chichitao's group - FULL! (Page 82)

I know the feeling Tim.  I have my eye on one for September 2012.  John has his eye on one for me in April 2013 in NOLA!!

I'm no doctor, I just play one on TV!   

I forgot to tell you guys that I DID finally find a place to live!

Kind of an interesting story, but my 3rd or 4th cousin Gina lives out there.  I've NEVER met her before, but she came to visit the Midwest for her grandmother's birthday party (my great aunt).  So my mom went to the party too, and got to chatting with Gina about how I was having a hard time finding a place to live, asking her if she knew a good area for me, and Gina just decided that I could go live with her for the 4 months I'll be there!  Talk about a ridiculously nice person. 

But it makes me nervous because I'm afraid maybe we won't get along.  She's about 30, so we're not too far off in age, and she lives with her boyfriend and her 6 year old child.  I hope we all get along!

Unfortunately, I can't bring my pup, so she's stuck with Ryan until December 20th, when I get back!  I'm going to be so lonely without her!

So the plan for the whole semester is to work at NIKE for 20 hours/week (full days Tuesday/Thursday, half day Wednesday), then classes on Monday-Thursday nights (only 12 credit hours, so not too bad). 

I am totally freaking out about it!  I HAVE to impress these people because they could dictate whether I get a job after I graduate! *breathe* 

Meet us in New Orleans in 2013!  John is totally pushing that race and I can't be ready to do it April of 2012 since I am not running or completely ready to run right now. 

Sounds like everyone is doing good!

I am going to have to hang up my workout shoes for the rest of this pregnancy. I am none to happy about it, but I am in too much pain after I work out, not belly pain but in other places. The doctor said I have vericose (sp?) veins in places that normally don't appear (groin) and that is what is getting to me. I seriously have a hard time walking about 5 hours after I work out and it takes 2 days to go away. And summer vacation is over and school is starting so much to my dismay I am done. I will keep you guys posted on when this little girl decides to make her appearance, but I have to be happy with being physically active for 29 weeks of a 40 week pregnancy

Now we just need to decide on a name. I have been eyeing some races for next year and am hoping to complete a marathon relay in April and then work on doing a few tri's next summer!

That happened to our best friends!  She had them with her last two pregnancies.  They are done having kids.  They have 4 kids with them but she has had 5 pregnancies (delivered at 24 weeks).  The doctor said they would get progressively worse with each pregnancy.  She said they were awful and would not wish them on anyone.  I am so sorry you are dealing with that.

And the diagnosis is: partial patellar tendon tear, plus the tendon is pulling away from the bone.

In other words, I'll be getting surgery as soon as I get back from Portland this December.

Until then, the doctor said I could wear a knee sleeve to alleviate the pain.  I can continue to exercise, and it shouldn't get any worse.  Worse case scenario is that the continuing exercise totally ruptures the tendon, but he said that is unlikely.  He's not sure yet how intense the surgery will be, and won't know until the day of when he can scope it.  He may be able to do it all orthoscopic, but he might have to make a large incision down my knee if he thinks the area needs grinding down to promote healing.  It's an outpatient surgery, I'll be in a brace with my knee immobilized for up to 8 weeks, and I'll be rehabbing it for about 6 months after that.

Long story short, what I thought would only be a 1 month thing will now take a VERY long time to get taken care of!  I will be getting in LOTS of swim miles this fall, I guess.  Good thing I'll have an Olympic-size pool to do it in.

Meggan, maybe 2013 in NOLA will be the first time I'm actually able to do a HIM!  I will start training as soon as I can out of PT for it!

ETA: More information on the surgery on this site.  Staples, fun! http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00512

Debbe, sorry to hear about the pain but you've done great keeping up the workouts this far into the pregnancy.  I would've quit with excuses a long time ago!  Not to mention puzzled as to why I would be pregnant in the first place.   You'll be in our thoughts but keep us updated if you can.  Have you narrowed the names down?  Pete might work, then you could call her Sweet Pete! 

Erica, that is terrible news.  I am glad you ended up seeing a doc rather than push through it.  That would have really sucked if you had blown out the knee completely.  Get it taken care of and rehabbed right and you'll be as good as new. 

We need to rename our group the Walking Wounded!

That sucks, Erica, I'm sorry to hear that. Staples aren't all that bad, we'll be matching!

