Ballet Flats: So Pretty, So Bad for Your Feet

Poop.

I already knew that I wasn't supposed to be walking around in ballet flats. But I keep a pair at my desk at work anyway in case my outfit that day does not go with heels. The last time I wore them, my plantar fascia hurt. Like I had to take time off from running, hurt.

Two weeks ago (when I took a  kickboxing class) I got a terrible charley horse in my sleep and my calf was SORE. So I thought I'd give my calves a break and wear the flats for a day. How bad could it be? Well lets just say that while I was recounting this to my podiatrist he made the "Ooh, you shouldn't have done that" face. 

Safe to say I will be spending the rest of this fall not running. Bye-bye, 5K PR. For now.

When I tell my coworkers (who are well-versed in foot injuries from running) about having plantar fasciitis I get the same "That's awful!" reaction. But to tell the truth, I'm a little relieved. I honestly thought I may have had a fracture. But x-rays showed otherwise, so PHEW. I just need lots of rest, ice, stretching, and staying away from damned flats.

I'm consoling myself by taking cabs (doctor-recommended) instead of trekking all over Manhattan when I have errands and buying a new pair of heels (on sale, at like 80% off baby!).

Talk to pro-athletes and they'll most likely tell you to "Listen to your body" as a key piece of advice. My body's definitely yelling at me. I'm listening now!

I Punch Like a Girl

Today I finally got myself to take a kickboxing class at the gym. I figure it would act as a stepping stone towards an actual boxing class. But kickboxing is definitely not a substitute for a boxing. Proof? The lone male who wanted to take the class this morning because he missed the regular boxing class during the week walked out during the warmup. (What, do they not play Britney Spears while sparring? They should.)

While this class was more cardio-focused, that didn't mean that it was easy. The instructor yelled out a combination of moves as if we were all supposed to know what we were doing. I have a hard time remembering my left from my right. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who spent a good chunk of the class looking at other people to figure out what to do with myself. But it was a GREAT workout. I spent the entire hour moving and sweating and now my lower body is SORE. More sore than after going for a long run.

I should probably take on the self-defense class before taking a boxing class. And inject more testosterone in my system. Kidding about the 2nd part.

Week Without Coffee - DONE!

I don't know why I chose to give up coffee as part of my to-do list. Yes, I like a challenge, and yes, a part of me likes to inflict pain on myself, but I also like to think that I wanted to test myself in case I ever got addicted to something and needed rehab. I know now that rehab and withdrawal from serious substances must be AWFUL. (I'm rooting for you Lindsay Lohan!)

I started my Week Without Coffee on a Saturday. I figured with two days of the weekend under my belt, I'd be more capable of facing the work week sans cafe. Did it really make a difference? Meh.

Because I knew I would forget about this whole blogging on a regular basis thing, I kind of live-blogged (does Google Buzz count as blogging? Sure.) the entire week.

Monday, Day 3 of Week Without Coffee. I want to cry. I want chocolate. (Honestly, I don't think Monday was the hardest day. I was just half asleep most of the time.)
Day 4 of Week Without Coffee. 1 cup of black tea at 7:30, 1 withdrawal headache at 10. Nice.

Day 5. Woke up with a headache, first thought: iced coffee, mmmm. I'm not caving! (I lay in bed ready to give up on this, I swear. But as much as I love coffee, I am also hard-headed. I did not cave.)

Day 6. At the elevator on my way to my desk, I want to cry. Upon opening my inbox, I want to cry. Cofffeeeeeeeee. (Did I mention I wanted to cry? But at the end of that day, I surprisingly got a lot done. Random burst of productivity or was I actually getting by without my preferred caffeine dose?)

Day 7. I'm pretty sure I'm craving comfort food as a substitute for coffee. I can't stand tea right now. (I remember having a cup of black tea - my 2nd - on my desk and wanting to fling it against the wall. But I didn't. I also didn't finish it. I also skipped a new workout I really wanted to try because I was exhausted, hungry and had no patience for hoity-toity men who do yoga without their shirts on. I want to workout, not have a fashion show, damnit. Be flamboyant in your own space. I considered getting an iced coffee because technically the last time I had coffee was the Friday morning the week before, but I didn't. Instead I had some Chipotle. No regrets.)

You'd think after all this the first thing I'd do on Saturday morning was have a cup of coffee. But nope. I had a banana and black tea and went for a morning run. AND THEN, I had coffee with my pancakes. Aaand then I passed out on my couch having barely finished my cup. Ah, gotta love having a high caffeine tolerance. 

