New blog

Hey all,

I clearly haven’t really been running in the past year+ because of my knee injury and I wanted to have a space where I could talk about running, golf, and whatever I felt like without feeling like it always had to be about running. So without further ado, my new blog is www.emilyebaum.com. It matches my Twitter and Instagram name and I think that it is a better reflection of who I am. I talk about golfing, running, and my life as a professor. You can check me out there and I hope you will still continue to read!

I will be posting things about my knee surgery and recovery and also when I start training for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, all my posts will be found there. I will be importing some of the posts from here so none of them are missing, especially my race recaps. I don’t want to get rid of those 🙂

I’m so glad I had this blog and this wonderful community. I hope you will continue to follow me and share in my journey!

I do still exist

Oh hey, it’s only been like almost 4 months since I posted. No big deal.

If there are any of you still out there (are you out there, it’s me, Emily!)… hello and welcome back to my life.

I currently reside 2.5 hours away from my actual home, in the middle of a cornfield, in a little tiny town in the middle of Ohio. I work as a college professor and I get asked approximately 10 times a day if I’m a student. I love my job. I never in a million years thought I would ever say those words but here I am.

I golfed a ton this summer which is exactly what I needed. I didn’t play well in my tournaments but that’s ok. I was hoping to qualify for the USGA Mid-Am this year but my knee had other plans. It decided to hurt more than ever on the day of my tournament. When you’re putting your entire body weight on your knee during your follow through and you have to walk 18, that generally leads to not playing very well. But, I toughed it out and didn’t quit. I shot one of my worse rounds, but I’m proud of myself for pushing through.

Oh yeah, my knee. I have an appointment in a few weeks with an orthopedic surgeon and I will probably have a scope over my Christmas break. It’s been two years of this injury and I’m ready for it to feel better. On the positive side, nothing is torn.. but there is a bunch of fluid and scar tissue in my knee that’s causing all my pain. After 4 cortisone shots, I’m ready to try something else. I’ve heard good things from my friends who have gotten knee scopes and I’m hoping that solves some of my knee issues.

I did actually run a 4 mile race 2 weeks ago (probably not one of my smartest ideas). I wore a brace and my knee surprisingly didn’t hurt.. until later in the day. I’ll maybe actually write a race recap for that one. Once I get a few seconds do actually do so 🙂 Spoiler alert: I ran the entire 4 miles without stopping and I was only off my PR by 25 seconds. Amazing.

Hopefully you all had wonderful fall marathons/halves or whatever you have been doing. I’m lucky to have been chosen as a Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon ambassador again and I will be posting updates on that! I cannot wait to actually be able to run again with no pain 🙂

Have a wonderful week!

 

My long overdue update post.

I really suck at updating this and I’m sorry. Here’s an update of sorts on my life.

1. My knee is getting better but I’m still not running. I went to PT for 3 months and had 2 cortisone shots in 2 different areas. It feels like it’s getting stronger but I’m still afraid to run on it.
2. I played in the USGA Am qualifier and didn’t play my best but did better than last year. So that’s a plus.
3. I have two more golf tournaments I’m playing in this year. Ohio Open and USGA Mid-Am qualifier.
4. I went on vacation to SC last week and I wish I was back on the island not doing anything.
5. I have 17 days of work left at my current job. Because I’m going to be teaching college. Which is scary.
6. I have to also move to teach said college and that sucks. I’m going to be living there during the week and coming home on the weekends.

Those are the major things. I started a new blog that sort of encompasses more than just my running life so I’m probably going to be merging this one with that one and getting rid of this one at some point. I’d rather have a generic blog than a running blog since I haven’t been doing much running in the past year.

 

Hope all of you are having a wonderful summer!

 

Cleveland Marathon 10K – The Race That Wasn’t

Spoiler alert. I didn’t finish.

I pretty much had it in the back of my mind there was no way I would be able to run a 10K. Ever since I ran the Glass City Relay, my knee had been bothering me even moreso than usual. I continued going to PT and prayed that it would get better. He told me the dreaded “do not run” two weeks ago, but told me I could try jogging/walking last week. I had hope.

I sadly could not attend the VIP dinner on the Friday night of race weekend. Lucky Emily was up until 1am working and didn’t even get to try to go. I was very sad.

This was my Friday night party!

So sad I took that picture of my computer while I was browsing IG seeing my fellow race ambassadors selfies. I’m not jealous at all, guys I swear 🙂

ANYWAY. I had signed up for the challenge. Because I signed up before my knee decided to break. Working until 1am and having an hour drive to Cleveland didn’t seem like a wonderful idea and my knee wasn’t feeling great, so I decided to stay at home (and work more) instead of trekking up to Cleveland for the 5K.

Saturday night, my knee wasn’t hurting too badly so I was optimistic I would at least be able to walk/jog the 10K the next morning. My husband and I set our early alarm, cried a little bit at the weather, and set off for downtown.

I was pretty happy we had free parking as a perk of being an ambassador and it was easy to get in the garage (and it wasn’t too far from the finish either, bonus!!). We walked towards the start line (where I ran into Andrew!) and I snapped a picture with my coworkers. My friend Samantha was running her first 10K! So proud 🙂

I was texting the other ambassadors and headed towards the start line to meet up with them. I made the picture in the neck of time! Obviously not everyone is pictured here but it was good to see these guys before the race!

