are you serious?

So...I am stuck on the couch again...on Thursday night I was making some chocolate chip cookies for Dennis' company picnic and as I was rushing to the refrigerator I smacked right into an open cupboard. Unfortunately, it was at the right angle to smack my kneecap out of place. The same knee I had surgery on 16 years ago.

Luckily I landed on my opposite side and not my head or anything. I heard Dennis say from the living room, "That didn't sound good" and then I started yelling at him "Dennis call 911! I dislocated my knee! Call 911 NOWWWW!"

I used my right arm to prop myseld up and my left hand had a tight clench on my pant legs to keep my leg from moving. I knew from experience that any movement of my leg would cause my knee to seize up. Dennis came around and saw my the outline of my knee cap poking through my cargo pants and said, "Ooh yeah. That doesn't belong there."

Suddenly there were 5 paramedics in my kitchen asking what was going on. One took a look at the kitchen and said, "Looks like someone was making cookies."

I told them what happened and they asked for all my information and took my blood pressure, checked my heart rate.

(Side note: after they took my heart rate they asked if I was an athlete because it was so low! How awesome is that?)

They used this metal gurney thing and gradually rotated me on it and put me in the ambulance. The nice EMT asked me if I needed morphine. I was actually feeling ok, and not in a lot of pain and said I would wait until we got to the hospital and they would pop it back in.

Then my adrenaline wore off and we kept hitting all these bumpy potholes in the ambulance drive over and I was moving around, in pain.
"Yeah, I will take the happy juice."

He tried to find a vein for the iv in my left arm, but I always have issues with people finindg a vein for a needle. The ambulance was nice enough to stop to pull over for him to put it in my right arm. The pain subsided a bit and finally we got to the hospital. I waited around in a room, the nurses came and took my blood pressure. The doctor came in and took a look at my knee. I was really not looking forward to him popping it back in because I remembered the pain from the first time. They gave me a nice cocktail of pain medicine and an anti-anxiety drug.

Dennis came to the room and I guess I was saying some silly things to him. This is sorta what I remember:
"Do you have a hair tie in my purse---I need to pull it up because it is going to look big."
"I just ordered a bikini ---looks like getting into shape won't be happening too soon. I wonder if I can return it...no it was super cheap so it is fine to keep it."

The doctor came back to try to pop it back in place. It wasn't going in that easily so he had someone take an x-ray. Turns out not only did it move to the left side, it also shifted up." Dennis gave me his hand to squeeze and I braced myself for the uncomfort of placing the kneecap back in its place.

Then they put this removable brace on me that goes from my upper thigh to my ankle. They gave me cruches and I tried to hobble around but the meds made me a little loopy and unstable. They put me in a wheelchair and Dennis went to go get his car. Somehow we managed to get both me and my crutches in the front seat of his tiny boxter.

So...this pretty much sucks. It is day two and I can't put weight on my foot. Poor Dennis has to be at my beck and call ("can I have some water?" "I need a kleenex." "Can you help me condition my hair."). Going up the stairs is always fun because I basically scoot up each stair on my butt.

I have an appointment with an ortho doc next week. Not sure what this will mean for my training and the rest of the race season. I got pretty upset this morning because I just can't do anything that I want to do. My friends are all facebooking about their workouts and I am just green with envy. It is interesting to compare this time around with when it first happened 17 years ago. My training has helped me immensely with getting around. I don't feel super unstable putting all my weight on one leg because it is actually pretty strong from my crazy workouts. The Thursday morning core workouts also helped with me using those muscles to help me scoot up the stairs.

So, here is where I am...I am bored and going stir crazy, but hopefully the recovery period will be short and I can get back to moving...

Workout Diary Day 1

I have decided to write a daily recap of my workouts going forward. The point of this is to see if I can gauge improvements, pinpoint mistakes, and truly get on the right track for Barb's domination. I am starting with yesterday.

8 am ran a 10k fundraiser for work in Santa Rosa. It was very hilly and I took it easy as I was meeting a friend for long bike ride after. The run didn't feel great and my time was a very blah 1:06.

10:45 biked the Wine Country Century Course with my friend. It sucked. I still need to get my bike fitted after having to replace my seat and handlebars. My form was out of whack and I was getting a weird side stitch from pressing down on my tummy. The ride took forever, and my legs we tired from running 6 miles. Less than 3 months till Barb's. I need to get better on the bike. Ugh.

