Overcoming that Funk.

Hey there!! I have been MIA for a bit. Lots going on last week and was just in a funk. Had to put my big girl panties on and just face life head on! :)
I felt like I was having some set backs with PT because the hip/glute was still tight last week so we stuck with the stretches that I had been doing and then the heat/stim as well.

Then I got to spend a fab weekend with the mister and some of our friends at a local winery/brewery

my favorite wine!

And Tuesday this week I got great news at PT... I could finally start to move on to strengthening exercise!! YAY!

I was able to do some strengthening with the band, balancing exercises as well as step ups. :) I was excited to finally start moving forward. 

And then I worked that night... EEK! I had some pain and had to ice my hip a couple times throughout my shift but overall not super uncomfortable. I was able to make it through two shifts only taking Advil once! I had PT again today and was able to do the same strengthening exercises again and it felt good. I did have some popping but no pain in the hip area during the step ups but Aischa reassured me that it is probably swelling in that area and the fact that the hip is still fairly weak. And It still felt great afterwards finishing with ice/stim (prob my fav part) 

Where I spend my mornings twice a week...

Ice/Stim :)

            This was Stim from today before they put my ice pack on. :)











And I will keep on with my stretches at home and I am going to try and incorporate some stationary bike and elliptical this weekend.

I did order a Stretch it Out band like I use at PT and I have a foam roller to work with as well!



So I just have to keep my mind right and focus on my recovery so that I can get back out there and lace up those running shoes! :) 

HAVE A GREAT LABOR DAY WEEKEND!! 

~EJM

A new love for Ice Packs.

So I finished my first week of physical therapy... 2 days. So maybe this was me the 1st day...

On day two I met the second therapist that I will be working with Aischa. She was super nice but was dealt the task to start my stretching exercises and also to get me on the stationary bike and afterwards she quickly became my worst nightmare! Ha. Just kidding she was really great. She noticed that while I don't lack a lot of strength in my hip/quads I do lack flexibility it those areas. We started out with the the ultrasound therapy, then the roller stick (aka the devil)

I cringe when I see this but......                    


                                       
                                                   

It really does feel good yet painful at the same time. 

Then she did massage, and the heat/stim therapy (I'll work on getting some picks of things while I am there!) After that she had me doing some stretches with the Stretch It Out band  as well as some basic stretches that I'd normally do before running and then finished with 10minutes on the stationary bike. I thought I was doing really well until about 8 minutes into the bike and I could tell the hip was just tired. It started to ache quite a bit so once I was done I did 5 minutes of ice therapy before heading home. 

The ice packs there were pretty large (like this one)  and able to cover my hip and glute.  I need these for home!! :)

I did get the go ahead to do some low impact exercising as long as I can tolerate it WITHOUT any pain. That means eliptical and stationary bike here I come :) And the August workout is on hold for the time being. But I will definitely pick it back up when I get the ok from my therapists. 

Last night my workout was being on my feet for 12hrs at work... and today I am feeling it! :/ The hip is definitely achey and tight. So I'll be stretching before bed and may break out the small ice packs. 

Therapy this week is on Wednesday and Thursday... Hopefully doing two days in a row wasn't a mistake though they assured me that it is ok as long as I don't schedule it like that too often (this will be the only week I do that) :)

This seems to be logo everywhere! Not Funny!

Hope everyone is having a great start to their week. Happy Monday!! :) 

~EJM

Day 1 of Physical Therapy.

And so it continues... The work schedule seems to be keeping me from doing anything that I need/want to do. Oh the woes of being a night shift RN!

So Sleepy!

So now to play catch up! I have been trying to keep up with the August Workout posted on a previous post. I had to combine a few exercises into one day on Saturday at the gym so I just made it a full on leg day... knowing good and well that I would be paying for it later! It felt great to get in a full workout and cardio. I love the burn.. 

And then...  

So I did the penguin waddle for a couple days at work and cut down my water intake because it took so long for me to sit down to go pee haha. Just kidding, the hospital is too dry to not drink! 

Anyways I just prayed that it if I stretched it out that it would hopefully go away before my first PT session today! And Eh, I was a little too optimistic but I HAD to get this new chapter started so I could get myself back to training for long races and heck just back to running in general! 

My first session went great! I love my therapist Dianne already. She was great. Started out with just the eval to establish my baseline. Then we did some ultrasound therapy, stretches and then some heat/stim therapy. All in all was a great session and I can already feel a little improvement in my hip/IT band this evening. I can wait to bust out these next 6 weeks and get myself back to being healthy and strong!

Here is where I will be spending 2 days a week for 6 weeks...

I am actually excited... I really think that it will get me back in my running shoes!


So... is this how any of you other runners feel about injuries...

because I definitely had this reaction!

Hope every one is having a great week! 

~EJM

It's almost over I promise!

And by far the most memorable race to date... The Hot Chocolate 15K that was at the National Harbor in early DEC!!

For starters... there are only 2 ways in to this place if you dont take the metro (which we didn't) So the bottom left pic is just before Bre and I got our "warm-up" in by running down the highway for about a mile to make it to where the race started leaving our husbands to make their way to find parking... :) Love them!! <3

We then ventured to find the bathrooms (otherwise known as the 2 porta-potties placed furtherest away from the start line and conveniently located next to the woods. Needless to say the line was forever long and we didn't think we would make it through the line in time for our start time... so we made our way to the woods! And we weren't the only ones... haha. 

The start time was pushed back due to all the traffic delays, the 5K was directed to go the wrong direction and ended up turning around and running into the on coming runners so the 15K was delayed a little bit more. And then FINALLY we were off.... only to realize that miles 3-6 were going to be run on the highway... next to traffic!! The run by the water was a great view!! And then the finish... UP HILL!! Sheesh!! But I finished fairly well and had a 15K under my belt before the half! 

