Saturday, December 4, 2010

Santa Shuffle volunteer - I won! - and an update...

“Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more”
Anthony Robbins

First: This morning was the Santa Shuffle here on Mount Royal and I was fortunate to be one of the few volunteers. We were a small, but enthousiastic group and we were all needed to help things "run" smoothly.
It was quite cold this morning (-2°C/28°F) and windy. But, we were all dressed for the weather and our main problem was preventing the water we had prepared in advance from freezing. I'm not kidding, we had to squeeze the glasses regularly to break up the ice.

Filling the glasses.

Responding to my brothers call of "Give me two beers" - it may not be beer, but it sure was a cold drink!
Yeah...he ran right past me after taking this shot :)

Here's the group after their race -
The one right next to me is my niece O, who will be running the Hypothermic Half with us :)

I loved doing this! Thanks to my brother for the great pics :)

Second: I have been very lucky lately in the Virtual Race department...this week I was one of the lucky winners of The Black Knight Virtual Race!
Thanks Stefano of Run with the Black Knight for this fun race!
Stefano is from Italy, which is very cool...and I am very excited to have won a black long sleeve shirt...YAY! :)

Third: A short piriformis update if you are interested...just to be on the safe side and because the pain, though mild, still comes and goes, I went to see Joseph the magician ("my" PT). The good news is that there is no serious injury, but there is definitely something going on. The strange news is that it all seems to be triggered by something that occured about 5 years ago. I've already mentioned this, but before my asthma (which started in 2003) was under control, I broke three ribs from coughing (left side). The cartillage around the ribs seems to have become a little wonky and it used to be that I could not do abs by bending at the waist without the ribs and cartillage getting tangled and causing major pain. OK...so it seems that when I breath, I only stretch one side of my rib cage, the damaged side (left) stays out and does not go in and out. So, the ab muscles on the left side are weaker than those on the right, and that leads to me not using my glutes, which are somehow tied to the abs. Instead, I am using my piriformis and my hamstring to try and compensate. This means that both the piriformis and hamstring on my left side are very strong, but not made to do the job of the big glute. Interesting how every little thing is connected in the body! So this week, I'm working on breathing exercises where I force my left side to work, and I really feel the stretch when I do them...I also have to do abs, but only with my legs. Next Tuesday, Joseph will give me exercises for my glutes. According to Joseph, doing this now is likely to prevent more serious injury later. Oh and there's something happening with my hip (probably due to the corticosteroids which eat away at the bone and muscle)...but nothing major and what we are doing now, should help with that too. PT fascinates me!

The take home message is that I can keep on keeping on :)
Cheers!

30 comments:

Forward Foot Strides said...

Holy, did the runners in the Santa Shuffle run up Mont Royal? I remember walking up it during a trip an it was quite the hike!

That is fascinating about how your ribs affected your glutes and everything being connected.

Emz said...

That looks soooooooooooooooooooo cold. YAY you for getting out there.

glutes exercises ----- my glutes hurt just reading that . . . but it makes sense how it'd help! :)

Sylvie said...

C'est drôle car ce matin, je t'ai vu mais en ne réalisant pas que c'était toi. Je t'ai regardé en me disant que tu me disais quelque chose et j'ai continué mon chemin! Bref! La prochaine fois, j'irai te dire bonjour :-)

Tara said...

Burrr...you look cold. Good for you for volunteering and giving back to the running community though!

Good grief, amazing how one thing affects another eh? I hope you get that piriformis under control! And I hope everything is ok with your hip...

ajh said...

Glad you can keep going. You are going to be doing exercises all day long! You are good to volunteer on a cold day!

Iron Mike said...

You look like one happy volunteer, I'm sure the runners all appreciated your ice breaking efforts.
As for your ribs affecting your butt. Well, I think I'll floss a little longer tonight and maybe my quads will loosen up a bit.
And let's not talk any further about your hip, have fun running in that coldness!

ThE MidLiFe CrUiSeR said...

What is a virtual race?? I'm picturing dungeons and dragons kind of stuff :) Cool you got a long sleeved shirt out of it...whatever "it" is!!

