okay. i met with my physical therapist for the first time yesterday. his name is bob and he's fantastic!
he quickly informed me that i am "not built for endurance," rather, i am "built for power." i think that was his way of gently saying "honey, you're carrying a lot of weight on that short little frame and all the pounding that happens when you do distance running or walking is not good for your joints." bob encouraged me to ditch run/walking and embrace cycling or swimming. he thinks i would excel at those and they would be kinder to my knees. thanks, bob.
actually, it was interesting. and, after i poured my heart (and a few tears) out to him about how much i wanted and was determined to do this half-marathon in october, he said that he didn't think it would kill me to do the event, but that i needed to consider alternate forms of training and fitness for the long run. i think i can live with that.
after poking and prodding on me and twisting my lower leg around at different angles, bob also let me know that he thought that the pain i've been experiencing is not necessarily from the mildly-dislocated patella (knee cap), rather that i have a tear in my Miniscus (the gelatinous cartilage that absorbs the impact of your femur and tibia when you run or walk; this tissue does NOT heal or regenerate after age nineteen... muy muy bad news); or that i've torn my MCL (a ligament that prevents the opening up of the knee when you're in motion). if i've torn my Miniscus, that is obviously not good news. but it is what it is and all i can do from this point on is try to mitigate the natural degeneration. tearing the MCL would be a much better case, because it does heal itself!
so, i am returning to Team on Saturday (July 3rd), after a five week hiaitus. i'm nervous because my teammates will have made so much progress and will inevitably be much faster, since they've been working nonstop since my injury. but alas, i must remind myself that this isn't a competition, that it is really only about me and what i can accomplish, and last but not least, that i'm pretty lucky this injury wasn't more serious and i'm able to finish at all!
fundraising is coming along. i am still waiting to hear back from Lisa and Nikki about my Bellinis & Bling fundraising total. i'm hoping i made at least $100! that would put me at 20% of my goal ($500)!
i am working on fundraiser #2 right now, a Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament hosted by my friends Toan and Simone. they are offering up their lovely home in rocklin for a 30-person tournament. the buy-in will be $40, with half of that going directly to me for Team... that's $600 when you do the math! we're also doing a cash bar, where we'll serve beers and mixed drinks for tips (hopefully our players will be generous). i'm hoping to get food donated (anyone with leads would be appreciated). i also have some friends who have talked about putting together a big basket of donated goodies (ie: homemade pesto, homemade pasta sauce, homemade honey, designer cake gift certificate, etc) to raffle off! it should be a lot of fun!
stay tuned for a return-to-workout-debrief!
besos,
liz
6.29.2010
6.19.2010
FUNdraising
i am happy to report that this morning i had my first Team In Training fundraiser! a dozen and a half girlfriends and i got together with Lisa Zolfarelli and Nikki Brown of Premier Designs, for "Bellinis & Bling for Cancer"!
my friend melissa graciously opened her home and another friend, lisa, helped prepare a lovely brunch (complete, of course, with bellinis) for all our guests. we munched, chatted and best of all, looked at lovely, good-quality, affordable jewelry for purchase. a portion of each person's purchase is being donated back to my TNT fundraising efforts by Lisa Z. and Nikki!
i won't know until next week how well we did on the fundraising, but i did get a cash donation at the party, which put me up to 15% of my required goal. i am hoping to get to 50% by July 1, but I'm not sure if that will happen. i am excited to send out my request letters soon, but also a bit nervous about asking folks for money... it's a tough thing to do, especially when everyone is struggling with this economy. the bright side, however, is that i'm asking for such a great cause. everyone has been touched by cancer in some way, and so it feels good to do something to help beat it once and for all!
speaking of beating cancer, i'm dedicating this first fundraiser to Aunt Nancy, who is kicking breast cancer ass right now! she's about halfway thru chemo and is having surgery soon - on June 29 - to remove about twenty lymphnodes. we're all praying for her speedy recovery and i'm so proud of her for being such a champ!
ok. got to write out thank you's now!
besos,
liz
my friend melissa graciously opened her home and another friend, lisa, helped prepare a lovely brunch (complete, of course, with bellinis) for all our guests. we munched, chatted and best of all, looked at lovely, good-quality, affordable jewelry for purchase. a portion of each person's purchase is being donated back to my TNT fundraising efforts by Lisa Z. and Nikki!
i won't know until next week how well we did on the fundraising, but i did get a cash donation at the party, which put me up to 15% of my required goal. i am hoping to get to 50% by July 1, but I'm not sure if that will happen. i am excited to send out my request letters soon, but also a bit nervous about asking folks for money... it's a tough thing to do, especially when everyone is struggling with this economy. the bright side, however, is that i'm asking for such a great cause. everyone has been touched by cancer in some way, and so it feels good to do something to help beat it once and for all!
speaking of beating cancer, i'm dedicating this first fundraiser to Aunt Nancy, who is kicking breast cancer ass right now! she's about halfway thru chemo and is having surgery soon - on June 29 - to remove about twenty lymphnodes. we're all praying for her speedy recovery and i'm so proud of her for being such a champ!
ok. got to write out thank you's now!
besos,
liz
6.14.2010
The Verdict Is In!
So, friends, the verdict is in on the knee... it's dislocated! Bummer! I am still waiting to hear back from my physician as to what that means for my training. I'm super nervous about being out for so long... two weeks today! Aaaah! I miss it so much but know I'm doing the right thing in letting it heal. I just wish it would hurry up... SEND YOUR HEALING ENERGY THIS WAY, PLEASE!
