A Solitary Weekend

It's been kind of a lazy, isolated weekend for me.  To be completely honest, I've been a little down.  Between my stupid hip-flexor sidelining me from my training, to Greg being gone, to having to face taking down all my Christmas stuff alone, it was just kind of a downer.  It also seemed that most of my friends had stuff going on this weekend, so I really had nothing social to distract me.

The good news is I got some things done.

As I mentioned, I took down the tree and put away all the ornaments and decorations.

Putting Christmas stuff away isn't quite as fun as getting it all out...

Clyde lounged while I did all the work.  Lucky dog.

After we got that done, I decided it was time to get some exercise. 

First I wanted a snck and decided to try out my new apple contraption.

My apple was a little uneven and I ran into a little trouble...

But I made it work...

I had it with some PB for protein.

It was kind of a cold day, but I bundled up and took Clyde for a long walk.

This is my "I would rather be running" face.

I was determined to get my legs moving in some way, even if I had to hold back on running.

Clyde was good company and pretty much sprinted the whole way.

Being the running dork I am, I still strapped on the Garmin and kept track of our time and distance.  We did 3.43 miles in 1 hour and 3 minutes.  I'll take it.  I felt great to be out there even if I wasn't doing my 8 mile run.

I had a late lunch of nachos.  Exciting, I know.

And later I had this for a snack.

Banana, raspberry softserve with dark chocolate chunks and some chocolate syrup on top.  MMMM :)

I had this while watching Inception.

It was a weird movie, but good.

Dinner was pasta with veggie crumble "meat" sauce.

And a Magic Hat brew.

Greg and I Skyped for a while, and then I called it a night.

Today was pretty uneventful as well.  I did an ab workout in the morning, made a calendar on Snapfish (I had a Groupon to use), went to the grocery store, and watched some movies.  I'd planned on meeting a friend in the afternoon, but she had to cancel :(

I watched Spirit of A Marathon, after hearing about it on many other blogs. 

It was really, really good.  I loved that the movie follows marathoners that are all so different.  Some of the elites, first timers, and people trying to qualify for Boston.  It was inspiring, yet sort of frightening.  I definitely cringed as one guy had to drop out of running the marathon when he got a knee injury.  Luckily my injury doesn't seem to be a deal breaker and I believe that the rest is helping.  I was excited, but I also questioned my training and wondered if my endurance has been compromised.  Have I done enough?? 

I guess I won't know til next weekend.

Congrats to all my friends who ran in the Disney half and full marathon this weekend!  You guys are an inspiration :)

Heal Me Protein!

As much as I was ready to taper and cut back on the running, not being able to run at all REALLY sucks.  I really don't know what I should be doing instead of running either.  The hip-flexor is in a spot that is probably going to be irritated no matter what I do.  It's frustrating.  I did go for a nice long walk with Clyde last night and plan on doing the same today if it's not too freezing outside.

One non-physical thing my doc told me to do was increase my protein intake to promote healing.  I have carefully been plotting my meals around protein sources since he told me this.

Here's some things I've been eating.

Roasted Chick Peas:

I just:

 -Preheated the oven to 450 degrees

-Sprayed a cookie sheet with olive oil

-Took a can of chick peas and drained, rinsed, then patted them dry

-Put the chick peas in a bowl and give a couple shakes each of chili powder, cumin, paprika, and Montreal Steak seasonings.

-Stir together, then spread on cookie sheet and baked them for about 20 minutes.

Grilled chicken wrap:

This was a flat-out wrap with:

-grilled chicken seasoned with chili powder and cumin (can you tell I like these spices)

-plain greek yogurt

-black beans

-cheddar cheese

-salsa

-spinach

I really don't eat much meat at home these days, but found a lone chicken breast hiding in my freezer that I grilled in the grill pan.

Fried eggs, peanut butter on whole grain toast, and yogurt smoothie:

I feel like this is not far off from how I usually eat, but I have been mindful of making sure my meals are centered around protein. 

Are you concious of your protein intake?

Hip Flexor Woes

Ok, I'm sure a few of you have wondered what's happening with my leg since last week.  Here's the update.  After the run I did last Wednesday night that seemed to start this whole mess, I took from Thursday of last week til Monday off with zero running, so about 4-5 days.  I had been scheduled for a 12 mile long run, but didn't do it at the risk of making things worse.  While on the trip to Houston I could still feel some pain around my "leg socket" in the upper front part of my left leg.  Nothing too major, but I could feel it at times throughout the weekend. 

Upon landing in Charlotte on a glorious 50ish degree day on Monday afternoon, I had one thought on my mind:  I wanted to run.  I got home, laced up, and headed out for a really fun and lovely 5 mile run.  No real pain or problems and I enjoyed every minute.  Later, I didn't really feel any worse than I did before the run so that was good news. 

Tuesday I had my appointment with Greenapple (my sports chiropractor).  It went pretty well.  I was informed my injury seemed to be in the hip-flexor area.

