That's a FACT JACK!

Last Wednesday, I was given permission, by my general surgeon,  to begin running again!

Mac Cheeeeeese!

After more than 3 weeks of  only walking, the excitement of running again made me pee twice before even getting out the door!
After a short discussion with my hubby, he decided I would only be allowed to run 3 miles. My pace...ah yes.  It wasn't, but then again, it never has been fast. But gosh darn it, yippee,  I am ruuuuuuuuunnning!!! That's a fact jack! In my blissfulness, I almost turned the wrong direction to do my usual 5 miles instead of the promised 3 miles. My abdomen is healed and I had no problems. I was waving at the two people waking their dog, to the man in his car who waited for me to run across the street at the stop sign, and the woman walking into her house. Look at me! I AM RUNNING!!!
Afterwards I bought new earphones called Yurbuds: http://yurbuds.com/products/performance-fit/inspire-for-women/ .  I took them out today and love them. The earpiece is capped with soft tip that fits inside my ear. The make various types of Yurbuds depending on your budget, color preferences, quality. Mine is cheap at $29.99 at Sports Authority.

Great sound and soft tips!

 

 During my marathons, I've always dedicate my last mile to God. Today, I have adopted this practice in my regular runs and wore this tech shirt to commemorate the victims of Boston. Donations can be made to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Boston Fire Fighter's Credit Union: https://www.bosfirecu.com. 

 

Prayers for Boston

I got up early to watch the Boston Marathon. The geek in me took pictures of the TV of the winners, listened to the interviews, then went out for my morning run.
When I got back, I showered, talked to my husband on the phone, and at 11:04 sent texts to my running pal, Ann about the winners of the Boston Marathon 2013:

*men's:Lelisa Desisa ran it in 2:10:22 from Ethiopia
*women's:  Rita Jeptoo ran 2:26:25 from Kenya
I sent her pictures and we joked about how they can run 26.2 miles in the amount of time it takes us to run a half marathon. At 12:16, I received a text from my husband stating "Check news. Two bombs went off at boston marathon".
For the rest of the day I've stayed glued to my TV. Some of my wonderful family and friends have contacted me saying how grateful they were that I was not running the Boston Marathon. They are so beautiful and don't realize what it take to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I had planned on blogging about how I have been released by my surgeon and now can exercise, but that seems so dinky in comparison of what is going on today.
My prayers for the victims of this horrible attack and I am still in disbelief that this happened. Thank you to everyone that helped the victims, spectators, and runners get away safety.

 A blogger, Katherine, Neon Blonde Runner : http://www.neonblonderunner.com/2013/04/boston-marathon-goals-and-tracking.html  was running the Boston Marathon today. Another follower said they had been tracking her said she had done well and made it across before the bombing. Please make it home safe.

Stride Box April 2013

This week I've received my first Stride Box.  This box is packed with products and an accessory for runners. The cost is $15.00 per month. The website : http://stridebox.com/ .
After opening box, I found "The Stride Guide" labeled for April 2013.  This list the goodies inside the box along with link information and retail costs.  This a miniature expo in a box and an opportunity to try new products!

The April runner accessory stumped and I have no idea what it is.  It's not on the the guide list. Who do I ask?  My kids of course!  My son shows me it can be flatten out, then hits it on his wrist to show collapses around his wrist. He said at school, he's seen them as rulers. He finds an opening pulling out a plastic piece with a what appears to be a magnet. He thinks it my be some sort of flexibility magnetic arm band. *shrug* After an hour, I looked at it again and thought it looked like a battery. I pushed it and it clicked on a light in green! Click it again, it flashes. Cool!

We try The Barnana Original Organic Chewy Banana Bites....yuck. I couldn't take a second bite. My son tried a banana bite too. He spit it out into his hand! My dogs, however, thought them yummy! We'll keep them for dog treats. Researching, I didn't find an individual site for this product.



