I'm feeling a little Latino....

Not really... but totally in the mood for some good Mexican and a good margarita...

Check out the Guac recipe :

Guac'nRoll!
	We KNOW guacamole, people. And we are POSITIVE you're gonna FLIP over this stuff! (Pssst... we recommend dipping cut veggies and baked tortilla chips in it!) Ingredients: One 15-oz. can early/young peas, drained 1/2 cup mashed avocado (about 1 medium-small avocado's worth) 1/3 cup chopped cherry or grape tomatoes 1/4 cup finely chopped onions 1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt 4 tsp. lime juice 1/2 tsp. chopped garlic 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1/8 tsp. cumin 1/8 tsp. chili powder Optional: chopped cilantro, chopped jarred jalapenos, additional salt and pepper Directions: Place drained peas in a medium bowl and mash thoroughly with a potato masher or fork. Add all other ingredients except for the tomatoes, onions and optional items. Continue to mash until blended. Stir in the tomatoes, onions and, if you like, some chopped cilantro and/or jalapenos. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed. Enjoy! MAKES 6 SERVINGS This stuff is a great spread for sandwiches, pitas and wraps -- and it's an excellent omelette topper. Two tablespoons of it has just 29 calories and 1g fat, plus 1.25g fiber
	Serving Size: 1/3 cup (1/6th of recipe) Calories: 78 Fat: 3g Sodium: 320mg Carbs: 10.5g Fiber: 3.5g Sugars: 4g Protein: 3.5g Magical Low-Calorie Margarita (Entire recipe: 115 calories, 0g fat, 55mg sodium, 2g carbs, 0g fiber, <0.5g protein =" 2"> Ingredients: 3/4 cup Sierra Mist Free (or Diet Sprite Zero, or your other fave no-cal lemon-lime soda) *1.5 oz. tequila 1 packet (two 5-calorie servings) sugar-free powdered drink mix, lemonade (like the one by Crystal Light) 2 tbsp. lime juice Optional: lime slice for garnish and salt or no-calorie sweetener for rim of glass Directions: If desired, run some lime juice along the rim of the glass and dip into a dish of salt or sweetener. Mix all ingredients together. Pour over 1 cup of crushed ice. Optional: Garnish with lime slice. Enjoy. Serves 1!

Welcome to the heat wave '09 !

I've been slacking at updating the blog... my apologies.. but I've been BUSY people ! Sorry ! Ok... I'm back. I'm on week 2 of running (kinda... I only got 2 days in last week). This week, run TWO minutes walk a minute. I'll keep you informed !

Weekend over on the East side of the mountains was so fun, as usual, however, it was a bit warm :) I was an excellent spectathelete and cheered the softball team. I always think they do great, but they don't always agree with me. And THE best group of people... always a good time.

I think there might be others joining in on the Vegas run, which is a bonus ! The more the merrier right ?!?!?! AND... the new course got posted on the website along with .. dum dum dummmmmm... the official start time of.......... 6:15am. Love that !!! Done and having bloody mary's by 9am, and back out at the finish line to scream for the marathoner. Woot Woot !!!

And another kinda cool addition to the R n R Vegas run is a "Walk it" program ! How cool is THAT ?? Sponsored by Prevention Magazine. For the runners, they've also included a free on-line training program. Packet pick-up times have been announced as well, Friday from 11 to 7 and Saturday (the day we fly in) from 9am to 5pm. Check out www.rnrvegas.com for more info.

Look at what's new at Baja Bobs !! YUM !!!!!

Fans of frozen cocktails MUST check out the latest from Baja Bob: individual on-the-go packets of Sugar Free California Chocolate Coffee Mudslide Mix! Toss this no-calorie, Splenda-sweetened stuff in a blender with a little water (or Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze!), some vodka, and a bunch of ice... then BLEND ! www.bajabob.com

And last... check out this nugget o' info... interesting ! From the New York Times:

Can Your Brain Fight Fatigue?

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Recently, researchers in England discovered that simply rinsing your mouth with a sports drink may fight fatigue. In the experiment, which was published online in February in the Journal of Physiology, eight well-trained cyclists completed a strenuous, all-out time trial on stationary bicycles in a lab. The riders were hooked up to machines that measured their heart rate and power output. Throughout the ride, the cyclists swished various liquids in their mouths but did not swallow. Some of the drinks contained carbohydrates, the primary fuel used during exercise. The other drinks were just flavored, sugar-free water.

