Yesterday: 5 mile walk. Today: Canceled 5k.

I recently wrote about how excited I was that I signed up for my first 5k – the 2009 Wall Street Run and Heart Walk. Missy and I signed up together since we are both new  to outdoor running and figured we could keep each other motivated. The race is today. Because of my knee injury, I decided that there is just no way I can do this. I am trying to get better so I can get back to the gym. As much as I would have loved to run my first 5K, I need to be smart about the healing process. Every time I run outside, I get knee pain. My knee has been doing so much better and I don’t want to ruin my progress. So instead, I will go to Physical Therapy tonight. Not quite as fun.

But I did walk 5 miles yesterday!I felt down about not exercising and decided to walk from Battery Park City to the Upper West Side, along the Hudson River Greenway. This is an ideal route because it is a straight path up the west side of Manhattan. There are no stoplights or people to dodge. There are beautiful views of the water and New Jersey. There are adorable parks with interesting structures to look at. And in most parts, there are separate paths for walkers/runners and bicyclists/skaters. I should have taken a picture but I was holding 2 bags that weren’t the lightest and it would have been a struggle to get my camera out. If I walk home tomorrow I promise to take pictures!

Here is a picture that I found on railstotrails.org:

I began my walk at 5:20 pm.It felt like I was walking forever and I became very jealous of all the people going by on bikes — especially the girls holding their purses in their bike baskets. It made me really want my own bike so I could ride to work! I’m not sure how that would be for my knee, but I might run it by PT for her thoughts. I walked and walked and walked. Every time I noticed myself hyperextending my left leg I would try to consciously stop that behavior. Of course, I couldn’t always be aware. I got to my destination at 6:45 pm. The 5 mile walk took 1 hour and 25 minutes. Not bad! Next time, I want to wear my HRM so I can guage how hard I am actually working.

My knee doesn’t hurt at all, which leads me to believe walking is an acceptable activity. I wore my knee sleeves the entire way and took Naproxen before I left. I also stretched my calves, but next time I will stretch other muscles in my legs and hips as well. I will ask the PT if she thinks walking long distances is okay for me. If it is, I would like to walk to or from work a few times a week to make up for not having a  gym membership this month. Of course, walking to work would require me to wake up VERY early.  But I would like to walk home again tomorrow! Now I do have bikes on the brain though. Thoughts?

Speaking of bikes, let’s discuss rollerblades. On my walk, I was thrilled to see a woman on rollerblades who is worse than Missy and I! She looked so terrified, was barely moving, her legs were far apart and looked like she was just trying not to topple over. I wanted to say something to her to assure her that she is not the only one who sucks at rollerblading, but I refrained. But it made me want to get Missy so we can try our luck again! This path was extremely flat, so it would be perfect for us. Aside from the speeding bikes zipping past. I do believe we will try again in the near future though!

I Forgot What Non-Greek Yogurt Was Like
Yesterday morning I didn’t have any of my Chobani or Oikos yogurts, so I stopped in a deli to get my breakfast. They didn’t have any greek yogurt so I got Dannon All Natural Vanilla Yogurt. I mixed in my Erin Baker’s Brownie bite (ON SALE AT WHOLE FOOD RIGHT NOW!) and took a bite. It has been a very long time since I had non-greek yogurt.

I couldn’t believe how watery it was! I am so used to think, creamy deliciousness that this came as a total shock. And the flavor? Sickeningly sweet. Way too sweet. I missed the tartness with just enough touch of sweet of my vanilla greek yogurt.

While I did remain full until lunch, I will not be getting this again. I would rather get eggs next time I don’t have my yogurt on me.

A note about Holey Donuts Low Fat Cinnamon Glazed Donut Holes
I’ve been eating a few of these every day. And I learned, the hard way, not to overcook them! They become very hard. So if you decide to try these, keep that in mind! If part of the donut hole is hard, that means you microwaved them for too long.

But when you microwave them just right … ohhhh the warm, soft, cinnamony sweetness. Mmmmm…

House
The boy and I love to watch House. We have the DVR set to record every time the show it on. I’ve seen almost all the episodes, but I always forget the details and the illness. The boy never watched the show until I got him into it, and now he loves it. Anyone who watches House knows that in every single episode, someone on House’s team suggests the patient has Lupus. And it never is Lupus. And House never thinks it is Lupus. He will say, “It’s not Lupus” in an annoyed tone. One time I believe he went as far as to say, “It’s never Lupus!” But House is not House without the mention of Lupus.

Well last night the boy and I were watching a repeat and it happened to be one that I had never seen myself. The highlight of the episode came when it was discovered at the end of the episode that the patient did in fact have Lupus. House exclaims, “I finally have a case of Lupus!”

I laughed. I love how the writers were able to joke about the same thing faithful viewers of the show always joke about. It was like an inside joke to those who really watch the show.

Also, this website actually exists: http://itsnotlup.us/ 

Speaking of House, a lot of people are angry at this season’s finale. The boy and I actually liked it. I loved the scene at the end where House put it all together that Cuddy was angry at something he said, which meant he hallucinated the  rest, including the sex scene. I had to watch that last scene twice to fully understand what happened. Many people feel cheated that Huddy sex never happened, but I think that is exactly the point of this show — to throw at you what you least expect. Sure, there have been hallucination episodes before (when House was shot, after the bus crash to figure out it was Amber on the bus) but I still think this was good and unexpected — and it gives us the real Huddy sex scene to look forward to!