I've used CLIF : http://www.clifbar.com/  products in the past. CLIF packaging that reads 90% organic for the Gels, 95% organic for CLIF Shot BLOKS, and the CLIF bar states it's made with organic rolled oats. Raised in Kansas, I find the percentile funny. Our farmers would say it's either organic or it isn't! I don't mind caffeine in my energy products and some of the CLIF products are free from caffeine and some aren't. This is where CLIF got it right. Either it has caffeine or it doesn't!

Nuun Hydration Tabs : http://nuun.com/ come in a lot of flavors. I prefer Gatorade at home, but Nuun tablets are great for a road or airplane trips. No matter the flavor, to me, it taste like flat seltzer water.  Nuun, too, has products with and without caffeine. Gatorade has no caffeine.

Energy bits-Chlorella and Spirulina Algae Tabs:  http://www.energybits.com/index.php/energybits.html . I've never seen this product.  The single serving is attached to a 25% discount card with information stating to use promo code STRIDEBOX when ordering the product. Checking out the website, I can see why there's a discount. These aren't cheap. The package instructs user to swallow at one time. The website states you can chew them like peanuts.












Hammer Nutrition Vegan Recovery Bar: http://www.hammernutrition.com/ .   Hammer has a lot of various products for consumption, apparel, books, and body care. I've already tried the Hammer Lips in the STRIDE Box and found it amazing and last a long time! The products are affordable.





Action Wipes- Full Body Wet Wipe: http://actionwipes.com/collections/all  are self explanatory.

It's a Dog's Life

Two weeks and my body isn't 100% recovered from surgery. I am still restricted from strenuous activities, but do get to walk my chocolate labs daily. Like Dallas and Cowboy, I, too, get excited when I hear the dog leashes rattle. Yippee it's time for a walk!  My dogs are in heaven because they love being inside the house. If allowed, these sisters would sleep all day. My kids go with me because walking the dogs without help can be arduous.
Our labs have different personalities and running styles. Cowboy, smaller statue than her sister, loves to sprint at full speed whenever possible. She gets a heavy work out chasing the ball as fast as she can go. By the end of the walk, she has slowed down her stride quiet a bit. Don't even think about going over a gutter while walking Cowboy. She will dart in any direction to avoid it!
Dallas, larger than her sister, chases after the ball, but cannot beat her sister in a sprint.  We have to throw the ball in Dallas's direction to enable her an opportunity to get the ball. Dallas has one speed, appears to reserve her energy, and paces herself during a walk. Dallas sometime runs a little sideways. Our vet told us it's common with labs and is called sidegaiting.   Without notice, if Dallas chooses to check out a shrub or tree, she will physically halt me abruptly! She is powerful.  The end of the walks, the kids will sprint the dogs into the cul-de-sac as Dallas trods in sideways.

 

As I read recaps of races done by other runners, I notice some of the runners have similarities to my labs; or visa verse. Like Cowboy, some runners prefer to go out fast and taper towards the end of their races. Other runners, like Dallas, like to maintain a certain pace throughout their race. A common trait shared by runners and by our labs, is the enjoyment of running. Runners love the beep of their Garmins like my labs love the rattle of their leashes. It's running time!

Defining Strenuous Exercise

Yesterday I tried to get my mind off running by going out to buy a new running outfit. Hahaha, retail therapy, yeah well, it made perfect since to me. I got home yesterday and cried a little knowing I couldn't try this out for awhile.

My hubby sat down with me that night, listened, well, hehehe, made a good show he was listening to me. I tearfully told me about the whoas me's of being home and not able to run or do any strenuous exercises or activity for 3 to 4 weeks. My husband gave me the following advised:

1. Fix yourself a cocktail. Done, a French Martini:

1 1/2 oz vodka
1/4 oz Chambord® raspberry liqueur
1/4 oz Cointreau Liquor or any other orange triple sec.
1/4 oz fresh pineapple juice
1 twist lemon peel
Delicious!

2. Relax. How often in your career were you given an opportunity to take this much time off and do nothing? Never. Women you can relate because time off for child birth isn't the same.

