Out with the old....

And in with the new...

Orthotics:

AND

Running Shoes:

Anddddd.....A neuroma in my left foot that I think I got two days after signing up for the Pittsburgh Marathon.  My running friends said that neuromas are just something I'll have to live with and that I should run through the pain, while the two physical therapists that I work for say to stop running until it stops hurting when I walk.  Even though I miss running terribly and want to listen to my running buddies...I'm thinking I should be smart and listen to the PTs this time around. 

What exactly is a neuroma?, you ask:

Source

According to WebMD:

Morton's neuroma is thickening of the tissue around the nerve between the bases of the toes (usually between the third and fourth toes). Foot pain, odd sensations, or numbness over the ball of the foot are the usual symptoms.  It is more common in women and can be a result of wearing high heels or tight shoes. (source)

Although I do wear high heels every so often (I haven't worn anything but my Uggs and my running shoes since the pain started because they were the only shoes that had enough space to fit my orthotics), I think the neuroma that I have was a result of these:

Ew...

Yes...those are five year old othotics (see the hole in the left one...that's the spot where my foot pain started...)

So because of this, I'm not certain if the Pittsburgh Marathon is happening or not.  I'll already be a few weeks behind on my training plan, plus I haven't ran in several weeks, so it probably wouldn't be smart for me to train for it since I probably wouldn't be able to run well.  We shall see how things go though!  

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How well do you deal with injuries?  Do you usually not worry or does it give you major depression symptoms when you think of the races you could be running?

What is your favorite thing to do when it comes to cross training?

100,000 Pages...

...is what I've felt like I've read for my two winter classes this past week.  Granted, the material is interesting, and I like to read, but I just can't sit for hours at a time.



Source

That is kind of funny...



I was able to take a few breaks yesterday.  I did 60 minutes of cross training on the elliptical. I wanted to do more, but the bottom of my left foot was hurting...so I figured I should be smart and stop.  I've been having some shin and knee pain too, so I didn't want to start running long until both felt better. 


I also went out to dinner with my parents and my cousin's family.  Mom and I split a bottle of wine and I also helped Andrew eat some of his steak in addition to my pasta dish (ain't I a wonderful wife!). 


In other news...I officially signed up for the Pittsburgh Marathon so I will be running my first marathon in May....eeeeeekkkkkkkkk.  I'm scared of the longer distance and getting injured, but hopefully I can play it smart and train well.  I'm still trying to figure out what 1/2 marathon I should do to enhance my training...and will probably do one sometime in March. 

Source

Well...it's back to studying for me. Hope you're all having a great Sunday!

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Do you usually 'help' your significant other eat their food when you're out to eat (i.e. finish everything on your plate and then start eating what's on their plate because it looks good, you're still hungry, etc.)?

Sign up for any good races this weekend?

How many marathons have you run?  If you've only run 1/2's, do you think you would ever run a full?

New Years Resolutions

While most of us probably won't keep the new years resolutions we make for 2013 (the statistics are quite sad...which you can read about in this article along with some good resolution ideas that don't involve losing weight, the top resolution last year), I thought that I would write down what my resolutions are for 2013.  They say that you're more luckily to meet your goals if you write them down.  Ok...I don't know who 'they' are, but I thought it would be a good idea, so here we go:

1. Worry less
This is huge for me.  Worrying is such a waste of time and energy...two things that will be lacking in the next few months with school and work. 

Gotta love Pinterest for good quotes :)

Doesn't everyone do this to stay calm?! (picture also from Pinterest)

 

2. When I do stress or worry, find a healthy way to deal with it.
How about training for a 1/2 marathon, 12 person relay and full marathon, all within three months of each other.  Healthy, or crazy...or maybe a little of both?

(Also from Pinterest)

3. Continue to set goals. 

My Dad is a prime example of someone who continually sets goals.  Whether it's to write a book, gain (yet another) certification, or even to create a new recipe, he's always staying busy.  Dad is also the one who signed me up for my first half marathon.  We ran together and I 'beat' him by one second.  He blames the fact that he had to hold the keys to the car...and that extra weight apparently equals an extra second ;)  He still currently holds the family 1/2 marathon time record....by three seconds.

Dad and I at my wedding...we danced to a polka...cause we're cool like that :)

4. Get more sleep.
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...sorry...I could even write that with a straight face.  If I get 6-7 hours a night I'll be thrilled.  Gotta love the student/working life :)

Have a Happy New Year everyone!!

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What are your new years resolutions? 

Running any good races in 2013?

Catching Up

This semester was crazy with a capital C...which is not the grade I got in my two classes (I may have gotten A's...yay!).  Between the new work schedule where I work 10 1/2 days four days a week, taking classes four nights a week from 7:30pm-10:30pm (and yes...they would keep us there that late...) and the addition of a second job, I was totally burned out once break came along and may or may not have watched an entire season of Bones in three days after finals.  Pathetic...or an achievement.....you decide ;)  

What I did accomplish during the semester besides good grades was baking cupcakes for my best friend's sister's wedding (confusing?!).  After over 12 hours of baking with my Mom's help, I would call it a success, but I had no desire to eat/look/touch a cupcake for weeks after the wedding. 

