CAUTION: Redhead Running

3 Things Thursday

2012-01-26T10:30:00.001-05:00

Humbled... I really enjoyed the stories y'all shared with me earlier this week about being humbled. As always, I just can't say enough how much I appreciate your continued support through all of this. You guys are the best!
Illinois Bound... Tomorrow I'm headed southwest to visit my cousins and have a much needed girls night out. I see lots of dancing in my immediate future, dance floor be warned.
MIAMI... But what I'm even more excited about for this weekend is the Miami Marathon!!! My Boo, members of my beloved BRA, Jess, Greg, and the other Greg are all headed south to get their run on and I am so freaking excited for them I can hardly stand it. I made B.o.B promise me she'd get someone, anyone to text me her finish time as I will be en route home from my cousins and therefore unable to track her on the website. I hope everyone Miami-bound has a great race this weekend! Don't forget, when the going gets tough, take a moment to remember how awesome you are and keep on, keeping on!!!

Humbled.

2012-01-23T16:45:00.003-05:00

Today I ran two miles. Two entire miles, without stopping. These mileage milestones bring a smile to my face each and every time they happen, and that smile stays with me for each run after until it's time to up the mileage; then it gets bigger and brighter all over again.

.25 M walk / 2 M RUN! / .25 M walk

Lately I've been thinking about how when I first started this blog I was just getting in to running, or rather, running long distances. The first ten months I spent writing this blog were full of mileage milestones; starting with me having just run my first 10 miler to topping out with my first 26.2. So much excitement, anticipation, frustration, etc. were poured into those moments and here we are almost three years later, full circle and building up in the miles again, only this time from scratch.

For months and months I dreamed of being able to run again and I can honestly say that it feels just as good to be back at it as I thought it would. Yes, some days it is hard. Yes, I am slower. Yes, I have a long way to go before I am back to the kind of runner I was before. But you know what? I'm not discouraged and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. There is something to be said about experience and this time as I build up the miles, I know what I need to do so that I don't find myself sidelined again. That desire to not be injured again, more than any temptation to go faster or farther, rules my return to running right now. I'm sure at some point down the road I will find myself wanting more but right now I'm ok with being slow(er) and mileage challenged. Furthermore, not having any pressure from training for a distance event allows me to enjoy every step, every moment I'm out there doing what I love, even two short miles, and that more than anything else makes it all worthwhile.

Injury, and returning from an injury, are humbling experiences and this redhead has been sufficiently humbled.

When was the last time you felt humbled and what was it that caused you to be?

11 Randoms

2012-01-20T12:00:00.003-05:00

Marlene tagged me for "11 Randoms" - The rules (copied verbatim):

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

11 Random Things about Me:

I have very vivid dreams that I can usually recall in full detail.
I love wearing really ugly, fluffy socks in the winter.
I took prenatal vitamins for years because they made my hair and nails look so awesome, but it was kinda weird explaining that to people...
I lust over a Dyson. I think Spike is more threatened by that than my lust of 'Raylan Givens'
I hate that I can never make scarf's look awesome on me.
My swearing has gotten worse since working with mostly men. It's really effing ridiculous.
I realized recently that I don't actually miss Florida as much as I used to. GASP!
In general, I think my ankles and knees look weird.
I have Siri envy and can't wait to upgrade my phone.
Sometimes I like to just stop everything I'm doing, look over the pics of family and friends I have on my wall at work, and smile over how lucky I am to have all of these people in my life.
If there were a legitimate medication to take to hinder ones ability to cry I would take it on my wedding day because I know I'm going to be a blubbering mess.

Questions from Marlene:

What is your favorite pair of non-running shoes? - Either pair of my boots.
What are you wearing right now? - Lots of layers! It's freezing out!
What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery? - Pay off my student loans!
Are you named after anyone/anything? - Not that I'm aware of.
What is worse – being too cold, or being too hot? - This is tough I've been both and neither are very fun. Being too hot makes me sick and being too cold is painful!
What is hanging on your walls at home? - Various paintings.
What is the last thing that you took a picture of? - This:
Who is the last person you spoke to on the phone? - My good friend Rach down in Florida.
Where did you go on vacation as a child? - When I was 10 I won a trip to Florida and we went a few mores times after that but one year we went "up north" to northern Michigan and I was pissed about it. I was also 14 and hated everyone/everything.
What is your favorite TV show? - The Walking Dead!!! ZOMBIES!!!
How many pieces of jewelry do you wear regularly? - Six; earrings (4), necklace, engagement ring. Every now and then I throw on a bracelet if I'm going out.

Tag, you're it!
(First 11 people to comment on my last post, skipping those that were already tagged by Marlene)

Shannon
Rose
Holly
Chris
Running Ricig
Ali Mc
Adam
Lazy Runner (Yes I know, I owe you a LR story!)
Lauren
Brent
Kandi

My Questions for the Tagged:

What is the last thing you took a picture of? (I'm keeping this one, could be interesting.)
What finally made you decide to write your blog?
If you had to listen to one song on repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
What's one item on your 'bucket list'?
If you could be on any TV show, which would it be?
If you could start your own race, what distance would it be?
What would you name said race?
If you were forced to eat like something other than how you eat now, which would you choose? (Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo, Pescetarian, Kosher, Cannibal, etc...)
If you could rid the world of one social application, which would it be?
If you could choose just one person to train with for a training cycle who would it be?
If you were a guest at our wedding what would you bring as a gift based on what you know about Spike and I? (Ha ha, this could get very interesting...)

TGIF PEEPS!

3 Things Thursday

2012-01-19T12:00:00.001-05:00

Not a Spin Bike... So for the last year+ I've been leaving comments in the suggestion box at my gym about how desperately a spin bike (and row machine) is needed. Well you can imagine my excitement when they announced on their FB page that they just got in "new spin bikes." I arrived at the gym Tuesday to find two of these:

This is not a spin bike.

For reference, this is.

I still managed to break my lady parts all the same but I repeat, the bike in the first picture is NOT a spin bike!
Running, Running, and Running, Running... Another week of running is just about in the books and I have to say, the novelty has still not worn off. Slowly but surely I am starting to feel more and more comfortable out there. The other day a friend asked me if I was jealous of Spike training for a Spring marathon and I didn't even blink before responding, "Absolutely NOT! I am so happy for him and quite frankly, a marathon is so far out of my realm and capacity I don't even think twice about it. I'm just happy to be out there running what I can!"
Writer's Block... I feel like a bad blogger lately, I haven't had much to say and you can tell with my lack of posting anything other than a "3 Things Thursday." There's just so much you can say about running a mile or so, mostly on a track. Next month will offer far more excitement around here because B.o.B is coming for a visit and I'll be tackling my first real attempt at a 5k in over a year.

Anyone else short on content these days?

3 Things Thursday

2012-01-12T12:00:00.005-05:00

I'll Take Boring for 200 Please... It's official folks, Spike is trying to change me. How exactly is he trying to change me you ask? He's trying to make me love obnoxiously bright running gear. He thinks I haven't noticed that the stuff he's so lovingly bought for me lately has started trending brighter but today he took it a touch to far and came home with these from the Playmakers annual sidewalk sale:

He claims he couldn't decide which pair I would like best.

He said I could return whichever pair I didn't want, but suggested I really think about it first. Then he showed me the pair he bought for himself, the loudest pair of bright orange running shoes I have ever seen.

I WILL NOT BE CHANGED! I AM NOT A FLASHY SHOES TYPE OF GIRL THANKYOUVERYMUCH. (Unless they are pink. Then I'd be all over them.)
Olympic Trials... How excited are you guys for this?!?!? We will definitely be cheering for our Mitten favorite, Desi! Did I ever tell you guys about the time Spike got to congratulate her on her Boston second place finish last year because she was on the same flight home as us?!?!?
Bumping Up... Today is my last one miler before I bump up to 1.5 miles! The last lap is no longer kicking my butt, which means I'm ready to move it on up. I've decided to continue bumping up every two weeks until I hit three miles, after which I'll bump up every week as my doctor prescribed. I really want to ease in to my return for my own piece of mind, despite the doctor's assurance. I guess you could say I'm feeling a bit gun shy, but let's be honest, wouldn't you?

Blinded By the White

2012-01-06T14:00:00.003-05:00

Those bright white legs below are brought to you by not having run in shorts since October or November of 2010 thanks to being injured most of 2011! Before you shield your eyes from the radioactive day glo they cast, please note the shit-eating grin on my face! That my friends is a very, VERY happy girl who just got to run, in shorts, in January, in Michigan, moments ago.

A mile full of smiles on this gorgeous day!

*Thanks for being my paparazzi Sun Runner!

3 Things Thursday

2012-01-05T14:00:00.007-05:00

"Running is Hard"... Between my R2R and Spike starting marathon training again, you hear that phrase being said a lot around our house lately. While I'm still enjoying every step of my runs, starting over from scratch is hard, and by that last lap of my recent mile runs I'm spent! There's also the new-found soreness factor, which was in full effect after the Eve on the Ave 5k race but thankfully, y'all helped me decide on FB that, that was more awesome than lame. :)
Personal Growth Goals... Between a Christmas request to draw a picture for a niece and all the wedding crafting we've been doing lately it got me thinking that I should really get back in to doing artwork again. It's been a very looong time and I decided to make it a new years personal goal. I've made good on it twice already by painting some fun pics for Spike's niece's with more on the way.

I've dubbed these the "Undie Owl"
and the "Funky Penguin"
#RYTO5K... To end this, I just thought I'd direct your attention to Adam's "Race Your Thorns Off 5K Virtual Race." He has put this on for the last few years and it's a great first "race" to get you back in to training mode during these cold months of winter. The race is set for January 28th so there's still time to join and get to training!

Have you made any personal, non-fitness related, goals for yourself for the new year?

Eve on the Ave 5k Race Recap

2012-01-03T09:00:00.004-05:00

Eve on the Ave 5k Race Recap

Pre-Race: Because it was New Years Eve we first had a delicious sushi dinner with friends in Lansing around 6pm. (Do not, I repeat, DO NOT consume massive amounts of sushi three hours before an evening race. Oy!) After dinner we headed down to Jackson, arriving just over an hour before the start. Sun Runner and The Engineer arrived shortly thereafter and after Spike and I changed out of our fancy dinner duds into our race gear we all milled about chatting up the other runners and goofing around taking pictures of ourselves.

Start Corral: This was a very small race, as in 82 participants. Apparently people in Jackson have better things to do at 10 pm on NYE than to run a 5k... to that I ask, what?!?! LOL! Anyway, because it was such a small race there were no timing chips or any kind of a start area to really speak of so we racers merely grouped together just outside of the church hosting the event and waited to hear the shout to "GO!" It was a joyous moment, toeing my first start line since coming back, our foursome hugged and cheered to celebrate.

The Race: Moments before the shout to "GO!" Spike decided to line up at the front to "lead" the race for the first 100 meters and so for the first few minutes all you could hear over the sound of foot falls was him yelling like a lunatic. (Yes, I still plain to marry him.) After he got that out of his system he slowed to a trot so I could catch up and we did the rest of the race together. We had decided ahead of time our plan of action for the race would be: .5 M run, 1 M walk, .5 M run, 1 M walk, .1 run. I could've ran an entire mile but I really wanted to break up the walking. That first half mile went so fast but felt so good! (Minus all the sushi burps, oy!) Over the course of the next two miles somehow my hair tie managed to break, I dropped a glove, and my shoe came untied. Spike dubbed me a bit of a disaster but we had a blast together, thanking all the cops and volunteers and the few spectators that were actually out, cheering on the runners who lapped us, and yelling at the drunks downtown. Before we knew it we were in the home stretch. I had wanted to sprint the last .1 but Spike reminded me that I hadn't exactly sprinted in recent months so I settled for picking up the run pace just a hair and we were done!

I decided to break out the sparkle pants again for the race, I wanted to be festive and all the volunteers and drunks sure appreciated them! LOL!

Garmin Time: 37:26

66/82 Overall - 2nd in AG 30-34

Post Race: After finishing we checked the results as they had recorded us old school style coming through the finish, Sun Runner and I were happy to find out we both took 2nd in our respective AG's! (It should be noted there were only two people in my AG so while I did take second, I was also last. Whomp, whomp.)

Post Race Thoughts: I have to say, although the race itself was small, the course was still really well marked and organized. It was a fun run/walk but the majority of the field ran with only a few of us bringing up the rear walking. (Or mostly walking in our case) There were no aid stations but considering it was a fun run and a chilly night, I think everyone was just fine. That said, after the year I had with my injury, getting to end it on a high note like this was a great way to remind myself just how far I've come. While it was only a collective mile, it was also the start of so many more to come. Spike and I agreed that this race might just become our NYE tradition.

2011 Recap / 2012 Goals

2012-01-01T21:00:00.007-05:00

2011 Year in Review

January - 125 M - January was full of awesome winter running, many a 10 miler with friends, the beginning of marathon training, and the Frostbite Marathon Relay; which would end up being my only running race of the year.

Team Frosted Flakes was tu-tu-rrific!

When in Holland, kiss like the Dutch!

February - 138.77 M - Cleveland Marathon training ruled my world and it was awesome.

March - 58.2 M - After starting off the month with a kick@ss 18 miler, a week later March would forever be known as the scene of the injury.

April - Between spectating my first race that wasn't, the Martian Half on crutches, then hobbling to Boston to cheer on Spike, I had to admit that injuries suck.

