This guy drinks your milkshake.

On Memorial Day, Jason and I visited Fort Mott and Pea Patch Island.

It was interesting, you can read about the places on those links. But, perhaps the most intriguing part of our day, was seeing this Civil War Era re-enactor:

"When I'm not re-enacting in my Civil War re-enactment club, I drink your milkshake."

who looked a lot like Daniel Day Lewis in "There Will Be Blood."


"I'm an oil man...and I drink your milkshake."

Naturally, all day, Jason and I were trying to outdo each other's "I drink your milkshake!" from this famous scene:

YouTube of scene... special cut

You get the idea.

One more thing about the Civil War tour... Does anyone find it awkward when people who are true to their characters circa 1864 talk to you like it was 1864? It's like, okay, we're 30 years old. We know you're not really living in 1864, now can you please tell me where the bathrooms are?


We're hip to your game, soldierman.

In running news... I got another 3.2 miles in yesterday... and felt great after the run. My HR is still not where I want it to be during a run, but I will get there.

Had PT today and am resting!

Don't call it a comeback...

...because it really wasn't.

Today, I officially ran/walked 3.2 miles. It was the first time I'd attempted to run since Broad Street. Here's how it went down.

9 am: Wake up with some achiness/pain in my left hip. Probably because of all the IT Band stretching I'd been doing. Outside of knee hurts, not inside like it had been.

9:30: 5 minute warm up turns into a light jog. Ouch. Knee/hip still hurting.

9:40: Okay, things seem to be falling in place. Knee/hip feeling better, looser. Wow, but look at that 173 BPM heart rate. Gotta bring that down. I like to be at around 160 for a slower run.

9:50: HR still higher than ever... WTF? I walk it down.

9:55: Okay, run some more. Get about a mile in.

10:05: WTF Heart rate? Still 175???

10:10: Walk/jog to home.

So, I guess after 3 weeks of total inactivity, your heart is NOT at the same level of fitness it was before.(sigh)

BUT... knee and hip feeling great today. Didn't ice or anything. Jason and I spent the rest of the day doing some yardwork.

Here's what he did in the front!



I worked on the back, but I'll save that for another time.

Now, it's 9:15 at night, and both of us are ready for some ZZZzzzzs.

Argh! Evil Bike!

I just found this and it is 100% accurate for what is going on in my right knee:

The cause of the instability (patella tracking) really determines what activities will work and what won't. Many people have problems on bikes because biking is primarily a quadriceps muscle activity as you continuously are straightening out your knee with that muscle. Every time the quadriceps muscle contracts the tracking problem is provoked as a quadriceps contraction pulls the kneecap(patella) superiorly with normal tracking and usually more lateral when abnormal (tracking out).

So again as the demands on the knee increase the force of the quadriceps contraction must also increase thereby causing greater patella movement.

I'll be back in no time!

First PT session... okay, not really a session... more of an intake assessment. It was great!

She did notice some tracking and my kneecap is lifting with flexion... she thinks it might be a tight IT Band paired with a weak, inner quad muscle/ligament.

She gave me some stretching exercises, and I will go to see her 2/week for 4 weeks.

And...

then are going to tape my knee on Tuesday after work to see it if helps with spinning class!

Huurrrrahhh!

OhAndIDecidedToRunThePhiladephiaMarathonInNoSpecificTime.

Thanks Bye!

I took it easy!

I taught my spinning class tonight, and a-ha! I gave myself a break, rarely spinning, and with no tension... and no pain!

So, in true, typical fashion, I made my physical therapy appointment for Thursday and since then, have had no pain.

I need therapy.

Friday - knee hurt
Saturday - knee hurt
Sunday - knee hurt
Monday - knee great.
WTF?

I have an appointment with a physical therapist. She has run the Boston Marathon.

I feel like I'm in good hands.

Look at my jugs!

If I had a dime for every empty water bottle I see on the side of the road during my runs... well, I'd have a lot of dough. Fortunately, I know everyone reading this blog recycles their bottles. Better yet, I would guess some of you actually have some sort of slick, reusable water bottle like a cool Sigg or something to use.

About 8 years ago, I began using a Nalgene jug for my obsessively compulsive water-drinking habits. I got this fresh, pink water bottle.



Made from polycarbonate... err.. plastic? Nalgene boasted high impact resistance, clarity and resistance to odors. Once reserved solely for hippies, everyone - even those who showered - was hip to the Nalgene trend.

I once heard about the dangers of plastic used in "popular water bottles." I did a little research, found no real concerns to worry me, and continued to drink out of my polycarbonate, unbreakable Nalgene bottle.

But only a few weeks ago, the Nalgene rumors surfaced again. This time, Nalgene stated they would cease production of the polycarbonate (BPA) bottles.