So I went for a ride on the HIM course that I'm doing, and I must say, it is AWESOME. Gorgeous ride, lakeside for most of it. Roads are pretty good, where there isn't construction, which is supposed to be cleared up by race day. Course is tough, but not overly so. First bit is downhill, then a flat section, and then uphill to the end. Really not that bad at all, maybe because everyone was telling me how hard of a ride it is. We finished in about 3:10 cycling time, with drafting and a stop, so I figure it'll be about 3:15 or so on race day. I am really glad that I did it before the race, because now I know what I'm up against, I know how much I can push across the race. Also, I felt WAY better than I have ever felt after doing that distance. Actually turned it into a brick (only a short one, but still). I'm hoping to do it again in 2 weeks.

I won't lie, I feel bad posting this, because of all of the injuries in here I just wanted to tell you guys, though, cuz you have been through it all with me  

Don't apologize at all Pete!!!  Hearing good news like that helps keep me going.  I enjoying hearing about all the races and the good things going on in everyone's lives. 

That really sounds like a fun HIM.  I think I am drawn to scenic races b/c generally things aren't all that scenic down here in TX.  We've got a lot of open country land/fields, short trees (they don't grow tall b/c of the lack of water), small dried up lakes/rivers (the nearest lake is currently 88 degrees!), lots of heat and little shade, etc.  There are some scenic parts and I enjoy being able to workout year round (we get maybe 1 or 2 days of snow/ice a year) but I really enjoy the scenery in other parts of the world (big mountains, clear lakes, large trees, cooler temps, etc). 

I enjoy visiting places that are completely different from what I am used to (born and raised Texan).

So that leads me perfectly into a discussion question...where would you like to visit? 

For me the big ones on my list are Canada and NW US (Washington/Oregon area).  Totally opposite to what I am used to.  Wife and I love Colorado (we are going there again at the end of Sept) and I imagine it to be similar to that.

Oh, where do I begin? 

First, I should say that I want to explore Canada. I have been out east and out west, but never really done much in either location. Would love to see the country. RV across the land or something like that. 

I would also like to explore the US, see the major cities, do the tourist stuff, national parks, etc.

Africa has ALWAYS interested me. I would love to visit Africa and do a safari.

Greece is another place that I think would be absolutely gorgeous and would love to see.

I'd like to go back to Europe. When I was young, I went 2 times (France, Scotland, Holland, Germany, Belgium), but I was too young to appreciate it. I would love to actually experience it when I am more interested in the culture than my GameBoy. 

EVERYWHERE ELSE. Haha, I have just recently been bitten by the travel bug. I don't know where it came from. I would love to do Australia, Eastern Europe, Russia, South America, Dubai... Absolutely anywhere would interest me.

Thanks everyone! 

We have narrowed names down! We like these four...Claudia, Stella, Whitney and Elaina. So who knows what she will end up being!

As far as places I would like to go...Ireland is on the top of my list, Germany, Australia, New York, and just about anywhere someone would be willing to take me !

Erica-Sorry to hear that it is going to be a long haul for you! At least you know what it is finally. 

Don't worry, Debbie, I'm only mildly insulted that Pete didn't make the list

Ohhhh myyyyy gosh.  I am leaving for Portland tomorrow morning at 3am, and I am freaking out.  Everything is packed except toiletries right now, and the apartment is totally clean except for vaccuuming.  I have a billion errands to run today, so I'm going crazy. 

I am actually a bit concerned about leaving Ryan alone in the apartment for so long, so I even wrote out 4 months' worth of rent checks, put them in envelopes, stamped them, and wrote in the corners what month they're for so all he has to do is put the right envelope in the mailbox before the 1st of the month.  I'm making him a big tray of lasagna today that should last as his dinners for about a week until he has time to go grocery shopping after he gets back on Monday. 

Luckily, my MIL is coming to stay at our place until Tuesday so she can take care of the place, watch the dog, and pick Ryan up at the airport.  She's going to be a lifesaver these next four months!  She's pretty much watching the dog for 2 months out of the next 4.

And now I'm rambling because I'm so nervous!  Ugh!

Pete - I am SUPER excited for your HIM, so I want to hear all the details!  I have to live vicariously through you!  The course sounds awesome!  I want to RV around the country, too.  We just saw pictures on facebook of a friend who did that and hit like every huge national park (US and Canada!) along the way.  SOOOOO cool.

Debbie - Too bad about the working out, but I know women who don't work out the entire thing, so you're doing great!  Also, I LOVE the name Elaina.  Actually, I've just always liked "E" names, so I'm weird like that.

OH, last thing, I'm going to plan my surgery for December 20 or 22.  It'll pretty much be within a couple days of getting back from Portland, but we have to do it by the end of the year for insurance reasons.  I will be spending Christmas on crutches and in a leg brace!  Woo!