I told him about running in my hilly neighborhood and showed him where the pain was and it seemed to add up, as hills tend to put added strain on that area.  He did a series of what I think is called A.R.T. on my leg, which stands for active release techniques.  Basically the doctor kind of pushes down on the affected area while moving your leg around.  It looks like this:

(source)

Actually, I'm pretty sure he did this exact technique on me.  I also had electric stimulation.  I felt pretty good after treatment- definitely warmed up, if that makes sense.  My doc suggested doing a run on Wednesday night, but avoiding hills.

Avoiding hills was going to be a tough one.  That basically meant my neighborhood was out and I don't like to run in the dark alone too far from my house, so I came up with a plan.  I decided to run on the treadmill in my gym at work at the end of the day, but keep it relatively short so I could get home to Clyde without making him wait much longer than usual. 

I hopped on the treadmill and did 4 miles with zero incline in 38 minutes.  I felt pretty good the whole time I was on it, and stretched appropriately after the run before heading home.  Later last night I could feel my upper leg bothering me again.  Boooooooooo....  It was pretty uncomfortable and even bothered me as I was trying to fall asleep.  Not good.

Today I got up and the leg did not feel good.  At all.  I even felt like I had a slight limp while walking because the area was so messed up.  The good news is I had another appointment today.  I went in and explained the new developments to my doc.  He did mostly the same treatment as last time and advised me I probably should back off running for the weekend (AGAIN :( !).  I'm disappointed, but think this is the right thing and had already been leaning towards backing off before I saw my doc. 

I feel like at this stage of training I'm confident in what I've done, but at the same time I can't help but wonder if the lack of running in the past week, and in the next week potentially, will affect me in the marathon.  I dislike that I'm not getting to do either of my final "long" runs.  It really, really sucks.  My doc said I can walk, stretch, and possibly bike (if it feels ok).  Mostly I'm supposed to rest though.  I go back to Greenapple on Monday and we'll see where we go from there.

I am pretty sure I can run this marathon with this issue.  Really, this injury hurts more after running than it does during running.  That's the good news.  I might be jacked up after the marathon, but I think I can do it.  I still think it's a good idea to back off for a few days though in case hurting after running turns into hurting while running.  I'm hoping I can do some short runs next week before the big day.

So that's the update on that.  Wish me luck and recovery!  I need it!

MSY-IAH-CLT

The rest of our trip to Houston went smoothly.  It was another long afternoon/evening in the car on Sunday after leaving New Orleans (about another 6 hours), but I had great company, so I didn't mind ;) 

I am definitely glad I was there to share the driving with Greg, I would not have wanted him to drive that entire way by himself.



Greg had one thing in mind for dinner in Houston- Taco Cabana.  He's been raving about how this is the greatest Mexican fast food chain ever created since his last stint in Houston.  I've lost count of how many times he's said, "Babe, have I mentioned they have MARGARITAS at Taco Cabana???" or "They have a topping bar with THREE kinds of salsa.  It's AWESOME!"  Funny how he can get so excited over the weirdest things...  I'm not like that at all...*cough*.

On our way to Houston, while I drove, Greg started searching for the nearest Taco Cabana location and next thing I know he was all upset because he didn't think there was one near where we were going.  They all appeared to be pretty far away on the other side of Houston.  We were brain storming other ideas for dinner, when I caught a glimpse of a billboard for none other than Taco Cabana, and we were close!  He was totally excited!  What a good wife I am.

I opted for a chicken burrito with a side of chips and salsa.  My opinion?  It didn't hold a candle to Chipotle.  It wasn't terrible, but I wasn't excited over it the way Greg was.  My hubby was in heaven with his tacos though, and it was worth it just to see him get all worked up.

We got in to Houston late and Greg got checked in to his hotel and got all set for class on Monday before we headed to bed.  In the morning, he left for training before I needed to get up and get ready for my flight back to Charlotte.  I laid in bed while he got ready and then when it was time to go he came over and kissed Clyde and I goodbye.  I have to say, as a pilot's wife, I'm used to goodbyes.  I'm even used to weeks apart since we've been through him going training so many times before, but in my early morning sleepy state, I got very teary saying goodbye to my husband.  I really didn't want him to leave the hotel, and I didn't want to leave Houston without him.  It was really hard this time after spending the entire weekend together.  I'm going to miss him a lot this next month or so.  We think he'll be coming home sometime in the middle for a weekend, but it depends on how busy he is.

Clyde and I caught the hotel shuttle to the airport, went through security, and waited for our flight in the terminal.  Last week I had gone shopping for a new pet carrier for Clyde as he'd chewed the zipper on his old one and it was obvious it wasn't going to work for a flight, since I couldn't close it.  I ended up finding this backpack style one at Ross, and for cheap!  



