Quotable

I promised myself I won’t whine to you poor, unsuspecting reading people, but I’m having a moment of weakness and figured I can rant if I want to.

No purpose of this picture, but to amuse you.

Today I was at the chiropractor for a little ART. Unfortunately, I’m the last of the NYCM injured carnage to be cured. He said to me, “You must be very frustrated…”

Of course, I am frustrated you nice man who is PEARLS-ing me and it makes me feel better because you are acknowledging my pain.

I replied pretty calmly, actually, saying, “Well, I’m doing all I can do.” And, I guess that is true, to some extent.

I was at PT today, too, and my PT does always ask me if I have any pain with this or that. I never know at what level of pain you should  just put up with it. I’m always honest and today told her that my SI joint and glute were kind of hurting with some of the exercises. I feel bad complaining because, I mean, it’s not horrible pain. It’s enough that I notice something, but I can work through it if I needed to.

I don’t know, I just feel like I’m becoming this whiner who can’t take any pain or something. One of those people who cries wolf all of the time. I don’t know at what point I just need to suck it up a little bit.

Cry Wolf --> Werewolf Howling --> Compelled to post picture of Twilight Werewolves

I can’t tell if I’m being hypersensitive or just doing that whole “listening to my body” thing.

I guess time will tell. BUT, HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE?!?

Above line also said by King Julian in Madagascar.

Anyways, instead of continuing to rant and whine, I will share with you one of my favorite quotes, because I need to be reminded of it right now.

“Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz

Can someone stitch that on a sampler for me?

Something simple will do?

ADD ON: GOT A FAVORITE QUOTE OR QUOTES? AT WHAT POINT SHOULD I START IGNORING SOME OF THE TWINGES I’M FEELING IF THEY’RE NOT THAT BAD? TIRED OF MY WHINING?

Until next time…

P.S. Go congratulate Emilia on her sub-4 marathon and go tweet to the RC that she is awesome always.

Let’s Pretend It’s Wednesday

Yeah, a day late on this one. I’m sure you all were dying without knowing what’s rocking my whiny filled week right now. It was rainy and I had a busy day of running to PT (@HSS) + chiropractor (Dr. Levine) + going away party. Anyways, let’s get started…

1. “STRAIGHT NO CHASER” CHRISTMAS SONGS: 

Sometimes I listen to their version of “Jingle Bell Rock” on repeat whilst possibly also busting out the Jingle Bell Rock choreography from Mean Girls.

Don't pretend like you don't also know the choreography...

A lot of times I sing along, too. You have to understand that as an undergraduate, this sort of behavior was not only tolerated, but encouraged. One of my roommates in college was a musical theatre student (in Lady Gaga’s class, actually, in the studio, CAP21, until Gaga left sophomore year).

To get a taste of what how talented Katie is, go watch Katie’s Diva List, which a medley of Broadway Divas (ie Patti Lupone, Liza Minelli, Shari Renee Scott, etc) done with the nuances of that person. Go to 4 min in and listen to her do Idina Menzel (Elpheba from Wicked).

Katie (and all of her classmates that I got to know) are absolutely incredible. I can’t even sing “Happy Birthday” with them because I will ruin it.

2. THE CHICK CHOCOLATE THAT PICKY BARS JENN GAVE ME:

Picky Bars Jenn (aka PBJ — shorter, easier to type) is the Picky Bar Head Elf, if you will. She was in NYC for the marathon and had to endure my pre-marathon craziness.

I hope PBJ doesn't mind that I posted this. Sorry, PBJ, if you're not cool with it.

She gave me this chocolate that I haven’t eaten until now. It’s been fantastic during my pity party period, which waxes and wanes, depending on my mood.

This is a health food.

It’s clearly a health food, too, as its dark chocolate with a bunch of healthy stuff in it (dried edamame, dried cranberries, almonds). It’s giving me an antioxidant boost, for sure.

3. THE OATMEAL AT NEW YORK BAGEL ON 1st AND 33rd:

I cannot believe I am blogging about oatmeal, because I typically frown upon the whole healthy living blog, “I woke up this morning and ate my healthy oatmeal” thing.

But, seriously, this place (which feeds basically all of the NYU med students and residents) is putting crack in their oatmeal. One of the residents and I were discussing it today and we think its because they are making it with sweetened condensed milk. It has not been confirmed, obviously, but it tastes far too good to be made with regular milk or water.

It cannot be healthy for you nor bringing down one’s cholesterol.

