Running Chick

I had x-ray #2 on my foot the other week.

The pain was slowly returning the more I ran, and I was again worried about a stress fracture. Just like last time, the x-ray came back negative.  So, I got a one-way ticket to physical therapy.  After much poking, prodding and consulting, my PT had a hunch that a subluxated cuboid bone was the culprit.  After a couple of sessions where she manipulated it back into place, I’m now back in tip-top running form.  She did warn that it could shift again, so on my last session Josh came along and my PT showed him how to maneuver it back.  Aren’t I a big, fancy runner now to have my own personal PT.  Don’t be jealous.

Speaking of Josh, two weeks into our half marathon training program, he slipped in the parking lot at work and tore some muscles in his thigh & knee.  He’s been hobbling around for a week while his leg heals, but it’s been pretty slow going.  His knee swelled up like a watermelon then turned various shades of red and purple, and he still has tenderness when he bends it.  I’ve been continuing on with the program on my own and hopefully he’ll be back on track soon.

Speaking of running, check me out in my new high-visibility gear.

Ever since this happened, I’ve been paranoid about not being visible enough to traffic. Seriously paranoid. So I went out and bought the most obnoxious jacket and hat I could find. People would have to be blind not to see me now.  At least that’s my hope.

The students are in full-on statue building mode getting ready for Winter Carnival.  This log cabin was looking pretty good on two weeks ago, I’ll have to run though campus and see what it looks like this week.

Back to running. I’m currently on week 4 of my program. My long run last weekend was 5 miles, this week is a cut back week, and then starts the big climb into March.  My longest run for this program will be 14 miles and I’m already worried about it, especially since I just found out that I’m scheduled to be at a conference in Indianapolis that weekend. I’d better start doing some schedule flopping around or face doing all those miles on the treadmill. No Thank You.

In other news, Scout & Pippen have been training for the Olympics by practicing their synchronized eating.

Time for half marathon training, that is. Hooray!

I’ve been laying low for the last few weeks in order to let my foot recover from whatever was bothering it. I still don’t know exactly, but I’m pretty certain it wasn’t a stress fracture. Maybe a ligament or tendon strain? Whatever it was has mostly passed and my flipper is feeling much better now. It’s still not back to 100%, but it’s close. In any event, before our run today, I taped it up using KT Tape, pulled my laces tight on the top & bottom only and kept the middle loose, and iced before I took off (on the advice of my doc) and iced when I got home.  I felt a few twinges during the run, mostly when I was on uneven surfaces where my foot moved around, but for the most part when I was on flat pavement, I couldn’t detect any discomfort.

Josh has decided to train for the same HM, so we’re using a 16-week Jeff Galloway program.  I think that’s a pretty decent program for a first-timer, and I like that the longest run is 14 miles instead of the usual 10 or 11 that I’ve seen in other programs.  After I ran my first HM and about died in the last three miles, I swore that I’d do longer than a ten for my longest run just so I’d be more prepared for what the mileage felt like. Everybody said that if you can run ten, the next three (point one) would be no big deal. LIES. It was a big deal and it sucked.

Our first run was a really easy three-miler. It was close to 50 today (yes, 50!) so the roads were wet, but mostly bare.  Josh ran in a just light t-shirt and shorts.  I wasn’t that brave, but I did shed my gloves about 5 minutes in. Great run, great day.  Winter is supposed to come back for a visit starting tomorrow, so Thursday’s run will be a little more interesting.

In other news, look who’s getting his big boy teef!

Disclaimer: YES I KNOW I took a picture of my kitten’s teeth. I’m a crazy cat lady who has no kids and I’m not ashamed. SO THERE.

He’s lost his bottom baby teeth, but his top razor sharp baby canines are still in there. The adult teeth are working their way down, so I imagine one of these days I’ll look in his mouth and they won’t be there anymore. *sniff*  They grow up so fast.*sniff*  I never found Spencer’s baby teeth, but I did find one of Simon’s that I kept so I’m hoping that I’ll find one of Pippen’s (see disclaimer above).

He’s growing by leaps and bounds but still has a ways to go to catch up to Scout. Mostly in girth, though, because Girlfriend is seriously rocking the pear shape.

He ventured into the snow for the fist time. Scout was smart and stayed inside. Actually, I’m pretty sure she just shoved him outside into the snow and when he turned around to see what happened, she pretended that she was looking at the birds flying around (there weren’t any).

They seem to be getting along pretty well. Aside from one incident with a dumped over garbage can, they spend most of their time looking like this:

And this:

Rough lives, I’m telling ya.

Hellooooholycow it’s been a long time since I’ve updated.  Jeesh, I’m a slacker. Well, let’s get on with the update to bring you up to speed.

You probably remember that I had some weird ankle issue in August that sidelined me for a month. Well, I made it through that fine, started running again and then a month later I noticed that the top of my right foot was bothering me. It started as a slight ache, then turned into a more pronounced ache, then turned into a bona fied pain. I was seriously starting to worry that I had a stress fracture, so I went to my doctor and got me some x-rays.

But they didn’t show anything (typical of stress fractures, they said), so my doctor figured it was some ligament thing and told me to limit my runs to 2-3 miles and ice before & after.  I did that for a few runs but it was clear that what I really needed to do was stop running because my foot was not feeling any better. So, I’ve been laying low since Thanksgiving day, which was my last run. In the meantime, I’ve been riding my trainer three times/week and doing weights/yoga for the rest of the week. My plan is to keep with the trainer rides for the rest of December than start running again in January. If my foot cooperates, half marathon training will also start in January.

Last month, we welcomed a new addition to the household. A kitten!

Pippen was four months and four pounds when we adopted him. Today, he’s five months and six pounds.

After having adult cats for such a long time, I was seriously doubting the sanity in adopting a rambunctious, curious little kitten. Holy cow my house is not kitten-proof.

He races around the house like mad, knocks over everything that isn’t nailed down then crashes hard.

He’s quite the handful, but he’s such a cutie that it’s hard to stay mad at him for long. Plus, he’s super snuggly so he’s extra hard to stay mad at.

Well, until next time which hopefully will be counted in days and not months.