Friday, April 17, 2015
Dreary day indoors turned into a Sunny commute
The hubs took my older son to school this morning, so my younger son and I stayed home all morning. The day was cool and rainy, so a good day to catch up on house work and building magnatile towers! For the pick up routine, I walked 3 miles, 1 of which was running. Everything is still all good, but after a week of increasing my walking/running my body is tired. I have plenty of school work to keep me seated all weekend :/...
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Short Hand
Until my running picks up, my posts are turning into short hand. I walked 4.4 mi today, but decided not to run any. Back and foot are still feeling pretty good.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
The Walking is Working
Today I again did the majority if my commuting by foot and walked 6.75 miles, with about a mile run in between. The slight bit of running has felt pretty good on my back and foot - I am keeping it slow and steady.
Monday, April 13, 2015
False Start
So the New Years Day run was, predictably, a false start. My back was just not ready for running, even half a mile. I have continued PT for my back and have seen significant improvement. I am not back to 100%, but with the emergence of Spring I am feeling the itch to get running (slowly!).
My kids were on Spring break last week, and before that my mom was in town for a couple of weeks helping me out, so I have had a lot of good rest time for my back. I have also been doing my prescribed stretches, which helps enormously.
Living Uptown for a year now, I indescribably LOATHE hauling my kids in and out the subway. It is the WORST. It's been a long Winter of bumping the stroller up and down the stairs, and commuting an average of 4 hours per school day from Uptown. Enough is enough. With the Spring weather and my back improving, I decided after Spring break that I would be doing a whole lot more of my commuting by foot. Sadly, because MTA is so unreliable, I only have to leave our apartment 10-20 min earlier than if I take the subway or bus.
Today, I did take the subway down for my older son's drop off, but I walked up to my younger son's school drop off, then walked down and back to a dentist appointment. After taking a quick ride home, I walked 2.5 miles (with about a mile job in there) back for school pick up, then walked up to the Columbia campus to play with the kiddos. I walked 9 miles today, including the 1 mile run! My back held out and I felt great to have accomplished some much needed exercise, 16 months after my initial injury!
My kids were on Spring break last week, and before that my mom was in town for a couple of weeks helping me out, so I have had a lot of good rest time for my back. I have also been doing my prescribed stretches, which helps enormously.
Living Uptown for a year now, I indescribably LOATHE hauling my kids in and out the subway. It is the WORST. It's been a long Winter of bumping the stroller up and down the stairs, and commuting an average of 4 hours per school day from Uptown. Enough is enough. With the Spring weather and my back improving, I decided after Spring break that I would be doing a whole lot more of my commuting by foot. Sadly, because MTA is so unreliable, I only have to leave our apartment 10-20 min earlier than if I take the subway or bus.
Today, I did take the subway down for my older son's drop off, but I walked up to my younger son's school drop off, then walked down and back to a dentist appointment. After taking a quick ride home, I walked 2.5 miles (with about a mile job in there) back for school pick up, then walked up to the Columbia campus to play with the kiddos. I walked 9 miles today, including the 1 mile run! My back held out and I felt great to have accomplished some much needed exercise, 16 months after my initial injury!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
From Scratch
Today I am starting from nothing. I have zero fitness, not to mention about eight extra pounds. I have not run consistently in about 14 months. My foot is completely healed, and while I am still in PT for my back, I think if I start slow enough I can begin building up my running again. Not running, or racing, for this long is killing me, so here I am on the first day of the New Year (trite, isn't it?) ready to start from scratch.
This afternoon, the hubs and I took the two boys out to the track across the street. I ran exactly TWO LAPS. That's it. I walked one lap afterwards, stretched a bit, and walked back home. It felt slow, awkward even, and it was really cold and windy. So not exactly ideal for starting back running, but it is a start. I plan to take it really slow. The .50 mile today, maybe another in a day or two, etc. Stay tuned.
This afternoon, the hubs and I took the two boys out to the track across the street. I ran exactly TWO LAPS. That's it. I walked one lap afterwards, stretched a bit, and walked back home. It felt slow, awkward even, and it was really cold and windy. So not exactly ideal for starting back running, but it is a start. I plan to take it really slow. The .50 mile today, maybe another in a day or two, etc. Stay tuned.
Aaaaaand I'm back (sort of)
So it's been over two years since my last post. A lot can happen in two years. Let me offer the briefest recap I can:
- Two years ago I was living in Colorado and learning to run with my boys while figuring out life in a totally new environment
- In March 2013 I had a mental breakdown and began seeing two therapists, one of which put me on anti-anxiety and anti-depression medication
- In April 2013 I began running more regularly when I found a running partner who also has 2 young boys
- I quasi-trained for the Bolder Boulder 10K, which I completed in May 2013 at just over an hour (abysmal performance). There is a good reason this race is called the "bolder" boulder, it's frickin' hard. Also little did I know this would be my last race for a very long time
- Over the summer of 2013 I ran a lot with my running partner and started to get back into shape - I considered training for a half in the Fall
- At the end of July 2013 my running partner moved away - SAD - but I managed to keep my weekly mileage at about 15 and slowly began to lower my pace. Also, my lingering issues with a late diagnosed diastisis recti were finally getting resolved.