4. THAT ONE MORE WEEK PASSED NOT RUNNING MEANS I’M ONE WEEK CLOSER TO RUNNING AGAIN.

To keep myself from going crazy about the time that has passed since I have last run, I try to think of it as above. The more time that passes that I haven’t run, the closer I *should* be to running again.

Running Grete's with Megan (all 13.1!) and Kelly was actually really fun. Let's go back and do that again.

We’ll see.

5. NUMEROUS WAYS TO SUPPORT COOKIES FOR KIDS’ CANCER THIS HOLIDAY SEASON:

You can buy the “Best Bake Sale Cookbook,” which Gretchen wrote. All proceeds go to the charity.

I have one! Not that I bake...ever.

You could buy the “Good Cookies” spatula.

Cute, huh?

You could host a bake sale or cookie exchange. For each cookie sold or exchanged, Glad (the plastic bag company) will donate $0.10 to Cookies For Kids’ Cancer.

Finally, check out Cookies’ facebook page and twitter to see if there are any events in your area!

***UPDATE: Gretchen won the “L’Oreal Woman of Worth” Award tonight. What an honor for someone who inspires me to be a good cookie every day. She then updated her FB status to the below, which made me teary.

For Liam.

YOUR TURN: Anything particularly cool I need to know about this week?

I went to the pool 3x this week, but just couldn’t bring myself to go today. I was having too good of a hair day to mess it up with the swampy humidity. If only I could bring my iPod with me into the pool. Life would be so much better.

Before I go, let me tell you PT exercises requiring a lot of concentration. None of the exercises look hard, but they end of being hard, at least for me!

Until next time….

I Got PPS-ed Today at Physical Therapy

I’ll explain the title in a bit, but just to clarify, “PPS” (“The Patient, Physician, and Society”) is a class we take during the first two years of medical school.

"Tell me more about that..."

Anyways, I’m feeling a bit more resilient about my hip/back/IT band/whatever else today. Well, except for the fact that I am horrified that I’m probably going to get fat not running and eating Christmas candy.

I'm starting to embrace the pool, but not the smell of chlorine. PS - does this picture look photoshopped in to anyone else?

I went to physical therapy at Hospital for Special Surgery today. I know – chiropractor + PT?!? I thought I was over-doing it, too, with my “multidiscplinary approach” to my injury management. I wavered on not going (maybe I could look stuff up myself?), but, in the end, thought of my “plan” as follows.

I need the chiropractor for the “now.” Dr. Levine helps keep my pain at bay (by inducing more pain with Graston/ART?) and re-adjusts my ever moving SI joint, which, after adjustment, leads to almost immediate relief of all of my symptoms. Plus, he works me in last minute and such.

Why won't you stay in place? WHY?!?

However, seeing as I can’t get my SI joint adjusted and IT band manually dissected ever day, I need a physical therapist to help me develop the proper strength to keep everything from falling apart. The physical therapist is for the “later.” Although I can look up stuff myself, I do need expertise to make sure I’m not missing something plus authority to make me do the actual exercises.

Now and Later - like the chiropractor and physical therapist. No? Not a good analogy?

As suspected, I have horribly weak hip a-B-ductors, as evidenced by me not being able to keep my pelvis in a even plane when walking up and down stairs. In turn, during the stance phase of running, my hips don’t have the strength to counter balance internal rotation of the femur, causing excess strain on the IT band. Plus, my glutes don’t work well, or something like that. Sorry for the horrible explanations, this is all from memory.

I wish I had listened more about the importance of one's gluteus medius muscle in anatomy...

Further, she was able to explain to me why my medial most hamstring would be feeling as if it was pulled. Basically, when my SI joint gets all dysfunctional (moves inappropriately), my left hemi-pelvis tilts backward, causing excess pull on many muscles, including the one in which I feel pain.

Walking around the physical therapist’s office, I felt sort of, well, lame. There was a girl next to me with her ankle externally fixed and another working on neck control. I felt sort, I don’t know, like a whiner complaining over some pain that was keeping me from running.

External fixation of an ankle...

I mentioned to the PT that I felt sort of bad being there seeing as “my problems really weren’t that bad nor acute or severe.” She immediately legitimized my problem telling me, “No, this is bad! I’m a runner. I know this sucks horribly and you miss it.” This made me instantly feel better and I went off on my merry way to the pool, happy as a clam.

Speaking of clam shells, I've been doing this in hopes it will improve my glute medius. IT BETTER WORK.

