My First Official Running Injury

My run on Saturday was a hard one.  It wasn't terrible but it was hard and I was tired at the end.  The problem was that I didn't get to just go home and rest after.  I have a family and we needed food not to mention the fact that Meag had a hair appointment.  So I came home, showered and back out the door we went.  I finally sat down at about 2pm.  The whole time we were shopping I had a very annoying pain.  I only felt it when I stepped down and it wasn't a horrible pain just really annoying.  We got home, I sat down and promptly forgot about my pain.  Yesterday we went to the Y and when I put my shoes on there was that pain again.  I pushed through a tough workout then home to do some yard work.  It was a beautiful day and we spent the whole afternoon outside.  It was glorious.  Always there was that nagging little pain though.  So finally when we were inside for the day and dinner was done I decided it was time to get to the bottom of this annoying pain.  I got the tools out and began to investigate.  A few minutes later and I had my answer, then I giggled!

So what is the injury???  I have a terribly bruised and swollen toe nail:)  I giggled because I was once told this is a common problem when running hills but it didn't even cross my mind that it could be what was causing my pain.  Why didn't I notice sooner??  I had dark purple nail polish on!! 

It looks worse in person but there it is

Other than that I'm feeling great after my hard run on Saturday.  We went to the Y yesterday and again tonight.  It's rest week so I didn't do my full workout and opted for an easier cardio workout.  Tomorrow is a short run then I see the chiropractor who will check out a nagging ankle pain I have had off and on.  He is pretty sure it's actually related to the time I broke my foot three years ago.  I might be the clumsiest person you will ever meet and I caught my toe on my pant leg and broke my fifth metatarsal.  It was annoying and four weeks in a cast with a two year old wasn't fun but we managed.  Who would have known that three years later other issues could pop up from it.  The fun part about this is that I don't have pain when I walk or run it's when my ankle isn't supported.  So tomorrow hopefully Geoff can figure it out and start to fix it without too much ugliness.


I'm also happy to show you my picture this week.  Things are really paying off and I'm happy with my results.  I love that on Monday my readers more than double and I assume this is part of what you're looking for.  Have a great week everyone!!!!

My phone was dying this morning and the flash didn't work

Well Hello Rest Week:)

This morning I got up and ran 14k for the very first time ever:)  It was kind of crazy and no where near as easy as last weeks 12k but I got it done and still felt pretty good at the end.  It's like a whole different world once you pass that 10k turn around point.  As I passed I waved to Kevin and said "see you on the way back".  I then turned the corner and went down the big hill the whole time planning to walk most of it coming back.  I thought to myself that it really wasn't that terrible of a hill.  Then I rounded the curve.  No one warned me that there was a worse hill that I had to go back up!!!  I trudged up that, walking most of it and turned the next corner.  Not so bad now a nice straight stretch then an overpass.  I'm a horrible judge of distance but assumed my turn around would be just before that.  Think again there Selena.  Up and down I went then across a road.  I read the sign that said 4th Ave and thought holy shit!!!  I looked at my watch and realized I was almost there.  I turned around a few seconds later.  The trip back was tough but I made it and now it's rest week!!  My legs are tired but my brain is so very happy.  

Museums, Subways and Fun!

Yesterday we spent the day in Toronto.  As I mentioned we had to go for Adryanna's appointment at Sick Kids.  I am happy to report that as usual she was amazing.  When we got to the hospital for her CT Scan she found out that she would have to have an IV.  I thought she might but I didn't say anything to her because I don't see the need to freak her out.  They said IV and a little poke but never once said it was a needle and honestly I don't know if she realized that's what it was.  The nurses there are awesome and had no problem getting it on the first try.  She barely flinched and on they went.  She was the perfect patient and I couldn't be more proud of her.

In the waiting room before her CT Scan

That's not the exciting part of the day though.  We spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).  Adrian is the only one who had been there before but that was years ago and it has changed a lot since then.  We got to see most of the first three levels before we had to leave for Adryanna's appointment and were able to see level four and some of the stuff we missed after her appointment.  It was a great way to spend a cold, rainy day.  Meaghan came with us and was just as amazed with the museum as Adryanna was.

Listening to a presentation on Egyptian story telling

The other favorite part of the day was taking the subway from the ROM to Sick Kids and back again.  Adryanna has never even seen the subway before and was so excited to experience this new thing.  It was fun to watch her face as she experienced this day of new things.

