Why I am involved with Team in Training

I had my fundraiser at Rubio's last night and it went well. I raised about $50, which isn't a large amount, but it's 50 more dollars than I had before!
Anyway, Eric and I went down there and had dinner right before the fundraiser ended at 8. I was getting ready to take the tip jar when a woman and her daughter came in to participate in the fundraiser and buy dinner. We got to talking about why I was involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Team in Training and she asked me if I had any family members or anyone affected by Leukemia. I told her that luckily, no. She went on to tell me that her daughter was a survivor and thanked me. We wrapped up the convo and I was a little choked up as I walked out... it's the same as when I ran the San Diego Rock N Roll marathon and people held up signs saying "Thank you TNT", "I'm a survivor", and "You saved my life". It's amazing to see the money that I raise really does help people.

NO running for 2 WEEKS!

Went to Dr. Bakman yesterday. He poked around my knee a little and decided that it is still irritated underneath the kneecap and I need to let it heal. So I'm not allowed to run for 2 weeks. I'm allowed to ellipticalize and bike to my heart's content, but that's a problem considering we're still in the "new years resolution" time frame at the gym and my bike has a flat tire. I'm kind of bummed, but I think I'll just work really hard on stretching and strengthening my hip so that my knee is good to go on marathon day. Dr. Bakman said that it is better to have healthy tissue and less conditioning than more conditioning but damaged tissue. I guess he's right. At least I'm still allowed to run LA, and it's not totally hopeless!

In other news, Eric and I signed up for the Newport Beach triathlon in April. I'm superpsyched for my first tri... I just need to do a little research because I have no idea how they work except you swim some, bike some, and run some!

Random fist pound with a stranger

I'll get to the title in a minute, first it's important to note the condition of my knee. And by condition I mean sucking. The sucking of my knee. I did 6 miles today (I was supposed to do 15, then 8, then downgraded to a super easy 6). I probably could've done the 8, but I felt a twang or two so I decided to take it easy. I'm pretty bummed that I apparently really irritated it at the 1/2 last weekend, but I'm hoping if I take it kind of easy for now I'll still be okay.
After running, I had to take a CPR class. Fun. Then I went to Snail's Pace to pick up some new sneakers, so that was kind of exciting. I figured I should get a new pair before I start putting in some really long runs on my old shoes.
I decided that I have been missing the yoga in my life so I went down to Costa Mesa for some yoga. In the parking lot, I'm waiting to turn left and this guy turns and stops next to me. He asks me if I take yoga and if I like it because he's had ADD for 6 years and he wants something to calm him down. Now granted it's not THAT strange since I was in the parking lot in front of the yoga studio, BUT the parking lot is a huge shopping center and the yoga studio is above a bank that I could've been going to, and I certainly don't have my yoga mat sticking out the window. Anyway... I explained that I do really like yoga, but I get bored sometimes and it took me awhile to be able to calm my mind down to do it for an hour and a half. Then I told him that I'm a runner so yoga is good for stretching. His reply? "You're much more hardcore than I am" and stuck his fist out the window. I returned the pound and strange fist pound guy and his dog drove off. It was a little weird. I was slightly concerned that he might show up in my yoga class, but I figured he wouldn't since his dog was in the car. Maybe he just spotted me as a "metro" hippie and assumed I practiced yoga... Maybe I just give off the "vibe"...