In other news, I've got my first Team fundraiser this coming Saturday - a jewelry party! About fifteen RSVP's, which is great. The next fundraisers I'm planning are a Poker Tournament, with my friend Ed's help; and a yard sale (probably with the Browns). I'll keep ya'll posted.
Besos,
Liz
In other news, I've got my first Team fundraiser this coming Saturday - a jewelry party! About fifteen RSVP's, which is great. The next fundraisers I'm planning are a Poker Tournament, with my friend Ed's help; and a yard sale (probably with the Browns). I'll keep ya'll posted.
Besos,
Liz
6.07.2010
i didn't sign up for track and field...
...so what's with the hurdles? ha ha ha. i crack myself up!
humor is the only way to deal with the stupidness (i know that's not a word) that is getting a KNEE INJURY three weeks into your training. yes, you heard me, knee injury. and the really lame thing is that it didn't even happen in a cool way, like in training. nope. i slipped and fell and landed directly on my right knee cap reaching for a bunch of broccoli in the produce section at my neighborhood Bel Air supermarket. LAME!
although sore and somewhat swollen, the knee was fine at first. i immediately went home and iced and elevated it. took ibuprofren and was doing great. did all my training that week, and then, on Sunday the 30th, participated in the Walk 'N Rock for Kids 5K. this family-fun-run included my friends and many of their kiddos, so, in true liz fashion, i was hopping, bopping, skipping and jumping my way through the course, in an effort to entertain the wee ones.
not such a good idea. apparently this really aggrivated my knee, and, after i arrived home that afternoon, i fell victim to shooting pains originating from my knee and shooting up and down my leg. huge, puffy kneecap. sore, sore, sore. tons of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) over the next two days made it bearable. skipped training and got the first available doctor's appointment, last Thursday. sweet dr. houston painfully informed me that i needed to stay OFF the knee (and therefore leg) for at least two weeks, and take naprocen. she also sent me for x-rays, and i haven't heard anything, so i'm assuming no news is good news (fingers crossed, everyone)!
seriously? the chunkster finally gets excited about exersize - like, actually craving training, and then i have to stop! GRRRRRR!
the thing that amazes me, though, is that i really do miss the training. i've been literally yearning to go walk. run. waddle. whatever! i usually avoid stairs like the plague at work (i hate to sweat in my nice clothes), but i've been tempted to take them, just to experience that rush of heartrate increase. i don't know whether to be stoked at my newfound love for cardio, or scared out of my mind!
regardless, i'm trying to do the right thing and really stay off the knee. i want this sucker to heal so i can get back out there, full-throttle and kick some half-marathon boo-tay! i think i'll also take this time to get those donation request letters - so you all better start checking your mailboxes, wink wink!
oh! one more exciting tidbit. i went to this silly little in-home jewelry party (think tupperware for accessories) last friday and the ladies hosting it offered to do one in support of my fundraising for LLS! woo hoo! so in two weeks i'm gathering all the gal pals and asking them to doll themselves up with Premier Designs jewels, so i can add to my pot of funds to support cancer research and patient services. i'll be serving brunch, so we're calling it "Bellinis and Bling for Cancer"! CUTE!
okay. that's all for now.
besos,
liz
humor is the only way to deal with the stupidness (i know that's not a word) that is getting a KNEE INJURY three weeks into your training. yes, you heard me, knee injury. and the really lame thing is that it didn't even happen in a cool way, like in training. nope. i slipped and fell and landed directly on my right knee cap reaching for a bunch of broccoli in the produce section at my neighborhood Bel Air supermarket. LAME!
although sore and somewhat swollen, the knee was fine at first. i immediately went home and iced and elevated it. took ibuprofren and was doing great. did all my training that week, and then, on Sunday the 30th, participated in the Walk 'N Rock for Kids 5K. this family-fun-run included my friends and many of their kiddos, so, in true liz fashion, i was hopping, bopping, skipping and jumping my way through the course, in an effort to entertain the wee ones.
not such a good idea. apparently this really aggrivated my knee, and, after i arrived home that afternoon, i fell victim to shooting pains originating from my knee and shooting up and down my leg. huge, puffy kneecap. sore, sore, sore. tons of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) over the next two days made it bearable. skipped training and got the first available doctor's appointment, last Thursday. sweet dr. houston painfully informed me that i needed to stay OFF the knee (and therefore leg) for at least two weeks, and take naprocen. she also sent me for x-rays, and i haven't heard anything, so i'm assuming no news is good news (fingers crossed, everyone)!
seriously? the chunkster finally gets excited about exersize - like, actually craving training, and then i have to stop! GRRRRRR!
the thing that amazes me, though, is that i really do miss the training. i've been literally yearning to go walk. run. waddle. whatever! i usually avoid stairs like the plague at work (i hate to sweat in my nice clothes), but i've been tempted to take them, just to experience that rush of heartrate increase. i don't know whether to be stoked at my newfound love for cardio, or scared out of my mind!
regardless, i'm trying to do the right thing and really stay off the knee. i want this sucker to heal so i can get back out there, full-throttle and kick some half-marathon boo-tay! i think i'll also take this time to get those donation request letters - so you all better start checking your mailboxes, wink wink!
oh! one more exciting tidbit. i went to this silly little in-home jewelry party (think tupperware for accessories) last friday and the ladies hosting it offered to do one in support of my fundraising for LLS! woo hoo! so in two weeks i'm gathering all the gal pals and asking them to doll themselves up with Premier Designs jewels, so i can add to my pot of funds to support cancer research and patient services. i'll be serving brunch, so we're calling it "Bellinis and Bling for Cancer"! CUTE!
okay. that's all for now.
besos,
liz
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