Well, after tweaking my knee last Wednesday night, I ran again last Friday morning but found that the usual knee pain had transformed into something beyond the usual minor discomfort that, once I got going, worked its way out. Fortunately, I had already scheduled an appointment with the ortho for Tuesday. My last cortisone shot was back in October, and I knew that I, or my knee, would be due for another one sooner or later. I had actually canceled this appointment two times in May, but felt that a cortisone injection would quite possibly help me through the summer training season. Thank goodness for that decision! The doctor expressed some concern about the knee and muttered those three dreaded parts of the alphabet that mean nothing when examined separately but taken together, inspire fear in my heart - MRI. If things didn't improve within 6 weeks or so.
The shot was Tuesday afternoon, and I more or less followed the doctor's orders of not too much activity for the days following. This morning, however, I bounced out of bed, determined to just try out my knee. If I experienced sharp pain like last Friday, I would stop and walk and try to grimly accept that my knee was f-ed. The plan was a slow and easy 4-mile run along the Arroyo Seco, one of Pasadena's gems. I don't often drive to run there and am usually content with different routes that I can take to and from my front or back door. However, the trail along the Arroyo beckoned this morning, and I stuck to my plan of a nice, slow, easy run. It was the perfect way to start our Friday morning, and my knee fully cooperated! Big relief there! Major happy dance when we returned to the car!
Post-run, I went to the chiropractor who snapped my back and taped my knee. Might as well add something else to the fix-the-knee-mix! As I left the office, I commented to Michael that in terms of running, I am more like Humpty-Dumpty than a sleek, well-oiled machine. He suggested duct tape to keep me together. Maybe I'll invest in some.
I'm not sure if it's the smartest decision to continue to run, but for the moment, I'll take the great efforts to which I have to go in order to stay somewhat mobile. This morning's run made me feel so alive and appreciative of where I live and all that I can do, creaky knee and all.
Showing posts with label Arroyo Seco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arroyo Seco. Show all posts
Friday, June 8, 2012
Monday, October 10, 2011
An almost-perfect fall weekend!
"Almost-perfect" is kind of a lame way to describe a great weekend, but considering that I did spend a few hours (not nearly enough) sitting on my butt, grading papers, it would be hard to say that it truly was a chocolate-syrup-topped-with-a-cherry type of a weekend. I'm now suddenly talking about sundaes, which have nothing to do with fall weekends. Not even metaphorically!
Back to the perfect part of the weekend - it actually felt like a fall weekend here in Southern CA! Not quite as much last year when we went to Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park and spent a night in one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I am a sucker for the alpine lake experience, no doubt. We briefly flirted with the idea of a return trip, but homework for Michael called and grading papers definitely loomed over my head.
So, we stayed home and enjoyed a great 3-day weekend! As I said, there was something autumnal in the air, which is definitely not always the case here in Southern CA during the month of October. Often, the Santa Ana winds kick up and the temperature rises. However, a crazy winter storm mid-week put me in a fall-ish mood, and the weather - cool at night and warm but not hot during the day - did put my mind to a change of seasons. The Halloween decorations that have begun to pop up around our neighborhood and others also help contribute to that feeling of "fall is here!".
As for our weekend, we ate well, and we both worked a bit, but the best part of the weekend was spending time outside. Since we nixed a camping trip, I entertained the idea of a great hike, and that WOULD have been pretty awesome. However, I also considered our busy schedules these days and decided that a lazy weekend might be appreciated, especially by Michael, who has lots of late nights these days. Still, we did get out and about, and we took advantage of the good weather!
Michael has started to run a bit with me, which is such a new and different experience, in a great way. He doesn't identify himself as a "runner" (neither do I, for that matter...), but I think that he'll soon trounce me. We've been running the occasional 5K around the Rose Bowl, but on Saturday, we ended up on the Arroyo Seco trail in Pasadena. It's funny - I tend to run all of the horse trails that are accessible from our house - just a block or two away - but I almost never venture over to the Arroyo Seco. After our Saturday experience, however, that MUST change! It was a great experience, and Michael far preferred it to running around the Rose Bowl which does, I admit, get rather boring. We did a 3.5 mile run or so, and then he drove home, leaving me to hoof it back. The run home was pretty uneventful, although much of it was uphill - we're talking a few miles of lots of uphill pushes! I decided that if it didn't kill me, it would make me stronger. As I came to the end of my more-or-less 9 mile run, I thought "I can't believe that I ran 10 miles after a longish swim and bike ride! I'm AWESOME!". I almost never think of myself as "awesome", so that was a nice thought, brief as it was.