The cupcake table :)

I also ran two half marathons, Baltimore and Hershey, one with a PR of 1:40:51 (Baltimore)!! 

Source

My sister-in-law also ran Hershey, completing her first half marathon (I'm so proud!).   

Our race bibs that morning

Other than that my life consisted of work, school, working out, work, eating Chick-fil-a, school, running, and work.  The winter semester starts next week and my crazy self decided to take two classes over a four week semester.  Luckily they are Developmental Psych and Abnormal Psych...so I hope to learn to develop not to be abnormal (maybe?...haha). 



In other news, I'm thinking about running my first marathon (hopefully without injuring myself...which happened with my other marathon that I wanted to run.) 


I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

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What were some of your achievements in the last few months? 

Any advice for a new marathon runner?  What (if any) training plan did you use?

My summer 'vacation'

Despite this summer being extremely busy...some fun things also took place (including a few races!):

- Races: I ran the Frederick 1/2 Marathon in May and the Baltimore 10 miler in June.  One of my co-workers was injured and couldn't run the Bmore 10 miler, so I took her bib. 



After the Frederick 1/2...I missed a PR by 50ish seconds...but I was still happy about my time!

- Family: My sister, Sara, (who has been in Korea for the past year) came home for a few weeks, so I took some time off of work to hang out with her and the rest of the fam.

Sara and I at Kennywood

Mom, Sara and I at the Lady Antebellum concert (an awesome group!)

The fam in Pittsburgh at the top of the incline (Go Steelers!)

- BRAND NEW CAR:  Meet Avy, our 2012 Dodge Avenger (and our first new car for both Andrew and I).  It's my baby :)

Love that car :)

A (small) vacation:  Since there was only a short time between my class ending and Andrew starting school, we decided to do a small weekend getaway to a bed and breakfast in Cape Charles, VA.  We relaxed, went on a kayak wine tasting (you kayak to the vineyard...) and ate a lot of good food.

The view..

Yummy wine at the vineyard

After a fancy dinner out where we had the.best.steak.ever!

- Anatomy and Physiology: Ok...so maybe this wasn't exactly 'fun', but I was able to get this extremely difficult class over with in eight weeks (instead of the normal 3-4 month semester).  It was really intense and between class, lab and studying I put in around 30 hours a week (on top of my full time job).  But I think I'll use pretty much everything I learned...which is always good :)

The fall semester starts in two weeks, and I also start a new work schedule where I get every Friday off (yay) but have to work 10 1/2 days (boo).  

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What have you been up to this summer?  Anything fun and exciting?

Spring Break = Time to Blog!

Sorry I've been M.I.A these past couple of months.  I somehow didn't realize that full-time job + two tough classes = zero free time/social life.  But spring break has finally arrived and I'm able to blog a little bit since I only have a three day work week (Monday-Wednesday) plus no school.  Here are some things I plan to accomplish with all of this free time:


1.  Sleep more.  Getting only 5-6 hours of sleep a night = one tired, grumpy, hard to live with Kate.  I've already been to bed before 9:00 once and feel like I could run a marathon today!


2.  Organize.  Do you see this desk?! I'm usually the rediculously organized, so this just bothers me. 

Not my desk...but it's almost as messy (source)

3.  Hang out with this girl (it's been way too long!):

4.  Homework.  It never ends.


5.  Bake.  Enough Said.

6.  Hang out with Andrew.  Because seeing him for less than two hours a day does not count!

Cute, right?!

7.  Blog more than once every three months.  I'm not making any promises...but it's worth a try. 


I hope you all have a great week and enjoy this amazing weather.  I see a 10 mile run in my future, but for now it will just be the arc trainer and the Insanity Abs workout :)  Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Long time, no talk (my b!)

Howdy Happy Blog readers (if I have any left!). I apologize for my long absence...but I have a (few) reasons:

1. The holidays:

Around Christmas and New Years is absolutely crazy in the Nagel household.  We have multiple family dinners on my side, then had to drive to PA to see his side of the family.  I envy the time management of the other bloggers who could actually blog around the holidays!

2. I'm going back to school!!!!!!!

Don't you love my backpack?! Andrew got it for me for Christmas :)

I'm taking night classes at our local community college.  Pysch 101 in the winter, then Bio 101 and Stats in the Spring.  It will be hard to juggle everything, but I'm really looking forward to it (does that make me a nerd?!).  But speaking of school...I need to get to the reading/homework (ggrrr). 

I hope everyone has a good weekend! My hope is to update the blog once a week (either Saturday or Sunday)...so look out for that :)