I'm talking about my Cable Company.  Charter is the Devil.  My HBO on Demand doesn't work then they send someone and say *Call back and get reimbursement when it is ready*  So, when I call back I get the run around. 

Here is the email I sent to them on their contact form:

I have just spent the last 20 minutes on the phone with your representatives, and I am steaming with the service they gave me.  I am a cable-internet-phone customer, and I am highly insulted at the customer service I received.
First of all, the names and ID numbers they gave me for their employment, are I'm sure, false.  One guy, the *supervisor* said his name was DAN.  (He was Indian).  He said the first guy's ID was X7C. 
My OnDemand went out in February.  I called in to get it fixed, and also get the requisite credit.  I pay for the HBO pack and services, which includes OnDemand.  It was not working, and your rep then said to call back when it WAS working to get a credit.  It still was not working on February 29th, and I called in again.  Today it is finally working.  I called to get the rebate, and the X7C guy said no, because he couldn't see a work order.  Your people were out 2 TIMES with new DVRS, and trying to fix the ONDEMAND.  He said he didn't have a copy of it, and again said he couldn't give me credit.  This is ridiculous.  I'm sure you MUST have a record or 2 visits to my home, as this DVR just didn't appear out of the sky.
The second man, *dan* said I was too late, and when I asked to speak to HIS supervisor, he said she doesn't take calls.  Then he said, I kid you not, that I could HANG UP AND CALL AGAIN.  By this time, I could not believe my ears, that you wouldn't have someone with the ability to solve this problem.  He then HUNG UP ON ME.
I am furious, and am considering switching services, carriers, etc.  Is this really how you do business?  I think you may need to teach ALL your service people about service. 
Again, I did as you asked.  I waited until the ONDEMAND was fixed.  Now, you are saying that I cannot get reimbursed?
Insane.

Sincerely
Linda Vermeulen

I am steamed.  They said, now I have to go online to their chat representative if I want help.  Are you F***ing kidding me?  So, that's what I'm doing now.  It's unbelievable.

Meanwhile, here are the Q&D stats of my morning run.  Not so great, but beautiful at 5am.

Great music today:  Born To Run, by Bruce Sprinsteen.  Nice.

Lesson learned on this trip?  Make plans to fit your workout in and do your research.  The internet has a great list of resources, but I would have never known about this trail had I not asked a warm body and not a machine for recommendations.  The outcome for the day was quite positive because of this run.  I was up late the night before tweaking a presentation and although I didn't "feel" like losing sleep by waking up early, I was certainly glad I did.  I knew that I was the only one in that room today who had taken advantage of a beautiful setting and a beautiful morning and put 3 miles into the bank.  I enjoyed that sense of accomplishment in and of itself; the great time/pace was simply icing on the cake.  

Now, 30 pounds and a couple of dress sizes later  (I've even outgrown my 'fat' wardrobe, how disgusting is that), I've decided that it's enough.  I need to make some changes.

I've mentioned it to my friends on pokerchix and to save my fragile fat ego, there was one lonely voice who said "well, you looked skinny the last time I saw you".  Needless to say, she'll be on my christmas card list forever (Bella, please send me your address!)

Ginny probably realized I was on the edge and just needed a litlle push, and she went in straight for the kill "December 7, you and me, Vegas half-marathon'.  

Why would I do that?  Yeah, you got it - BECAUSE I CAN.

Last Saturday I spent $30 to walk with a friend around a park. 6.2 miles. Seems kind of odd when you look at it that way, but that's the way it was. I wasn't there to run in a race and I didn't think of it as a charity event, even though it was both of those things. Smiley said she was walking by herself and I said that couldn't be. I wouldn't let it be and I didn't. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It turned out to be a beautiful day to talk and walk, walk and talk. It was worth $30. Even better than we didn't come in dead last.
Last night I got on the gerbil's wheel and wanted to go nowhere. Not really sure what I was doing except giving in to the guilt. I couldn't remember the last time I ran. As soon as I started to move I knew I was in trouble. Every song irritated me and I felt tired even moving 11.7 mph. This was going to suck was all I kept saying to myself. I don't know how I know it but I always know a suck run. I recognize it long before it actually gets to me. Know those commercials about the love/hate relationships with running? I was on the other side of love with this run. It sucked.
But, here's the beautiful thing. Despite wanting to get the fukc off and quit, despite wanting to make a mad dash to the bathroom and puke, despite my ears revolting against every song ipod could spit out, I did not quit. I did not stop. I kicked it up to a 11 mph run and for 40 long minutes I thought about counting up the demons. I determined I have more than one for every day. I listened for subliminal run songs (Rob Thomas, "I'm running but you're getting away"). I fast forwarded through the likes of Norah Jones, Corrine Bailey Rae, Billie Holiday and Jewel. Rewound Metalica, AC/DC, Def L, Aersosmith, even Led Z. Confronted the pain of a MotherMe lost. In the end it was 3.64 miles. 3.64 miles further than I thought I could go. But, like the numbers of the walk on Saturday, they don't matter.

