Injured Again... And Again

So, you've all heard about my crazy shin splints... They are finally calming down after 11 days of inactivity. Actually they were better after about 4 days, but are almost completely pain-free now. However, the rest of me is not pain-free...

Let me start off by stating that I've never broken a bone, I am rarely sick, and don't usually have reason to complain. But, the pain in my life has been snowballing. First with my knee issues in April, then the shin splints... I was finally starting to feel like myself again, so I guess I had to figure out a way to screw it up.

On Sunday, I cut off 1/16th of an inch off the tip of my right middle finger on a mandolin. Two seconds before it happened, I thought to myself that I should probably slow down and stop because I was running out of zucchini and getting close to the blade... but I didn't. At least the blade was sharp, so I didn't really feel it until I saw the blood. Oh the blood, lots and lots of blood. We headed to the ER. There wasn't much they could do for me. In circumstances like this, they don't reattach the disk of finger that was cut off, and there isn't enough skin around to stitch close. So they just cleaned it out (weirdest sensation ever), wrapped it in a bandage, and told me 'good luck.'

The throbbing pretty much ending by Monday, but it is still sensitive. I can't get it wet, so I can't do a lot of my 'mommy duties' like wash the baby bottles or wash the baby. My husband has been great, and is pulling a lot of the slack. However, he can't take a shower for me... Try taking a shower with one rubber glove, it is SUPER weird.

Yesterday was a nice, sunny day. I decided to sit outside on my deck while the little monkey took his afternoon nap. I am trying to get a little color before my trip to Hawaii next week. I wasn't even outside for 30 minutes. As I was getting ready for bed last night, I noticed the color I had gotten... lobster red. It is just on my shoulders and upper chest area (my legs are still a nice pasty white color), but that is where my little man holds onto when I carry him around. Awesome.

I'm only 32, but I am already falling apart.

If you want to see awesome pictures of my finger, view my Gruesome Photos post. I figured some people might not want to see the pictures, so I didn't just add them in.

Gruesome Photos

Here are the pictures...

View from straight on.

View from the front.

All wrapped up.

5k Recap & Stuff

I missed my weigh in on Sunday. This is because of the horrible pain that was running up and down my poor little legs; I couldn't think of anything else. I've also been thinking of switching up my weigh in day, Sunday is a hard day for me. I usually spend Saturday night with family which includes a big meal and drinks, therefore I usually feel heaviest on Sunday mornings. I'm just playing around with different ideas, who knows what I'll end up doing.

Okay, back to the 5k and the morning after. As you might have read last week, I wasn't trying to beat any records with this run. I registered for this race over a month ago before I began getting the awful shin splints. I didn't really train for this race, and honestly wasn't expecting too much from myself. I just wanted to finish. It started like the other 5k I ran, with a hoard of people running around me. I didn't let it bother me, I knew I was taking this race slow. The course was primarily flat, until mile post 2. Until this point, I was pretty comfortable, barely feeling my shins. Right after the mile 2 post there was a huge hill we had to run down. It was probably only 100 yards, but before I got to the bottom I was in pain. I just focused on my form and breathing and kept moving forward. It was a couple minutes after the hill that I looked at my GPS, I was at 2.6 miles and only 27 minutes. I thought it had been more time. I only had a half mile left, I could run that in 6-7 minutes and beat my previous time. This gave me all kinds of motivation, I don't think I walked another step after this moment... it was on. It was weird, but when I was running that last half mile I was going over the beginning of the race and realized I hadn't walked much at all. I walked for 30 seconds here and there, maybe totaling 2 minutes, the rest I ran. I crossed the finish line at 33 minutes and change, my previous 5k was 37 and change. My husband wasn't expecting me so early, so he wasn't ready to take pictures, oh well. My race buddy came in under 30 minutes (AMAZING), and beat her previous time by about 4 minutes. I can't wait until I can run a 5k under 30!