After Saturday's excursion, we ended up taking the bikes out on Sunday. I am embarrassed to say that it's the first time I've been in the saddle since the end of August. Crazy! Especially considering that the Tour de Colorado should have inspired us. It was a short but really great ride - my legs felt strong and fresh, even after my Saturday run, and there was NO traffic on the road, so I felt pretty safe. Michael and I had fun chasing each other - sometimes he would lead, other times I would lead. While we aren't biking enough outside, I could feel the results on the hills of the crazy-kick-ass spin classes that we've - not that I 'dominated' the climb, but I did enjoy the hills and felt strong enough to push myself, rather than just hold on until the end.
So, a weekend of good weather, good eats, and lots of time outside - I'll consider that a success!
Now I just can't wait for the next one!
Back to the perfect part of the weekend - it actually felt like a fall weekend here in Southern CA! Not quite as much last year when we went to Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park and spent a night in one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I am a sucker for the alpine lake experience, no doubt. We briefly flirted with the idea of a return trip, but homework for Michael called and grading papers definitely loomed over my head.
So, we stayed home and enjoyed a great 3-day weekend! As I said, there was something autumnal in the air, which is definitely not always the case here in Southern CA during the month of October. Often, the Santa Ana winds kick up and the temperature rises. However, a crazy winter storm mid-week put me in a fall-ish mood, and the weather - cool at night and warm but not hot during the day - did put my mind to a change of seasons. The Halloween decorations that have begun to pop up around our neighborhood and others also help contribute to that feeling of "fall is here!".
As for our weekend, we ate well, and we both worked a bit, but the best part of the weekend was spending time outside. Since we nixed a camping trip, I entertained the idea of a great hike, and that WOULD have been pretty awesome. However, I also considered our busy schedules these days and decided that a lazy weekend might be appreciated, especially by Michael, who has lots of late nights these days. Still, we did get out and about, and we took advantage of the good weather!
Michael has started to run a bit with me, which is such a new and different experience, in a great way. He doesn't identify himself as a "runner" (neither do I, for that matter...), but I think that he'll soon trounce me. We've been running the occasional 5K around the Rose Bowl, but on Saturday, we ended up on the Arroyo Seco trail in Pasadena. It's funny - I tend to run all of the horse trails that are accessible from our house - just a block or two away - but I almost never venture over to the Arroyo Seco. After our Saturday experience, however, that MUST change! It was a great experience, and Michael far preferred it to running around the Rose Bowl which does, I admit, get rather boring. We did a 3.5 mile run or so, and then he drove home, leaving me to hoof it back. The run home was pretty uneventful, although much of it was uphill - we're talking a few miles of lots of uphill pushes! I decided that if it didn't kill me, it would make me stronger. As I came to the end of my more-or-less 9 mile run, I thought "I can't believe that I ran 10 miles after a longish swim and bike ride! I'm AWESOME!". I almost never think of myself as "awesome", so that was a nice thought, brief as it was.
After Saturday's excursion, we ended up taking the bikes out on Sunday. I am embarrassed to say that it's the first time I've been in the saddle since the end of August. Crazy! Especially considering that the Tour de Colorado should have inspired us. It was a short but really great ride - my legs felt strong and fresh, even after my Saturday run, and there was NO traffic on the road, so I felt pretty safe. Michael and I had fun chasing each other - sometimes he would lead, other times I would lead. While we aren't biking enough outside, I could feel the results on the hills of the crazy-kick-ass spin classes that we've - not that I 'dominated' the climb, but I did enjoy the hills and felt strong enough to push myself, rather than just hold on until the end.
So, a weekend of good weather, good eats, and lots of time outside - I'll consider that a success!
Now I just can't wait for the next one!
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