Nellie
http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com
(36 year old fulltime RVer living la vida loca with a cute-butt husband and a stink-butt dog!)

Char said...

I can just imagine runners grabbing a drink, sculling it then holding their heads - cold headache!! You Canadians are a hardy bunch to be running in those conditions.

MCM Mama said...

Brr! Looks like cold volunteering duty!

Glad you're figuring out what's going on with your pain.

Kate said...

Brrr! Your race was even colder than the one I volunteered at today! It's definitely colder in the supporting role!

I love that big smile on your face in the "two beers" picture. :) Congrats on your win! :)

Johann said...

Great volunteer photos! I love volunteering when the opportunity presents itself. I won Stefano's slowest runner award! Good luck with the exercises. It sounds like Joseph knows what he is talking about.

Tricia said...

congrats!

and love the pics

misszippy said...

Oh you had the hardest job on a cold day! The water table is much easier in summer! So nice of you to get out there and help--great job. And glad the PT gave you a green light.

Anne said...

Three cheers to Anne for keeping racers hydrated in challenging conditions. You look happy to help.

Marlene said...

Race volunteers in the winter are a wonderful bunch! Awesome that you bundled up to chip in.

Wow, crazy to think your piriformis issue is origination from your rib injury! Now that there is an explanation, hopefully your PT can get you on the treatment plan to reduce the issue!

Jon Gilchrist said...

WOW..amazing how connected the body is...

Alma said...

Brr, brr, brr!!!
Fascinating about the lung-piriformis connection. Strange. But so glad you have more information that will help you recover & get back out on the roads, pain free!

Black Knight said...

Here we don't know what -2° C means. It looks a very very cold day and ...no warm tea during the race? Great pics and nice smiles.
Thank you for the mention.

Giorgio said...

Nice photo of the group after their race!

There was a happy volunteer although it was quite cold and the running path was covered with snow :)

Jamoosh said...

"...squeeze the glasses regularly to break up the ice." Good for you. I can just imagine throwing back a cup of water and getting smacked in the nose with a block of ice.

Matty B. said...

What a great picture of you holding out your two "beers" for the runners! Really, what runner would refuse frozen water from you?

Also, great to hear that you and your PT think that you've found a reason for the pain. Pain is somehow much less scary when you know where it's coming from.

Hope you have a great start to the week!

Beth said...

Isn't it amazing how the body is connected in ways you would never think? Glad you are getting it figured out. Looks like your volunteering was a blast! Congrats on your win, too!

Matty B. said...

I just saved your comment for to place in my "happy" folder.

That means a lot, Anne. Thanks so much for taking the time to pass on your words of encouragement.

I can't wait to show you all the pictures I'm going to put on the blog of lil' "Thor, god of thunder" (that's the baby's name if I have anything to do with it).

Have a great Tuesday!

racing dawn said...

I have yet to volunteer at a race. It is on my todo list! But hopefully it will be warmer than yours! BRRR! And it is pretty amazing how little things affect big things in our bodies. Glad you have someone that knows what he's doing to get you through PT!

Wifey said...

Looks like a lovely, COLD, day! Glad to hear you're on the way to feeling better.

Winks & Smiles,
Wifey

Nitmos said...

Now that is being a trooper...stnading out in the cold to hand out drinks like that. I am so impressed, I just went over to the thermostat and cranked it a few degrees...kinda like raising a toast. Kinda.

Jill said...

Constant glute pain girl here, I look forward to hearing what you'll be doing in the future. I am convinced mine has to do with my back.

Congrats on the win - whoohooo!! :)

And holy moly...it's freaking COLD there! Blek! Stay warm!!

Meg said...

Great photos of the Santa Shuffle, it sounded so fun!
I'm fascinated by PTs and their work as well. It is interesting to think about how everything is so connected and interrelated.
Stay warm!

Julie said...

oops, it is

jkaiser4 at fairview.org

Julie said...

Hi Anne,
E-mail me at jkaiser45 at fairview.org

I need your address:)