Cleanse Fail.

So about that juice cleanse…

I lasted approximately 6 hours.

And 3 Green Juices.

Then I broke. And had a latte and a Lara Bar.

NOT STRONG ENOUGH.

I was dying without caffeine/solid food!

For some reason my will-power just wasn’t there. Not for any reason, I just simply wasn’t feeling it. So I just decided to “modify” the cleanse a bit… and drink 2 Green Juices a day, and replace 1 meal with the Cashew Milk drink.

Then since I figured I was on the straight and narrow, this happened.

 

No your eyes aren’t deceiving you – that is PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE, CHOCOLATE CREME BRULEE and TIRAMISU. Also known as heaven.

Sorry I’m not sorry.

A GIANT Sweep + Thrive – Day 1

Oh hi, happy Monday! I was just putting my broom away.

Why?

Oh just because the GIANTS SWEPT THE TIGERS TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES IN 4 GAMES.

Posey running to the pitcher’s mound after the final out is my all-time favorite moment of the World Series win in 2010 and 2012. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Boyfriend and I watched the game at Nick’s Crispy Tacos in Russian Hill with some friends, and a few hundred other Giants fans. Once the final strike was called… well Polk Street pretty much exploded in celebration.

Also the Giants have been undefeated since the boot came on to my stress fractured heel. Coincidence? I don’t think so. You’re welcome world.

After being right in the thick of the revelry in 2010, the boot and I opted to drive home and listen to the madness from the safe distance of the apartment. We had a pretty good view of it all from where the car was parked off of Polk Street (thank you handicap parking placard). Boyfriend stayed out a bit longer to celebrate with the guys and take it all in, but needless to say I was more than happy to not come home covered in beer and champagne. If I have to wear this boot a few more weeks I’d rather it didn’t smell like stale alcohol.

The World Series win couldn’t have come at a better time, since today Jaime and I started a 2-Day Thrive Juice Cleanse!

Jaime discovered Thrive, which operates out of Nectar Wine Bar in the Marina during the day and I’ve been in no less than 10 times to pick up green juices. She did their cleanse, raved about it, and I immediately wanted in.

I picked up my juices yesterday (Megan and Stephanie, the owners are SO NICE), and couldn’t wait to get started. I bought a couple extra Green Dreams and Tropical Greens so that I could get my system used to the juices yesterday, but officially started today.

Last week was full of eating out, lots of wine and margaritas, sweet potato fries, and over indulging for the World Series. Add to it less than usual exercise (stuck on crutches will do that to a person), sitting on the couch for 10+ hours a day, and I was feeling a bit…. blah.

Cleansing seemed like the perfect solution. Detox, flush out toxins, and get back on track.

And really, how could overloading my body with Vegetable Juice for 48 hours not help my foot heal? It’s practically science.

I’m doing the Deep Dive Cleanse for 2 (and possibly 3) days. It includes:

• 4 Green Dreams
• 1 Lively Lemonade (my favorite!)
• 1 Cozy Cashew Milk (which I plan to dump in a blender with a few ice cubes and some nut meg and make into a milkshake tonight)
• 1 Aloe Vera Capsule (benefits of Aloe Vera capsules can be found here)

 

I also subbed out one of my Green Dreams for a Tropical Green (in which they swap the apple for pineapple for a little change of pace.) Really getting wild over here, I know.

This is my second time cleansing so I know what to expect (being cold, feeling weak, etc), and what not to do this time around (attempt to run or do pilates which I actually can’t do with a stress fractured heel… so that’s a win for the broken foot) so I feel more prepared for what’s to come over the next 2 days.

Workout wise, I plan to rest today (worked out Friday/Saturday/Sunday this past weekend) and then swim on Tuesday and bike on Wednesday. Nothing crazy strenuous, but enough to get some type of sweating into my day. (Stress fracture exercise update to come this week.)

With that, it’s time for Green Dream #3. Woo hoo lunchtime!

Finally.

After two weeks of hobbling around on crutches, staying stationary on the couch or on the bike, yesterday I got to MOVE.

And I mean really move.

I re-joined my gym (left when I took my job in Silicon Valley – didn’t seem to make sense since they have gym facilities there) for one very large reason – the pool.

After dropping $70 on Amazon the other day, my swim gear finally arrived on Friday evening. And my career to becoming a professional swimming began yesterday.

You don’t have to tell me, I already know that cap makes me look pretty badass.

Boyfriend and I made our way to the gym, I crutched to the pool area, stuck a toe in the water, thought eff it, and dove right in.

I started with a 200 yard warm-up and for the first time in 2 weeks I felt free. I finally had that feeling I get when I’m on a really amazing run and I feel like I’m on top of the world.

I swam competitively for ~10 years so jumping back in the pool felt completely natural. It reminded me of all those summer mornings spent on the pool deck at practice, hitting intervals, and going through all the kicking, pulling and sprint sets.