Saddest pic ever.

But this pic still makes me swoon!

May - After suffering some setbacks, I kinda hated May, but at least I got to rock some spectating for/with friends (at another race that wasn't) at the Cleveland Marathon.

June - Thanks to the setbacks in May, I spent the whole of June rocking some serious Das Boot, but at least I got to surprise my Beaker Luv for her baby shower and there was that whole Florence + The Machine and U2 concert with Jen B. Woot!

Making Das Boot classy since 2011!

July - In July I picked up my beloved new toy, Leela the bike, took a sh*t ton of pictures in the 30 Day Photo Challenge, and got to cheer on my Boo at the Top Gun Tri.

August - Another forgettable month of non-running mixed with some PT, biking, and lots (relative) of swimming.

Leela & Brownie are long over do for a bike date!

September - I finally got a second opinion on my leg, which was promptly followed by me having to go all Morgana the Red on a bone stimulator rep to get a bone stimulator in the first place. Besides all that mess, my fav memory of September will be walking the Cooley Law 5k with Spike for a 5k PW. Leg be damned!

October - I said goodbye to my 20's and hello to the big 3-0! The very next weekend Spike sent me on an unforgettable quest that started in Florida and ended back where our love story began, in Chicago, with him on one knee!

You guys tired of kissing pic yet? :)

And if that weren't enough, I wrapped up the month in D.C. spectating MCM with these lovely ladies in some awesome sparkle pants.

November - That just happened last month right? Yeah, I don't remember it either.

December - 3.1 M - Finally CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF! Being able to run again was so awesome but then after a few short runs I coughed myself injured and had to shut it down for the year... or NYE anyway!

Christmas 2011 - The Future Mr. & Mrs. Spike

Wrapping up the year on a high note, by running!
(Ok, and a whole lot of walking too but still!)
Eve on the Ave Race Recap HERE!

Running Total for 2011 = 327± M

Usually at this point I would reflect back to my goals for the year and see how they stacked up but that is all sorts of depressing so we'll just skip that m'kay?

Looking Ahead, 2012

My one and only goal for 2012 is: Run happy and healthy. Normally I would project all kinds of mileage goals I had in mind for training, maintaining, and year end, not to mention all the usual PR dreams, but after the very lengthy and unexpected injury that hijacked my 2011 season my outlook on these things have changed. I have planned my comeback very conservatively to ensure there are no injuries this coming season and will be grateful for every mile covered, however many that may be. The end.

Before I end this post I just want to extend a big, bold, THANK YOU for following along this year, even when my running adventures took an extended hiatus and meaningless drivel filled the void. Your encouragement and support was appreciated more than you'll ever know and got me through a lot of the rough patches. It is my sincere hope that this kind of thing never happens again around here and that 2012 will bring endless amounts of running ramblings only!!!

Running is what you make of it; make it an Adventure!™

December Recap/Stats

2011-12-30T12:00:00.006-05:00

And so ends another year. The numbers this month are so far off from what I had expected for this, my return to running month, but between a family emergency consuming the first few weeks, traveling to Florida after that, then getting horribly sick, followed by straining an intercostal muscle, and then of course the holidays... it ended up being a bit of a wash. It is my hope beyond hope that going forward in to 2012 that all the crappy, no fun things are behind me and I can focus on getting back to 100%! Now on to the numbers:

Miles Ran: 3.1 COLLECTIVE MILES!!!

Meters Swam: 0 m - Whoops!

Miles Biked: 0 M - Another Whoops!

Miles Elliptical'd: 7 M

Miles Walked: 8.05 M - Least amount of walks since my boot days! Add another whoops up in here!

Flights of Stairs Climbed: 104 Flights

Rest Days Planned/Taken: How ever many needed / 15

Current Reads: (Reading) Atonement by Ian McEwan; I just got started on this book, so no real formative thoughts on it yet.

(Finished) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett; I had a hard time getting in to this book but once all the characters were established and the story line picked up, I couldn't put it down and the ending blew my mind. Beautiful and tragic love story. Bossypants by Tina Fey; Entertaining. Fast Read. That's about it.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I'm still addicted to reading all the drama on the wedding boards, it's better than Reality TV!!!

Current Obsession: See above.

Current Drink: Always with the water.

Current Song: "Ave Maria" has been stuck in my head for weeks!

Current Wish-List: No wishes needed over here, I am absolutely blessed right now.

Current Need: See above.

Current Triumph: The triumphant R2R!!! See also "Miles Ran" above. :)

Current Bane of my Existence: NOTHING! No more linking to that horrid injury page! YES!!!!!!!!!!

Current Goal: To make 2012 "The Year of the Redhead!!!" LOL!

Current Indulgence: Christmas Cookies. Mmmm....

Current Blessings: Being able to spend time and support those we care about during a difficult time and the continued love, encouragement, and support from my family, friends, all of you, and especially, le Spike.

Current Excitement: Tomorrow's fun run/walk and the impending new year! SOOO ready to put 2011 behind me for good! Bring on 2012!!!

How'd your December shape up?!?!

Running is what you make of it, make it an Adventure!™

3 Things Thursday

2011-12-29T14:00:00.010-05:00

How the Grinch Stole from a Charity Race...

THIS. <- Please click.

For those of you that have been following me for awhile you'll remember that I got involved with Operation Jack back in August of 2009. In December of 2009 I posted about why it was a cause important to me and I went on to raise over $1,000 with your help while training and going sub-4 at the Gasparilla Marathon in February of 2010. This year, because of my injury I wasn't able to do any of the Operation Jack events but it is still a cause I wholeheartedly support. Sam, the founder of Operation Jack and father of Jack, is an amazing person and I consider him a dear friend. I am so disappointed that the Houston Area Road Runners Association, part of the bigger running community that I consider myself a part of, would shut down a small fries charity event like this and cost the charity $500 in returns, it's just unacceptable. Shame, shame, shame on you HARRA!!! I really hope they step up to the plate to fix this and host the event next year, that is really the only way to make this right. Are you man enough HARRA?!?!?
Hard at Work or Hardly Working? This week has been the quietest week at work ever! There's a skeleton crew holding down the fort and I feel like I've hit "refresh" more times then I ever have, ever. Thankfully I was able to get caught up on a bunch of stuff, get to some things that have been on the back burner for awhile, and cleaned my desk which is big because that thing never gets cleaned! Yuck!
New Year's Eve Plans... Our last few NYE's have been all sorts of fun with a road trip to Chattanooga (2009/2010) and Spike's sister having an amazing NYE wedding (2010/2011) so this year had a lot to live up to. We finally decided on having dinner with friends earlier in the evening and then heading down to Jackson (my old hometown) to join Sun Runner and The Engineer for a NYE 5k walk/run called "Eve on the Ave," it starts at 10 pm. I can't think of any better way to end this year of injury than by walk/running my way through a 5k with my future hubs and some of our fav friends!

What are y'all getting in to for NYE!?!?!? Whatever it is, I'm wishing you all a great and safe one!

{Mostly} Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-28T12:30:00.001-05:00

So excited to earn my "manly" name when I become a part of Spike's family next year!

3 Things Thursday

2011-12-22T10:30:00.001-05:00

Back on the Sidelines... After only one short week of half milers I'm back on the sidelines but thankfully, not because of my leg. No, this injury is from coughing too hard and pulling/straining an intercostal (rib) muscle. Everything I've read says that running will only further aggravate this injury so I'm just going to play it safe and shut things down until the new year. Only me right?
I'm Dreaming of a Wh...Wh...Where's the Snow? Everyone seems to be up in arms about not having a white Christmas here in the mitten but I personally could care less. I'm not particularly a fan of driving in the stuff and after living in Florida for 11 years, I don't need it to celebrate the holiday. Does that make me a Scrooge? Anyone else a-ok without the white stuff?
Festive Festivus! Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or Fesitvus, here's wishing you and yours a happy one! Catch y'all on the flipside of holiday goodness!

3 Things Thursday

2011-12-15T11:00:00.001-05:00

Florida Fun... As y'all know, I headed down to my beloved O-town this past weekend for the Girls Annual Christmas Dinner/Ornament Exchange/Ugly Sweater Party. I had a blast spending quality time with all my favorite Florida ladies (and bridesmaids!!!) and the weather was absolutely perfect. 70* in December!! Why did I move to Michigan again? Spike who? LOL! I kid, I kid. Sorta.

Love these ladies!

Engaged Girls!
It was so fun talking weddings with Rixy & Linds.
Running, Running, and Running, Running... So can I just say that I simply can't get enough of this whole running again thing? I know that it's only a half of a mile of running but after nine months of no running at all, I just can't get enough. Tomorrow is my last half miler of the week and then I get to move up to an entire mile next week! Woo hoo!!!

U of M Track; i.e. running in enemy territory.
Down With The Sickness... So I'm fairly certain that I currently have either the Bubonic Plague or African Ebojawabee Disease. If you don't hear from me for a couple days it's probably because I've crawled under my desk and died. Ugh.

Wedding Warbling

2011-12-14T08:00:00.011-05:00

Alright ladies (and gents, just in case any of you guys care to peruse this all-things-wedding post) here's where I give you the scoop on the wedding deets. This could be the first of many posts on the subject, or the only. Spike and I really want to keep things under wraps for obvious reasons, but I can share a few things...

Venue... Check! We're heading over to Grand Rapids, {hopefully} marrying in Spike's sister's church, and then hitting downtown to boogie down for the reception. The reception venue is catering the event so that's one less thing we have to worry about! Score!
Date... Check! The big day will be Saturday, October 13, 2012, which just so happens to be the three year anniversary of our first date! We picked this day because it conveniently fell the weekend after Art Prize (so there may still be art up around the city to enjoy without the crowds) and the weekend before the Michigan vs Michigan State game (for all our diehard football fans cough *Spike and the groomsmen* cough) and also the Grand Rapids Marathon (so half the city won't be shut down come Sunday when our guests try to leave). Not to mention the first few weeks of October are drop dead gorgeous with perfect temps and beautiful foliage epitomizing a fall wedding, plus the whole of October holds many special firsts from our relationship.
Save the Date's... Check! We used an old copy of "Pride and Prejudice" scavenged from a book sale for the inside of the envelopes and I put my own spin on the library cards when I laid them out, adding a timeline of some of those key October dates from our relationship. We finished them off by date stamping in red ink the big day.

Obviously only our friends will get the "Spike + Red" cards.
Colors... Check! We had long talked about using yellow and gray, as they are both featured on our flag, so that is what we are going to do. It was actually the first thing we decided on.
Wedding Party... Check! I won't discuss Spike's groomsmen because he is not quite done asking yet but here are the bridesmaid deets: I always knew this would be a very hard decision to make because I have so many wonderful ladies in my life, but in the end I chose my Beaker Luv as maid of honor, my dearest Rixy, my beloved B.o.B., and my cousin Michelle. With that figured out I wanted to do something special to ask them and decided on giving each a scroll and "quest", playing off our engagement. The "quest" being a lighthearted poem I wrote about being my bridesmaid (email me if you want to read it), written on a scroll that was then wrapped around a piece of chalk that they would use to "accept" by picture texting me with the words "I DO".

I used paint samples in our wedding colors from Home Depot for addressing the packages and also enclosed another sample they could keep in their purse to use for inspiration as they look for dresses.

It was so fun getting all the "I DO's"

Dress... Check! So let me preface this by saying I had no idea I'd find a dress as fast as I did. My step-mom set up an appointment to try on dresses while I was visiting my family in Colorado over Thanksgiving and I went in thinking it would be mostly just for fun. I wasn't sure what I really wanted so I just let everyone pick dresses for me to try on and lo and behold the very first one I tried on, picked by the sales girl, was it. When I came out and saw the looks on my family's faces and then looked in the mirror myself I knew it was the one. My heart skipped a beat and the fam exclaimed "It's a 10!!!" rating all others less and saying they didn't compare. I tried so hard not to order but I couldn't, it was "The One". I cannot wait to wear it for Spike next October!

Via
NOT "the one" but one of the rejects.

My lil sis insisted I try it on, it's called "Rapunzel" from the Disney line, I could not keep a straight face wearing it! The sales girl said I was the only person to ever have tried it on since it came in. Def not my cup of tea.
Photographer... Check! Thank you weddingbee.com for serving up a ton of great recommendations in the local board sections. Spike and I love the work they've done and look forward to shooting our engagement photo's with them in the Spring and discussing the fun shots we want to do for the wedding day.
Odds and Ends... Getting there! The creative juices have been flowing for all the other fun stuff, it's been so much fun bouncing ideas off each other and then working together to see those ideas transform in to reality! DIY Wedding FTW!!!

And that's all I have for you today. We're so excited and can't wait for October to get here so we can say "I do!"

So, any words of advice or stories to share from your own weddings? We'd love to hear them!

Like I Never Missed A Beat

2011-12-09T13:00:00.007-05:00

Back in September Spike and I were chit-chatting about my injury and how long it had been since my last run (early March). Knowing it would be at least December before I would run again, he says to me,

"If there was snow on the ground during your last run and it's on the ground for your next one, well, it'll be like you never missed a beat!"

He was kidding of course, nine months is hardly "not missing a beat", but there ended up being a bit of truth to that statement; Last night when I set out for my first run in over nine months it was 30*, windy, and there was in fact some snow on the ground. I'd have laughed at the irony if I weren't already brimming over with so much excitement.