By the end of the time trials, the cyclists who had rinsed with the carbohydrate drinks — and spit them out — finished significantly faster than the water group. Their heart rates and power output were also higher. But when rating the difficulty of the ride, on a numerical scale, their feelings about the effort involved matched those for the water group.

In a separate portion of the experiment, the scientists, using a functional M.R.I., found that areas within the brain that are associated with reward, motivation and emotion were activated when subjects swished a carbohydrate drink. It seems that the brains of the riders getting the carbohydrate-containing drinks sensed that the riders were about to get more fuel (in the form of calories), which appears to have allowed their muscles to work harder even though they never swallowed the liquid.

The role of the brain in determining how far and hard we can exercise — its role, in other words, in fatigue — is contentious. Until recently, most researchers would have said that the brain played little role in determining how hard we can exercise. Muscles failed, physiologists thought, because of biochemical reactions within the muscles themselves. They began getting too little oxygen or were doused with too much lactic acid or calcium. They stiffened and seized.

But there are problems with the idea that fatigue involves only the muscles. “We know that people speed up at the end of exercise,” says Ross Tucker, a researcher with the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, who has extensively studied fatigue in athletes. “If calcium” or other biochemical changes in the muscles “caused muscle failure, this would be impossible at the end, when these changes are at their greatest levels.”

Instead, he and many (but not all) physiologists now believe that exhaustion isn’t just in the muscles but also involves the brain. “What we now think is that the muscle isn’t acting on its own,” he says. “There’s an interplay of central processing and muscular exertion.” From the outset of exercise, “the brain asks for and gets constant feedback from the muscles and other systems especially about body temperature” and checks on “how are things going,” says Carl Foster, a professor in the department of exercise and sports science at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse. Through mechanisms that aren’t fully understood, the brain tracks and calibrates the amount of fuel that is in the muscles, as well as the body’s core temperature. As the amount of fuel drops and the temperature rises, the brain decides that some danger zone is being approached. It starts reducing “the firing frequency of motor neurons to the exercising muscle, leading to a loss of force production,” says Ed Chambers, a researcher at the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham in England and an author of the carbohydrate-drinks study. In other words, the mind, recognizing that the body may be going too hard, starts sending fewer of the messages that tell the muscles to contract. The muscles contract less frequently and more feebly. In a sensation familiar to anyone who exercises, your legs die beneath you.

The mental choreography of fatigue is intricate, involving messages sent not only from the brain to the straining muscles but also to various areas within the mind as well. Data from some recent brainwave studies of athletes showed that during long, hard exercise, there’s often a moment when portions of the brain become “de-aroused,” Foster says. “It’s similar to depression,” he adds, and plays out in motivation. You begin to wonder why in the world you’re running, swimming or pedaling so hard. You slow down.

“I think the training effect of this theory is potentially very profound,” Tucker says. “Training is no longer simply an act of getting the muscles used to lactate or teaching the lungs how to breathe harder.” It’s also about getting your brain to accept new limits by pushing yourself, safely. “Once your brain recognizes that you’re not going to damage yourself,” Foster says, “it’ll be happy to let you go.”

baby it's hot out...

Not that I have to worry about this with my current run a minute / walk a minute routine... but it's hot out here .. and even in the Great White North it's been warm out. So I found this from one of my fav runner / authors John Bingham..

Can't Stand the Heat?

Dear John,
I'm training for my first half-marathon, and summer has finally hit Wisconsin. Though I'm grateful for the nice weather, the heat and humidity have been taking a toll.

I've noticed when I run that my pace has slowed by about a minute and I seem to cop out a mile or two sooner than I had been when it was cooler a few weeks back. I try my hardest to hydrate, dress lighter, and take more stops, yet running is much harder in the heat, and for the actual race I know the weather will be worse.

What do you suggest I do to get back on track despite the rising temperatures? - Ali

Hi, Ali. The more I’m around runners, the more I realize that each of us seems to have a unique tolerance for weather. I’ve met runners who can’t run at all if the temperature is below 75 degrees, and others who can’t take a comfortable step if the temperature is above 50. We’re animals as well as athletes. Some of us are just suited for one kind of weather.

So, the first part of the answer is for you to identify the animal in you. If you’re a cold-weather person, well, then that’s just the truth. It doesn’t mean you can’t train and race in the warmer – or hot – weather. It just means that it’s not the ideal weather for you. Long term that means choosing key events at the time of year that’s best suited to your natural preferences.

Like you, I live in a four-season part of the country (Chicago). That means that for about half the year the weather is almost perfect.

