Mmmm... Meat.

So I ran again this Saturday. I woke up early, filled my fuel belt up with Gatorade, slapped on the sunscreen, donned the hat and sunglasses (camouflage) and went to pick up Danielle. I can't say that I was mentally ready for the run but I sure as hell looked the part. We started off walking to the Park and once we got there we started to run. It was already a bit on the hot side and we could tell it wasn't going to be an easy run. The run was going well, no one bothered us with retarded comments and the one couple we spoke to asked us for directions to the Zoo, which as Danielle pointed out, I gave like a real true Israeli - take a left and a right and go straight until the end. Once we got to the Jerusalem Forest I started feeling a little sluggish. It wasn't the lack of fluids, that was pretty much under control, I was drinking. The hills were killing me when the week before that wasn't the problem. Last week I went for acupuncture in school and they really helped me with my lack of energy and the ability to keep my eyes open... but that was the aftermath of the run, not the run itself. So Danielle said something extremely true, that I need to eat meat and not just tehina for my protein and I realized that she is right. I do fluctuate between eating meat and not eating meat and my energy levels are really screaming for meat right now.

When I got home from the run I showered ate some lunch, no meat in it just yet tried to read, slept for 2 hours and studied. Today I woke up feeling like I had run 15km in the blistering heat, which is indeed what I did, so it wasn't that surprising but still not fun. I did some errands and realized that I was starving so for lunch I bought myself a chicken wrap which was delicious and eaten pretty quickly, I will spare you the details. Instead of studying all afternoon I fell asleep at my desk for an hour. Once I woke up, I did some yoga to get my blood flowing and went back to studying. After work I was starving again so this time I went to the supermarket and bought steak burgers. Meat can still be made in a healthy manner, so I just put 2 patties in the oven and cooked them. I made a really nice sandwich with tehina, tomatoes and red onion on pumpernickle bread for the patties and had a great dinner. I have no idea how long this meat rampage will last but it seems to be helping. Last Sunday night I was asleep by now, so we are on a good track.

I don't think I filled you in on my workouts from last week so here it goes. Monday - pretty much 1/2 hr of sprints, which surprisingly enough, went really well until the end, when I thought I was going to die, but that's the point of sprints. I took Tuesday off since the bike just wasn't working out for me. Wednesday I slept in also and went to school where they did wonders and jump-started my system. I walked home from school and Thursday morning I went to the gym and ran 5k increasing the pace from 9kmh to 11.5kmh with the last kilometer being at 11.5kmh, which impressed me. Friday I did the bike for 1.5 hrs since there was a decent movie on the television. Thats the only way I can stay on the bike for that long, if there is something decent to watch...

That's it. Today I took the day off from exercising, just walked to town and back and did a bit of yoga to wake up.

To my readers out there, you don't have to worry about Saturday runs in the near future, they will be put on hold for the next couple of weeks... When they do happen the time is going to change to either 8am or 6pm. I think 6pm is a much better time, but that means not eating too much for lunch, which can be hard to stand by, we'll see.

The Tel Aviv Marathon is in 3 weeks!! Hopefully if I keep up being a carnivore I will be able to run the 1/2 marathon and not just the 10km.

Crime and Punishment

Saturdays are my day of rest. Saturdays I barely get out of the house. This Saturday morning Danielle and I went for a run. I remember the days that I would sleep until 1130 Saturday mornings, stumble down to lunch, read a bit and go back to sleep until the evening. I was up this Saturday at 8, I don't know why... I had my coffee, ate some breakfast, read a bit and got ready for our run. I met up with Danielle and we started with some stretches. Now it wouldn't be Israel if some old guy didn't comment on what we were doing and how we were doing it all wrong, since he's a masseure, he knows what he's talking about, I shouldn't punch myself... I'm also a masseuse and the Chinese are violent people... (On a side note, last week I was walking with friends and having a conversation about working out when this guy who was walking in the street near us drinking a beer with his wife while pushing their child in the stroller decided to join in on the conversation. Needless to say, everything he said was completely false, even though he is a personal trainer himself, and I held back from correcting him since obviously it would have been a lost cause. It seems that on Saturdays people are more obnoxious than usual when it should be the opposite. Its Shabbas, give it a break.)

