nessahead.com

Rick and I went down to Long Beach on the 11th to pick up my running number, timing chip and and attend the TTES pasta party. Training with the American Stroke Association’s Train To End Stroke team was a great experience and has changed my life. The pasta party was full of fun people, good food and was a great source of support for the marathon the next day.

I finished the half marathon in a little over 3 hours (I swear 20 minutes of that was waiting in line at the 2-mile portapotties!). Gene finished the full marathon in a little over 6! I’m so proud of the both of us. But I don’t think my knees will let me do anything like it ever again

FINALLY! I was able to train this weekend’s long-run with no knee pain. A podiatrist recommended over-the-counter orthotics called SuperFeet. Those, combined with a new way to lace my shoes that kept my feet from slipping, seem to have fixed the problem. I was able to run 14 miles this weekend (over half a marathon) with no need to ice afterwards and no pain at all. It was great. I’m ecstatic.

Now I can focus my efforts on fundraising. I have raised $1137 so far and still need $1000 to make my goal. Every contribution, no matter how small, counts! You can support my efforts to raise money for the American Stroke Association by donating at http://lattes.kintera.org/vanessa_mills - Thank you!

I ran 10 miles this past Saturday! (View my route.) There’s an intense hill in there that goes on for a couple miles. That was kind of fun, actually. My left knee started to give out around mile 8 and I ended up having to walk limp the last mile. I finished 20 minutes behind everyone else and the team was ready to send out cars to look for me by the time I made it back. D’oh! However, that knee lasted 2 miles longer than the previous week so maybe it’ll continue to get better.

After the run, I iced the knee for a bit and went to Phil’s sushi birthday lunch. The whole gang was there and it was a lot of fun to see people. Directly afterwards us Burners met up at Cathy’s house for a meeting to organize our finances. I continued to ice the knee and was in pretty good shape for the drive back home.

Sitting in the car for 4 hours was probably not a very good thing to do, however. When I finally made it to Rick’s house that night, my legs and feet were as swollen as if I had sat in an airplane for a trip to the Philippines. The next morning, I got out of bed and almost fell over because my feet had stiffened solid! Stretching helped some but a one-hour full-body massage that evening helped even more. The massage therapist said she’d never felt quadriceps that tight before.

Monday I was back to school and work. This week has been so crazy - everything seemed to go wrong and I had my midterm drawing portfolio due along with two major projects. Right now, I’m so grateful that it’s over and I have a nice, long weekend to relax and NOT drive to LA again.

Also, my auntie (who had emergency surgery for an aneurysm) has been moved out of Critical Care and into the Step Down unit. She’s off the ventilator that they had to put her on when she crashed last week and is on oxygen. Thank goodness. Send some good thoughts/prayers her way if you can.