Signed up me and JJJ for the Jingle Bell 5k this morning.  It'll be a really crowded race-- nearly 4,000 I think (already 3,600+ registered)-- so despite there being a chip finish AND start, and I will ****NOT**** be dreadfully hungover on race day, and there being no costume issues for this one, I'm still not sure I'll hit a PB.  Still a chance, though, and the next month I'm going to try to train for it with a little speed work in the shorter runs.

I think I'm going to cancel my gym membership.  I haven't been in over a month and Healthworks ain't cheap!  Focusing on the drainer and running right now, I'm not sure where it really fits in. 

Might just put the membership on hold (which'll cost me $10 a month) until it gets warm again and I'm more willing to make the couple mile trek there by foot or bike.  I really like their classes, but I haven't done very well planning to make it there on time for the classes I like.  Anyway, I'm going to go there tonight and see if I put the hold on now, or give it another chance.  I'll think it over in the hot tub.

Superhero 5k Race Report is up!

It's our 4-year anniversary today!  Well, technically yesterday, I think... still an ongoing debate of whether or not we met before midnight, so we just pick which day is best for us to celebrate.  And today's that day!

Workout for today: sleeping in followed by biking to work late, then biking back to the car to drive to check out some rings before a light dinner and drinks at Chez Henri.

My knees (and the rest of me!) are liking this plan.
 

Ortho says I need an MRI to see if scoping the knee would help.  The crunching sound from the chondromalacia patella might indicate that there's a lot of torn up cartilage in there that is causing further inflammation from rubbing along the rough surface.   In the meantime, since orthotics are helping, I need to try for a fourth physical therapist and third full round of PT (ditched the first guy after a few weeks) with a new PT she recommended with an assessment and supervision by a sports therapist. 

Funny that having had first gone to see a doc in 2006 about my knee pain, always described as worst with running, not a single doctor or specialist between then and now has ever looked at me run and I've never gotten a referral to a Sports Therapist.  Ridiculous, come to think of it, that I've had my gait paid attention to more in shoe stores than by docs.

I like the new ortho that I saw... she seemed fairly irked that they haven't been able to help me for this long and thinks that now that we've finally got some of the basics down (determined my ankle prob that I need surgery for, got orthotics to help with my EXTREME over-pronation, understood that my hyperextension on the knees causes more stress on the joint and I need to pay attention to that while running...) that I could finally be on the road to some relief.

We'll see.  Can't help but be skeptical since all the relief I've seen during PT in the past has been because I stopped running, but trying to be optimistic.  I still have my pipe dream of the Hyannis 1/2 marathon at the end of February. 

Found the skewer that came with my drainer.  On the other bike!  Had to swap them this morning.  Wonder what happened to the third skewer...

I'm pretty distance-centric when it comes to tracking my training, so this will be interesting to just work on time and really learn how to use my HRM.