After coming home from the cyber cafe (which I realised upon leaving that I hadn’t paid as the guy hadn’t asked me nor yelled at me to come back after I said goodbye a couple of times), I hung out with my host brother and mom and showed them my Ipod and speaker system. My host mom started asking me about my favourite singers, so I just busted out the music and enlightened them to my awesome musical tastes. We did that for a good while before I decided that I was going to go for a jog. I’ve found that running around the block is roughly an eighth of a mile. It’s like running around on a track since I just run in the road anyway. Things got choppy as soon as I started though. When I got to the end of the block (2 houses from mine), this little yippy dog popped out of a driveway and started to chase me. All I wanted to do was kick this little thing as far as possible, but since it was within view of the dog’s owners, I refrained. This process was repeated about 5 times more as I passed before the dog grew weary of chasing me as he realised that I wasn’t anything interesting and that I could outrun him anyway. I noticed after about 5 times around, I started gaining spectators. At first, it was just my host brother watching me. Then some other random kid was watching me on the other block. Then some other kid started watching. Then my host brother was watching with somebody. Then before I knew it, I had people running with me. First it was Armando, then it was some other kid who was sixteen, then it was some other kid who was 14. I don’t know why they decided to run, but they ran with me for a good 15-20 minutes before I decided to call it a night. It was a pretty cool experience that definitely wouldn’t have happened in the states.

But the highlight of the run was definitely towards the beginning. I was on my 4^th lap of the block when I saw a kid starting to watch me. When I got to the end of the block, something huge hit my ear. The first thing that I thought was “Holy crap, they’re throwing sh*t at me.” However, that thought went right out the window when I saw that it was not a rock or other object, but a hummingbird that flew into my ear at 7 trillion miles per hour.

I finished off the night by enlightening my host brother and family friend, William, with my incredible taste in music. It turned into a real cultural exchange. After I illuminated their minds, I came to realise that I was speaking Spanish super super fast for a couple of hours. I figured out that when it comes to things I really like, like music and health, my Spanish is amazing. Another example was when I insisted my host mom give me tomatoes with lime on them so I could get my vitamins. She brought up how eggs have tons of cholesterol in them, which I countered with everything I learned in my fitness and nutrition class – all in Spanish. Man, if only I enjoyed everything as much as I do those two aforementioned things.

May 13^th

Today I realised why past volunteers said Peace Corps were full of the highest highs and the lowest lows you’ll ever experience. Today was the lowest low thus far, but I lived. The morning went fine – we had class like normal and assessed our learning styles. I’m much more of a hands on type person when it comes to learning. Who’d have thought? We also discussed a youth group we’re supposed to get together. Jordan had a lot more luck than I did when it came to finding kids for the group. She ‘found’ 13 kids for the group, however we weren’t sure how many would bail on us, I found 2 yesterday and got another one today. PC wants us to have 15 youths, but we really have to keep them motivated to complete the project (whatever we decide it will be) successfully. Basically what it breaks down to is we have to find a group of 15 kids, and motivate them to do something creative. The 3 people I’ve spoken with want to some something involving sports. Jordan on the other hand spoke with the kids and her host family and thought teaching native Nicaraguan dances would be a good idea. However, this all varies depending on what the youth want to do, and if the girls want to join the group.

We also had a meeting with one of the heads of Peace Corps Nicaragua. She briefed us on all the rules (there are millions it seems) that Peace Corps has. This ranged from describing what happens in an emergency (we’re in standfast right now, if things escalate we go into consolidation mode where PC will pick us up in their vehicles (you can really tell it’s a US operation when they show up with their “ready to ford a river” SUVs). But yea, it’s intense.

After Carol gave us the basics, we had some more class and Jordan and I headed back to our barrio.

In the afternoon, since we’re in the advanced Spanish class, we went to observe a Peace Corps business volunteer teach her class. It really made us feel a lot better about things as we were particularly concerned about some things, but her composure and ideas for encouraging participation really was encouraging.

In the afternoon though, we hit our low. So the game plan was that on Wednesday we were going to go to the mayor’s office to find out what youth groups there were in the town, then on Saturday we were going to introduce ourselves to a class in the instituto (a high school). We went to the instituto today and I discovered that my “grandma,” Doña Cecilia, works there as a secretary. We spoke with the Principal, or whoever she was – some head honchess maybe. But she told us about classes that we could teach in during the next 3 months. There were a lot of scheduling issues, but we ultimately figured out some classes that would work. We’ll all teaching 6 classes in a 10^th grade class. We’ll observe the classes Thursday, then decide which ones work for us. The 10^th grade is split up into letters, with 10 A, 10 B, 10 F, and 10 G available for us. The letters indicate the age of the students; meaning G has the oldest 10^th grade students (around 19 years old). However, upon returning to our ‘class’ on the front porch of Avi’s house, we had some hardcore language barriers among other things. We just couldn’t understand what we needed to do. We have to do some kind of dinamica, or icebreaker with the class, as well as introduce the Peace Corps to them. However, I think we’re supposed to do this with our youth group as well. Everything was just a jumbled mess, and though we’re not allowed to speak in English (even to each other), we just had to since we were 20 minutes into an explanation about what was going on, and still had no idea what we were doing. So we explained it to each other in English (our Spanish teacher speaks no English), and cleared things up. But the problem is I still have no idea what the hell we’re doing. I’m just going to improvise since nobody can explain it to me. On top of being frustrated with it, and screwing up my Spanish I just dropped a string of expletives and gave up trying to understand. Made me feel better anyway.

