Sunday, December 30, 2007

...and a Happy New Year!

I hope everyone's holiday was as good as mine. There is nothing better than spending a few good days in a festive mood, laughing, eating and drinking all you want with the people you love the most. Oh yeah, and the whole "presents" thing is pretty cool too.

Since so much has happened in the last couple of weeks, and we all know how much I love making lists and taking pictures, here is the lowdown on Christmas/08.

First and foremost, the Friday before Christmas MY BROTHER CAME HOME FROM IRAQ!!!!

It was a few weeks earlier than they had planned and it made a great Christmas gift for all of us, but mostly for him, his wife and their three kids. YAY! Best gift EVA!

Here we are at Christmas, oh, about 27-28 years ago.
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Then a few days before Christmas, J's parents came to visit. I am very lucky in the in-law department. They are the easiest house guests ever and we love having them around.
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After driving up to stay with my parent's, we all went to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.
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Here we are keeping ourselves entertained during intermission.
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Can you believe all these gifts are for six adults?
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We ate an impressive Christmas Eve feast. My mom makes the best Christmas Eve dinners and this one didn't disappoint. The potatoes were insane.
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I got to see my Godson Hamish again on Christmas. He was sporting the spiffy new bib I got him a few weeks earlier.
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He wasn't the only tired one from all the Christmas hoopla. Zero was pretty exhausted too.
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Apparently I was good this year because Santa (Jeremy) treated me very well and surprised me with a shiny new Michael Kors bag!
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Since I have never spent more than $75 on a purse in my life I am constantly scared I am going to accidentally drop it in a puddle of mud (even though it hasn't rained here in weeks) or spill coffee on it's shiny camel-colored skin. So I used a gift card and some extra money from a few gifts I had to return to pick up another bag. I saw this Lucky Bag before Christmas that is equally as awesome, yet much less expensive. This way, I wont ruin the first bag with my everyday klutziness. Yay, TWO new bags for Christmas!

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As far as running goes, there hasn't been much of that in the past few weeks. This morning Jeremy and I went to South Beach and walked a 4 mile stretch up the boardwalk and back for a nice, fast 8 mile walk. That was the most mileage I have done since the Columbus Marathon in October.
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I spent the week before Christmas going to the gym a lot. This is the one good thing about not being able to run, I have been forced to start lifting again on a regular basis which is nice and much needed. I have also been stretching a lot which has been helping a little. Of course the week of Christmas, with the inlaws coming in and driving us all up to my parents house, I got no workouts in. Unless you count uncorking countless wine bottles from our celebratory drinking and washing dishes from the 5 million times we ate as working out. Needless to say, I haven't stepped on a scale in over 2 weeks. Oh well.

The good news however is that I found out from my doctor that the MRI resulted in no lower back problems. So Friday I decided to try running a slow three miles to see how I felt. Once again at mile 2-2.5 the tightness in my leg got so bad that the knee just had no support and basically gave out. I did run a bit slower this time though and took two minute walk breaks instead of one, which helped it to be a bit less excruciating when I was done.

That afternoon I went to see a PT. She was amazing and after evaluating me told me I have a pretty badly inflamed IT band, a bit of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and REALLY tight quad muscles that need to be stretched (which was probably causing a lot of my problems). After giving me an ultrasound and an IT band massage that almost had me crying on her table she said three things that really excited me.

1. She told me to keep running. She said I just need to go slow and stop as soon as the pain starts, three times a week, every other day. If I don't run, then start again, the pain will just come back.

2. She said it's probably easily treatable with more massage, heat and some serious stretching.

3. She said there is still a chance I could run at least the half in Miami.

WOO-HOOO!

I am trying not to get my hopes up too high, but we will see.

As much as I loved this woman there was one catch. She didn't take my insurance. And even with my Footworks Marathon leader discount, (she was recommended by the person who runs our running group) it was still $100 bucks a visit and she wanted to see me twice a week for at least a month. So I thanked her for making me writhe in pain, paid my hundred bucks and made an appointment for another PT this Wednesday. Hopefully, he will be as positive and as effective as this woman was and I will be out there running soon.

