Last week was a
rollercoaster - both physically and emotionally. Which made it a rough week for
those around me and for that I apologize. For the last 6 months I have used
running as an escape from stress (and sometimes reality). Going out on a run
clears my mind, and by clears my mind I really mean it clears my mind - sometimes I get home from a run and realize
that I did not have one thought. Running has been my therapy. Runners high is a
real thing and it does make all things better.
Physically
Monday and Tuesday of last week my knee
felt awesome! I was walking pretty much pain free (the pain it was giving me I
was able to tolerate) and stairs weren’t giving me any trouble. My limp had
almost gone away! I felt so well in fact that I thought about participating in
GTS on Tuesday night with my TNT team, but then decided against it figuring
that one more night of rest couldn’t hurt and that it could only help. So I
convinced myself that I would get up early on Wednesday morning, lace up my
running shoes and hit the 2.5 mile loop right by my house. And to be honest I
could not wait, my body was begging to get out and run.
Wednesday morning
my alarm went off at 5am and for once I did not hit the snooze button! I was
definitely ready to get outside and stretch my legs. I hastily threw off the
covers, but when I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and took my first
step out of bed I nearly collapsed from the pain. hmmmmm... did I sleep on
it funny or is it just a little stiff? Let’s try another step. Again I
nearly collapsed. GRRRRRRRRR... Why? Why? Why???? Yesterday was such
a good day. I decided that since it was so stiff/painful that I would skip
my morning run, try icing and massaging it a little more, and try again on
Thursday. I opted to wear tennis shoes instead of flats to work hoping that the
extra stability would help. But by the time I got to work a few hours later
that pain had not subsided at all. In fact it was worse. My limp was worse than
ever. I looked like an 80 year old woman walking hobbling around my office. So
opted for another trip to the doctor, (which unfortunately came with another
$20 co-pay #biggirlproblems).
Diagnosis?
Diagnosis A - Runner’s Knee (90% sure)
Diagnosis B - torn meniscus (10% sure) - um
excuse me?!?!
Treatment?
600mg ibuprofen 3 times day for 7 - 10 days
Super Feet inserts
Physical therapy 2 times/week for the next 4
weeks
REST, REST, REST (a new word to my vocabulary)
Thursday evening
I made the trip to the physical therapist. I was poked, prodded, massaged, put
on a recumbent bike, and then finally taped up with fancy kinesio tape.
What is Kinesio tape? The philosophy of Kinesio Taping has been around for 25 years and was developed
in response to other athletic tapes in the market in the market. Instead of
being rigid and restrictive, Kinesio tape mimics the texture and elasticity of
human skin. So instead of immobilizing joints like most athletic tapes are
designed to, Kinesio tape is applied around the area of pain on the muscle to
aid in joint correction. And because of its flexible design, range of motion is
not compromised.
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They used nude colored tape,
but I promptly went home and
purchased pink, blue, and black.
I am hoping to make a fashion
statement at the office! |
Benefits of Kinesio tape? Kinesio tape is used to re-educate the
neuromuscular system, reduce pain, optimize performance, prevent injury, and/or
promote improved circulation and healing. For example - the tape (somehow)
lifts the skin microscopically allowing for increased circulation around the
muscle and in turn the toxins to escape the muscle easier, which can
considerably reduce swelling.
By Friday I was
feeling better. Walking was easier, as the swelling and gone down considerably
- I could now see my kneecap. My limp was still present, but not as bad as the
previous two days. And my mood was brighter! All hail the Kinesio gods!
Saturday was an improvement from Friday and consequently Sunday was an
improvement from Saturday. In fact my limp was pretty much nonexistent. Stairs
still give me a little trouble, but I the fact that I don’t have to use the
wall or railing as a support system any more is promising!
Emotionally
Words cannot
describe how I was actually feeling this week. So instead of boring you with
some long rambling post here are some pictures that described my mood during
the week:
I think the root
cause of all of my emotions this past week was due to fear. Fear of not being
able to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Fear that my training is
falling behind and I will not be able to catch back up to everybody else. Fear
of it being a torn meniscus (and surgery). Fear of this injury being a constant
battle for the rest of my life. The list could go on and on. But with the help
of my physical therapist and a little self control to take recovery slow and
not push my body too hard I am confident I can get ahead of this injury and
prevent it from happening again (fingers crossed)!
