body is slowly turning all the muscle I worked so hard for, 2 hours a week for almost a year, and I'm watching it disappear every week that goes by. I haven't gained weight, but it's obvious my abs are weak again, my legs are no longer taut, it's just all going to shit. I know I should do ab work, and it would really help, but it's so hard to motivate myself to do it, to go to the gym especially when no cardio is involved. It's gotten to the point that I see runners as I drive around town and start to cry. Because I can't do that anymore. It all seems like another life. It's so stupid, so stupid to cry over a muscle injury. There are people out there with missing limbs, who have to have surgery, and yet here I am whining over this stupid, lame injury. I feel like a total dick and helpless at the same time. My boyfriend, who has been a saint, has been there to pick me up every time I have a day like this where I just fall into fits of frustration and tears. He's been amazing and I'm so sick of being Debbie Downer.<br />I want definite answers. I want someone to go "do this, this and this daily", and have it actually work. I hate these down days. I hate whining. I hate that it just takes over and I don't know how to deal with it.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-54834536659429768112010-01-25T15:39:00.005-05:002010-01-25T16:27:59.756-05:00On the MendThe new year is here and with it a lot of changes. As I briefly stated in my last entry, for the past few months I've been dealing with a hip injury. It started after my last triathlon. I was running more on the treadmill, trying to squeeze in workouts as best as I could. Hip pain would flare up soon after a run. I would stretch all sorts of ways, but nothing could stop the pain or burning. An hour or so after running on the treadmill 4mi I was limping so badly I could hardly walk. The next day I called up my physical therapist.<br /><br />After a month of seeing no improvement I went to an orthopedic. At first the doctor told me to go to a gynecologist because he thought I had a hernia. He seemed to be taking guesses for a diagnosis. (BTW - he's a horrible doctor and I wouldn't recommend him to anyone.) He was about to leave when I asked, exasperated that I was losing my one chance at getting a physical therapy prescription, "WHAT ABOUT THE SNAPPING?!" He came over and said he didn't feel any snapping. So I rotated my leg the way I had learned that makes it snap, and it did, painfully. My eyes shut and my face tightened in pain. He looked down at me, unamused. "Ok. You have "Snapping Psoas Syndrome". Uh. What?<br /><br />Well he was no help really explaining it so I did a ton of Google searching after I left his office. The smart explanation via <a href="http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/87659-overview" target="_blank">http://emedicine.medscape.com</a>:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCT2QWWkGIcT2URn-QuMVB1GnCWu8uhnA_Opw3Enl2__lSzERbP8RhFMddtS2TNNrRqCP__adyKTAzKjshSM0FGgeWONtLDBoSiY9FlFVyfp9VpzGf5RKipedRneJ6mkFAWnZaW0GvjCFe/s1600-h/psoas-impingement.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCT2QWWkGIcT2URn-QuMVB1GnCWu8uhnA_Opw3Enl2__lSzERbP8RhFMddtS2TNNrRqCP__adyKTAzKjshSM0FGgeWONtLDBoSiY9FlFVyfp9VpzGf5RKipedRneJ6mkFAWnZaW0GvjCFe/s400/psoas-impingement.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430791884984173970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(photo from : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.arthroscopichipsurgeon.com" target="_blank">www.arthroscopichipsurgeon.com</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span><br /></span></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"The most common cause of a snapping hip is the iliotibial band snapping over the greater trochanter. This may be associated with trochanteric bursitis or with increased varus of the hip. The finding of a tight iliotibial band is common. Sudden loading of the hip (eg, landing after a jump) may reproduce this sensation of the iliotibial band subluxing over the greater trochanter. With sudden loading, the hip typically is flexed, causing the iliotibial band to move anteriorly followed by the tendon snapping backward as the individual recovers and extends the hip."</span><br /><br />Basically, there's a muscle in my hip snapping over another muscle. The causes of SPS (BTW - Snapping Psoas Syndrome is also known as Snapping Hip Syndrome) are varied. My amazing physical therapist over at Excel Physical Therapy in Hamden, CT had the same injury from running and training for half marathons. Mine is an overuse injury as well. It's a bitch, but with a lot of work, is treatable. The added bonuses I had to make this ordeal more painful was 1. Hardly any hip flexor strength, and 2. Scar tissue developed in my groin to make up for the lack of hip flexor strength. I can think back over the years and remember all the times I stopped or skipped an exercise that dealt with hip flexor strengthening. Every time I tried these particular exercises my hip felt like it was grinding and snapping, the feeling made me nauseous as it was so strange.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-SGeV218xNfghpUdzauQe-ukw5bGit3yA5h0be2kq8gkX645qGGRqBduP4a7osgb1VEppkM8uGJ3DcVILwz39TubuTMVLwGbJw29WAYz3UT-OpPJKvhbviBSnt-JeKwnydbmSaUztnxO/s1600-h/SO05_53.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-SGeV218xNfghpUdzauQe-ukw5bGit3yA5h0be2kq8gkX645qGGRqBduP4a7osgb1VEppkM8uGJ3DcVILwz39TubuTMVLwGbJw29WAYz3UT-OpPJKvhbviBSnt-JeKwnydbmSaUztnxO/s320/SO05_53.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430787206452892050" border="0" /></a>It seems logical when you feel pain or grinding/snapping you would respond by stopping. Stopping turned out to be the exact wrong thing to do in this situation. I should have pushed forward, built up some hip flexor strength and I wouldn't be in this mess. Hindsight = 20/20. So I've been building up strength, little by little, and the snapping is less persistent. The constant burning feeling (which was bursitis) has lessened a great deal. My PT has broken up the scar tissue over the past few weeks with ultrasound and scraping (yes, scraping) at my groin with an object that looks like a wrist bone. As much progress as I've made, I still have to keep working at strengthening and stretching my hips before I can run. I have been going on the elliptical and today started a month trial of Bikram yoga.<br /><br />Other than all that, this week is my first week of grad school. I'm going to the New School in New York City to obtain an MA in Media Studies. For now I will be staying in New Haven and commuting once a week into the city. My job has kept me on part-time, and I can't say enough how thankful I am that my company has been supportive of this decision.<br /><br />Great blog post on helpful tight psoas exercises:<br /><a href="http://sportinjuriesandwellnessottawa.blogspot.com/2009/12/low-back-pain-while-runninga-real-pain.html" target="_blank">Low back pain while running... a real pain in the butt</a><br /><br />Yoga Journal article '<a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/2313" target="_blank">Get Hip</a>' which goes over some hip stretching poses, such as pigeon (shown above).hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-50517543780737878352009-12-04T00:01:00.009-05:002009-12-04T01:15:11.646-05:00Long Overdue Race Report - Trifitness TriathlonI'll start my transition back to blogging with a "quick" overview of my last race. It was on September 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span>. It's now 2 minutes after midnight on December 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span>. Yeah. I'm a little behind. The last triathlon was my best! I can't believe how well I did. The day before the triathlon I went to what's known as the Big E. The "Eastern States Exposition" is New England's biggest fair, and it just so happens to take place in my original hometown of West Springfield, MA. I had fried dough, ice cream, cotton candy... total junk food. I woke up race morning skeptical I'd do well and with the intent to finish the race as best I could. Somehow I managed to completely kick ass.<br /><br />The swim felt like it took forever, but that's how I always feel. There was a crazy sand bar on the way out, halfway to the first buoy. Most of the swimmers got up and started running across it, myself included. By the time we were swimming back to the shore, I had had enough. I was looking for girls from my team and just trying to keep up.<br /><br />The bike was mostly me in rage mode. I just kept going as fast as I could, determined to pass any female ahead of me. I swore a couple times at people riding to the left, and generally being in my way. I was not a fan of how many corners we had to round. There was a girl who looked to be in my age group that I kept "playing with" the entire bike. Passing her was tough, but once I did I didn't see her behind me. Then she'd come up from behind, seemingly out of nowhere and pass me. There was one stretch I thought I'd never catch up to her. The entire bike I was cursing her, quite literally. On the last bit of road before the end of the bike we were so close. She passed me in the end and I felt a bit defeated.<br /><br />The run transition was my worst, I think. I can't even remember anymore. I do know that I looked down at my watch during the first mile to see a 7:20 pace. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">WTFBBQ</span>?! I freaked out and tried my best to keep up the pace. Passed a few team members and then I saw the girl from the bike ahead of me. As I passed her I said "That was great on the bike!" "Oh yea! You too! You really kept me going!" she said. "Me too!" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Aww</span>, look at that, we were nice girls after all. Seriously, without her I wouldn't have been able to go as fast as I did. Soon after I passed her I got a running stitch from hell. I struggled to the second mile. (Honestly how DO you triathletes run half/full marathons after a bike without cramping?!?!) I pulled it together around 2.5 and tried as best as I could to keep a decent pace.<br /><br />Nearing the end I saw my mom up ahead. I thought she came out to support me on my run. Later I found out her and my boyfriend were snagged to volunteer and direct people on the run. My mom warbled her affections and support at the top of her lungs. Soon I came upon my boyfriend who was taking pictures of me while shouting support and compliments. He's kind of amazing.<br /><br />Crossed the finish line with a flourish, flashing the metal sign in my cheesy arms in the air pose that has become my standard finishing style. Milled around for a bit and ate a gigantic apple. Before the awards ceremony I checked the results board. My jaw dropped and I checked it again. I got second in my age group! I refused to believe it. My parents and boyfriend were congratulating me and I kept saying, "Well just wait til the awards!" I was convinced there was a mistake.<br /><br />There hadn't been a mistake. I really got second in my age group. My "secret" goal all year was to finish in the top 10. My first race I was close, and the second race was a total disaster. I have never been so proud of myself, and admittedly I'm getting misty typing this. For once in my life I worked my ass off and I achieved a goal. Not only achieved it, but surpassed it. Yes, overall I wasn't anything remarkable, but for a beginner I'm pleased with doing well in my age group. I'm also happy to say that the girl ahead of me in the age group is from my team and is also covered in tattoos. A guy on the bike even mistook me for her.<br /><br />Thanks to that girl on the bike, I even placed first in my age group for the bike! She ended up being in the age group below me and placed third, I think. I can't remember. So that's that. My last triathlon of 2009. Right now I'm dealing with hip issues and have been going to physical therapy. My runs have gone from an average of 5 miles to just trying to make it to 15 minutes. I hope to resolve the issue soon and get back to training. There's been a lot more that's happened these past few months, but I'll write about that another time. Hopefully before 2010 rolls around.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Setting up my transition area, pretending to be perky.</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuEVQVPL4tA2gdZonRT7AeOvUCBEiUwnA7pmfjXTNNptPnq-RF11bcYiBzzurAmutvLq3wMOYOBmw4HQdYrjk3ObKbQmMxv9yflSy5c1gByfC6T14S4m73reBi2KPRx-gt2uHDw32bK2G/s1600-h/IMG_4969.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuEVQVPL4tA2gdZonRT7AeOvUCBEiUwnA7pmfjXTNNptPnq-RF11bcYiBzzurAmutvLq3wMOYOBmw4HQdYrjk3ObKbQmMxv9yflSy5c1gByfC6T14S4m73reBi2KPRx-gt2uHDw32bK2G/s400/IMG_4969.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411246686069910162" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">This sums up my actual <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">pre</span>-race mood.