Road to Recovery: 1 (+ a little) week post-surgery



Getting ready to go under

On the ride home with my pillowpet

Happy Sunday everyone!  Getting a little personal here--this post is all about me :).  On July 17th I was cut open... okay, not really, it's only two little holes... for a knee chondroplasty and scope.  The surgery was successful in my eyes: the doctor was able to take out a few cartilage pieces that were "floating", he cut one flap, and he was able to smooth out some cartilage.  Believe it or not, if you haven't been following along, all of this started with a silly trip and fall during a routine run in my neighborhood.  I wasn't paying attention, was looking at my I-pod, and tripped on a piece of metal on the sidewalk.  Yep, I think back over and over to that day and wish I could turn back time. 

Post-op leg

I'm a little over a week out from surgery, and exactly 5 weeks from the Disneyland Half Marathon, and I gotta be honest--I'm starting to get a little nervous about being able to cross that finish line.  The doctor was very clear over and over again that he wanted to do microfracture surgery to "fix" the problem (I, however, am totally against that surgery, so I decided not to give consent for that procedure).  There is a very real possibility that this surgery does not provide much relief from pain.  Yep, I did a surgery that may not have fixed anything.  It was a Hail Mary--my last hope before looking into some more experimental procedures.  For all of you wondering, no, my doc hasn't put me out for the race; he says it'll be based on how I heal and feel. 

 

My knee is starting to look normal again; I can almost see my knee cap.  I have full extension and just got beyond 90 degrees of flexion.  My calves are really tight and have actually been causing more pain than my knee.  So weird!  I'm trying to stretch, but it's tough with my other limitations.  I can't use any type of lotions or creams on my leg since the incision isn't totally healed; I'm looking forward to being able to put some arnica cream to help the muscles.  I'm still in a routine of icing most of the day, elevating, and minimal movement.  My only "exercise" is simple leg lifts, which are surprisingly difficult.  I honestly thought I'd be walking around a little more than I am at this point. 

 

Starting to see a real knee

I can't let myself give up any hope, but it's waning as each day goes by.  I think I will find resolution to this whole issue eventually, but I don't know when.  So, what do you think?  Will I be a spectator or a participant during the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend?  If you were me, what would you do to train?  Please be careful when you are out on your runs!



Throwback Thursday: Disneyland Half Marathon 2013

Just over a month until the 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon weekend!  This time last year, I was still running my own personal blog, which I had originally created to keep me on track while training for my first Goofy Challenge.  I thought that would be the end of my running, but HA...not so!  So...in an attempt to psych everyone up even more, I thought I'd share my reviews (there are a few parts) from previous Disneyland Halves as part of a little "Throwback Thursday" mini-series!  (If you missed part 1, The Expo, check it out HERE  The 10k is HERE) Enjoy!

Original post: September 15, 2013: The 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon

And here it is: the final day of the Dumbo Double Dare!  This marked my (and my hubby's) fourth Disneyland Half Marathon.  We have never run one together, so this was a first!

Side note: we actually thought about running together in 2011.  We started out and made it about 100 yards before I ditched him.  I'm a bad wife.

I'm so tired of being tired!

We all got up bright and early, had some breakfast, and were off to the corrals.  This time, we had matching costumes (Me and Katie were Dumbos, Chris and Bill were our magic feathers).  When we walked outside, it felt much cooler than the previous morning.  Not cool, but at least a bit cooler.  We were running a little late, and Chris and Katie were worried about being swept (Katie was coming off surgery this summer), so they headed off to get toward the front of their corral.  Bill and I headed to bag check and (of course!) the potty stop.  What can I say...I'm a creature of habit!  We never got a picture of the 4 of us--damn!  I was really bad about pictures on this trip!

Photo credit: Team Sparkle

We are pretty "seasoned" on this course, so we negotiated a plan: we would run to the first water station to get through some of the crowd, then move on to a 3:1 run/walk.  My hubby was trying to get me to not pay attention to the time...it's a hard thing to just throw away.  In my mind, though, I knew it was hot, I had just PR-ed my half time 4 weeks earlier, and we were just running "for fun".  Disneyland never disappoints with all of the rides running, characters, and music.  I actually turned off my ipod for most of the race.  I have to admit, while running together always slows us down, we do have a lot of fun! 

I wish I had brought a camera along, even if just for a few shots.  Next time.  If you're not familiar with the course, it's pretty simple:  DCA, Disneyland, streets filled with people & cars, Honda Center, Anaheim Stadium, Finish Line.  We added in one port-o-potty stop.  It was a pretty quick race. 