But in the
meantime if I am a little moody you know why and I apologize in advance :P
On Saturday there
was also a Rocky Mountain TNT fundraising event at Water to Wine in Centennial.
I was really excited to go, but unfortunately I was unable to attend because of
my leg. Call me a wuss, but I want to avoid anything I can at the moment that
will Standing for more than an hour or sitting for more than an hour tends to
make my knee ‘fussy’. So instead I decided to send myself in spirit - I made
cupcakes for the event (duh!). I wish I would have been able to go to the event
and get some feedback from people on which ones they liked their best, but I
can tell you the chocolate raspberry ones were a hit in my house! Enjoy!
Snickerdoodle
w/ Vanilla Cinnamon Buttercream
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Chocolate
Raspberry w/ Raspberry Glaze and Quick Chocolate Mousse
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Limoncello
Cupcake w/ Limoncello Buttercream
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Cupcake:
1 pkg Pamela’s
white cake mix
4 eggs
2/3 C water
½ C vegetable
oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to
325 degrees. Mix together the wet ingredients until combined. Slowing add in
the dry ingredients until mixture combined. Don not over mix. Line a cupcake
pan with cupcake liners and fill ⅔ of the way full. Bake 18-20 minutes (or
8-9 minutes for mini cupcakes).
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Cupcake:
1 cup milk
1 cup (2
sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup
unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
1 pkg Pamela's
white cake mix
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour
cream
Preheat oven to
325 degrees. Bring 1 cup milk and 1 cup butter to a simmer in a heavy, large
saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture
is smooth. Cool slightly. In a large bowl beat the eggs and sour cream. Add
the milk-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture (make sure to do this slowly so
you do not cook the eggs) and beat just to combine. Add the baking mix and
beat briefly on low speed. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill ⅔
of the way full. Bake 18-20 minutes (or 8-9 minutes for mini cupcakes).
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Cupcake:
1 pkg Pamela’s
white cake mix
4 eggs
2/3 C water
½ C vegetable
oil
1 TBSP
limoncello
1 TBSP lemon
juice
zest of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to
325 degrees. Mix together the wet ingredients until combined. Slowing add in
the dry ingredients until mixture combined. Don not over mix. Line a cupcake
pan with cupcake liners and fill ⅔ of the way full. Bake 18-20 minutes (or
8-9 minutes for mini cupcakes).
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Raspberry
Glaze:
32 oz frozen
raspberries
3 TBSP sugar
juice of one
lemon
3 TBSP
cornstarch
pinch of salt
Place
raspberries in a small bowl and sprinkle with sugar, let thaw. Drain the
raspberries (reserving the liquid) and squish the raspberries through a sieve
to remove the seeds. Add enough water to the liquid to make 1 cup. In a
saucepan combine all the ingredients. Heat and whisk until the mixture boils
and just begin the ticken. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
Poke holes (via
a fork) in the top of your cupcakes. Dip the top of the cupcake into the
liquid and let the cupcake absorb some of the liquid.
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Frosting:
2 sticks
softened unsalted butter
5-6 C powdered
sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP milk
Whip softened
butter in bowl until light and fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar and
cinnamon ( ½ C - ¾ C at a time) until stiff. Add milk and vanilla slowly to
thin out the frosting until it is the consistency that you want. If you add
too much and frosting becomes too thin add some more milk and/or vanilla until
the frosting is the desired consistency. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
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Quick Chocolate
Mousse:
3 C heavy cream
1 ½ C sifted
powdered sugar
¾ C cocoa
powder
pinch of salt
In a chilled
bowl blend ingredients, then whip the mixture until it holds a stiff peak.
Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. And refrigerate.
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Frosting:
2 sticks
softened unsalted butter
5-6 C powdered
sugar
1 - 2 TBSP
limoncello
zest of one
lemon
2 tsp lemon
juice
Whip softened
butter in bowl until light and fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar ( ½ C - ¾
C at a time) until stiff. Add limoncello and lemon juice slowly to thin out
the frosting until it is the consistency that you want. If you add too much
and frosting becomes too thin add some more limoncello and/or lemon juice
until the frosting is the desired consistency. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
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Garnish with a
sprinkle of dusting of cinnamon.
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Garnish with a
fresh raspberry.
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Garnish with
lemon zest or lemon wedge.
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