17 Days ‘til Heartbreak Hill


I feel very appreciative for all the support I’ve received thus far from my friends and family during my journey to run the Boston Marathon.  I wanted to give everyone a quick update on the marathon + my knee injury. I’ve been getting tweets, texts, and emails from some of you asking what the deal is so here it goes…

After slipping on ice and falling on my knee over 2 months ago while training, I haven’t been able to run over 3-4 miles due to the pain I was experiencing (which was abnormal considering I was already at the 12-15 mile mark when this happened) — after resting for weeks & things were not getting better I made an appointment with a specialist and got an MRI. My results came back — good news, nothing broken or torn but the bad news is I have arthritis in my knee which is obviously something that will never go away like I was hoping. I guess the fall had caused some thickening of my cartilage in the knee which, leaving my knee cap off center and irritated the problem I already had in my joint. So there it is…I’m a 31 year old woman getting cortisone shots along side my grandparents. Awesome. 

Most of you know that running is my life, my therapy — so as you can imagine this has been very hard for me to swallow. After a little physical therapy to strengthen my hip muscles (which apparently relieves tension in my knees) I was able to run 20 miles last weekend — I can honestly say, I’m ready for this race which will go down on April 15th.  After I run this Marathon I do not plan to run anymore. I’m more of a triathlon girl anyway…stupid marathon.

I am still $3,900 away from reaching my goal I had promised to raise and bring awareness to CampInteractive. This charity teaches technology skills to inner city children to inspire their futures. I love and believe in what they are doing and of course want you all to know and hear about what they do. I know some of you have already donated to my fundraiser (THANK YOU!!!) but for those of you that perhaps forgot or don’t have it in the budget right now, no worries. If you could all do me one last favor and help me get the word out that would be just as helpful. 

Feel free to use this tweet or revise as you see fit: 
  • Help @chelsa raise money to teach inner city kids technology skills. Pls donate to her fundraiser here: http://bit.ly/15ankO5 
Also, Dennis is very close to making his goal as well. If you want to help him reach his goal you can tweet this: 
  • Help @dens raise money to teach inner city kids technology skills. Pls donate to his fundraiser here: http://bit.ly/103pFY3
What do ya say, want to help out a couple old fogies like us? (In case you didn’t hear, Dennis had a ‘fractured’ hip last year….talk about old man)  Not only do we have to face the Tax Man on April 15th but we also have to face Heartbreak Hill from mile 17 to 21. Wish us luck on both encounters. Thanks again for all your support!!  

Love,
Arthritis Ridden Chelsa & Old Man Bones Dennis

Fashionable Fitness.

For those who don’t already know, I am training for the New York City Triathlon which happens to now be right around the corner — 38 days!!  Therefore, I have been experimenting with different workout gear to find the best products which are not only functional but also look and feel great. Read my post on Diets In Review for the analysis and product descriptions of my favorites seen below. 

For those of you feeling charitable — I am racing for Camp Interactive which is a chairty that introduces the power of technology and the inspiration of the outdoors to underprivileged inner-city youth. If you would like to donate to the cause (I still have $4,000 to raise…Eeek!) Please click here to donate — Thank you!!  

  1.  Nike Victory Adjust X-Back 
  2.  Nike Airborne Shaping Tank 
  3.  Adidas Performance Bra 
  4.  Lululemon Run Chase Me Tank 

  1.  Lululemon Run in the Sun 
  2.  Lululemon Run A Marathon Crop
  3.  Nike Slim Fit Training Shorts

         

With all of the running around I’ve been doing lately I’ve been looking seriously at getting cool kicks but the newly hip wedge kind like the Ash Bea sneaks I mentioned in this post.  However, the Nike x Liberty London collaboration has me swooning over these high-top wedge Dunks. 

Work it out.

I was never one to buy special clothes to work out in, in fact, I have always been the complete opposite where I alter old clothing such as ripping the sleeves off tee-shirts and cutting the legs off sweat pants turning them into running shorts. 

I never understood the concept of buying clothes just to sweat in them. Seems very senseless. However, my mind is slowly changing as I learn more about the technology of these garments so much so that I find myself browsing a few particular brands I’m fond of. 

For workout clothing, Lulu Lemon has some very cool and comfortable designs. Here are a few of my favorites: Centered Energy Bra, Practice Freely Tank, Turbo Run Short, Run Wild Jacket

I was walking around Nike Town this past weekend and saw a few items there I liked as well.  Here are a few favorites from Nike: Running Dress, Tempo Track Shorts, Running Tank. 

Not to mention the two items I already own and love:  Fuel Band & Nike Free Shoes:

     

Always a sucker for a good deal, here are a few favorites I found on ShopBop: tank & crop pant by So Low and tank, crop pant, and running shorts by Payne.

It’s very cute, but I’m not sure I could ever be that girl in the complete matching running outfit, like seen above. I would more than likely mix and match these.  To each her own.