We did, though, have a pretty eventful finish.  We finished about 5 seconds after Joey Fatone.  Pretty cool, right?  Yes, in that I can attest to the fact that he did actually run the race (in case anyone had doubts).  Yes, in that my 16 year old self still freaked out a little seeing him in person.  No, in race world where you just want to collect your medals and get one of the cooler towel things.  I did have to ask someone for a medal and we had to backtrack because somehow we missed the towels, and they missed us.  Small price to pay.

They said they felt terrible...but they sure look happy here!

We collected our THREE medals...half, Dumbo, and coast to coast.  We knew Chris and Katie were going to be a bit longer, as they started about 45 minutes after us.  We sat around, had our snacks, and tried to use what brain power we had left to calculate their finish time.  Luckily, we knew a little bit of navigating the finish line area and found a prime spot right under the 13 mile marker.  It was hotter than hot at this point, and we started to worry about how they were feeling.  Soon enough, though, they rounded that corner looking strong!  Glad we were able to cheer them on.  They did the whole medal/snack/meet at the tent thing.  We met up with them, and it was far beyond hot at this point.  We didn't even bother to take pictures, just wanted to head back and find a shower!  Katie and I both looked like we peed in our pants (cute, I know) and poor Bill and Chris were baking in all black.

Photo credit: Brandi Gilbert

We all made it!  We did it!  Dumbo Double Dare--check!  It was super fun to have a group to be with. 

Here are my final stats:

Chip Time:  2:42:43

Overall Place: 6751/15868

Gender Place: 3413/10017

Division Place: 701/1923

A little Dumbo love

Let the Disneyland Half Craziness Begin!

If you've been keeping up with social media, the first piece if Dumbo Double Dare info leaked yesterday.  Yes, people, you can be a super sleuth and find your bib number!  Here's the link:

http://www.trackshack.com/disneysports/w14dl/verify.php?lname=Billy&bmon=01&bday=01&byr=1111&uid&pw

Now that you have the link, you have to be even sleuthier--you have to put your info in the URL to find the number: YOUR NAME replaces "Billy", and YOUR BDAY replaces "01 01 1111"  That simple! 

Okay, but what does it all mean?  Well super sleuth, that's where the real fun in stalking comes in!  runDisney has not released the corrals; we only know that there are 3 more corrals for the half and fewer for the 10k.  We can assume that there will be 2 letters on your bib; one for 10k corral, one for the half.  They did this for Princess last year and it makes so much more sense.  But let's be honest...it's all about your half corral placement.  So...for your speculating pleasure, here's last year's chart:

So, I gotta know!  What's your bib number?  Mine is 20691--could this possibly be my first (and let's face it...maybe only) time in corral A?  Or will runDisney's ever-changing systems once again put me in B (as I've been for every Disneyland Half since my first in 2010)?

Tuesday Reviews-day: Blue Bayou

Continuing on with some of our favorites at the Disneyland Resort, we could not even think of continuing without highlighting the Blue Bayou, possibly the most popular of eateries in the whole resort.  First, if this is your first visit to the Land, this is a must-do!  Go make your reservations now!  Now that that's out of the way, let's give you an official review.

The Blue Bayou is located inside New Orleans Square in the Disneyland park, and the restaurant is part of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Yep, you are part of the scenery as you eat your lunch or dinner while boats full of park-goers pass you by.  The menu is a limited prixfixe menu and varies from lunch to dinner.  Don't worry, everything is absolutely delicious, so you're sure to find something you'll love. 

One of the most popular dishes is the Monte Cristo sandwich.  Yes, it's huge and we don't even want to start to calculate the calories.  This delicious sandwich is made up of ham, turkey, swiss cheese, and french toast which all gets deep fried and topped with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  Add on some blackberry preserves and it is pure heaven!  Seeing as this is a running blog, fair warning: some dishes such as the Monte Cristo are not the best option before running, nor are they great too soon after.  This would make a great celebratory dinner after your achievement that evening or even the day after.

Celebrating Bill's 30th at Blue Bayou

A few more notes: there is no alcohol served at this restaurant.  If you want a drink, you will have to visit other areas of the resort.  While not scary or creepy, this restaurant is very low-lit and may be frightening to children who are really scared of the dark.  Definitely make reservations--it's almost guaranteed that you won't get in during busy days without a prior reservation.  You can make reservations up to 60 days in advance either online or by phone.  Visit www.disneyland.com for details.  Finally, this is not the most economical of meals; expect to spend $30+ per person.  We would highly recommend the Blue Bayou for a date night, special occasion celebration, or as a way to celebrate a successful runDisney race weekend!