Needless to say The Hot Chocolate Race was NOT asked back to the National Harbor this year! haha. 

Next up... the ROCK AND ROLL HALF MARATHON DC!!

And here it was... what I had been waiting for/working hard to get to for just about a year. I was beyond nervous but had lots of Love and Support that day :) I was so lucky to have one of my best friends, my parents and the mister and Team Emily there to cheer me on. 

It was St. Patrick's Day weekend... hints all the green and my husbands funny leprechaun shirt so it made for a very festive atmosphere. There were bands along the course every few miles and part of the course was through a neighborhood so many people had made signs to cheer people on and set up water/gatorade stands as well. It was great motivation throughout the whole thing. 

I finished well (for my first half marathon) keeping a 9:45-10:15 pace throughout the whole thing. :) 

I almost forgot to pause the Garmin after crossing the finish line... EEK
And the sign my parents made me! :)

Team Emily.  (Megan and Fiona) 

The end... haha. Well the end of this post that is!  

Have a great weekend everyone! Happy Running! 

Lets get the Boring stuff over with!

Hey there!!
Here's a little insight to my background in running and the struggle that has gotten me to where I am today! Hope it is not too lengthy and snore worthy!! :)

For many that know me...I was not a "born" runner. "Run" was something that you only did if someone/something big and scary was chasing you!

In fact I don't even think that running was in my vocabulary before I got to college. Don't get me wrong I was an active kid/teenager. I was involved in dance, gymnastics and cheerleading until I graduated high school. It wasn't until I joined the dance team at my college during my sophomore year that I even knew that I could run (without someone chasing me) :)
As a member of the dance team we alternated working out at 0600 at the campus wellness center or doing an 0600 run through campus. It was then that I sort of became "addicted" to working out and kept with the workouts (sometimes 2 a days) even after I chose to leave the dance team to focus more on my nursing degree.
Following graduation in May 2008 ...

I moved to Northern Virginia with my fiance' because his job is here in the DC area. And I took a job in the PICU in N.VA. The east coast is a very exercise oriented/health conscious city. So I joined a gym nearby where we live with a close girlfriend of mine. We quickly became gym buddies trying out everything from weight lifting to spin class to Body Works class. It was just a routine for us and something that both of us really got into. She then got me into running. She was a born runner and in fact I think she has been running since before she was born. :) She was on teams all through school and college. She even completed the Boston Marathon with her Dad! HUGE Accomplishment for them! :)
I thought she would give me good motivation to just get out there and do it!!
My first race was in 2009 to benefit the Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery program at the hospital that I work at. It was an 8K and I thought "Eh, I can do that" Oh holy cow... that was miserable.
I was totally not dressed appropriately and clearly looked like an amateur wannabe runner. But I finished in just under an hour and thought to myself... "Why does anyone do this?'
I literally took a year off after that thinking "There is no way that I can do this! It is just not for me!" Then my dear, lovely friend of mine (Bre) who introduced me to running before got me back into it and pushed me and told me that "It doesn't matter how slow you go... you're still out there doing it and you'll finish and feel a sense of accomplishment!" And those words stick with me every time I get out there!!
So I then signed up for another 8K in DC with (Bre) just about a year later in March 2010. And wouldnt ya know I finished almost 6 mins faster than my first race a year before. :) I was so proud and so I gave it another shot. I ran a 5K in April and did better than I expected. I then had surgery later that month and the hustle and bustle of the last minute planning of the wedding got in the way and so I just stuck with a few workouts a week at the gym but nothing too strenuous and no running.
I got married July 2010... Aren't we cute?!! I could relive that day over and over!! :)

And after that it would be another year before I would get myself back out there to run again! I know I know... It was a super flakey start to my running career... Then in May 2011 I started my journey to my first half marathon.... and I stuck to it. Leading up to the faithful day (March 17 2012) I followed a Half Marathon for Beginners Training Plan...

And I signed myself up for races that corresponded to those long runs towards the end. It was the most exhilarating time of my life and yet I thought I'd never get to that Half Marathon. But I had Bre there pushing me all the way even running with me (on her slow days haha) and lots of support from my mom and dad though they were in Ohio and lots of love and support from the hubs... who isn't much for running more than 3miles. :) But it got me to where I wanted to be.  Here are a few photos from the journey to that big day! 

At a 5K to help benefit/honor a friends mom who lost her battle to cancer. Our first race together!! :) 

Th 10th Anniversary 5K to remember those lives that were lost on 9/11

TO BE CONTINUED.... I am sure this is causing many of you to yawn profusely :)

Happy 1st of the Month!

Hard to believe that it is already August!! Eek... where has this year gone!
I am not going to deny though that I am ready for the heat to subside and for the cool, crisp fall air to move in!! I am a sucker for cool nights curled up in my blanket with some hot apple cider and some good ol' Sunday Night Football!!
Dont Judge...

 I became a Dallas Cowboys fan (by default) when I met my husband. :)

I LOVE LOVE their stadium in Dallas... Everything is Bigger in Texas. That stadium is massive and they make some killer Margaritas!! 

                                            YUMMY!

Ok... back to topic. I decided to spice up the "Squat Challenge" and add this fun "Booty Workout" found on Well-Girls FB page (she has great inspiration and workouts) It is a fun spin on workin those Glutes!! :) 

Ok.. Must get myself up and complete Day 1 of this challenge and also ready for my night #2 of 3 in the craziness we call the life of a PICU RN! :) 

~EJM