Ironman, wife, mama... enjoying life's journey!

I won’t back down

I will stand my ground

You could stand me up at the gates of Hell,

but I won’t back down.

Thank you, Mr. Tom Petty, for coming on my iPod just when I needed to hear your your raspy, weathered voice!

*I don’t know how to attach a music file…

Today is our 10th Anniversary!!  10 years is a long time to put up with my craziness…

And these little gems came along for the ride, too!

I’m so incredibly blessed!

Happy New Year, everyone!  Have fun and be safe!!

I am going to try for 12 pain free miles and see what happens…

to give you all an update on my gimp knee. 

I saw the PA mostly, but also the doc and could hear him talking to her just outside my door.  They both seemed very good at what they do and both listened to the entire timeline of events separately - I have learned through my daughter’s medical problems that this is a very good thing because they can ask questions separately and each come to the table with an individually formed opinion.

Conclusion: Tendonitis and Bursitis - they did an X-Ray and my patella is shaped pretty “differently” and my femur bone actually rotates inward - these things together are causing rubbing and irritation at higher mileage.

Treatment: Naprelan 500mg - Sustained Release, Adhesive Steroid patches, and E-Stem driven Steroid during PT.  They gave me the option of an injected corticosteroid in the joint, but it would have little to no effect on the tendons, and this treatment will work for both.

OK to Race?: They say absolutely. They very directly told me that they will be with me through this race and the recovery that will surely be a little more complicated for this knee. 

I did a 90 min trainer ride and a 90 minute run - all with little pain. Met with my PT, also, and he is seeing some improvement in the mechanics of my right leg’s tracking. Little steps, but so significant - we also did the e-stem and I am currently wearing a patch (for 3 hrs post apptmt) that has a tiny little battery pack attached to it and it feels like 100 little ants are biting me.  It isn’t painful, just weird.  I also had this with my ankle back in the spring and it WORKS!!

HOPE… MUCH HOPE!

Somebody has an early appt with the Ortho…

All the suggestions about getting the right doc and words of encouragement not to give up and cry (which occurred to me a time or two) made all the difference.

THANK YOU!! My heart is in a better place because of it.

Got a call today to come see the Ortho in the morning at 7:30am, baaaabeeee!! AND, AND I found out he is a marathoner AND he has treated a few KONA bound triathletes!! Yaaaay! This guy is new to town and I am feeling really lucky to have found him just in the nick of time!

ALSO… I had an epiphany today…

I am SOOOOO happy when I am running right now - even worried about the pain.

I had started feeling burn-out and was falling into a routine of wanting the run to just be over.

I believe in God and I also believe that God’s blessings can be all weird and backwards sometimes. I can understand how not everybody shares that belief, but my life experiences have led me here and this is my belief.

I had prayed for the enjoyment to come back - it’s back - and now I believe this knee pain is simply a hurdle to jump…. NOT an impassable road block… I will have to jump high and hard, but I WILL clear this and I WILL be stronger mentally and physically when I’m done.

SO thankful that all the right people have been put in the path of my life… my wonderful, encouraging, motivating tumblr friends… my PT… a good Dr… my sweet, supportive hubby… my neighbors…. my amazing, funny kiddos…

Went to my PT appointment as mad a wet hen (as my little grandma would say) about my doctors appointment this morning.  He agrees that she was way out of line.  He suggested I see an newish Ortho in town that is getting a really good rep with all the PTs because he is very rehab focused and isn’t fast to do surgery (we have a town full of surgery happy hacks - not just my opinion).

I have an appointment for Jan 6 and I am on the cancellation list. Hopefully I can get in sooner! My PT does think it is worth a conversation with him about an injection to reduce swelling in the joint.

My PT ran a mile with me today and found that I turn my right foot out and do a weird rotation back to the front - instead of just pulling it straight back through. 

Put a little attention toward fixing that and had very little pain on my 7 miler today. Hooray!!  It felt so good to be out there!  I have GREAT appreciation just to be able to go out and run painlessly for any length of time.  I am feeling hopeful…

The doc I just saw (not my normal guy, who I love but is on vacay) just looked right at me and said “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what is wrong with your knee.  It may be an inflamed tendon, it may be your IT band, but maybe not… what I do know is that this is an overuse injury from your excessive running. I’m going to prescribe you 800mg of Ibuprofen and hope for the best. I don’t see you being able to run this marathon.” I am NOT kidding, this is almost word-for-word what she said!

What I said, “I don’t consider my running excessive! I’m not the first person to train for a marathon.” To which SHE ROLLED HER EYES!!! Whaaaaat???

What I wanted to say (but didn’t), “Since you don’t know, can I get a refund on my co-pay?”

I’ve called my Orthopedic doc in Birmingham - yes, I am willing to drive almost 6 hours to see him - he has been with me and treated all my gymnastics/running injuries since I was in middle school.  Trouble is… he is on vacay till Jan 9th!! I have an appointment on the 9th, and until then I guess I’ll take the damned Ibuprofen and rely solely on my PT…

I think the eye rolling has sent me over the edge!

Yeah, could someone please explain this new timeline to me?? I am finding myself on FB less and less these days and I am utterly lost as to what changes were made - maybe I haven’t noticed, maybe I’m just THAT out of the loop. Anyone, Anyone, Bueller, Bueller…

jbizzle329:

You’re embarrassing me and making me look like a true asshat.

Sincerely,

The Girl Who Needs to Erase All. The. Things.

Headed to see my doc in the morning about my knee.  I can’t see my regular doc because he is off for the holiday, so I am hoping I get some help… maybe a steroid injection in my knee to reduce the swelling in the joint and thus the pain with training and the race on Jan 14.  

I literally feel like I am holding my breath… so nervous… hoping I can hold together this race.  It is so important to me, and not just because of the training that I have pushed through over the last months.

Most of you know that my husband is a fire fighter and that he lost a friend and mentor, Jeff, in a fire this past July.  There was another fireman, Jay, that nearly died, as well, trying to save Jeff.  He successfully got Jeff out, but it was too late and Jay was immediately transported to Augusta’s Burn Unit.  Jeff and Jay had planned to run the Charleston Marathon together - Jeff ran many marathons and was in amazing physical condition. January 14, Jay will run the Charleston Marathon in Jeff’s place… he will wear Jeff’s assigned race number… and there will be fire fighters taking 3 mile legs carrying the Fallen Fire Fighter’s flag (black with a red stripe) and running beside Jay. There are several of us that are going to run the entire distance and wear our AFD shirts… my husband is running with Jay the whole way.  I NEED in my heart to do this. It is my first marathon, and the whole reason I will be there will be so much bigger than me.

So we decided this year we would try to either make or buy all (friends, family, everybody) of our Christmas gifts from local businesses.  We were nearly successful.  What I learned is that you can find almost anything locally (at least here in Asheville) except a Kindle and a remote controlled Batmobile.  Those ended up being Amazon purchases.  And they were my only hang-ups… even all the other toys came from a local toy shop.  And though I could have saved a few bucks here and a few bucks there, it only ended up being about $70 more - even once I added in the stuff Santa brought me. 

Don’t get me wrong, $70 is a lot of money, but by supporting our local business community we will save way more than that in the long run because our local economy is very important to our quality of life!  I feel good about our conscious decisions this year, mostly because I know that we helped family owned businesses have a great holiday season. 

I particularly love my local running shop! Sure I could order stuff online for a little cheaper, but who would be there for me when I run out of Hammer Gel and forget until the night before my long run?? Who would leave some in a bag on the porch because they are closing and going home for the night - and say, just pay us the next time your in here?? Who online could save the day like that?