It felt so weird to have Hermes on my wrist again and a pair of running shoes on my feet. I had underestimated the weather and ended up being under-dressed for the amount of time we'd actually be out, it's one thing to wear a single layer in 30* temps when you're going long, it's another when you're only going a collective mile, but I didn't care. After managing to flash the U of M track team my new sports bra on accident and then getting scolded by Fabulous for not demanding they show us theirs in return, we got to the track. I fumbled with Hermes to get him going, "How do I reset again?" "What do I push to turn on the light?" and after a quick refresher tutorial we were off. Fab started running laps while I began my .25 M warm up walk, within minutes I had lapped the track and it was time to RUN!

What a weird feeling it is to know you can run after nine months of not being able to. As I neared the mark where I could start running my stomach knotted up and I actually had a moment where I thought about not doing it. I got over that quick enough and it was go time. Fabulous ran by my side, stride for stride, as we both screamed like 13 year old girls having a Justin Bieber sighting that I was RUNNING!!!... for two glorious laps of the track or .5 miles.

ZOMG!!!

Before I even had a chance to get warmed up or break a sweat I had to slow to a walk for my cool down lap. All done and said it was the most exhilarating 12+ minutes /one collective mile I've done for a workout in a LONG time. My legs were fresh and it felt right, I was grinning from ear to ear the rest of the night.

I can't wait for my next half miler tomorrow with B.o.B as I'm headed down to Florida tonight for the "Girls Annual Christmas Dinner" this weekend. (The trip they all chipped in on for my birthday) So far so good on not having any residual pain at the fracture site, just some muscle soreness that was to be expected considering how long its been since these legs have endured any kind of impact.

I can't thank you all enough for enduring my many months of being injured and especially for the support you've provided along the way. As each excited comment popped up on yesterday's post my heart swelled to know that I had, had so many people behind me this whole time. I am eternally grateful to have always had a shoulder to lean on during all of this and many times that shoulder came from one of you.

Alright, enough of this sappy stuff, how awesome is it to not hear me whine about being injured anymore?!?!? :)

To end this post I want to share two hilarious things that were said to me after discussing my return to running (R2R) yesterday:

Sun Runner: "One might say you full term gestated your stress fracture and birthed a healthy, fully healed bone!"

Harold: "See all the good things that come when you stimulate a bone?"

More to come next week, have a fantabulous weekend rocking those races and runs my friends!

CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF!!!

2011-12-08T11:00:00.008-05:00

We interrupt your regularly scheduled "3 Things Thursday" with a very important announcement:

The Redhead has been cleared for takeoff!!!

I have waited nine long, never ending months to say that my friends and it feels even better than I thought it would!!!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I need to get to it here at work but in a nutshell; the MRI and x-rays showed a cleanly healed fracture site and after a few hop/jump tests and a promise not to even think about attempting to run a marathon for at least a year he cleared me for takeoff! Half mile increments every week, running only three days per week, until I get up to at least 5 miles. Then I can start thinking about any kind of real "training." I cannot even begin to tell you how much I needed some good news this week!

My first run bag packed in over 9 months!
Can't wait to hit the track for .5 M with Fabulous this afternoon!!!

November Recap/Stats

2011-11-30T13:30:00.003-05:00

Meters Swam: 0 m - But I have an excuse; I got two moles removed and am not allowed in chlorine for like a month. Stay tuned for this number to change by the end of next month!

Miles Biked: 22 M - An improvement from last month but still need to get those numbers higher!

Miles Elliptical'd: 6 M - Still smiling every time!

Miles Walked: 22.2 M - SunRunner and I lucked out with many days of just-nice-enough weather to continue our regular lunch time walks this month... until this happened last night:

Thus creating a new activity to keep track of:

Flights of Stairs Climbed: 52 - Climbed over lunch and my legs are still quivering. We're going to have phenomenal butts by the spring!

Rest Days Planned/Taken: How ever many needed / 13

Xtraining Workouts Planned/Done: As many as possible / 17

Current Reads: (Reading) Still working on Bel Canto by Ann Patchett with Bossyants by Tina Fey queued up next.

(Finished) None. Slacker right over here. *Waves*

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Reading the different wedding website forums... It's seriously addicting, there are some crazy people getting married out there.

Current Obsession: Pinterest.

Current Drink: Water.

Current Song: It's a toss up between "Man or Muppet" and "Life's a Happy Song" (Can you tell I saw the Muppets this past weekend?) LOL!

Christmas Wish-List: The Grid foam roller (for when I'm back at it) and/or a wireless bike computer

Current Need: Besides a cure for cancer???

Current Triumph: Passing the 2 mile mark on the elliptical pain free!

Current Bane of my Existence: The usual. See also "Current Need"

Current Goal: (Repeated from March, April, May, June, July, August, September and October) To stay positive and focused on active recovery/xtraining so I can hit the ground running sooner rather than later. T-minus eight days until my next doctor appointment... *Fingers Crossed*

Current Indulgence: Pumpkin Chai Cake Balls from Cake Nouveau

Current Blessings: To be able to spend time and support those we care about during a difficult time and the continued love, encouragement, and support from my family, friends, all of you, and especially, the fiance.

Current Excitement: Very excited for my upcoming trip back to Florida for the Girl's Annual Gift Exchange!!! I'm also stoked for an early Christmas get together we're having with all of Spike's friends, then of course Christmas itself and seeing all the Spike/Redhead fam's.

How'd your November shape up?!?!

Running is what you make of it, make it an Adventure!™

Tuesday Tidbits

2011-11-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

Sooo it seems I've gone MIA 'round here huh? A quick look at my last post reveals that it's been almost 3 weeks and then there's always this:

Whoops, sorry folks, I just haven't had much to say since I last posted. (Ok so if you follow me on Twitter you'll notice I do pop up on Sunday's and Monday's to discuss The Walking Dead with a few of my fellow zombie enthusiasts but that's about it.) I hate posting just to post, especially when I have nothing of real merit or value to say but just this once I will feed you some meaningless drivel and catch you up on what I've been up to the last few weeks:

Working out via weights, walks, stationary bike, and the elliptical are still going strong. I even managed to get in three solid walks while in Colorado this past weekend.
Speaking of Colorado and this weekend, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!! Spike and I sure did, we visited with the Redhead fam per usual, stayed up way too late per usual, ate way too much per usual, and took lots of ridiculous pics per usual.

The significant other's decided to hold their own photo shoot when they were told they couldn't be in the family photo. (Yes that's the Fa-tha photo bombing in the background)

Silly Sisters
(I can't believe how old they are now!)

The people who worked at JC Penney were not amused at our hijinks but we sure were!
Self timer FTW!
Wedding planning is still in full swing and I've even drafted up a whole post dedicated to some of the deets for you! Stay tuned!
Thursday morning I'm headed in for a MRI on my leg in advance of next week's appointment. The leg is still feeling great and my fingers are crossed I will finally, once and for all, put this injury behind me.
The weather here in the mitten has officially turned. Winter is here and the 10" of snow it's bringing tomorrow confirms it. Boo.

So that about sums it up for me, how about you? I've been so busy with work, traveling, and life in general that I've barely had time to keep up. Anyone have anything exciting going on?!?! Do tell!

3 Things Thursday

2011-11-10T14:40:00.001-05:00

I Retract My Previous Statement... So remember when I said I loved daylight savings time on Monday? Um yeah, I kinda forgot about the whole, it's now pitch black when I get out of work thing. Boo.
Infatuation... Have you ever been at the gym and seen someone who actually looks happy to be there? That's currently me; big goofy grin slapped on my face, sweat dripping from my brow, loving every moment of my 1.5 elliptical miles. I've gotten a few weird looks and that's when I realized, is it just me or are there a lot of grumpy faces at the gym?
Red + Spike Update... Some of you have expressed an interest in hearing about wedding deets so I thought I'd share that we're touring a few venues on Saturday and will hopefully find a place we love and pick a date! For those of you that are married already or about to be wed, how'd you know you found *THE* place? Also, feel free to share any tips or advice.

I hope you all are gearing up for an awesome weekend on this Friday Eve!

LOVE/Don't Love

2011-11-07T12:00:00.007-05:00

{LOVE/Don't Love ala Christy}

Falling back and getting an extra hour of daylight during the day... LOVE

After I went 1.5 M on the elliptical on Saturday, I followed it up with five fast miles on the bike, my PT exercises, a bunch of lunges and squats and am feeling the best kind of sore but NO pain... LOVE

The mustache Spike was sporting when LPT and I came home from the gym on the other hand... Don't Love
(It wasn't really that terrible it's just that I could NOT take him seriously all day! LOL! It has since been shaved.)

Speaking of Spike, he voluntarily went to a bridal show with me yesterday, it was hilarious watching him ask absurd questions of the vendors and especially when he high-fived the only other guy there. He's been really in to this whole wedding planning thing and it's so fun... LOVE

I've passed the one month mark with the bone stimulator and have only missed one day, the morning after I got engaged, and happy to report my leg feels almost 100%. I'm feeling really confident about my upcoming December appointment... LOVE

Unfortunately the button keeps falling off and this morning I spent over 15 minutes tearing apart my bed looking for it only to find it stuck to my pajama pants... Don't Love.

We've been blessed with a long fall this year and I can't get enough of it. The cool mornings and sunny days, heck even the overcast days with moderate temps, have been most appreciated. Anything to delay the winter... LOVE

I love that my secret alleyway has been
dressed for winter but fall is still holding on!

So remember what a trainwreck I was that whole weekend I got engaged? Well I forgot to tell y'all I somehow managed to shave off a quarter of one eyebrow (I asked my cousin for tweezers and she only had this shaver thing) and it has since started to grow back. I've always drawn them on because they are so light but now that it's growing back it's so itchy I keep scratching it and messing up the drawn on part... Don't Love.

Last night I spent the evening with a few lovely ladies being reminded of all the blessings I have in my life to be grateful for... LOVE

And lest I forget, congrats to all those that raced NYCM!!!... LOVE

3 Things Thursday

2011-11-03T17:15:00.002-04:00

Deja Vu... Guess who I get to see again this weekend?!? LPT! She just so happened to be in the mitten for work this week and is going to stay with me for a few days! Yay! We've already promised each other no repeats of last weekend though, our livers might fail.
Overwhelmed... There's a whole lot of crazy going on in my life right now with things launching at work, recovering from non-stop travel over the last two weeks, the wedding planning, concern for friends, etc... that I have to keep reminding myself to JUST BREATHE. I seriously cannot wait to sleep in this Sunday and spend the day with my love doing nothing.
Small Victories... I've completed another pain free mile on the elliptical!!! I know that it might seem like small fries to you but when you've been injured and in pain for what, 7-8 months now?!?!, managing a workout that doesn't end in pain is a BIG deal. I hope to go a smidge further on Saturday, maybe go 1.5-2 miles but we'll see. It's so nice to add in something other than doing flat road, no resistance on the gym bikes.

Cheers to the freaking weekend!

MCM Weekend and Spectating Recap

2011-11-02T11:00:00.016-04:00

So I know MCM weekend was a few days ago and you'd think I'd be recovered by now but I'm not. It doesn't help that I've been jetsetting all over the place the last two weeks doing loads of celebrating of birthdays, engagements, and girls weekends. So yeah, my liver... notsohappy. Moving on...

I flew in to D.C. first thing Friday morning, Katie picking both me and Amy up. After dropping off our stuff at Katie's, meeting the pups, Amy and I going for a walk while Katie wrapped up some work stuff, we headed out to grab a bite to eat before hitting the expo. We briefly met Beth while mowing down Noodles & Co. and then it was quite the adventure getting down to the expo.

I was so excited to reunite with my beloved Lazy Runner

Amy, Heather, Katie and I at the expo

The expo was kinda nuts so we didn't stay long, instead heading back to Katie's to meet up with LPT who had arrived. After a whirlwind trip to Target, where we all bought stuff we surely didn't need, we headed to dinner to celebrate The Poet's birthday. Afterwards at home we girl talked late into the night. (And by late I mean 10pm.)

Saturday after an awesome brunch where I got to meet Allison and ultrarunnergirl, we had plans to visit the mall and see some of the D.C. must see's, but mother nature put a damper in that with her sleeting, hailing, and even snow. So instead we cuddled on the couch and watched chick flicks with the pups.

The puppies loved me.
Especially Molly who tried to make me her pillow the whole time.

Saturday night was ladies night. It got a little crazy. My liver hurts to recall it. We kinda blew up Twitter. That is all I will say about that.

Possibly the only semi-sober pic of the bunch.

Sunday came fast and hard (TWSS) but we had no time to waste, it was time to put on our spectating pants. Mine were silver sequined.

Katie set us up in the thick of Crystal City as promised, and we rocked out the morning to top 40 jams while cheering on the runners that passed. LPT had left us to go pace a friend so it was just Katie and I to amuse ourselves and annoy The Poet for updates on our runners.

Hotness.

Soon enough the Lazy Runner came zooming by, he had given me some Gu and what not to pass off to him and thankfully I was able to get it to him before he smoked the field on his way to a huge PR and BQ. (Recap HERE)

After LR, we kept our eyes peeled for Heather but somehow missed her, later we learned it was because she herself had smoked her PR and earned a BQ too!!! (Recap HERE) As the 4 hour pace group came up it was now time to keep watch for Christy (Recap HERE) and Amy (Recap HERE) both of whom Katie jumped in and ran with. (Both scored PR's)

This pic of Christy cracks me up!