The other half, it’s either too hot or too cold. Unlike you, it so happens that I love running in the heat and humidity. But the idea of heading out the door when the temperature is below freezing just doesn’t make sense. I turn up the heat and head for the treadmill.

Two things to remember:

1. The current recommendation on hydration is that you should drink for thirst, and only for thirst. You don’t need to start pounding down the water just because it’s hot.

2. You’ll have to slow your pace in the heat. Your heart is pumping blood to your skin to keep you cool, which increases your heart rate, and the means that your pace must slow down.

Running year-round is fun and satisfying as long as you remember what kind of animal you are.

Waddle on,
John

Let's just say that THEY FRICKIN ROCK !!!!!!!!

Seattle-area news Video On Demand |
Seattle News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather | KING5.com

Please click on the video link.. amazing stuff :)

Posted using ShareThis

this honestly helps...

Gold, silver, and bronze weren't the only colors decorating Beijing Olympians. Some athletes wore Kinesio Tex Tape in strips of pink, blue, and black. This adhesive is popular because it speeds healing without limiting range of motion, says Amol Saxena, D.P.M., a sports podiatrist in Palo Alto, California. "The tape pulls up the skin slightly, allowing more blood to flow to the injured area," he says. He teaches runners, including bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan, how to put it on themselves. The tape ($14.95 per roll at kinesio-tape.com) can last five days, even in the shower. Saxena thinks black sticks best to sweaty skin.

Above is the method to combat shinsplints; see also Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis,runner's knee and ankle sprain.

1. Cut a piece of tape about 12 to 18 inches long, round all the edges, and remove the backing.

2. Flex your foot. Place one end of the tape on the top of your foot, below your pinky toe. Wrap the tape under your foot, across your arch at the highest point, and around to the top of your foot. Then bring the tape up the front of your shin.

3. Cut six inches of duct tape (which gives more support to the arch) and trim it to 1 1/2 inches wide.

4. Place one end of the duct tape on top of the Kinesio tape on the outside of your foot, flex your foot, and pull the tape firmly over your arch.

Monday is JUST around the corner !

The Runner's Recovery

Returning to running after a brief layoff? A general rule of thumb is that it takes about two weeks of "retraining" to come back from every week in which you do no exercise. Go easy on yourself during this period. Don't let your ego convince you that you should immediately be able to run as you did before. If you've been off the roads for only a week or two, start at about half the distance you were running before the injury. You should be able to build back to your former level in two to four weeks.

Hmmmm... got it... and I have the lovely run one minute, walk one minute treadmill / trail instructions from the running Dr. According to his instructions, I will be running up to a whole 30 minutes in 6 weeks.... patience... patience.... patience....

K... ready for the weekend ?? Chelsea vs Sounders on Saturday morning (I'm secretly and quietly cheering for John Terry and the Blue) then up to the Mill Creek Town Festival to root on our StairClimbing wunder kids... as they go for a world record AND raise money for cancer. Then Sunday is The Hangover at the Big Picture. Love it !

I'm also checking out a boot camp class at Greenlake. 4 weeks 4 days a week . When I sent out an SOS email, the overwhelming response I received was to cross train... and 3 people said that P90X was something to look into. So I checked out a class (I'm one of those, if I paid I have to go, where as if the dvd's are just here, I'll eat an ice cream bar while i watch the DVD) and here's the info they had... I think I just might do this !!

Can you:
- jog in place for 2 minutes?
- lift your hands over your head?
- do 10 jumping jacks?
- do 10 crunches?
- easily bend to reach the ground, and then come back up?
- walk up stairs?

YEP !! I can do those things !!!!!!

What kind of exercise can I expect to be doing?
-Similar to other fitness bootcamps, SFC combines cardio, pilates, yoga, plyometrics, resistance training, muscle confusion, light weight training, calisthenics, and of course a little bit of running to give you a well-rounded exercise program that gets RESULTS! Combined circuit training is proven to be the most effective way to get your body to its peak level of fitness. We also put a healthy focus on the mind-body connection, and deal with nutritional elements that are affecting your fitness progress.

What if I'm training for a marathon, or currently have an extremely high fitness level?
-Perfect! This boot camp will develop intense core strength, which running alone simply cannot do. If you stick to the program as it's designed, you WILL DEFINITELY see an increase in your mile times . And for higher fitness levels, there is ALWAYS a way to do EVERY exercise at your individual ability level. No matter how buff, or how out of shape you're feeling!