After all the time at the museum, the hospital and the trips on the Subway it was time to have dinner with Meaghan's boyfriend and head home.  We picked a little pub type restaurant across the street from the ROM that looked a little creepy from the outside but was wonderful on the inside.  The food was delicious and the service was awesome!

My favorite part of busy days like that is the fact that I don't have the opportunity to eat constantly.  I had no worries about what I was ordering for dinner because I knew that I had not eaten too much all day and that no matter what I ate everything would be fine.  I am very happy with this week's scale picture too.  I ran with Runners' Edge all three days, I went to the gym three times and started my new workout routine.  Things are totally on the right track again and I couldn't feel better.

Moving in the right direction!  Here's hoping it stays that way;)

Are there cats in your heart???

Tomorrow we are off to Toronto for the day.  Adryanna has to have a CT Scan done at Sick Kids and we decided since we have to drive all the way there anyway we will make a day of it.  We're planning to leave early and go to the Royal Ontario Museum in the morning.  We won't be able to see everything there but will have about 2 hours to see a little bit.  Her appointment is at 1:30pm and then we will have some time to wander around before having dinner with Joey.  Then it will be back home.

Why does she need a CT Scan?  Well we tried to tell her that they were looking for cats in her heart but she refused to believe that.  The real reason?  The last time we were at McMaster for her check up the cardiologist felt she was big enough and was worried that the doctor that she wants to do the repair was going to retire.  She did a consult with him and he decided that while there is no rush to do the repair, he wants to start making a model for the procedure.  As I think I have mentioned before Anna's defect isn't your usual heart defect.  It is a fairly rare defect and while it's not causing any issues it will and it's in a funny place.  They drew us a picture once of what it looks like and I wish I still had it.  Usually this kind of defect comes directly off the aorta and into the left ventricle.  Hers comes off the spot where her coronary artery meets her aorta.  It took a lot of investigation to diagnose because the original ECHO showed like it was a coronary artery fistula.  It wasn't until the second or third when her heart had grown some that they noticed this funny placement.  This lead to our first trip to Sick Kids and an MRI.  That was when they officially diagnosed the Aorta to Left Ventricle Tunnel.  They've been following her at McMaster ever since and she is doing very well.  Her left ventricle is starting to enlarge but only very slightly and they don't see any permanent damage to the heart muscle so they will continue to monitor her and with this test they will begin to make a plan for the repair.  Here's hoping they decide to fix it soon before permanent damage starts.  Right now she has no restrictions and I would like to keep it that way.

As always Anna is super excited for our trip and is not even worried about the test.  I've never had a CT Scan but I know they are relatively quick and totally painless.  She is a trooper and has no fear of doctors or hospitals.  Her only worry with any doctor is that they might give her a needle.  She hasn't asked this time if she will get one and I haven't mentioned it.  I don't honestly know if they will so why worry her for nothing.  We'll spend our morning having fun, then go for her appointment, then back to fun:)

12k of Bliss!!

The past few long runs have had me a bit freaked out about the half marathon looming in the not so distant future.  I've struggled with my asthma and tired legs.  I woke up this morning feeling that sense of panic that I had to run a new distance and didn't know what it would bring.  My stomach was in knots, my back hurt and I was scared.  To top it all off it was rainy and cool. I told myself to knock it off and get out the door.  I knew if I didn't do this today I would be even more freaked out about it tomorrow.  So off I went. 

We stretched and then were given our route (which rarely changes).  I headed out right away while everyone else got sorted out with their water belts and other stuff.  We always run about 1k then stop to stretch as a group before heading out for the rest of the distance.  That distance varies by person and what event they are training for.  So I took off and thought I would try to get a head start and maybe make it to the stretching point before they got through the first stretch.  I felt amazing from the first step!!  I made it to the stretching point before they even started:)  This eased my fears a bit and the rest of the run was awesome.  I learned that the 12k turn around point is at the bottom of a pretty ugly hill but there is the option to continue on level ground so that's what I chose.  Didn't want to push my luck.  Usually by the turn around point I am bargaining with myself, if I run for so long I can walk a bit and I will do this for the rest of my run, pushing myself to that next point but usually not actually walking.  Today there was no bargaining!!!  I felt great.  I stopped when I got back to Kevin, our water support person, refilled my water, ate a chocolate mint GU and started moving again.  On the way back I count down the KM's and today it seemed so much less daunting than usual.  I just knew I could do it!!!  When I got to the parking lot, where I usually stop, I was just shy of 12k so I kept going until my Garmin told me I was officially at 12k and stopped with a smile.  I couldn't wait to tell everyone about my accomplishment.  I stretched, headed to the market and back home.  I feel amazing now and am looking forward to whatever else the day has to offer:)