Clyde was a really good boy.  He was slightly antsy in the terminal but didn't make any noise and just really wanted to look around at all the people and see what was going on.  A lot of people were interested in him too and came over to say hi :).  We eventually boarded our plane and he curled up in his backpack under the seat, again not making any noise.  I was very proud of my pup!

The logistics of travelling with Clyde definitely make things more complicated, but I was happy to have him with us on this trip.  I know it meant a lot to Greg to have him with us so he got to spend a little longer with him, and it really wasn't that bad working around having him there. 

It was a great road trip and I'm glad I went with Greg to see more of the country and spend quality time together. 

Have you taken any trips with your significant other lately?

A Visit To New Orleans

On New Years Day, Greg and I spent a good three hours getting ready and packing up the car for our long drive to Houston with a stop in New Orleans.  Greg hadn't gotten home from West Virginia til about 7:30pm on New Years Eve, so he had gone through a lot of packing, unpacking, laundry, and repacking in a short window of time.  After countless trips from the house to the car it was filled to the brim and we hit the road.  Clyde had a little perch that he sat in.

It was a gray, drizzly, dreary day and we had our share of rain on way.

Clyde seemed to enjoy the trip, at times.

Later he crawled through the maze of stuff in the back seat and opted to stare out the back window.

We went through a lot of states on the drive: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, before we finally reached Louisiana.  We stopped a few times at rest areas and restaurants to use the facilities and grab food.  I requested Panera for dinner so I could get in some veggies and had my favorite: the Greek salad.

It was a loooooooooooooooong day in the car, but finally we rolled into New Orleans pretty late on Saturday night.  I tried to get some pictures, but nothing would come out.

We were using Greg's older model GPS (mine is in my car), and had some trouble finding our hotel, which was in Kenner, right outside New Orleans, but after consulting his phone we got an accurate location and finally found our hotel.  We were VERY tired and pretty much unpacked and passed out immediately. 

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready to head into the city to check it out.

Clyde assumed his usual position in the car.

Soon I saw the skyline and the Superdome.  I really started thinking a lot about hurricane Katrina at this point and how unreal it was that a few years ago this place was a complete disaster area.  Really surreal.

I have to say, the city is in GREAT shape now.  You would never know something so tragic and awful happened there, everything looked wonderful.

We drove around the French Quarter, looking for parking, which proved to be tough as we soon realized the Sugar Bowl AND a Saints game were happening in town that day. 

I definitely found it funny that my college team, Ohio State, was playing in it and that I had no idea.  I have probably mentioned it before but I'm the worst OSU alum ever.  Completely out of touch with what our team is doing 99% of the time.  I saw Ohio State fans everywhere.

I was immediately was in awe of the pretty scenery and started snapping pictures of all the intricate ironwork.

We parked and began bee-lining for the one place I had as a definite on my list of places to go in New Orleans: Cafe Du Monde.

There was a long line to sit inside the tented cafe, but we had Clyde with us, so we knew that wasn't really an option.  We quickly realized there was a take-out window and headed over there to get our beignets and coffee, which worked out great, because we only had to wait a couple minutes til it was our turn to order.

We carried our beignets and coffee to a nearby bench to eat.

There are really no words to describe how awesome they tasted...  They were like a combination of fried dough and donut, but better. They were dense and chewy, but they melted in your mouth.  The amount of powdered sugar in the bag they came in was insane.  I'd put it up there with the top five messiest things I've ever eaten.  Mental note, next time I go back to Cafe Du Monde, do not wear dark clothing.  That white sugar was EVERYWHERE!  You could actually see splatters of it all over the place within about a block radius. 

With our bellies full of beignets, we headed out to explore more of the city.

We window shopped...

And got some beads from some dude on a balcony...

And eventually ended up on the famous street.

I had ideas about what Bourbon Street would be like, but I was not prepared for how huge it was and how there was bar after bar after bar there...

I didn't think it would be that busy on a Sunday afternoon, but the party was in full swing.  I said more than once that I should have come here in my early 20s when I was more of a party animal. 

Being the "one drink wonder" I usually am now this scene was wasted on me!

Greg and I did share a frozen margarita as we walked around.  We're animals, I know. 

As happy as I was to have Clyde with us, it did hinder our ability to go in most places, but it was still cool to just walk around and enjoy everything we saw.  Eventually, when we wanted some lunch, Greg waited outside with Clyde while I went into a place to order stuff for us to go.  I was dying to try a muffaletta, so thats what I got.

It's like an Italian sandwich with this olive salad in it.  It was pretty yummy!

Greg had a BLT and Clyde eagerly awaited a sample of his bacon.

I think Clyde enjoyed New Orleans.

I really had a great time.  New Orleans is such a cool city and scenery will stay in my head forever...

We headed out of town to continue our drive to Houston mid afternoon.  I probably could have spent days or even weeks there and not seen even close to everything, but I'm grateful I got to spend a day there.

I know that New Orleans had a lasting effect on all of us...