(FYI - not that I have an "extremely high fitness level"... as a matter of fact, I'd put at low currently. We were watching the TdF the other day and they were monitoring the racers BPM's. These guys are RIDING A BICYLE IN A RACE and their BPM was like 130. REALLY ???? Mine is 130 when I get UP in the morning !!!)

Have a GREAT weekend everyone !

It's SUNNY - think SUMMER !

Gotta figure out if I can do this on the rocks somehow.... but YUM !Fresh Watermelon Fresh Watermelon Margarita
1 ½ oz Tequila
½ cup Diced Watermelon
1 tsp Fresh Lime Juice (~ ¼ lime)
3 drops of Stevia
1 cup Crushed Ice
125 Calories
Add all ingredients to a blender and mix on high until smooth and frothy. Poor into a margarita glass and garnish with fresh lime or skewered watermelon or blueberries.

Not only is this SkinnyTini super low in calories, it touts all the benefits from the fresh watermelon. Oxygen magazine : "A slice can help you lose weight and keep your muscles tight, thanks to nitric oxide. Like tomatoes, watermelon is an excellent source of lycopene. But it also contains significant amounts of the amino acid citrulline, which is converted in the body to arginine, in turn is converted into nitric oxide - shown to decrease fat storage while maintaining lean muscle mass."

LOVE THIS !!! My only concern is I would roll this in chocolate chips.. .hhhmmm probably not what they were going for...

BANANA POPS
Dip a peeled banana in fruit-flavored yogurt; roll it in chopped almonds on wax paper. Insert a Popsicle stick in an end. Wrap in wax paper. Freeze three hours.
YOU GET: Potassium in the bananas helps with fluid recovery postexercise. Vitamin E-rich almonds work as an antioxidant, lessening muscle soreness.

Fun, thought provoking, interesting tidbits :)

I came upon this website (thanks Hoots) www.owningpink.com It's got some good stuff in there. Sometimes a little too 'new-agey' for me. But in general, good stuff.

For example, here's a couple of their things to strive for:

BE AUTHENTIC

Strive to be all you, all the time. Be the Nancyest of Nancys or the Janest of Janes or the Billyest of Billys. Do you even know who that person is, or are you so busy wearing masks that you’ve lost touch with your authentic core. Don’t judge the real YOU. Just OWN it, love it, express it, BE it.

CHANGE WILLINGLY

Change can be scary as hell, but it can also be transforming. Don’t put yourself in boxes you can’t get out of. Those who are willing to go with the flow of the Universe must be willing to allow change into their lives, even when it feels uncomfortable.

FEAR NOT

How would you live if you took fear out of the equation? Isn’t that a clarifying question? Now assess the fears that hold you back. Are they valid fears meant to protect you or just limiting fears that are keeping you from living the life you’ve always wanted? Surrender your fears to make room for possibility.

GIVE FREELY

Give to others with absolutely no expectation of receiving anything in return. Not only will it bring you joy to do so, but you have the power to change someone’s life. Make a conscious effort every day to give a gift of love to someone who needs it. It will change your life

KEEP LEARNING

Just because you graduate doesn’t mean you aren’t a perpetual student. Keep your mind open, seek the truth, get out of your box, cross barriers, and keep your eyes pealed for growth opportunities. What have you been curious about? Buy a book, sign up for a workshop, get online and study!

SPEAK YOUR TRUTH

What would you say if you didn’t care what anyone thought? Write it down. Tell the whole truth.Now speak your truth to someone you trust. OWN it. It’s YOUR truth

BE COMFORTABLE IN YOUR SKIN Accept your body just the way it is. That doesn’t mean you can’t strive to make it more healthy, but say this out loud right now. “I love my body, just the way it is.” Repeat that mantra 10 times daily. Plastic surgery, expensive skin treatments, and fancy hair dyes will never fulfill you if you don’t love yourself. Instead, change the things you can change to better reflect your inner beauty. Invite your appearance to reflect who you really are. Let your wardrobe reflect your authentic self. When you’ve got mojo, you’re beautiful, regardless of your weight, your body shape, your hair color, or your wrinkles.

There's more... but you get the point :) Good stuff huh !! The website is more blog than website so drop by.

*****************************************************************************************

OK... ever wonder how many calories that drink has in it ??

And don't have my number on speed dial to tell you ??

http://www.skinnytinis.com/make_a_drink.php

There ya go ! A drink calorie calculator ! What more could you ask for ???

And what I've learned here is my FAV Vodka Tonic with Lime is 204 calories. I need to be using DIET TONIC PEOPLE !!?!?!?! My Malibu and Diet is only 132 ... damn tonic...