I love this giant smile on Amy's face!

The next runner I was able to spot was Kandi (Recap HERE) and she was well on her way to a huge ol' PR too!

Get it girl!

I had hoped to spot ultrarunnergirl (Recap HERE), Micheal (Recap HERE), Chris (Recap HERE), and especially my beloved fellow redhead Ally (Recap to come) but the crowd was really thick and then there was the whole, LPT and I had flights to catch thing. I'm sorry I missed you all!!!

It was a beautiful day for racing and as far as I could tell the course is beautiful and the crowds are great. We had a blast in Crystal City and I'd def spectate there again. Congrats to all who raced!!!

October Recap/Stats

2011-10-31T13:00:00.003-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

This year's Pumpkins, carved and ready!

I love Halloween... and fall... but not what comes after. Stupid winter. Any way...

Meters Swam: 0 m = Total FAIL this month. I just never had the time.

Miles Biked: 10.65 M = Lame. You'd think I'd have had a whole lot more considering I got Leela that trainer but no such luck. This month was just too busy.

Miles Walked: 35.75 M = We have a winner! Lunch time walks with SunRunner FTW!

Miles Elliptical'd: 1 M - My first in MONTHS! Sooo excited this went well. Will be adding this in more for November, fingers crossed the leg holds up.

Rest Days Planned/Taken: How ever many needed / 13

Xtraining Workouts Planned/Ran: As many as possible / 18

Most Enjoyable Workout: We lucked out with quite a few beautiful fall days this month and SunRunner and I took advantage of every single one of them. I will be sad when we can't do this anymore because of the weather but we're already planning on hitting up some stairs instead to keep moving.

Current Reads: (Reading) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett; "Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots.Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped." This was recommended to me by quite a few friends and so far it has not disappointed.

(Finished) Blindness by Jose Saramago; AMAZING, disturbing, insane. I couldn't put it down. The Story of Racer by Spike; I may be biased, but I think it was the most beautiful love story I've ever read.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Too much Halloween candy.

Current Obsession: (Still) Pumpkin flavored everything.

Current Drink: Water with Emergen-C in it because with all the traveling I've been doing I need to stay on top of NOT getting sick.

Current Song: "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People. Yes I know I'm late to this one, I blame lack of running.

Current Wish-List: For the winter to keep at bay for a few more weeks.

Current Need: No needs at the moment, life's kinda awesome right now.

Current Triumph: Enjoying one pain free mile on the elliptical!!! Also, surviving this weekend in D.C. {Some} Deets to come. What happens in D.C., stays in D.C.

Current Bane of my Existence: The usual.

Current Goal: (Repeated from March, April, May, June, July, August and September) To stay positive and focused on active recovery/xtraining so I can hit the ground running sooner rather than later. Look out December, I'm coming for you.

Current Indulgence: All the fun stuff that comes with getting engaged; thinking of wedding ideas, looking at magazines, pinning stuff on our Pinterest wedding board together, staring at my ring, telling the story of the proposal, and being all sorts of schmoopy.

Current Blessings: The continued love, encouragement, and support from my family, friends, readers, and especially, my betrothed.

Current Excitement: I'm STILL floating on Cloud 9 after that engagement quest... But also excited for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday so we can fly to Denver and visit my family.

How'd your October shape up?!?!

Running is what you make of it, make it an Adventure!™

3 Things Thursday

2011-10-27T08:30:00.001-04:00

This is still a running blog... First and foremost, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your well wishes and congrats on the big announcement!!! Spike and I could not be any happier if we tried! No date set yet or any of that other stuff, we're still enjoying the moment and being schmoopy. Anyway, I just want to assure you that this doesn't change the format around here, this is still a running blog. Ok, ok, it hasn't been a running blog in forever, but it's still a fitness enthusiast's, injured runner's blog and I promise not to clog it up with wedding planning. Especially with actual running on the horizon... December I'm coming for you!

But before I make good on that promise, I just have to share a few of my favorite pics from the actual proposal, yes Spike planned this down to the last detail, including a secret photographer (his cousin) to catch it all on camera. Swoon!
MCM... As I mentioned last week, we'll be setting up our spectating shop near Crystal City, mile 22-23ish, near the turnaround. Look for us, I'll be wearing silver sequined pants. We're also going to be hitting up the expo tomorrow around 2 pm. I'm so excited to have this epic girls weekend in D.C. and catch up with quite a few of my favorite blog friends, meet a few more, and especially slumber party with these two ladies all weekend long. Did someone say vodka?!?
The Walking Dead... Please tell me Spike and I are not the only ones obsessed with this show?!?! OMG I am always on the edge of my seat and/or burying my face in to Spike's arm. Best. Zombie. Show. Ever. (And y'all know I love a zombie.)

An Unforgettable Quest

2011-10-24T23:38:00.012-04:00

I must preface this story by saying that my recount, even with the pictures (click any to enlarge), will never do justice to the immense effort and thought put into every single moment of the past few days. I am purposely glossing over details because they were all in some way, shape, or form an aspect of our relationship that can never effectively be explained. That said, I will now tell you about an unforgettable quest I began last Thursday...

Last Thursday mere hours before I left for my Florida birthday trip (a trip that was my birthday present from Spike) and hours after I posted 3 Things Thursday, Sun Runner messaged me saying she had something to give me before I left. I suspected nothing. I tell her I'll swing by her office when I head out to the airport as she works across the street but she insists she must come to me. She arrives shortly after and presents me with a scroll. I knew immediately it was from Spike because no one loves a scroll like Spike does.

Upon unrolling it I read that I am to begin a quest, but there are two stipulations: the first is that I cannot contact him in any way; and the second is that I must write "Today I begin a quest" on the ground. I accept the chalk Sun Runner is holding and go outside into the rain and write my promise. She then hands me a booklet of two sheets of paper. The first reads "The Story of Racer" and the second begins the story, our story, and tells how we came to be 'us.' Essentially, how once upon a time a girl trained in Florida for a race in Chicago....and that was it. No clues, riddles, or hints on what was to come next other than to return to the land where the story began.

So I fly to Florida full of wild speculations of what this could possibly mean. I read and re-read both the scroll and the story over and over on the plane and again to Beaker Luv when I arrived. What could it mean?! What will happen next?!? Time would tell.

Friday she and I go shopping and I look high and low for a dress to wear to my party the next day because Rixy keeps insisting I wear one. I packed a few but wanted something else; so I searched to no avail. After shopping our faces off we returned home and she casually mentions there is something on the table for me. "Is there now?!? I knew you were in on this!!!"

On the table is a beautiful box bearing a golden phoenix. My heart races, I know this phoenix. Then I see three small packages that each have dates on them, I confusedly look to her as she begins to read from a small strip of paper "What is the date of your and Spike's first kiss?"

I opened the package with the date, October 15th in case you were wondering, and there is a small key, the key to unlock the box. I open it and see the top portion of a folded flag. A design on which I know well because it is something I designed for Spike a long time ago. It's essentially a coat of arms, something we had discussed unveiling when we got married someday. I cried. (I'm a crier.) I open it up to see it in its full glory and Beaker Luv hands me three more pages of the story. I cry harder. I explain to her what the flag means. "Does this mean?!? No it can't possibly be "that which we do not speak of"... this must be some kind of epic birthday surprise right?!?"

Linds comes over shortly thereafter and we spend the rest of the night speculating and discussing her recent engagement. I read and re-read the story long past everyone going to bed. And I cry.

Saturday I meet up with Rixy, Yvonney, and Kimmy for their sons' baseball game. I fill them in on what's going on and announce "And I know one of you b*tches have the next piece!" Lol! After the game we all head out for mani/pedi's and then back to Yvonney's to get ready for my party that night. As guests arrive, including B.o.B, I explain what's going on and how I'm quite certain the next piece will occur that evening. Later that evening, after cocktails and awesome food had been consumed and after my amazing friends presented me with a plane voucher to return in December for the annual girls Christmas dinner, on a weekend Spike conveniently had me block already (I say conveniently but really I'm realizing all my friends are lying, scheming yet loveable hoes!!!), I was steered into the front room where the door was closed behind me and my dear Rixy awaited.

On the coffee table in front of her was a box, smaller than the last, with three small packages with city names on them. After I sit down, tears in my eyes, she reads from a small strip of paper "In what city did you and Spike first profess your love to one another?" In the package marked "Chattanooga" I found the key that opened the box.

Inside the box was a nautical star in the same gold as the phoenix on the box, another token of our relationship, and a folded piece of paper that, at the time, looked like an after thought--so I disregarded it and started to cry. Rixy then presented me with three more pages of the story, which I struggled to read through tears. After I read it she pointed to the paper and I opened it to find an itinerary. An itinerary for the next morning. An itinerary with a destination not to Detroit and home, but to Chicago. And that is when I truly knew what was going on. And I cried harder then I had so far. We then held each other, because that's what we do.

The rest of the night is a blur of emotions, predominately happy, but also anxious, excited, and just the tiniest bit of sadness because, if you remember dear readers, I have not spoken to my beloved Spike in days and all I want more than anything is to call him and tell him how much I love him and the story and all the things he has been doing. But I couldn't. It would violate my oath.

I did not sleep one wink that night and when 5 am Sunday morning rolled around I showered and prepared myself for the flight to Chicago. I spent the first leg of the journey crying and re-reading the story. And willing myself not to vomit. At my layover in Cincinnati I managed to choke down a banana but I spent the rest of the time willing myself not to vomit. During the short flight from Cincy to Chi-town I re-read the story and cried some more. Before the wheels of the plane even touched down on the tarmac in Chicago I turned on my phone to see if there were any clues as to what would happen next...

And there was a text from my cousins saying they'd be picking me up. When I hopped in the car I apologized ahead of time in the event I threw up in the back seat. They both laughed and asked me how I was doing. I asked them if they remembered the exact moment they realized they were getting proposed to (they did) and I said, imagine feeling like that for 4 days! Then they asked me if I was ready for the next piece of the quest. I was. Mel held up a small strip of paper, struggled to read it, and finally just gave it to me. It read "Do you believe in everlasting love?" I started crying. I managed to nod my head and say "of course." Upon hearing my answer, Mel handed me a book. A book? I opened it to find the entire story, our story, with the final page in place. He had gotten our story made into a real book. Something I will be able to treasure forever. If you would like to read our story you can HERE. But come back, because there is still more of my story to tell...

So of course I cry even harder than ever and I'm openly weeping and doing the horrible choke on breaths and ugly cry face. When I can finally collect myself I ask, so are we on our way to him now?!?!? (The last page had instructions to meet him at the place of our first date) No. What?!?!? Nope, we are going home so you can clean yourself up and then we'll catch a train into the city. Oh Spike I thought, you sure know how to drive a girl CRAZY!!! Rereading the final page again, I realized I accidentally glossed over the part of the story detailing what time to meet.

The next two hours were the longest two hours of my life.

We finally arrive via train into the city and grabbed a cab to Shedd's Aquarium, which you may remember from my almost two year old post where I revealed how we had come to start dating. My cousins wonder aloud if I knew where exactly we're supposed to meet Spike because he hadn't mentioned it; but I knew. Rounding the corner to the front of the building I saw him; wearing a huge smile, rocking back and forth on his heels, hands clasped in front of him, standing on the viewing deck with the cityscape as the backdrop.

And at that moment everything melted away and I walked (you know I would've ran if I could've, stupid leg), hands in pockets, tears streaming, smile plastered on my face, to him. I have never in my life been so happy to see him (and that's saying a lot seeing how we did a lot of not seeing each other when we were first dating long distance). When I reached him he grabbed both of my hands, spoke a few beautiful words about the quest and me, got down on one knee, pulled a box that was even smaller than the last one, a golden phoenix delicately painted on top from his pocket, and asked me to marry him.

I said yes. All the random people around us clapped and cheered. He twirled me around, we kissed, I may or may not have screamed in joy.

Four words made up the question, the answer required only one. After an unforgettable quest, our love story has really only just begun...

3 Things Thursday

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

#whyiwrite... Every day, every single one of us writes; whether it's a blog post or a tweet, email or text message, post-it note reminder or grocery list. That being said, did you know that today is National Day on Writing? National Day on Writing is a movement by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to help raise awareness about how important writing is. At some point today they and I challenge those of you with a Twitter account to tweet why you write and hashtag it with #whyiwrite to get the topic trending. You can read more about #whyiwrite HERE.

Here's my submission:
Bittersweet Florida Trip... In a few short hours I leave for O-town!!! On the one hand, I cannot wait to get there and see all my friends! I've been waiting for this weekend's trip since the moment I left there the last time. The girls are throwing me a belated 30th birthday party and I can't freaking wait to spend time with everyone!!! But, on the other hand, my heart breaks just thinking about having to leave Sunday knowing that my next trip isn't lined up and it's going to be a very long time before I'm able to visit again. Why does Florida have to be so far away from Michigan?!?!? :( :( :(
MCM Spectating... I've totally been gearing up for MCM spectating next weekend and just wanted to let those of you that are running or spectating know that I'll be setting up shop near Crystal City, mile 22-23 ish, near the turnaround. Make sure you swing by and say hi, I'll promise to give you a motivational speech and/or hug, and cheer my face off!

{Mostly} Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T08:00:00.010-04:00

Why 30 has been awesome so far...

Swoon.