What did I get out of all this? I learned that if I ever need to go to rehab, I would cry. But I might also make it. And that if I didn't have coffee, I'd compensate with chocolate, cake and other junk food. I'll stick to coffee.

30-Minute 5k - Almost There!

I wasn't supposed to run this 5K. I signed up several months ago expecting the pain in my left ankle to be gone by June and here we are in June and it still isn't fully healed. I even got to the race course late (thanks to MTA's weekend service and my need to pee) and decided to skip walking the 5K altogether and do the 3K walk later that day.

But turns out the 5K race just started when I got there and the lady at the booth said I could walk the entire thing.

Maybe it's the New Yorker in me, maybe I'm just impatient, but when I got to that race course the thought of walking while everyone else was running became ridiculous. 3 miles is a long freaking walk.

So I started running. I think I ran for 10 minutes before I started feeling some pain so I decided to walk the rest. I walked to the finish line where the clock read 30 minutes and something seconds.

I'm still not sure how that's possible, but hey, that's a pretty damn good time for someone who hasn't run since January.

I am icing leg as I'm typing this and hoping everything's OK tomorrow. If it is, then I'll be signing up for another 5K in July or August and maybe actually show up on time.

Oh, and if you have the funds, please donate to the YAI Network who hosted this race. They're a non-profit who hold several programs for people with disabilities and their families. Picking this race wasn't a random decision for me -- it's for an organization that truly deserves support for all the great things they do.

Doot doo doot...

Keeping up with this is proving harder than I thought. I should keep a printed copy of this list so I can be reminded of what I set out to do and actually do it.

This weekend I finally got my gait analyzed at Jack Rabbit Sports. I started running a year ago and instead of getting a gait analysis, I assumed I needed motion control shoes for my foot type. All the running magazines said so. Turns out, I don't even need any kind of motion control/stability shoe. I am a neutral runner! (I thought so, I didn't feeel like I was overpronating.)

Say hello to my new babies...

 I haven't run in them yet; I've learned my lesson. Apparently one can't just go running 1-2 miles like it's super easy after a long period of being immobile. (But those runners make it look so easyyyy!)  Fingers crossed that wearing the right shoes will fix my tendonitis pain and I can run again soon!

So if you're thinking about starting a running regimen, follow these 2 pieces of advice: Get your gait analyzed -- wearing the wrong shoes will hurt you. Start SLOWLY -- running too much too soon will hurt you.

#22: Donate Blood - Check!

I've been wanting to donate blood since high school. Why did it take this long for me to do it? It's not a fear of needles or blood -- I just never weighed enough.

I remember doing nothing but eat one weekend in high school in a desperate attempt to gain weight. I gained 2 pounds in 2 days, but lost those 2 pounds the following week. The adult, health-aware me now is disgusted.

So now, thanks to a desk job that keeps my butt glued to my seat 8 hours a day and a couple of hectic weeks that have sucked away most of my gym time, gaining weight isn't as hard as it used to be. (If I knew this when I was 16 I wouldn't have complained so much.)

Perfect timing for crossing off goal #22!

The process itself didn't hurt (I have no problem taking needles or shots - growing up with nurses in your family does that to you). But the puncture site gets sore after. And holy crap does it take away a lot of your energy. But I saved a life! The sticker says so.

Thank goodness for the free Oreos after. I would have smiled, but clearly I had cookies in my mouth. Priorities, people.

#17: Spa Day - Ahhh...Ow!

Why was this on my list? Because it's my list and I figured the only way I would get myself some quality pampering time was if I put it on an actual to-do list.

So Spa Week (it ends today, but some spas extend it until the end of the month - call now if you're interested!) was the perfect opportunity to book a facial and massage at La Peau Day Spa.

The first time I got a professional massage was while trying out a new gym/spa for work (yeah, I know, my life is so harsh). You know those pictures of calm, peaceful women in white towels lying on a table? They lie. I was in pain most of the time. That's probably my fault because I have the body of an old lady, but I didn't expect massages to hurt! Today's experience was a little less painful, but still not the serene scene those pictures portray. So that, plus the fact that my body was creaking in a morning Pilates class, reminded me that I should probably do yoga again.

They're squirming under those towels, I know it.

Step 2: facial. I have never had a facial. I'm a big believer in the right drugstore cleansers + healthy lifestyle = good skin. Ok, add good genes in there too. But for the sake of trying new things and self-indulgence, I got one. Everything was fine until the extraction part. You know, where your harmless aesthetician turns serial zit/pore killer. Right now my face is a little red in some spots.

I'll stick to getting pedicures and sitting in the gym steam room.