</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqHdhODFjhNYuScryi0S4w_G3MH0tjD0WZyrHAwkeVG_obd1AhaPDknDo9TarBXmeXrViD572Ikn6u6ZDemxAZ19WZVLIeLJ1vsUhYR-tXiqMVX23HKNSomUQate6IC0vRZpsGt4zWp70/s1600-h/IMG_4977.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqHdhODFjhNYuScryi0S4w_G3MH0tjD0WZyrHAwkeVG_obd1AhaPDknDo9TarBXmeXrViD572Ikn6u6ZDemxAZ19WZVLIeLJ1vsUhYR-tXiqMVX23HKNSomUQate6IC0vRZpsGt4zWp70/s400/IMG_4977.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411244189228178434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Promising my mom I won't punch any girls on the swim. (Honestly I have no idea what's going on here)</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNU_Kh5gA6q8AQVdcAnU3cF1L8TVY7wLKYQvflUBmGRZ0pN9Y2dA24KBhvm3TdZg6Z3iiWA5kIIuc_wzQMq-VqMT5G7FUWorybptpau2J3Zdu-jPw8QZlzobwD9h0EPp2Qqam2LkBTUzLZ/s1600-h/IMG_4985.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNU_Kh5gA6q8AQVdcAnU3cF1L8TVY7wLKYQvflUBmGRZ0pN9Y2dA24KBhvm3TdZg6Z3iiWA5kIIuc_wzQMq-VqMT5G7FUWorybptpau2J3Zdu-jPw8QZlzobwD9h0EPp2Qqam2LkBTUzLZ/s400/IMG_4985.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411244179272080866" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Smiling because my boyfriend just told me I look beautiful.</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilR6hk9ySxcLYMxPEPFfuQ3gKUfcMCNNIIf6mLgwbzBEl-gbYAhVXCTTxVK3zjJ_kdr7gZdD1SgmupxiqVy9bbRcatzoZewqsUKEae6kP0SnpH91YP1ErCBGidq_tcSz7_3MhEjVmqzEKu/s1600-h/IMG_5011.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilR6hk9ySxcLYMxPEPFfuQ3gKUfcMCNNIIf6mLgwbzBEl-gbYAhVXCTTxVK3zjJ_kdr7gZdD1SgmupxiqVy9bbRcatzoZewqsUKEae6kP0SnpH91YP1ErCBGidq_tcSz7_3MhEjVmqzEKu/s400/IMG_5011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411244173363337266" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Just looked at the results board with my boyfriend/favorite race volunteer.</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTGOqQOBcILJNCmNYwArc68h92qElJcQSVQwxPLBnSCQZTFAlOJgaZD_Q5bjjoKIU71VIzv36RnKmZoYvI8mmwAmJcv4ZqXxKvanuCgcdswW3KCnJKNcLN0AU8SAq6kBIdhnFxolt_RsG/s1600-h/TriFitnessFairfieldTriathalon09202009+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTGOqQOBcILJNCmNYwArc68h92qElJcQSVQwxPLBnSCQZTFAlOJgaZD_Q5bjjoKIU71VIzv36RnKmZoYvI8mmwAmJcv4ZqXxKvanuCgcdswW3KCnJKNcLN0AU8SAq6kBIdhnFxolt_RsG/s400/TriFitnessFairfieldTriathalon09202009+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411246677356173842" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Full of pride and reeking of Sound water and sweat.</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG30nzvrmA8hJYoOEKcgO8MkJKbuFrkny7yOck1-JzIx4MuhflaX8k9b9mrfrjJI5a7_GvVlSuuU1XkP2Ua7rsCMKxJhMcPu-TVUsv4c-mnREOrCOgPKt7pmbi21RqQUgJrI4e6YggKRVP/s1600-h/IMG_5016.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG30nzvrmA8hJYoOEKcgO8MkJKbuFrkny7yOck1-JzIx4MuhflaX8k9b9mrfrjJI5a7_GvVlSuuU1XkP2Ua7rsCMKxJhMcPu-TVUsv4c-mnREOrCOgPKt7pmbi21RqQUgJrI4e6YggKRVP/s400/IMG_5016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411244159829911186" border="0" /></a>hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-23394901658063211952009-09-10T21:54:00.002-04:002009-09-10T22:06:28.632-04:00I'm Not DeadIt's been three weeks since my last post. I was trying so hard to keep up with at least one post a week but things have been pretty crazy. I've lost my triathlon training momentum. Part of it is being completely burnt out. Another part of it is because I've begun a new relationship. Not typical of me to throw that out to the masses, but it's directly affecting my training schedule. Sometimes I care and I'm hard on myself about missing workouts. Mostly I'm just incredibly happy and could care less about triathlons, work, paying bills, putting out the recycling, laundry and so on...<br /><br />I'm trying to gauge whether this slack in regimen is a good thing or if its telling me triathlons were never a priority. I tend to over think things but when I see my priorities change so quickly and dramatically it's hard not to draw conclusions. Been making time when I can, trying not to completely lose focus. I have a triathlon on the 20th and I can't wait for it to be over. I just don't want to think about racing for awhile.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-68388666371624910762009-08-17T19:42:00.006-04:002009-08-17T20:41:28.952-04:00Urban Epic Mechanical Failure<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cambridge, race morning.</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwF7GWwF_g8nTFgQqh9Kpu9Y0AQu8T4WhqKsl6fafDE0asmMRVZGR6UEsae1uYvk_QdCbmCxBvPqFVLFO0ZE_oPpMSp4GD102WkvundPRCjpF7Q42fctxj035UNScnOmHRxzYOxOt6W53f/s1600-h/IMG00279-20090816-0555.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwF7GWwF_g8nTFgQqh9Kpu9Y0AQu8T4WhqKsl6fafDE0asmMRVZGR6UEsae1uYvk_QdCbmCxBvPqFVLFO0ZE_oPpMSp4GD102WkvundPRCjpF7Q42fctxj035UNScnOmHRxzYOxOt6W53f/s400/IMG00279-20090816-0555.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371091018538427794" border="0" /></a><br />Sunday I raced the first ever Boston Urban Epic. It was a .5 mile swim, 10mi bike and a 4mi run. I prepared as much as I could for having my last/first race only a month prior. I signed up soon after Sobe Mossman, feeling confident and excited to race again. For some reason I couldn't shake a bad feeling about the race but who knows it was probably nerves.<br /><br />I packed everything and checked my list over and over again before I left. I showed up in Boston on Saturday afternoon. As soon as I looked at my bike in my friend's apartment I realized my tire pump was gone. Did I leave it strapped to the bike and it flew off during my 90mph speeding? Maybe I had completely forgotten it. I tried to shake the jinxed feeling.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pre-race, transition area.</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CA89gzeWK7gqSuCkdFYSscdcatlfDX60WnpRboA-NmbUUxt5ZgEaj74ZuuhAYl038dpbho-a2QtYg4iuvu5sHx4x3IcoNTNZFQpWAvlMLasS2jnsxpN24jYgaXcVoZ0CqKwIGhRl_Lqi/s1600-h/IMG00280-20090816-0705.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CA89gzeWK7gqSuCkdFYSscdcatlfDX60WnpRboA-NmbUUxt5ZgEaj74ZuuhAYl038dpbho-a2QtYg4iuvu5sHx4x3IcoNTNZFQpWAvlMLasS2jnsxpN24jYgaXcVoZ0CqKwIGhRl_Lqi/s400/IMG00280-20090816-0705.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371091024491961874" border="0" /></a><br />Race morning I prepared just as I did for the Sobe Mossman. I ate the same Kashi bars and drank plenty of water. It was already in the 70s at 6am. Drove to the race, got marked, set up my transition station. I chatted with the girls around me who were all quite nice. Quickly became friendly with a girl named Liesbeth from Amsterdam, we walked to the swim start together.<br /><br />The swim start was half an hour late, Liesbeth and I drank water they had provided. They only had huge jugs with no cups. We took turns pouring the water into the other's cupped hands. The sun was starting to beat down now and it was probably in the low 80s already. Our swim wave was small, I couldn't keep up with the fast girls and I was faster than the slow girls. I was in the middle and had no one to draft off of. The swim was supposed to be a straight line but at last minute it was changed to a giant curve. Halfway through I knew I was going much slower than last time.<br /><br />Out of the water I got to T1 and I could feel myself fumbling. Why didn't I practice my transitions more? No bother, I calmed myself down and did my best. I got on the bike and started passing people. 20mph and I was feeling great. I got the first turnaround and headed back to the transition area. At first I was confused as to where the second turnaround was. For as many volunteers as they had, the expo parking lot turnaround was a dead zone. I started to feel my back tire sliding. Shit. A flat. I got to the transition area and screamed for a bike mechanic, I threw my bike down in frustration. It took five minutes for the bike mechanics to reach me. One started to work on it, and another took over, I had a bad feeling about this too. I gave him a tube I had and within a few minutes had the tire on, I went to get back on, the chain was off. I ran back to him and he fixed it.<br /><br />I pounded my legs as fast as they could go. At this point I knew it was just about finishing, but I wanted to do my best. I wanted to make up some time. Passing people once again, I felt good. I really thought I could do it. Got to the first turnaround and again I felt the dreaded slide in my rear tire. I passed a guy and yelled, "Please, God, tell me I don't have a flat." He looked and grimaced, "Just keep pedaling and keep going as far as you can." Ugh, it was flat. I pedaled for awhile but got paranoid I'd do more damage to by bike. I got off, running in my cleats. I was breathing out of control, choking on each breath. Asthma attack plus fighting tears. Awesome. I was a wreck, screaming "bike mechanic" at every volunteer. No one had a walkie talkie. Finally someone with a walkie talkie asked for a bike mechanic. I began to take my tire off, but realized I'd just have to hold it. Some guy tried to talk to me but I snapped at him. "I'm just trying to help," he said. "I know... I'm sorry... this is my second flat okay?" The bike mechanic showed up 15 minutes or so later. He double checked my tire and wheel, no glass that he could see. He fixed it and I barreled toward the expo center. I passed a girl in my age group, got to T2 and threw my socks and shoes on.<br /><br />At first I was running 7:20 miles. I wish I could have done that the entire run. I started to cramp. All the waiting and frustration, my adrenaline was depleted and so was my hydration. Before the first mile I began to choke. Asthma attack. A guy ran next to me for a bit, slowing his pace to see if I was okay. I kept choking on the air, making noises that scared me. I calmed myself down, the attack subsided and it was all about reaching the water station.<br /><br />The run was so slow. 9 minute miles. I wanted to do so much better. I cheered people on as I passed them, joked with the staff. I tried my best to keep my head up and just finish. All I wanted to do was finish with some dignity intact. Finally, I got to the last 100 yards. Sand? Really? You've got to be kidding me. No mad proud dash to the finish line, just went as fast as I could through the sand. Liesbeth was at the finish line, and I was so glad to see a familiar face.<br /><br />"Where were you?" "I had two flat tires!" "What?! No! I thought you'd finish before me!" Sigh. I wish. I have a feeling I could have been 5th had I not had the flat tires. So lessons learned. Make sure you have your pump (though I'm going to buy CO2 cartridges). Going to see if I can't get more practice changing a tire from the local bike shop. Going to practice my transitions more. I know I shouldn't have had to depend on the bike mechanics, and if I had everything my time would have been a bit better. Unofficial results said I passed four girls in my age group, but they must have been in the "beginner swim" wave which was an option. Beginner swim waves, BTW, in my opinion are bullshit. Just sayin'.<br /><br />So shitty race. Bound to happen, right? Learn from your mistakes, can't win 'em all, you'll get 'em next time. I've heard all the cliches. I'm okay, or at least dealing. I made a new friend, even if she is going back to Amsterdam in 2 weeks, and it's nice to know there's another run-bike-swim-fighter out there (she does boxing). Most of the remainder of the day was spent in traffic. Took 2 hours to get from Boston to Rt. 84. On a good day it takes 2.5 hours to get from Boston to New Haven. Traffic in 90 degree weather? Glorious.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">People have asked how the body marking looks on my tattoos. Answer:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cQbJs14sF3Juwq_RcwekmtPKKXOaIIbfIPqCZztgmlhtqTl6vPLIZQwSVtx9lG_wcywgI5m6omffwBA_99TN2XQ1ULBvadJ_rYa_at2zJXKjg7KX_wBUFXu-ZtA9fqMZv3Sb92TkQyB8/s1600-h/IMG00282-20090816-0719.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cQbJs14sF3Juwq_RcwekmtPKKXOaIIbfIPqCZztgmlhtqTl6vPLIZQwSVtx9lG_wcywgI5m6omffwBA_99TN2XQ1ULBvadJ_rYa_at2zJXKjg7KX_wBUFXu-ZtA9fqMZv3Sb92TkQyB8/s400/IMG00282-20090816-0719.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371091035758009458" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;">...a mess.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">With my race issues aside, the Boston Urban Epic was a great race. The marketing was so well done, and I think it really helped to draw a younger crowd. There were too many volunteers doing nothing on the main drag, they could have been dispersed better, like having more in the expo center turnaround. The volunteers had given up by the time I was running, and I got very confused as to where the course went. Not only were they not paying attention at this point, but their lack of care because most of the racers had crossed the finish line was REALLY disheartening. More signs were needed in the labyrinth that was the run's turnaround. The views on the run were great, the beach with all the boats took my mind off of how miserable I really was. My biggest gripe was that there should have been a shuttle from the finish to the transition area. Walking a mile or so after a triathlon BLOWS.