- Miss Zippy - who set a PR in 1:36 at the IronGirl half marathon!
Left knee MRI:
First off, the good news. I had a MRI on my left knee since it has hurt a lot, and I was worried that I had a torn or strained meniscus. My doc said that structurally my knee was basically perfect, he didn't notice any abnormalities (meniscus, cartilage, joints, etc). Only real thing he noticed is that there seems to be something in my left knee that seems to be irritating it for some reason though, causing the pain that I seem to be feeling. He didn't really have an exact solution to how to get my pain to go away, he thought physical therapy might help me, since it helped me the last time I had a left knee problem in May 2011. He did do a cortisone injection into my left knee, I notice that my left knee now definitely feels different, I've read that getting an injection might make your body part feel worse for 2 days, before it feels better. Maybe that will help me in the meantime.
So in the end I'm glad that structurally my knee looked almost perfect, though a little confused how something in there could be causing so much pain if there is not something structurally wrong with it. He basically even said that I could do whatever I wanted to do in terms of activities, since my only limiting factor is the pain I can endure it seemed like. I'm not going to run or do any activities until I start going to a physical therapist, to see what they think I should be doing though. Basically, if I can find a way to get rid of the pain in my left knee, I basically can go back to doing whatever I want to in terms of activities it seems like.
I was really shocked when he said that my knee was basically perfect, I was expecting him to say that I had some cartilage wear and tear, or maybe that I had a torn meniscus. My guess is that ART or graston might help me, since my problem seems to be related to soft tissue. I had a guy I went to back in 2011 for this (SCORE clinic), so I might go back there again. I will also be going to PT to help with getting rid of the pain as well. So wouldn't surprise me if I'm back running in maybe 3 months or so. I'm glad that my running dream isn't over yet.
I was really shocked when he said that my knee was basically perfect, I was expecting him to say that I had some cartilage wear and tear, or maybe that I had a torn meniscus. My guess is that ART or graston might help me, since my problem seems to be related to soft tissue. I had a guy I went to back in 2011 for this (SCORE clinic), so I might go back there again. I will also be going to PT to help with getting rid of the pain as well. So wouldn't surprise me if I'm back running in maybe 3 months or so. I'm glad that my running dream isn't over yet.
Runners World cover:
When I got my June Runners World issue, I anticipated that most of the issue would be related to the Boston Marathon bombings. Turns out that the deadline already passed for doing reporting on it, so they will devote the July issue to coverage of it. Still seems weird to me, since Boston happened on April 15th, and I didn't get my RW issue until this week. Seems like they could have at least put this note in the actual June issue, I didn't see anything in there even referencing the bombings. Sounds like RW is a very slow moving bureaucracy or something. At least change the cover from a color run person to a Boston tribute or something. Maybe it's time for me to cancel my subscription to the magazine.
(EDIT: this paragraph seems to hit a nerve with a lot of people, I guess my main suggestion for Runners World would be to make the magazine more up to date on current events and less boilerplate articles about things. I think it would also make people want to stay on as a subscriber since the articles would be more current, incentivizing people to stay on longer as subscribers. My comparison is Sports Illustrated, which comes out every week and always has up to date sports stories in there).
(EDIT: this paragraph seems to hit a nerve with a lot of people, I guess my main suggestion for Runners World would be to make the magazine more up to date on current events and less boilerplate articles about things. I think it would also make people want to stay on as a subscriber since the articles would be more current, incentivizing people to stay on longer as subscribers. My comparison is Sports Illustrated, which comes out every week and always has up to date sports stories in there).
408K race pics:
Here are a couple race pics from the 408K race that I did on March 10th. Most of them were bad, because the guy who I was running next to on the final home stretch basically blocked me from getting any good pics lol.
Coachella 2013:
Right after tax season ends, Coachella is always what I look forward to. See prior year recaps from 2012 and from 2011 if you are curious. This year there was a Coachella all time record 176 bands that were playing, and in terms of my personal ratings I was anticipating it would be my favorite year ever, since there were so many good bands playing. This year did indeed live up to the hype, I thought it was my favorite year ever of the 8 that I've been to, and I thought Sunday was my all time favorite day at Coachella - I saw 14 bands that day, and liked 13 of them. I ended up seeing parts of 50 bands during the weekend, epic times!
Friday:
Saw parts of 17 bands, including 11 full sets. It turned out to be my favorite day of Coachella ever to this point.
Normally my car lettering is this simple phrase "Coachella 4 Life!". But with the Boston Marathon bombings I decided to something different to recognize Boston. I got a fair amount of love from other people about the message, it was the least I could do.