Nothing like a Spartan victory to kick off an awesome

weekend with even awesomer friends.
Yup awesomer. :)

The Fatha's b-day present to me, an inside joke about how 30 = crazy cat lady
(Note it's name is Lulu which conveniently goes along with (my bike) Leela and (my car) Lola)

Awesomeness spotted at Detroit Marathon Expo.

Ode to a Decade: Saying Goodbye To My 20's

2011-10-14T08:00:00.009-04:00

Today marks THE last day of my 20's, ten years ago this day seemed impossible to fathom and yet, here we are. Starting tomorrow I will no longer be a 20-something but rather a 30-something. My how time flies when you're having fun!

As I walked down memory lane, accumulating pics for this tribute to a decade, I've had a lot of time to reflect on the good times, bad times, and all the people/things that happened in between that shaped me in to the woman I am today. For those of you that don't know, I lived in Orlando, Florida for all but the last year and a half of my 20's. Those years in Florida, surrounded by my "misfit family of friends," will forever hold a very special place in my heart. Together we loved, lost, studied, partied, vacationed, celebrated, and generally had a blast living life to it's fullest with only a handful of regrets along the way. Those were the years that prepared me for what was to come when I met Spike and would start the next leg of my journey, closing up the decade on the right foot. (Ha, literally. Stupid left leg.)

Join me now for a quick photo tour...

2001 - Age 20
My Beaker Luv and I. Can't seem to find a pic from my actual birthday, but here's one from the first annual Halloween party!
(Sometimes I still miss that nose ring!)

2002 - Age 21
Finally legal! Here I am celebrating at Cowboys!
(Being legal was soo much easier than sneaking shots in the bathroom! LOL!)

2003 - Age 22
Celebrating at the Ale House!

2004 - Age 23
With all my ladies downtown, Wall Street was the spot!

2005 - Age 24
Another birthday celebration at Cowboys and with my girls!

2006 - Age 25
25 was a big deal in my circle of friends and they all got together to throw me an absolute kick-@ss birthday celebration in Daytona, complete with a concert, surprise guests, and South Beach Mai Tai's! No birthday before or since has ever topped this awesome birthday!

2007 - Age 26
Rum Bar in West Palm

2008 - Age 27
Tapas and cocktails at Ceviche on Church Street!

2009 - Age 28
My 28th was celebrated multiple times over the course of a week but this pic sums it up best, I was still glowing from my first marathon finish and whirlwind weekend romance with Spike!
(Clueless that not even a year later my next adventure would land me back in Michigan!)

2010 - Age 29
Celebrated by rebounding from injury, running the Grand Rapids Half, and scoring a PR!

When I think about all the adventures my 20's held, it makes me excited for the ones to come in my 30's, which are sure to be just as eventful. (Minus the abundance of booze.) I've learned so much about myself, life, and what I want out of this life, that I am thankful for each and every step or misstep along the way. The regrets taught me to be a better person, the obstacles I've had to overcome made me stronger, and all that was amazing taught me to appreciate everything all the more.

To end this I'd like to send this open letter to my impending 30's...

Dear 30's,

I know you're going to be amazing and I can't wait to start this next chapter of my life! Somewhere along the way you're sure to hold my return to running, that fateful day I'll wear a white dress and marry my best friend, my first overseas travel excursion, the day I'll finally earn that BQ and go on to run Boston, the day I'll own my first home, the day(s?) I'll pop out a mini-me, and all the unexpected adventures in between.

Ready to Rock This,

Morgan

3 Things Thursday

2011-10-13T08:00:00.007-04:00

Leela IS Trainable: A few weeks ago I picked up a trainer for Leela only to find that her 1980's style was not vibing with the trainer's of today. The problem being that she had a solid axle over a quick release. I called around to some shops, and posted about it on FB, but everyone was coming up with the same answer; replace the entire back wheel with a new and improved quick release style. I made one last call for help to a friend who does Fixie's and he was able to get her modified and ready to rock! Thank you @beanteck for saving the day!

Ready to log some miles this winter!
B.o.B Does D-town: I get to see my B.o.B tomorrow! That's right, she's headed to the D for the Half this weekend and Spike, Sun Runner, and I are all meeting up with her for dinner tomorrow night. Sooo excited I get to see my Boo!
Case of the Schmoops: The last few and next few days hold a lot of anniversaries for me, specifically the two year anniversary of both running my first marathon and meeting/falling for the man I happen to be hopelessly in love with. I've been a big ball of sappy since the weekend reliving those moments in my mind; meeting him at the expo for the first time IRL after being blog buddies for so long, the entire Chicago Marathon experience (which still gives me butterflies in my stomach when I think of it), and the whole magical weekend that followed... Needless to say I've had a big goofy grin on my face most of the week.

Anyone else out there a big Sappy McSapperson like me when it comes to these kinds of things?!?!

{Mostly} Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T09:00:00.004-04:00

Sun Runner & I pondering WTF these statues are all about...

Captured during on our lunch walk Monday.

Happy Hump Day!

Stimulating My Bone: Part 1

2011-10-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

First things first, CONGRATULATIONS to all those that raced this weekend!!! From Portland to Denver, Chi-town to NYC, a whole lot of awesome happened over the weekend and I am so proud of all my runnerds peeps who braved the elements, overcame missed ferry's and late starts, but still managed to rock out some PR's and/or finished their first marathons!

Now on to your regularly scheduled post...

So I know you've all been jealous about my bone stimulator, I can tell from all the inappropriate comments you've been leaving whenever it's mentioned. I mean, why wouldn't you want to say you've stimulated yourself today? Heh! But in all seriousness, I hope that none of you ever, EVER, EVER find yourself in need of a bone stimulator. EVER! Dealing with this injury the last 7 months has been the biggest pain in the @ss ever and I would never wish it on anyone.

But should one of you ever find yourself in this position, or are just curious about it in general, I thought I'd share what it's all about. First up, some official mumbo-jumbo about it, followed by my own thoughts:

"The OL1000 utilizes state-of-the-art combined magnetic field (CMF) technology, which produces low-energy signals that stimulate the body's natural healing process and enhance the healing of long-bone nonunion fractures."

"Indication for Use: Noninvasive treatment of an established nonunion acquired secondary to trauma, excluding vertebrae and all flat bones. A nonunion is considered to be established when the fracture site shows no visibly progressive signs of healing. This treatment has been shown in pre-clinical studies to help the body's own healing process begin working. Clinical studies have shown an increased chance of healing of 60.7% in patients with nonunions that averaged 29.3 months from injury. Registry data on over 2300 patients reports a heal rate of 75.1%"

My Thoughts: As you all know, I went through a lot to get this, nevermind how long I'd been injured before this was even suggested as a measure to take. Once I was finally approved the rep walked me through the process of use and made it clear that I would not notice any immediate results and that I should wait until my doctor cleared me to attempt running again. My next appointment with the surgeon isn't until December so I have a ways to go before I will know if this has actually improved my situation or not. At this point I can only hope and pray, with every ounce of my being, that it will.

That said, in the week that I've used it, as promised, I have felt absolutely no difference. Prior to starting treatment I would inevitably have pain at some point throughout my day and this has continued to be the trend. I will say that rather than it being sporadic it has become a regular occurrence in the few minutes leading up to treatment. This is a new development and it kinda weirds me out considering I don't actually feel anything while I'm using it. Speaking of, you probably want to know how it's used and all that jazz right? Well, I put my leg in that contraption, velcro it in place, making sure to center the injury site within, and then I press and hold down the middle button on the accompanying control unit until it beeps. That's it. After it beeps it begins a 30 minute countdown, during which time I typically check my email, FB, play Words with Friends, pin on Pinterest, nap, etc... When the timer is up, it beeps again and this smiley face appears:

Stimulation complete.

Spike and I are now in the habit of yelling "SMILEY FACE!!!" when it beeps, much to our own amusement, and that is it. The display goes blank and I cannot use it again for 24 hours.

(Funny story about the first time I used it; The rep told me to just press the button, failing to mention holding down until it beeps, so the first time I "started" it, or so I thought, no countdown appeared and having failed to actually read the directions, I didn't know any better that it should have. When 30 minutes were up I stared and waited for the smiley face to appear for a solid minute before I decided to read the instructions and learn the right way to do it. Total FAIL.)

While it's doing whatever it does I do not feel anything. at. all. I wish I did because then I'd feel more confident that it was actually doing something but I just gotta trust that something that took so long to get approved by insurance and retails for $4,000 must get the job done. (It also helps to have gotten so many messages from people that have used one or known someone who has used one successfully and also to read posts like this and this with lots of useful information about their own experiences.)

**Important Note for Anyone Thinking About Purchasing A Used Device**

While researching used units on websites like ebay, I came across many of this same unit. I would like to point out that many of these sellers misrepresented how many charges it had left by showing the start screen that displays two numbers such as "042/103." Be warned that this means it has been used 42 times in the last 103 days since it's been activated, NOT that there have only been 42 charges used with 103 charges left. When I learned about this little detail I was SOOO relieved the insurance had come through and I had gotten a brand new unit. While these units do have a charge life of about 9 months, or 270 charges, the count down begins the day you have your first treatment. If I were to sell this after my December appointment, my unit would have 204 potential charges left on it as I would have already cycled through 66 days of charges. If I were to sell this next July with those same 66 days of charges it would only have 30 days of charges left, since it's ninth month of charge life would end within 30 days. Example: The screen would say "066/240." (i.e. 66 charges in the last 240 days since activation, NOT 66 used out of 240)

So there you have it, a quick, not nearly as interesting as I'm sure you thought it would be, update on the bone stimulator. I'll be sure to revisit this subject again when more time has passed and I've started noticing some progress. Thanks again for all your continued support and kind words through all of this, you guys are the best!

3 Things Thursday

2011-10-06T12:05:00.003-04:00

And we're back... After a month long hiatus, #3TT is back! I have to tell you it was sooo weird not posting it all of last month, but the break was much needed and appreciated. While my break still included a few posts, overall just allowing myself to take a step back really helped me find my mojo again. Has anyone else ever felt pressure or obligation to post something just because it's "their thing"?
Stimulating my bone... Just wanted to give everyone a quick update and let you know that I received the unit on Monday afternoon and have used it three times to date. So far I haven't noticed any difference but I'll do a more "stimulating" review of it soon...
Giveaway Winner... And finally, the winner of the "Run Like A Girl" book is...

Ulyana from Shaped by Running!!!

Please email me your mailing information at redheadrunning (@) gmail. (Would readers Shawna, no blog or blogger profile, and carol Hill please email me as well!!! I would really appreciate it!)

Good luck to all those racing this weekend! BIG SHOUT OUT to all my Chi-town runnerds!!! Run like you mean it and enjoy every step!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T10:00:00.003-04:00

Fall is in full swing here in the mitten!!!

{Pssst... Don't forget to leave a comment on
yesterday's post for a chance to win a copy of
the book "Run Like a Girl"!!!}

Tuesday Trial: Run Like a Girl Book Review and Giveaway

2011-10-04T11:45:00.003-04:00

Run Like a Girl: How Strong Women Make Happy Lives by Mina Samuels

"Part locker-room confidential, inspiring manifesto, and personal memoir, the book shows us, through stories of nearly a hundred women, how the confidence women build by participating in sports--whether it's running or rock climbing, swimming or yoga--can transform our lives in profound ways. Lively, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking, in the candid stories, which fill its pages, these women share how sports helped them overcome life's obstacles and achieve the happiness and success they'd been running toward." Source: Mina Samuels Website

Now given my current injured state, I will be honest, there were times while reading this book that I either broke down in tears from the inspirational stories or found renewed motivation to hit the gym and overcome this stupid injury. *When you're injured you tend to be a bit emotional!*

Overall I thought it was a good book and would definitely be a great gift to give or receive. If you or your mother, wife, sister, daughter, etc is a female athlete of any kind, this book features inspirational stories on a multitude of sports and entrepreneurial endeavors to appeal to any reader. To me, it read kind of like one of those "Chicken Soup for the .... Soul" books as Mina intertwined her own personal experiences with those of other inspirational females. It was the perfect book to pick up and read when I was in the mood, rather than a sit down and read straight through kind of book.

With that said, guess what time it is?!?! Giveaway time! The publisher's are letting me giveaway a copy to one lucky reader! U.S. and Canadian Resident's Only. (Their rules, not mine.)

To enter all you must do is leave a comment below. That's it, easy-peasy! Bonus entries for those of you who "Like" the official Run Like a Girl Facebook fanpage or follow Mina's official blog. (Please leave a separate comment stating so.) This post will remain open for entries until noon EST Thursday, October 6th, after which time the winner will be announced.

Disclaimer: Per FTC Guidelines, I was provided this book at no cost to me for my personal review and the review is entirely of my own opinion. The publisher has also agreed to provide an additional copy at no cost to me or the winner of the giveaway.

EDIT: This post has been closed for additional comments and the winner of the giveaway has been announced HERE.

The Pumpkinfest 5k Walk That Wasn't

2011-10-02T12:00:00.005-04:00

Early last week my injured friend, The Terminator, and I were discussing walking a 5k sometime soon. Emails went back and forth and we narrowed it down to two; a lesser known 5k nearby, the Pumpkinfest 5k, or the Brooksie Way 5k, which is easily over an hour away but a much bigger venue. After hemming and hawing all week we finally decided to keep it a little more local with the forecast calling for craptacular weather over the weekend.

