Well I’ve been discharged from physical therapy for my achilles tendon, good news!! They can’t get rid of me that fast though because I’m back in it for my back, hip and other related areas. After my longest run last Sunday I was laid up for three days. I couldn’t walk without basically dragging my left leg and I was in some major pain! Sciatic? Sacroiliac joint! Monday and Tuesday I limped around. Wednesday I flew early in the am to spend Christmas with my brother Jason in Orlando, Fl. I felt a teeny bit better that day but still was not feeling it. Hanging out with Jay was so much fun and it was nice to be able to relax and let my body heal a little.

Thursday I woke up and wasn’t feeling too bad, so I went up to my brothers work out place and hopped on the bike for an hour then did my arm routine. Christmas Day my brother slept in a little so I went and did another bout of cardio. I’m happy to say that I have worked out at the Trenton Athletic Club for my usual 90 minutes of cross training on the elliptical and bike which is feeling pretty sweet! YAY!

Currently I’m unable to get my runs in but I’m going to give that a try tomorrow after therapy to see how it feels. Greg is working on everything possible to get me back on the road. The Miami Half Marathon is January 31…not sweating about it yet because I know I will be back!!

Hopefully ya’ll had an awesome Christmas (or whatever other Holiday you celebrate)! After hanging with my bro, I was able to be back home on December 26 to celebrate Christmas with the rest of my family. Here’s me with my #1 gal, baby Kacey!!

Click on the cute pic of Kacey to Donate!

I’m about $300 away from meeting my fundraising goal for the 1/2 Marathon…$13.10 is what I am hoping I can get people to donate as this is the amount of miles I’ll be running for Cystic Fibrosis.

Check ya all later…and wait for some incredibly exciting news from me!!

Rock CF,

Emily

I’ve decided to be honest here and not sugar coat any of my training..so lets just say this weekend was rough! Thursday I saw my incredible CF Dr. Tom Sisson at U of M. So happy to see him to catch up but the best part is that he’s a runner and gives me advice and tips. Timing was great for this visit because it was right when my hip was acting a fool. He thinks it’s a hip flexor issue and showed me a great stretch, he also took an x-ray to make sure there isn’t a fracture. Thursday night I was supposed to run 7 miles and was only able to run 2.5 and then I had to walk the rest, on a treadmill. It was as fun as it sounds!

Friday was 90 minutes of cardio, so I was back at the Trenton Athletic club working out with the old timers!

Yesterday I stretched the heck out of that bad boy, hit the foam roller numerous times and as of today during the 10 mile run, my hip was tolerable.

Here’s the Debbie Downer thing though. My left leg, the entire leg, is not being awesome and causing me to limp around like a dope. I cannot put pressure on my left side and stepping up on it is not a good idea as my leg buckles. Saturday was my rest day because today was the 10 mile long run and my body needed some rest. So the run today was not complete quality. I hobbled through, running about a minute per mile slower than usual and was in constant pain. The more I think about it, I should have cut out early.

Tomorrow morning I visit Dr. E, my chiro and then I head to my last PT appointment for a week. We’ve got a lot to figure out and some decisions to make about my training this week…the elliptical may be my friend this week..even in Florida for Christmas!

Check in with ya’ll later.

Em

I gotta say thanks again to the Trenton Athletic Club for sponsoring me during my training. After my “adjustment” this morning, I hit the elliptical over at TAC for 90 minutes and then I worked on my arms for about a half an hour. The coolest part about the membership there is the free classes. Last night I checked out the yoga calss…it was pretty good! I’m used to the Lululemon classes which are a different feel, but this was a good complement to my 7 mile run yesterday. Stretching out sore muscles is goooooood!

I’ve been hitting the chiropractor for almost a week now and I’m loving it! Dr. E/Ellen gets me and is right there for me as I train for the half and full marathon. She’s almost got my lower back pain eliminated, yeah the same back pain that had me on the couch last week unable to move. Rock on!
The training continues!

Rock CF,

Emily

Just run and have fun, that’s all you can do on a day like Friday. It was in the teens (even lower with the wind chill) and windier than heck. Kevin and I scheduled our long run of 9 miles for Friday because it was the only day that fit our schedules…there is no backing out or missing a long run, so we just did it!

I geared up in running tights with my thicker Detroit Marathon running pants over top. Up stairs I had on a tank top, running hoodie, my new Pearl Izumi jacket and a wind breaker type coat. Two pair of gloves and a winter running hat and we set off on a crazy run! The first 5+ miles were brutal!! Right into the wind and that cold air sucked the breathe out of my lungs. It was pretty hard to find a good breathing pattern and I’m not sure I did until about mile 6 or 7, once the wind was at our backs.