It was then, after my pool sweat sesh, that I realized I had been PPS-ed. In PPS, they teach us this “PEARLS” mnemonic in an effort to remind us of how to build rapport with patients. You can achieve a good doctor-patient relationship by using your “PEARLS.”

You can buy me the "Breakfast at Tiffany's" peals, should you feel so inclined.

p = partnership

e = empathy

a = apology

r = respect

l = LEGITIMIZING

s = support

We used to make fun of “PEARLS” a bit. But, homeslice PT totally made me feel better by using “L,” legitimizing my physical pain and emotional pain of not running. Snaps to her.

I can’t believe I fell for the PEARLS. I guess they do work, after all.

Of course, I asked the PT when she thought I could run again. Instead of giving me a promised time frame, she told me that I have to be able to do 3 specific exercises with good form and control. The three exercises are specific to my problem and, if I’m able to do them correctly, I should have relearned the correct neuromuscular control in order to run.

I still can't believe I've become one of those "I need to run" people. My 22 year old self does not know who this person is.

For some reason, that made me satisfied. The whole “go by pain” thing hasn’t been working too well for me, as I think pain is too subjective. I have a hard time knowing if the pain I’m experiencing is legitimate or not enough to warrant a problem. I’m ok tolerating some pain, which isn’t going to help my injury.

I did ask her if she thought I’d be able to run by the New Year. She said I should be, but come to think of it, I didn’t specifically state 1/1/2012.

I also asked her if she though I had a torn labrum, stress fracture, or impingement syndrome. She said probably not, but if things are better in a month, we’d go to imaging.

Lord, I hope I can at least social run in a month!

I miss this. Sweet sorority squat, Megan and Ali.

Finally, before I go, if you think you’re tough, go watch this video. Here I was complaining about walking 3 miles, and Beth persevered through 20 miles of walking during her 100 mile race.

CHIME IN: What do you think of Beth’s video? (I ran in her pace group in my first marathon) Recognize yourself ever being PEARLS-ed by your doctor? Been to physical therapy and/or chiropractor an had success (you better say yes)? 

Until next time…

Wanted This Wednesday: Personal Chiropractor

The usual…

1. FLYING INTO NYC WITH TOURISTS SITTING NEXT TO YOU: Sometimes, I feel like I take for granted that I see the Empire State Building every night (and always wonder the reason behind the color choice, if it’s not obvious). One of the landing patterns (I’ve flown into LGA one too many times), takes you right by the skyline of Manhattan. Tourists get so excited by this. One the other day was even enamored with the “yellow taxis – wow! just like on TV.” It reminds me that I’m pretty lucky to live here.

And kind of crazy I've lived here for seven years...

2. McDONALDS OATMEAL: Actually not half bad, if you’re in a pinch on the road. That McDonald’s commercial about the girl getting breakfast for the angry boss is getting old though.

3. THE RC IN RUNNER’S WORLD RACING NEWS: I am more excited for her being in the Olympics Trials than I am about Nastia’s comeback.

When the RC makes the team, I told her she needs to get this Kate Spade "London Calling" Bangle.

4. GRASTON TECHNIQUE: Dr. Steven Levine, of pre-NYC marathon saved my butt fame, told me he’d help me get healthy again. He is a God-send. For some reason, I slightly believe him telling me I’ll be ok eventually, even though he said I shouldn’t Jingle Jog (devastating…I still might walk it.)

Today he whipped out this seemingly innocuous silver tool, which ended up being a weapon of torture, but the good kind of torture.

Doesn't look so painful, right? WRONG.

Basically, what that silver metal thing does is it helps the practitioner identify areas of scar tissue, which he or she then using to break said scar tissue up. I think, but am not sure, that the sensation or vibration coming from the metal would change depending upon the consistency of the muscle in question. If it doesn’t glide smoothly, you have a problem.

It’s kind of cool, actually. If you rub the torture device over my quad, its glides smoothly and doesn’t hurt too bad. When you move it to my IT band, it feels like you’re trying to rub a tough piece of steak. Further, if the muscle or tissue has adhesions or scar tissue, you’ll start to develop redness and petechiae (little red dots signaling capillary breakage). My IT band now looks bluish/bruised. I like to think that means it’s working.

The first thing that came to my head when the petechiae starting to develop? Katy Perry’s song, “Firework.” It reminded me of like a firework erupting on my leg or something. I don’t know where I come up with these things either.

