Three Things Monday

Not because I want to start a new trend, or bite off Three Things Thursday or any reason except it is Monday and I have three things I want to talk about.

1- Through my blogging absence, I kept in touch with a few people that I became friends with outside of blogging world.  Here’s the thing- when you stop blogging, you don’t disappear from life.  Just because  I wasn’t blogging, didn’t mean I wasn’t existing.  Thankfully, a few of my loyal readers (FRIENDS!) realized this and kept in touch.  It was a needed connection between myself and blogging through a really tough time in my life.  And I am very thankful to those who stuck around…and to those who are still here.

One of those people I kept in touch with is Kandi.  We talked a lot about running, injuries and life in general.  Even though most of our conversations were though G-Chat while we were at work, they were so helpful in my recovery.  Kandi was a listening ear when I needed one.  She never belittled what I was going through and when I was ready to get back into running she was super supportive.

Last Friday, I came home to a package in the mail.  A random act of kindness and a simple reminder that someone believed in me.  And it couldn’t have come at a better time.  This package was clearly sent before Jessica passed away but I needed it most when it arrived.  Perfect timing.  And I am so thankful for small gestures and great friendships.

2- I am too young to have friends dying.  And I am pissed off about it.  I lost my friend Jimmy at age 19.  Not a single day goes by without me thinking of him.  I will never get over the heartbreak of losing my first close friend.  My friend Mike died of a heart attack at age 25 (a heart attack at 25!!!) and although we hadn’t talked in a few years other than when we would bump into each other, I was still close with his sister and losing a friend still sucked.   And now Jessica has passed.  She had been sick her whole life; I have never known Jessica to not be sick.  I have always known that Jessica was going to die.  When she informed me that they were taking her off the transplant list because her body couldn’t handle the surgery…I knew what that meant.   The deaths of Jimmy and Mike were sudden.  The pain of losing them was so visceral because there was no chance to say good-bye.  When I left Jessica’s beef and beer in November, I was certain that was our good-bye.  I had hoped to see her again but by Christmas she just wasn’t up to visitors.  I knew I would never see her again.  I was naive enough to think that when the day came I would be prepared.  I wasn’t prepared.

Currently, I have two friends both battling stage 4 lung cancer.  Stage 4.  Ages 30 and 31 respectively.  One of those friends is in the ICU at Penn right now with a very uncertain future.  And I am pissed!  I mean, really…what the hell?!?!  It is too damn young.   This shouldn’t happen at any age, but definitely not at my age.   The sad part is, lung cancer gets VERY LITTLE support.  Every 2.5 minutes someone gets diagnosed with lung cancer.  There will be an estimated 160,000 lung cancer deaths in 2013.  It is a staggering number and more than the total for breast, colon, ovarian, melanoma, brain and leukemia combined.  Much of the reason why the funding is small and the advancements are little is because of the smoking stigma connected to the disease.  Now, I want to tell you this fact: Neither of my friends with Stage 4 Lung Cancer have every smoked a day in their life.  I could go on about this, but I found a great article that articulates it much better than I can.  You can find it here.  If you need a good cry and want to put a face to this disease, watch this video of my friend Will. (The video also features my friend Barb, fighting the same disease.)

3- I have to talk about something good too, because truthfully, not a whole lot feels good these days.  Perspective is everything and I am getting a major dose of it in this last week.  Focusing on my training has been my saving grace.  When I go to ballet class, I feel calm and relaxed.  When I run, I can beat out the emotions on the pavement or treadmill.  I can lose myself in the sweat and the tears of a good workout.  Thank God.

My official half-marathon training started.  I have been building a base for the last month with short runs…and following that 10% rule like it is my job!  In addition to training smart, I am eating smart.   Starting with the day after Christmas, I stopped eating bread and pasta.  And I stopped drinking.  With the exception of a bachelorette party and a few random glasses of wine, I have stuck to that plan.  I haven’t lost much weight but I feel SO MUCH BETTER and I LOOK better.  It is so easy to get caught up with the number on the scale that I forget sometimes it is more about how I look.  Between ballet and my training, I know I am getting back in shape.  My runs are still relatively short, even my “long” ones, but they all feel good.  And damn it feels good to feel good running again!

Three Things Tuesday

I have decided this is my last Three Things Tuesday.  The fact is, I am over it.  I already have a Sunday and Monday weekly post, and I am finding that come Tuesday’s I am really struggling to find three simple things to write about.  I think I would rather use that time to work on longer, more in-depth posts.

