Spring is ALMOST here!

I had a blast this past weekend in Minnesota visiting Luanne and her family! Minnesota is awesome because it has probably the best trail system ever! I could run forever up there! This picture is of us being dorks at a restaurant in Chanhassen called Axels. The peace signs are an inside joke.

I ran today in new DS Trainers and my knee hurts again. I am going to stay positive and say I just need to take it easy for a couple days and ice while sticking to biking and swimming. I am NOT going to say I'm injured again yet because I really really hope that isn't the case. I hope it is just the shoes, which are going in the garbage! The weather has been awesome though and it's almost time to change up the tires on the Felt and start biking outdoors again! YAY! I am so excited!

This week is supposed to be Spring Break, but I still have a lot of school work (research group project meetings, papers, midterms blah blah) to do this week. I guess there is no Spring Break in grad school! Good thing I like school or I'd be really mad I can't go anywhere or do anything exciting this week! Lifetime is having a two hour spin ride for ALS on Saturday so I signed up for that. I am also debating on if I will do a 10K or go to masters swim again on Sunday morning. IF my knee feels better by this weekend I will do the 10K, otherwise masters it is, which is fine too because I need it.

Time for bed! Miss you Lu Dogg :)

XOXO
Cori

I've held back the tears for too long

Never give up,
Never lose hope.

Always have faith,
It allows you to cope.

Trying times will pass,
As they always do.

Just have patience,
Your dreams will come true.

So put on a smile,
You'll live though your pain.

Know it will pass,
And strength you will gain.

Charlie Remiggio, Motivational Poet


I just wrote my letter to UNC to tell them I will not be attending the post-baccalaureate program in April. I've been crying ever since and can't stop thinking about how excited I was to apply to that program a year ago and the dreams that I had. I just feel like they are so crushed right now and it hurts, I'm not going to lie. It hurts a hell of a lot more than I ever thought it would.

Will I ever find my happy place?

I know, I know, it's been like forever since my last post. I'M SORRY to all you loyal followers (if there are any of you out there hehe.)

The past few weeks have been very hectic. I am so busy all the time and therefore much, much more tired ALL THE TIME! Every morning I wake up between 7 and 8, even though I stay up WAY late (oooops) and end up falling back asleep after breakfast! Because of this I've been late for my workouts, which I try to squeeze in before work at Lifetime in Schaumburg, or at home on my trainer or outside around the neighborhood. My knee is all healed now (YAY!) but it's hard for me to do runs longer than 90 minutes on a treadmill and the weather has been rainy, yucky and, yep you guessed it, still freakin cold! Then on the days I actually could run or bike outside I'm either sick, wayyyy to tired and sleeping, or I have to work or study. Bottom line: I REALLY NEED TO GET MY BUTT OUTSIDE... before I get even more depressed than I already am.

A couple Friday's ago I received an acceptance letter to the post-baccalaureate program I applied to at the University of Northern Colorado's Denver campus. I applied to this almost a year ago, so it was upsetting that I received the letter after I already moved back to Chicago AND began the Master's program at Roosevelt. My mind started racing as soon as I opened the letter with "what ifs" and "what am I doing in Chicagos." Let's just say I was a mess for a couple days. I even researched how much money I would lose if I dropped out of Roosevelt and just moved back to CO went to UNC. I miss the mountains, training outdoors, all the random Ironman triathletes I would meet out there, BIKING WITH LAURA (I MISS YOU!) running on the trails along the river, running and biking in the mountains, taking Hannah on hikes in the mountains... I could go on and on for days. Eventually I just sunk back into reality: in this economic time the best thing for me to do is stay at Roosevelt for another year and a half... then get the H-E-double hockey sticks outta here ASAP!!!! I told myself I will be 25 when I graduate and that is still young. I can start a whole new life then when I get a job far far away from winter in Chicago. Seriously, I don't know how I will do it again next year though....... tear!