We ultimately decided to go to the mayor’s office after class to talk with him about the classes. When we arrived and spoke with a lady at the front desk and she told us we can’t make an appointment with him because he’s busy tomorrow. But we could show up at 7 AM on Thursday (so guess what we’re doing Thursday morning). The vice mayor was there so we went to his office and discussed what we were doing there and that we wanted to work with youths. Basically what it broke down to was that there were established groups, but they were already working with organizations. Furthermore, he said retention of youths in the groups was super difficult. So we will speak with the mayor on Thursday and hope he has some good leads on groups (even though Jordan and I potentially already have a group set up.

We got our of the mayor’s office and decided that we needed to all sit down together and talk since we hadn’t since we arrived. So the 4 of us went across the street to the park where immediately upon sitting down a group of 6 kids moved right next to us immediately. This wasn’t subtle. Think of a situation where a man made out of a magnet sits next to kids made of metal. That’s exactly how it was. They literally flew to our friend Avi’s arm faster than you could blink your eye. They covered a good 10 feet in less than a second. Amazing. They were fun kids, but we were all super stressed out so we went looking for a bar…at 4 in the afternoon. We found one down the street where we informally decided to have our Tuesday happy hour. It really helped calm our nerves. We got the gringo price for the beers, but DAMN, were they cold and satisfying on a day when it was 95 degrees without a cloud in the sky (for the 7^th day in a row).

After parting ways and going home, I ate, jogged, took pictures/videos of Amanda (I think she likes having her picture taken more than eating candy), then decided to sit down and chill out. That’s enough for one day.

Oh, and I learned a great new saying today: “Está claro como el agua en Managua” or “It’s as clear as the water in Managua.” The water in Managua is like chocolate.

May 14^th

Today I slept the longest since I’ve been in Nicaragua! I woke up at 6:15!

For the record, I´m going to past my past days whenever I post. So since I don´t have time to write about today, I´ll have info about it in my next post.

*AHEM*  I apologize for not blogging the last few weeks. Thanks.

April included some new wrinkles for my training:

• Fewer short support runs (not good)
• My first "speed" workouts in years (good at the time, but...)
• Bad news from my doctor (not good)

Let's take the last one first. I had my regular 6-month checkup scheduled for 9:15 on April 11th. I had bloodwork done in a lab on the 4th. On the 9th, my doctor's assistant called to let me know how concerned my doctor was with the results. She asked if I could schedule an appointment to see the doctor to discuss these results. Um, how about 9:15 on Friday the 11th, the appointment I already made? We agreed to keep the appointment that precipitated the bloodwork in the first place. This gave me the opportunity to stew about the appointment for two days.

My current doctor took over the practice from my previous one when he retired last September. The previous one was sanguine, not at all an alarmist, and more than happy to let me be a partner in my own care. While he was sure that running was crazy, he was pleased that I was exercising. Under his care I managed to finish a marathon, a half-marathon, several 5-mile races, and countless training runs. However, we went round and round on medications for treating my general metabolic disorders, including Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, and borderline (high-normal) high blood pressure. As we added drugs to combat each I gained about 5 pounds. After two years of treatment all my numbers were excellent except the one between my feet on the scale. I'd gone from 180 pounds to at least 205. I felt terrible, looked flabby, and I made an emotional decision instead of a rational one. In February 2003, I let all my prescripitions expire without consulting my doctor.

It went well at first. I lost 10 pounds the first month, then 10 more over the next two months. I felt better, I looked good, I had more energy than I'd had in a while. I ran 10 miles in 100 minutes for the first time in years. If I could go back to the doctor as a fitter person with no symptoms of diabetes, perhaps we could find another course. Instead, I never called the doctor. Who calls their doctor to say, "I'm really healthy. Can I have a checkup?" I still didn't call when I started to get some neuropathy (nerve pain) in my hands in the fall of 2003. By Christmas, my hands were so numb that my shoes would not stay tied- I couldn't pull the laces tight enough. On New Year's Day 2004, the pain exploded beyond what ibuprofen could mask.

For those unfamiliar with neuropathy, the problem is that there are no outward visible signs. There is only pain in the nerves. Before, the pain was severe but localized, usually started from a benign touch, then it faded over minutes. On a scale of 1 to 10, the worst it had been was a 4 or 5. This new pain was about 8 on the pain scale. I could barely sleep or eat. It felt like my hands were being squeezed in a vise, burned, and frozen, all at the same time, all the time. The pain crept up my forearms into my elbows. If it got any worse, i would have gone to the emergency room for morphine. That's my 9. 10 on my pain scale is unconscious.

My old doctor saw me two days later. I explained to him what I'd done and the colossal amount of pain I was in. I sat there with my hands curling into claws and waited for a lecture. Instead he filled out new scrips for my old drugs, plus one for Tylenol laced with a mild narcotic to ease my pain enough to let me function by day and sleep at night. And when he left he shook my hand, gently, looked me right in the eye, sternly but without malice and said, "Don't stop taking your meds again." I said, "Yes, doctor". We never spoke of the whole thing again. The neuropathy cleared very slowly. I was unable to play bass guitar for months. I took 6 "special" Tylenols a day, the max, at first, and i didn't get back to zero per day until July of that year. It's hard to tell if there is pemanent nerve damage; if so, it's minimal.

I tell you all this to point out that I miss my previous doctor, that the pain of shingles or shin splints is no big deal compared to that bout of neuropathy (even a hip pointer and a briefly dislocated knee were minor in comparison), and that I'm not screwing around with my health. Now I have to prove how serious I am about my health and fitness to this new doctor.

