Ouch

Haven't we all heard stories from friends and family about pulled muscles, torn ligaments, and broken bones? Many those stories are based around athletic endeavors and brave feats, right? Well, not always. I tend to hear stories based on accidents and most often they occur in our own homes. Didn't American marathoner Deena Kastor break her foot when she stepped on a sprinkler in her own yard? I'm pretty sure that's the story I learned when I saw the documentary, Spirit of the Marathon.

Don't worry, I didn't break anything as far as I can tell. ; ) Last night, I got really annoyed when a high-pitched ring started coming from my refrigerator. I have a very small kitchen in my apartment and the refrigerator is not full sized so it is fairly easy to move. There is also a surge protector plugged into the same outlet and a phone jack is directly to the right of that outlet. I struggled to get behind the fridge to reach the outlet. Once I was done (I thought) I was carefully backing out when,  whoa! Backwards I tumbled to the floor of my kitchen. Ouch! I'm not sure how I managed it, but the phone cord had ended up behind me and tripped me up. My backside was a little achy, but what I am still not sure about is what exactly my big toe hit as I was going down! It's still a mystery. This is what my toe looks like today, one day later (apologies if you are squeamish about bruises and/or toes). I'm pretty sure my toe is just bruised as it doesn't seem to be swelling up and I can move it with little pain. Still, it's tender to the touch and is a reminder to try to be a little more aware of my surroundings. 

Oh, BTW the noise did stop. I love renting... just love it... Maybe I can change that sometime in the future. That will be another blog post someday, hopefully sooner than later!

Merry Christmas!

This year, my parent's Christmas tree was outdoors! It is a living tree they have nurtured for a few years now and they felt it was best it stayed outside this year. Even outside, I thought it was a beautiful Christmas tree. It was decorated with white lights, pine cones and silk Poinsettia flowers.

We had a nice, very mellow Christmas holiday and I can't believe I have to go back to work on Monday! I hope this message finds everyone having a lovely holiday season.

Surgery Scheduled

Today I called Dr. Dye's office and scheduled the Synovectomy for my left knee on February 11, 2009. Wow... I can't believe I'm going through this again. Hopefully the 2nd time will be the charm!  

I Lied

So, I lied to my Mom yesterday (sorry Mom!). It wasn't a terrible lie, just one where I felt like keeping something to myself. Yesterday afternoon I told my Mom I was on my way down to Crissy Field to go for a walk. The truth was, I had been thinking about going running all week. I considered this carefully and decided, why not? Through all the research and doctors I've seen, it seems that running won't necessarily make my knee injury worse than it already is at this time. Sure, I may flare the inflammation up again and deal with that achy/burning feeling, but I'm not talking about running great distances here. Like any person beginning an exercise after an extended sedentary period, I planned to take it slow. 

I got down to Crissy Field with the intent of a 20-30 minute run. Heart rate monitor, check, iPod, check, Nike Free sneaks, check, Cho-pat knee strap, check, Boston Marathon jacket (for the added confidence boost I needed), check, long leggings for the chilly afternoon, check... I was good to go. I walked for 5 minutes as a warm-up and then picked the pace up to a jog on the flat, dirt path towards the Warming Hut. At first, it felt a little foreign to me. I hadn't run more than 5 minutes continuously since before my knee scope July, 2007. My ankles felt a little weak, my heart rate was high (even though I wasn't running fast), and I was running straight into a head wind. Ugh. Still, it was nice to be outside. I had my heart rate monitor on more for keeping track of time than anything else, although I do love looking to see how many calories it predicts I have burned after exercise. : ) After looking at my high heart rate at the start of my run, I decided to disregard my heart rate altogether. This reminded me of when I used to run outside before I ever owned a stopwatch or ran competitively. I never used to know how fast I was going or how far, I would simply run to some specific landmark, then turn and run back home. My run yesterday took me out to the "hands" on the fence by Fort Point. As long as I wasn't breathing too hard or was feeling any pain in my body, I let everything else go and simply ran. 

I turned at the "hands," my halfway point, and felt pretty good. I pushed away the annoyance of a woman that ran past me. Let... it... go... Having  the wind at my back was a help on the return to my car, but I also felt like my body was slowly remembering how to run. At first, my footfalls in my Nike's felt a little awkward and rough, but on the way back, I didn't feel any jarring to my body, my steps felt fluid and comfortable. There was a little ache in my quads and the Velcro from my knee strap was digging into the back of my knee, but all in all I felt fine. In the end, I ran for 30 minutes and walked for 10, 5 minutes at the beginning and end of my run. 

Today, I woke up feeling a little sore, but not too bad. I can feel it in my calves and my quads, but my knee feels fine. To be honest, I expected my knee would be OK. I iced it when I got home and followed the usual precautions. One 30 minute run on a flat, dirt path was not going to bother my knee. That said, my prediction is that if I keep this up and run 2-3 times a week, especially if there are any hills involved, my knee will eventually flare up on me and I'll have to back off on the running. I'm OK with that. This week I'm planning on scheduling my Synovectomy with Dr. Dye for early next year. After that scope, I am anticipating the slow recovery period he recommends, even as he claims the scope is a fairly gentle procedure. The slow and careful recovery is all part of healing and hopefully keeping the inflammation from returning again.

For now, I'm just trying to keep some semblance of running in my life. A short distance here and there is not going to hurt me. If anything, I'm finding it may bring me a bit of hope for longer runs in the future. 

My Niece Morgan's First Birthday

Happy Birthday sweet girl! Your Aunt Ali loves you!

Wash up after cake @ Sears Portrait Studio. Morgan loved the automatic/sensor faucet!

Who's coming to my party?

Morgan practiced blowing out her birthday candle before the big day, but it's stressful when everyone is staring! Mommy and Daddy took care of it. : ) 

Grandma Bottomley's Strawberry Cake. Yum!

Morgan's New Ride from Grandma & Grandpa Allendorf

Wow, all these toys are overwhelming

Beddy Bye