<br /></div></div>hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-87555653586958233422009-08-10T22:03:00.004-04:002009-08-10T22:24:01.122-04:00Sake Guts, 10mi RunJust a quick post. I've been remiss in my blog writing as of late. Trying to balance that whole "social life" with the training. I'm signed up for the Urban Epic which is a new race. A bit nervous since it's in Boston and I'm not too familiar with where the course is. It's this Sunday so I'm hoping to go up early on Saturday, pick up my packet and spend awhile getting intimate with the course.<br /><br />I drank for the first time in months. I haven't had more than 2 beers since MARCH. So I drank like a fish, only to aggravate my gastritis. It hurts as bad as it did when the symptoms started. I've been downing antacids and Prilosec. I won't say that I can't believe I was so foolish. I don't feel foolish. It was only a matter of time before the stars aligned, the mood was right, for a fun night of drinking to commence. I wish I was better about it, but I refuse to be hard on myself about this. I'm suffering enough for it as is. Hopefully I will be back to normal by Wednesday.<br /><br />Last Thursday I ran my first 10 mile run. I went out hoping for 6 miles, and I just felt so strong at 6 that I kept going. Taking sodium pills and Clif Margarita Bloks before runs have really helped to minimize cramping. My pace was alright too, with an average of 8:43. My longest run before Thursday was 8.5 miles at an 8:55 pace way back in March. I remember ending that run thinking that running any more than that was insane. This run felt way better, and though I hit a few slow patches, I also found some great bursts of energy. Those bursts may or may not have to do with the fact that the sodium pills I bought contain taurine. I didn't realize they had it until after I had bought them. Not sure how I feel about that as an added ingredient.<br /><br />Running 10 miles in under an hour and 30 minutes felt like quite the accomplishment and I was happy for days about it. Still am. So now I don't think running 10 miles or more is insane, and it's starting to feel completely doable again. There may be a half marathon in my forseable future. I'm so thankful I'm a decent runner. I am such a slow swimmer, and below average on the bike, it's nice that I at least have the running down.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-32640658116884665532009-07-26T09:57:00.011-04:002009-07-29T22:57:56.398-04:00Summer Salad Frenzy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCQfFClL_XmhyphenhyphenUQb7AFa28GZjnkZZUBLTd7XD6veXO6qMnPotGQWUvXr4IBZZg65qfBuhw96xYj-DZzpUEEWG73C4H7XOgFkzn2BECfqasMw5Pd_ZGMq4BzuPryJsoGOHeMEmB69yCU3C/s1600-h/IMG_4813.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCQfFClL_XmhyphenhyphenUQb7AFa28GZjnkZZUBLTd7XD6veXO6qMnPotGQWUvXr4IBZZg65qfBuhw96xYj-DZzpUEEWG73C4H7XOgFkzn2BECfqasMw5Pd_ZGMq4BzuPryJsoGOHeMEmB69yCU3C/s400/IMG_4813.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362772556148700834" border="0" /></a>It's officially the time of year I love the most. I love the summertime for a lot of reasons: longer days, warm nights, beach trips; to name a few reasons. One of the main reasons I love summer is the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. I hate using the word "produce". It jumbles all the delicious, beautiful, colorful and edible plants into something so ordinary and generic sounding.<br /><br />Recently, my friend Maura sent me a link to the article: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html" target="blank">"101 Simple Salads for the Season"</a>. It has inspired me all over again to approach eating salads on a daily basis. I realized my problem before was that I thought I was quite adventurous with my salads because I added fruits and nuts. Sadly, I was still eating the same salad almost every day. Though I never seem to tire of rice, beans and veggies, I tired quickly from my daily salad. The article <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html" target="blank">"101 Simple Salads for the Season"</a> opened me up to a lot more possibilities. First it reminded me that salads don't have to have greens as a base. Secondly it suggests salads with grains, pasta and beans, all of which help you feel full.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8na9b2gNOvkKqro1Eu_HWAzj5POXm3gDUbNyHCwCXPNAV8MqiPaGeiI0jJ6T12nEOJhE9zgUK8r3UpigNDnIU0M-RE7l6fxY_AZfbPbesSUeHJAVwPfycH4hIk7zyNaUSFDe-a4reHIYM/s1600-h/IMG_4821.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8na9b2gNOvkKqro1Eu_HWAzj5POXm3gDUbNyHCwCXPNAV8MqiPaGeiI0jJ6T12nEOJhE9zgUK8r3UpigNDnIU0M-RE7l6fxY_AZfbPbesSUeHJAVwPfycH4hIk7zyNaUSFDe-a4reHIYM/s400/IMG_4821.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362771725221382338" border="0" /></a>This first salad has been my go-to salad this week. It's baby spinach, radishes, sliced baby carrots, walnuts, craisins, and a bit of crumbled low-fat feta. I've been making a really simple dressing of olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. I make the dressing in a tiny condiment cup (Thank you Japan.) the night before, and add it just before I'm ready to eat my salad. Other ingredients I've added to this are chickpeas, black beans, raspberries and brown rice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnw1joWvE6THNHsKDPFBEs4Hv6LnZ2nUMJhocV5e64yO85SEaGdd-fHnE4qPSOFcgl0Q-Y7_sA5aeF4K-DMy-mvXTJmaC0pe_aCOwA-Qu_KQPjSyBQL3tREgZs1SfnErc09-jffruuDMg/s1600-h/IMG_4822.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnw1joWvE6THNHsKDPFBEs4Hv6LnZ2nUMJhocV5e64yO85SEaGdd-fHnE4qPSOFcgl0Q-Y7_sA5aeF4K-DMy-mvXTJmaC0pe_aCOwA-Qu_KQPjSyBQL3tREgZs1SfnErc09-jffruuDMg/s400/IMG_4822.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362771717873691938" border="0" /></a>This salad is from the article. "#18: Roughly chop cooked or canned chickpeas (you can <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/test/pulse/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Pulse.">pulse</a> them, carefully, in a food processor) and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, lots of chopped fresh parsley and mint, and a few chopped tomatoes. Call this chickpea tabbouleh." I added the greens, which is another batch of lettuce from my garden. (The mint and parsley I used was also from my garden.) I also added some of the low fat feta, which has been my new favorite thing. Every time I get close to going vegan, I discover a new dairy product that is pretty healthy and delicious!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5Y8QR_1LeQQ-VNzuKzz9BhIb-GhcGLeJlesjxPKBqyoG5DrgXSrzWI3ZQwvA7hedsnL1XMX4L0HjW-cqT7HokDD0Ft4DN66rwyjLyiHMlOAoyo6TYWhGTpTdMbn42ncGjZwKCngL8smx/s1600-h/IMG00213-20090712-0937.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5Y8QR_1LeQQ-VNzuKzz9BhIb-GhcGLeJlesjxPKBqyoG5DrgXSrzWI3ZQwvA7hedsnL1XMX4L0HjW-cqT7HokDD0Ft4DN66rwyjLyiHMlOAoyo6TYWhGTpTdMbn42ncGjZwKCngL8smx/s400/IMG00213-20090712-0937.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362771710645383826" border="0" /></a>I've also been working as much fruit into my diet as possible. My cereal standby is to measure out one cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, and slice in a peach, a handful of blueberries, and slice up one banana.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6n9uGYA6CJ7R5iTG3rQq_fr79sfoVFytknPIlvXoPBEW1cTAKDmg5MfRZL9lY3ATwxtTd5HHX-s7JYF_7UyHXLHHIEFDsZz1z_lDMdqjwnKevQ2tiW1fJDYMRVYFFAIZRjuHAbzqJr1r/s1600-h/IMG00244-20090725-1913.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6n9uGYA6CJ7R5iTG3rQq_fr79sfoVFytknPIlvXoPBEW1cTAKDmg5MfRZL9lY3ATwxtTd5HHX-s7JYF_7UyHXLHHIEFDsZz1z_lDMdqjwnKevQ2tiW1fJDYMRVYFFAIZRjuHAbzqJr1r/s400/IMG00244-20090725-1913.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362771702716870162" border="0" /></a>Or I go completely overboard and combine cereal with: 1 peach, 1 banana, handful of raspberries and a handful of blueberries. This was pretty fantastic, the different fruits really complemented one another.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LaULMHvQOiNbjmW-jdPoZ-oonmQreF6U8WyroWc6HfmmOWbgwOnw22GGZ9V3LHax2d-oLCMB5_50TFG9sbtX_Ao2fxklbPYZ0ZEeEUUEkGUuqSujcI_m6QHrXzONsHL2PcJgTGGEkZo3/s1600-h/IMG00230-20090725-1646.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LaULMHvQOiNbjmW-jdPoZ-oonmQreF6U8WyroWc6HfmmOWbgwOnw22GGZ9V3LHax2d-oLCMB5_50TFG9sbtX_Ao2fxklbPYZ0ZEeEUUEkGUuqSujcI_m6QHrXzONsHL2PcJgTGGEkZo3/s400/IMG00230-20090725-1646.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362771709791140514" border="0" /></a>Since the big race I've had "post-race blues". Can't seem to bring myself to work out like before. Saturday I took things easy and really enjoyed the day. Went to the Farmer's Market and got a great bunch of kale for smoothies, and a quart of big local blueberries.<br /><br />I rode my hybrid for the first time in months. At an easy pace I went down into New Haven, around the green that was setting up for an outdoor concert, and back into East Rock. I rode my bike up East Rock to the summit for the first time since last year (I think). I didn't stand up at all, and passed a couple on my way up. I picked a shady spot and read for awhile. Here is a picture of a few of my favorite things: bikes, ice cream, East Rock and a sunny summer day.<br /><br />By the way, the picture at the top of this post is of a gigantic fruit salad I made for my coworker's birthday. I used: strawberries, peaches, blueberries, kiwis, grapes and watermelon. In a 1 cup measuring cup I squeezed in some agave nectar, and mixed it with a bit of water, lime juice and shredded mint. My coworkers LOVED this and I will definitely make it again. Don't drown the fruit with this mixture, just make enough to lightly coat the fruit!hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-72309614361970352492009-07-22T22:01:00.002-04:002009-07-22T22:08:10.994-04:00Sobe Mossman Sprint - PhotosI have to say, I'm really impressed with <a href="http://www.capstonephoto.com/" target="_blank">Capstone Photography's</a> work! It's not easy getting everyone in a race, not to mention taking quality shots as people are running, biking and swimming around. I will probably buy a proof or two, or make my parents buy them, ha! Here are some of the better shots:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHe7DH9jifrlNNgP9pEtNAniY8i3PK1TrOVM-M_cJYz4QGC_OrDI9zcKdLH8CmLNBPDpUqA7W7OcbV5yRlZRCvu0RYVd4Bbaf-NZQH0mjLhoBcjnPz2lIvwB3fwI_wzNq2tx0xjTLal56d/s1600-h/triphotos8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHe7DH9jifrlNNgP9pEtNAniY8i3PK1TrOVM-M_cJYz4QGC_OrDI9zcKdLH8CmLNBPDpUqA7W7OcbV5yRlZRCvu0RYVd4Bbaf-NZQH0mjLhoBcjnPz2lIvwB3fwI_wzNq2tx0xjTLal56d/s400/triphotos8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361470263162520274" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPluSng4Wq0hP0ViLM_VvhcgEIZIBxjzCFvJ8HW6MKt34z-mc2fkUtOHMsesfuXwfht5uzto_nNU2nfgzNF5_a2RR7oYfPNHiOEIudYgAbz1hLLUkKJxPkW_P7o1GiS2HiHR9CCMI_h69/s1600-h/triphotos1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPluSng4Wq0hP0ViLM_VvhcgEIZIBxjzCFvJ8HW6MKt34z-mc2fkUtOHMsesfuXwfht5uzto_nNU2nfgzNF5_a2RR7oYfPNHiOEIudYgAbz1hLLUkKJxPkW_P7o1GiS2HiHR9CCMI_h69/s400/triphotos1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361470267406419938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdESJSLWTTKd6NBwPmN2pElXZ8tHJ1O7ZNKQynW1x1QofvaERsNmDzUI8sgc0_E8M8VCltyv9NnyzLt_ZaPQQEAJzIzxEBmyInOQL5DMa0__Wl2f0SIFoO0HTjAjAoSbjCXP4bmjsuJ_w/s1600-h/triphotosb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdESJSLWTTKd6NBwPmN2pElXZ8tHJ1O7ZNKQynW1x1QofvaERsNmDzUI8sgc0_E8M8VCltyv9NnyzLt_ZaPQQEAJzIzxEBmyInOQL5DMa0__Wl2f0SIFoO0HTjAjAoSbjCXP4bmjsuJ_w/s400/triphotosb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361470272893030786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0E4WjnBvPe0r1xgLfcTrZ1ooDp9Vq1WO4AMQVsri5Yxutq4-ND4LaBIwIFqluUgF-VnO-cPdvoz588Yk8bzqTCfBs7XS8HIftjMs9rGgPwr3_4tRnrmbjBSNKA9sz7TTYxsn9ADgJc72c/s1600-h/triphotos6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0E4WjnBvPe0r1xgLfcTrZ1ooDp9Vq1WO4AMQVsri5Yxutq4-ND4LaBIwIFqluUgF-VnO-cPdvoz588Yk8bzqTCfBs7XS8HIftjMs9rGgPwr3_4tRnrmbjBSNKA9sz7TTYxsn9ADgJc72c/s400/triphotos6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361470276622396706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbD02OWtyyM1rWv2fYwYA0ibbQ74ygufCfRwx7jbNOvntpPDCFhWoXpfuP2qsLUPpBpYN_hY2zb1Tqky6ntbCWuuQWWZcxkTadmYU5OG8lQ74M2H9LeDfbFlqLrfpAW3ga54-iiOOTZ0N/s1600-h/triphotos3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbD02OWtyyM1rWv2fYwYA0ibbQ74ygufCfRwx7jbNOvntpPDCFhWoXpfuP2qsLUPpBpYN_hY2zb1Tqky6ntbCWuuQWWZcxkTadmYU5OG8lQ74M2H9LeDfbFlqLrfpAW3ga54-iiOOTZ0N/s400/triphotos3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361470279940442594" border="0" /></a>hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-61132579588839816332009-07-21T21:12:00.011-04:002009-07-21T23:58:02.226-04:00Sobe Mossman Sprint Triathlon<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Yay</span>! My first race report! I'm pretty excited. After a year of reading other people's race reports I get to post my own! Knowing me it'll be really long and I'll forget important details! Sweet! Here we go...