Say yes to new adventures!
Once again I've done a miserable job at keeping up with my blog, but this time I'd like to think its for a good reason... I got a new job! And its in another state! I'm excited to not only be advancing my career, but I've already begun investigating races in New Jersey. So things have been a bit chaotic.
With my new job and move, there are a couple of things to cover. I wish I could say that I've run a dozen races between this entry and the last, but between the chaos and an injury or two (which I'll get to later), I've only run a few since June.
I'll start with an update on my Crohn's. I've said it before, Crohn's flareups can most definitely be triggered by stress. And I'm happy to say that since getting the job offer, I've been feeling pretty damn good. I can't say I've been completely symptom free. But I think that it says a lot about my last job when I get a new, higher-profile job in a new state, and I still feel less stressed than I did at the old place. There's a reason my GI started almost every one of my appointments off with "How are you feeling, did you get a new job yet?" She saw the stress that place put me under and knew that until that was managed, I wouldn't be seeing the best results.
Speaking of my GI, I am most definitely NOT changing doctors. It took me forever to find an amazing GI like Dr. Johnson, and to me the 2-hour drive back to Connecticut is worth it to keep seeing her.
And speaking of seeing her... meet Dr Johnson!
One of the few runs I managed to make it to in the last couple months was the Red Dress Run, in West Hartford. I think I wrote about this one last year... an all-women 5K, which runs through the lovely neighborhoods of West Hartford and finishes in the country's oldest rose garden, in Elizabeth Park. The run itself is awesome, and the last three years, Dr. Johnson has been a participant (when she's not manning the Connecticut GI tent, as they are a sponsor). She claims that one year she'll actually run instead of walk. This year was not that year. And I don't blame her. We had a really hot day for this run, so between that and a bum ankle, I had a slow pace. But overall, I love this race, and had some fantastic people running with me!
I was hobbling around the next couple of days, and absolutely covered in bruises, but its always rewarding to answer "what happened to you?" with "Oh, I ran a 6-mile obstacle course this weekend. It could be worse... at least I didn't get electrocuted." (Disclaimer that I wasn't joking before... there really are obstacles that can electrocute you up to 10,000 volts if you're unlucky enough to be near a wire when it goes live.)
Whether it was the Tough Mudder or just general overuse, not long after that my right ankle started giving me some grief. I've dealt with achilles tendonitis in the past, and after stretching and a new pair of sneakers, its always gone away after a couple weeks. This time was different. I struggled during the first mile of the Red Dress run with it, and found myself modifying moves during Zumba to avoid that foot. It was probably for the best that my new job forced me to slow down a bit, because after almost two straight months of stretching at every staircase and intermittent icing and Tylenol, it finally started to improve, helped along by the most wonderfully intense massage (thanks Barbara!).
I was able to run the Old Wethersfield 10K a couple weekends ago with almost no complaints from my ankle, which is great, because I've got my first half marathon of the year coming up this weekend. I'll do my best to NOT take two months to update after that.
One of my good friends got me this wonderful sign that I've hung up at my new desk. It says 'Say YES to new adventures!' I realized shortly after hanging it that this new job means a lot of changes... one of which will be the races I run. And I'm all for it. It just means that I'll be adding to my group of running 'homies' in the near future.
With my new job and move, there are a couple of things to cover. I wish I could say that I've run a dozen races between this entry and the last, but between the chaos and an injury or two (which I'll get to later), I've only run a few since June.
I'll start with an update on my Crohn's. I've said it before, Crohn's flareups can most definitely be triggered by stress. And I'm happy to say that since getting the job offer, I've been feeling pretty damn good. I can't say I've been completely symptom free. But I think that it says a lot about my last job when I get a new, higher-profile job in a new state, and I still feel less stressed than I did at the old place. There's a reason my GI started almost every one of my appointments off with "How are you feeling, did you get a new job yet?" She saw the stress that place put me under and knew that until that was managed, I wouldn't be seeing the best results.
Speaking of my GI, I am most definitely NOT changing doctors. It took me forever to find an amazing GI like Dr. Johnson, and to me the 2-hour drive back to Connecticut is worth it to keep seeing her.
And speaking of seeing her... meet Dr Johnson!
I asked for a picture for my blog and she agreed, as long as she could keep the glasses and hat on, to hide 'what a mess' she was from the run.
One of the few runs I managed to make it to in the last couple months was the Red Dress Run, in West Hartford. I think I wrote about this one last year... an all-women 5K, which runs through the lovely neighborhoods of West Hartford and finishes in the country's oldest rose garden, in Elizabeth Park. The run itself is awesome, and the last three years, Dr. Johnson has been a participant (when she's not manning the Connecticut GI tent, as they are a sponsor). She claims that one year she'll actually run instead of walk. This year was not that year. And I don't blame her. We had a really hot day for this run, so between that and a bum ankle, I had a slow pace. But overall, I love this race, and had some fantastic people running with me!
Look at this amazing group of women! We definitely earned the ice cream sandwiches they had as athlete food!
I also ran my very first Tough Mudder in late June. I've run plenty of mud runs and obstacle course races before (in fact, my very first 'official' runs were all OCRs), but this was my first Tough Mudder. It was a great run, with some seriously challenging obstacles... some of which were more mentally challenging than others. But I can honestly say that I did NOT get shocked on either of the electrical obstacles, and I figured that with my medical history, an obstacle with a name like 'Arctic Enema' wouldn't be that big of a deal (disclaimer that I really shouldn't need to put here, but there were no actual enemas involved. Just a VERY cold, ice-filled pool that required full submersion to get through. Luckily, it was a warm day. Required big sister prodding here... Angie chickened out and skipped it).
This is an 'after' picture, if you'd believe it. Lots of mud runs have been starting with mud and ending with water these days, so you're practically clean at the finish. The headband colors indicate how many you've run... Angie has run a couple more of these than me.
Whether it was the Tough Mudder or just general overuse, not long after that my right ankle started giving me some grief. I've dealt with achilles tendonitis in the past, and after stretching and a new pair of sneakers, its always gone away after a couple weeks. This time was different. I struggled during the first mile of the Red Dress run with it, and found myself modifying moves during Zumba to avoid that foot. It was probably for the best that my new job forced me to slow down a bit, because after almost two straight months of stretching at every staircase and intermittent icing and Tylenol, it finally started to improve, helped along by the most wonderfully intense massage (thanks Barbara!).
I was able to run the Old Wethersfield 10K a couple weekends ago with almost no complaints from my ankle, which is great, because I've got my first half marathon of the year coming up this weekend. I'll do my best to NOT take two months to update after that.
One of my good friends got me this wonderful sign that I've hung up at my new desk. It says 'Say YES to new adventures!' I realized shortly after hanging it that this new job means a lot of changes... one of which will be the races I run. And I'm all for it. It just means that I'll be adding to my group of running 'homies' in the near future.
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