you call yourselves "Sports PT"??!!?!

well yesterday the long road of PT started, and boy was it a train wreck right out of the gate. i was referred to a place called "Sports PT" which has branches all over, including one just up the street from my office. this is how yesterday went:

8:30am: show up and check in. give my name and they don't have me down for an appointment

8:32am: woman tries to make up for not having my appointment down and gives me some paperwork that i'll need to fill out anyway. asks if i can come back at 1:30pm, apologizes again.

1:30pm: show up for round two. there were people everywhere. people being worked on, people doing their own exercises, people waiting, people coming, people going... it was kind of a mad house.

1:35pm: introduced to my therapist, who sits down with me and gets my back story. i start at the beginning - from my herniated disc 3 years ago to my more recent injuries. i mention that i'm training for the NYC marathon, but that overall i haven't yet really upped my number of miles since training just started. i also mentioned that i worked out over the weekend and my hamstring didn't feel too bad, but that now my calf is really tight.

1:45pm: he interjects, "now, how long is the marathon?" at which point i should have just gotten up and ran out the door.

1:50pm: he looks over my chart, and my prescription, and mentions that since the prescription is only for my hamstring, that's all he'll even look at/work on.

1:50:05pm: i had made up my mind that i was never setting foot back in that place.

the rest of the appointment wasn't awful - he did ok work on my hamstring, but i wasn't blown away. AND it ends up that while they do "take my insurance" i still have a rather hefty co-pay, so it's definitely NOT worth it.

tomorrow is PT take 2. i'm going to a real physical therapist, one who has a great track record and is an overall great guy too. michael conlon of finish line physical therapy not only knows what he's talking about, but is an experienced ironman and marathoner himself, so will not only get me better but will help get me to race day!

breakfast of champions

since i can't really train right, at least i can eat right. paleo: take 578, act 1, scene 2

today is day two of trying for the millionth time to get back on track with my diet. traveling, vacationing, and partying have all lead me astray (but hey, i can't complain too much!)

yesterday was a good day and today has started off well. 2 hard boiled eggs, grilled peppers with chicken/apple sausage, a few pineapple chunks and iced coffee, black. more on "paleo" to come...

vacation!

so i've been off the grid for the last week - in not-super-sunny-because-it's-rainy-season Costa Rica. it was gorgeous, even when raining. it was like i didn't mind that it was raining on me, it made the surroundings greener, and more peaceful. i couldn't complain one bit. and the sun did shine, it just came in small doses - enough to give me a nice glow.

i surfed, relaxed, ate amazing food, soaked in hot springs, went white-water rafting, made new friends, and enjoyed the entire trip. at the end of many vacations, i'm usually ready to go home - ready for the big city once again, and to sleep in my bed and get back to a routine. not so much this time. there was so much i didn't have time to see, so much to explore, so many waves still left to surf! but alas, i'm back.

the vacation was great, and greatly timed. i've been mentioning my pesky right hamstring and before going away i got the coach's advice to stay off it and let it rest for the week. so i didn't have to pack my running clothes (although i did want to!) and i was ok with taking a step back from training - even though it just started!!

well, now i'm back and unfortunately still feeling the same tension in my right hammy. was able to get in to see doc bartoli this morning ("can you be here in 10 minutes?" i sure can be! - usually takes days if not weeks to get into see doc) and it's strained and i need to take it easy. no hills, no speed work, just easy running as long as i don't feel pain. crossfit very modified to not bother the hammy. and lastly, swimming. i think i'm going to bite the bullet and head to the red hook pool tomorrow morning. and physical therapy (pt) - how i have a love/hate relationship with you! it's time consuming, and sometimes painful and sometimes annoying, but will hopefully get this hammy back on track, literally!

today marks week 3, day 3 and i'm feeling very behind. i know there's nothing i can do about the hammy, but listen to my coach and doc and my body and cross my fingers a little that i'll still have enough time to prepare for eleven six eleven.

birthday run!

this saturday i turned the ripe old age of 29. to mark my birthday, and get my long run out of the way, i signed up for a 10k in central park with dar. note to self: a 5am wake up on your birthday isn't so great, but i did get to embrace the day with an early start.