I needed this info today...

I sent an SOS email out to my peeps about injury /training / advice... go figure, the jodie-wikipedia asking for advice !?!?!?! It was needed. I got some awesome feedback. Again, it was needed.

I think I can do this stuff, and then, find out, I CAN, if I start off right. And I haven't been doing that.

So... I think the Kona Lisa will be my new best friend for a while. I already know I'm a great 'spect-athlete'. I think I'll try to be content with doing a little at a time. And come next Monday (no, not THIS monday, I already double, triple, quadruple, checked the calendar... it's NEXT monday) I'll do what the Dr (and everyone else) says and take it slow. I'll have patience. Really.... I will.

I've got my goal set for Vegas, and me and my supplements and training are sticking to it...

I read this today from one of my fav running writers - and I like it. I KNOW I like 5ks, and I know I'm thrilled when I finish a Half... so this makes total sense to me. I'm so very very very impressed with the distance my sister can run, and run well.. She likes the 26.2, and she rocks it every time. And the 'sense of community' he talks about .... I've seen that at every distance race.. and I know my sister has it in her town. I like the 5k's and the Halfs... I'm good with that. And his last sentence is what all of this is all about... all the time :)

I ran my first marathon, in Memphis, TN in December of 1992. Well, that's not exactly true. I trained - or overtrained - for my first marathon during the fall of 1992. I didn't read anything about training, didn't have a training plan, just a stubborn determination. I made it to mile 6.

I complete my first marathon nearly a year later in Columbus, OH. I had a training plan, and a training partner. I had a race strategy and a very cool "engineer's" hat. I ran at least one marathon a year EVERY year from 1993 to 2006. That's 14 years. And some of those years I ran as many as 6 marathons. That's not a lot if you're one of the marathon maniacs, but it was a lot for me. The marathon in 2006 was part of the Walt Disney World "Goofy" challenge. As it got late in 2007 I got worried about breaking my streak. Once or twice I started on a marathon training schedule only to get a certain distance and just think "no way". In 2008 I tried a couple of times to complete a half marathon training program. I started out with good intentions, but never got past a 12 mile run.

What I've discovered is what I knew when I started out. I like the shorter distances. I like running shorter distances, training for shorter distances, and racing the shorter distances. I can run more often, run harder and faster - fast for me - and find it easier to fit the training into my day. It works for me.

Why, then, do I feel guilty about REALLY liking the 5K distance? Why is it that I think that training for, and participating in, a 5K is somehow "less than" training for and participating in a half marathon or full marathon? I don't know. But I have some thoughts.

The running "industry" loves the long distances races. They can charge big fees, they can attract big crowds, and they can make a ton of money. I'm not being critical. I've certainly benefitted from the 2nd running boom's desire to run long distances at huge races.

What I miss, though, is the spirit and sense of community that you find in local races. I ran a small 4 mile run last Thanksgiving and had a GREAT time. I didn't have a great "time", but I was able to push myself just a little because I knew the distance was well within my capabilities.

These days I'm running 3 miles a day - or walking 2 miles - nearly every day. I can do that because I'm not worried about long runs. And, to be honest, I'm having more fun than I have in years.

So, it's not that I'm bashing the long distances and giant races. I'll be at all of the Rock 'n' Roll Series events this year. I'm just saying that for me - and maybe others - the joy of running is still the best reason to run, whatever that distance turns out to be.

Eating and not moving...

I must admit, I think I did pretty well on holiday. I gained 2 pounds... so that's OK. But the MRI results have curtailed alot.... and for me, that's not a good thing. I'll be hopping on the bike this weekend, but let's face it, one or two days a week isn't going to cut it. I did the LiveStrong Challenge 5K and then did the Silent 5K (or 4 miles... ) just a few days later. Since the scolding from someone who went to school for a very long time and seeing the MRI. Nada.

I have the IronGirl 10K in September around Greenlake, the Leavenworth Half Marathon in October and the family reunion... errrr ... the Las Vegas Half Marathon in December. Gotta get some cardio going and SOON. I had to relinquish the windtrainer back to its rightful owner, and I'm a little bummed about that. But I'll look on Craigslist and see if someone is tired of theirs. :)

Ultimately, I need to eat better. Overall, it's not T E R R I B L E ... but it definitely has opportunity for improvement. And the extra

10 pounds I'm carrying isn't helping anything to heal and certainly not improving my self confidence.

I found a book today that I'll be picking up this weekend: In Defense of Food, An Eater's Manifesto.