Apparently, BPA has been known to have adverse effects on hormones. Apparently, all of the BPA talk made the news and soon, everyone was asking me about my water bottle as if to say, " Do you give a damn about your hormones?" Well, of course I do, but thanks for giving my hypochondriac arse something new to obsess about.

The reality is, we needn't be worried. The amount of BPA it would take to see a significant difference is enormous.

Still if Nalgene was ceasing production, I thought maybe this was a real concern.

At first, I felt betrayed.


Then I was angry


Then I decided Pink Nalgene was history.



I mean, WTF?

But, I am not a Nalgene jugless girl... as I have fallen in love all over again...



Non-BPA Nalgene bottle, you're the best!




Whatever you use, please use a reusable bottle or jug, or jar, or whatever you want to call it. It won't fit into the cup holder of your hard, it's hard to drink out of while running on the treadmill, and it definitely may not look pretty, but isn't it worth it? I mean, do we need more plastic water bottles on the side of the road?

Didn't think so. Drink on.

I think my knee is almost better

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HURRAH!!

What am I doing while I rest?

Three words.

Super Mario Brothers.

Jason downloaded some old school Nintendo games to the Wii and I've been playing Super Mario Brothers all week.
I can't get past level 8-1.

It is amazing. As a kid, I played so much Mario Brothers. I knew the shortcuts, the secret chutes to different levels, the right places to jump to reveal secret points. And, as a 31-year-old I remember them all. Well, it takes me a little bit to get my mind back to 1991, but still... it is there.


I've also been using The Stick, which, even though I feel like a sucker for paying for something so simple, is really working.

My knee is feeling so much better. Today is the second day I am not noticing anything feeling weird. So, hopefully, if I PROMISE to myself to teach Tuesday's class off the bike I will be ready for a run this week.

See E rest. Rest, E, rest!

I'm resting my knee.

I've decided it needs a full week ( at least) of doing nothing. Of course, this did not stop me from teaching my spin class on Tuesday. We did a 10 mile hill, as suggested by a student-teacher, whose daughter told me " If you do this class, my dad will come" as she handed me a Spinning Member class profile.

Was that a run-on sentence?

It was called "The 10 mile hill"and, as the name suggests, it was hilly.

It was an awesome class. I taught a lot of it off the bike because hilly climbs seem to aggrevate my knee more than anything. Still, I felt it after class and again Wednesday and Thursday.

Oddly enough, running doesn't aggrevate it, but spinning does. Go figure.

And, I think I am real runner now because all I am wanting to do these days is RUN!

The BSR- A race of "firsts"

Today, I did four things I have never done before:

1. Run the Broad Street Run. A 10 mile race that begins in North Philly and ends at the Naval Yard in South Philly.

Since I was already trained for the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, I figured running a 10 mile, flat course would be no problem. And it wasn't.

It was the largest race I have run, with about 22,000 people registered. We all parked near the finish and rode SEPTA up the the start. Never before have I seen a sea of runners flood SEPTA trains like this. I wished I had a camera.

We all got to the start. I checked my bag, and wanted to go... hey? where are all the porta-potties????

2. Pee in an abandoned parking lot in a part of Philadelphia I would never visit again - until next year's BSR.

Yeah, I totally peed in a random parking lot in North Philly. It was gross. It had to be done.

3. Drink - what I believe to be - Philadelphia fire hydrant water. Seriously.

Because I am a back of the pack runner, by the time I got to water stations, they were sparse. Hey, with 22 thousand runners entrants, what do you expect, right?

Still, something inside of me decided it would be "okay" or "safe" to drink water from a garbage bag-lined can that volunteers had filled with water to dip cups in to fill before handing to runners.

It was gross. It had to be done.

4. Pop a blister under my toenail.

Yeah, so hey.. knee a little stiff... no worries... but in the name of God, what is THAT under my toe nail?

I was in pain. It was gross and whatever was under there was pushing up my toenail. I popped it with a pin.

It was gross. It had to be done.


So, the race itself was fine. The crowd never "thinned out" and I was often battling to get out from behind slower runners (there are people slower than me!)

People were cheering, and singing... just before I got to City Hall, a high school band was playing the theme song from "Rocky", which was nice. Saw lots of doggies with spectating owners and by the time I reached the finish line, I was spent.

And sweaty.

And gross. But I had to do it.

Unofficial chip time 1:41:20

Okay, one more...

Did I mention I am doing the Broad Street Run on Sunday?

Me and about 20, 000 runners.

I hope to finish under 1:50, but no pressure. It will be an automatic PR for me since this is the first one I've done.

Then, I am breaking for about 1 week to fully rest the knee. I'll start back with some speedwork training, and building up to a good mileage to train for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 23.

Yeah, I'm doing that one.

I was going to do the Steamtown Marathon - I even got a room for that weekend - but I have to work that weekend at an event, so that one is out.

I can do it!