Injured

So, during that Goofy weekend, I finally realized that I was truly injured.

This all started back in October when I did not execute the rope climb properly. I placed the rope across the top of my right foot, then stepped hard with my left foot so that I could reach high on the rope to start the climb. That action a few times caused me to get a stress fracture on the top of my foot.

I didn't even realize it right away. I knew if felt a little odd when I ran, but it wasn't until I was running the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October that I realized something was wrong. My foot hurt really bad during the walk breaks and not as bad when running. I took a break and ran off and on and it hurt every time I ran, and mostly after I ran.

But the next couple of events were walking a half marathon and the Honolulu Marathon with my Mom so I made it through those events just fine.
Then, I tried a couple of runs before Goofy and they didn't go well at all. I took a lot of ibuprofren before the Disney Half Marathon and made it through that one just fine. I did the same for the full marathon but the discomfort started setting in around mile 15 and by mile 18 and I was in complete pain. I've never had a run that felt that bad.

So, I was at the doctors office on Tuesday and sure enough, stress fracture to the 2nd metatarsal on my right foot. I had to wear a boot for 2 solid weeks, only taking it off to bathe and sleep.

I thought that I'd be right back in action after getting the boot off, but that only caused my muscles and tendons to tighten up and I've had to make a very slow and steady recovery.

The recovery has taken a LOT longer than I expected, but it is finally getting substantially better and I expect to be 100% within the next 30 days. That's been a full 90 days of recovery, starting back to low impact activity on March 1 and slowly building the jogging distance from 1 block to the 1 mile I am at right now.

In the meantime, I've been focusing on CrossFit and Wii. I've been doing Wii Fit Plus and Dance Dance Revolution - even that hurt my foot a lot! So I've had to really take it slow.

WiiLMA on the Balance Board

Catching Up: Part 3

So, after leaving sunny, warm Hawaii... Tim and I flew to Chicago and drove into northwest Indiana to visit his family. Why? Because he lost a bet with his sister so we both had to go for Chicago.

So what can I say about the visit to Chicago? It was nice to see his family... but....

it was grey, and dreary, and freezing cold!

Here's Tim, pretending to shovel to driveway. The roads were icy. We stayed indoors the entire time (except for one outing to the bowling alley). Tim and I both slept late every day - but Tim slept really, really late. I would get up and sit on the couch and read. Tim would get up, then lay down on the couch and sleep some more. There's NO WAY we'll be going back to Chicago in the winter!!

Soon we were leaving Chicago and heading back for warm and sunny Florida, right? Wrong. We were back in Florida all right, but to record low temperatures!! I had the Goofy Challenge on January 9th and 10th (half marathon and full marathon).

On Saturday morning, it was sleeting at the start of the half marathon. Robin Perkins and I dressed with a LOT of layers and hand and feet warmers and even wrapped our feet in plastic wrap to keep them dry and warm. Sunday, the skies were clear but it was even colder at the start of the marathon. Again, we dressed in many layers but we were amazed with people who wore less. They sweat through their clothes and it turned to ice right on their backs! Every water station froze over and they had to bring out sand to keep the runners from slipping and falling. It was the most miserable marathon I've ever participated in.

But the medal was all worth it! I can't believe I've finished five Goofy Challenges!

The Thursday after the marathon Rene arrived from Austria for some winter training. We did have a few nice warm days but Rene definitely got to experience our record cold temperatures. I'm glad we had the hot tub warmed up for him... we definitely used it!!

Rene, John Macedo, and Tim when we went to see Avatar in Digital 3D. And I had fun with Rene - practicing my German. Even though it wasn't so good, it was a lot better than he was expecting... and that motivates me to keep going!!

Right after Rene left, I had a couple of trips to take. The first was a trip to San Antonio where it was also really, really cold. I got home on a Wednesday night and the next day my sister and her three boys arrived from Sacramento, California.

We had a really great time through the weekend and when they left on Monday, so did I... and we were all headed to the same place. I had a scheduled business trip to visit a company that was only about 2 miles from Linda's house so I spent 3 nights at her house and enjoyed more time visiting with her and her family.

After that trip, my Dad went to the hospital for scheduled back surgery. He had surgery on a Thursday, one week after my return from Sacramento. He was out of the hospital on Saturday so he and my Mom stayed at my house for 10 days while he recuperated.

They just left this past Monday... so that pretty much brings me up to date. Whew!! Now to try and keep this up. The next four weeks should be pretty uneventful, then it gets into St. Anthony's season and I'll be swamped again. Ahhh... the calm before the storm!

