2009 archive

I Ran for 25 Minutes!

Quick post once again. Some updates:

1. I RAN yesterday! It was a beautiful day out and the boy was going on a run and I wanted to go too. So I went. PT told me knee sleeves won’t do anything for me, so I left them home and that felt nice. After a 20 minute elliptical warm up, we went outside for our run. I forgot to stretch. Oops. Won’t happen again.

I began by jogging down a long ramp to the trail. While the boy turned right onto the trail, I turned left because that section has separate sections for those on feet and those on wheel. I didn’t want to be vigilant about bikers weaving all around me, so I chose the other — and prettier — direction. The same place I went rollerblading. One day soon I will walk through there and take pictures of all the gorgeous architecture — structures, benches, grassy areas, loopy paths, boardwalks. It is beautiful! The boy and I have these unusual shaped benches that are the most comfortable ever. We like to go there to read and get work done.

Back to the run. I ran for 25 minutes! That is a very big deal for me; I tried to be a runner but would be ailed with knee pain, upper side thigh pain and chest pain. I would have even kept going except that we had  to get ready to go to dinner. I was thrilled that throughout the run I was without pain except for in the upper right part of my thigh, where I got pain all the other times I ran as well. I hope stretching will prevent that. In the last 5 minutes of my run, my knee began to hurt very badly. Not my bursitis (inside knee) but my patellafemoral pain syndrome (outside of knee). That was always more of a running/steps pain. The bursitis was a spinning pain that also affected my running. I will discuss with PT on Thursday, although my visit then is for my shoulder.

This was my third time running and it was by far the best. I  felt amazing! It was beautiful out, lots of people were all around, when I passed other runners I felt like they were fooled into thinking I was one of them. At  first my chest was constricted and it was difficult to breathe, but that passed and I just felt great! I ran and ran (I know it wasn’t that long but it felt long to me!) and felt like this is something I would be happy doing all summer long. Wow.

Of course, the pain began and got worse and by the time I was jogging back up the long ramp it was agony. But I made it to the top and stopped and couldn’t stop smiling. When I got home and looked in the mirror I loved seeing the sweat on my neck and forehead. I felt great!

2. My shoulder MRI came back and it is basically the same as the last one. I have Acromioclavicular (AC)Osteolysis. My AC joint capsule is enlarged and inflamed and filled with fluid. There is also degenerative and cystic change lining the articular surface of the joint, whatever that means. And there is bone marrow edema. This MRI, like my last shoulder one 6 months ago, says that I likely got it from trauma from repetitive weight lifting. Well, not only have I not engaged in any repetitive weight lifting, I haven’t ever actually done ANY weight lifting at all. So I have NO idea how I got this. I don’t have tendonitis as my doctor had suspected and my rotator cuff is normal as well.

They say rest and PT would help. I’ve been in pain since December though so I’m not sure what they mean by “rest” since I never did weight lifting before and I still haven’t done any after. I also never received any other kind of trauma to the shoulder, which could cause this. I literally woke up one day and felt pain.

I am not sure why this shoulder pain would radiate down my arm. PT thinks my neck might be involved but I don’t know. I am going back to the doctor on Thursday to discuss so I will see what he thinks. I only have 2 PT visits left. I plan on using them for my shoulder, although my knee is hurting from my run now! Why am I such a mess! I just want to do a pushup and run a couple miles. Is that too much to ask?

3. In better news, tonight and tomorrow night I am going to free Core Fusion at the Gansevoort with Missy. Exhale just opened a spa there and they are offering free classes as a welcome. Tonight’s instructor is the guy from the DVD which is exciting. He and his wife developed the Core Fusion program. I will tell him, and tomorrow’s instructor, about my shoulder and knee injury. The shoulder limits my participation in class because I can’t do full pushups or planks. I can do modified version half-assed though. I can’t go down far in plies because of my knees but I ALWAYS feel the burn anyway, so that is fine with me!

I wear my knee sleeve during Core Fusion even though PT told me it won’t make a difference because it reminds the instructor that I have an injury so they don’t single me out for doing something I can’t do. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can put on my shoulder, the worse injury, to remind them of the same thing. It’s okay though – I know my body and I will be careful!

The one thing that makes me sad about the new Gansevoort location is that my favorite instructor is no longer teaching at my location (central park south) on Sundays, she will be down there. Which means I will only get to take her once a week on Wednesdays, assuming I have no other plans. But the Gansevoort location means more classes to choose from!

4. Popchips sent me their new flavors to try! They are such a great company. They always write me the cutest notes too. I can’t wait to review the new flavors for you!

5. I had a lot more to say but I can’t think of it now and I have to go. Bye!

Are Bugs a Part of Your Diet?

While I don’t want to eat pesticides, I also don’t want to eat insects. I had a little fright when I began to make my green juice this morning and discovered the only downside to organic produce (aside from the price):

Celery Bug 2   Celery Bug 1

Gross.

I know that in reality I probably consume many more bugs than I realize. And I’d rather eat bugs than eat pesticides. I just don’t want to SEE the bugs and have it in my mind that I am eating them. Blech. The celery went into the garb.

I remember Ruth Reichl saying that organic produce isn’t what it used to be in the seventies when there were insects and worms crawling in the apples. But of course we have to realize that when there aren’t pesticides, there WILL be pests. My friend Melanie found me this lovely chart. Enlighten yourselves:

 
Are Bugs A Part of Your Diet?
Product Action Level
Apple butter 5 insects per 100g
Berries 4 larvae per 500g OR 10 whole insects per 500g
Ground paprika 75 insect fragments per 25g
Chocolate 80 microscopic insect fragments per 100g
Canned sweet corn 2 3mm-length larvae, cast skins or fragments
Cornmeal 1 insect per 50g
Canned mushrooms 20 maggots per 100g
Peanut butter 60 fragments per 100g (136 per lb)
Tomato paste, pizza, and other sauces 30 eggs per 100g OR 2 maggots per 100g
Wheat flour 75 insect fragmnets per 50g
Source: The Food Defect Action Levels: Current Levels for Natural or Unavoidable Defects for Human Use that Present No Health Hazard. Department of Health & Human Services 1989.

Like I said, I’m OK eating insects when I don’t have to actually SEE them. Moving on. 

I am so, so, so tired. It’s been quite the week at work. I apologize for the short entries. I did get my shoulder MRI results. I  hope to discuss them in more detail this weekend, along with some of the ways I have been adapting my eating habits. Oh and I am spinning again tomorrow (if I can wake up)! 

In yesterday’s Henry Day post (woo!), I realized after getting a comment asking me what Henry Day is that I should have linked back to it. Henry Day can be explained in #7 in the list here.

I had lots more to report on but my mind is a fuzzy hazy fog. My eyes are burning. I hate Excel. And also, this Michael Jackson news? Wow…. I feel very weird. It is so strange and sad at the same time.

Bye bye friends. I hope to return this weekend with more pizazz. And eyes that don’t sting when I look at a screen. And a tummy free of insects. Okay not so much the last one. Yay organic! (See how I ended on a positive note?)

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