Today is a rest day. I may do a short run with my niece (1 mile max).

April Events: A Recap

March 28 (technically not April, but blog worthy), El Toro Hike, Morgan Hill: This is the only day of the year El Toro is open to the public to hike. I had hiked it before, but never to the top. It is a great hike, but whooo---eee! The last stretch of the climb has two ropes that you hold on to because it is way steep. My heart rate was maxed out, but I made it to the top and enjoyed lovely panoramic views of Morgan Hill. Going down was a bit challenging. I slipped 5 times, but luckily had a firm grasp on the ropes. I must have looked ridiculous falling in my aqua blue running skirt and "Find Your Happy Pace" t-shirt. Fortunately I didn't take any small children down with me. All in all, a great challenge and way to get out of my comfort zone.

March 29, Training ride for Cinderella: My friend LaRee and I biked 45 miles of the route. I hadn't been on a bike seat in a month, so after two hours I was toast. We biked through Livermore and the wind was brutal! We were going 6 MPH on a FLAT road. Ugh.

April 4, Cinderella Ride: Super duper cold in the morning as we left the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. Lots of people dress up for this ride. Not to toot my own horn, but our costumes were the best. We were ladybugs. Thank goodness for the internet, because you can buy halloween costumes year-round. I had black and red knee high socks, wings, and antenna attached to my helmet. The ride was great and it finally warmed up at the end! Some of the beginner riders need to become a but familiar with the rules of the road (i.e. don't stop suddenly in the street if there are a pack of riders behind you)

April 5, Wildflower 5k: Another fun event in Morgan Hill. I probably could have gone a tad faster, but still recovering from the 63 miles from Cinderella.


April 11, Icebreaker Swim: This was a fun, non-competitive open water swim in Lake Folsom. Brrrr! The water was cold and I forgot how panic-y I can get when I haven't trained in open water. Only swam 1/2 mile---my hardcore friend did the loop twice!

April 12: Biked from my house in Cupertino to parents house in Morgan Hill. Lovely ride except for a punk kid on a mountain bike not letting me pass him on Camden ave. He was struggling up the hill, so I poised myself to pass and then he saw me and went faster. This went on for about 5 minutes. Ugh...egos of teenage boys.

April 18, bike ride in Castro Valley with Team Mermaid and Giant for Women: Super fun and great group of women.

April 19, Bike Uvas tri course with the two Gina's from Mermaid: I am only doing the run for the relay, but any opportunity for a training ride is important for me. One good hill. I love cycling in Morgan Hill

April 25, Mermaid Swim Clinic: good to get back in the open water. Was supposed to go on a bike ride after, but bike was unrideable after being scraped down the freeway.

April 26, Mission City 5k: I did this race with Dennis, and my 11-year-old niece. It was a blast because you get to run through Great America. Dennis did great considering it was his first race ever (very cute how he looked befuddled with putting the bib on). My niece, whom I did Girls on the Run with last year, did fantastic! She yacked towards the end (did the same thing last year, and Aunt Jill even made sure she had breakfast this time!)---but that just makes her more hardcore because she finished strong!

On the radar for May: The Human Race in Sonoma, Uvas relay, and Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras 5k/10k.

On a side note---I miss my bike. :( Hope the parts come in soon!

Triathlon season has begun!

Seriously lagging on the blog. Perhaps I was waiting for an epiphany....like the voice over narration on "The Wonder Years" where adult Kevin Arnold goes discusses a life changing event and starts the monlogue with "and then it happened."

whoa...side note...is "Wonder Years" on dvd? I am so Netflixing that.

Anyways, April has been great and crazy. I raced 2 5ks, hiked a crazy hill, swam in a lake, and biked a little over 150 miles, turned 32, celebrated my one year anniversary in the non-profit world, and---still don't feel strong. Like, sporty strong.

I blame the triathlon training--I keep introducing a different sport while the other sport goes, wait wait, we aren't finished yet. Case in point: I probably have ran max 25 miles in April. Why? Getting back to the biking makes the running less desirable. Add jumping into the pool in the mix, and I totally stress about being slow as molasses in my freestyling.

My solution to all of this is two-fold: get back on to Calendars with Coach Heidi AND join a masters swim program.

Stay tuned for reports for April events. I swear they are coming!