At my April 11th appointment, my current doctor, whom I have seen only twice before, told me my numbers (fasting blood sugar, hemoglobin A1c, cholesterol, and triglycerides) were all elevated. Not crazy high (untreated, my triglycerides have been in the thousands), but enough to make him wonder why everything went up. I told him it was likely linked to my lack of exercise while I had shingles, well documented in this blog, a concern I voiced during the shingles diagnosis. Then, he switched my cholesterol medication and told me to come back in two months instead of the usual six months with another round of lab workbeforehand.

I find this situation aggravating. Not the least of which because I have to write this long post that has not talked about running hardly at all (runs like no?). There is pain in my left shoulder which is either left over from the previous shingles attack or the precursor to a new one. Moments ago, I took my blood sugar reading. It's 200. Every condition I have is related to stress. Much of my stress comes from managing these conditions. My doctor is asking me if I fasted before my lab work was done, like I don't know any better. I don't blame him for doubting me. I just hope it's the last time he has to doubt me.

Doctors like to keep things normal. What's normal? I'm going to try to run 12 miles or more tomorrow. Is that normal? I never smoked. I haven't had a drink in seven years. Is that normal? If I do things one way, my blood sugar is in the "normal" range; when I do the same things again, they're out of that range. Is that normal? I just wrote a thousand words that no one else may ever read. That ain't normal.

I'm going to chill out now. April, part 2 will be along shortly to discuss my running both for and in spite of my health during April.

Querido compañeros, ciertamente yo preferiría hasta no leer estas palabras y mensajes... Soy sensibre y sentimental, de fuerma que se torna imposible conener algunas teimosas lágrimas...
En la verdad, al nueve años de edad, mi padre optó no sabiamente por sallir de casa, dejando esposa y dos hijos en una situación muy dificil. Y yo miré una mujer tenendo que se transformar, nun átimo, en ' el hombre y la mujer ' de la casa. Mi hermano cuatro años más viejo se apresentó vacilante, en el inicio de las cosas. Fue reprobado seguidamente en la escuela. Terminó parando de estudar, sin concluyr siquier la octavo serie. Ya Panga no... Siempre en la linea... Mantenendo la linea... Y afirmo que, por veces, el crimen golpeó la puerta de mi casa, ya que vivía en una comunidad pobre, casi una favela! Felizmente, el atletismo temprano se apresentó a mí. Corro desde el 13 años! En 2005, compelté la marca de 200 mil kms recorridos!!! Así simpre fuerón las cosas para mí! Siempre una lucha inclemente yo precisé vivenciar, en mi vida, para tener éxito en lo que desease construir... Y, con la mi pasaje por la España, no fue diferente! Al contrário, una lucha hasta má acintosa, incómoda y casi insuportable.
Todo que nos relata Luis Arribas es verídico. Faltaría para nosostros espacio para una exposición más abrangente de los obstáculos y trámites vivenciados... Como no soy de abortar facilmente mis planos, alvos, metas y objetivos, permanecí de pié hasta la última hora! Y como fue dificil!!! De donde me veio la fuerza para tanto? Para esa superación casi única? Tengo una fuerza espiritual y la tengo colocado en Dios.
Muchas gracias a cada una de las personas que se somaran en ese imenso esfuerzo de superación!
Ronaldinho, cuando se fundió en la década de 90, dije que ' el guerero estaba ferido, pero el guerero no estaba muerto ''. Así se comportó Panga! Ferido sí, pero, muerto jamás!
Luis Arribas, para tú, palabras yo no tendría! De igual modo, para Paco Rico, operando siempre en el bastidores, con la bebida mágica que, por poco, mucho poco, casi me deja doidón! Hasta bailé y danzé!!! Un saludo para mi compañero de hospedaje, el grande Jose Luis Posado, con sus 1001 frascos y botellas y líquidos... Jejejeje! Caramba!
Un saludo para Ramón Sainz, muy gentil para conmigo en nuestra charla pós-prueba en la lunes.
Un saludo para nuestro colega del tercero puesto general en la carrera, siempre me estimulando, hasta porque, de santiago Seguí, ya había ricibido algunos informes y informaciones a mi respeto...
GAIZKA, concordo contigo: esa burocracia estúpida para nadie sierve, a no ser, poner obstáculo en el camino de aquellos que solamente desean hacer la diferencia.
MONDO GITANE, su carino yo retribúo.
WILD RUNNER, las mis ganas para correr estan relacionados a 28 años de rutas, calles y carreteras, pués comezé en el atletismo en 1980, corriendo pruebas de 1500 metros en la pista.
CIENTOUNERO, la sabiduría de la clase dominante es hecha, montada y estructurada para destroir planes y objetivos! Felizmente, no me dejé intimidar por todo que encontré en mi camino, como bien afirmó Luís Arribas, de deciembre hasta mayo...
SANTI PALILLO, tengas certeza absoluta de que llevo de la españa las mejores recomendaciones y la mejor visón. Y iso porque llevaré la experiencie que compartir con colegas de carrera, personas que no comungan de la estupidez de algunos que ciertamente no lo saben de donde viene la autoridad y el poder que tienen!!! Yo lo sé!
CARLOS, ciertamente trocamos algunas ideias en el medio de la prueba. Y las mis palabras siempre se referian a una dificuldad orgánica y fisiológica de trabajar sob bajas temperaturas.
Y, sobre Fortaleza, en se tratando de una ciudad en el Nordeste brasileño, las mínimas temperaturas jamás bajan de 23 grados, una vez que las máximas y mínimas, por aquí, mucho se aproximan!!! Sufrí con el frio de la Repúblic Checa en 2005... Con o da la Holanda, en 2006... Y, en la España, hasta sufrí un poquito menos, pero no lo suficiente para que yo conseguise repetir, por ejemplo, los mis 161.482 metros hechos en San Pedro, Buenos Aires, Argentina, sob un temperatura hermosa de 30 grados.
SYLVIE, la gente solamente se sumete a ciertos tipos de cosas porque las carreras largas nos tracen algo indizible... Gracias por tu avaliación sobre mí: 10! No lo creeo, apenas... procuré me comportar como un mestre, como yo lo soy, afinal, como diz la Biblia:
" NO SE PUEDE ESCONDER UNA CIUDAD EDIFICADA SOBRE EL MONTE ".
Humildemente, tengo procurado ser esa ciudad.
Abrazos a todos!!!
Panga.
Fortaleza - Ceará - Brasil.
www.flickr.com/photos/fernandopangare/