Overall the run wasn’t as awesome as I had hoped. My right hip, inside by my groin has been flaring up the past couple of weeks. It never hurt during runs, only after and when I was getting out of bed or walking up or down stairs. Well during the entire run Friday my hip was killing me. The pain ran down my hamstring and they felt so tight. I’m really pretty peeved about this. Greg has been working on it in PT a bit but the pain is still there and it’s bad. Today I’m dialing up a 7 mile run with Kevin and I’m just hoping a miracle happens and I can run pain free..stay tuned!

Saturday was my 90 minutes on the elliptical..this is actually getting pretty fun! I’m playing around with the settings and speeds and it feels like I’m getting a decent work out on this thing. Plus I get to bump my music really loud and rock out. The funniest part of being at a gym is watching other people! This is a general observation so don’t get mad guys BUT hear me out. A big majority, like Biiiiig majority of the guys (young and old) that come into the cardio room only spend an average of 5 minutes on a machine.What is that doing for you? Not kidding at all. A few will stick with me for a 25-30 minutes, but most rock out a cool 5 minutes then hit the weights again. Seriously? You need to burn the fat before you build the muscle..This is what keeps me going back to the gym!

Less than 2 weeks until Christmas!

Rock CF,

Emily

Mel, this is the one I like!

This morning I got the news I’d been fearing for the past couple of weeks. My dear friend Melissa lost her almost 42 year fight with cystic fibrosis. This loss has definitely been the hardest for me because Mel was something special. We’d been in touch online for a few years and she was always there to offer support an advice for anything, CF or not. She has a daughter named Jazzy and a husband named Robert and they are from upstate New York.

Two years ago I got the chance to meet and spend some time and laughs with Mel when she was getting a “tune up” at St Vincent’s in NYC. I was in town visiting my uncle and seeing Broadway shows and heard Mel was in the club. I had to go meet her! When I walked through the door to her room I was greeted with a huge smile and even bigger hug..not before gowning and masking up though!  We immediately got to talking about life, family, music and everything else. Both of us laughed so hard we broke into coughing fits several times. What a great time.

The thing I remember most is when Mel’s physical therapists came to get her for some treadmill walking. I joined them in the exercise room and helped Mel laugh through her session. I was dying because she was in these giant slippers that looked like sneakers and she was just flopping away and talking the entire time. Hilarious!!!! She’s working as I’m lounging on exercise equipment. Mel came up with the name “Half Marathon” for me that day because I had just bought new running shoes a few blocks away and I told her I was starting to train for my first half marathon. Mel being Mel, razzed me because I was only doing a half and not a full..and she adopted that name for me which stuck with every message and email we sent to each other.

When I left the hospital that day I knew I had met someone special. Someone who I could always rely on for a laugh and smile. Knowing Mel was a huge NY Mets fan I decided I wanted to get her a new Mets tee shirt. So I searched the city high (Times Square) and low (China Town) to find the perfect shirt. Sadly I just couldn’t find one that I thought was perfect. Today I only wish I would have found the right shirt so I could have seen her smile again.

Recently Mel’s daughter Jazzy has been emailing me. Jazz is a great kid and has always been interested in the Rock CF scene because she loves the rock and roll…I LOVE her for that! She has been telling me about her crush (my lips were sealed as promised!), her favorite and least favorite subjects in school and other things. I’m so thrilled that she could open up and talk to me about this stuff. My heart is breaking for Jazzy and Robert right now and it kills me to think about all of this happening during this time of year.

I’m wracking my brain right now to think of a way to help Jazz and Robert through this time. I cannot stop thinking about Mel but luckily every thought I have is a great thought that involves a laugh.

I LOVE YOU MEL! Thanks for the friendship, support laughs and love. Breathe Easy.

Until we meet again.

Rock CF,

Emily

P.S. My 7 mile run today was fueled by Mel..thanks for the push.

(Obviously this is NOT me!)