- In August 2013 I started a rigorous, 13 credit hour semester in an attempt to the finish off the prerequisites for a career change/graduate degree - Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at Columbia University (Teachers College). At this time, the hubs and I also had decided to move back East to be near family, particularly since his dad was battling cancer and would be receiving treatments in NYC every two weeks, giving us and our kiddos a chance to see him more (after spending a significant amount of time and money trekking across the country to make visits); we arranged to extend our lease by 6 months to accommodate a Feb 1 move back East.
- In November 2013 I broke my foot (badly, in two places) playing a game of blob tag with our junior high youth group at church. I had surgery to put a plate and 5 screws in my right 5th metatarsal. I was told I would have an 8 week recovery and be back to running shortly into the New Year
- The breaking of my foot and everything in my life that fell apart as a result of it led me into a deep depression - my psychiatrist diagnosed me as "passively suicidal"
- I was in a wheelchair for two weeks and on crutches until mid-January
- On top of everything else, the Christmas season brought the passing of my father-in-law and a lot of other family drama, and my husband's job, the reason we moved to CO, was clearly not working (and had not been for a while)
- In January 2014, my husband resigned from his job (after taking medical leave to take care of me and the boys while I was in a wheel chair) and we prepared to move back to New York City when our lease was up in February 2014.
- On February 1st we moved our family back across the country, in an arctic tundra, back to New York. My foot was technically healed, but I was still wearing the orthopedic boot and in a lot of pain
- Back in the city we found a temporary, one-bedroom apartment on airBnB to live for a couple of months while we looked for a new apartment and while my husband looked for a job - meanwhile I had to find a new orthopedic surgeon because my foot hurt so much I still could not wear regular shoes
- In March 2014 my back went out, after months in the orthopedic boot which caused an altered gait and a general unevenness that resulted in a pretty bad misalignment of my hips as well as a sprain of my sacro-iliac joint (massive lower back pain in other words)
- In April 2014 we moved into another apartment, but it was still a sublease, for one year, so we will have to move again. Also I had food poisoning for the first 8 days we lived here
- In May 2014 I had a second surgery on my foot to remove the hardware that was coming out of the bone and causing a lot of pain. I walked with a cane for about 4 weeks
- In July 2014 I finally was able to wear (most) regular shoes and began PT on my foot. My back continued to hurt and I saw the chiropractor for it regularly
- The Summer of 2014 also brought a new walking partner, still not running but able to walk a few miles to the playground and back
- In September 2014 I began my first semester at Columbia in my new graduate program
- In October 2014 I tried to go on my first run in nearly a year, about 2.5 miles at a 10+ min/mi pace. I paid dearly for this mistake. My back went out so badly I could not walk and my husband had to take a day off from work to care for our kids and take me to the doctor
- In November 2014 I decided I would not try to run anymore this year, resting and re-cooperating my back until the New Year. November 17, the one year anniversary of the initial break, was a hard day for me. I have never gone this long in my life (since I started running) without running, even during and after pregnancy with both kiddos
- In December 2014 I decided to go to a physical therapist for my back, which still consistently bothers me. For three weeks I went twice a week getting adjustments, physical therapy, injections, muscle relaxers and electro-stimulation therapy.
- Today, I started running again.
The End ... and The Beginning.
- Two years ago I was living in Colorado and learning to run with my boys while figuring out life in a totally new environment
- In March 2013 I had a mental breakdown and began seeing two therapists, one of which put me on anti-anxiety and anti-depression medication
- In April 2013 I began running more regularly when I found a running partner who also has 2 young boys
- I quasi-trained for the Bolder Boulder 10K, which I completed in May 2013 at just over an hour (abysmal performance). There is a good reason this race is called the "bolder" boulder, it's frickin' hard. Also little did I know this would be my last race for a very long time
- Over the summer of 2013 I ran a lot with my running partner and started to get back into shape - I considered training for a half in the Fall
- At the end of July 2013 my running partner moved away - SAD - but I managed to keep my weekly mileage at about 15 and slowly began to lower my pace. Also, my lingering issues with a late diagnosed diastisis recti were finally getting resolved.
- In August 2013 I started a rigorous, 13 credit hour semester in an attempt to the finish off the prerequisites for a career change/graduate degree - Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at Columbia University (Teachers College). At this time, the hubs and I also had decided to move back East to be near family, particularly since his dad was battling cancer and would be receiving treatments in NYC every two weeks, giving us and our kiddos a chance to see him more (after spending a significant amount of time and money trekking across the country to make visits); we arranged to extend our lease by 6 months to accommodate a Feb 1 move back East.