A somewhat abstract description of what the skin over my IT band looks like right now...

He also did some work on my medial hamstring and piriformis. What I want to know is – are those muscles essential? They’re literally a pain in my butt. I’d also like an SI Joint that stays in place and/or an in home chiropractor.

5. ANGEL TREE: Anyone do Angel Tree at Christmas? I think it’s through the Salvation Army. My family did it for many years. My brother’s school has its own Angel Tree this year. Reading the requests reminds me how lucky I am. One of the requests from a 15 year old girl was, “shampoo, jeans, hoodies, a jacket, the book ‘Texas Gothic,’ and room decorations in yellow.”

I think my family is going to do one or two this year.

TELL ME: Anything rocking your week? Ever had Graston? Did you bruise? Ever do Angel Tree?

And, if this IT band/SI joint/hamstring doesn’t get better by 2012, I will probably lose it and take up something else. Like knitting.

Until next time…

It’s A Good Thing I’m Not A Horse

Or I would’ve been shot by now.

Remember that horse they rehabbed and tried to save but it didn't work...heartbreaking...

Anyways, so I’ve done the whole resting thing. I’ve tried yoga. I’ve been dedicated to that foam rolling stuff. I’ve tried cross-training. I’ve barely run. I’ve stretched. I’ve done core things and lots of lunges. NONE OF IT WORKS. IT’S ALL LIES.

You're sitting on a throne of lies! You're a fake! It's a fake! He's not Santa!

Ok, slightly dramatic. However, today was my 3rd time running since the marathon (3+ weeks ago). It was suggested to me to try running fast as that would hurt my IT band less as you run with better mechanics when you run fast.

That actually kind of worked…for about 15 minutes. And, I had to keep increasing the speed for the entire 15 minutes as I’d start to feel some IT band pain at a certain pace and I found out that if I increased it then, I’d have a few minutes of relief. It was actually kind of nice to have to push myself again.

Around 15 minutes I got that sharp-ish type of pain (it wasn’t horrible, but it kept getting worse) in my lateral knee. That coupled with the fact that my medial hamstring (or adductor magnus, I still can’t figure out which its is, its the one that flares up with my SI joint concurrently) hurt the entire time made me stop.

Some anatomy, including the IT band. Woo.

Fortunately, no one in the gym turned me into a psychiatric ward after I was whispering to my leg, “I’m going to kill you.”

I briefly considered quitting and throwing the foam roller and my running shoes out the window. I determined I was going to re-take up tennis, considering that would probably be a lot of fun and improvement steep in the first few months as I haven’t played a match in 4 years. Tennis and I would have a beautiful honeymoon period where it was all fun again.

Tennis and I in our honeymoon period. It would be fun, new, novel, and I could throw in drop shots and swinging volleys as I so pleased.

But, I don’t actually want to quit running, like I didn’t actually want to quit tennis the time I left my racquets on the court in college and claimed I was done (that was so mature of me).

I’m just kind of frustrated as I’m at a loss of what to do. My plan to chill for November and be better by December has failed me.

It reminds me of the last practice test I took for the MCAT, a week before the real thing. I scored the second lowest score of all 10 practice tests I took for the real thing. I was shell-shocked and walked around NYC for approximately two hours because I was at a loss of what to do. I didn’t even want to eat (this is highly unusual for me). Fortunately, I had a lot of nice people talk me out of my funk, including my roommate’s mom who came up with the following mantra for me: “You’re smart, You study hard, You’ll be fine.”

Ahh, memories...

Fortunately, that worked out well for me in the end. I’m not so sure about this whole running thing. The SI/hamstring combo is the exact same thing that flared up last year. I sort of feel like I must’ve just dodged a bullet for about 10 months and, in reality, this may be a constant problem that can’ t be fixed (its SI Joint Dysfunction that, when all out of whack, makes the hamstring hurt like whoa.) The IT Band is completely new, but, seriously, how long is this going to take?!

"We will take them when they are deep in their sleep...HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE?!?" - King Julien, Madagascar -- I feel you.

Anyways, I’m sure none of you wanted to hear this whiny-ness, but it’s cathartic to write about it for me, so you’ve been subjected to this, should you have read this whole whine-fest. My Believe I Am journal didn’t have enough space. I’m well aware everyone gets injured. I guess its just hard for me as my last real injuries were 11 and 12 (teeth knocked out and stress fracture, both gymnastics). And, truthfully, I don’t consider this a real injury as nothing is broke, fractured, or requiring surgery. This whole thing is just annoying, not an injury.

