Aqua Fitness OH MY!

Hello all! I feel badly for my lack of updates here. I am sorry. Ever since not being able to keep up with my training I've been quite depressed and haven't felt I've had a whole lot to write about. But I am feeling better and getting out of my funk, I think. lets hope! So a few things.

Work has been very slow but seems to be picking up. This is good news! I thank my lucky stars for such a cool job. No two days are ever the same. Sometimes it wears me pretty thin though. And when its bad I'm stressed and down. But when its great I'm energized and excited for who I'll meet next or what challenge we'll encounter along the way. We did had a shoot today with a pretty well known runner for the cover of Runner's World!! Look for it in February!!! On the other hand looking at this runner's body makes me realize that I'll never look that good unless I work out 4 hours a day. I've met so many pro athletes in the past year its ridiculous. Its incredibly inspiring to see their strength and discipline. I'm sure my experiences this year put me in that crazy state of mind to think "sure I can run a marathon." I will run a marathon, but when body is ready. :)

In my effort to continue workin' on my fitness I've become increasingly interested in all sorts of fun water activities. I've never been much of a swimmer but the day the doctor said "STOP RUNNING NOW" I went out in mid november to buy a on piece bathing suit. I'd look like a fool doing laps in my red polka dotted bikini. So now I've got a hot red one piece bathing suit that is reversible! it can be black too. but if you've seen me you know how pale I am. I will not be wearing the black side. not without 5 spray tans!

So anyway, at my gym there are aqua fitness classes. and on my weekends when I'm home they fit nicely into my schedule. I have Aqua Aerobics on Saturday and Aqua Yoga on Sunday, So much fun! I'm probably the youngest person in the class, the rest are all older ladies. I LOVE them. they help show me the moves, yell at me when I'm kicking the wrong leg or moving my hands in the wrong direction in relation to my legs. I'm not very coordinated FYI. They all seem excited to have a young person in the class and make me feel so welcome. Its the best. I did not take the picture above I must say (and I don't know who to credit other than google.. im sorry......) but my class looks very simular. I was sore after this past Saturday's class!

Another cool thing I've discovered is Aqua Running! OMG THE COOLEST THING EVER. I went out this weekend and found myself a floatation device to strap around my waist and I jumped in the pool and ran! Your feet can't touch the bottom of the pool but you just run like you would on land and its a GREAT work out. I look kinda funny though. the belt makes me look like a heavy weight champion and as I run laps in the pool only my head hovers above water and I move much slower than the swimmers in the lanes next to me. Its hysterical if you watch me actually. People are probably like "What the hell.. is this girl for real?" I move so slowly while running like crazy underneath they probably think I am attempting to learn how to doggie paddle. It gets my heart rate up and I definitely broke a sweat. I LIKE IT! And I don't care what other people think, even that cute pool boy that smiles at me every time on my way out the door. wrapped in my towel. with my heavy weight champion belt. gosh i'm so sexy!

Speaking of old ladies, this girl learned how to knit! Sarah (my boss) taught me while we were in New Orleans for our cool Angola project. I love knitting. It makes my commute feel productive. She got me started and now I can't stop. I got some more yarn and needles and a couple of knitting books and spent Sunday teaching myself how to knit in the round and how to knit cords. I'm such an old lady. My parents laugh at me. They say ever since my hip problems I've turned into an old lady and started knitting! That is partially true. But hey I finished a scarf and a baby bootie this weekend. I can't wait to start making all sorts of fun things. Maybe I'll open up my own Etsy.com shop. I love that site, its great.

Its late, I'm exhausted & I want to get up to aqua run in the morning. So I am outta here! Thank you so much everyone for your notes of support and love. They mean a lot to me.

Jocelyn's joined a gym (i think? have you yet?) to stay out of the cold and Lydia is sick now but was rockin' the runnin' in the frigid Colorado altitude! Keep going ladies I'm cheering you on. And running along side you in the pool :)

i am sidelined

i am sad to say i have officially been sidelined by my doctor. no more running allowed for me for at least the next two weeks.. this means no half marathon in January & he told me I shouldn't plan on running the marathon in May :(. I got a shot of cortisone in my hip (wow that hurt..) and an x-ray on my ankle. I have to go back for an MRI this week too. There are a whole host of things he found wrong, none of which suprised me.. but I was suprised to hear him say I shouldn't run the marathon in May. if i follow his orders and give my body time to heal i should be back to running and maybe I'll be able to do a half marathon in may instead of the full? i cried in the office.. i was so excited to do this with lydia and jocelyn. i feel like i'm letting them down. :( :( :( but seriously boys and girls, i've been walking like an old man in need of a hip replacement, its not pretty. i'm pretty depressed about it all. probably have gained a gazillion pounds too. i can swim though.. i always hated swimming, maybe i'll like it now. i can ride a stationary bike in moderation but no spinning class. there are a few exercises he prescribed me to do in moderation too. but i pretty much have to focus on getting better now. and i hope all of this fancy medical stuff doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.. that would be really. really bad timing.

so yeah, i'm bummed out big time. i'm not even allowed to walk any long distances! :( on the up side, i'm going to focus more on my photography and getting involved in some volunteer projects in the ny/nj area. seems like some things are already coming together, which would be great great news.

i am alive!