Not that you're biased or anything towards them, right? :P

That all sounds super excited! I am actually excited for you! Portland has always seemed like my kind of place. I think I would (and you probably) will love it there! And let's be real, it's only 4 months. I'm sure that you can survive. It sounds, though, like you might be worried about Ryan burning down the house by the time you get back :P Fingers crossed that THAT doesn't happen!

Since you want to live vicariously through me, I will let you know that I have had a GREAT week of training! Since Saturday, I did the 95km bike course, ran 2x12k runs, feeling great, and finally getting a run back below 5'/km (which is NOT what I plan to do on race day, but it is kinda my goal average pace in general), and an awesome swim with a 1k TT at the end of my 2.5-3km swim, which I finished strong and with a LOT of energy left! This week has done a TON for me mentally, making me feel better about what I've done. I can't let it go to my head, though, and either back off the training, thinking I've been doing everything right, OR push too hard and over train. I feel like I'm in a happy place with my training right now, and will take today off and do a short run tomorrow at lunch, and then try to add a bit more miles in next week. 

Hope everyone is well!

Haha, I don't think I would ever want to do that to my kid, either because, well... Oftentimes, people have other things that are nicknames Jr...  lol

I agree with no Jr/Sr stuff!  My dad and brother are, and it causes lots of problems.  My brother started putting Jr. on everything years ago to get rid of any confusion, but it took my dad a lot longer to catch on!  A lot of people don't take the time to differentiate!

And I forgot to tell you guys where I want to travel to!  I LOVE to travel, so I want to make a lot of trips throughout the US, just everywhere really (national parks AND historic sites).  I want our next big trip to be to Australia for 3-4 weeks to see the Outback and the major cities, plus NZ.  I've seen almost all of Western Europe (studied abroad in Italy in 2007 for 5 months), but I want to see more of the Mediterranean coast (so beautiful).  I'd love to go on safari in Africa, too.  Then, I want to see and hike in the rain forest in South America. 

But more than anything, I hope to someday make enough money to get to go to every World Cup and some Olympic games. 

I may or may not be high maintenance like that...

Boy lots to catch up on.  Sorry I've been off the grid, just been a little bit busy.  I am on vacation as of 3:30PST today, until September 6th and I am really looking forward to it.

I am allowed to start running again this weekend, so going to try a 6km run on Sunday, and tomorrow I am going to do a slow and easy trip up the grind.  I am still unable to do anything really engaging my core for another couple of weeks, so no TRX or weight/interval training.

Next week we head up to Penticton to get Ray acclimated to the warmer weather before his IM on the 29th.  It's been warm here, but not as warm as Penticton.  I'm very excited for him and looking forward to volunteering again this year.  I've also coordinated with the catching captain to be able to catch Ray when he crosses the finish.

Erica, I'm sorry you need surgery, but happy that you know what the problem is and that there is a solution to it.  Enjoy your time in Portland, it is a lovely city and the Oregon coast is gorgeous. 

Pete, glad to hear that your training has gone well, and you are feeling good about your upcoming HIM, remember not to hammer the bike and take in lots of fluids:-)  You will ROCK the race!!

Tim, how is the arm?  are you able to run pain free? Have you gotten back on the bike yet? How does your wife feel about you getting on your bike again?

Meghan, how is the achilles?  I think I read you had a good run recently, I hope that continues to be the case for you.  Are you getting out on your bike?

Debbie,  I think you did amazing keeping the training up and I think your baby is going to benefit from it, and come out running!  I like Eliana, but I am certain that you will pick the name that fits her best when she comes into the world.

I've already travelled quite a bit in my life, but there are still many places I would love to go.  Cambodia has always fascinated me, Tanzania, Egypt, Sri Lanka, and keeping it to this continent, I would like to go to New Orleans, in NA, there are many places I'd like to visit too, including NOLA and the Everglades in Florida, but I will hopefully be knocking Disneyland and Disneyworld off my bucket list in 2013 as it is currently in the plans to do the Disneyland Half and the Goofy for a few people in my running group.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

It is getting better daily.  Just a few days ago I was able to drive with it again (seems like such a little thing but not being able to use an entire arm while driving gets old).  I mowed the yard finally this past weekend.  I would say it is around 80-85%.  I am going to attempt to ride next Tue.  It does not bother me on the runs.

We need a little Erica tracking map!  She said she was leaving at 3am, it's now 10am, so where does that put her....according to the map she should be in Minnesota heading towards South Dakota.