Thankfully, I’m getting ART/Graston tomorrow from Dr. Levine. He is a Godsend. Hopefully, he can fix this bum mare.

TOTALLY UNRELATED QUESTION: Favorite holiday/christmas movie BESIDES ELF?

Until next time…

Baby Sweat

Oh yeah – that’s right people. I ellipticalled for 20 minutes today and it was exhilarating. My little nucleus accumbens was firing like crazy I’m sure. What’s the nucleus accumbens you ask? It’s a little nucleus (think of it as an activity station) in your brain that is sometimes dubbed the “reward center.” This little guy also plays a crucial role in addiction. The neurobiology of addiction is actually fascinating.

Just so you can know where the nucleus accumbens is.

Ok, I’ll stop nerding out on you all.

Anyways, so I went back to Dr. Levine for some more ART and he says my IT band feels better. BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO RUN TOMORROW.

His reasoning is as follows. Today was the first day that my leg has not hurt walking since I re-aggravated the ol’ IT band last Thursday. Since it appears the IT band is on the upswing (or so we hope), why would I want to run tomorrow and potentially mess up all the healing that’s taken place since last Thursday? A reasonable person wouldn’t want all that tortured rest period ”super-taper” going to waste, now would they?

Surely, you've haven't forgotten about super-taper, right?!?

The problem is I haven’t exactly been reasonable and rational lately, which is probably why Dr. Levine asked me, “So, why are you wearing running clothes right now?”

BECAUSE I WANT TO PRETEND I’M GOING TO RUN — THAT’S WHY.

Ok, lies – I was wearing running clothes because they’re more comfortable than real clothes and, as always, I want all the world to know I <3 Sweat.

20 minutes of sweat is better than no sweat, right? I'm sure Ali agrees.

So, I’m trying very hard to listen to what other people tell me to do and not to let the crazy person that has invaded my body take over, which result in me taking myself on a 6 mile run that could potentially deter me from MARATHON GREATNESS. And, we don’t want that, do we?!?

I mean, this is completely what I anticipate myself looking like all marathon long. You see the resemblance, right?

Seeing as I have to do something before I lose my mind (and 20 min on an elliptical isn’t going to cut), I’m going to go senior citizen tomorrow and aqua jogging. I’m just really upset I don’t have one of the following awesome swim caps for the occasion.

Exhibit A --- and these models do NOT look like senior citizens to me...

Exhibit B --- she also does not look like a senior citizen.

I know, you can’t win them all. The NYU one I got from my friend who is the assistant coach (shout out to Spenser Popeson) will have to do. However, cool swim cap or not, I have to do something to burn off my excess energy so I don’t take off at the start of the marathon like a kid running from house to house trick-or-treating.

Paperclip, Paperclip's Older Sister, and I

Well, at least that’s how Paperclip – excuse me – Buzz Lightyear trick-or-treated last night.

Quick Tangent: Speaking of Halloween, best trick-or-treater at our  house last night was the girl whose father said, “Well, she’s really enjoying this, but Daddy’s getting his cardio – whew!” I almost wanted to yell, “Sir, do not take your cardio for granted!”

See, I have seriously morphed into a legitimate crazy person.

In case I don’t write between now and the marathon, I want to give big good lucks to the following: Kelly, Susan, Lindsay, Emilia, Celia, Lauren, Shannon, Gia, Skinny Runner, Betsy, Katie and Mike. If I missed anyone, I’m really sorry!

If you’re watching the race, you need to cheer the loudest for Lauren (Fleshman). Yell something about Picky Bars or sparkly headbands or beer…or something like that. Or just your usual “Go Lauren!”, yet, I feel we can all get more creative than that.

If you watch the 5K the day before, you need to cheer very loudly for the newly engaged couple, Steph and Ben, who I usually refer to as “the RC” and “the RCF.” You can yell something like, “Oh my word, your ring is blinding me!” or “Is that the guy that can talk like Donald Duck?!?”

All three will be really skinny. I am sure this will help you distinguish them from all the other professional runners.

Ok, now for the question I will pose to you all – WHAT NAIL COLOR SHOULD I WEAR FOR THE MARATHON? Possibilities include:

• Smokin’ Hot by Essie (gunmetal color)
• Lapis of Luxury by Essie (which was “belief blue,” but its very summery)
• Carry On by Essie (a deep plum, but that’s the color the IT band injury happened with so I’m thinking no)
• black (because it’s fierce)
• orange (because it’s my lucky color)
• Rock the Croc by Essie (because its my favorite “fall red”)

If I can find it, I may go with the new “Baubing for Baubles” by Essie – which is a deep sapphire blue, so it can be the new “belief blue.”