Throwback Thursday: Disneyland 10k 2013

One week closer to the 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon weekend!  This time last year, I was still running my own personal blog, which I had originally created to keep me on track while training for my first Goofy Challenge.  I thought that would be the end of my running, but HA...not so!  So...in an attempt to psych everyone up even more, I thought I'd share my reviews (there are a few parts) from previous Disneyland Halves as part of a little "Throwback Thursday" mini-series!  (If you missed part 1, The Expo, check it out HERE) Enjoy!

Original post: September 13, 2013: The 10k

Yes, I'm still recovering from the Dumbo Double Dare weekend!  Mostly just trying to catch up on the rest of my life, like laundry, work, etc.

Now onto the fun part: the races!  After the expo, I was really worried that a disaster might occur during the 10k.  Our alarms went off nice and early (around 3:45), but I was able to get pretty decent sleep the night before.  We quickly got in our Tweedle costumes, had a little bit of breakfast, and then were off to the corrals.  It was HOT & HUMID!  I'm starting to think this is the year of the way-too-hot runDisney races.

As we headed for the bag check and last bathroom stops, we were shocked to see so many 5k participants still not lined up.  It was kind of a mess having the two races back to back.  After the ceremonious stop at a stinky port-o-potty, we were ready to get into our corrals.  A bit of confusion ensued, but all in all, it was fairly uneventful.  We had a very short wait in corral B then the gun went off.

We started moving, then started running--no stopping between corral A & B.  I later found out this was a mistake, and they were supposed to stop corral B, but for the time being, I just thought Disney was changing it up a bit!  In all honesty, it actually worked out really nicely.  I was able to get a good jog going before crossing the start line, and was able to find my race pace pretty easily within the first mile.

As expected, a lot of runners took the 10k easy and I did have a bit of weaving to do to get to my 9:30 race pace.  It was hot, but my lofty goal was 55 minutes, my realistic goal was 1 hour.  I was pretty set on not making 55 minutes due to the heat and humidity.

The course was pretty good: mostly in the parks, but started out going through the convention center area.  It was a quick few miles before you entered near DCA.  There were a tons of twists and turns, but I didn't mind because it really kept you in the parks for most of the race.  In typical Disney fashion, there were plenty of characters and distractions throughout the course.  My least favorite, though, was going behind the scenes by the animals and trash area.  It was just so hot that the smell really got to me.  I almost lost it, but my stomach held on long enough to breathe some clean air.  After Disneyland, you finished running through Downtown Disney with a quick turn to the finish line.

Couple of notes on the course.  First, and I will admit to this being partially my fault, the water stations were not in good spots.  I didn't "study" my map very well, and when we hit the first station at mile 1, I wasn't needing water so I just ran through it.  I assumed (my fault!) that there would be another one fairly soon, since I did remember reading that there were 3 stations.  Nope.  Not the case.  We didn't hit our next bit of water until mile 4.  The last one was at mile 5.5.  Especially with the heat, this was not a good plan.  I was pretty nauseous during the run and a little water would have been nice.  Second, my brother-in-law was watching in the stands and noticed that for the elite runners, they were running into the slow 5k runners.  I thought this would be more of an issue, but turns out it really wasn't for me at all.  Finally, I did hear of some corral issues behind us.  A bit of mushing people together just to get everyone off.  All in all, not too bad for an inaugural race.  You have to go into these expecting some hiccups.

Hanging out at the finish line

I waited for my hubby at the tents, then we met up with my bro-in-law to watch my sis-in-law finish.  It was getting toasty at that point.  We took a few pictures then headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the parks.  I felt really good and was not at all concerned about the half the next day.  Knowing that I just PR-ed the half a month ago, I decided to keep this one fun and run with my hubby.  

Here are my stats:  (instant PR...it was my first 10k!)
Net Time: 58:29
Division: 67 out of 1013
Gender: 291 out of 5133
Overall: 785 out of 7828

Tuesday Reviews-day: Alfresco Lounge

In an effort to get you ready for everything you might need for the upcoming 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, we have adopted a Disneyland theme for our first "Tuesday Reviews-day" posts.  Happy running, and happy vacation planning!