- In November 2013 I broke my foot (badly, in two places) playing a game of blob tag with our junior high youth group at church. I had surgery to put a plate and 5 screws in my right 5th metatarsal. I was told I would have an 8 week recovery and be back to running shortly into the New Year
- The breaking of my foot and everything in my life that fell apart as a result of it led me into a deep depression - my psychiatrist diagnosed me as "passively suicidal"
- I was in a wheelchair for two weeks and on crutches until mid-January
- On top of everything else, the Christmas season brought the passing of my father-in-law and a lot of other family drama, and my husband's job, the reason we moved to CO, was clearly not working (and had not been for a while)
- In January 2014, my husband resigned from his job (after taking medical leave to take care of me and the boys while I was in a wheel chair) and we prepared to move back to New York City when our lease was up in February 2014.
- On February 1st we moved our family back across the country, in an arctic tundra, back to New York. My foot was technically healed, but I was still wearing the orthopedic boot and in a lot of pain
- Back in the city we found a temporary, one-bedroom apartment on airBnB to live for a couple of months while we looked for a new apartment and while my husband looked for a job - meanwhile I had to find a new orthopedic surgeon because my foot hurt so much I still could not wear regular shoes
- In March 2014 my back went out, after months in the orthopedic boot which caused an altered gait and a general unevenness that resulted in a pretty bad misalignment of my hips as well as a sprain of my sacro-iliac joint (massive lower back pain in other words)
- In April 2014 we moved into another apartment, but it was still a sublease, for one year, so we will have to move again. Also I had food poisoning for the first 8 days we lived here
- In May 2014 I had a second surgery on my foot to remove the hardware that was coming out of the bone and causing a lot of pain. I walked with a cane for about 4 weeks
- In July 2014 I finally was able to wear (most) regular shoes and began PT on my foot. My back continued to hurt and I saw the chiropractor for it regularly
- The Summer of 2014 also brought a new walking partner, still not running but able to walk a few miles to the playground and back
- In September 2014 I began my first semester at Columbia in my new graduate program
- In October 2014 I tried to go on my first run in nearly a year, about 2.5 miles at a 10+ min/mi pace. I paid dearly for this mistake. My back went out so badly I could not walk and my husband had to take a day off from work to care for our kids and take me to the doctor
- In November 2014 I decided I would not try to run anymore this year, resting and re-cooperating my back until the New Year. November 17, the one year anniversary of the initial break, was a hard day for me. I have never gone this long in my life (since I started running) without running, even during and after pregnancy with both kiddos
- In December 2014 I decided to go to a physical therapist for my back, which still consistently bothers me. For three weeks I went twice a week getting adjustments, physical therapy, injections, muscle relaxers and electro-stimulation therapy.
- Today, I started running again.
The End ... and The Beginning.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Surprising 4+ Today
Determined to not only get on a regular running schedule but also resolve to use the rec center membership we're paying for and the get the boys and I OUT of the house, I decided to just run to the rec center! It's pretty close, right? So I loaded up the boys and set out, dropped the boys at the childcare upon arrival, ran an easy 2 miles on the treadmill (well it didn't really feel that easy, but it was a 10:30/mi pace so whatev), then picked up the boys and ran home. Wow, I was really tired, I mean I know pushing a 20# stroller with 60+ # of kids in it is hard work but it really was taxing. I didn't realize the rec center was 1 1/4 miles away until I got home and mapped it out, so in total I ran 4.5 miles! Nice.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Bad Mood Yields Good Run
I was in a foul mood this afternoon for a multitude of reasons, and not wanting to for us all to be miserable for the rest of the afternoon my husband suggested that we get outside. Fine. I'll go. But I am getting something out of it, we're running (still begrudgingly though). So we set off with no particular destination and before we knew it we were in the little downtown area in our neighborhood. We stopped and let the kids look at the Christmas tree and let the 3 year old walk around a bit. It was getting close to dinner time too, so I suggested we run home and try this new little Italian place near our home. Honestly I was not up for the dinner time struggle of getting our three year old to eat his dinner that is a daily occurrence in our house. So off we went to Mici. It was such a pleasant time, I was really surprised. The family owned place had delicious food, reasonable prices, a great atmosphere for kids, and the boys loved the food ad both ate good dinners. Score! It totally turned our day around, and I got about 2.7 miles in!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Swim Class
Attempted the whole two birds, one stone thing this morning by running my kids to swim class, one in the jogger one on his bike. It was a DISASTER. I got maybe 2 miles of running/walking/stopping. Never again :(
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Lame Two Miler
The hubs asked if I wanted to go out on a quick run with the boys this evening. Quick indeed, I just was not feeling it. So after 2 miles we called it. Oh well, 2 miles is 2 miles I guess.
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