I hope its not so new that I won't find it....

ALSO, TELL ME: What was the best Halloween costume you saw? And Kim K divorcing already? Glad I caught the wedding special before that happened!

I saw a Jamaican bobsled team. Very clever.

Until next time…

[P.S. I'm sorry if this post made no sense whatsoever.]

The Weather Matched My Mood

Today was one of those days I just want to stay at home at watch Rachel Zoe all day…rainy, misty, kind of cold. Perfect reading day, actually. You know, one of those days you want to spend in your snuggie or, better yet, HEATED HUGGIE.

This look is dead sexy. Straight off the runway.

Dog clothes freak me out. Dog snuggies are even worse.

The weather actually perfectly matched my mood. I ran for 50 min today which, in hindsight, was too much, seeing as my knee/IT band/angry tissue started hating me again and hurt with walking and bending. I had violins following me around all day and, at a few points, almost cried, at which point I reminded myself that I was being ridiculous. I really wasn’t freaking out so much over the fact that running 50 minutes reaggravated my IT band or whatever. I was more sad that all of my hard work was going down the drain.

True Life: I was terrified of pool drains as a child after I watched a 20/20 special about kids dying from getting their hair caught in them. I've been watching 20/20 from an early age.

I was talked off the ledge by a few nice people and realized that I still have 10 days to get better and that, in reality, I just need one good day of running. That’s it. If gymnastics taught me anything, its that you can definitely throw some tape on whatever ails you and suck it up for one day.

I was brainwashed as a child to think this had magical properties.

I also went back to Dr. Levine today after leaving a message that probably sounded like a anxious person yelling, “CODE RED: MY LEG IS FALLING OFF.” I got ice and stim and feel much better. Dr. Levine told me to focus all of my energy into my leg being 100% better. That means no running, elliptical, biking, or anything with a bending motion that hurts my knee until Tuesday. No tennis because the torque isn’t good for the SI Joint. I can swim if I so choose. Basically, I have to treat my body as if its a princess.

But, duh, we already knew I was a princess.

Cinderella is the bomb.

So, this has led me to the perfect Halloween costume: SUPER-TAPER.

Duh, Super Taper is a super hero.

Super Taper’s powers include: resting, icing, not being sad or freaking out, foam rolling, healing, movie watching, book reading, and relaxing.

Thankfully, I’m going home this weekend so I’ll have my partner in crime (my sister, Allison) to accompany Super-Taper in my marathon movie sessions. Allison hates running so she will want to hear nothing about it, which is fine by me.

So, that’s my plan – focus on 100% getting better, not freaking out about not running, not being sad because I will run NYCM come hell or high water, and judiciously picking out the best movies to watch all weekend.

TELL ME: WHAT ARE YOU BEING FOR HALLOWEEN? ANY MORE MOVIE RECS? TV SERIES YOU LOVE THAT I SHOULD START?

If things aren’t better by Tuesday, I encourage any of you to come join me in singing kumbaya and meditating or something while also seeking out doctors who can shoot some cortisone all up in there.

And, for those of you who have asked medically related or anatomy related questions, first, you should speak to your actual healthcare professional always, seeing as I’m not a real doctor nor am I an expert in the musculoskeletal system. However, I’ll do my due diligence for you and get back to you. I’m no soft tissue or anatomy maven, but I do know good places to look for answers.

Until next time…

It’s Wednesday, People…

Typical…

FYI: I realize my homonym misusage has been awful lately. I’m sorry. I swear that I am educated.

1.  MEETING UP WITH GOOD COOKIES MOM

Follow @GoodCookiesMom and @Cookies4Kids

Remember that bake sale I held back in October? Well, today I met up with Liam’s mom, Gretchen, to talk about everything from pediatric cancer research to the benefit of NYC.

A particularly cute picture of Liam, who was made an honorary fireman by Engine 1, Ladder 24 of the FDNY.

Strolling with Gretchen through Central Park reaffirmed why I was so passionate about raising money for this charity. First, if you notice, the charity is not named “The Liam Witt Foundation.” This is intentional, as Gretchen wanted anyone involved to be able to do so in honor of whomever they want, whether it be Liam, their child, or all pediatric cancer patients.