It. Was. Awesome.

My workout looked like this:

• 200 yard warm-up freestyle
• 8 x 100 yard freestyle
• 50 fly (just to see if I still had it – and while it’s not as pretty as it once was… I still got it!)
• 200 yard cool-down freestyle

Total yards: 1250

I left feeling friggin’ amazing. The best I’ve felt in weeks. Endorphins I’ve missed you so! (I’m sorry cyclists, but biking does nothing for endorphins when you’re used to a runner’s high.)

I’ve certainly had my share of ups and downs while dealing with this injury. It frustrates me to no end that this recovery is (basically) completely out of my control. I can stay off it, rehab it, eat healthy, and get enough sleep, but for the most part it will heal when it wants to heal.

And for a control-freak like myself this is simply unacceptable. I’m used to being independent and self-sufficient. I like to make other people’s lives easier, not burden them with extra responsibilities and tasks. When I’m faced with a problem, I find a solution. I then apply that solution to make the problem go away.

With a broken heel that just doesn’t happen, and it drives me absolutely crazy. I hate feeling like the simplest of tasks – like taking the trash out this morning (after having several friends over for snacks, drinks and the Giants game last night made for quite a bit of it) is impossible to do on crutches and I constantly have to ask for assistance. I’ve never been so reliant on other people to do things for me, and it’s something that is definitely taking some getting used to.

Boyfriend has been absolutely amazing – driving me to and from places, helping me in every single way possible and being so understanding and supportive and there for me 24/7. I literally can’t thank him enough, but I’ll certainly try.

I’m taking it a day (and a swim) at a time, but I’m hopeful I can ditch these darn crutches soon. They’re seriously cramping my style. (Literally and figuratively.)

Also friggin’ amazing? My alma mater Arizona UPSET USC to take the win, and the Giants beat the Tigers to go up 3-0 in the WORLD SERIES.

Vogelsong for the win.

With that, I’m off to the pool again… 1400 yards is the goal for today! (For Game 4 of the WS!)

Happy Sunday! (And GO GIANTS!)

The 5 Stages of Running Injury Grief

As I type this post, I’m watching Game 2 of the World Series. I’m also watching my eyes get assaulted by a one MR. WILL SCHUSTER (from Glee) singing the National Anthem. 2010 brought us Lady Antebellum. 2012 brings us Mr. Schu. Somehow this doesn’t seem fair. To anyone involved.

Boyfriend and I were lucky enough to go to Game 1 last night – and by lucky I mean we shelled out an obscene amount of money for Bleacher tickets to be there while Pablo Sandoval made history, and Justin Verlander got owned by our entire line-up. IT. WAS. AMAZING.

Not amazing? Crutching. I have BRUISES on my ribs from those contraptions. I took it easy, stayed seated, and didn’t leave my seat once. A Cha Cha Bowl (my first!) was also thoroughly enjoyed – Tyler Florence knows his stuff – those things are amazing.

It was singlehandedly the best game I’ve ever been to (Game 2 of the 2010 World Series comes in at a close second for obvious reasons – Cain domination over the Texas Rangers) and I cannot WAIT for the series to continue.

Giants aside, let’s move on to how Kristine has become the clumsiest, most-accident prone person on the planet.

Never mind that I trained for and completed a full marathon with NOT A SINGLE INJURY, but in the last week the following has happened:

• Stress fracture in the heel – requiring crutches/boot
• Slamming my hand in the car door trying to get said crutches/boot in safely
• Dropping the base of our VITAMIX BLENDER (approximately 10 lbs – no joke) and in an effort to shield my precious broken heel, breaking it’s fall with my thigh. Resulting in a massive bruise
• Said crutches bruising my ribcage

Yeah, this blender is HUGE.

My life is in shambles and I’m literally, a battered mess.

(Did I mention I’m not dramatic at all either?) 😉

But really, stress-fracture wise, I think I went through the 5 Stages of Running Injury Grief (I just made these up so just go with it…)

1. Denial

• As I ran the Nike Half (yes I ran all 13.1 miles on a now-stress fractured heel), I thought it was at most, a twisted ankle. I kid you not. I never in a million years thought a bone in my foot was fractured with tiny cracks. Never. I would never have run a half-marathon on a foot that could be broken. I told myself it was probably a minor sprain, maybe from wearing flip-flops on weekends or heels during the week. I told myself it wasn’t serious and it would stop hurting as soon as I stopped running. Nerves, pre-race jitters, you name it, I convinced myself that was it.