Who am I kidding? At my current VDOT, tempo pace is 166-172bpm. 156bpm is easy / marathon pace. I wanted to run this harder and I needed to run this harder, but for some reason, I'm lacking energy right now. I've just been reading in Runner's World about the importance of protein for keeping blood sugar levels high. As a vegan, I guess it's something I should keep an eye on. I'm going to add more nuts to the diet - as a mid morning and mid afternoon snack.

Back to today's run. Really nice to get out again at lunchtime. It really helps break up the day and keeps the stress at bay - particularly when the sun's out and we make it to the park. Kept the pace very modest until the last half mile when I wanted to see if I could pick it up a little.

Despite having 32 miles left to run between now and Saturday, I decided to give tonight's run a miss. I was late home from work and just felt that two sessions today was enough. Still not too concerned about hitting the week's target (70).

Oh, and I found time to write a short review of my Saucony Grid Sinister shoes this evening. You can find it on The Running Bug website.

Motion Based and Google Earth

No now I sit, waiting and wondering if I'll have enough time to run as far as I'd like. Damn you, propsensity for procrastination.

So my question is, to a toddler, having someone poking around in your foot for a splinter is the scariest thing ever.  Yet she recovered in minutes as if nothing had happened.  What has happened to us as adults that we hold on to hurts, physical and emotional for so long?  Have we lost the resiliency that children possess?

Take my marathon training for example.  Yesterdays went SO well, but I woke up this morning stiff and sore and convinced I couldn’t do it.  My daughter wouldn’t think that – she’d just get up and go.  What is it in children that grown-ups lack?  When do we lose that sense of invincibility?

Maybe it is common sense that settles in around 21 or so (in me closer to 31).  Or maybe it is the responsibilities that come with being an adult – having a job, paying the bills.  Or maybe it is that we actually did lose something, some sense of wonder that the world will always end up OK.

I don’t know for sure.  What I do know is that a toddler can be one of the best teachers.  They love all, forgive all, and when grumpy, eventually, after going limp baby on you, embrace all.  Maybe we all need to be more like our kids.

went out with chris and andrea afterwards.  drank too much.  and had another sleepless night.  so i think no running today.  four miles tomorrow.

maybe the healthy kidney 10k on saturday.  maybe.

Link to MotionBased Link to Larger Map

What did I diagnose myself with?? Runner's Knee of course...

Runners Knee is a condition characterized by pain behind or around the kneecap. Poor kneecap tracking is believed to be the main cause this condition. The kneecap (patella) slides over a groove on the thighbone (femur) as your knee bends and straightens. If, for example, the front thigh muscles (quadriceps) are weak or imbalanced, the resulting muscle imbalance can pull the kneecap to the left or right of the groove, causing pressure, friction, and irritation to the cartilage on the undersurface of the kneecap when the knee is in motion.

Overuse/overload of the quadriceps - especially running, going up and down stairs - can cause this condition to flare up, as can poor exercise techniques, e.g. a poorly fitting bicycle, improper footwear etc.

Makes sense no? Symptoms are all there..

Pain, typically diffuse pain, in front, around or beneath the kneecap. More pain and/or feeling of joint instability after climbing stairs, jumping rope, running, or after a period of sitting.

There is extra pressure between the kneecap and thighbone when the knee is bent at a right angle as when sitting. The kneecap is pressed towards the femur. If there is already irritation of the cartilage on the underside of the kneecap, discomfort or pain results. Even sleeping in a curled up position can cause pain when the condition has flared up. Contracting the quadriceps, as when going up or down stairs, also causes increased compression of the knee joint.

Sometimes after activities that have activated the quadriceps, it feels the knee is being pulled to one side. Sometimes a clicking, cracking or crunching sound is heard when the knee is bent or straightened. This is the kneecap slipping back into the groove.

An X-ray or MRI of the knee can show if there is damage to the cartilage or if the patella is displaced or tilted. A tilted patella may be correctable with exercise if the tilt is caused by a muscle imbalance.