<br /><br />Since my fall a couple weeks ago, I've been having pain in my chest under, well... my left breast. I looked it up online and it seems to be <span style="font-style: italic;">"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">costochondritis</span>,"</span> which <span style="font-style: italic;">"is an inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum."</span> I was paranoid that it was going to hurt during the run since even walking seemed to aggravate the pain. So, Friday after work I went to this sketchy Asian massage place on Whitney Ave. It's called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Naturegene</span> Herb Store, they also seem to have some sort of herbalist/doctor type guy there.<br /><br />A wonderful friend gave me a gift certificate there and highly recommended the place. It's super cheap, something like $20 for half an hour, $55 for an hour. Since I had the half hour gift certificate, I paid $20 for a full hour! "Jasmine" was my masseuse and she was great! It was a little weird at first, but she really worked my whole body, even the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">glutes</span>! Honestly, a tad uncomfortable getting my butt touched by a stranger, but it felt awesome, so whatever. She worked my sore shoulder and chest.<br /><br />I found it so hard to relax and just focus on the massage. My mind wandered and worried, and I kept telling myself to focus and to "be present". I have to work at living in the moment, and so I did my best. I kept worrying because I didn't have cash on me, and kept wondering what I would do if they didn't take debit cards. I played scenarios of going to the nearest ATM and leaving my purse so they didn't think I was skipping out on them. I know, it's kind of neurotic. I kind of had an epiphany on the massage table, I told myself to relax, and deal with things as they happen. I can't worry about what may happen, because if whatever I worry about doesn't happen, then I have wasted my time and energy. I didn't know it at the time, but this would come in handy during the triathlon.<br /><br />Saturday I ran a bunch of errands. It was really humid and gross, and I was trying to keep hydrated by drinking water all day. The humidity also made the chest pain worse, and I was taking two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Advils</span> at a time. I practiced my transitions a few times, until I felt comfortable. I forced myself to eat <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Kashi</span> Go Lean cereal for dinner. I wasn't really hungry but I knew I had to eat something. I went to bed around 10pm and woke up around 3:30am.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Pre</span>-Race:</span><br />Ideally I was supposed to wake up at 3am. I left my apartment around 4:45 and sped down 95S going about 85-90mph, passing several triathletes along the way. I imagined they were wondering if I raced as fast as I drove. I got there around 5:15am when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">pre</span>-race packet pickup started. I got my number, a sheet of stickers with my race number, 304. The body marking on my left arm hardly showed up. He wrote right over Alice's face.<br /><br />It was a beautiful morning, and I couldn't have asked for better weather. I wish I took a picture of the sunrise with my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">BlackBerry</span>. It sounds disturbing, but the ocean looked like an oil slick. There were so many colors in the sky, and the water reflected everything. My parents drove all the way from Western Mass and got a hotel room in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Norwalk</span>. Dealing with parents while having <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">pre</span>-race anxiety and post-race low blood sugar is an event in itself. I was happy to have them there but honestly, I lost it a few times. They were great though, and so proud of me. My dad took all the photos on this post.<br /><br />I set up my transition area where I was next to my friend Jen on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Trifitness</span>. There were a lot of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Trifitness</span> folks there which really calmed me down. It was just like practice, and I think having them around really helped. I didn't feel out of place, and I knew if I had any questions (which I did), they would be there for me (which they were). I took two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Advils</span> for my chest pain, and two Hammer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Enduralytes</span> to prevent cramping before I walked down to the swim start.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmRyd6lVZXbRy-dBHB-nvgZj9HLlkf2O3JsJ3WU_fkQy5oesm9nI5zNEEWAuay2tiAvvCvWdXy1w2rvrKU0XRy8hQbIG8Lhq82JGbp5sVOJDy-_JM8CcCuQtURTouNGVFOCdSbmXW2wEC/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmRyd6lVZXbRy-dBHB-nvgZj9HLlkf2O3JsJ3WU_fkQy5oesm9nI5zNEEWAuay2tiAvvCvWdXy1w2rvrKU0XRy8hQbIG8Lhq82JGbp5sVOJDy-_JM8CcCuQtURTouNGVFOCdSbmXW2wEC/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361086702122383778" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Swim:</span><br />Went into the water and warmed up a bit. Saw that Jen and Amelia were near me so I joined them. I felt good, and the water was the perfect temperature.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQAhrwBIyXUFmqRqh2EKv4f3m6Poj1KRCHhBWgHRHegmb_Jg4wFXBONqo2m-i0uHRZNSbWv2uZbgSSXhB8zf3CswWTR0nRdeqYS3FQGBFuIqQe14wqAkJQykKb1_coCV1SUB_EVM3C22y/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQAhrwBIyXUFmqRqh2EKv4f3m6Poj1KRCHhBWgHRHegmb_Jg4wFXBONqo2m-i0uHRZNSbWv2uZbgSSXhB8zf3CswWTR0nRdeqYS3FQGBFuIqQe14wqAkJQykKb1_coCV1SUB_EVM3C22y/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361086706346090018" border="0" /></a><br />I was in the second wave. I'd say there were about 200 of us. Before the race girls were shouting encouragement to each other and getting psyched up. I found myself smiling. "It's just like practice," I told myself. I realized then to just enjoy it! There's no reason to take things too seriously. Then the horn went off and so did we...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBUgEaIskudnSPTRy-FHZsvLth8G25vwUt3pDlGUEL6wbSh1ckwAQG_1SLmfqi88Kc9RaNqwhmWiEWixPCESRXqicBpp82yCfbIHbkkzI6iyqILqErWFQAvwLu1YWZ3vO15J-WEzScDqt/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBUgEaIskudnSPTRy-FHZsvLth8G25vwUt3pDlGUEL6wbSh1ckwAQG_1SLmfqi88Kc9RaNqwhmWiEWixPCESRXqicBpp82yCfbIHbkkzI6iyqILqErWFQAvwLu1YWZ3vO15J-WEzScDqt/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361086714805475042" border="0" /></a>I felt like a salmon swimming upstream. It was intense and awesome, and I struggled a few times but I tried my best to draft. I got my calves grabbed a few times, kicked off a few girls, got pushed by one girl on the final turn. I'm so glad I practiced swimming there the weekend before. I was prepared for the course and the current. At one point I took in too much water and forced the air out, sort of choking on it. I calmed myself down as to prevent an asthma attack. This was one of the moments where I reminded myself to "be present". "Don't focus on what <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> happen, focus on what <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> happening."<br /><br />I swam in as far as I could and bolted out of the water, ripping off my suit. Don't I look graceful?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjts5F_6WukSgrF3pgNVE8uYLO48FsKcg_K4mFA4opyqQtGCLNuCQaMX4eGe1fmWe6Wy3oARjL8zD1kq5VD4J7hoP9xa4I5ShKzShZea4JNcbpNr-OZ7EA2r2OMUYG-d2sI4d1il4Gw77Pk/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+027.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjts5F_6WukSgrF3pgNVE8uYLO48FsKcg_K4mFA4opyqQtGCLNuCQaMX4eGe1fmWe6Wy3oARjL8zD1kq5VD4J7hoP9xa4I5ShKzShZea4JNcbpNr-OZ7EA2r2OMUYG-d2sI4d1il4Gw77Pk/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+027.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361086714170227090" border="0" /></a><br />Seriously flattering photo of me:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GT-mibUXM_fBlvRTwnEGV4ORTGAbJJ2fSFBhgIVo2Hc6R4eFelTGZPur_mx6Jm3a9256IOxFHGcnRV5uY_Kb50feMfD0qQR_vF8hBsBQtV4W08Vrg3SSvgq3ZCGX-duwpW28MzuBrP8O/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+028.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GT-mibUXM_fBlvRTwnEGV4ORTGAbJJ2fSFBhgIVo2Hc6R4eFelTGZPur_mx6Jm3a9256IOxFHGcnRV5uY_Kb50feMfD0qQR_vF8hBsBQtV4W08Vrg3SSvgq3ZCGX-duwpW28MzuBrP8O/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+028.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361087653789576882" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">T1:</span><br />Took WAY too long! 2:31! Out of 631 I placed 448 for my first transition. Yikes! I struggled with my bike cleats, which is weird cause I didn't have any trouble with them in practice. I'm okay with this though, because I realized the first triathlon is really just a HUGE learning experience.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtcq38wD7KVvkqVzBfYdx8kkkf9USdTzIOn1c_6xRibDIbghOFxOnkObQYbrmAJ4rp1ZydhtJ6VMvTVUkhCpZsq-z80m8XJIY0ChuRo6m8FUljLxWnsPWIZZGqidTtpAG600V25yetC0w/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtcq38wD7KVvkqVzBfYdx8kkkf9USdTzIOn1c_6xRibDIbghOFxOnkObQYbrmAJ4rp1ZydhtJ6VMvTVUkhCpZsq-z80m8XJIY0ChuRo6m8FUljLxWnsPWIZZGqidTtpAG600V25yetC0w/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+032.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361087653187594850" border="0" /></a>Oh, and it doesn't help transitions to have your dad yell, "Hey Heath! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Atta</span> go!" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Haha</span>, but totally worth it!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloePNR8oqCeESGZd3-mOJ04mEcv1QTSolEGbn9389GOmFGqk8pylYBBntohoORoVdJXISJSBwNv53OqSj-fZYg-4w9Q3iSKAmz2UuINL9JuhKj6vrsXi7oMWB5Ln4Lu54a7lUNIhBUFuo/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+033.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloePNR8oqCeESGZd3-mOJ04mEcv1QTSolEGbn9389GOmFGqk8pylYBBntohoORoVdJXISJSBwNv53OqSj-fZYg-4w9Q3iSKAmz2UuINL9JuhKj6vrsXi7oMWB5Ln4Lu54a7lUNIhBUFuo/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+033.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361087648680445778" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bike:</span><br />Had trouble clicking in, but once I did, I was off! Passed a girl on my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">tri</span> team in the first few minutes. I was going fast and passing people. I finally went to take a sip from my water bottle with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Nuun</span> in it, and I dropped the bottle! I knew I needed it for the run though, and I didn't want someone to get hurt, so I stopped, got off my bike, screamed expletives, grabbed it and went. I'm sure this cost me at least 40 seconds, and all the people I passed, passed me. My goal was to pass everyone, again. One woman I passed shouted, "Great recovery from the water bottle!" "Thanks!" I shouted back, it made me feel good. Having her show me some positive support made me want to pass it on. I became... chipper. Oh my god I was having a blast! And being nice for no reason! Who am I?!<br /><br />I shouted thank yous to all the staff and cops. I felt like such a nerd, but I've heard it's the nice thing to do, and really, they have better things to do, like SLEEP! At one point I caught up to the girl on my team I had passed earlier. I hammered down and got serious. Behind me I heard, "You got this! That's right, you've got it, go go!" I passed her and a few people. Then the biker behind me got next to me, "Great job! That was great!" "Thanks!" and he passed me and was gone. Later I realized he might have been drafting off of me. Honestly, didn't care, he made me feel like a pro! Another guy rode next to me, "Sweet bike!" I was shocked, since there were some serious future machines out there and I have an outdated Fuji. "I've got a Fuji too!" We exchanged a few words and he was off.<br /><br />When I was riding back to the beach on my first loop I heard my friend Kelly shouting my last name. She gets a kick out of screaming my surname while sounding like an old man, like she's my angry boss or something. Hard to explain but it makes us both laugh every time. Anyway I heard her shouting my name, and I knew instantly it was her. I saw her and my other friend Jason and I was so happy! I screamed "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Yeeeaaaa</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Motherf</span>***er!" and I have no idea why that was my response.