Ugh, so can you tell I've been in a slump lately?! I feel white (no sun and no outdoor time to keep my sexy biking shorts tan line), fat (this weather makes me so hungry all the time and I know I'm eating too much but it's hard to control), sad, friendless (where are all the friends who said they would hang out with me when I moved back and that they missed me so much the past 6 years?), dependent (living back with the parents is harder than I thought, more on my self-esteem then annoyance of living with them) and many other things. Right now it's cold and raining outside. Seriously WTF? Will it ever stop? Please God just give me better weather!

Could I complain any more? Oh yeah, but I will spare you!

One thing I do like about being back in IL is Panera Bread. I love that place. I go there with my laptop, order yummy food, use the free WiFi and work on homework for hours and hours all while staring outside at the crappy rain! However (ok a little more complaining here sorry) I would give up Panera for some Great Harvest Bread Company with a view of the Rockies, a closer Whole Foods, Pita Jungle, the list could go on and on of what I miss about CO and AZ. Today I ate a fortune cookie and it said something longing for personal independence. Spot on!

I'm excited to be going to Minnesota this weekend to see Luanne and her baby Cailyn! Although it will again cause some conflicts with my workout schedule, it will be worth it to see her and I can't wait! I know Lifetime is based out of MN, so maybe I'll hit up the pool, spin classes and the treadmills if its freezing up there before I head home on Sunday. The drive is about 5 hours, that kinda sucks but its the price I'm willing to pay to spend time with people that matter most to me :) (Hear that Lu Dogg, you owe me one hahah!)

Before I end this post of complaining I have to congratulate Elizabeth on an awesome Ironman New Zealand!!!!! She had a kick ass swim and bike time! And second in our age group! Awesome! And I'd also like to thank her coach, Jen, for reaching out to me and inviting me to my first ever masters swim practice! I went on Sunday and had a lot of fun. I even learned the breast stroke, back stroke and butterfly finally! I've always been to scared that I would look like a total dork if I tried them on my own. I still looked like a total dork, but I managed to do a couple lengths of butterfly on my first try which was awesome. I still feel like a dork trying to do it at Lifetime though! I also got a lot of very helpful hints on my freestyle, which I tried to think about today in the pool, and on my flip turn (I kinda sorta maybe, ok well I did make up my own way to do a flip turn because no one ever taught me and I think they kinda noticed that too LOL!) But it was great and I definitely plan on attending more often now that I'm not scared anymore!

See it's already 12:30 a.m. and I'm still up. I need to start gettin to bed earlier so I can get up and get some good workouts in before work and school! I'll let you know how that is going in my next post!

Trying to stay happy,

XOXO
Cori

I'M BBAAACCCKKKK!!!!!!!!!!

Since school has started I have been so incredibly busy I hardly have time to keep my blog up to date. This is sad because, obviously, I love to blog! However, I am happy to say that my knee is finally better and I have been running distance again! That's right people... I'M BACK! The sad thing about this though is that I am missing the Ragnar Relay in AZ next weekend for no reason now (I backed out when I was injured) and it is my most favorite race EVER with my most favorite people EVER! Oh well, there's always next year... if they decide to take me back on the team (YOU BETTER WANT ME BACK PEOPLE!) But good luck to team On Your Left, I will be with you in spirit!

It's still freezing here in Chicago and I'm still stuck in the basement and at spin class for all my bike rides. I miss riding outside so much but am thankful I've built up the toughness to at least battle the cold for some outdoor runs. Yes that's me the running snowman you see outside around the neighborhood :)~ ..... yeahhhhh definitely moving somewhere warm after I'm done with grad school... and it can't come soon enough!

Last week everyone at work was sick so I picked up some extra shifts to cover for some people. I ended up getting sick and was in bed all weekend because I overdid it with work and school all day and night until 9. I crashed on Friday when I got home from work around 7 and didn't get out of bed (except to eat of course) for two days. On Sunday I got up to go to one of my BFFs Tiffany's son Dylan's first birthday party at this place called pump-it-up in Crystal Lake. I'm glad it got me up and out of the house... I needed that. But now I'm behind on schoolwork so I'm going to be busy again this week... but I'm not picking up any shifts for people anymore SORRY!!!!! I learned my lesson the hard way!