So to the doctors I go on Monday at 10am. Hopefully for a referral to a Physical Therapist. I don't want to have not run because of this...because I've got it in my head and damnit...i want to run and train and race and finish those two bad boys in September and October!! :)

To clarify, I currently use Advair, Singulair, and Allegra on a daily basis and then Ibuterol before a run.  I run 3-4 days per week, 2-3 miles each time.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays I do the hills; Fridays I run the track; Sundays I run on the treadmill and try to run a longer distance.  I run in the evening  because once my lungs are inflammed, everything becomes exercise: walking across the room, making dinner, going up the stairs.  I pretty much have to sit still and rest for a long time if I push myself during the run.  I am a mom and wife; sitting still is not easy when people are hungry.

My current dilemna is that I want to run farther and faster.  Eventually I would like to run a marathon.  There is a local event in November but the way I am (not) progressing, it seems that even the half-marathon will be out of the question.  The 5K runners series starts here in late June or early July.  Last year my best time was 36:34.  It has been almost a year of practicing and I have not yet been able to beat my time.  Although, I do have to acknowledge how far I've come.  The first time I ran the series my time was 46:00.

Frustration is an understatement.  But, in typical Tara fashion, beating this topic to death in my mind, reading Runner's World, trying to figure out a solution, I am going to try to change my strategy.  Instead of running 3-4 days per week, I'm going to try to run 5 or 6 days per week.  I think that possibly I have too much down time in-between my runs.  As a writer and editor, I sit at my computer for hours on end, everyday, which might be causing my lungs to go in reverse.  Then, when I run, my lungs go into shock because they have been 'dormant' for two days in-between runs.  The information I read about increasing mileage and speed all say that running 4 times per week is plenty but I think the rules might be different for exercise-induced asthma.

So, I'm going to try this:  Tuesday:   3 miles cross country track;  Wednesday:  1 mile on treadmill;  Thursday:  3 miles cross country track;  Friday:  1 mile on treadmill;  Saturday:  1 mile on treadmill;  Sunday:  4 miles on treadmill (walk-run instead of run).  If my lungs agree to this, then I will slowly increase the in-between runs.  I would love to run the cross country series this summer in 26 minutes.  A major long shot, but again, I don't like to be told no.

If you run with asthma, I would love to hear how you navigate through it.   

Since I stopped running with my baseball hat I seem to have a straighter posture. I am also working on keeping my elbows closer to my side and try not to look like a "bird attempting to take off" (my husband's words, not mine lol). Once I get the run straighter and looking less birdlike under control I want to work on my how hard my feet hit the ground when running. But I have many years yet to perfect all that.

Tomorrow is a rest day. I will be doing my long run on Friday after work. On Saturday we are heading north on vacation and I won't have time to run that day. I am hoping that I'll be able to get one or two runs in while we are there.

Kspin, I am still trying to think of what to do/make...maybe I'll come across something while on vacation!

Time: 10:00am

Weather: 59, overcast, drizzle @ times, windy

Clothes: NewBalance shirt and shorts

Shoes: Saucony ProGrid (63.3 miles)

Distance: 3.09

Time: 31:04

Split: 10:04

Course: To Goodale Park and back.

How great is that? Your nutritional plan is very personal aspect of your performance and should not be taken lightly. While I do project on this site what works for me, it does not mean it will work for everyone. Even so, it will be worth your while to fully assess what I am proposing here.

I've come to find that many of us have lost the ability to recognize the nutritional tools that we have in our own kitchens. To succeed in endurance sports does not mean that you have to consume the latest version of Gatorade, the tasty Coffee flavored Power Gel, or any other supplement. Often times, what I have found is that these products are best at draining my wallet, not increasing my performance. Natural, easy to find, and cheap alternative are all around us, we just have to recognize what they are. The examples are easy to find: Honey for a quick pick me up, Coconut Water for our electrolyte needs, WATER, Milk for recovery, etc...

Be creative and save that money for your next race entry

My plan was to run 10km in an hour so I set the machine at a pace of 6min/km. I also set it to automatically vary the incline after 10 minutes or so (might as well maximize the tread by doing some "hill" training). After about 15 minutes, I increased the pace to 5:30min/km just to keep me interested. When I reached 8.5 km, I decided to further increase the pace to 5 min/km, where my plan was to try and simulate the sprint at the end of a race. So at 9.5 km, just for the heck of it, I increased the pace to 4 min/km! With much difficulty, I was able to run and complete the 500 meters at this pace. I felt my calves and other leg muscles burn, my breathing rate increased, and my perspiration just gush out. It was my all-out pace which really left me winded after. (I was really huffing and puffing after...)

After my run, I thought of how the 4 min/km pace was so tough on me that I could only maintain it for 500 meters. It then dawned on me that our elites run at a much faster pace, for much longer distances. And to top it all off, they make it look so easy! That's why I'm in such awe of these runners... they simply are amazing! :)

Heel and Achilles Tendon Stretch

• When out for a walk, find a wall to lean against. Even a tree will do.
• Stand an arms length from the wall.
• Place the leg to be stretched about 12-18 inches behind you.
• Keep your toes pointed forward and slightly inward.
• Bend your arms and gradually lean towards the wall.
• Make sure your leg is straight and the heel of your back leg is pressed to the floor.
• Feel the stretch in the calf and heel of the back leg.
• Hold this position for 30 seconds and return to starting position.
• Repeat three times for each leg.

Stretches demonstrated by Meg Vitter of Boston, MA.