If you read my post from yesterday, you know I’m dealing with some minor training aches and pains. At PT today Gregg took a look at my back and hip and did some work on both. My lower back has some very unhappy spots and my right hip joint is pretty flared too. We decided to lay off of my PT exercises today to keep my body happy. Instead we swapped in 15 minutes of traction…yes it is as fun as it looks. Picture me as Hannibal Lecter on my back, strapped to a table. Suweeeet…

I decided to get my booty over to the Trenton Athletic Club for my 90 minutes of cross training today. A nice afternoon session sounded cool, so I had some afternoon cereal and headed to the gym. I picked up my official TAC card, threw my puffy coat, hat and gloves into the locker (it’s freezing!) and hit the elliptical. I gotta say this is only my 2nd time using one of these machines..I like to be outdoors! Anyway the first 60 minutes were great and the 30 minutes after were even better because Kevin’s wife showed up and we chatted it out the rest of my workout out. Love it!

7 Miler tomorrow….60 mph winds out there so we’ll see what happens. If you look up and see me flying over your house at least try to save me, ok?

Until tomorrow.

Rock CF,

Em

Kicking it into week 4!

Monday was a 90 minute cross training day….I got up at 5am, did my meds, hopped on the trainer and spun away. 60 minutes was all I could fit into session 1 because of Dr appointments, study visits and PT. I was planning to bust 30 more minutes out to make my 90 but when I got home from my long day, but I was hurting! My lower back is off the hook and my right hip is rocking too…I was on the couch all afternoon with a heating pad and a 9pm bed time. Not feeling too bad about missing the 30 minutes because I know I need to listen to my body to avoid any injuries.

This morning I had a study visit for the new Vertex VX 700 drug. This study requires that I wear a Holter heart rate monitor every now and then, today was one of those now’s. After some great PFT’s and a few other things we stuck the electrode all over my chest and stomach and I was on my way home to meet Kevin for our 7 mile run.

I was a little worried that my electrodes would sweat off during the run but to my surprise, the tape stuck. The best part about wearing this thing is I concealed it under my down vest today while in the post office. Some of the colorful wires were hanging out under my jacket and I got some sweet and some pretty worried looks from the other patrons..do I look that suspicious? Come on people.

My aches are worse after running tomorrow but I see Greg my physical therapist tomorrow and we’re going to see if we can find out what’s going on. Also I go for my first chiropractor visit on Thursday..lets crank things up and make them feel good!

Rock CF,

Emily

Who says Christmas only comes once a year??

Last night I stepped out to get the mail and noticed a big brown UPS box with my name on it. I racked my brain trying to remember if I had ordered any presents for myself or my secret Schaller Santa..nope! Eagerly I ripped that box open to find tons of Pearl Izumi running gear! I freaked big time, like a little kid on Christmas morning. A lot of “are you kidding me?!?!” came out as I started to try this stuff on.

My old childhood friend who I reconnected with this year was the one who did this, along with her coworker. PI donated shoes and jerseys to us for the City to City Ride this year because of Mindy, that was amazing. Well she saw the New York Times stories about my running and showed her coworker and decided to send me some gear.  I gotta say I am pretty much broke right now and was looking just yesterday at new running clothes that will help me train through the winter…well Pearl Izumi delivered and made my day!

Thanks Pearl Izumi, I love you! I wore some of the stuff on my 8.3 today and will model the other things at the Holiday Hustle this afternoon!

Rock CF,

Emily

I just got back from my long run with Kevin. 8.3 miles at 8:30 am. What a day, it was a balmy 20 degrees but because I had the correct gear (see my next blog for more info!) on I was very comfortable the entire time. The run went really well and we kicked up the pace for the last 4 miles or so and it felt great.

So pumped right now because this afternoon I am meeting the owner of the Running Fit dynasty, Randy Stepp. Kevin, his wife and I are running the Holiday Hustle in Dexter which is sponsored by Running Fit and Randy invited me out to run and share what I’m up to with Rock CF. Awesome!!

Friday I hit the trainer for my cross training days and caught the Muppet Christmas Special and some Ellen. A great combo if you ask me..gotta love that Gonzo!

Tomorrow/Sunday is my day off and I am going to hook myself up. My friend Steph and I are hitting the Westin-Book Cadillac for some much needed massages. Ohh man I can’t wait. Maybe you remember when I had my last massage on day 3 of the bike ride to Chicago. It was my first time getting one and when I was done it felt like I threw back a bottle of whiskey…intoxicating and hilarious. Can’t wait.

Hopefully you are enjoying the weekend and the chilly temps.

Rock CF,

Emily

You know what is a good thing to do while riding the trainer for 90 minutes? Watch the Best of Will Ferrell DVD. I haven’t watched that whole DVD in a long time and I’m so glad I did today. He is crazy, I love it!! Every single sketch made me laugh out loud. “Quick staring contest, you and me now….you win, you always do!” Thanks for making my ride sail by Will Ferrell!