Up, Down, Up, Down

This is they way my world has felt lately.  My weight goes up and down, my mood goes up and down and my exercise goes up and down.  Tonight I ran up and down too:)  I know that if I keep going things feel better and I know my mood is strongly influenced by exercise.  I feel so much better when I am eating well and exercising both physically and emotionally.  I think the emotional feeling is also very much influenced by how I feel physically.  It's clearly not rocket science and some days I step back and think "well duh".  I have some pretty wicked stomach issues that are very much influenced by what I eat.  I have gallstones but was told that they won't take my gall bladder out until I lose a significant amount of weight.  I was also told that the pain I feel in my stomach isn't likely related to that.  I have a fatty liver and that is totally fixable by losing weight and watching what I eat.  The healthier I eat the better I feel.  Less fat equals less pain.  Again not rocket science.  So why do I keep doing this??  Well I do it because I love food!!!  Today was a great example of how I can totally control myself but if I don't pay enough attention it can all go to shit.  We had a potluck lunch and all day meeting.  This morning someone brought in these beautiful big muffins and little pastries.  I took one look at the muffins and said no way!  I had already eaten breakfast and didn't need anything else.  Later in the morning I was getting hungry and had one of the little mini scones, then another.  That was it though, doing well so far.  Lunch hit and I had a little of everything and watched that the things I had more of were the healthier items.  Again doing well.  Then we got into the potentially stressful part of the day and the nibbly food was still on the table.  The healthiest stuff was at the other end and the crackers and dips were at my end.  I nibbled away but not too bad.  The thing was I wasn't paying attention to what was going in my mouth and I just nibbled.  Probably eating way more than I needed to.  Luckily tonight was a running night so I burned a lot of it off.  Overall I think today was a fairly good eating day and I hope that I can continue this way. 

Tonight was hill training:)  I get myself so freaked out thinking about how hard it's going to be that by the time I get there I'm so tired that I don't think I can do it.  Today I kept telling myself that I can do it.  I got there and got to the bottom of that hill, looked up and again told myself I could do it.  I was give a relatively easy workout compared to some of the other runners but it was a challenge.  As always while I was running up and down that hill I kept going between thinking I might die and thinking I was doing great.  I got to the end of the workout and headed back to the store pretty freaking proud of what I did!!  Next week we do hills again and again I'll kick that hills ass:)

So Proud:)

Today was a much better day.  Work went by much faster than yesterday and the gym was awesome!  I had an appointment set up with a trainer to get a routine going.  He was so awesome and maybe my new best friend.  See most people look at the fat chick at the gym and assume they can't do anything.  This guy asked lots of questions and when he heard that I was a runner and had been for more than a year he set up my program much more difficult than he would for a beginner.  He also didn't start things with the lightest weight!  He guessed at higher weights for most machines and it was perfect.  He then decided that since I exercise regularly he would show me some things that I can do even without the gym.  He had me doing squats, just plain squats, ones with a medicine ball and then jumping squats.  That's going to hurt in the morning:(  My favorite part was when he asked if I knew how to do planks.  Do I know how to do planks???  Oh yeah!!!  When I told him that I indeed knew how to do planks he said "show me".  I showed and he was impressed.  He then gave some suggestions to make them better and suggested several different planks to do.  Now squats and planks are a part of my regular workout routine.

I'm so excited to start this new routine on my own and to watch the results!

Blah:(

Well it's been a long day and one that I don't wish to repeat soon.  I woke up with that "oh crap I might be getting a cold" feeling, had to spend most of the day in the office and had a crappy run.  I still have that feeling of getting a cold but it's not getting any worse so now I'm thinking allergy season has arrived.  I don't have any allergy medication to test my theory though so we wait and see.  My run was supposed to be 70 minutes but only lasted about 40 because I couldn't breath properly and my legs felt like lead.  I was angry and disappointed about that but know that one bad run doesn't mean much.  It's the fact that I've been having more bad runs lately.  I have some really good ideas why things are going badly and know how to get things back on track.  I just need to make sure I do those things.  The past couple of weeks I have not been eating well.  We've had too much junk in the house and it's too easy to stop at the store to buy the junk.  I know all of this and have done all of this before.  I know that it has to stop and I'm hoping that I can stop it.  I've caught myself faster this time and before it has gotten way out of control.  I will get this going back in the right direction!!  I have to.  I can't keep doing this to myself.  So tomorrow starts a new me.  I will clear out the fridge and the cupboards of all the crap that is left and I will restock with lots more fruits and veggies.  I will pull out all my favorite healthy recipes and spend most of Sunday cooking and freezing.  I will do this! 

