Post Injection Follow-up

It's been a week since I got my injections and I have to say, the knees are feeling pretty good! It's amazing the difference I can feel within a day or two, walking up and down the stairs is easier and just in general there are less aches and pains, these shots are amazing.

I was pretty much benched last week letting the shots settle in but I did get a few workouts in over the weekend.  Saturday I cranked out 2000m in 40 mins and that felt great! Sunday I didn't have as much wind in my sails but I still managed to knock out a solid swim.  I also ventured out for an easy 45k ride but Mother Nature got cranky and the rain turned me around after 15km so I added about 40 minutes to that on the trainer.

Yesterday I was back at Chiro and I found the sweet spot for my running form. Tonight the trick is remembering how good that felt and what my posture was like when I hit the pavement for my first run.  I met up with a few of the girls for the Masters Swim last night and that was no easy session let me tell you, Drew was definitely making us work but it always feels great after.

It's recovery week this week so it's a little easier overall but it feels great to get back into the full swing of training again, especially with 12 weeks to go, OMG!

Round 2

So the dream team of doctors works fast, I already had my appointment today with the sports MD for the second round of injections.

We doubled up this time and did both knees at once this time now that I'm not a rookie and I know what to expect.  He did the left one first and it was a walk in the park.  Righty on the other hand was a little more stubborn and painful.  He had to work the needle around a bit to get it into just the right place, I'm still cringing as I type this.  I've had a few needles lately and let me tell you, these suckers are the big ones with a lot of fluid getting injected.  I took a few deep breaths and he worked it around and found the sweet spot he was looking for.

It is such a weird feeling, feeling the fluid being injected into my knee.  Afterwards he worked the durolane around just by bending my knees a bit and he mentioned how he can feel the fluid moving around.

The last time I had this done my right leg reacted and it stiffened right up, I was limping around and needed to make an unscheduled stop at the chiro's officer for some relief.  I'm happy to say, as of right now things are feeling pretty good considering.  I'll keep my fingers crossed it stays this way.

I'm back on the bench for the next few days, the Sports MD does a good job of scaring the crap out of me telling me about what can happen should I get an infection.   My other doctor already pared back training for this week in prep of the shots and for after as well to let everything settle into place.  So on that note, I have a couple days off and plan to use them making some new road food snacks and whatever else needs to be done around the house.

2014 Mississauga Half Marathon

I ran the Mississauga Half last weekend, this was my third time running this race and I can say every year has felt like a completely different race.  I went in wanting to beat my time from last year, really who doesn't go into a race wanting to beat their previous time?!   I reminded myself that this year has been very different than last year.  I had some very different motivation pushing me to run my ass off last year, just having come back from the Boston Marathon had left me running for very different reasons last year.  This year I was coming back from dealing with being diagnosed with Osteoarthritis and everything that goes along with it.  So this year was a very different race than last year.

I realized the night before how much I really do love racing. I haven’t participated in a race since my DNF at Ironman last summer. Saturday, as the afternoon was turning into evening I was getting the usual butterflies and pre-race anxiety…I love it!  It makes me feel electric!   On my way to Anna’s house I had the usual race morning brain fog and drove the wrong way to her house…Anna lives 4km away from me and I couldn't remember which the best way to go was! Can you see why at Ironman I stay right next to the starting area?

Anyway, the race was the usual route, I know it and I really like it.  I struggled with the inclines after getting half way up “the big hill” at the 10k point and walked all of them after that point.  It was just too painful.  I knew with that happening beating my time wasn't going to happen but I still wanted to push and get in as fast as I could. 

During the first 10-12 k or so I was trying to keep my form in check but somewhere after the half-way point (where the pictures started) I can see my training went out the window and I was just pushing to get it finished. 

While I finished 14 minutes slower than last year I still had a great race and I can’t wait to go back next year and crush my course record!

On the knee pain front...my dream team of doctors are working on getting me in for round 2 of the injections in the next couple of weeks.  Ironman training really starts to ramp up now so the sooner the better.  

Today we are at the 101 day countdown! It's go time folks!

no words...

It was nearly a year ago that my life changed forever and this is the first time I have written about it.  What was felt, seen and thought when the chaos ensued during the Boston Marathon was different among us six, how this changed all of us is just as different.  

I have yet to find the words that truly describe what I felt and what I thought was going to happen to me that day and honestly I don't even know if they exist. So instead I say, no words can describe what I thought and what I felt that day but what I can say is, there will forever be a special place in my heart for these ladies for only we know what we experienced.  

The Theory of Awesomeness Infographic

Thanks to http://mindvalleyacademy.com for this graphic.

Tonight, the magic happened.

Tonight was one of those nights, one of those nights where all I wanted to do was be done. I ran out of energy at work this afternoon and really the last thing I wanted to do was run 14km on the dreadmill... Oops I meant treadmill. 

I pushed and whined my way through the first 7 miles when I was about to quit. Ok truth be told I was ready to quit before I even started.  I picked up my phone and was about to text a friend and teammate asking how bad it would be to just it a night and quit there.  I stopped for a second and looked up.

It was then that it happened. What happened you ask? My gaze caught something on the other side of the room.  It was only for a moment but that was all it took.  What was it I saw that gave me what I needed to finish? It was my bib from my Ironman race last year. Seeing that bib, hanging in the place I had made for my medal reminded me that no matter how much discomfort I felt at that moment,  it couldn't come close to comparing what it felt like to not finish my race. Who knew a piece of paper could be so powerful!

not making the same mistakes twice

I changed up my training style somewhat this year and it's been going well.  I am getting into the 3/1 schedule with 3 weeks of building up the distance and intensity and followed by a week of recovery workouts. I find the recovery week very helpful and I really look forward to it during week 3 of the build.  It gives me the physical and mental rest required for the amount of training I'm doing.  This year I also moved my rest day to Monday and that also makes me very happy because do you know what today is? Mhmmm, it's Monday!

I'm also continuing with my lessons learned from 2013 and keeping up with strength training, not always as much as I should be but I'm working on it each week.  And now that I know how to read my program properly it really only takes 30 minutes to get through.  

my husbands dairy
 and gluten filled pizza pie

my almond flour
vegan cheese pizza

Another lesson or goal I have for this year is to enjoy training more and I am. This year I am making more time for socializing where I can but also keeping the balance of ensuring my workouts come first and sometimes that means having to say no and that's not always easy.

I'm also learning to fuel myself differently this year. I have been working with a Naturalpath and so far I am off gluten, dairy and grains...ya...that's right all three.  I have been getting creative in the kitchen or at least creative with the recipes I am working with these days.  Ever had almond flour vegan cheese pizza? Nope neither had I until a few weeks ago.  I won't lie, it has been challenging at times and I seriously have been missing breads, crackers, pretzels and white potatoes but I get to learn about a whole new variety of food and try things I would never have dreamed up eating before. 

Which pizza would you rather eat?  On second thought, don't answer that!