Catcing Up: Part 2

Before the catchup news, my workout today was "Thighs and Tris". For time, 10 rounds of 15 deadlifts (65#) and 15 push-ups (which I did on the knees). My back has been so tight the last few days so I went light on this workout. My time was 23:33 but the best part was that it actually loosened up my back and I felt much, much better after!


Now back to Hawaii....
The marathon was on Sunday, Dec. 13, then we moved out to the cabins at Bellows Air Force Base.This was the view right out the back door of the cabin. That is Turtle Island in the background.
Also right out the back door, we could watch the sun rise every morning. If you look closely, you'll see the darkest part below the sun. That is the island of Molokai.

Tim at Sunrise at Bellows Beach.

During our stay in Hawaii, we did all the things I remember when I lived there as a kid. We visited my old schools - Benjamin Parker Elementary in Kaneohe, Ilima Intermediate and Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, and Leilehua High School in Wahiawa. Leilehua looked the worst, but it looked just as I remembered, and I had the most fun at that school!
We visited the North Shore and Waimea Bay, stopping first at Pipeline to watch the very last day of a surf competition.

One way to catch a wave!

At Waimea Bay, we spent the day body surfing and took some time to revisit The Rock. Hazel and I used to jump off of this rock when we were in high school. We tried to do it again on this day but the waves made it too difficult for us to climb on the rock. Tim was finally able to get on the rock and take one jump.

After his jump, my Dad bought him the t-shirt that says that he jumped from the rock. I have great memories of my days spent at Waimea... it was great to be back!

We drove around most of the island past China Man's hat (above) and took in the Mauka (mountain side) view (below).


Tim and I stopped at a road side shop where one man (I believe his name is Manoa) is the only one to hand carve tiki's. Tim bought one of his tiki's.


My favorite!!! Leonard's Hot Malasada's. They were only good when you buy them at the malasada mobile and eat them right in the parking lot! Eating all the food I remember was fantastic!! We had plate lunch (teriyaki with rice and macaroni salad), ling hing mui, coconut balls, mochiko, Redondo's sausage (that was awesome).... and so much more!! There would be no losing weight on this trip!!

We visited the Byoto Temple (above) and the Iolani Palace (below).

And here is a view from my favorite spot - Pali Lookout.

On the last day that Tim and I were there, we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and took in the luau (below).

The day after the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center, Tim and I flew to Chicago - to the frozen tundra. We'll pick up that part of the update in Part 3.

Catching Up...

I can't believe that I have not blogged since December 8th.

Way too much has happened to go into much detail... maybe I'll get into more detail over the next few days. In a nutshell... here's what I've been up to....
1.
Off to Hawaii for the Honolulu Marathon. After all of Mom's difficulties with the 10k and the half marathon, I was really, really worried about how she would do at this marathon. We stayed at Ft. DeRussy, which was within walking distance of the race start.


With a great beach and a nice view of Diamond Head!

I had done everything I knew to do for Mom to get her through this race. I had her get inserts for her shoes, sent her to my chiropractor and massage therapist, had her wear my SI hip strap, had her meet with her doctor to change her medication, and we changed the food for the race so she wouldn't have to use Gu.She ROCKED!! Not only did she not have any difficulty, but we enjoyed the walk and all of the scenery.


And her 2nd half of the marathon was faster than the first half. I had told her to expect to finish in around 10 hours. But she crossed the line in 8 hours 48 minutes!!


The day after the marathon, all was well and Mom was even able to walk around easily. Good thing as we checked out of the hotel and headed to the other side of the island, to Bellows Air Force Base.

On the way, we stopped at my favorite place... Pali Lookout. And there.... Tim gave me a big surprise!!



I guess that's a good place to stop for today... more updates tomorrow.

The Beginning of the End...

...for my Poinsettia.

I was admiring Wilma sitting on the front porch, watching the world go by, wishing I had her life...


...when, to the left of her, I saw that my beautiful, huge poinsettia had a little visitor. He was such a big, beautiful creature that I didn't have the heart to shoo him away, even though I know he is going to eat every beautiful red leaf off of my poinsettia until there is nothing left but a flowerpot full of twigs. Tis the season.

Eulogy for Freya

When I was 12 years old and in the 6th grade, we lived on a military base - Ft. Rucker, Alabama. My dog, Governer, would follow me to school every day, and they would let him stay. He layed on the floor next to my desk. When we went to lunch, all the kids would save little bits of food for him - especially the pork chop bones - and he would have his own little feast for the rest of the day before we walked home.