<br /><br />The bike is a blur to me. I know by the end I was hammering down and passing any girl who looked remotely in my age group. I reminded myself to guzzle down the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Nuun</span> and to SLOWLY place my bottle in the cage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">T2:</span><br />Kind of slow on this one too, I think because I put my bike on the rack weird and corrected it. Forgot to put on my running number.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Run:</span><br />I hadn't done any brick workouts for awhile and I totally should have! I felt like I was going SO SLOW! I looked at my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Garmin</span>, shocked that I was doing an 8:30 pace. What the hell?! I knew this was a symptom of running after biking but I never had it feel so slow before. I felt like I was never going to get to the first mile. Once I hit the first mile though things felt more normal, of course then I started to feel a side stitch coming on. I cheered on my friend Jen who was suffering from a serious stitch. The stupid "water" station had Gatorade. Sick. I grabbed it anyway and most of it landed on my face. That stuff is gross and sticky and it's a huge pet peeve to feel sticky like that. I saw Fuji pass below me on the loop and I yelled, "Hey Fuji!! You got it!" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Hahaha</span>, once again I'm such a nerd.<br /><br />Around this time two girls in my age group passed me. I was sort of struggling with the mild stitch, and figured there was no way I'd make the top 10 in my age group so I didn't push myself. My trainer passed me and told me to go faster, I tried to match her pace but she's a machine. (She ended up placing 3rd in women's overall... oh and she's 47. I want to be in her shape and kicking as much ass at her age!) Nearing the end, I picked up the speed, passed a girl who was 24 (our age was written on our calf). Then, I summoned what I had left and sprinted across the finish line making a crazy face and mouthing "F*** YOU F*** YOU!" over and over. Don't ask me why, but I just had to get angry and freak out to push myself. I ended up passing a girl in my age group on this mad dash. She was next to me in the transition area, and after the race said she tried to keep up but couldn't and that I did great.<br /><br />My run time was 24:33. Not bad considering that on my 2<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">nd</span> 5k last year my time was 24:13 and I hadn't swam and biked before it!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Post-Race:</span><br />I felt great! After my 5ks last year I was a huffing, sweating mess. As soon as I got across the finish line, and took off my chip, I was totally fine. It didn't feel like I had just done a triathlon! I couldn't believe it. It shows me that I'm much more in shape than I was last year. Fitness is so hard to gauge, but this was the first time I realized how far I've come internally. To be able to do a triathlon and not feel exhausted is incredible. Muscles are visible, and can look great but I feel true fitness is within.<br /><br />I had so much fun, and it was the perfect first race! It's been a long time since I've had such an enjoyable, happy time. I can't believe I was doing a triathlon with a smile on my face! I know every <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">tri</span> won't be as fun, and I can't expect to have everything go so well. Sure I made a few mistakes, but they were minor and it was my first! Like I said in my last post, I caught the bug I've been wanting to catch! Already signed up for a sprint that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">TriFitness</span> is putting on in September. Debating signing up for a sprint in Boston in August. The Urban Epic sounds like a lot of fun, I'm just worried about the 5 mile run and the unfamiliarity with the area.<br /><br />I learned so much from this race. Here's a few I can think of right away:<br /><br />1. I learned how important transitions really are, and that I need to work on my transitions a little more. I know every article says that transitions are vital, but not ever doing a race before, it didn't sink in to me how big a few minutes can be! A minute less and I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">could've</span> been 8<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">th</span> or 9<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">th</span> in my age group.<br /><br />2. I can do this! Since I didn't have any idea of what my time was going to be, I aimed for under 1:30. When I looked back to the clock and realized I was well under this goal I was SO proud! I laughed with joy like I haven't in ages and hugged my friend Kelly. Now that I know I'm capable of 1:23 I would love to get below 1:20.<br /><br />3. Push myself more! Ending a race and feeling like I still had more left in me?! I don't want to over do it, but now that I know I can in fact finish a triathlon, I need to have more faith in myself and push!<br /><br />4. Do more brick workouts!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">TriFitness</span> Girls! They are a bunch of Amazons!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIPyrp9fW1dWGpmU3mWkRYmTYQZJT6vUSkYWv1R2kITWiiLGTkLW7-ehECjAEG3l_a6yspfshKfICtshbtVl-RTaK6O1KYkWKEQjGb69EiAb7ijo5iB9BQXlmCCKT6cBScCtzXXenco2B/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+042.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIPyrp9fW1dWGpmU3mWkRYmTYQZJT6vUSkYWv1R2kITWiiLGTkLW7-ehECjAEG3l_a6yspfshKfICtshbtVl-RTaK6O1KYkWKEQjGb69EiAb7ijo5iB9BQXlmCCKT6cBScCtzXXenco2B/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+042.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361087641982290258" border="0" /></a><br />My friends Kelly and Jason, who seriously rock for showing up!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiR_criAltsrLhGeFjQ9WfnvOMDLT7KsC05Xbv7CJNmqGlOQFWIcx4ZDvMnxyuxBVqX5_baQr_PT6rnyjR8HiQFT0R1Ty6N3nPTI1rQW97A5BjLB5aVjwVKSY9VqLlDF_Kxle1G3ugs-d/s1600-h/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+041.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiR_criAltsrLhGeFjQ9WfnvOMDLT7KsC05Xbv7CJNmqGlOQFWIcx4ZDvMnxyuxBVqX5_baQr_PT6rnyjR8HiQFT0R1Ty6N3nPTI1rQW97A5BjLB5aVjwVKSY9VqLlDF_Kxle1G3ugs-d/s400/Tiathalon+weekend07192009+041.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361087637301264674" border="0" /></a><br />My results:<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1StK7BnWw_J4fRnfcUuulvqlsKGt0GKC_pkTskT_gis9GLheVerBRo40i2eIDCo4vlGfN_mz8qDfQu9Pv-fjKsn6qm5AO5wtxfS0dy1unlRwB7m2uHPzhiL9TvqE2NUdOma8iQhZIBfAs/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 358px; height: 377px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1StK7BnWw_J4fRnfcUuulvqlsKGt0GKC_pkTskT_gis9GLheVerBRo40i2eIDCo4vlGfN_mz8qDfQu9Pv-fjKsn6qm5AO5wtxfS0dy1unlRwB7m2uHPzhiL9TvqE2NUdOma8iQhZIBfAs/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361111661344242658" border="0" /></a>Bonus: I was 10<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">th</span> in my age group (out of 27). My secret goal was to be in the top 10. If I hadn't sprinted at the end, I wouldn't have made my goal!hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-91152738013914496992009-07-19T15:06:00.003-04:002009-07-19T15:26:38.192-04:00It's Official!<div style="text-align: center;">I'm officially a triathlete!<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPUYSqbxImG8meB1a_toVGjMWXSpZPVnAsskMG7t8yt2h-fCHcdRURMZXHa8AOIAGX75tV8QUxq3V_klRRq7IA2dyZV9If7LeHjVIgACxWD5dXyZUxYzh8KbBAFoAi9Rqk-JMSOWeO0q-/s1600-h/5770_562346211749_22801112_33164503_4295874_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPUYSqbxImG8meB1a_toVGjMWXSpZPVnAsskMG7t8yt2h-fCHcdRURMZXHa8AOIAGX75tV8QUxq3V_klRRq7IA2dyZV9If7LeHjVIgACxWD5dXyZUxYzh8KbBAFoAi9Rqk-JMSOWeO0q-/s400/5770_562346211749_22801112_33164503_4295874_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360249836162656354" border="0" /></a><br />That's pretty much all I have to say for now. Unofficial results say I'm 7 minutes under my goal! Will wait for proper results to give a full race report. Glad to say, I caught the bug I've been wanting to catch all this time! I want to race again!<br /><br />Friends, if you're reading this: THANK YOU! Thank you for putting up with a friend who puts off hang-outs and nights out so that she could train. I've been selfish, and really, that's what I needed. To be selfish for awhile and go after something only I could make happen. ( ...and Trifitness training of course!) Thank you all for your support and telling me on a consistent basis that I kick ass. I thought about everyone out there, and it pushed me to hammer down and pass people. I will sign up for more races, but I also want to be better at balancing training time, with spending time with those of you who have shown me true friends do exist.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-90835822835371047272009-07-11T14:30:00.016-04:002009-07-11T17:22:35.521-04:00Fast Food Nutrition - Part 1I've decided to compile a list of fast food places and their healthier "vegetarian" menu options. I'm trying to keep them under 400 calories, with minimal grams of fat and low in sugar. I've listed the nutritional info I always keep in mind: calories, fat, sodium, carbs/sugars. I put bold font on some things to watch for, such as high sugar or fat content. Personally, I try my best to stay away from items that have 15 grams of sugar or above. If they contain more, than I think of it more as a "treat".<br /><br />I decided to leave in some egg sandwich options, even though I've been trying to stay away from eating eggs as a main part of a meal. There is no "perfect" fast food meal. The best of the bunch here is Starbuck's Perfect Oatmeal, if you hold back a little on the toppings. These are just some meals to keep in mind when you're hungry on-the-go. This took me a lot of time and research, so I'm going to break it up into parts, doing as many chains as I can deal with at a time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqm2w63yrNwWugir7YnYMe8R3PC0RJgdPZ332VoMtFL4KmD4J0ti2-_SAD8tA3Nd9FU1UeWeu64_2Y4UMQk1mkcxgutaMNeXkbjnuAJf7HFGtNpkqyuhXB0IqR0QnjdOQFEVNFuytgyOuI/s1600-h/starbuck_logo.gif"><img style="border: none; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqm2w63yrNwWugir7YnYMe8R3PC0RJgdPZ332VoMtFL4KmD4J0ti2-_SAD8tA3Nd9FU1UeWeu64_2Y4UMQk1mkcxgutaMNeXkbjnuAJf7HFGtNpkqyuhXB0IqR0QnjdOQFEVNFuytgyOuI/s200/starbuck_logo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357293307323010418" border="none" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Starbucks</span><br />I've hated on Starbucks for quite some time. I still don't like the idea of selling yourself as "your local coffee shop" when it's not, at all. It tries to give the feel of your quirky downtown coffee joint, but has millions of locations worldwide. However, it seems they are finally making a real effort to provide foods with few additives and better ingredients. I love that they have Soy Milk as an option. They are becoming my favorite for to-go foods, I just wish some of their items had less sugar.<br /><br />Orange Mango Banana Vivanno Smoothie (made with Soy Milk)*:<br />270 cal, 4g fat, 135mg sodium, 50g carbs, <span style="font-weight: bold;">30g sugar</span>, 17g protein<br /><br />Strawberry Banana Vivanno Smoothie (made with Soy Milk)*:<br />280 cal, 2g fat, 115mg sodium, 54g carbs, <span style="font-weight: bold;">39g sugar</span>, 15g protein<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">*Just a heads up, even though I calculated these smoothies with soy milk, the smoothies contain whey protein so they are not vegan.</span></span><br /><br />Perfect Oatmeal:<br />140 cal, 2.5g fat, 105mg sodium, 25g carbs, 0g sugar, 5g protein<br /><br />Oatmeal Toppings:<br />Brown Sugar: 50 cal, 0g fat, 0mg sodium, 13g carbs/sugar, 0g protein<br />Dried Fruit: 100 cal, 0g fat, 10mg sodium, 24g carbs, 20g sugar, 1g protein<br />Nut Medley: 100 cal, 9g fat, 0mg sodium, 2g carbs, 1g sugar, 2g protein<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(When I got a Perfect Oatmeal recently, I sprinkled on less than a quarter of the brown sugar packet, and the whole packet of dried fruit. It was really good!)</span></span><br /><br />Multigrain Bagel:<br />320 cal, 4g fat, 220 sodium, 62g carbs, 8g sugar, 12g protein<br /><br />Dark Cherry Yogurt Parfait:<br />320 cal, 5g fat, 140 sodium, 58g carbs, <span style="font-weight: bold;">40g sugar</span>, 11g protein<br /><br />Strawberry Blueberry Yogurt Parfait:<br />350 cal, 4.5g fat, 100mg sodium, 66g carbs, <span style="font-weight: bold;">35g sugar</span>, 10g protein<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuwkjqD_DE1mQETgIVYf702uzWbuI1G_kp0X9rtx8EnqS6oM_4c9UraJO0HoOfbS-prUOqMn1n5ZZEQ-AnZ6U_vz0kix452QUrCNcKIvhzwbj8xqsmwYCPJiYZmMHgDVgQin5RH7CW76T/s1600-h/logo_main.gif"><img style="border: none; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 60px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuwkjqD_DE1mQETgIVYf702uzWbuI1G_kp0X9rtx8EnqS6oM_4c9UraJO0HoOfbS-prUOqMn1n5ZZEQ-AnZ6U_vz0kix452QUrCNcKIvhzwbj8xqsmwYCPJiYZmMHgDVgQin5RH7CW76T/s400/logo_main.