So…moving on…I felt an appropriate theme for this weeks Three Things, give it is my last would be…

The last time I…

…updated my blogroll was back in the fall.  I noticed the other day that it was full of blogs that either A- haven’t been updated in months, B- I no longer read and/or C- have moved to new links.  And furthermore, there were so many new blogs I have been wanting to add!  So I bit the bullet, took some time, and finally updated my blogroll this morning on my break!  It feels so nice to be organized and up to date 🙂  Ah, to be so Type-A!

…had the triathlon jitters was in August.  With Black Bear only a few days away, they are starting to set in again!  I am racing the swim portion of a relay.  The water temp as of today is 64*….HOLY COLD!!!  And since it is raining today and supposed to rain tomorrow, my hopes are not high for a warm front to come through and give me warmer water!  And I won’t lie…I am scared to death of getting in the freezing water.  I know I can swim the distance, that is not even a concern…but can I swim it frozen?

…felt truly relaxed was on my vacation to Aruba in 2007.  This time three years ago I was packed and ready for seven days of bliss.  And it was.  And I miss it.  I have been on vacations since, to the shore and mini-weekend ones here and there but I think I am well overdo for a truly relaxed getaway.  Think I need to get planning on that soon!

*Don’t forget, Thursday my Pay-It-Forward give-a-way closes.  Not too many entries so you have a good chance!!!

Three Things Tuesday

1.  I think it is time for a 500 mile club PiF update!  Looks as though I will finally hit 100 miles this week!  Of course I had hoped to hit that mileage back in March but my hip and I weren’t getting along as you all well know by this point.  I’ll be running a mile or tonight and another one tomorrow at PT, so my 5k on Sunday will put me over the 100 mile mark!!!  Are you in the 500 mile club?  If so, how are you doing with your miles?

2.  About a month ago my work put a block on blogs.  But suddenly, and awesomely, the block was removed.  I was thoroughly enjoying this until last Friday when I noticed the block was back on!!!  Oddly, the block is not on all blogs.  It looks as though it affects only those blogs with a pop-up comment screen (blogger, I think).  Even still, I miss my blog-reading breaks big time already and it has only been a few days. 😦

3. Tricia  over at Endurance Isn’t Always Physical, asked her readers to take pledges for better health for National Women’s Health Week from May 9-15.  I decided to give up Ranch Dressing.  I know this is such a simple thing.  You may be thinking how lame this is, but if you knew me IRL, you would know how tough this challenge is for me.  I eat ranch dressing on EVERYTHING.  When I told my co-workers at lunch about this, one asked me “Then what will you eat?” because seriously, I eat ranch dressing on….everything!  And if you have every looked at the nutrients label on a bottle of ranch, you know how absolutely not healthy it is to eat.  So, being that I am a ranch dressing lover, this is going to be tough.  I am hoping that through this challenge I can find other ways to eat the things I usually eat with ranch, and I won’t eat so much of it in the future.  I will never give up ranch completely and light ranch is gross and out of the question, but I know it is one of the superbad things I eat and I would like to cut it down substantially.  Any suggestions for substitutes??  (Note: I don’t really like ketchup and I hate mayo.)  What small thing would be a BIG thing for you to give up?

Three Things Tuesday

This whole post is whiny.  Whiny whiney whiner.  That is your warning interwebs.

1.  I skipped the gym yesterday.  And today.  But I had a very valid reason.  Kids, heed this warning:  do not attempt to carry a full ice cooler for four miles.  You will be in some serious pain.  I know this because I carried a full ice cooler up and down Broad Street and now, I am in so much pain.  Ouch!  So yeah, since I can hardly move my shoulders/neck/arms, swimming has been out of the question.  Hopefully, I will get there tomorrow.

2.  Weekly hip update!  I definitely pissed off my hip on Sunday as well.  That is for sure.  My PT said that she doesn’t think I did any damage and that it is probably just aggrevated.  That is the good news.  The bad news is…no running for five days.  Or biking.  CRAPSTER.  Two steps forward and one step back!  I feel like I am always starting over.  Don’t get me wrong, I am glad it is nothing serious, and I have no intentions of pushing myself into a re-injury, but frig already!!!!  I just want to be better and all I did was get myself five days of unwanted rest and another two weeks of PT.  At least I can swim…if my arms ever decide to work again!