You may be interested in these related posts:
Treating Heel Pain or Plantar Fasciitis
Stretching Calf Muscles - A Heel Drop
Foot and Toe Extension
Precautions to Take Before Starting New Exercises

Keywords:
action, active, activity, agricultural, animal ,arabian ,background ,beauty ,breed ,breeder ,bridle ,canter, champion ,dust, dusty, eat, elegance ,equestrian, exhibition, farm ,fast, female, field, fields ,fire ,fog, fole gallop, galloping, galop ,head ,horse ,horsetail ,inactive ,light ,male ,mammal ,meadow ,moving ,opposite, paddock, pet ,ponytail, portrait, position ,pride ,proud ,ranch, reflection, rider ,riding ,run ,running, rural ,show s,peed ,sport, sports ,stallion ,strength ,stud ,studhorse ,sun ,sunshine, tail ,trot, white ,winner ,young ,

© Photographer: Ankevanwyk | Agency: Dreamstime.com
Description:
A white Arabian active horse photographed in sepia galloping towards the photographer in dusty background

A local race starting in Clarendon, heading due north down Wilson Boulevard, through Courthouse, Rosslyn and down Rt. 110 and back to Clarendon. Back the same way you came, that is, uphill. So 3.1 miles downhill and 3.1 miles up. To be fair things level off a bit when you get to 110 so I guess that counts as a rest? But it's a good race; cheap, nearby, quick, fun, and you get a good t-shirt. Well last year it was all of those things. This year, not so much...

Cheap? Yes. Still just a $25 entry fee. For a field of 2,000 runners, that's pretty good, usually the bigger the race, the more expensive it is. Plus considering the t-shirt this fee makes things practically even.

Nearby? Yes. Well, nearby to me. If it hadn't been raining I would have walked to the start. Preferring to start the race dry, I drove in and huddled under an awning at the Pacers store until the gun went off.

Quick? Yes. Running marathons and half-marathons has changed my perception of what constitutes long. 6.2 miles is an hour long at my pace (well 59 minutes 46 seconds this year!) and seems really quick in the grand scheme of things.

Fun? Meh. The race boasted some stellar sponsors (Lucky Brand Jeans, Whole Foods, to name a couple) as well as a post-race party. And what do the words "post-race party" mean to the average person? Food and drink and entertainment. Ok, so there was a sound stage with music. There were a plethora of bottled waters. There were tables and tables of bananas. And that's where the party ended. Who has a race with just bananas and water as the après race food? I was on a mad hunt for granola bars, bagels, something! My plan was to eat breakfast at this thing. I finally stopped at one of the 10 banana tables and asked a Whole Foods rep if there was anything else to eat other than the yellow fruit that I am allergic to, and she said she HAD 2,000 power bars but they were long gone. GONE? I was back at the start within an hour and no carbs? What brand of idiot brings just 2,000 granola bars to feed over 2,000 people? Did I mention that there was a 2K walk, with their own set of participants, happening in conjunction with the race? Yeah. Bad move Whole Foods. I blame the race organizers too (Pacers)! Last year, Mister Days had a whole BBQ thing going, there were granola bars for days, bagels, juice, Gatorade (don't get me started on the Gatorade this year, an hour and half after the race begins and they are out of the carb juice), plus tons of booths from area merchants and groups.

So, no breakfast to be had, I decided to stroll along the vendors to see what Arlington has to offer that I am probably missing out on, I mean the race organizers (Pacers) told me there would be a "Wellness Festival" after the race. Six or Seven tables is not what I call a Wellness Festival. All in all, post-race was totally lame. If the race got a 100 last year for being fun, this year it got a 15. Yes, it was that bad.

Good t-shirt? Kinda. It was still a Brooks technical shirt, which is like gold in the realm of race shirts. Cotton is the suck when it comes to running more than 4 miles and technical shirts are not cheap so it's tre awesome to get one "free" with your $25 race fee. Thing is though, the design was crap. Not that last year's shirt was a work of art, but it was in full-color. The 2007 shirt was black with a large, colorful imprint of the race graphic on the front. This year's shirt was red (points for color), but included just white text on the front. Where is the color? Where is the art? Why just boring, ugly text? It's obvious that the race organizers (Pacers) lost some sponsor dollars this year, either that or over spent last year's sponsor money and toned things down to stay in budget this time around. Word to the organizers (Pacers), skip spending the money on the sound stage and get some carbs for the people!

I would be pissed, I really am a huge fan of free granola bars, but I ran 9:39 minute miles when I have done zero speed training and I wasn't doing this race to race, but just as a training run that fit nicely in my schedule even though it was all uphill at the end. So I guess I am happy. But it had nothing to do with the race organizers (Pacers).

This is my second time to have my gym workout for this week and it lasted for one hour & 45 minutes. I did the following exercises:

Calf Raises with Barbell (30 lbs) on my shoulders: 3 sets X 30 reps

Squats (Full & Half) with Barbell (30 lbs) on Shoulders: 3 sets X 30 reps

Lunges with  Barbell (30 lbs) on Shoulders: 50 times

Dumbbell Pullovers: 35 lbs @ 3 sets X 15 reps

Arms Curl w/ Dumbbels: 15 lbs @ 3 sets X 20 reps

Shoulder Shrugs: 15 lbs @ 3 sets X 20 reps

Lateral Supine Raises: 15 lbs Dumbbells @ 3 sets X 20 reps

Abdominal Machine: 40 lbs @ 3 sets X 20 reps

Sit-Ups w/ Rubber Ball: 100 reps

Arms Extension w/ Dumbbells: 15 lbs @ 3 sets X 20 reps

Bench Press: 50 lbs @ 3 sets X 10 reps

Lateral Pull: 90 lbs @ 3 sets X 10 reps 

I did some stretching before and after my gym workout. My workout ended with 50 reps of "jumping jacks".