Fast forward to Friday night, Terminator and I decided a celebatory cocktail was in order for my bone stimulator unit finally being approved. After a drink and copious amounts of people watching we decided on the fly to head to Walmart to get some "supplies" for the walk. With an event name like "Pumpkinfest" we thought for sure that dressing up would be a given, seems a reasonable enough assumption right? Now mind you at Walmart anything we were getting was sure to be ridiculous and by the time we left we could barely contain our laughter at what we had decided on to sport the next day...

Pre-Race: I awoke Saturday morning to an overcast sky, light rain, 20 mph winds, and 40*. Double-layering was def going to be the name of the game this morning! Yuck!!! I picked up The Terminator and we headed over to South Lyon, completely oblivious to the cluster of traffic we'd get stuck in. We finally managed to arrive at the school, park and get our packets with approximately 8 minutes to spare and it was only then we realized there was no Starting line to speak of...

Start Corral: As I said there wasn't one. Nor were there any timing chips. I asked the packet pick-up people where the Start was and they had conflicting answers. Eventually we just followed the small group of people heading over to the track. As I did at the Cooley Law 5k, I headed straight to the back where all the other walkers were sure to be. Once in place we snapped a quick pic and made note that we were the ONLY people dressed up. Weird. Then a race official instructed the 75(ish) athlete's assembled that we were to round the track, exit the field, and head towards the main road turning upon arrival... and then he yelled "GO!"

Ready to rock the Halloween Spirit!

The Race: And every single person started running, except us. By the time we had even rounded the track all the runners were out of sight. As we passed a camera lady she said to us, "You know ladies, you might warm up if you ran!" Saying that to two injured runners who would give their right arm to be running, ironically Terminator's right arm is in a sling, it was not really what we wanted to hear. We laughed it off as best we could and kept walking but by the time we made it to the main road there was not a runner in sight, only people lining the streets on both sides for blocks, awaiting the parade. We had only gone maybe a half mile.

Oh well at least we tried, the kids sure loved our get-ups though, or maybe it was just because we gave them candy?

Dressed up like goofballs and freezing, carrying a bucket full of candy to pass out to kids along the route with no clue of the route to begin with (there was no course map on the website), we made the executive decision to throw in the towel. I knew Spike's sister Thor and her family were lined up on the parade route so instead of wandering about aimlessly we started passing out candy and made our way to her to say hi, drink hot chocolate, and watch the parade. There would be no 5k Walk PR today!

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention this?

Post Race: The parade was the quintesstional small town parade and when it was over we could do nothing but laugh at how the day had played out. Back at the car we waved at the Finish Line and made our way back home.

Post Race Thoughts: In hindsight we both agreed we should have opted for the Brooksie Way 5k as it is a very popular race and would definitely have had race walkers. (Not to mention when double checking the Pumpkinfest's website back at home I realized that it did not say anywhere on the site that it was a 5k walk/run. Total FAIL on my part, but it is what it is and at least my race fee went towards a good cause; supporting the Boys & Girls Track and Field Teams.) Next year I'll know better and if you can't laugh at yourself, you're not having any fun right?

September Recap/Stats

2011-09-30T08:00:00.010-04:00

The (doctor approved) Xtrain Xtravaganza continues this month with:

Meters Swam: 3,600 m

Miles Biked: 40.28 M (On a stupid stationary bike with no resistance ..::snore::..)

Miles Walked: 14.5 M

Rest Days Planned/Taken: How ever many needed / 14

Xtraining Workouts Planned/Ran: As many as possible / 16

Most Enjoyable Workout: The Cooley Law 5k that I walked with Spike. (Who finally wrote a new post!)

Current Reads: (Reading) Blindness by Jose Saramago; "A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and assaulting women... A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation and a vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century, Blindness is a powerful portrayal of man's worst appetites and weakness" Considering I recently saw the movie "Contagion" (where Spike made sure to cough violently at the end of the movie when the theater was dead silent and necks snapped in our direction with looks of alarm, jerk) this book is freaking me out! That is not to say that it is not worth reading, it absolutely is as I can't seem to put it down, but you need a strong stomach to make it through what happens when society breaks down. Worth mentioning is that the author writes in a run on style, without identifying who is actually speaking so at times it can be hard to keep up with who is talking.

(Finished) Run Like A Girl, How strong women make happy lives by Mina Samuels; Review and giveaway to come next Tuesday! The Book Thief by Markus Zusak; I thought this book was ok, maybe I would've liked it more had I read it rather than listened to the audio book. I wasn't overly fond of the narrator's voice. Also, I originally thought this was a true story about a book thief I had heard about on NPR but notsomuch. It wasn't until the very end that I got emotionally involved enough with the characters to really enjoy the story.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Pumpkin Spice Scone from Starbucks *Hangs head in shame.*

Current Obsession: Pumpkin flavored everything. I specifically can not wait to indulge in THIS when I visit Florida next month. Pumpkin pie shake? Yes please. Thanks Monica for posting about this!

Current Drink: Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte

Current Song: I've been uber schmoopy lately and loving "By and By" by Brett Dennon and "You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson

~~Current~~ Birthday! Wish-List: With October bringing an upcoming milestone birthday for me, here's a few things I've been eying to pick up for myself (or have gifted): The Magic Bullet Blender (I had a blender but it was a huge POS and I keep slacking on picking up a new, *real*, one), The Grid foam roller (for when I'm back at it), these pinktastic Halloween socks, any one of these books, I also wouldn't mind a few more of my new fav Adidas tank (Especially in the dark heather grey).

Current Need: ~~A bone stimulator.~~ EDIT: I just got a call and I am getting one on MONDAY!!! PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF!!! I'm so happy right now I could cry!!!

Current Triumph: Making a new friend! I know this might sound silly but I have not had any opportunity to make friends in my new town. (That I moved to last November!) It's a very small town and not very many people around my age. A few weeks ago I noticed an injured girl wearing a race shirt at the gym and decided to chat her up. Lo and behold we have a whole lot more in common than just being injured; she moved back from Florida last year and got injured during her marathon training too! We've hung out a few times now and it's been so nice having someone to aqua jog or go for walks with, and especially, having someone that truly understands what I am going through to talk to and laugh/cry with. EDIT: Add to this getting a bone stimulator next week! Morgana the Red wins the day!!!!

Current Bane of my Existence: This.

Current Goal: (Repeated from March, April, May, June, July, and August) To stay positive and focused on active recovery/xtraining so I can hit the ground running sooner rather than later. Later being the obvious winner here...

Current Indulgence: See above "Current Shame-inducing Guilty Pleasure" and "Current Obsession"

Current Blessings: The continued love, encouragement, and support from my family, friends, readers, and especially, Spike.

Current Excitement: October is pretty much my favorite month of the year! First off it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Save the Ta-ta's! Make sure you support the cause by sporting PINK at your races this month!), fall is in full swing around these parts and it's breathtaking, I'm celebrating the big 3-0, then re-celebrating it again a week later with all my Florida fam, and finally, rounding out the month by heading to D.C. Halloween weekend for a mega girls weekend / spectating the runnerds at MCM. It's going to be a pretty action packed month and I hope I can survive it all! EDIT: Add to this hoping the bone stimulator is the answer to my prayers!!! Healing FTW!

How'd your September shape up?!?!

Running is what you make of it, make it an Adventure!™

Morgana the Red

2011-09-27T23:00:00.008-04:00

Before I introduce you to Morgana the Red let me first announce the winner of the YMX Giveaway...

Drum roll please...

And the winner of the Tribal Sea Run Tee is: Running Laur! Congrats girl! Please email me at redheadrunning (@) gmail with your shirt size and mailing address so I can pass it on to YMX!

Now back to the topic at hand: Morgana the Red.

Who is Morgana the Red you ask?

I'm sure many of you have heard tales about redhead's having fierce tempers right? And I'm quite certain you've also heard the age old adage "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" Well Morgana the Red is my ultra-angry, alter-ego and when she is feeling scorned... well let's just say you don't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath! Typically speaking she is buried deep within the peppy Redhead exterior and very rarely, if ever is unleashed. I like to imagine she looks a bit like this, only a tad more modest and a fiercer "mean" face:

Today, Morgana was stirred from the depths because after three weeks of waiting, I found out that the insurance company has denied approval for the bone stimulator. You know, the one the surgeon at my second opinion prescribed me as my last resort before it would require surgery to fix my never ending stress fracture. Yeah.

LOOOOONG story short (so long I wouldn't even know where to begin anyway), the surgeon referred bone stimulator rep failed to acquire and submit some pertinent medical information to the insurance company in a timely manner and as a result the approval for coverage was denied. Mind you the only reason why I even know this is because I have been stalking the pending authorization on the insurance's website.

And this morning the status read: "Disapproved."

Needless to say I left various nasty gram voicemail's to the appropriate people then I called the insurance company for more information. Thankfully the representative I spoke with was incredibly helpful and informed me that the denial letter I would soon receive would outline the exact reasons why it was denied and also how to appeal the denial, which I full intend to do.

Morgana the Red is enraged beyond belief.

Here she is unleashing her fury on masses of incapable bone stimulator reps.
I wonder if her rage shields her from catching a cold in this get up?

So what does all this mean and where will I go from here? Well I am currently awaiting a return phone call from both my surgeon's office and the bone stimulator rep to get answers to my many questions on how this situation played out the way it did. Until then I have been researching alternative options I can take on my own to acquire a bone stimulator ASAP. As soon as I receive the denial letter I plan to begin the appeal process with the insurance company and submit the information they requested but never received myself. While all of this is taking place I will also be hoping and praying that a lead I have through a friend on a used bone stimulator pans out. There is also the option of picking up a used one off of ebay but this makes me nervous as a bone stim unit only has a certain amount of charges and you have to take a strangers word on the amount of charges they claim their unit has left on it. Alternatively I could pick up a new one tomorrow if I had $3-4k lying around, which I do not.

I truly do not know how much more I am meant to take, or can handle, with this injury. As I compile information for the appeal I calculated that I have been injured for 205 days or 29.5 weeks. It's sickening and ridiculous. All I want is to heal, put this injury behind me, and get on with my life. (As I'm sure all of you want as well, as I can only imagine you are just as sick as I am of hearing me go on and on and on about this effing thing... I can't thank you enough for enduring this with me over the last 6 1/2 months!)

So my friends now you know who Morgana the Red is and why the bone stimulator rep should be very, very afraid because hell really hath no fury like a Redhead scorned! RAWR!

Do you have an alter ego and if so what is his/her name and where does he/she derive from?

Tuesday Trial: YMX Product Review and Giveaway!

2011-09-20T16:15:00.008-04:00

What do you get when you have products to review but are injured and can't put them to the test? The worst product reviews ever! Yay!

Typically speaking my reviews for products are done after extensive testing but in my current injured state all the products I've received to review lately came ill timed thanks to late breaking developments with said injury. After great debate, I decided I didn't want to sit on these products forever waiting to heal, especially with a giveaway involved, so I decided to rigorously (and by rigorous I mean, not rigorous at all) "test" them during my recent 5k walk. Lame I know.

So without further ado please humor and forgive me for these truly lame "reviews." Your patience and humor will be rewarded with a giveaway, so make sure you gut it out to the end!

First up, Columbia sent me this Omni-Dry Peak Power Shell Jacket. It has an ultra-light laminate membrane that's over 50% air, making the jacket insanely breathable and lighter than other 3-layer shells like it. Because they sent it to me in June, I didn't really have much, if any chance to use it until just recently.

My thoughts: I've now worn it in everything from a chilly 50* to nasty rainy wind-gusting weather and it definitely performs; It's a solid rain jacket, uber light, and all around perfect Spring/Fall jacket but... but... it's SO LOUD! As in every single movement makes you sound like you're a cat in a paper bag!

So. Annoying.*

(I'm not the only one who felt this way)

I considered wearing this to keep warm race morning but it's so freaking loud I thought I might distract the other runners and mess with their mental game. While I am truly thankful for the opportunity to test this jacket, at $350 a pop, I would never personally pay to buy a jacket with such an obnoxious personality. Thanks, but try again on this one Columbia.

*Fear not feline-loving friends (Sun Runner), no actual cats were paper-bagged for the making of this post.

Moving on...

Even further back, in March, just before I ended up with this lovely injury, everybody's favorite compression performance apparel company, Zensah, offered me the chance to test out their newly re-sized arm sleeves after I left them a message on their FB wall wondering if they were ever going to get size XS arm sleeves. I was so stoked to get these and had planned on rocking them for the Martian Half Marathon in April, but alas y'all know how that played out and since then, I haven't had an opportunity or need to wear them.

My Thoughts: Since it was a bit chilly race morning I decided to double up my new sleeves with the bolero I'm about to review below. Obviously it's not much of a test drive, but I have to say that they do in fact fit SO MUCH BETTER!!! As in I no longer have to ghetto rig them with safety pins to keep them up where they need to be like I had to with my old pair of size S/M sleeves. I can't vouch for how they ultimately perform but just the mere fact that I don't need to roll them over to safety pin in place gives me confidence they will work well in action. Oh and they still feel just as soft and tantalizingly smooth as my old pair, which of course makes me want to wear them around just so I can pet myself. Anyway, check out the new fit:

Doing my best Vanna impression

Thank you Zensah for letting me try out the newly re-sized sleeves, they fit so much better and I can't wait to give them a proper test drive when I'm back at it!