3.  I once again am up in the air about a race.  This time, a 5k.  It is in two weeks and I know I will be prepared, even if I am taking the next five days off.  My PT actually thinks it is a good idea because I need to have a goal in mind.  Of course, I am so not allowed to run it completely…just jog.  My goal is to do the entire 3.1 in 12:00/miles.  And I know I can do it.  Truth is, I am just back and forth because I am afraid.  That is the honest truth.  Onelittletrigirl is being a fraidy cat!

Ack!  These past 10 weeks have been crazy up and down.  And emotional roller coaster for sure! 

Hey 2010, I hope you are listening…I am ready for you to get better.  Now.  Kthanksbye!

Three Things Tuesday

Short and Sweet today!

1.  Thank you ALL so much for your support in regard to my job.  I know that many people have jobs that are in jeopardy and my situation is nothing new.  I also know NJ is only following the footsteps of other states who have already done similar cuts.  But when it hits this close to home…when it is my state, my school, my friends…when it is me, there are no words to describe what that feels like.  The meeting is Thursday.  Hopefully we will know then…otherwise, its two more weeks of waiting.  Fingers crossed…

2.  I have only three more PT sessions before I “graduate” and even though I am so thankful that I had so much help getting better…I cannot wait for it to be over.  PT is an hour from my work, it lasts for an hour and is a half hour from where I live.  I am looking forward to having five hours a week back!

3.  As I said Sunday, I decided not to run/jog/walk Broad Street.  The truth is, I’m just not ready.  The furthest I have ran at one time is 2.5 miles and I just don’t know if I could even walk 10 miles.  The whole reason I was going to participate is because I am so bummed about having already missed two half-marathons but I think it would upset me more to be on the course and have to go so slow.  So no Broad Street for me. 😦

Three Things Tuesday

In keeping with the Boston theme…

1.  Congrats to all the Boston runners yesterday!!!  I watched on free live stream!  I had no idea until that morning that universalsports was going to charge and personally I think that was rude.  The marathon brings in a crapload of money as it is and they did not need to charge.  Luckily, I found a link to CBS that was streaming it and was able to watch!  I also obsessively tracked a bunch of runners and it was so much fun!  I cannot wait for all the race reports!

2.  I know it is 353 days away but I am already excited for my trip to Boston next year to watch the marathon in person!!!  And I am going to run the 5k!  I know some of you are already registered for 2011 and more of you are going for the goal this year.  I already have plans to meet up with some people and again, even though it is a year away, I am so excited!  

3.  Because I was in Boston hype mode all day yesterday, I started googling all things Boston Marathon.  Here are some fun facts:     

• Wheelchair athletes Ernst Van Dyk and Jean Driscoll hold the most Boston Marathon victories.
• There were only 15 runners to start the first Boston Marathon in 1897
• The Boston Marathon began awarding prize money in 1986 and through the 2010 race more than $13.2 million has been awarded in prize and bonus money.
• The all-time record for the world’s largest marathon was established at the centennial race in 1996, when 35,868 finishers out of 36,748 official starters participated in the 100th running of the Boston Marathon. The Centennial Boston Marathon had 38,708 entrants and was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
• In terms of on-site media coverage, the Boston Marathon ranks behind only the Super Bowl as the largest single day sporting event in the world. More than 1,100 media members, representing more than 250 outlets, receive credentials annually.
  

Three Things Tuesday

I lied.  I only have two things.  But as always…my blog, my rules 🙂

MRI results:  There in!!  And I got the greenlight!!!  WOOOOHOOOO!  Here’s the deal:  I can begin to work myself up to running again.  I still have to ease into it; I have to continue the walk/jogging…adding more jogging every time, but my doctor thinks I should be back running within the next two weeks!  He still advised against spinning and pilates for now given the intensity level but I am okay with that.  I can swim, get on the stationary bike or take a leisure bike ride outside and get back to running!  I will finish my PT program which still has four more weeks.  At the end of that four weeks, I should be cleared for everything!  And I will continue to get ART and Graston done to keep my muscles strong even once PT is done.  I never, EVER, want to deal with this injury again!!!  Thanks for all the crossed fingers and toes and all the well wishes!!!

Calling all Boston runners: I am getting so excited for all of you!!  I really wish I was going to cheer everyone on (next year, for sure!) but trust me, I will have it streaming at work and I will be cheering for you from here!  I am putting together a special post for you AWESOME runners, so please…if you are running Boston, let me know!  And don’t forget to tell me your race number so I can follow you 🙂

Three Things Tuesday & Swim Success!

