Monday "Dress-in"

A month plus of no running, and no biking, and plenty of couch time with the Real Housewives of Jersey, means a couple of things: lack of post-race endorphins; bragging rights after a 4 hour bike ride, the warmth of camaraderie amongst training buddies.

It also means one other thing: tight clothes.

I am having some issues with my summer clothes that have zippers. Some zip up, but am dangerously close to muffin top, while others get stuck half way up my back.

Pretty depressing.

So, since I am not training for anything right now, maybe I should start training for a new thing: "Jill can't afford new clothes right now." So, it is really time to buckle down and get control of the food thing, especially since I am not burning as many calories pre-knee incident.

I have always struggled with the food thing. Weight Watchers was the most successful for me, but lately whenever I rejoin I just find those meetings brutal. I am more kumbaya when training with my workout buddies, not sitting around a circle listening to people drone on about apple slices and stuff. It is just a lot to deal with after work.

I think the reason weight watchers worked for me was it made me accountable for what I ate because I had to write things down and keep track of points. So, what I am going to do now is focus on the calorie intake. It seems to lose weight, 1600 calories a day is where I should aim. I am starting today: writing down what I eat and keeping track of fat, protein, and fiber. I am also trying to figure what to eat to make me stay full and satisfied so I don't fall off the wagon.

I am also NOT going to weigh myself. I just don't feel like dealing with those numbers. So, each Monday I will do a "dress-in." I will try on the same dress to see how it fits as the weeks go by.

So far the day started out pretty good. I made an eggwhite zuchhini omelet, and had a no-sugar added carnation instant breakfast. 233 calories, 7.5 grams of fat, 21 grams of protetin, and 5 grams of fiber.

This is going to be a long day...

I miss running.

Like, a lot.

new plan...

Physical therapy is going well, though not able to do one full pedal stroke on the stationary bike. This made me swallow my pride and decide that Aquabike is not happening. And maybe no other races are happening this year.

Kinda sucks.

But I have a new plan.

It's time for a vacay.

So, instead of spending my money on race entry fees (ranging from $25 to $200!), hotel fees, and post-race beers---it will go towards a much needed vacation with Dennis.

I just booked a 4 day all inclusive trip to cancun for our 3rd anniversary in September. Yea!

I may still go up the day of Vineman so I can cheer all my fellow Mermaids on at the finish. They are going to rock it.

knee update #1

Bad news: knee still has issues.
Good news: am off crutches.

I spent last week on crutches and it was brutal. I seriously got winded walking from the porch to my car. At least I could drive!

I went to an orthopedic surgeon on Friday. I got xrays of my knees, a new brace made of neoprene, and a prescription for physical therapy. My appointment is tomorrow, so we will see how that goes.

Yesterday was my first full day with the new brace and I decided to go swimming (arms only). I did 10 laps and felt pretty good. Today I did 40 laps. Dennis said that maybe I will come out of this a better swimmer. Could be nice.

It is definitely weird not being able to bend my left knee when I walk--I kinda feel like Kevin Spacey as Caiser Sozee (sp?) on The Usual Suspects. It is definitely weird not being able to walk fast through the grocery store. But, it was nice being able to go grocery shopping and even get ready to make dinner tonight.

I am hoping for a good prognosis tomorrow---like, with enough physical therapy I can do the aquabike at vineman in August.

We shall see...

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!