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357290085827405746" border="none" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dunkin Donuts</span><br />I've always been partial to Dunkin Donuts. A brand started in my home state of Massachusetts, it's the coffee joint for the "Regular Joe". They are trying to promote healthy eating with their DD Smart menu, but at the same time still pandering to America's gluttonous ways with a Waffle Breakfast Sandwich that has a whopping 23g of fat! I looked it up, that's 3 grams MORE fat than a McDonald's Double Cheeseburger! Still if you're on the go, these are easy to find in the Northeast where we have one approximately every 100 feet.<br /><br />Multi Grain Bagel<br />400 cal, 9g fat, 600mg sodium, 65g carbs, 2g sugar, 18g protein<br /><br />Reduced Fat Cream Cheese:<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>100 cal, 8g fat, 250mg sodium, 5g carbs, 2g sugar, 4g protein<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(I usually use half a container or less, but here is the the info for a full one)</span></span><br /><br />Egg White Veggie Flatbread Sandwich<br />290 cal, 9g fat, 680mg sodium, 39g carbs, 4g sugar, 11g protein<br /><br />English Muffin:<br />160 cal, 1.5g fat, 340mg sodium, 31g carbs, 2g sugar, 6g protein<br /><br />Egg & Cheese on English Muffin:<br />350 cal, <span style="font-weight: bold;">13g fat</span>, 730mg sodium, 34g carbs, 3g sugar, 14g protein<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoE9DX7ocKwlhSP26KcQtWLz-_Hb2Sg4ms7qQY5WWFNE5t3hbLfptWLCfF-sFX1JwRWmw73rz33soRwK1Mfn5ZC3zSowUnrO6qwjCrxT8yJ4Vk-XegDN8sImy7gtWzpeecOj1JgZMvuDq/s1600-h/brueggers_logo.gif"><img style="border: none; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 60px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoE9DX7ocKwlhSP26KcQtWLz-_Hb2Sg4ms7qQY5WWFNE5t3hbLfptWLCfF-sFX1JwRWmw73rz33soRwK1Mfn5ZC3zSowUnrO6qwjCrxT8yJ4Vk-XegDN8sImy7gtWzpeecOj1JgZMvuDq/s200/brueggers_logo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357290609413972594" border="none" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brueggars</span><br />Relatively small chain compared to the previous two. There are a few in the area, and I enjoy going to them from time to time. I love that they have hummus as an option for bagel/sandwich topping. They have a "build your own salad" option, which is great. Their Mandarin Salad sounds great, but is loaded with fat and sugars.<br /><br />Multi Grain "Fortified" Bagel:<br />350 cal, 4g fat, 550mg sodium, 69g carbs, 10g sugar, 13g protein<br />Add jelly for 50 cal<br /><br />Garden Veggie Deli Sandwich:<br />400 cal, 2.5g fat, 620mg sodium, 82g carbs, 14g sugar, 16g protein<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib94r1OZEGX3MatH3uXd4wHu_SCS5jBcPG38lFtD9sYivJf-SP9XIcJMCHoG7fmqjY1cCVAfu0vSOyIFDakv_Z_jkdmv1ziT3xPd5_aLqyMpu4bG-Am-EhwaBtoRJ7TBRCCKfvpfkuCee0/s1600-h/mcdonalds.gif"><img style="border: none; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 104px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib94r1OZEGX3MatH3uXd4wHu_SCS5jBcPG38lFtD9sYivJf-SP9XIcJMCHoG7fmqjY1cCVAfu0vSOyIFDakv_Z_jkdmv1ziT3xPd5_aLqyMpu4bG-Am-EhwaBtoRJ7TBRCCKfvpfkuCee0/s200/mcdonalds.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357301274790580642" border="none" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">McDonalds</span><br />Do I even need to go into my qualms with McDonalds? I haven't been to one in over a year. I don't know when the last time I was there was. I think it was 4:30 am in NYC waiting for the next train to New Haven and decided fries were the only thing that could console me after using the hobo bathroom<br /><br />Premium Caesar Salad (without chicken)*<br />90 cal, 4g fat, 180mg sodium, 9g carbs, 4g sugar, 7g protein<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">*I don't think this included dressing, as always, use sparingly.</span></span><br /><br />Snack Size Fruit & Walnut Salad<br />210 cal, <span style="font-weight: bold;">12g fat</span>, 60mg sodium, 31g carbs, <span style="font-weight: bold;">25g sugar</span>, 4g protein<br /><br />Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait<br />160 cal, 2g fat, 85mg sodium, 31g carbs, <span style="font-weight: bold;">21g sugar</span>, 4g protein<br /><br />Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait without Granola<br />130 cal, 2g fat, 55mg sodium, 25g carbs, <span style="font-weight: bold;">19g sugar</span>, 4g protein<br /><br />Egg McMuffin no meat, no cheese<br />240 cal, 9g fat, 350mg sodium, 28g carbs, 2g sugar, 12g protein<br /><br />English Muffin with Strawberry Preserves<br />190 cal, 3g fat, 280mg sodium, 36g carbs, 11g sugar, 5g proteinhstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-85983779153961541002009-07-11T12:13:00.011-04:002009-07-11T14:24:26.215-04:00Yale Shoreline RideI can't believe it was a week ago today that I did the Yale Shoreline Ride! It was such a beautiful ride though, that I have to post about it. Sorry for such a delay, writing this blog in a timely fashion is nearly impossible with everything going on. And more apologies, this is will not be my best writing. I spent from 8:30pm - 1:30am at my SWIM Across the Sound fundraiser. I was the door girl, and had to convince semi/completely inebriated folks to hand over $10 for the cause. We raised a lot of money, although I don't think we hit our goal. I had a great night once I got into the groove of talking to people. Unfortunately it was under 60 degrees outside, and for a cold-wimp like me that's freezing.<br /><a href="http://give.stvincents.org/hstrycharz" target="_blank"><br />BTW it's not too late to donate to my SWIM Across the Sound page!</a><br /><br />Yale Shoreline Map:<br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=6c0deb69761d71601f6dc15f42a4550b&u=e&t=ride" frameborder="0" height="500" width="350">&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ct/new-haven/570656185"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Yale Shoreline 79&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ct/new-haven"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in New Haven, Connecticut&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL --><br />This was the first time I uploaded a map to my Garmin. It came in handy when I went off course and it started beeping at me. Unfortunately it doesn't really tell you HOW to get back on the track. Luckily I had my new BlackBerry Storm with me, and I used the Google Maps app to find my way. I could have set my Garmin to have a "partner" and gave the "partner" a specific pace that I wanted to beat. Since this was my first time going over 40 miles, I decided no pace setting was necessary. As long as I was above 14mph average, I was okay with it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrstF9eK7e5jE4y0acZHg1fGW3w3cGN-7jCVI3mtnof3oL50ixk5V-xYseJzm07Pn40v_-VriygG5jxf7VWOToPmu_7UM5Gu6y2FLDoLSm_I29NbJJb_g25-_5zDPmXvwJdj5Rq6JURkKK/s1600-h/IMG00165-20090704-0946.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 350px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrstF9eK7e5jE4y0acZHg1fGW3w3cGN-7jCVI3mtnof3oL50ixk5V-xYseJzm07Pn40v_-VriygG5jxf7VWOToPmu_7UM5Gu6y2FLDoLSm_I29NbJJb_g25-_5zDPmXvwJdj5Rq6JURkKK/s400/IMG00165-20090704-0946.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357241522201777186" border="0" /></a>I started out my day by powering up with this amazing breakfast. Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, with Unsweetened Soy Milk, a fresh peach and blueberries. It was a fantastic blend of bright summery colors, crunchy filling goodness and sweet fruits. I'm a firm believer that color makes things taste better. This breakfast is about 350 calories. Perfect for a normal day, but I had 60 miles ahead of me. I also ate a Kashi Go Lean Crunchy bar as well. I love their Chocolate Caramel flavored bar, it satisfies my sweet tooth without being too fattening. 150 calories, with 3 grams of fat and 8 grams protein. 14g sugar is relatively okay compared to other "healthy" bars out there.<br /><br />If you live in the New Haven area, I highly recommend this ride. I would say it's a moderate course, even though it's long. There are a lot of fun rolling hills, and only a few that were tough. Compared to the Bloomin' Metric ride, this was a flat course! Most of the course is spent on main roads, but they are in the country and most of it is on a bike route. The Yalies marked a lot of the turns which made things even easier for me. The traffic wasn't bad, except for a few areas, and that was only because it was the Fourth of July.<br /><br />Going up to Durham, there are plenty of views of local farms and the small Connecticut "mountains". I was excited to find an immaculate Porta-Potty in Northford at a park that was right off of 17. When I opened the door and found it had toilet paper too (nice toilet paper, by the way, not dirty damp toilet paper) I gasped with glee. Near Durham center I ran into another biker, and I asked him how close I was to getting onto Durham Rd, which is the road that leads south. I don't want to sound rude, but I don't think he quite got where I was trying to go, and his directions seemed a bit off. Or maybe we both just misunderstood each other. Either way I was happy he was nice at least, and not a stuck up at all, which seems to happen to dudes when they're compressed by bright spandex.<br /><br />The whole ride I nibbled on Kashi Honey Almond Flax bars. (Sorry I'm starting to sound like a Kashi commercial, I'm just on a huge Kashi kick right now!) I was never starving on my ride and I think it helped a lot with my energy level. I wanted to prevent getting overtired, and thus cranky. When the cranky kicks in, that's when my rides/workouts go horribly wrong and I end up lost, miserable and near tears. Around 1 or 2 I stopped in Madison at a little deli. I splurged and got an Eggplant Parm sandwich on whole wheat bread. The guy thought I was crazy for getting Eggplant Parm on wheat bread. I continually ask places to make Eggplant Parm on alternate forms of bread, just this Thursday I asked for one on a wheat wrap. I always get the same confused reaction, followed by a look that can only be described as, "whatever floats your boat". Oh. It floats my boat, sir.<br /><br />The guy at the deli seemed a little annoyed by my request. I don't know, he didn't seem friendly. Then he complemented me on my tattoos, followed by the standard, "You're not from around here, are you?" Ha! I love when people ask me that! "Nope." I told him I was from New Haven, and he gave a reactive nod and a "Ah." "That's far, no?" he asked. (He was foreign, I'm assuming he doesn't get around CT too much.) "Um about another 30 miles or so I think." "How long have you gone?" "I'm at 24 miles now." Behind his eyes, his brain exploded a little. After that he was really nice to me and wished me luck on my ride.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYxmTcdRf7GVNfVU-5bmS4gnejQhO1F8RKlasvdmRuJQiTVnEYwgUnBvKEQ473yIUJU04UEzibxOwv4sBCV-ncj0aJ4JkBE5uhMy5GRmkfSP3Uzkwfz8tQwFOF1MhRT0u1UnyJv5jthM2/s1600-h/IMG00005-20090612-1444.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 362px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYxmTcdRf7GVNfVU-5bmS4gnejQhO1F8RKlasvdmRuJQiTVnEYwgUnBvKEQ473yIUJU04UEzibxOwv4sBCV-ncj0aJ4JkBE5uhMy5GRmkfSP3Uzkwfz8tQwFOF1MhRT0u1UnyJv5jthM2/s400/IMG00005-20090612-1444.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357252970828793138" border="0" /></a>As I continued along I realized I was in Guilford, CT. I passed by my new favorite place to eat outside of New Haven, the Shoreline Diner. But that's not the full name of the diner though, oh no. It's the Shoreline Diner <span style="font-weight: bold;">& Vegetarian Enclave</span>. Isn't that wonderful? It makes me laugh every time, it sounds like it's some secret vegetarian headquarters where we plot secret plans and maniacally laugh as we concoct new ways to turn soy beans into fake meats. M-W defines enclave as: <span style="font-style: italic;">an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct from the foreign territory that surrounds it. </span>I can attest that most of CT outside of its more progressive cities can view my questions of "Is there meat in the sauce?" as culturally distinct. To have a nice place like this that "gets" veganism is exciting. I ate here once before, but it's a bit out of the way to visit on a regular basis. Next time I do this ride I'm definitely stopping there. They have a great, diverse menu, about a quarter of it is vegan.