I also decided I'm doing the Wisconsin half marathon on May 2 for my first big running race of the year and to kick off my summer of training for Ironman! So excited and I really can't wait for summer and to train outdoors ALL WEEKEND, EVERY WEEKEND like we all know I love!

Time for homework and bed!

XOXO
Cori

MRI Results

So, as I expected, nothing came out of the results from the MRI except that I now know that I did not tear or break anything, which I guess is a good thing to know. I'm not exactly sure that information was worth the money to get the MRI though. I'll let you know when I get the bill (which I'm sure wont be pretty.) The doctor basically went through a couple possibilities of what could, maybe, possibly, might be wrong with me. I find it so interesting how little people know about endurance athletes and I find myself forgetting many times that most people in this world do not do Ironman (shocking, I know.) I tried my hardest not to get annoyed and I took the information he gave me willingly and with a smile (probably a fake one lol.) The most helpful piece of information I got out of this whole experience was an amazing IT band stretch.

ANYWAY... I do have some good news though! Today I ran 41 minutes pain free! Each day I have been adding just about 5 minutes to my run time and I am feeling great! I am very, very VERY happy! The pain of the cold temperatures is the only thing that bothers me, but I am afraid to run on the treadmill since that is where the injury originated from, so I'll stick with the snow and cold. I'm going to have to figure something out for my face though because a scarf full of snot and spit is not something I enjoy dealing with every day on my runs! But without a scarf on my face the cold is just way too painful to deal with!

On a different note I started grad school this week at Roosevelt. I like the class sizes. They are so small compared to ASU and it's nice. It kind of forces you to learn more because you can't just blend into the crowd and get by just sitting there daydreaming... or in my case eveningdreaming now. I am taking Human Development 407, Foundations of Education 405 and, unfortunately, a World History since 1500 undergraduate class since apparently I didn't take a class at ASU that fulfills the non-western requirement for my masters program. It is going to be very time consuming and I am going to be a very busy girl. I find it hard to take school 100% seriously though as I know I could just start ASU's program in June and move out of this frozen hell back into the real 120 degree hell in Phoenix, but I'd be avoiding this ridiculous snow and cold which I really just cant stand at all. So, we'll see, I have a lot to think about regarding school. But for now I'm going to see how this semester goes at Roosevelt, keeping ASU in the back of my mind.

Next Friday I'm getting my Primary Group Fitness Certification as well, so maybe I'll start teaching some classes at the gym as well. I really want to teach spinning, so we'll see. I kind of feel like my life is all over the place right now as I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do and where I want to be. My brain hurts!

All for now

XOXO
Cori

Staying on the bright side... or trying to!

On Wednesday I bought new DS Trainers from Runners High 'N Tri, my new favorite triathlon store (probably the only triathlon store in the Chicagoland area) and I went straight to lifetime to try to run for the first time in three weeks. I ran about 2.5 miles before my knee started to feel pain again. I got very upset and went straight to the stairmaster for an hour on the highest level I could handle. On Thursday morning I finally brought myself to call Fox Valley Orthopedics, the doctor's office where I went my senior year in high school and where I had surgury on my right knee for torn cartilidge. I called at 8:40 and was in the office for my appointment by 9:15... yes, that's 35 minutes later. After I told them what was wrong, with tears in my eyes, they xray'd my knee and gave me a physical exam. I was dissappointed when they couldn't draw any conclusions to what could be wrong with me. I was then asked to schedule an MRI, which I did on Saturday morning. On Tuesday morning I will see the doctor again for the results from the MRI. All I can do now is pray that they will be able to tell me what is wrong and exactly how I can fix it so I can start running like normal again!