Recyclosaurus Rex - made of recycled materials I think
The Sahara (dance tent) is simply gigantic - they raised the roof probably 3x, added HD cameras everywhere, and added 30 HD screens too - insane.
Tokyo Ska Paradise - a ska band from Japan, they put on a great show, a great way to start the day
Jake Bugg - 19 year old from UK, he is awesome on guitar and singer, he is definitely a future star
James McCartney - son of you know who, I thought his voice was good, he played an all acoustic set. Definitely not as good as Paul, but a fine voice
Japandroids - melodic and simple style, only 2 band members, but there energy is out of control, and the mosh pit was going crazy, awesome times
Of Monsters and Men - my current favorite band, they didn't disappoint, another awesome performance, liked their new song Underneath My Bed a lot
My favorite member of the band is the trumpet player - who also plays accordion and the drums as well!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - the lead singer is crazy, and I really like the drummer too. A lot of fun up close
Jurassic 5 - rap/hip hop from the 90s, check out that turntable! They put on a great show, they are so smooth, very entertaining
How to Destroy Angels - Trent Reznor of NIN side project, great visuals, but pretty boring music wise
Sahara tent at night - simply insane. This is a better view of all the HD video screens
Saturday:
Saw parts of 19 bands, including 8 full sets. I thought this day would be my favorite day of Coachella ever, and while it was a great day, it wasn't my favorite day (Friday took that one for now)
Kids These Days - young band from Chicago, I really liked their rap, hip-hop and ska style - a ton of fun, and I was up close for them
they crowd surfed lol
Probably my favorite pic of Coachella lol. One band member even started a mosh pit right next to me after he dove into the crowd
The Wombats - they played at 1220, but shockingly the tent was almost full, they have a great up tempo rock sound, a ton of fun
Theophilus London - a very entertaining performer, he really can do it all it seems like
this is a waffle ice cream sandwich - and while it did taste amazing, it was impossible to eat since it fell apart in the heat lol. Bowl anyone?
Dropkick Murphys - my #1 band of the entire festival (Allen Stone) was playing exactly opposite the Dropkick Murphys. Since they are from Boston, I really had to see them to see if they did anything special related to the bombings. The band gave a short speech about it, and referenced it again later. It was an awesome time, the crowd was going absolutely wild for for Shipping Up to Boston. Boston Strong.
Ben Howard - great voice and guitar, he is a great performer. Also the girl guitarist also plays drums, piano and sings - impressive!
Violent Femmes - their music was really boring, this was the only entertainment of the set lol
my favorite art piece was the giant snail - it moved very slow around the grounds lol.
"If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far go together." Deep.
The Make-up - their music was just average, but the lead singer was hilarious, he basically crowd surfed the whole set lol
Benny Benassi - I really like his beats, it was cool to see someone perform at night in the Sahara, the lights are out of control in there
Descendents - old school punk rock, the moshing was awesome and non-stop, great to see them
Two Door Cinema Club - was really looking forward to them, they put on a great show, they could headline Coachella in 2 years if they keep going like this
Conan O'Brien?!?
Sunday:
Saw parts of 14 bands, including 9 full sets. This day ended up being my favorite all time day at Coachella, I liked 13 of the 14 bands that I saw.
Deap Vally - rocker chicks from LA, I like their solid rock sound, great start to the day
Robert DeLong - awesome performer, he plays a ton of variety of instruments - singing, drums, video game controllers, keyboard, looping. Awesome to watch - one of my favorites of the weekend
Hanni El Khatib - great guitarist, and a solid garage rock sound, great jamming band
Airborne Toxic Event - they put on a way better performance than when I saw them in 2009, awesome all around - one of my favorites of the weekend
I love violins in bands - and the violinist for Airborne Toxic Event is no exception
Gaslight Anthem - was really looking forward to their performance, and they didn't disappoint, great rock sound
a miny moshpit developed for a song lol
The Lumineers - they put on a great performance, very similar to Mumford & Sons - a ton of fun
Father John Misty - the guy is simply a comedian on stage, the funniest guy ever. He even sang a song to a girl next to me - I was front row for him, good times!
He borrowed a red rose headband from another girl next to me for a song lol
Wu-Tang Clan - the crowd was going wild for them, another great performance, they really know how to get the crowd going
Red Hot Chili Peppers - they put on a way better performance than when I saw them at Coachella 2007, so many great songs, and the entire crowd seemed to be singing along to every song. My favorite set of the weekend, and fitting that it was the last performance of the weekend.
Have you ever had a cortisone injection before?
Any thoughts on whether ART or graston might help my left knee feel better?
Any thoughts on whether ART or graston might help my left knee feel better?