In addition, the aim of the charity is transparent. Cookies For Kids’ Cancer has partnered with 5 of the top pediatric research institutions in the country (Dana Farber, St. Jude’s, Texas Children’s, CHOP, and MSKCC). Research groups from each of these distinguished institutions then applies and the medical advisory board for Cookies, which is essentially a brain trust of the top mind’s in the pediatric cancer world, decides which ideas will go most quickly from laboratory to clinic and, further, which show the most promise to affect difference in outcomes. Research discoveries from these 5 institutions then, in essence, “trickle down” to all patients being treated at any hospital in the US, seeing as the medical community is so electronically connected and free flow of ideas and communication is, in turn, easier.

I could go on, but let’s just say I scheming ways to make more money for Cookies…

2. PAPERCLIP THINKING HE IS ACTUALLY BUZZ LIGHTYEAR

To Infinity and Beyond!

That’s right. My favorite 3 year old is going to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. The problem is that when he dons the actual costume, he thinks he is actually Buzz, meaning he will try to jump off things thinking he will start flying. His mom had to sit him down and tell him the harsh reality – the costume does not make you fly like Buzz.

3. BATH AND BODY WORKS BLACK HOLE

I swear that every time I go in that store, I don’t come out for another half hour, at the very least, and get sucked into buying God knows what, but usually copious amounts of themed hand sanitizer.

I already had the Halloween ones, but now I have the ENTIRE holiday season from October to December covered, including one of those hand sanitizer holders with Jingle Bells. I mean, how could I NOT buy that – its bananas.

100% necessary purchase. Hello, I can't get sick. Must sanitize.

4. GOING HOME THIS WEEKEND

I haven’t seen my sister since July. I think this is one of the longest times we’ve been separated since she emerged from the womb in 1988.

Mere days after Ally became my BFF.

She's always loved me...PS - that Little Mermaid pillow is bomb.

Of course, I’m excited to hang with the rest of my fam, too.

5. DR. STEVEN D. LEVINE, CHIROPRACTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

Homeslice is the rock in my emotionally volatile world lately, meaning that when I see ads for the marathon I want to rip them down and when the security guard of my work building asked me, “When’s the big run?”, I almost wanted to cry (PS- No idea how he knew I was running it, but I love him and we chat everyday so I know he was trying to be nice; PPS – No idea if there is supposed to be a comma after the question mark, but go with it.) Facebook updates and tweets about the marathon make me want to deactivate both accounts as they make me sad for some reason. I don’t know why I’m being so hypersensitive about it.

I went back in today for some manual torture and the man with the magically strong hands reassured me that everything is going to be alright come November 6th.

Today’s ART associated anatomy lesson! When the gluteus maximus is reflected away, lo and behold, there are a million other muscles beneath there that the medical/chiropractic/physical therapy/etc student must memorize, not to mention their innervation, origin and insertion, and function! My personal fave are the gemelli muscles – there is an inferior gemellus and superior gemellus, each flanking the obdurator internus. They are called “gemelli” because that means “twin” in Italian, I think – could be Latin. The piriformis is the one that is a pain in the butt to a lot of runners – pun intended.

Ok, I’ll stop boring you.

Anyways, if you wondering where I stand, as I’m sure you all are just DYING to know (kidding), I ran for 30 min today and it was better than Saturday, but not 100%, meaning there wasn’t a sharp pain, but something was there. Sometimes I describe that kind of pain that its dull or sharp as “the absence of nothing,” but I’m not sure that entirely makes sense to anyone but me. I ran all 30 min pretty slow and anytime I sped up the tightness got worse.

MORE ANATOMY - YES!!!

I got more ART after this today and Dr. Levine assures me that everything feels alright and it will all be ok.

Mentally, I’m trying to hold down the fort, but its not always so easy to not get upset and then chastise myself for getting upset over something that really doesn’t matter, even though its something I’ve put a lot of time into and care a lot about. I am living, healthy, and leading a very charmed life overall, thus far. I am focusing on today and that is it. Tonight I am better than I was this morning because homeslice broke up more adhesions for me and my sacrum + lumbar spine is readjusted. And, today I am better than yesterday because I ran.

TELL ME: WHAT’S ROCKING YOUR WORLD THIS WEEK? 