Although we live in Jerusalem the holiest city ever, there were lots of people out and about once we got to Gan Sacher. When we started however, we had the street to ourselves pretty much, except for the one woman who stopped us and thinking she needed directions we complied, only to hear her say "you are osim kosher!" (meaning - you are exercising!) Thank you lady, we didn't realize. We continued on our way and I couldn't understand why I couldn't breathe, my legs were working fine, they didn't hurt and they weren't tired. My nose was stuffed! So that took away from the multitasking of running, breathing and talking. I tried, it just wasn't working. (Now I know how you feel Phelpsy Jr.) We explored a new route, for me at least, past the Central Bus Station and through part of Kiryat Moshe which I strategically made sure that we crossed the street as to not get stoned for desicrating the Holy Sabbath. We then came to familiar ground and made our way back home. It was really nice to see all the people in the Park exercising, playing ball, hanging out, kind of what would be your typical Sunday but on Saturday...

We made it home in decent shape, ate lunch and then Danielle went on her way and I decided to hang out on my porch in the sun. After an hour I came inside and tried to read on the couch a bit but fell asleep after 5 minutes. An hour later I woke up and went over to a friend to study and after 20 minutes fell asleep again for another hour. All this sleep did not prevent me from sleeping well at night and Sunday morning I could hardly get out of bed. I didn't go to the gym, instead I did some yoga (which I am in love with - by the way) and went to work. I went to sleep last night at 10. I don't remember the last time I went to bed at 10pm. I could not keep my eyes open. This morning when my alarm went off at 630 I did not want to get up. Since I had to go to work, I pulled myself out of bed and once I got to work I made myself a big cup of coffee. I am still tired as I am writing this and I would love to just close my eyes for a little longer.

Why am I so tired???

Conclusion: God must be getting back at me for not using Saturday as my day of rest. That seems to be the only logical explanation.

I will try this experiment again this coming Saturday. I will let you know how it goes.

Got Inspiration?

"Don't follow your dreams, chase them."

So I threw my back out. That was like over a month ago. I have been taking it easy, trying not to overdo it, stretching, doing yoga, strengthening the area. I want to run, I really do. But the big question is: why do I still hurt?

Pesach came and went and I say good riddance. Enjoying holidays has never really been my forte and Pesach is always the least favorite. I tried to run as much as I could. The weather was pretty great for running, probably the only time of the year that I will be able to say that about the weather. The problem was, every other day was another chag. So I think that I ran, maybe, 2x. I went to the gym, thats for sure, did the elliptical a lot on a high resistance level. As the time went on my hip didn't feel any worse and was slooowly getting better. Now the pain has moved to the outer thigh, which, in my perspective, is much better than being in the inner hip area. Now that I am back to my regular routine, I can get back to writing about running since I'll actually be running, whether I like it or not. The Tel Aviv Half Marathon is in a month, that is my inspiration.

I have started sprinting again, which is always hard but always rewarding. I think that I overdid the whole sprinting last time around and will be leaving it to once a week and not more than that, but I love it so much. Like I said, I have also incorporated some yoga into my daily routines, helping me wakeup in the morning and stretch properly before or after my workouts. (Here is a link to the yoga classes, I have been doing the yoga for runners podcast - its free) I have seen an improvement. I have also gone back to school and I love being the guinea pig when it comes to orthopedic problems. Sometimes I come home smelling like I smoked 10 packs of cigarettes in a hermetically sealed room but after a while the smell wears off and people start sitting next to me again on the bus and I feel better.

Patience is a virtue that I do not have.

Today, weather permitting, will be our return to long runs. Us being me and Danielle. Tel Aviv is in a month and I would really like to run the half marathon. Depending on how today's run goes and how I feel afterwards, I will decide which distance to run. I want to be able to run the Venice Marathon in October. So I have to find some patience. For that I listen to Guns and Roses.

Peace out.

Some technical difficulties...

For some reason the second to last post (before this one) showed up on February 18th instead of the beginning of March, when I indeed wrote it. So some of the information may seemingly be a little bit out of order and not connected to anything, but it is.



I also promised some links to hip exercises and stretches. Most of my information is taken from Runnersworld.com which anyone can go to and search and find some great running tips. If there are other websites you swear by as I swear by this one, let me know.

Hip strengthening exercises. (Just click)



Hope that they help!

I think we need to take a break...

2010 Jerusalem Half Marathon! Woohoo! Let's do it! Are you ready???

I was so pumped and full of energy the day of the race. I had cancelled my registration 2 days before as a precaution so that I couldn't officially run. The day of the race I made sure not to wear the right running shoes nor a sports bra. I was still so pumped. I went to pick up Danielle and I was definitely more pumped than she was, it took her most of the walk to the start of the race to get excited. I made sure that we had everything, or at least that Danielle had everything she needed. I was going to be spending the 2hrs waiting for her to come back studying for my test the next day. The only thing I forgot was sunscreen, it was raining for christ's sake that morning, who would have thought I would get to school looking like a tomatoe! On the way we stopped for coffee, which helped a little to wake Danielle up. We walked part of the race to get to the start, so that helped some more in getting the adrenaline flowing. We got stuck in a downpour but kept on going, getting even more pumped. We got to the stadium where the race was starting and there was a lot going on. Danielle took advantage of the port-a-potties and in the process almost got accosted by some idiot who didn't understand that red meant there was someone inside and that the door was locked for a reason. The funny thing about that was that the same guy took our picture later on with Shneller before the race started, reinforcing my original assessment of his idiocy. I was not the one to ask him to take the picture, that was Shneller.