As you have probably guessed this weeks weight isn't good.  It's up way to much for my liking but I promise myself that it will  not continue to climb!

Quick

This is going to be short and sweet because I'm just taking a quick lunch break then heading out of the office for the afternoon.  I don't know if I will be able to post tonight so I'm doing so now.  It was a great long weekend but everything  comes with a price.  Too much food, not enough activity and not nearly enough water makes for bad news in the scale department.  Things could be worse and I don't have a picture to share because I didn't have my phone in the bedroom this morning.  I am up a teeny tiny bit though.  The number this morning was 235.2 so nothing significant and by the time the day is done and I drink a gallon of water I'm sure things will look brighter.  Hopefully next week will be a nicer number.  I really would like to lose 20lbs before my brothers wedding in July. 

Happy Easter:)

I love long weekends:)  I enjoy knowing that get an extra day or two to relax and spend with my family.  I love that most long weekends mean spending time with good friends and being social.  This long weekend started with a run.  I didn't get to run last night because I worked late and then had to do some last minute shopping for the weekend.  I decided that I was supposed to run 8k last night so I decided to do it this morning.  I'm supposed to run 8k tomorrow as well but I'm not really sure when that will happen.  We have a pretty busy day planned but I'm sure I'll figure it out.  Back to today's run though:)  I ran a route that I haven't done since last summer.  The sun was shining and the temperature was just right.  I headed out to the canal path which has just re-opened.  It was so beautiful!  I took the long way to get there so that I could do a sort of out and back loop that would bring me to 8k just as I got to my street.  I could then walk the last 300m or so to cool down a bit.  What I didn't think of is that the spot I reached the path at has a pretty good sized hill.  Last year I could not run up that hill.  Today I killed it:)  There are a couple of smaller hills right after that one and I could run all of those too.  After that it is pretty much a gradual downward slope to the end.  I was running into the wind but that was OK because it kept me cool.  On the way back I quickly realized that it was much warmer than I thought and had to shed a layer.  I also realized that the gradual downward slope became a gradual incline.  Near the part where I was turning off to come home the incline increases a bit.  It's nothing significant but it's something.  Last year I used to have to prepare myself for it, this year I barely noticed it.  I sailed to the top and headed home.

These are the runs where I realize how far I have really come.  How much stronger and healthier I am.  These are the runs that remind me why I run:)

I hope everyone has a fantastic long weekend filled with family, friends and fun!!!

Another week, Another weigh-in

Well it's been quite the week between tree removal, dress shopping, workouts and general running around I'm tired!  It wasn't my best week of working out ever but I did the best I could given the circumstances.  I didn't get my long run in but that's ok.  The tree is 90% done, the girls have flower girl dresses and this week will be much calmer.  Last night we went to the Y and tonight I got an 8k run done.  It was much better than Saturday's run, I was able to breath which was a much needed bonus. 

Tonight was the start of the new clinics at Runners' Edge.  I always feel very nostalgic when the new clinics start and I feel like there is a new energy in the air.  Tonight I was rather early and sat in my car for a few minutes.  I thought a lot about the past 18 months and how much things have changed.  If someone had told me the day I walked through those doors, for the first time, that I would be training for a half marathon I would have howled with laughter.  I couldn't imagine the 10 minutes I would run that night or the 5k that I would run at the end of the clinic, how was I supposed to think about a half marathon?  When I crossed that finish line after my first 5k I began thinking about further distances but not very seriously.  Then I decided I could do 10k and started training for that.  I still didn't see a half in my future.  However, when I finished that 10k I felt like I could do anything!  In school I was always the chubby kid, then the fat teen.  Now I am a runner!!  I no longer define myself by what I weigh and what size I wear.  In exactly two months I will finish a half marathon and who knows what crazy ideas I will get:)

So if I don't define myself by size or weight why do I post my weight each week?  I do it because while it doesn't define me I know that even though I am so much healthier than I was 18 months ago I have a long way to go before I can say that I am really healthy.  I am well on my way but I know I need some accountability and the fact that my stats spike early in the week tells me that people are coming back to check in.  This works for me because really, who wants to post a weight gain?  Also I hope that if one week I don't post my weigh in someone will call me on it:)  So here's this weeks picture.  I'm happy with it.  I also know that I have been slacking a bit over the past couple of weeks and that it's time to get back on track.  No more snacking for the sake of snacking, no more excuses period!