5 weeks left...

I was at my doctor's office today so that she could work on my knee. As we were putting together a plan for me, I realized that my first 1/2 marathon is only 5 weeks away. Yikes! My husband and I plan to run the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (http://monumentalmarathon.com/) on November 6, 2010. I'm trying to take good care of my knee so that I can post a respectable time. I'm so excited and I can hardly wait to run in Indy!

My Feelings about Fall...

I don't like "fall" (or autumn). I also dislike winter and spring. The only season I truly enjoy is summer. Today is the first day of fall and the high temperature will be in the 80's where I live. I love that! I really need to move to the desert so that I can enjoy blazing hot days with cold nights. I tend to be cold, so I don't like cold weather. Cold weather to me is anything under 75 degrees.

There are a few things that make fall more palatable:
Hooded sweatshirts
Chili and other Crock Pot meals
Hot apple cider
Indianapolis Colts Football (when they win games)

I will definitely rely on these things when the weather turns cold. Until then, I will enjoy the lingering summer weather.
What do you love about fall?

Viva Las Vegas!

My husband and I took a short trip this past weekend. As the title suggests, we went to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada! Neither of us had ever been there before. The weather was awesome! It was over 100 degrees outside each day that we were there. We did a whirlwind tour of casinos. We managed to eat at the MGM Grand buffet without stuffing ourselves, view an acrobatic act at Circus Circus, see the dancing fountains at Bellagio, and play some Black Jack. On top of it all, we met up with a good friend and got plenty of sleep.
Overall, I give the trip high ratings. In fact, I had so much fun that I'm trying to convince my family to spend Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. I'm sure that will go over well and I can't wait to go back!

Ready, ready, ready, ready, ready to run...

Remember how I mentioned that I had some pain in my knee? Well, that pain has affected my walk & it forced me to stop running for almost 2 weeks. I went to a doctor (actually, he was a physician's assistant) at our campus health center. To be honest, he made me panic about my knee. He told me to stop running immediately and said that I needed to have an MRI that very night. He was under the impression that my meniscus had been torn. Don't worry, I'll speed up this story.

I got the MRI that night. P.A. called me on the phone & read the MRI report to me. I guess he assumed that I had extensive medical training. The important part was that he wanted me to see an orthopedist as soon as possible.

I saw the orthopedist today (I know you wonder why it took me a week to go. I'm a busy gal.) He watched me walk & moved my knee around some. A short time later, he gave me the news. I beg your pardon for my lack of medical lingo, but essentially my kneecaps suck at being kneecaps. They are loose and irritate the tissue (cartilage?) behind them as they shift around while I'm running. He thinks that I might have surgery when I'm 60, but we can explore that later. His short term strategy was to give me a shot of some sort of steroid in my knee (please also forgive any 'roid rage) & have me take some strong anti-inflammatory medicine. He said that a simple solution is to have me work on strengthening my leg muscles. I start physical therapy on Friday morning.

The good news is that I can start running again next week! Woo hoo! I'm super excited about that. No surgery (yet) and I can hit the road again.

Acupuncture

I have terrible allergies. I consider a good day one in which I can breathe out of one nostril. I've tried shots and medicines, but they get expensive. It's also annoying to be doped up on allergy meds all the time. As a last resort, I decided to try acupuncture. I also need some help with the pain in my left knee. There is a doctor's office right near my house where a Chiropractor & a doctor of Oriental Medicine practice together.

I was only a little nervous when I checked in this morning. I filled out some paperwork, then headed back to Kelly's office. She led me to a room that looked so relaxing. I instantly got tired. After she asked me some questions about my symptoms & dietary habits, she looked at my tongue. Then she felt my pulse on both wrists. After that, it was time to lie down on the table.

She made sure I was comfortable with pillows at my head & below my knees. She shined a heat lamp on my feet (awesome!). Then she felt various points on my body to see where I felt tenderness. Next, she put needles in different areas in my body. She put one in each elbow, one in each leg, one in each ear, and one in each hand. Then she put a needle on each side of my nose (right where I felt sinus pressure). Those were the only needles that actually hurt. I rested for a while, then she came in & removed the needles. She put acupressure nodes in my ears for me to wear until our next appointment.

I'm not yet sure how well the acupunture worked for me, but I am hopeful that I will feel some sinus relief soon. I will definitely keep you posted on how it goes in the next few days.

Guess who's back?

I've had a busy week! Last week was my final week at my internship. It was sad, but wonderful all at the same time. I had lots of goodbye lunches & dinners (including two dinners in one night). I received some fun presents (including Starbucks gift cards). I gave out some IU t-shirts and crowned some "honorary Hoosiers". What I didn't have time for was running, but oh well. I made up for it today.

About two weeks before the internship ended, I found out that I would receive an offer to work at the company full-time after graduation. I loved my summer experience, so this was really great news!

Now that the internship is finished, I've enjoyed spending time with my husband and my dog. I'm looking forward to relaxing this week. I will catch up with some friends and get ready for school to start. Before I can do any of that, I must ice my left knee (which is irritated after this morning's run).

The Long Run

I ran 8 miles today! I never thought I could run so far at once. I proved myself wrong this morning. My husband and I do our long runs on Saturday mornings. As usual, I woke up wanting to stay in bed (we try to go early to get the run out of the way).
After we finished the run, I was so glad I did it. After the third mile, I started to feel a little sluggish. I ate some Gu and kept it moving. I sprinted the last 1/5 mile in order to get it finished. I felt good after running. I've taken a couple of short naps, but that is not unusual for my Saturdays. After today's run, I feel like I might actually be able to run 13.1 miles in November. I officially declare today a "win"!