Let the excitement begin… 

Spring clothes are here! I am finally putting away my winter clothes- I love this time of year!  I get so excited to pull out my capris, skirts and short sleeves!  I absolutely am in love with this weather…I have been lounging in my boxers and t-shirts all through Spring break and it has been nothing short of fabulous!

It’s Phillies opening week!  They won their first game yesterday- woohoo!  I am convinced they are taking it all this year…they have the best batting line-up and are going to be unstoppable.  I ❤ me some Phillies 🙂  And to make it even better, the Yankees lost their first game- yipppeeee!

The sun is shining!  Do I need to say more??  So many days of sun and the vitamin D is doing me well 🙂

__________________________________________________________________________________________

And more excitement….

Third swim attempt= success!  I guess the third time is the charm!

I did quite a few leg stretches in the water…my chiro gave me a list of things to work on in the water, sort of like a warm up and I felt great.  For the rest of my swim I used a pull-buoy between my legs so as to not kick too much and focus on my strokes.  I would say the workout was a success!! 

A little story from the pool today:  About half way through my swim, I stopped to take some water and the guy in the lane next to me asked if I had my watch on because the clock in the room was wrong.  I had actually forgotten my watch today and we got talking about the gym, the pool and swimming in general.  His name is Brian and he bikes and swims daily.   Turns out…he is also an amputee.  I didn’t even notice his leg standing there, practically next to me on the side of the pool.  We contiuned to talk about races (he bike races), swimming and how people react/respond to amputees.  We also talked about injuries in general.  He was injured on a rescue mission when he was in the military.   He explained that he has to swim with a mask and snorkel because his balance is thrown off if he bilaterally breathes.  He told me about the doctor who told him “to take it easy and try not to overdo it” and how he decided then that he would not stop living but start living again.    We talked for close to fifteen minutes; normally, I am not one for gym conversation but Brian was so interesting and not the least bit focused on his leg.  It was really inspirational and I feel like maybe the reason I missed my other swims is so that I would be there today to meet Brian.  A little dose of perspective to remind me that it isn’t about the situation you are in, but how you deal with that situation. 

 

 

 

 

In NCAA news.  Duke won.  Cause the officials wanted it that way.  Clearly.  And no, I do not want to talk about!

Three Things Tuesday: Pity Party, Table Of One

I need to vent.

Exercise is my outlet and I barely have that right now and it is making me IN-SANE!  I have been trying to stay positive but it has been six weeks and I am starting to melt down.  There is so much going on in my life, that to have to be so held back in my activity is making me crazy.  Two weeks ago, I cried because I broke two nails and twice this week I cried without even anything actually happening.  For those of you who do not know me…I am not a crier.  And I certainly DO NOT cry over broken nails.  But I did.  I am losing it. 

Most of what is bothering me is the difference between where I was last year in comparison to where I am this year. 

There are Three Things that stand out to me most as far as these differences go:

School-

Then: I was in my sixth semester at RU (first semester as a dual student) taking both undergraduate and graduate courses and had just received notification that I was the recipient of the award from the Arts and Humanities department.  This was a really big deal to me and showed me that my hard work was being noticed.  I carry a 3.65 and I have been on the Dean’s List all but one semester since I started.  I was finally gearing up to graduate in the Spring of 2010 and feeling excited. 

Now: I found out last semester that I am three math credits short of graduating.  The problem is, is that after four tries I am still unable to pass the required class that I need in order to graduate.  I have always been in low math and it seems no matter how hard I try, I cannot pass.  Because of that, I began taking steps to get tested for the learning disability, discalculia.  Wow…what a road that turned out to be.  A lot of meetings and information later, I walked away with pretty much all odds against me.  The state took away the funding for the testing and the process is lengthy.  A friend of mine, who has all the proper credentials, offered to test me but by that time I was just so drained from the process.  Plus, there is always the possibility that they would determine I didn’t have a learning disability.  And that I am just stupid.  All of that combined with the stress of this year led me to take this semester off.  I just didn’t have the energy to care.  And that is so not me. 

Work:

Then: For three seasons I was the softball coach for my middle school.  I absolutely loved it.  I looked forward to it all year and really connected with my girls.  I got the job because they had an opening and no one was willing to do it for small pay.  Look, I would have done it for free, which it basically was when you added up the hours and divided the pay.  The following year, with new contracts came more pay.  And interest in my job as the coach.  But for two more years I held onto it; it was exhausting with practice or games every day and some nights lasting until 7pm or so.  But I loved every second.