Back from my trip. I've had an incredible past couple of days. I wish I could share everything all at the same time, but I'm exhausted & I need some time to digest what I saw and how I feel about it all. My job really does afford me some pretty incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences. This one was both incredible and haunting. We had unrestricted access to one of the most notorious prisons in the country. I was face to face with some of the worlds most dangerous men yesterday. I'll never forget their faces or stories. I'll write more later.

My hip and entire leg now is in quite a bit of pain, I haven't been running in about 10 days now :(! Not really sure whats going on but I am cautious to not make it worse. I have an appointment with a sports medicine doctor on Saturday so hopefully he can help me figure out whats going on & I can get back to workin' on my fitness.

Keep on truckin' girls! Good to see Jocelyn's back at it & Lydia is adjusting well to the altitude.

I'll write in a little bit more detail about my trip later

Oh Happy Rest Day

Today was a beautiful and uneventful rest day! Turns out I'm not going to DC or to Miami so that is good news because that means I can start training for the Carlsbad Half Marathon tomorrow in familiar territory! Next week I go to New Orleans for 3 days though so we will see if I can map out some routes to run. So excited. I have a polar heart rate monitor but it doesn't have a pedometer in it so I will just have to guess on my pace. I'm not to worried about my pace for the easier runs but for the tempo runs I want to make sure that I'm not slacking off. I wonder if there is a way to mark my time with my watch so I can figure out what my splits are? Hmm.. I have to look into that. Or I could just figure it out on my own the old fashioned way :)

Does anyone else watch Samantha Who? That show cracks me up! I love it. I enjoy the moments when I can actually sit down and watch TV.. especially when there is something on that can make me laugh.

My stomach hurts. I ate peanut butter and jelly. made me happy like I was a kid again. except I never remember feeling icky after eating it..! I'm debating on whether or not I should accompany my Mom to the polls at 5am. She works the polls all day tomorrow, its going to be a tough job! I'm interested to see the lines. I already voted absentee because I thought I'd be out of town but I feel weird not going to the polls since I am going to be here.. I just want to check it out and see! This is history man! Maybe I'll bring my camera to document what I see. Or maybe I'll sleep instead. I do have to get up and run though. oh decisions. I'm thankful I have these decisions to make though. very thankful.

The SMC Weekend Update

(not to be confused with the snl weekend update.)




What a weekend! I went out and cast my absentee ballot vote, I took Mei out for a run with me, ran 6 miles for the first time, and I watched the NYC Marathon (on tv)! It was such a beautiful fall weekend how could I not enjoy it all?

I took Mei out for my first time 6 miler on Saturday and I was worried whether or not she could do it with me but she did great. Although there is one section of the road that is quite dangerous with no real shoulder where I was not so happy about running with her. She kept pulling away from me to run in the middle of the road so I had to hold her tight. She's so strong though that I ended up running for .25 miles with my shoulder all tight while holding her close. Needless to say I cramped up and I wasn't very happy! Thats the last time I'll bring her on that route.. I need to find some other routes that are Mei-Mei friendly...

I ran 6 miles on Saturday and felt amazing. Felt like I could've kept going! So I decided I'd do another 6 miles on Sunday... Well I did.. & I think I over did it. I started to feel slightly dizzy during the last 10 min of the run and my hands were swollen. I kept going though, I wasn't that far away from home! I finished well & did a nice long stretch. I had some water, ate, & afterwards I felt incredibly nauseous, had a terrible headache, and I was freezing despite my 70 degree house. I realized what I ate had nearly zero sodium so I quickly made myself some veggie broth and had some toast with butter & in a couple minutes I felt so so much better.

So I don't really know what happened there but I didn't like it & I'm glad I'm feeling better now. I might need to start bringing water or food with me on these longer runs?

But hey.. I never dreamed I'd be able to run 12 miles in one weekend. that is cool.

I'm watching the Frankie Valley & The Four Seasons on ice special and I have to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE!! Frankie Valley. The music just energizes me and is so nostalgic. I wish I lived during that era. There is nothing like it & music is so lame nowadays. My grandfather is an incredible musician and was asked by Frankie Valley before they were big to play in his band but he refused.. He regrets that decision but hey.. we still love him the same! I want to see Jersey Boys so badly.

On the NYC Marathon, how inspiring. I wanted Kara Goucher to win so badly in her marathon debut! Still proud of her 3rd place finish though, nice to see an American on that podium! Paula is incredible.. and how about 40 year old Petrova? Wow! I think it'd just be great to be a part of that huge mass of consciousness pounding the pavement, breathing in synch.. I've never run in a group like that. I just run with my dog around my neighborhood!

p.s. John McCain on SNL last night anyone? I thought it was hysterical! The pork knives! The Palin T Shirt!

p.s.s. Might be out of town until Wednesday for a shoot. but I won't know until probably hours before I have to leave. its dumb. grr. Either in DC or Miami. Either way, I start training for that half marathon this week so you better believe I'm bringing my running shoes..