He was the first pet I ever really remember losing, and it was the first time I ever really had to deal with death. And, to this day, it is probably still the hardest one.

When I was younger, I always thought that I would be a veterinarian when I grew up. Maybe I should have. But the pain of animals bothered be so much more than the pain of people. Maybe I should have been a doctor. So, after Governor died, I knew I'd never be a vet. I knew I would cry every day that I lost someone's pet, and I couldn't endure that for the rest of my life.

When my sister Hazel lost her dog, Dolph, I called her. She was fine, until I started crying and that got her crying. She would probably have been better off if I had never called her.

And now my friend Anna has lost her dog Freya, and it effects me deeply. Anna has been with Freya since Freya was a pup. Just look at the size of those ears!

When Anna was going through her divorce, she moved in with me for a while, with Freya. Freya was so young and full of energy and almost too much to handle. Anna wondered whether or not she should keep Freya and I told her that Freya would grow up to be a wonderful dog. I loved Freya!

Freya stayed with Anna's ex-husband for a while. But soon Anna found out that Freya was being neglected and was malnourished and would not live long under those conditions. Anna was able to get Freya back and took painstaking effort to nurse her back to health, even though she never fully recovered.

But Freya never lost her spunk! And together, Anna and Freya saw each other through good times and hard times. That makes for a closeness beyond compare.

Freya did grown into her ears, and loved her toys, and had the most happy, deep groan whenever she saw me and I hugged her. She was full of love!!

Dogs have souls and go to Heaven... it must be. I just hope that the cat Heaven is on the other side.

One Step at a Time

The big weekend was finally here!

On Friday, I went to the expo for the Women's Half Marthon to pick up my race package and to scope out the place before going back with Mom on Saturday. By the time we got there on Saturday, it was really croweded!

At the package pickup, we ran into Dawna Stone (the race director) and she was in really great spirits! She was happy to see that Mom and I were walking together and also really happy that I told her I'd be a significant volunteer for her next year.

We also ran into Tim and Lauren at the expo. Lauren had just flown in that morning (just after midnight) and would leave after the race on Sunday. All of us left the expo together and headed to Chattaway for lunch.

On race morning, there was a little chill in the air. I got us parked in the Bayfront Center parking lot - really, really close to the race start. We walked across the street to the Hilton to hang out in the lobby and have access to their bathrooms before the race. But it was kind of cold in the lobby!

Mom warms herself with pillows in the Hilton lobby.

Finally, it was time to head over to the start line.

Mom, Lauren, and me before the start.



In the starting chute.

It took us a little over 2 minutes to reach the starting line after the gun went off.

Just after mile 1 - on our way around The Pier.


Just after Mile 2 at the Mad Dog water station.



Around Mile 5 at the Vinoy Country Club.

Between Mile 8 and 9, going back

through the Mad Dog water station.

At around Mile 10, Mom started having some difficulty. She started leaning to the right and as she tried to straighten up, she would get spasms on the left side of her back. These back issues really gave her increasing problems from Mile 10 through the rest of the race. In addition to the back issues, she has a lot of nausea.

Inside Tropicana Field, unable to

stand up straight!

Inside Tropicana Field.

After we made the final turn on the course to where you could see the finish line, we still had a long, slow way to go to get there. Mom had to stop and bend over and I had to massage her back to try to give her some relief. The spectators could tell that she was having a very difficult time and they were cheering loudly for her to finish. I think that alone got her across the finish line!

The saddest approach to

the finish line!

Where's my medal?

As we made our way to the finish line, I asked a volunteer where the medical tent was and was happy to find that it was right next to the finish line. When they asked if we wanted to go right there, I said "No. We have our priorities. We want our medal first."

They had some Coast Guard guys at the finish line handing out the medals. The guy that gave Mom her medal asked if he could assist her to the medical tent and she said "No.". And I said "I'd lean on that arm if I were you." But she declined anyway and we hobbled over to the medical tent.

There's my medal!

Finally finished!

At the medical tent, they iced her back down until she was finally able to get up and move around. From there, I walked her over to the massage tent where they worked on her for only 10 to 15 minutes and got her as good as new!

Mom, with her new best friend.

It was really amazing how that massage got her to where you'd never know that she was been in such distress. I'll be making an appointment for her to visit Travis before we go to Honolulu!

Later that evening... and one

step closer to the Honolulu Marathon!