Now: Due to some political bullshit stuff I can’t really elaborate on, I was replaced.  I was also crushed.  I found out in the fall but now that the season has started, it is like I am crushed all over again.  Basically, because I am “staff”, teachers have hierarchy over me and since there was a teacher that wanted the job, I got pushed out.  It is so weird not to be a part of the program.  I miss the girls and I miss the game.

Training:

Then: Last March I logged 31 miles running, 123 miles on the bike and 1000 meters in the pool.  I had just begun my first half-marathon training schedule and was only casually training for Triathlon given that my first tri of the season last year wasn’t until July.  I was making great progress, hitting the gym four to five days a week and in great shape.

Now: So far this month I have racked up 3.5 miles on the bike.  I had to bag my March Half-Marathon and I will be bagging my April Half-Marathon as well.  And my May 10-miler will be a walk, not a run.  It is extra depressing because my April half and May 10-miler were the two road races I was most looking forward to this year.  And even though I am back to slowly working out, I can tell I have lost a lot of my fitness.  And I cannot stop eating; I feel like a human garbage disposal and I am for sure putting on the pounds.  Notsomuch how I expected things to be at this point! 

So basically overall, I went from having a really busy schedule to having almost nothing to do.  I am bored.  And I am sad.  And I hate being bored and sad.  I was hoping that my training would fill the void of softball but because I can barely train, all I have is time to think about all the things that don’t seem to be going right for me. 

Hello-Pity Party, table of one.

 

Often people take venting as complaining and I want to be very clear here: I am grateful for my health, my job and my home.  I am in no way trying to gain pity.  Everyone has shit and this is mine.  Holding it all in makes me negative and I don’t want to be a negative person.  I have worked really hard to stay positive but now and then I need to vomit out my anger/frustration!

Three Things Tuesday And The PiF Total!

Yeah, I know it is Wednesday.  But this is my blog and I make the rules :p

First thing-  ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

I celebrate being Irish every day 🙂 but for those of you who can only wish you were Irish and are celebrating today, I wish you a safe and happy celebration!  Celebrating today is getting me excited for this weekend- Shamrock Race and Celebration.  Well, just the celebration for me, but that’s okay! 

In my Q&A last week, Brian asked me a question that fit right in with my Three Things; he asked: 

If you could wake up tomorrow as any one of the following three, which would you pick and give us three reasons why?  1. A top ten female Pro Triathlete 2. A staff writer for Triathlete mag. or Runner’s World 3. A photographer for Ironman or Runner’s World

 To make this fun, I am going to list the reasons I would want to do all three, then tell you which one I would pick and tell you why the other two just wouldn’t work for me.

1. A top ten female Pro Triathlete- How awesome would this be?!?!  I would get to be sponsored, meet other amazing athletes (woo-hoo Chrissie Wellington and Andy Potts!)  and of course make a lot of money 🙂  Additionally, I could live in Colorado, train all day everyday and travel to world racing all the events I have dreamed of racing.  

2. A staff writer for Triathlete mag. or Runner’s World- This would combine my three favorite things…writing, tri-sports and traveling.  Plus, I would get to meet amazing people along the way.  Picking between magazines would be hard; I would want to write for Triathlete because of the diversity in the sports and plethora of information to write about but writing for Runner’s World would be amazing because I would work with Bart Yasso.  Tough call.

3. A photographer for Ironman or Runner’s World- Again, a job like this would give me such an amazing opportunity to travel and meet awesome athletes.  And I would be front and center at the finish line for all the great races!  And again choosing between the two would be tough; photographing the Ironman races would be great, but also limiting whereas being a photographer for Runner’s World would have much more diversity as far as places to capture.

So which one did I choose??  What do you think?

If you said #2, then you were correct!  Of course being a full-time Pro-Athlete would be awesome, but it really isn’t the kind of life I want for myself.  The opportunities and money would be great but I enjoy racing for fun.  And when it comes down to picking between being a writer and photographer, it really isn’t tough for me to choose.  Although taking photos would be fun I think I would get bored because photography is not a passion for me.  Writing  for a tri, running, fitness type magazine is definitely my dream job. 

Which of the three would you pick given the choice?

Now without further adieu…the PiF total for the week!

Miles Dedicated: 248.6

Money Raised: $12.43

Seriously, thank you to those who took the time to leave a comment dedicating their runs.  It feels great to be raising money for such a good cause and I really appreciate you giving me the motivation!  I will definitely keep all of you who gave the effort in mind when you need a helping hand or donation.  Hopefully I will be back and running within the next two or three weeks.  For now, I must continue to live vicariously through all of you 🙂