3. The definition of strenuous exercise depends on the type of exercise your body does to get your heart rate up. For some people a walk can be strenuous while a marathon runner may not find it the least bit challenging.

Today, I woke up with a new perspective. Time for a fresh start. Do what you gotta do! P90X X-Stretch is just the ticket. I avoided all the stretches that engaged the abdomen muscles such as Roller, Shoulder Stand to Plough pose, Bow pose, and Ballistic Hamstring Stretch. The yoga position of plank, I put my knees on the ground so not to engage me abdomen. It felt good and at least I feel I did something other than walking. At least I'm happier about not running!

There's No Crying in Running!

Why am I crying?  When I was discharge last week after a laparascopic appendectomy, I was told to follow up with my primary care in 2 weeks, not with the general surgeon. Yesterday, I had an appointment with with my primary care physician. Today, I get a call from the general surgeon's office, stating I would need to see the surgeon at least once following my surgery. Are you still with me?  I know it's a boring topic. It's just a crazy selfish runner ranting and thanking you for listening.
Understanding the physician will always side with caution, I asked the general surgeon's nurse will there be any diagnostic testing during or after the exam to see if the incisions have healed?  The nurse replays, no this is only a physician's examinations of my abdomen. I scheduled an appointment with the general surgeon.
My frustration builds because I have to pay another co-pay to hear another doctor say "you can't run for another 3 to 4 weeks"! I GET IT! My primary care doctor already told me the same thing. I have another appointment with my primary care next week and another co-pay.
In total, I'll pay $95 in co-pays.  I don't get a t-shirt that says I've completed 3 to 4 weeks of NOTHINGNESS. This is no medal from crossing over the 4 week hash mark. There will be no split times, no water stations, and no one to cheer me into that final day. I'm sure there's a joke here some where...how many doctors have to see you to tell you not to run?

What a crock of poop.

 

Yes Virgina,Laparoscopic Appendectomy Means No Long Runs For Awhile!

Last Wednesday, after a night of right abdomen pain, I drove to work, saw my physician, sent to urgent care, and ALLAKHAZAM...off to the hospital for an emergency laparoscopic appendectomy! Dang it!
Laying on a gurney in the preoperative room, conversing with the general surgeon and when she asks if there are any questions, can you guess what I'd said? Yep, "after the surgery, how soon can I begin running?"
Her answer wasn't what I wanted to hear. She replied, "3 to 4 weeks, no marathon, and maybe you can try a half marathon in April. Yes, I was tearful, but grateful my diagnosis wasn't worse.
Laparoscopic surgery is less evasive and has a shorten healing time frame. My surgeon made 4 tiny incisions like the one by my belly button in the picture. After the surgery the worse pain was from the C02 gas applying pressure on phrenic nerve. This caused a lot pain in my right shoulder. Walking, sleeping upright, ibuprofen, and a heating pad to my shoulder, helped manage the pain.  After 3 days, the right shoulder pain subsided and I still have some soreness to my abdomen. I go for walks daily with my labs, try to catch up on some half read books, and  I plan on trying to return to work next week.

This year I was trying to do the Triple Crown. This consist of 3 half marathons: the Carlsbad Half Marathon, the La Jolla Half Marathon, and the America's Finest City Half Marathon(AFC). I completed the Carlsbad full marathon in January which qualifies the same as doing the half marathon. The La Jolla Half Marathon is at the end of April and AFC is in August. I still plan on going through with the La Jolla Half. It appears, I won't be able to run the America's Finest City Half Marathon (AFC) in August. I realized we'll be on a cruise to Alaska during the AFC. *sigh* No Triple Crown this year. As I looked through my marathon training program, there's not enough time for me to train for the Rock & Roll San Diego Marathon (R&R SD) in June. I contacted R&R SD and changed to the half marathon.


As I text my running friend to see if she like to take my place for the AFC, I criticize myself for wallowing in self pity.
Hey, I have my health, my family, my friends, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I am lighter now that I'm not carrying around an organ! Cheers!