And finally, time to get to the review that also features a giveaway!!!

So as if getting the previous two items ill timed didn't suck enough, the awesome people at YMX by Yellowman saw that I was getting my ride on all summer with Leela and sent me this awesome cycling jersey and this extra awesome bolero... which of course I received the day after my doctor told me I could no longer ride Leela. You do not even want to know how sad I was. I mean look at how awesome these two are AND they fit me, WELL! I had been having such a problem finding cycling jersey's small enough to fit me. Needless to say, I'm not getting much use of them these days with all my stationary biking .::snore::. so that's when I decided, eff it, I'm wearing them for my 5k walk!

My Thoughts: As you can see above, the cycling jersey ($98) has a flattering, snug fit, and is a nice long length with pockets in the back. The zipper is flush so when it's zipped up you can't even notice it's there and unzipped it goes down to mid boob range. The fabric is super comfortable and breathable as I learned when I started to break a small sweat walking in the sun. It's priced competitively as far as I can tell, as most jersey's I looked at online and in stores came in around the $80-$120 range. I think they'd make a killing if they lowered it to the $50-$75 range, being that my personal shopping habit is almost always driven more by price than print and I think most people's are too, BUT I will def make an exception now that I know their product fits me so well and the prints are so much fun.

The pockets in the back were perfect for storing my camera and gloves. LOL!

The bolero ($59), or shrug as I call it, is perfect to wear for a ride that is/gets chilly and/or a run because you can so easily put it on/take it off. I think it's a little over priced since most people would compare this to sleeves which usually come in around $30. That's not to say that it's not totally worth it as you can so easily wrap it around your waist whereas when I am wearing sleeves I never know what to do with them if I get too hot and end up tucking them in to the back of my shorts and then they drive me crazy flapping around, hitting my back and butt. In the end it's a personal preference whether to choose the sleeves vs. bolero, I think I'll have a hard time deciding one over the other because I really love them both. And with that being said, guess what time it is?

Y'think I could get away with wearing this bolero on a regular basis?!?!

~GIVEAWAY TIME~

I warned YMX that this review of their products would be especially lame and they responded with "Not all of our customers can be totally extreme all the time!" and encouraged me to post the review and giveaway for a Tribal Sea Run Tee (I imagine if a dude wins this they will pick an alternative men's product) to one of you for putting up with this extra lame review! (Just another reason why they are so awesome.) To enter for a chance to win;

1. Like them on Facebook and/or follow them on Twitter @WearYMX and let me know in a comment below.

That's it. But, if you'd like a bonus entry you can do any/all of these in separate comments:

Let me know if you like the idea of sleeves or bolero better and why.
Tell me a story about an item of clothing/gear that had an "obnoxious personality," like the cat in a bag sounding jacket I described above, that you could not stand.

The giveaway will be open until my next post at which time I'll announce the winner. Since I am no longer on a set schedule for posting this could be tomorrow or in a few days, either way get your entries in today!

**Contest open to U.S. residents only please. (Sorry! Their rules, not mine!)**

Disclaimer: Per FTC Guidelines: Columbia, Zensah, and YMX provided these items at no cost to me for my personal review and the (lame) reviews are entirely of my own opinion. YMX has also agreed to provide a Tribal Sea Run Tee to the winner of the giveaway at no cost to said winner or myself.

EDIT: This post has been closed for additional comments and the winner of the giveaway has been announced HERE.

Cooley Law 5k "Race" Recap

2011-09-19T17:30:00.011-04:00

Way back in February of this year I signed up for the Capital City River Run Half Marathon with plans to use it as my A-race Half Marathon for the year. I had a score to settle with this race as last year I was unable to race it because I was coming back from an injury. Go figure. Fast forward not even a month from registering and I sustained the injury that would take me out of commission for the rest of the year to date. CCRR was the fifth and final race I had prematurely registered for this year and after missing the Martian Half (spectated), B.A.A. 5k (spectated), Cleveland Marathon (spectated), and CRIM 10 M, I decided I was not going to let this one get away from me, especially when it features a sweet long sleeve tech tee! Thankfully this event also features a 5k distance so I dropped down to the 5k and made plans to walk. Spike has been regularly "walking me," as we joke, so I knew I'd be fine to complete the distance and he even agreed to join me.

Pre-Race: Bright and early Sunday morning Spike and I suited up for the chilly weather and headed on over to downtown Lansing. The Lansing Center/Cooley Law Stadium area was all abuzz and despite my injury status and "race" limitations I couldn't help but get a little jazzed up. My one and only race this year was back in January and my last 5k race was in December of last, I have missed the race atmosphere!

Start Corral: For the first time in my life, and probably Spike's too, we lined up as far back as we could. I'm not going to lie, it was a wee bit demoralizing lined up so far back, but I kept telling myself that this was only a temporary location, someday I'll be lined up front again.

The Race: So the best part of this event is that the two races start facing each other about 100 meters apart on opposite sides of the road. When the horn blows both sides face off and become one until each side fades out going their respective directions. I was able to pick out a few familiar faces in the Half crowd to cheer as we waited, and waited, and waited to finally get across the start line. By the time we got there I forgot all about starting Hermes so you'll just have to believe me when I say that we totally negative split this race. We estimated that we shaved off about a minute or so each mile and somehow slugged our way to the finish in under 60 minutes!

So apparently our "power walking" looks only slightly ridiculous...

Why yes that is new YMX gear,
check back tomorrow for deets and a giveaway!

It got pretty crazy out there on the course, the Playmakers Over 50 Couch to 5k ladies were out in full force and we got to chat and encourage quite a few of them along the way. The race support and volunteers were great, humoring us as we ambled along proclaiming "there's still a chance to win!" A few times Spike had to reel me in for being "reckless" aka pushing the pace too fast, I certainly didn't feel reckless (although my leg would tell me otherwise later), but we did end up managing to pass quite a few people along the way. After forever, because 3.1 miles certainly seems forever when you're walking (major props to all you race walkers out there that do the longer distances!), we made it to the finish, hand in hand, smiles on our faces, thoroughly entertained by our little walk around the capital city area.

Coming down the finishers chute

Final Chip Time: 55:50 / 17:58 P

867/898 Overall - 93/96 AG

(In case you're interested my 5k PR is 22:19 while my 10k PR is 50:20, that's twice the distance in less time. Yeah.)

Stoked to be done sub-60!

Because I've never walked a 5k before this was an automatic 5k Walk PR!!! AND I somehow managed to avoid last place overall or in my age group! Woo hoo!!!

Post Race: I had really wanted to stay and cheer in the Halfers as I had a lot of peeps out racing but we had to leave straight away because of family obligations. I do know that most of them had a great race, with more than a few PR's on this picture perfect day.

Post Race Thoughts: Obviously this was not how I had envisioned this day would play out, but if I've learned anything this year it's that nothing is certain and the only thing I do have control over is how I handle the situation. As I said in my last post, I'm not done fighting, and I think we made the absolute most of a beautiful morning. I truly hope this is but the start of my return to running in the months to come...

WWKD

2011-09-07T11:30:00.004-04:00

Kara Goucher recently blogged about her day at the World Championships over in South Korea. Going in she knew she had a nagging injury that might cost her the race, but she went anyway with hope in her heart and a "never give up" mentality. There are so many reasons to find Kara inspiring, but for me it is the humble and sincere manner in which she accepts the bumps in the road. Something she said in that post struck a cord with me and I wanted to share;

“… When I got lapped by the lead pack with about 2-1/2 laps to go, I cheered, “Go Sally!” and then kept going. I ran as hard as I could. In fact, I hobbled past two people in the last two laps. I was 13th, and way off a PR, but I hit the goal I had set for myself. I absolutely never gave up in the race.

After the race, as I changed out of my spikes and into my sweats, I told Shalane Flanagan that for the next two or three weeks I am “wearing my mom jeans.” I am only two days in, but already having a ball filling my day with Colt.”

I’ve been feeling especially burnt out lately, and between my second opinion yesterday and reading Kara’s post I realized why... I’m burnt out by the obligation I feel to this blog and all things “CAUTION: Redhead Running.”

Every since I became injured I have felt this sense of duty to maintain the brand, be as supportive as possible of everyone else with their training and races, reading and commenting daily, posting miles of any form to keep that zero off my weekly training log on Dailymile, coming up with content here on the blog, in short, trying to be some kind of injured-blogging-superstar to “prove” to everyone that I… that I what? That I was still working out? That I was diligently doing my PT workouts? That I was keeping my head up despite setback after setback? To what benefit? All of it was/is unnecessary pressure I’ve placed on myself and I really don’t know what I was trying to “prove” now that I think about it. I don’t have to “prove” anything to anyone.

A scab does not heal if you constantly pick at it right? So how can I expect to overcome this when I force running down my throat 24/7? I am strong and I will never give up fighting, but even Kara isn’t “on” 24/7. I am human, I have feelings and emotions. While I have genuinely been excited for each and every one of you and your accomplishments these last few months, there has also been a part of me that can’t help but get sad for myself, that gets jealous, that feels left out, that longs to be out there running and racing too.

And that's the thing, I know I’ll run again, I’ve never doubted that, but I’m not doing myself any favors by dwelling on it day in and day out. After reading her post the other day I asked myself “What Would Kara Do” if she were in my situation?

While I don’t have any “mom jeans” to wear, I do have “me jeans” and I think if Kara found herself in my pink trimmed Asics 2160's (Don't worry Nike this is strictly hypothetical) she would focus on recovering both mentally and physically from the injury. I think she would put on her “me jeans” and give herself a break.

So that is exactly what I intend to do; from here on out I'm giving myself a little break from posting, logging, tweeting, etc... cuz I've got this bone to stimulate. Heh. I hope y'all understand and I can't thank you enough for your never ending support through all of this.

The Second Opinion

2011-09-06T18:00:00.011-04:00

Today I had a second opinion on my never-ending stress fracture with a surgeon. Why a surgeon you ask? Well when I had my follow up call with my regular sports doctor he suggested as much as my leg has officially gotten to a point that is out of his range. After further review of my various scans it was determined that a more invasive approach may be necessary to finalize the healing as I'm experiencing a Nonunion fracture situation. For those of you unfamiliar to what a nonunion fracture is,

"Nonunion is a serious complication of a fracture where the normal process of bone healing is interrupted or stalled....

Since the process of bone healing is quite variable, a nonunion may go on to heal without intervention in a very few cases. In general, if a nonunion is still evident at 6 months post injury it will remain unhealed without specific treatment, usually orthopedic surgery. A non-union which does go on to heal is called a delayed union.

By definition, a nonunion will not heal if left alone. Therefore the patient's symptoms will not be improved and the function of the limb will remain impaired."

My doctor gave me the heads up that the best case scenario I was looking at was being set up with a bone stimulator and/or worst case I would need surgery. As I am now at the six month mark with this injury, I'm long past the point of ruling out any and all options that could finally put this injury behind me so I walked in to my appointment as prepared as I could be after extensive online research of both scenarios. After going over my injury history with a five person staff that made up the surgeon's team, my scans were then reviewed, and a huge breathe was taken before the diagnosis was imparted to me;

I am to begin bone stimulation daily for the next three months. If at the end of that three months the bone still has not fused together surgery will be my only option. I am allowed little to no xtraining during this time, with approved xtraining being swimming and stationary bike with no resistance only, no more than a few days a week at most. I will have a follow up appointment the beginning of December to determine where we go from there.

Worst Case: If the nonunion persists a titanium rod will be inserted down the length of my tibia through the knee, pins will be screwed into my bone to hold said rod in place, and I will be looking at a recovery period of six months to a year. Long distance running will become nothing but a distant memory as the point of entry for the surgery will cause me lifelong knee problems, but I'll never have to worry about another stress fracture in my left leg ever again!

Best Case: If the bone stimulator does it's job and my bone cooperates I will, at long last, be able to put this injury behind me and finally be able to regain my once upon a time, active lifestyle. (When applied over a fracture site, a bone stimulator produces an ultrasonic wave, which delivers mechanical pressure to the bone tissue at the fracture site. Electrical stimulation therapy has been found to be effective in healing Nonunions.)

And that is that. I don't really know what to say, feel, think, or even do at this point other than to get the bone stimulator, hope my insurance covers it, and pray that it will get the job done in the time specified to avoid surgery.

August Recap/Stats

2011-08-31T08:00:00.005-04:00

Miles Planned/Ran: Wouldn't you know, I logged another zero mileage month. We are fast approaching the six month mark. Awesome.

Meters Swam: 2,050 m

Miles Biked: 52.83 M

Miles Walked: 21.01 M

Rest Days Planned/Taken: How ever many needed / 6

Xtraining Workouts Planned/Ran: As many as possible / 25

Most Enjoyable Workout: My bike date w/ SunRunner at Hudson Mills Metro Park at the beginning of the month before they took xtraining away from me, again.

Best Workout Advice Received: (From the personal trainer at the gym) "While lifting free weights, go for lighter weights and more, faster reps to get toned arms and avoid bulking up." I am already reaping the benefits of this advice.

Current Reads: (Reading) Run Like A Girl, How strong women make happy lives by Mina Samuels; I received this book to review and am almost finished. Stay tuned for the review and a giveaway!!!