After Danielle got all the things she needed, I have to say that the schwag was a little on the shvach side, we put on our shirts that I had made the day before. The story behind the shirts is a funny one. Our really good friend, Noa, has been fighting lymphoma for the past 6 months and we are happy to say that she is all better, her hair is growing back, slowly and ever so blonder making her look like a punk (I wasn't going to say the L word) and we were so proud of her making it through this really trying time that we wanted to support her and run the half marathon in her honor. So I took up the idea with Danielle about making the shirts and obviously her answer was "helz yeah!". We just needed the right line for the shirts...The shirt read on the front: "Our friend got cancer and all we did was run a marathon." On the back it said: "Hanley & Koenigson for Buchman" with a running decal beneath: (minus the Hebrew)

The part of the story that can be found amusing is that we didn't tell Noa we were running with the shirts, it was a suprise. Then I got really nervous that she would be mad at us for making the shirts in the first place, its not like we didn't have one for her, but maybe she would be offended by what we chose to write on them... When we were all dressed we got many compliments on our endeavor, people didn't seem to think that it was offensive, or at least they didn't tell us to our faces. We took pictures, obviously, and I will post them as soon as I get them. Then Shneller wanted to get pictures with us, but that made me even more anxious, "she's going to tell Noa before we get a chance to!" so we told her that she had to keep the shirts a secret. So we have everything on file and I was so nervous about letting Noa know that we said we would ask her mom if she thought that we should tell her about the shirts. I don't think it got around to that, since Danielle told Noa that night and Noa just laughed in her face. So, phew. All that pressure and being nervous, for nothing. We will gladly and proudly wear the shirts in each race that we participate in in 2010.

The next race for us will be the Tel Aviv Half Marathon in May. In the meantime, getting to the title of this entry, I think its time for me to cut back on the mileage and let my hip flexor heal. I think I diagnosed what seems to be the problem with my hip. A tight iliopsoas muscle that has caused some sort of tendonitis/bursitis in that area. I do believe that might be the origin of my back problem since the tight muscle in my back is exactly where the psoas muscle originates from. Yes, you can call me a nerd, everyone else does... Anyway, it would be smart to lay off the running until it heals, which will be extremely hard for me, harder than not running on Thursday. I will try, I can't promise I will succeed but I will stop running if it gets worse and just try and ice the area and do lots and lots of stretching and strengthening of the iliopsoas muscle.

Now for some pictures from our trip to Pro:Sport:

Photographer: Noa Buchman

Rolling up my sleeves to start the analysis... Danielle's Feet!

Sporting my fuel belt...

We all came out happy!

You may be right, I may be crazy...

So, no 2010 Jerusalem Half Marathon for me. I made the right decision and pulled out of the race. My back is alot better but not fit for 2.5 hrs of pounding. I will run a half marathon in a month from now, in a race or on my own, it doesn't really matter. I don't have to prove anything to anyone, especially not to myself when it would mean being in danger of causing more harm to my body. I'd rather sit this one out inorder to be able to run another 100 races.



That said, I have some exciting news. This is where you might think that I am slightly insane. Since I was getting a bit depressed about not being able to run the race tomorrow and the fact that I most probably won't be running the NYC Marathon in November, I decided to look for races in which I was guaranteed entrance, outside of Israel. I stumbled on the Venice Marathon, which is in October. I thought, that's cool, I always wanted to go to Italy and this is a perfect opportunity to have a little fun. Then I saw that its the 25th Annual Venice Marathon and it falls out on my 25th birthday! There is no way I'm missing out on that one. So I have paid and received confirmation on my entrance and now I have to start planning. So many questions! What's the weather like then? Where should I sleep? Where the hell is the race? Who am I going to go with? How long will I go for? Granted I have like, 6 months to figure this all out, but I think that my body is just wired wth energy from not having trained hard this passed week that all the thoughts are racing back and forth inside my head. I have been doing the elliptical and bike and trying to swim. I think that I have mentioned that I got more massages in the past week than in all my years in school. So I am feeling much better but I'm not running and nothing tires me more than the hills in this city. So, I have the adrenaline to run 3 marathons tomorrow, but it aint happenin'. My time will come, I just have to be patient, right? I say this as my leg is shaking so much it will probably fall off.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish lots of luck to those who are running the Jerusalem 1/2 Marathon tomorrow. I will be in the bleachers running vicariously through you all and studying for my final on Friday. I will also be armed with snacks for the finish line. If my back is feeling up to it, maybe I'll join the rest of the Reidman students in the massage tent for after the race. Ugh, sweat...