<br /><br />Sigh, it's taking me forever to write this post, and I'm mostly rambling. I'll end with a couple pictures I took while on 146, the shoreline part of the ride.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">I believe this area is known as Leetes Island. I saw many egrets, a crane, and soon after this picture was taken a painted turtle trying to cross the road:</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFuVScOrzpmhk_cjoMg9sREchrNaRqPp5mKc0jFO7PpNU4f8x-e6IrlzH-iAmRiqXy-L_Q086fiNFyCxjnztykWLNrMpsdV75GcbB3wtMPLqyHOvpGVAxLUZcdn57tC6i5kQv_nTRoZsz/s1600-h/IMG00167-20090704-1440.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFuVScOrzpmhk_cjoMg9sREchrNaRqPp5mKc0jFO7PpNU4f8x-e6IrlzH-iAmRiqXy-L_Q086fiNFyCxjnztykWLNrMpsdV75GcbB3wtMPLqyHOvpGVAxLUZcdn57tC6i5kQv_nTRoZsz/s400/IMG00167-20090704-1440.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357243922118544434" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Near Lighthouse Point. By this time I was nearing the end of my ride, my arms were killing me and I just wanted to float across the harbor to New Haven proper, where I belong.</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pxH9tdaUBRYf7c8LS7TVjWVO5OrRSAZh1L_Di_Bbj5mdLjK_ZnQtW6swEm8crTY6mt1u-uH2p46CRMZmAUEXplNEf_pbkVErp-cmODZx_S8ck1ktWD1gN5WKxyMlwNKuG8MUdOjTrAPF/s1600-h/IMG00170-20090704-1619.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pxH9tdaUBRYf7c8LS7TVjWVO5OrRSAZh1L_Di_Bbj5mdLjK_ZnQtW6swEm8crTY6mt1u-uH2p46CRMZmAUEXplNEf_pbkVErp-cmODZx_S8ck1ktWD1gN5WKxyMlwNKuG8MUdOjTrAPF/s400/IMG00170-20090704-1619.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357243926564635298" border="0" /></a>End Results: 60mi, 4hrs 15 min, avg speed of 14.12. By the end I was so beat I think it dramatically cut down my speed. Oh well. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful ride, and I now have a sweet bike shorts tan that starts halfway down my thighs.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-48266624910122680422009-07-10T06:50:00.006-04:002009-07-10T07:44:52.645-04:00The Ups and Downs of Running<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWSftkRZKc0J7yhkV1mObhOC8ratRfqhgJUv5xWgHoD8TeZj-lM2LYt2uZxtw8VOOZsKEaKTFbUZGDJRUx87JxX0_5EHYFbvKT4pOQF7jG5LZw_ON0TXifkuV1j3WV4y5Uyd8GUknHfa3/s1600-h/m_ClassicMixedVegetables1lb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWSftkRZKc0J7yhkV1mObhOC8ratRfqhgJUv5xWgHoD8TeZj-lM2LYt2uZxtw8VOOZsKEaKTFbUZGDJRUx87JxX0_5EHYFbvKT4pOQF7jG5LZw_ON0TXifkuV1j3WV4y5Uyd8GUknHfa3/s400/m_ClassicMixedVegetables1lb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356793252968752674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">This post is brought to you by my favorite product of all. Bird's Eye Classic Mixed Vegetables. They are the perfect accompaniment to black beans and rice, they are cheap, and easily transportable. They are also my favorite ice packs.</span></span><br /><br />Yesterday afternoon was beautiful. I had to show my apartment since I'm looking for a new roommate, so I couldn't go to spin class as usual. Nor would I have anyway since it was so nice out. After I showed the apartment, I decided to go for a run. I wanted to go 6 miles. At first my run was going great! By the time I hit the downtown area of New Haven, I was running just under 8 minute miles! I was pumped and I kept at it, pumping myself up more with positive affirmations. I did hill intervals during my morning workout, and it seems I immediately see a speed increase after those sessions. I kept telling myself I need to do more hill intervals because I was going so fast!<br /><br />I felt great, I looked great. I've committed myself to doing abdominal workouts every other day (which I will post more about later) and it's really starting to show. All was going well until I tripped on a grate in the sidewalk I've run over a dozen times. I hit the ground, HARD. Two ladies who were several yards ahead of me where turned around when I got myself up. My shoulder and knee immediately began to burn. I looked over to my shoulder, it glowed red. I paused my iPod, and one of the ladies yelled, "It only hurts for a minute! Were you running?" "Yes."<br /><br />I walked forward, a bit defeated. Every time I'm feeling awesome about myself and my progress I get smacked down. It's become an Icarus complex, I can never fly high without getting burnt. I muttered expletives and thought about what I was going to do. Am I going to walk home? What would I tell people? What would I write on my blog? Haha. I thought to some encouraging words my friend <a href="http://missmauramae.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Maura</a> had just texted me an hour or so before. She told me how I was an inspiration to her, and that she's been running more. I was so touched, and happy to hear that. I needed that. I've been having a down week, I feel weak but I have no real explanation. I think with the whole roommate situation and some other thoughts I've been having, on top of lack of sleep, has just gotten to me. I wanted to cry, I almost cried. I had a flashback to Muay Thai sparring, when I got the wind knocked out of me. The trainer was right next to me again screaming "Don't CRY! DON'T CRY!! SUCK IT UP!" And so I sucked it up, and swallowed it down like a rancid shot of cheap whiskey.<br /><br />So all this ran through my head at a thousand miles an hour. Not even a minute after falling, I turned my iPod back on, I restarted my now scraped up Garmin and started running. No way I was walking home. What if I fell during a race? I think I need some injury perseverance training. I passed a woman who was smiling at me, like really smiling. I couldn't tell if she was smiling at me because I'm tattooed (which is usually the case) or if she could tell I was injured (my shoulder was a brilliant shade of lava) and realized I kept on running. Most likely it was just the tattoos, but I decided to go with, "She thinks I'm awesome because I got back up."<br /><br />So I ran, debating the entire time whether I was doing more harm than good, or if this wasn't such a bad idea. By the time I got to my street I was feeling "good". Okay, I was in pain, but the rest of me wanted at least another mile. I fell at mile 2.5 and I was now a mile past that, so I decided to push myself even more. I went down Whitney a little more before I turned onto a road that was sort of heading back home. I was running sub 8:30 min miles. I kept going and by the time I was nearing my apartment I was really in pain. In the end I ran 4.28 miles with a pace of 8:23. Had I not injured myself I probably would have had a pace of 8 or even below. Still, under 8:30 is fine with me.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2HsJEWBnNrA2CAVB5paO3j8MfJ71ixUTBTh2QuP1N4KDhKn-7xH_gRTCxVYSYNnOQaMsRd6Lu7RgNsi8zaySOPXCIpi5aPZnlGEBVbUy80iZPicW5WbPNMWWBlvMPv9oH3_nN20Dc360/s1600-h/IMG00188-20090709-1946.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 5px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2HsJEWBnNrA2CAVB5paO3j8MfJ71ixUTBTh2QuP1N4KDhKn-7xH_gRTCxVYSYNnOQaMsRd6Lu7RgNsi8zaySOPXCIpi5aPZnlGEBVbUy80iZPicW5WbPNMWWBlvMPv9oH3_nN20Dc360/s400/IMG00188-20090709-1946.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356788830384440514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Excuse me Mr. Flamingo, it seems your head has exploded.<br /></span></span></div><br />It looks so lame! The real pain isn't the scrape, it's my complete shoulder. During my cool down walk I tried to move my shoulder, and I heard that digital noise in my head, the sound a camera flash used to make when it charges. Shit. This is bad. I only hear that noise if I'm about to pass out or I'm in a lot of pain. As soon as I got home I took two bags of Bird's Eye Mixed Vegetables, laid on my mat, and put one on my shoulder and one on my knee and just laid there. I looked up at the ceiling wondering how bad it was, or if I was just being dramatic. After the icing I put Ziploc bags with wet microwaved towels in them on my injuries. Then Google said not to do that. Only long term injuries get heat. But the heat felt so good! The ice made me stiff and hurt more. So I iced again, and took a shower, which loosened up my shoulder and knee again.<br /><br />This morning I debated working out, because I'm insane. Luckily I realized I'm insane, and opted for a rest day. Because sometimes I need to admit I'm human, which is hard for me to do. I'm sore, and I keep trying to stretch out and move my shoulder. Luckily my knee isn't so bad. So I will probably go to the gym after work, to go to the sauna and hopefully loosen it up some more. I know they say not to heat it, but it makes it feel so much better. I think the muscles are just knotted up, and hopefully I will be able to swim this weekend.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-68011798072377210492009-07-03T23:02:00.006-04:002009-07-05T11:12:39.391-04:00Show me Your Six PackAs I was getting dressed at the gym, I overheard a girl crying and talking on her cellphone. At first I thought she was just a crazy drama queen. While I was washing my face, I heard more of her conversation. Turns out she just did a fitness assessment, which is basically how the gym cons people into paying for personal training sessions. Before I joined my gym I read horror stories a lot like her's online. I was so intimidated to join my gym, fearing they would be pushy salesmen but personally I've never had a problem. Then I heard her say what the trainer said to her, and my blood boiled. "He said I could look better in a bikini, I think I already look fine in a bikini! And then he said, "Well show me your six pack." And I was like, I'm not showing you anything!"<br /><br />This girl was skinny and fit. She was about my size but a little taller, with long full hair, and you could just tell she took good care of herself. There was no reason that the trainer should have said that to her. When she got off the phone she was still crying a bit. I thought back to all the "<a href="http://operationbeautiful.com/" target="_blank">Operation Beautiful</a>" posts and articles I've seen in the past week. As the site states, "The mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for other women to find." In my opinion, the Operation Beautiful thing is a great gesture, and a step in the right direction, but being anonymous just seems kind of unhelpful and generic. I realized this was my opportunity to be the better person I'm trying to be and help a fellow girl out. To go the step beyond what "Operation Beautiful" does, and actually reach out to someone who needs to hear some kind words and positive reinforcement.<br /><br />I should bring up, in terms of "sisterhood", I've been a terrible female. Girls picked on me so much growing up, that I really have a hard time trusting other females. I've spoken a lot of hateful and degrading words towards women, and I'm not proud of it. I've come to realize more recently that the things that men have said about my body and other girl's bodies has really affected me deeply. I can recall vividly all the times guys, and often guys I loved or respected, have said things that were painful. One of my ex boyfriends, who was a very tolerate, peaceful happy-go-lucky kind of guy has said things about other girl's bodies that made me worry. I wonder if those are the kinds of things they think about me and my body. They must have seen the "muffin top" on me that they pointed out on that girl.<br /><br />So, I was thinking about all this when she was on the phone, and decided I was going to say something. Other women in the locker room heard her but minded their own business. I was scared she'd be angry at me for clearly eavesdropping though honestly, she was talking really loud. Anyway, I went up to her and said, "Which trainer said that to you?" She started talking to me, and as she was, a woman who teaches spin craned around the lockers, her face in shock. She missed hearing the phone call but when she heard that the girl was upset by an employee she was irate. Unfortunately the people that teach classes aren't really employees, as the work like 3 hours a week, so she couldn't really do anything to complain.<br /><br />The girl went on to say that she only did the fitness assessment because she's new to the gym and doesn't know how any of the machines work. She was intimidated to begin with because it's a new place, bigger than her old gym and she doesn't know anyone. She's confident that she has her own fitness plan down, which she has every right to be because she's fit. All she wanted was a little help getting familiar with the equipment, but the employee, who is basically a salesman, used dirty tactics to get her to sign up for a personal trainer. I don't think guys ever realize how painful their words can be. I'm sure he knew he was upsetting her, but didn't think of the consequences of how what he said could affect her after tomorrow.