I was so excited for beating my previous time that I was almost numb. It was surreal. I was not a good little runner though... There weren't any water stations on the course, and after the race I didn't grab a water, I grabbed my free beer (it was delicious). I also didn't take the time to stretch. Both were bad ideas. I came home and iced my shins, then took a sweet nap. Later we went out on a double date with my running buddy to celebrate our victories. It was a blast.

However, by Sunday morning the fun was over. I could barely get out of bed. It hurt to put any weight on my legs. I had to cling to the walls just to get around my house. Thankfully my husband was home so he could take care of the monkey, I don't know what I would have done without him. The day was spent icing, elevating, and taking a ton of ibuprofen. Everyday has gotten a little better, today being the first day I can go up and down the stairs without clutching the handrail.

In other news, I am having troubles with my belts. I am right between the 4th and 5th notches. If I wear it on the 4th then my pants are just a little too big and start riding down and look ridiculous. However, if I use the 5th notch then it is a little too tight and I get a little love-handle muffin top. Annoying. I guess I just have to wear baggy shirts to hide the problems my belts are causing.

Out of the Game

I went in for my annual physical yesterday. Since my family moved last September, this was my first visit with my new doctor. I brought up my shin pain to see what she would recommend. Her response was, "not everyone should be a runner." This seemed to be an interesting piece of advice coming from a doctor, especially a doctor who happens to be a runner (I read her doctor bio online before I went in for my appointment; I'm a stalker like that). I feel that most doctors would encourage cardiovascular activity. So, I am pretty sure I was making a super confused face at her. She then told me that I was basically re-injuring myself every time I ran, so maybe a should take some time off and then ease back into it. Highly disappointing. At the very end of the appointment, she offered to give me a referral to a physical therapist for some ultra-sonic treatment. I think she should have started with treatment options, and kept her little opinion to herself.

So, I am still going to run my 5k tomorrow. I was hoping to beat my previous time, but since there is an injury involved... I'm not going to hold myself to that. I am just going to try to finish with a smile on my face. Then I will take some time off of running to heal and all that jazz.

I ran on Tuesday, but was only able to get a mile out before the throbbing started. I was still sore on Wednesday, so I took the day off, then I got the doctor's advice yesterday, so I haven't really done any exercise since Tuesday. I am starting to feel lethargic and it has only been a few days. I can't believe I used to go weeks and months at a time without getting exercise in. Crazy.

Anyone have any thoughts about physical therapy treatments? I am not sure what to expect. Also, anyone have any ideas for low-impact, heart-pumping exercises?

4 Million Dollars

I've been trying to be super positive about weight loss and the struggles that new moms go through. I don't know why, but this whole Jessica Simpson/Weight Watchers thing is just driving me nuts! Honestly, I don't know why this is getting so far under my skin, but I can't think about anything else right now. Don't get me wrong... I think Jessica Simpson is great, I have no bad feelings towards her. Also, I think Weight Watchers is great, they have a great program that has helped lots of people lose weight. I just feel enraged that Jessica gets 4 Million Dollars as an incentive to lose her baby weight. She doesn't need 4 Million Dollars. She is probably spending 4 Million Dollars on her full-time personal trainers, in-home chef, nannies, maids, and all that jazz. She would probably have spent that to lose the weight whether she had a cash incentive or not. If I had the money to spend on an arsenal of helpers, it would make my journey a whole lot easier. I guess that is why I am so frustrated (aka: jealous) because I have to be my own trainer and motivator, plan my own meals, find the time to workout, and clean my house.

Plus, I wouldn't need 4 Million Dollars... I would be happy with just 1 Million :-)

Week 10 Weigh In

Happy Mother's Day!

I was nervous about today's weigh in for a couple of reasons: 1) I had a HUGE delicious dinner last night with the whole family, and 2) I think we should rename this week "Junk Food Appreciation Week"(more on this later...).  It ended up not being as bad as I thought...