Good Luck!

Peace out.
Next year at the 1st International Jerusalem Marathon!

Houston we have a problem...

Its like, deja vu, all over again.

My first big running race was 2 years ago, March 2008, the Jerusalem Half Marathon. I was running the race to raise money for Sderot victims. At the time I was working in Givat Shaul for Tikva and I would run home from work 2-3 times a week while I was training, thru most of the course. I was also playing flag football for some fun since I wasn't really that busy after 5pm. One day after practice I had to get home pretty quickly so I ran with a messenger bag that I had, on my back. It wasn't the smartest of ideas, I know that now and I am sure that I knew it at the time but there wasn't that much I could do about it. Anyway, the bag kept on swinging and my body kept on compensating for the weight on one side by contracting on the other side and I had a stiff back. I also needed to start practicing squats for school and I decided what better time to do it than that weekend. With no weights on my back, just in a living room, I squatted down, I felt a "pop" in my back and I couldn't really stand up. I was in pain. It wasn't so bad starting off but then I tried to walk. Very awkwardly, I made it to my friend's for lunch. Let's just say the whole day was very painful, standing up, sitting down, walking up and down stairs. I went home, took some painkillers, made an appointment to see the doctor the next day and went to sleep. There is a reason that I have taken up the field of alternative medicine. My experience the next day at the doctor was just a reinforcement. I took a cab, just thinking of walking to the bus gave me a panic attack, to the doctor, sat and waited for him (peeve #1) and after he checked me out, he told me that I tore a muscle in my back and that it would take a long time to heal. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I had a half marathon in a month that I needed to be healthy enough to run and did not need a tear in my back. I was not a happy person and I went to the physical therapist who told me something else entirely. Not that what he told me should have made me happier, I just understood him much better. I had pulled my left posterior sacroiliac joint (yes I'm an anatomy geek) out of place since the muscle was so tight. I didn't tear anything, just dislocated a hip joint. He told me that he could put it back in place and would work on the healing process and that I could run the race in a month. I did end up running the race, not as fast as I had hoped and with lots of walking breaks due to pain and not eating enough throughout the race, lots of rookie mistakes.

I thought that this time would be different. I am older, wiser, more experienced when it comes to fitness and races and preparation. I guess I was wrong and that's not easy to say. What did I do this week, the week before the 2010 Jerusalem Half Marathon? I decided to do some squats with a barbell on my back. Just 20 kilo, nothing my legs couldn't handle. I thought that I was stronger and prepared for such a big step. I haven't touched a barbell to my back in a long time though and I should have known that a week before the race was not the best time to revisit old habits. Yet alas, I did it anyway. Did it feel ok the 1st and 2nd rep? Yes it did. Even the 3rd went well. On the 4th, apparently I went too low and boy, did I feel it. There was no "pop" this time, just a painful stretch in my lower back, the sacral area. I got up, slowly, put the bar back and walked around a bit. It wasn't that bad and I asked one of the massuers to stretch my lower back for me and it helped a bit. As the time went on, it got worse. I went to school the next day and had them work on my lower back in massage class. That didn't really help. I couldn't really sit for long. I was antsy and in pain. Thursday was even worse. I had at least 4 different people massage my lower back in the different techniques they know. In acupuncture class, they used me as a guinea pig to teach us something new in pain management. I went to the clinic that night for another treatment and in every class, I lied down on the side on a mattress with my feet up. Friday I was a bit better, still couldn't sit but I could walk around. I had a massage that afternoon and was pretty much horizontal all shabbat.

I can't stand not being active and lying around. I can walk pretty much pain free and the little jogging I tried didn't hurt at all but I think that I am going to take it easy. Last time I ran because I was running for a cause and made a commitment. This year is dedicated to me and not running would probably be the smart thing to do. I will see what the physical therapist says tomorrow and how I feel on Wednesday. I was going to run this race for a cause, if I end up doing it, you will see pictures. If not, I will just run the distance another time, on my own or in a different race giving me the opportunity to see another city.

Lesson learned? Do not repeat past mistakes, especially not before big races. I hope.

Oh, and a secured entrance to the NYC Marathon is a lot of money... Is it worth it? I haven't decided yet. I will let you know when I do.