of course i threw on my TEAM FOX jersey and headed up to central park (thanks again cristina for the ride, and to chachi and luka for some birthday kisses!)

my warm up consisted of a dunkin iced coffee, a photo shoot, trip to the port-o-potties and some light stretching. i'm obviously the best at warming up. it was a hot morning and the gun went off at 8 and we were on our way. it was a rough race. my hamstring was really bothering me (even with my oh so hot neoprene sleeve on) and running just. felt. hard.

luckily dar and i stuck it out together, finished, and my run was out of the way so i could enjoy the rest of my birthday - which included brunch with my folks and then a few (or a few too many depending on how you look at it) cocktails with some friends. overall great day!

when six became three

last night was supposed to be 5-6 miles, easy. i took off with a six mile loop in mind, heading up to prospect park from my apartment. i quickly realized that i was not feeling great and i ran just over 3 of those six miles. i think there were a few factors that contributed to my crappy run:

1. my hamstring. it's definitely not a new problem, but it's creeping back and i need to start getting it worked on again. i wasn't anticipating that it would give me problems a) this early on and b) this badly.
2. food! i don't think i ate enough yesterday, and with the heat i just don't think i was nutritionally prepared. note taken.
3. sleep! i was also really, really tired. i hadn't gotten a good amount of sleep wednesday night so i was really tired from the get-go.

blah, blah - i don't want to make excuses, and i know there will be great running days and shitty running days. i want to use this as a learning experience for my runs to come. the hamstring i'll need to work with, but i can alter my nutrition and sleep (and i know from past games/races/workouts how much it can affect performance).

today's a new day - and thankfully a rest day!

first days of training

i really want to keep track of all my training so i can look back in four months and go "wow, i'm such an amazing runner now - i can't believe how hard it felt back in july" or something to that effect...riiight.

anywho - tuesday july 5 kicked off my training. i'm using a program designed by an amazing marathon coach, michael conlon, with some modifications so that i can continue to do my beloved crossfit. tuesday consisted of:

1.5 mile warm up to red hook park.

6x400m sprints with 400m recovery after each

1 mile cool down run home

total of 4 miles running w/ 1.5 miles of recovery

my right hamstring, which i'm sure i'll talk about a lot, really started bothering me not so much during the 400m sprints, but during the recovery. i'm taking as much care of it as possible and hopefully it doesn't become a bigger problem.

side note on red hook: the park there is really nice (shown below) with sports fields, a really nice track, and a community pool that has free lap swim! the downside...while running there as a warm up is a good use of time, it's really smelly! the summer months are going to rough, running through streets that stink like garbage. the trade offs of living in nyc....

wednesday july 6: crossfit! my schedule had me working on "lower body strength" - so bring on the front squats! kept it light because i'm still coming off of a back injury (if it isn't one thing it's another...) and then did a short WOD (workout of the day) with double unders (jumping rope w/ the rope passing through twice on every hop) and pull ups. since i've been out of the gym for a while, it felt good to move again!

today: i have an easy 6 mile run lined up, and it looks like the sun is coming out after a brief downpour! hopefully it has cooled off a bit and the weather will be nice this evening for a run in prospect park.

here we go!

this is a long time in the making. for the last few years, i would step outside my apartment in brooklyn and watch the nyc marathon runners make their way down 4th ave, on their way to 3 other boroughs and roughly 19 more miles. each year, i am inspired and cheer for the runners who have their names written on their jerseys or who are in singlets supporting the cause they run for.

each year i get the "i really want to run the marathon" feeling, and each year a few days later it has seemed to disappear. not this year.

i had actually hoped to run the nyc marathon in 2010, but a new job - getting to actually work WITH the TEAM FOX members that i so greatly admire - kept me from running. i wouldn't change a single thing, though, about being able to cheer on and support the 185 TEAM FOX runners on that day last november.

this year is my year. i'm going to be cheering for and supporting the almost 200 runners that will dedicate their time and energy to training and fundraising for The Michael J. Fox Foundation, but i will also be among them.

this blog will be a way for me to share my stories of training and what keeps me motivated. eleven six eleven is the day i'm working towards, just shy of 4 months from today.

so, here we go!