Until then, it's another day at the gym tomorrow and maybe a slow 2-3 mile run on New Years Day if I don't celebrate too much the night before.

Happy New Years everyone!

12 comments:

Jess said...

I have had that kind of IT band massage -- and while it hurts, it does help loosen it up. I've suffered IT pain in both legs, and the best advice I can give is this: strength train and stretch.

IT strain often results from weak muscles in the butt, and upper thigh, so if your PT recommends specific strength training exercises, do them regularly. And there are tons of stretches out there for the IT, so do those as well. And she is right about the running. If you've rested for a few weeks, the running will be a little stiff, but go like 2 miles every other day, and slowly, it will feel better. Recovery is a slow process, but you'll get there!

Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday -- love the two new bags!

Sonia said...

That's a lot of GREAT news for your knee/It bands problems!! I'm really happy for you! It would be great to see you run in Miami!

Your godson has the cutest smile ever! And Zero is soooooo cute! Being with your family is truly the best, its great your brother came back to surprise everyone!

Wishing you a great running year for 2009 =)

Sonia said...

hahaha I think I wrote 2009... I guess I'd like to skip 2008 since I'm defending my Ph.D.! lol

Marcy said...

OMG HOW CUTE are you and your brother! Who would have known at that age you'd be such a hell raiser :P

Love, love, the Kors bag! It's bee-utiful! Awesome chica! I'm like you. Generally speaking I don't go crazy with the purses. Kids = disaster LMAO! You don't even want to know what kind of nasty stuff has been in my purses HAHA!

Looking good witht he recovery! ;D Here's to a healthy happy 2008!!

Dori said...

I'm so glad your bro got home safely! Loved all the pictures--especially the Rockettes! Good luck with your recovery. Happy New Year!

P.O.M. said...

LOVE the M.C. bag. I have one similar, but last year's style.

So glad for you that you can get out running again. I love P.T.'s - well not when I'm there. You know what I mean!?

Jason The Running Man said...

Run, run and more running! Happy New Year and great pics!

Michelle said...

Sorry about your leg problems. Having pain while running sucks so much!! I remember this time last year my hips hurt so badly that they felt like they were breaking every time I took a step after a run. Thank goodness for chiropractors!

Looks like you had an awesome Christmas! Love the retro pic of you and your bro. Makes me think of my childhood....

My Life said...

Yay for a healing in sight! I am so sorry you've been out with pain! Sucksss... just curious -what did she say about the heat? (how often, how long?).

As always, I love all your pictures. Lucky you for easy in-laws! And yay for Christmas purses!!

zanne said...

oh! so much to say ... first of all, happy new year, laurel! i'm glad we found each others' blogs -
great news from the very spendy PT! - those tight muscles can wreak havok on other things, and you start getting all sorts of referred pain. do you have a foam roller? if not, you should think about getting one - you can lie on it sideways & massage your IT band in between appointments. i ditto what jess says - do all the exercises she gives you - they always help! and you gotta love someone who says 'keep running'!! go slow - it takes a while, be patient - you'll get back to your old self soon enough.

great news about your brother - had no idea ... what a blessing to have him home safe and sound!

now - that last pic? that one of the lush greenery, the stunning blue water & clear sunny sky? i am so envious of your running route right now!!! will just live vicariously through you!!!

Lori said...

That is awesome news! Hopefully the new PT will be just as good and your insurance will cover it. $100 a pop is hard to swallow.

Your Christmas sounds like it was just perfect! I am so happy for your family that your brother got to come home early. It is always nice to hear about a surprise instead of a delay, like they normally are :)

Unknown said...

Happpppppy New Year !!!! I love the pictures. Great pix!!! Good luck with your recovery. Go nice and slowly and I am convinced you will do just GREAT. Thanks for sharing!!!

 
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