(Finished) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte; When I searched this for the Amazon link I realized they are making this into a movie! Nice! Definitely a classic worth reading although so many books have used this same story line as inspiration that I felt it very familiar though I had never read it before in my life. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick; I would just like to say that this was reliably predictable and probably the worst book I've read in awhile. The over-dramatized sexual tension of the main characters was agonizing to endure.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: N/A

Current Obsession: N/A

Current Drink: Back to the ol' water for life routine.

Current Song: Loving both: "Moves like Jagger" - Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera and "Cheers (Drink to That)" - Rihanna

Current Wish-List: I lurve this zombietastic shirt (size Small please, thanks) and this adorey-able pendant.

Current Need: An end in sight.

Current Triumph: I'm still walking! I might not be allowed to do anything else but at least I'm still allotted this small bit of freedom.

Current Bane of my Existence: This.

Current Goal: (Repeated from March, April, May, June, and July) To stay positive and focused on active recovery/xtraining so I can hit the ground running sooner rather than later. I will get through this, this will all be behind me soon enough, I will not give up...

Current Indulgence: Randomly enough, freshly prepared vege's as Spike and I attempt to stop eating out so much and I learn to cook.

Current Blessings: The continued love, encouragement, and support from my family, friends, readers, and Spike throughout this never-effing-ending injury saga.

Current Excitement: A friend's wedding this weekend, a weekend getaway with Spike's friends in a few weeks, visiting my brother for his birthday, dropping down from the Capital City River Run Half Marathon to the 5k and walking it because I'll be d@mned if I loose my money on another race I already paid for. Anyone in the Mid-Michigan area wanna join me as I attempt to fend off the sweepers?!?!

How'd your August shape up?!?!

Running is what you make of it, make it an Adventure!™

Friday Faves

2011-08-26T12:00:00.004-04:00

First things first, I would like to angrily shake my fist at Hurricane Irene for destroying my NYC plans this weekend. After much deliberation it was decided that only having one good day in NYC (today) and then possibly being stranded there for who knows how long as she pummels the east coast was not the right conditions for an amazing NYC trip. Rebooking said trip is now underway and there's rumor it will be rescheduled in a different awesome city during a certain race weekend...

Now on to something that doesn't suck, my list of Friday Faves. (I believe Aron started this Friday feature long ago and as we all know I don't have much to blog about these days, instead have become the recycler of other people's post ideas! Yay!)

adidas TECHFIT Tank (From Zappos, hello free shipping!)

I cannot even begin to list all the reasons why I love this top! First off it's so breathable, light, thin and LONG! Second, there's no built in bra. Let's face it, I don't need any extra support up top and I don't know about the rest of you, but I find more oft then not that when I wear a top that has a built in bra I feel suffocated. Then add in the more feminine cut as opposed to most of the options you get out there and I'm in love. In short, I've been living in this top for the gym/rides, have it in white and pink, and seeing as it's on sale will def be picking up the other colors now too.

Wearing my white one. L-O-V-E

Jane Nearly Foundation Tinted Moisturizer (Discovered on the "13 Best Tinted Moisturizer" list and found at my local Meijer Grocery)A few months ago I realized that wearing only moisturizer and blush was just not working with evening out my aging complexion. A friend introduced the idea of a tinted moisturizer to me knowing I am not a fan of the way makeup feels on my face. (It's worth mentioning that between my uber paleness and super sensitive skin, it's hard to find makeup to match my skin and that doesn't cause a reaction) I read over the list of products reviewed in that link above and decided to start from the bottom and work my way up... But I didn't have to go far because this $4.99 Jane tinted moisturizer works fabulous for me! It doesn't smell, goes on really light, doesn't aggravate my skin and really evens out my complexion. I am in love!

Nivea Sun-Kissed Radiant Skin Fair to Medium (Found at Target)

By this point you've all probably noticed that anytime my legs are in a pic they are glowing with their radioactive day-glo paleness that blinds the eyes. Yeah I get it, I'm a redhead and that's normal, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! I've tried a million and one different "gradual tan building moisturizers" and they all end up smelling horrible and leaving streaks. Until I came across this gem! The smell is, dare I say, pleasant. Light and hardly noticeable. The cream itself is white, which means it's not going to stain up your hands if you forget to immediately wash them after application, and it doesn't irritate my above mentioned sensitive skin. I picked this up on Sunday and used it all week so I'd have a hint of color for this weekend and it worked better than anything I have EVER used. Best part, no streaks. If you're a Casper like me who covets a sun kissed glow, pick this up.

And that's it for faves for this time. Happy Friday peeps! May you all have a fantabulous weekend that doesn't get ruined by the hurricane! To those of you on the east coast, having lived in Florida for 11 years, I know how scary these things can be, please be safe!

3 Things Thursday

2011-08-25T08:00:00.005-04:00

In honor of my trip to NYC tomorrow I thought I'd use today's "3 Things Thursday" to post about the three things I'm most excited about: (Besides the obvious, duh!)

Meeting my Running Idol... At long last I FINALLY get to formally (as opposed to screaming at him as he ran past me while I spectated CM10 last year) meet my running idol, The Running Laminator. We're meeting up for lunch tomorrow after I arrive and I can't wait to pick his brain about all things running and basically just soak up some of his awesomeness. (Maybe it'll heal my leg?)

I like to think my spectating helped him score his sub-3 marathon that day!
High Line Park... I have been green eyeing all you NYC blogger's that regularly run this park and finally, at long last, I will get to see it myself! I'm MAJORLY disappointed I will not get to run this, or any place in NYC for that matter (Central Park I'll be back for you someday!), but thankful at the very least to be able take a stroll there and see the city from it's height. Prepare for ungodly amounts of pics...

Seriously, how amazing is this?!?!
*Photo snatched from The High Line Website
The Guggenheim... Plans for Sunday got a bit discombobulated so I've found myself with time to kill alone before I catch my plane and have decided to spend it perusing the Guggenheim. My museum nerdery runs deep and I can't wait to get lost there.

T-minus 25.5 hours til I land!!! T-minus 28.5 hours til the rest of the girls start pouring in and then we take NYC by storm!!! Can't wait to explore the city, binge on local awesomesauce eats, drink my face off (you know like 2 whole drinks), and hang out with some amazing peeps!

Have you ever been to NYC? What are you must-see/go-to places?!?!

Random Friday Facts

2011-08-19T08:00:00.004-04:00

Alright, I'm caving and jumping in on Katie's "RFF" as I continue to scrounge up content around here...

Speaking of Katie, I can't frigging wait for a whole lot of this come next weekend!!!

Bring on NYC and these lovely ladies!!!
If there's a bag of Pop Secret Homestyle Popcorn in the house I will choose it over anything else for dinner.
My second toe is ever so slightly longer than the rest.
So obviously feet gross me out. Please do not touch mine or put yours anywhere near me.
I have a bruise-like birth mark on my hip that I'm incredibly self conscious about.
My ring finger is deformed from pressing the pencil on it too hard as a child. Try as they might to rid me of my left-handedness my teachers failed and now I'm deformed from my stubborn resistance.
I cannot bring myself to drink the milk left over after I eat cereal.
I go through at least 14 pairs of underwear a week, if not more. This is because I change it after working out and before I go to bed. Spike thinks this is ridiculous.
I don't actively wash my feet unless I know they are dirty. It never occurs to me otherwise.
I used to be scared of the colors pink, red, and orange because I thought they looked terrible with my hair/skin. Clearly things have changed, except my hatred for orange. Go figure, orange is Spike's favorite color.

Clearly Pink is not a problem anymore.
Not a single day goes by that I don't miss Florida.
No matter how hard I try I can't break the habit of slouching.
I love to purge things just as much as I like to keep random sentimental things.
I do not have a relationship with my mother. My life is better because of it, but I still feel guilty when people who have lost their mother's learn this fact about me.
I have one of the worst cases of Catholic guilt there is. I feel guilty about everything.
As important as I know politics are and affect my life, I still have no patience for them.
I hardly, if ever, listen to the radio, watch TV, or read the newspaper. Ignorance is bliss! (This bodes well for Spike and his Sportscenter addiction as the only time I've ever taken over the TV since moving in with him was the last few weeks for SYTYCD)
If unsupervised I would wash and dry everything regardless of handling instructions, but always on the delicate cycle.
If I know there is someone coming over to my house I obsessively clean everything as if I were being judged.
I'm fairly certain I pee more than the average person. I'm screwed when I'm pregnant and/or old as I can't even make it through the night without getting up to pee multiple times and this is even after I limited my liquid intake after a certain hour.

Leak-a-litis Syndrome is what they called it during Ragnar
My closet is color coded and then arranged tank tops to long sleeves, but my shoes are strewn about on the floor without any rhyme or reason.
I know it's called "Random Friday Facts" but I want to call it "Random Facts Friday"
At some point every single day I have to remind myself that this (my current injured state) will not last forever. Every. Single. Day.
Try as I might to end the list with the previous fact, I couldn't handle ending on an odd number. I hate odd numbers.
But I am randomly ok with multiples of 5.

3 Things Thursday

2011-08-18T09:00:00.003-04:00

Not Forgotten... If I ever think y'all have given up reading my non-running adventures just remind me to check out yesterday's post and all the feedback I got about what I should do about this stupid leg of mine. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your comments, emails, words of encouragement, fist shakes to the leg, and most especially the reassurance that I am still a runner and not crazy for feeling this way. You guys are seriously the best. (And may or may not have made me cry several times)
Calcium Queen... A lot of you wondered about my calcium/vitamin D situation and I just wanted to assure you that I've been on an increased dose of both since practically the get go. I also had bloodwork done back in June and all my levels came back well within range. For those that wondered about my period situation, you can also read more about that in that post. (Although there will be another post on this particular subject in the near future. Stay tuned.) In short, as I said, I've been doing everything I could possibly do to help this along; hobble around on crutches and/or in the boot for the first 17 weeks, xtrain when I could, do nothing when I couldn't, take all the supplements I could get my hands on that might help, ice regularly, PT it up almost every day, etc... While I have looked in to bone stimulator's, they are extremely expensive and not covered by insurance so that will have to be a last resort $3k investment. I'm still putting together what I'll do about Monday's call, but I assure you there will be some serious discussions to be had.
A different kind of PT... Personal Trainer that is. Our gym is running a promo for the ladies this month for a free 30 min session with a personal trainer to get acquainted with the free weights section of the gym. Since I'm back on xtraining restriction I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to tune up my free weights knowledge. My session is Saturday morning and I'm pretty pumped, I already spoke to the trainer and let him know my leg situation and also that I wanted to tone out these beefed up arms of mine and he said he knows exactly the kind of ~~torture~~ training I need. Have you ever taken advantage of the personal trainers at your gym?

What Would You Do?

2011-08-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

Picture it, Sicily 1922... er wait...

Oh Sophia, you so crazy...

Let's try this again;

Picture it, August 2011, you're wearing a pair of pink trimmed Asics 2160's and you have not logged a single running mile in over 5 months.

Are you still a runner?

This thought, and so many others are swirling through my head these days. You can hardly blame me, I've been sitting here on the sidelines watching the weather turn from Winter to Spring to Summer and y'all run, race, come and go from the injury list, complain about the weather, your paces, etc... Some days it can get very overwhelming, this situation I find myself stuck in. And that is exactly how I feel right now, stuck. I haven't run in over 5 months and I have no idea when I will finally be able to again. I've done every single thing I've been told to do and yet, no one can tell me why I'm STILL not healed or what to do to help it along.

It's frustrating. It's disheartening.

Can you even imagine being in my pink trimmed Asics 2160's?

What would you do? Seriously, I want to know what you would do?

Would you seek a second opinion? (Mind you I'm working with a top specialist from MSU sports)

Would you volunteer for amputation?

I'm kind of at my wits end here. Last week after discussing with my PT that the pain I'd been experiencing since Florida hadn't gone away he suggested I take this week off from xtraining to see if it makes a difference. This made me realize that at this point I'm essentially paying him $100 a visit to watch me do strengthening exercises I know by heart because he can't progress me up the ladder. With this realization I decided it was financially stupid to continue on at PT until I was able to progress and wouldn't you know he agreed with me when we discussed the matter on Monday. So I will return for a final visit this Friday to get a maintenance plan to adhere to until my leg finally heals. In the meantime I'm supposed to keep them apprised of any developments and also how the phone call with my doctor goes on Monday. This phone call, by the way, seems absolutely pointless to me. After getting the CT scan results back and finding out that there is still a fracture line showing in my leg all my doctor can say is, "Take two weeks and call me on August 22nd." I find it hard to believe that I'm going to call him on Monday and he's going to know whether or not my leg is healed. I know these things take time but damn it all, over 5 months?!?!?

So again I ask, dear readers, what would you do if you were in my pink trimmed Asics 2160's?

LOVE/Don't Love

2011-08-15T15:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome to another Monday where I'm stealing Christy's Love/Don't Love idea again...

Mondays... Don't Love

This awesome blast from the past I found while mini-vaca-ing up in Northern Michigan with friends this weekend... LOVE

No, I didn't wish to "Be Big!"

My leg continues to bother me despite forgoing xtraining, again, and I've had to make some serious decisions regarding PT and my continued medical treatment... Don't Love

Not sure if I've mentioned it lately or not but this guy = LOVE

Summer loving, had me a blast...

Every time I look at the calendar another day, week, or month has zipped by and I'm feeling like the summer has totally escaped me... Don't Love

Good news is I get to squeeze in one more awesome trip before it ends with these three awesome ladies in NYC next weekend... LOVE