It was a nice gym workout and I did not had any runs for the day.

I just finished my first run.  I'm happy to say I've survived, and that I only expect it to get harder, then slightly easier, and then harder again from here on out.

My instructions were to run for one half hour, alternating running and walking.  I expect I'll be doing this for a while, as, at this point, running for 30 minutes straight would probably result in dizziness and headaches and vomiting and unpleasantries like that. I don't own a watch, so to run/walk for 30 minutes, alternating a regular intervals, I created a playlist on the iPod.  15 tracks, all about 2 minutes long.  I hoped to run for 8 of them and walk for 7, but that didn't quite work out.  First, the list:

1. Operation Ivy - Vulnerability (run)
2. The Mountain Goats - Magpie (walk)
3. The Futureheads - Robot (run)
4. The Beatles - Do You Want to Know a Secret (run)
5. The Beatles - And Your Bird Can Sing (run)
6. Panda Bear - Ponytail (walk)
7. Neutral Milk Hotel - King of Carrot Flower Part 1 (walk)
8. Radiohead - Hunting Bears (run)
9. Elvis Costello - No Action (walk)
10. The Mountain Goats - Going to Malibu (run)
11. The Replacements -  Waitress in the Sky (walk)
12. Beirut - My Family's Role in the World Revolution (run)
13. The Beatles - I've Just Seen a Face (walk)
14. Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof (run)
15. Pixies - Doolittle (walk)

• Total time: 30:37

As I assume you can see, I took a bit of an extended vacation early on.  After 12 minutes of activity, my lungs were burning, my head felt hot, swollen, and I was getting a little dizzy, I'm afraid.  So, by necessity, I took another 2 minutes to walk.  I'm pleased to say the two minutes were just what I needed, as I felt well enough to complete the run.  Though I certainly struggled toward the end, I never felt like that again, and my endgame struggles were more along the lines of my legs getting tired, instead of my body trying to explode.

All in all, I ran for 14 minutes and walked for 16, and covered about 2.5 miles in the process.  I'd estimate that about half that distance was covered in the first 12 minutes, as I was discernably slower after the break than I was before, and I was definitely moving slower than I would have liked during the final 8 minutes of so.  I wish I could've run farther in 30 minutes--a 12 minute mile isn't something to brag about, but I have to admit I'm pleased I actually made it for the duration.  In my previous, less guided, efforts to run I have always given up at that 12 minute hurdle.  I'm pleased that I was able to handle it reasonably well.

I also learned a stunningly important lesson today.  One I've learned before, in fact, but always forget when I lose the habit of exercising: eat before you run.  Not necessarily right before, but if you run in the morning, have breakfast first.  I didn't today, and I'm fairly sure it contributed to my dizziness, and it's also the main suspect in the confusing feelings of extraordinary hunger and nausea that I'm feeling presently.

I don't think I'm going to do most of my running in the morning, as my job will have me working from 6:30AM until the early afternoon, and though I like getting up early, I don't think I have an extra half hour for running like that, when I've got nothing but free time in the afternoons.  Hopefully, I'll just remember to eat lunch first.

RUN:
     Length: 5 mi.
      Time: 47 minutes
      Pace: 9:26 per mile
      Calories Burned: 776

CONDITIONS: Some wind, partly sunny

DESCRIPTION: I have always known that water is important. However, today I learned the hard way just how much more important water is than I originally thought. About two miles into my run, everything started. The cramps, tired legs, poor breathing, etc. It was like a chain reaction that I couldn't stop. Around mile 2.5, I began wondering why was having such bad cramps at this point, when I had just run a 4.2 mile race and had had barely any cramps at all? Then I noticed the dry mouth, chapped lips, etc. My water intake today compared with the average amount of water that I take in during a normal day was definitely lower. I had to cut my run short (I was planning on doing something closer to six miles), and there were several times that I had to stop and walk. This is my first real trial so far in my two weeks of real running. Fortunately, I know what the problem is and it is easily correctible: just drink more water before, during, and after running! I still have two more runs before the Parker Road Race (5 miles) in Devens on Sunday, so hopefully I'll be able to straighten everything out.

Please say a prayer for us--that we'd make smart speed choices, have crazy endurance and finish strong, without too much pain if possible!

The header above is from our half-marathon race last October. It's like "Where's Waldo?" Can you find us in the crowd? This was at the very beginning of the run. That race was a really tough one for several reasons: my knee had only been out of physical therapy for about a week and was in no shape for a half-marathon, it got up to the 80s outside, and we were running a ridiculously hilly route around North Park. That said, though, we finished the race.

In Cleveland, the temperature should be a bit more mild, the course is flat, and my knee is in much better shape. It might be a rainy race, but that's ok. We're ready for whatever is thrown our way--besides, rain would certainly keep us cooled off!

I'll be sure to post all about the race when we get back because I doubt my hands will be hurting; typing should be simple.

*If you would like text messages or emails as David and I cross the 6.2 mile mark, 13.1 mile mark, 18.6 mile mark and the finish, post a comment to that effect, and I'll give you instructions on how to do that. Really cool free feature offered by this race.