First up for food, our review of the Alfresco Lounge in Disney California Adventure.  We've stopped by this quick service dining/drinking lounge a few times while visiting the parks.  The Alfresco Lounge is attached to the Wine Country Trattoria restaurant (located downstairs from the lounge) and they share a kitchen.  Well, where is this place?  When looking at the complex, you will see stairs leading up to a balcony overlooking Cars Land.

There are casual open-seating options: low "regular" tables, high-top tables, and couches/loungers surrounding fire-pits.  You cannot make reservations, however the wait usually isn't very long, if you even have to wait at all.  They have a fun drink menu, including many California wines.  The food menu is limited to appetizers and small bites, but they really are delicious.  This is the perfect stop if you've had a large, later lunch, but don't want to go the "fast food" route.  It's the ideal "quick service feel but table service" venue.  

We love to celebrate with a glass of wine or champagne, and would highly recommend the Alfresco Lounge for that!  Cheers!

Cheers!  We did it!

So You Want To Run Disney--Part 7: Get Packing!

We've been on a long journey, and we are almost to race day.  If you are like most Disney runners, your race is accompanied by some sort of travel, even if only for an overnight or short weekend.  Likely, this trip includes some time in the Disney parks as well.  What does that mean for your suitcase?  Well, it means lots of planning to be sure you attend to all of your needs: running AND vacationing.  Here's a list to get you started (feel free to print, share, re-post, pin, etc).   

My one golden rule for races: pack everything you will need for the race in your carry-on! From underwear to shoes to clothing to costumes.  You can pretty much buy anything else you forget, but you don't want to be stuck running a marathon in brand new expo purchases!


Blogger note: Yes, I'm still working on getting this in a nice format for you to be able to edit and print.  I promise to have it done in plenty of time for the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend!

Running Gear (Remember to multiply this for challenge weekends.  For example, for the Dopey Challenge, I had 4 of everything but shoes--but I even alternated between two pairs)

I also love flip flops for right after the race!

Sports Bra
Underwear
Socks
Pants/Shorts
Shirt
Running Shoes
Costume
Throwaway Clothes (for the start)

Things to Keep You Healthy
Vitamins & medications
Foam roller or stick
Golf ball/tennis ball for feet (this is great even if for non-race Disney trips to ease feet from walking around the parks)
KT Tape (or other bracing/stability items)
Ibuprofen

Hey...you never know!

Muscle rub (I use Muscle Max roll-on, but I know a lot like BioFreeze)
Compression socks/sleeves

Food (Differs based on how far you need to travel)
Water/water bottles (to refill)
Breakfast items for race day (for me, PB&J on a bagel and a banana)
Healthy snacks for the park (think bars, trail mix, dry cereal, fruit)
Powerade or other replacement drinks
Gels/Blocks/Beans--whatever you use during the run
Post-race fuel, especially for challenges (I use chocolate milk)

Technology
Camera and charger
Garmin or other race watch and charger
I-Pod/music device and charger
Gym Boss or other interval timer and charger/extra batteries
Video Camera and charger
Phone and charger
Laptop/tablet and charger

Park Clothes
Shorts/pants
T-Shirts/Tanks
Underwear/socks/bras
Sneakers (I like to have a different pair than those I run in to change the feel on my feet)
Flip flops/sandals
Bathing suit (one or two)
Pajamas (one or two)

Accessories
Hair ties/clips/hats

Have to recover quickly & hit the parks!

Mouse ears or other Disney-themed items
Pins/lanyard
Backpack/bag for the parks
Jacket
Poncho/umbrella
Sunglasses
Watch
Magic Bands (Walt Disney World) 

Toiletries
Shampoo/Conditioner
Face Wash
Body Wash
Toothbrush/Toothpaste/Floss
Razors/Shaving Cream
Body/Face Lotion
Sunscreen
Makeup
Hair brush
Curling Iron/Straighter
Hair gel/Hair Spray
Scissors
First Aid Kit
Q-Tips/Cotton Balls
Powder
Contact Lens Solution/Case
Glasses
Extra Contact Lenses
Nail Clippers/Nail File
Hand Sanitizer
Wet Wipes

Travel Items (Disney makes some great mobile tools, or you can create your own)
Confirmation numbers and/or tickets
Itineraries
Magazines, books, other "keep busy" items for travel
Games, music, movies downloaded to keep you entertained
Coupons or vouchers (for example, I always get my free art card from Lasting Commemoratives)

Okay, okay, I know I must have forgotten something! What's on your list?