<br /><br />I told the girl she was beautiful and fit. I told her she has every reason to be confident in herself, and not let some massive muscled dude with shrunken balls tell her any different. The spin teacher joined in and said to just be "an asshole to anyone who talks to you like that. Just walk away, tell them they just lost a sale." The girl said she didn't know what to do, that she didn't want to leave the locker room. I told her to just go back out there, get on a treadmill and show him that he didn't beat her down. I also told her that I've never had that problem, and that the class instructors are a lot better than the people who work there full time. I told her I've met a lot of nice people there, and that this was just one bad experience and not to let it pull her down or stop her from going to the gym. She was really appreciative and after talking to me for a bit she calmed down.<br /><br />Sometimes it's so hard to take a little time to put yourself aside, and help someone else. I've been trying a lot lately to be patient with other people and talk to them. It seems so simple, but I've closed myself off a lot these past couple of years. The other day an Asian lady who wants to get her eyebrows tattooed asked me questions for about 20 minutes. She didn't get the concept that the tattoos will never wash off. Her English wasn't that great either so it made it really hard, especially when I just wanted to go home. Other women were watching us, though they were on the other side of the lockers, they could see us in the mirror. I don't want to perpetuate the stereotype that tattooed people are anti-social and uneducated. Seriously, I've had people treat me like I've been to jail and didn't go to college and must wear a name tag where I work. Usually it's been doctors and nurses, and if they spend 5 minutes with me realize they're completely wrong.<br /><br />Anyway, that was a bit off topic, but what I'm getting at is I'm trying to be a better human. The transformation I seek isn't purely physical. These past few years I've been losing weight, gaining muscle, learning new sports, learning what my body is capable of, the list goes on and on. The progress I've made physically has given me a lot of insight into a wide variety of things. Since I've become more athletic I've inspired people, been able to motivate friends, helped people in a positive way, and I'm so grateful for that. I need to be better to my fellow females most of all. The older I get the more I realize they have the same hang-ups and insecurities that I do, and that we should be supportive of each other instead of giving into the competitive, "catty" bullshit that tends to arise. I need to put the past behind me and stop assuming the worst.hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218192137395097116.post-4952244968649647102009-07-03T20:34:00.009-04:002009-07-03T22:25:48.467-04:00Train, Grains and GainsLast week I did so much that I think I'm burnt out this week. Last week's totals:<br />Run: 13.05mi<br />Bike: 53.93mi<br />Spin: 1hr 30min<br />Swim: 6000yards<br />Strength: 1hr 46min<br />and I also walked/hiked about 3 miles and did my last kettlebells and kickboxing classes at Aiki. I've been getting a pitiful 6 hours of sleep a night lately. I've been trying to get myself to sleep earlier, but I end up getting sucked into the internet doing nothing in particular. I've been kind of dragging in all my workouts this week. Spin class has been the exception, the teacher made both classes this week Michael Jackson tributes! I was rocking out both classes and it was a lot of fun. My insane teacher at one point screamed, "MJ's lookin' down on you guys, and he's like... meh... PUSH HARDER! DON'T STOP TIL YOU GET ENOUGH!!!" Have I mentioned before that my spin instructor is insane? Well if I haven't, now you know.<br /><br />I'm so happy I got to bike outside twice last week! Finally! I've been getting a lot better at dealing with the clip pedals, which is great. I'm feeling confident on the bike again and now look forward to riding again. I think going to spin is helping my speed on the bike, so I'm going to continue going at least once a week. When the canal path is empty, I'll hammer away and think back to how much I push myself in spin class. I ask myself, "If you can push yourself so hard in spin class, why are you holding back now?" Usually that will motivate me and I will get up to 20-21mph! Now if only I could get that as my average speed!<br /><br />Last week I really pushed myself swimming too. I've been using old workouts from Trifitness, and have been trying to do the A or B group workouts. A is advanced, B are moderate, and the C group ones were the newbies/slow swimmers. Last week was the first time I swam over 3000 yards in a workout. My arms were killing me by the end but I was really proud that I'm adding more distance.<br /><br />This week I went to a Naturopathic doctor. I decided I do not want to treat my stomach with harsh antibiotics and medicines. Speaking with the doctor I felt relieved, finally a doctor that takes my lifestyle into account. You'd think all doctors, especially concerning stomach problems would care about how I was eating. Neither my primary care doctor or my gastroenterologist really asked about my diet. I think they take one look at me and just assume I'm healthy. The naturopath has doubled some of the vitamins I take already, as well as added some more and some herbal remedies. I'm going to get a breath test to see if I do in fact have an H. pylori infection. He says I should avoid dairy for 3 weeks, which I've been okay about. I did cave completely yesterday and had soft serve ice cream, pizza AND chocolates. My hormones have been insane this week, my face broke out and my cravings are out of control. TMI be damned, my PMS some months is ridiculous.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuX8E-8TeODWTq0s04xzwRL-d7PlMYywywOpT_CGFa8wCySBIa4K9mtt4DO-pZcws5Vl5b5fBCapWIzVP8CbaMnvgOPf9dmfxCcMml539SaMk_IXJwP70Y7KyNYpbV9kayuOWNFR7uTlvL/s1600-h/quinoabeans.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuX8E-8TeODWTq0s04xzwRL-d7PlMYywywOpT_CGFa8wCySBIa4K9mtt4DO-pZcws5Vl5b5fBCapWIzVP8CbaMnvgOPf9dmfxCcMml539SaMk_IXJwP70Y7KyNYpbV9kayuOWNFR7uTlvL/s400/quinoabeans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354406621553497122" border="0" /></a>I haven't been very raw this week at all, and I'm okay with that. I think it's best for me to eat raw foods but also get plenty of whole grains. Training as much as I do, I need more substantial carbohydrates, which is very similar to Brendan Brazier's views. Also, I can't bring myself to eat salad! It's like I go on a salad kick and I eat salad every day for a few weeks, and then the sight of greens makes me gag. I've been eating a lot of quinoa! Quinoa is an awesome super food! <span style="font-style: italic;">Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient "grain" once considered "the gold of the Incas."</span> - <a href="http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142">WHfoods.com</a><br /><br />I tried quinoa last year, but it was too earthy for me. This year I incorporated my new habit of adding vegetable bouillon (which I do to add flavor to brown rice) and I've found it makes quinoa so much better. Quinoa is a lot faster to make than brown rice, and can be made in around 20 minutes. Compare that to the hour or so it takes to make brown rice! (Unless of course you're using a more instant brand.) Below are the food charts from WHFoods:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeU9Wa9oRQwMmwCefLh9rJfEN4yoDhVygdmFf1TF5rmOxWOVvtK_PfPsml04KZdAQ4sydJtNdYohUAl3j4HqvhlszUdquBS0JIxK4x6Ro1-jSvE11Ifpqj8gbpHt8AYKmEZkelvej1yIfS/s1600-h/foodchart-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeU9Wa9oRQwMmwCefLh9rJfEN4yoDhVygdmFf1TF5rmOxWOVvtK_PfPsml04KZdAQ4sydJtNdYohUAl3j4HqvhlszUdquBS0JIxK4x6Ro1-jSvE11Ifpqj8gbpHt8AYKmEZkelvej1yIfS/s400/foodchart-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354409339554904626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijh-VJg6wvM7kDFilCJLT_S_PqJWtESyGtjBEGxAstsQjPWbhgeZoBR3HhJTtCHbkcfIZgfvr-3bJAZI3i1fBj2nLidxQuqwfwKHDm1e1YAnRv_hLnJuB1CAG7zpMraTHzOiSOBPrmjoyW/s1600-h/foodchart-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijh-VJg6wvM7kDFilCJLT_S_PqJWtESyGtjBEGxAstsQjPWbhgeZoBR3HhJTtCHbkcfIZgfvr-3bJAZI3i1fBj2nLidxQuqwfwKHDm1e1YAnRv_hLnJuB1CAG7zpMraTHzOiSOBPrmjoyW/s400/foodchart-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354409804439132146" border="0" /></a>As you can see quinoa has iron and other nutrients that brown rice lacks. "Unlike <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat" title="Wheat">wheat</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice" title="Rice">rice</a> (which are low in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysine" title="Lysine">lysine</a>), quinoa contains a balanced set of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid" title="Essential amino acid">essential amino acids</a> for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source." (Wikipedia) I've been making quinoa with beans, frozen spinach and mixed vegetables. I bought Eden Foods brand quinoa, but the best bang for your buck is to go to your local health foods store and buy it in bulk. It's super easy to prepare. Wash the quinoa with cold water in a collander that is mesh metal, and has very tiny holes. I grab the quinoa with one hand and rub it against itself. This cleans off the quinoa's natural coating called saponins. If you ever played with Floam as a kid, you'll have some nostalgic flashbacks when washing the quinoa. It gets bunched together and is just like the foam pellet putty from back in the day. Bring 1-1/4 cups water to a boil and add in a cup of quinoa; simmer, covered for 15min (or until all water evaporates). Remove from heat and cool, covered for 5 minutes. Then fluff with a fork, and it's ready to serve!<br /><br />I've also been on a HUGE Kashi kick. Kashi Go Lean Crunch has been on sale at Stop and Shop, as well as their TLC bars. I've always been kind of weary of Kashi, being part of a big corporation and all, but I've given them a second chance. The more I look at their nutritional labels, the more I realize how great their products are. All their products are packed with protein, fiber and healthy fats and very little sugar. I have to admit, right here, I work for a company that sells Kashi. Really the only advantage I get, is an employee discount, making it more of an incentive for me to buy their products. The other day I was in a grocery store I never go to, looking for healthy vegetarian options for me, since I was having dinner at my meatatarian friend Dan's place. I was craving an oatmeal raisin cookie. I looked all around but found no healthy options until I went in the granola section. I found a box of Kashi's TLC Oatmeal Flax Cookies. Wow, not only are they a decent size, but they were the healthiest option I could find for an oatmeal cookie.<br /><br />When I buy instant oatmeal to eat at work, I buy Kashi's Creamy Truly Vanilla oatmeal. I went through a huge search, as only a nutrition nut like me would, for the "perfect" instant oatmeal. So many instant oatmeals, from Quaker to the most organic "healthy" brands out there add SO MUCH SUGAR to their oatmeal. I was eating Quaker's Weight Control Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal for the longest time, but it tastes like aspertame. (Funny side note: My coworker for the longest time would always mention how he loves the smell of my oatmeal until he realized it was the Quaker's Weight Control one and was so disheartened. He's tried it in the past too, and said it was too awful to finish!) Also, the Quaker portion was so small, it never filled me up. Kashi's oatmeal is awesome because you can add more water. You can't just add hot water, you have to microwave it too, to really cook the grains in it. Nuking it makes it fluffy and creamy and a lot more filling.<br /><br />One last endorsement. Kashi waffles, oh man. I don't get the Kashi waffles on discount, and this is a real bummer. They've been recommended to me by a few people, and I finally decided to try them out. They are a great treat to buy! If I ever see them on sale, I'm stocking up! I've had them with apple spread and with fresh peaches, but they'd be great with any fruit, or none at all. I add a little Earth Balance spread and drizzle on agave nectar. I have to say, I've tried Van's waffles too, and these are great, but comparing their nutritional value, Kashi wins. Kashi's has less fat, less calories, and more protein. If you are vegan though go with Van's, Kashi's uses dairy and eggs, unfortunately.<br /><br />In summation, adding back the whole grains into my diet has helped a lot. I feel I have more endurance, and feel stronger in general. I still have a smoothie in the morning, and mostly raw fruits and veggies for snacks with the addition of a Kashi bar. Now I just have to work on getting in more sleep, and I should be making even more progress!hstrykhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08288828174789621595noreply@blogger.com1