Last Week's Weigh In: 172.6
Today's Weigh In: 172.2
This Week's Difference: -0.4
Total Pounds Lost: 12.8
BMI: 25.4 (Overweight)

So... here are my lame excuses... I only worked out twice, my shins have been killing me. I finally got professionally fitted for running shoes on Friday (thanks Big Sis for making me do it), and I am disappointed I have waited so long to do it. I have high, flexible arches... so they talked me into the expensive custom insoles (I'm a sucker), but I think they feel great and I had less shin pain after my run yesterday.  It could have been the shoes, the insoles, or I could just be getting stronger... I don't really care the reason, I'm just thrilled it is getting better.

Second lame excuse...  "Junk Food Appreciation Week." So, I actually didn't EAT a ton of junk food, but I don't think I ate a fruit or veggie all week. If it grew on a tree or came from the ground, I wanted nothing to do with it. I ate a hamburger (no mayo or cheese) on three occasions. I fantasized about snacking on a giant bowl of cheezy poofs, but I didn't give in. I made some air-popped popcorn as a healthy substitute, but it isn't quite the same. My eating was just all over the place, but I only went over my calories on one day (by like 150 calories)... so I don't feel too bad.

I want to apologize for not posting more frequently, I promise to try to in the future. I've had a ton of "great" ideas for posts, but getting my lame ass in front of the computer has been a problem. Side note: apparently I am loving the word 'lame' today, just noticed I used it three times. Maybe that's because that is how I felt all week; tired, unmotivated, lame.

I have my second 5k this Saturday. I haven't really been training because of my shins, so I am nervous about how I will do. I am also thinking about doing another 5k the following weekend because it is supposed to be a fun run. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully the idea of two runs in the near future will get me running this week.

Week 9 Weigh In

Hello, Hello!

This has been a long an interesting week. Here are my results:

Last Week's Weigh In: 175.6
Today's Weigh In: 172.6
This Week's Difference: -3.0
Total Pounds Lost: 12.4
BMI: 25.5 (Overweight)

I am happy with this week's numbers. I'm getting pretty close to the "normal" weight range. That means it is going to get harder to get numbers like 3 lbs in one week. I attribute this loss to 2 things:

1. I ditched white this week, in other words... no flour, sugar, rice, or potatoes. It's weird, I actually found it hard to get enough calories on a couple days. This week was harder than my jumpstart week because hubby wasn't participating. While I was eating my salad with chicken, he was finishing off a whole pizza (it smelled delish). He's not trying to be mean or not supportive, he just doesn't feel like he needs to restrict himself. Just to clarify, I don't feel like I am restricting myself... sure there are foods that I crave, but I feel so much better when not eating a ton of heavy food. 
2. So... this might be a no-brainer for a lot of people, but apparently I did not get the memo. If you are not trying to get pregnant, pregnant, or nursing... you probably shouldn't be taking prenatal vitamins. I had a ton left over, and I figured it was a glorified multi-vitamin, so I popped one every morning. Then one morning last week, as I looked at the pink pill, I just decided to not take it. It was like a moment of clarity. Since I've stopped taking them, I feel like the weight has started coming off easier. However, it could totally be coincidence... we'll just have to wait and see.

On the clothing front... My 14's are getting to be a little too baggy to wear and I only had one pair of 12 jeans in my rotation. So, I dug out several pairs of pre-pregnancy jeans (size 12) from storage. I have to tell you, they don't look terrible... even though I am still about 10 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. I think it's because I have more muscle than I used to. I am getting excited to pull my size 10's out (hopefully) soon.

I think that's all the news I have for now. Please feel free to use the comments section if you have any burning questions about me or my experience.  

Cold Etiquette

I saw this article...


Proper Etiquette for the Contagious Cold

... and I thought it is a great reminder for all of us. I know there has been a bug going around; I got it, my little monkey got it, and I've seen a lot of snotty people walking around. Even though this doesn't have to do with weight loss, I thought it is important to be healthy... so I figured I would share. 

Have you seen people walking around not following these rules? Does it annoy you as much as it annoys me?