FYI: the above picture of my bike handlebars was taken this weekend. My bike fell off its rack while I was driving, got stuck to the rack and was dragged on the freeway! The bike is ok, but I am out one road bike until the parts come in (seat got destroyed as well). I think I will take the folding bike to my workout tomorrow. That should be interesting.

Mother Nature kicked my bootie.

Today was the first BIG race of 2009: Mermaid half marathon.

It was my slowest 1/2. Ever.

And I am fine with that.

No, really I am.

Admittedly, I did not train well for this race. My training OCD hasn't kicked in yet. I did an 11 mile run a couple weeks ago---but never really got back on track after that.

I woke up this morning, drank my coffee and ate my oatmeal. I looked out the window and it seemed like the sun was coming out for my race. Yea! So much for chance of showers---take that weatherman! It was still chilly looking so I opted for my long sleeve hoodie and running skort with capris. Usually I wear a skort and tank top for a 1/2, but was afraid of the possibly ominous weather.

So, how was the race?

Mother nature kicked my bootie. The race started in Shoreline park in Mountain View at 8:30. I decided that I would listen to my mp3 to help my untrained soul get through the race. I unfortunately forgot to change the battery. 40 seconds into the race it died. I was equipped with my garmin to help me stay on track. I did my first mile faster than antipated: 9:30. I was keeping the pace pretty well until mile 3.

That is when the wind dropped in.

OK, it sucks running against the wind. Like, really sucks. But, I tried to look on the bright side that I will be running with the wind on the way back. The wind was so brutal that I threw my ego out the door and turned off my garmin. I knew this would not be a PR and I didn't want to deal with keeping track of my pace.

So, around mile 5 the trail turned from gravel to dirt. Except, the rain we have had recently turned it into mud. If you don't know how well I run in mud, check out my trail running entry back in January.
Fortunately, the mud wasn't slippery--but it was thick. I wasn't wearing my trail shoes and it caked in my beloved pink asics. My shoes became very heavy and I was running so slow that it felt like those dreams where you try to run but can't move.

After the turn around I ran with the wind for awhile. But then the wind turned violent and into a crosswind. Then the rain started. The prickly, ice cold rain mixed with crosswinds cemeted the fact that this was not going to be my race.

I finally made it to the finish line. I didn't even care what my time was.

A couple hours ago they posted the results, and it was my slowest race ever. But I did a little research and found another 1/2 on April 12th. I think I can redeem myself.

As long as Mother Nature behaves herself.

Long time no blog...

ech...been a very fair weather blogger these days.
Here is a summary of the past few weeks:

1) Ran my first race in 2009. I ran the Jenny's Light 5k the first weekend of March. It was rainy.For some reasons a 5k is almost as tough as a 1/2 marathon. I am not a short distance kind of gal---it takes me a few miles to find my groove. It was a good race for a great cause.

2) Ran the longest run of 2009 last week. I ran 11 miles on the Los Gatos Creek trail last weekend. Weather was gorgeous! Plus, I discovered a new band I like (The Bird and The Bee) and immediately bought the mp3 album from Amazon and ran to some great tunes. I am, however, a pretty slow runner. Oh well.

3) I signed up for a pre-masters swim class. I went to one class and wasn't feeling it. I think I definitely need to figure out how to get faster in the pool. I like the DeAnza classes I have taken in the past, but jumping in the Pool at 6:30 in the morning is not my cup of tea. I am not hardcore like melissa from mermaids who even swims at 6am on Saturdays. Wish I was.

4) My back is better which means one thing---I can do the core torture workouts with Mermaids. Is this a good thing? She had us do squats and jump rope around the track yesterday. It was a great workout, but I am like a little old lady when I get put of my chair right now.

5) I have a 1/2 marathon on March 22. My goal: finish it. I know that is setting the bar low, but I don't want to deal with aiming for PRs right now. This race will be a good gauge to see where I am at.

6) I need to get on my bike. For reals. Maybe ride this Sunday?

7) I think I may do a full marathon in December--the California International Marathon in Sacramento. I already booked my hotel room. Right now I am mulling over how to bounce back from Barb's 1/2 ironman in August to start training for a full marathonin December. Plus, I have to seriously start thinking about my training for barb's.

That is it for now. Toodles.

Get off the couch...

So, I am officially registered for a 5k on March 1st and 1/2 Marathon on March 22nd. Guess it is time to get off the couch and stop blogging about hair and kitty condos and start running.

Yea?