 

2. Anger

• Setting up my iPhone 5 was the catalyst here. I had just come home from a Spin class, was utterly exhausted from having to crutch around the Marina and our apartment, and was getting beyond frustrated trying to set up (and failing miserably) my iPhone 5 while simultaneously hopping/crutching around the apartment trying to get ready for the day. Enter pity party. Enter boyfriend being a complete saint (as usual) and talking some sense into me. “No Kristine your life has not ended because you logged exactly 0 miles the last 10 days. No you can’t die from lack of mileage. Yes I’m sure you will run again at least once in your life.” 😉 (I’m kidding on the exact context, I swear I’m not that much of a headcase.)

 

3. Sadness

• Stemming from the anger, I then got sad. I convinced myself my running days were over, and I would probably never again be able to wear my beautiful Stuart Weitzman heels, much less run in my BRAND NEW Pure Flows. I would never experience NYC, Chicago or the Boston Marathon. I’d never again wake up early, do my pre-race ritual and toe the line at one of my favorite SF half-marathons. So I got depressed. Very depressed. So depressed that I went on Amazon, bought a Speedo bathing suit, swim cap and goggles to start my new career as an Olympic Swimmer. (That did actually happen and it will arrive tomorrow thank you very much 2-day Amazon Prime shipping.)

 

4. Bargaining

• This happened on Monday. Well if I don’t run for 2 weeks then I’ll probably still be able to do the Us Half. Then, Okay maybe not the beginning of November, but definitely a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. Followed by If I swim every day I won’t lose any fitness or hurt my foot and I can easily run a half in December. And then Worst comes to worse the Superbowl Half I’m signed up for in early February will absolutely happen.

 

5. Acceptance

• The end result? I have no idea when my next race will be. I’ve accepted it – it’s reality and it’s happening. I won’t lie – that’s a pretty crappy feeling. I’m taking it day by day, I’m staying positive (when I’m not swearing in my car from slamming my hand in the door or yelling obscenities in my apartment after dropping a Vitamix on my thigh). I’m going to start swimming tomorrow (alternating it with biking and some sets of abs whenever I can) and just pray to the running/foot gods that I’m cleared to run by the New Year. I have a follow up with a specialist next Friday so FINGERS CROSSED EVERYONE. (Please just cross them.)

With that, GO GIANTS! and have a lovely Thursday evening!

A GIANT Win

First things first –

 

 

 

The Giants are going to the WORLD SERIES! Sorry Cards, I bet that was a rough flight back to St Louis. The boot/crutches and I are currently 2-for-2 with Giants blowout wins.

I guess I’ll keep it on for the World Series. I owe it to the team.

But moving on.

I worked from home yesterday and today in an effort to keep my foot elevated, iced, and overall RICE-d. I’m really, really hoping it’s working. Especially because this was announced this morning:

SF finally got a Rock n Roll Half-Marathon! I’m already signed up for a couple of halves in early 2013 and I’m banking on being able to run those… and this. I’ll even “jog”. (I can learn what that is…)

I’m finding that just staying completely off it is the key – it doesn’t hurt that way, the swelling goes down, and I’m less apt to run into a wall, or slam my hand in the car door (that actually happened yesterday) trying to maneuver with crutches.

My mom being the SAINT that she is, drove to SF this afternoon with bags full of Trader Joes groceries, fresh flowers, homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup, and this little gem:

THE GLUTEN FREE TABLE! I can’t wait to make everything in this cookbook.

And yes, I mean everything. 

It’s by Emeril Lagasse’s daughters who both have Celiac disease and everything looks delicious. Next cooking project? found.

This homemade chicken tortilla soup courtesy of my mom did not disappoint.

She also helped me out with a little cleaning and laundry and I can’t thank her enough. Seriously mom you are the BEST.

While it became clear to me yesterday that Pilates classes probably aren’t going to happen (between moving, putting weight on the foot and not wanting gigantic triceps from both Pilates and the crutches – it’s clear I should just wait until my foot is functioning again), and spin classes are pretty much the exact same as riding a stationary bike since I can’t really stand-up, jump, etc… I’ve decided to focus on swimming and biking.

I decided to hit the gym for some biking this afternoon – I covered about 11.5 miles while I read the latest Fitness/Women’s Health (sidebar – I ‘m not a fan of either of these magazines and yet they keep coming) then did a few sets of abs (on my back, no weight bearing don’t worry Mom). I set it to the Hill Program, Level 7, and aside from the fact that my bottom was completely numb at the end of it – I felt pretty strong. Ab wise – lets just say I’m glad I finished both sets of the 3 exercises.

My next endeavor – finding a pool to swim in.

Also buying more of these juices. Jaime introduced me to Thrive juices – they operate out of Nectar Wine Bar in the Marina during the day, and sell juices and cleanses online. I tried the Green Dream today and it was amaaaazing. (And I swear, at one point, actually green.)

I could be up for another 3-day cleanse.

With that it’s time for dinner… and more RICE-ing my foot. C’mon bone… HEAL!