Until next time…

Tough As Nails

I’m right where we left off. Literally. I’m supine in my bed, in front of the TV, contemplating what to watch tonight since 13 Nights of Halloween is doing a Pretty Little Liars marathon tonight (and I’ve never seen that show, but my sis swears its ah-mazing). Basically, I’ve morphed into a invalid. Anyone want to offer to come turn me every so often to prevent a sacral decubitus ulcer?

Maybe I'll watch Hocus Pocus because it is literally the best Halloween movie ever made.

Ok, well, I guess I am not right where we last left off. I am much better, in fact.

At Kelly‘s suggestion, I went to see Dr. Levine for some spine cracking and ART (active release technique – aka manual torture, but the kind of torture that you actually want) as he worked wonders for her IT band ailments. In case you’re curious, from what I understand, ART works as follows. An ART practitioner basically applies a contact “tension” when the muscle or tissue in question is a certain length. Then, by moving you leg/arm/wtv in a certain direction, the practitioner is able to break up scar tissue or adhesions as you lengthen said muscle or tissue. Breaking up adhesions helps the muscle or tissue to once again move properly and, in turn, should allow for increased range of motion and strength. ART is purportedly the “gold standard” for soft tissue injuries.

***NB: I am NOT a soft tissue expert nor is any of this taught in medical school. Therefore, what I wrote may be false. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.***

You see that little guy, the piriformis? Yeah, not such a nice muscle there, that little one. ART on that guy hurt more than my IT band.

Dr. Levine also adjusted by sacrum and lumbar spine, which was apparently long overdue, especially considering I’ve had SI joint problems in that past.

Anatomy lesson, people! Check out the SI joint. Its my nemesis and prevents me from sitting for long periods of time (laying down is ok though, hence the current supine position).

Not only is Dr. Levine incredibly knowledgeable (he went to medical school at Tulane in addition to chiropractic school), but he is also extremely positive, assuring me he would work with me as much as I needed to make sure I could run the marathon. I’m grateful for not only his magically strong hands that can break up scar tissue I never knew I had, but for his positivity, reassuring nature, and kindness. He gets two thumbs up from Meggie…and a  pointer finger. That’s a lot of love from me.

Plus, Dr. Levine told me that I was really tough, meaning that I flinch and scream less than other people. So, obviously, this means I have to be an American Gladiator for Halloween, since apparently I’m tough as nails (his words, not mine).

What on earth was the point of American Gladiator anyway?

As per Dr. Levine’s recommendation, I took today off, which means I’ve taken Sun-Tues as rest days. He told me I could run today if I was going to lose my mind, but that it would be better to wait until Wednesday to try running, seeing as I’m also going back in for treatment Wednesday afternoon. Of course, as much as I would’ve loved to run on this beautiful fall day, I’d rather play it ultra-conservative, seeing as what I do physically between now and the marathon really doesn’t matter (or so the RC tells me).

Sitting makes both my IT band and SI joint hurt a lot, so these rest days have involved a lot of laying down or standing, including the “don’t mind me I’m just standing and typing at my desk” at work. Its what all the cool kids are doing these days.

I actually kind of want one of these one day. The ULTIMATE multitasking desk- walking and working.

My little speed bump, if you will, has really forced me to take each day as it comes. Each day since I got that stabbing pain in my knee, I’ve focused on what I need to do that day to make it go away. I haven’t really thought about tomorrow or next week so much, as all the possible scenarios and permutations that could result from what could happen or might happen leave my head spinning. It would be too overwhelming to think about, “Well, what if my leg still hurts next week, then what do I do?  or “Well, what if it hurts, but not until I’ve run for an hour?” So, I’m just focusing on today and what I need to do to get myself to tomorrow healthy. And, hopefully, a bunch of todays and tomorrows will lead to a November 6th healthy Meggie freezing her butt off on Staten Island at 7 in the morning, but very happy about it.

I'm not kidding about my pre-marathon Staten Island Olsen twin bag lady fashion statement.

So, that’s where I’m at right now – lying down, figuring out what movie to watch next, and surprised at how sore my arm is after my flu shot today. I’m also pretending I’m a sponge, absorbing all the work I put in the past few weeks and months, so all this rest is a good thing. The more I lay here, the more I’ll absorb.

Everyone's favorite sponge - Sponge Bob Square Pants

TELL ME: WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MOVIE RECS? EVER HAD ART? DO YOU GET THE FLU SHOT EVERY YEAR?

I’m particularly curious about the flu shot. I’ve gotten one every year for as long as I can remember (and have to now, seeing as I work in healthcare).

Until next time…