Here's what caught my eye "Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it?

Because most of what we're consuming today is not food, and how we're consuming it -- in the car, in front of the TV, and increasingly alone -- is not really eating. Instead of food, we're consuming "edible foodlike substances" -- no longer the products of nature but of food science. Many of them come packaged with health claims that should be our first clue they are anything but healthy. In the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion. The result is what Michael Pollan calls the American paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we seem to become.

But if real food -- the sort of food our great grandmothers would recognize as food -- stands in need of defense, from whom does it need defending? From the food industry on one side and nutritional science on the other. Both stand to gain much from widespread confusion about what to eat, a question that for most of human history people have been able to answer without expert help. Yet the professionalization of eating has failed to make Americans healthier. Thirty years of official nutritional advice has only made us sicker and fatter while ruining countless numbers of meals."

Interesting stuff huh ? I'll let you know how the read is...

The other book I wanna scope out is by Bethenny Frankel called "Naturally Thin". I thumbed through it at Borders the other day and should have bought it.

After reading reviews, it sounds like there are some great tips - 10 rules - to follow and basically portion control.

"If you have to rely on a regimen, a menu, strict rules, or even a book to tell you what to do and what to eat, you aren't going to stick with it. You don't need something to control your life. You just need some tools that will help you regain control. After all, it's your body. You can change it if you want to change it.

Notice that I don't say you are going to need willpower. I say control because that's exactly what I mean. You are your own person. You are in control of what you do. You have the power. It's your body, your life, your mind, your food. You have control over what you choose to do and how you choose to act. The problem with diets is that they give you the idea that someone else is controlling you: a famous guy tells a famous girl what to eat; or a diet plan somebody wrote for you tells you how many cups of this and how many tablespoons of that you can eat.I talk about a lot of things, from what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to handling special occasions, travel, and cooking at home. What do you do when faced with a gigantic muffin at Starbucks? What do you do when you have to find a meal at a convenience store? How do you handle a breakfast buffet without panicking or gaining ten pounds in one sitting? What do you do about happy hour? It's all covered here.

think positive... be positive

Research From Dr. Masaru Emoto, says that human thoughts are directed at water before it is frozen, images of the resulting water crystals will be beautiful or ugly depending upon whether the thoughts were positive or negative. Emoto claims this can be achieved through prayer, music or by attaching written words to a container of water. Since 1999 Emoto has published several volumes of a work titled Messages from Water, which contains photographs of water crystals next to essays and "words of intent".

I'm BACK !!!!!!

WOOT WOOT !!!! An amazing, overwhelming trip filled with so much laughing, so much drinking, so many good times and best of all.... so many amazing amazing amazing friends. I am SOOOO very fortunate. It was two weeks of Maine, NYC, DC, and Connecticut. I couldn't have asked for a better two weeks.

Started off in Maine, and did the Silent 5K... we were rushed and I totally forgot my 'shut up and run' shirt... sheesh... BUT... I did not talk the entire time. That being said, it wasn't a freakin' 5K... it ended up being 4 miles total. But to a lighthouse and back along the coast. Beautiful :)

Today, I went to get the MRI results... hhhmmmm not so great...

"Stress reaction of the proximal/mid tibial shaft. No discrete fracture line. Marrow edema just deep to the lateral and posterior cortex of the proximal and mid-tibial shaft extending for a craniocaudal distance of 6.5 cm. Equivocal stress reaction of the fibular neck".... Did you get all that ?? hehehe... apparently, there was a stress fracture back in 2007 and because it wasn't diagnosed right and I just kept doing what i do, it didn't ever heal completely. So no running for at least 2 weeks... and then he gave me a schedule... which is lame. But I'll follow it. It's basically a 'run / walk' thing... as soon as I have NO zip zero zilch pain for 2 weeks straight I can start with his schedule :

Looks like this ... walk/jog for 30 minutes

Week 1 = jog for one minute / walk for one minute

Week 2 = jog for two minutes / walk for one minute

Week 3 = jog for three minutes / walk for one minute

you get the idea... by week 6 he said I should be able to run for 30 minutes straight. However, any pain and we're right back to square one.

Here's what I DID NOT want to hear.... 'if this continues, it's a bone density thing and we'll be looking at other options".... BOO

So here's to easy jogging... not pushing it... and he shook his head about my 10K in Sept and simply said 'probably not going to happen' about the Half in October. We'll see... I can always walk / jog in October :)

xoxoxoxoxox

I'm BACK !!!