Marathon Mom

2015 was a year that can be summed up in a few words: injury, recovery, new beginnings and focus. The year began by continuing to deny a hamstring injury and running an awful marathon only to finally recover and move on! We travled, I graduated, O started kindergarten, we ran, new friends came into our lives and I started to realize more about me, my family and my goals in life. So how did my goals go? Well without too much looking I can say they lacked completion but I met other nonstated goals. Saw this today and seems very fitting as I look back on 2015 and realize a lot has happened and it has made me focus on where I want to go in 2016 and beyond. Fitness Goals Sub 3:30 marathon (okay actually 3:15 is what I really want): Not even close, I ran my comeback race in 3:37 with no speedwork and knew this goal was out. But I did finish marathons 27 and 28 and checked another state off my list. Run 2015 miles: Fell short on this thanks to time off for injury, hitting 1867 m...

Merry Christmas, I hope everyone is enjoying the day and finding time to relax. I actually got to sleep in a little, 6:15 wake from an excited 5 yo ready to open presents. I got my great present early when Matt got me a brand new upgraded Kitchen-Aid professional mixer to match our new kitchen appliances. Of course lots of cookie and bread baking to try it all out. Nothing better than Christmas morning run with friends and of course my 4 legged running buddy! Merry Christmas!

This weekend was less than great for me as a runner! Saturday weather returned me to the reality of what winter can bring. I woke with wind chills below 0 and had to cancel on meeting my friends, meaning my long run was relocated inside to the treadmill. As a runner with Raynaud's anything this cold is miserable! Heck I pull out the hand warmers for much warmer than that. For some reason my hands and feet seem to be less happy with cold each year, a part of aging maybe? Who knows but I am really close to talking with my doctor about meds to deal with this. I already take magnesium and Vit B and the only other fix of moving to warm a climate is out! 18 very long, less than fun miles with a tight leg. Luckily I have Netflix to distract so what better time for junk TV! The Secret Life of The American Teenager was my distraction. Any other shows I should check out for future runs? Fast forward to Sunday and guess what...after only 6 days the cyst behind my knee returned 😫 Are ...

Anyone else having a hard time believing that Christmas is in 1 week?! Seriously where did the time go and how will I get everything done? We hit the dep freeze here and had a day of light snow, then rain so now just cold and nasty! I’m sure everyone knows how much I hate cold weather so this is not making me happy, just reminding myself that in 1 month I will be enjoying sun, warmth and the beach J Source Started the weekend with a long, early run. I’m glad I have such crazy friends to convince me a 6am start will be fun on a December Saturday! 16 hilly miles done with great conversation at 8:26 avg pace! Then it the weekend was all about holiday fun: we saw the Nutcracker with friends, Saturday was Santa games at the gym and then Charlie Brown Christmas followed by finally decorating the tree. We are hosting Christmas Eve and doing an appetizer type dinner, my favorite! So far the plan for my vegan/gluten free/healthy meal is… vegan 7 layer tip hummus and ve...

Monday was the day I said goodbye to my lovely knee cyst (at least for now)! I met with one of the two local doctors I was referred to for this, tough area to aspirate and multiple complications if not done correctly so my ortho was only okay with two people, luckily one was at my work! First he did an ultrasound to look for any other potential issues and find out locations of important structures in relation to my cyst. The popliteal artery was 3 cm away so we were safe. He saw a connection to the join space but no other injury. So again, no idea why this happened! Next came the fun of draining! Luckily he injected the lidocaine first which was less than pleasant, Ouch! Then pulled off this...Nice clear joint fluid I have a 50/50 chance of this thing returning. Next time he will further scar the cystic sac to hopefully prevent more recurrence. For now I am in compression all the time and need to avoid any anti-inflammatory meds to help scarring. Luckily I have a collection of...

What happened to the days when sleeping in meant 9 or 10am or even later? Not 5:45 like today, which truly is sleeping in for me. So here I am relaxing as much as one can while trying to get a 5 year old out the in the midst of a kitchen in the middle of installing new appliances, filled with boxes and tools! I sit here and think about what's been happening and the good of the week in the midst of chaos and frustrations... 1) Warm Weather! Okay so you southerners may not agree that the 40s we have now is warm but for us midwesterners this is tropical in December. I ran yesterday afternoon in shorts! Talk about a mental run and something I needed, smiling the entire time. We got in on the trails that are typically snow covered and closed long before now and Cooper experienced his first deer sighting. No Snow! 2) The New UCAN Cinnamon Swirl Bar! You all know I love UCAN and while I ate the PB Chocolate Bar and like it, I wouldn't rave about it because I am one of those we...

Since last winter/spring I've been dealing with this weird mass that would come and go behind my left knee. In the beginning it never hurt, it was just odd and on occasion it came with a pressure. It went away much of the summer until August when it pretty much decided to make home behind my knee expanding and shrinking just to keep me guessing if it would be gone! Source I started my research and decided it must be a Baker's Cyst but how? These are usually associated with a meniscus tear, but I have no knee pain other than some mild aches sometimes after a long run. As I started back to marathon training I decided it was time to deal with this and know if there was an underlying issue. On one of the rare not busy days at work a couple weeks ago I headed over to talk with the ortho PA. On exam my medial line was mildly tender and some laxity. Then he noticed the large scar on my knee from last winter's fall. Remember my lovely long run in Mexico .. Unable to stra...