I also spent a couple nights Google-ing and reading forums about people that have had similar knee pain in the back of the knee while running. I found that most people said it was either they needed new shoes, or that they slowly eased back into running by starting at a mile and adding just a tiny distace every day until they built back up to where they were before. Most people said their doctors were unable to diagnose the problem as well. How annoying! Anyway... on Thursday I started by running 14 minutes around my neighborhood. On Friday I ran 17 minutes and yesterday I ran 22 minutes. So far, so good. I did not run today because it is so cold outside that yesterday I developed hives all over my stomach and legs after being out there for 22 minutes and I couldn't bring myself to get out there again today so I went to the gym and did some work on the elliptical instead. I will get back out there tomorrow and attempt 25 minutes.

I am also obsessed with my new fluid trainer which I've spent the past two Saturdays on in my basement! If you're looking for a trainer... I highly reccommend CycleOps. I bought three Spinervals workouts and the one I've been doing on Saturdays is called "Tough Love." And it is just that! Three hours of ridiculous intervals! I love it! At least if I can't run at the time I can get faster on the bike, which I need to work on anyway.

Trying to keep my spirits up! Tomorrow is my first day of school also so I am very excited for that!

More later!

XOXO Cori

Getting back into it

It's been a while since my last post and the biggest reason for that is I am trying to take it easy on my knee (little to no running) in order to recover from this pain-in-the-butt injury I am dealing with. My workouts have been pretty boring lately as I have pretty much gone into maintenance mode for two reasons; one being recovery and two being the ridiculously cold and snowy weather in Chicago. I have found myself "Arizona sick" as I am calling it because it's not exactly home sick. Although AZ was my home for five years, I still believe IL is my true home since I lived here for 18 years! The cold winter weather is starting to take it's toll on my emotions and I'm getting depressed that I cannot workout outdoors or even be outdoors for an extended period of time. I am a lot more hungry here too because my body is cold and just wants comfort food (FAT!!) and I have less desire to workout (hard to believe I know). I haven't been swimming as much as I would like to be because I am always cold and I never feel like getting in the water. I would just rather get hot and sweaty in the gym because it makes me feel good. Getting out of the pool and freezing does not feel good... not to mention I have to spend the time showering and drying my hair afterward because I don't want to get sick in the cold with wet hair! How annoying! I have also been busy with work and spending time with friends. Since I never went out to bars or did anything fun in the past year and a half, I am not used to staying up late with my friends and family here in IL! My schedule is all thrown off because I was used to going to bed around 10 or 11 each night and getting up early for workouts, but here everyone stays up really late - and I don't want to miss out on things on the weekends - so I have been very tired to say the least. I figure since it is off season and I can't run because of my knee injury anyways it should be time to have fun before spring rolls around and race season begins.

One good thing that has happened over the holidays is that I finally have a bike trainer in the basement... HOWEVER of course one of the knobs has to be broken so I'm going to take it back when the roads clear up from the snow and get a different one. For now I've been using the one I have which is a Performance Bike brand fluid trainer. I am happy to have it downstairs so I don't have to go to the gym to use the spin bikes every time I want to ride. It's easy to pop in a movie and play loud music in the basement.

Today I went to an 8 a.m. spin class at Lifetime and I met a girl who does Ironman. I told her how sad I was about the weather (it's really snowy and yucky out today) and how I miss biking outdoors. I also complained a bit about feeling alone out here because I don't know anyone that does triathlon. She assured me that there is a huge triathlon community here because of Ironman Wisconsin, and that everyone will come out of hibernation in the spring. THANK GOD! That was music to my ears! She also told me they have open water splash and dash's in Crystal Lake on Wednesday nights when the weather gets warm and that also put a huge smile on my face! And when she said there are group rides on Saturdays starting in the spring my day was made! I'm was so happy to talk to this girl, Tracy I believe she said her name was, and I really hope we run into eachother again so I can start making some triathlete friends!

School starts on January 26 and I am excited for that. It will help keep me from going insane during this horrible winter weather because I know I will be VERY busy. I will be working M-F from 2-6 p.m. and then going to school from 6:30-9 p.m. afterward on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The holidays were great and I was very glad to be home around family and friends again. I can't believe I missed Christmas last year... that's just not right! BUT it has made me really appreciate everyone I do have in my life here in Illinois - amazing, supportive and loving family and friends.

XOXO
Cori