I jogged a few blocks to see how my knee felt and it wasn’t hurting, so I decided to try to give it a go. I literally had nothing to lose! Soon enough, the gun went off and we made our way to the start line. I started jogging and I wasn’t hurting. But sure enough, about a half mile into it, my knee was screaming in pain. I stopped to walk. I then realized that there was no way my knee could handle walking another 5.5+ miles when it was in that much pain. I made the decision to pull off to the side and not injure myself further. I saw my coworkers Samantha and Katie and a few other friends as they ran by. I cheered them on for a bit and then made my way to the finish line.

After watching my husband finish, we walked (and I hobbled) to the VIP Brunch. I was so grateful for warmth and warm food. Since I didn’t finish, my husband had the checked bag on his bib and I was wandering around Cleveland without my jacket and warmer pants. It was cold. It was definitely the #mostclevelandraceever. That part sucked the most I think. Well, other than DNFing.

I’m proud of myself for listening to my body but I am so bummed that I couldn’t complete yet another race. I just want my knee to get better! I think it’s beyond ITB issues at this point as my pain is lower and in the patella-region. I have another doctor appointment on Tuesday to see what’s going on. Send some good thoughts my way!

Funny enough, as I went to the finish line I think my bib tripped up the sensor and it said I finished in 41 minutes. Which made me laugh because that will never happen in my lifetime. But I took a screenshot for giggles. Rest assured, I emailed them and my finish time has since been deleted 😉

I want to thank the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon for allowing me to be an ambassador once again for such an amazing event. I feel so bad that the two years I was able to do this I wasn’t able to finish (because of the same nagging injury!) but I’m confident that next year I will cross that finish line. I have no idea what’s wrong with my knee or what the future will hold, but I’m going to get that dang medal next year!

Andddd if you want to read about how so many of my fellow ambassadors freaking CRUSHED their goals, click on over to our ambassador page and check them out!

Copper River Salmon Run/Walk 5K Giveaway!

Who doesn’t love running a 5K that supports a good cause? And eating great food after running? Luckily, you have a chance to win a complimentary 5K entry to the Pier W Copper River Salmon Run being held in Lakewood on May 21 at 9:00AM at Lakewood Park. The race benefits Cleveland’s Malachi House. Malachi House was founded in 1988 and provides care for terminally ill persons, regardless of their race, religion, or gender. The staff and volunteers provide spiritual, emotional, and physical support with the assistance of a hospice team.

The coolest part of the race is the lunch afterwards at Pier W! Lunch is provided on Pier W’s patio after the race. Chef Regan Reik will be grilling up Copper River salmon burgers, vegan black bean burgers, standard all-beef burgers and turkey dogs for lunch. I’ve only heard great things about Pier W’s food! If you are interested in just the lunch and not the race, you can pay $12 for food!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Let me know why you want to run!
2. Tweet about the giveaway (I entered to win a @pierwcleveland Copper River Salmon Run entry to benefit @MalachiHouse from @emilyebaum! http://bit.ly/21W9Z8f)
3. Like Pier W on Facebook and leave a comment.
4. Follow Pier W on Twitter and leave a comment.
5. Like Malachi House on Facebook and leave a comment
6. Follow Malachi House on Twitter and leave a comment.

The giveaway starts today, May 11 and runs through Saturday, May 15 at midnight. If you win, you will need to register using the code I provide by Thursday, May 19.

Unfortunately, I’ll be on vacation that day and can’t run, but I was provided a free race entry and one to giveaway in exchange for promoting the race.

If you don’t win and want to register, head on over here!

It’s Race Week!

It’s race week for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon! Unfortunately for me, I was told by my doctor no running but I’m still planning on walk/jogging the 10K on Sunday and the 5K on Saturday! I will find out Thursday for sure if I’m allowed to at least attempt to run. My knee has been feeling a lot better so I’m hoping I get the opportunity to because I had to miss last year’s race!

I basically have no goal for this race other than to be pain free and get through the miles. I want to be there for the race. I want to cheer on my fellow ambassadors who are running the half and the full (and the ones running the 10K that will probably finish before me 😉 ). I’m so bummed that my knee has kept me out of running long distances for the past year but I’m determined to be there!

I’m bummed I have to miss the VIP Reception on Friday due to work, but I’m excited to run the 5K on Saturday and 10K on Sunday. I’m hoping to see my fellow ambassadors at the start line and cheer everyone on!

Are you running Cleveland? What race distance??  

Glass City Marathon Relay Recap

I’ve been running some sort of Glass City Marathon race for the last 4 years (2013, 2014, 2015). I have done the 5k, half, and relay. I have to say though, the relay is my favorite.

Repping Cleveland at the GCM!

My family decided to do the relay again (dad, mom, brother, husband, me). Last year, we did the relay as well but my aunt subbed in for my mom who was doing her first half. I was originally going to run the 5 mile leg but with all my knee issues, I decided to drop down to the 3.1 leg. Which was a perfect distance to see how my knee was feeling and also to get back into running a little bit.

Luckily for me, I woke up with the worst stomach ache. I was feeling awful and was reluctant to eat anything before I ran. I managed to stomach some oatmeal but it didn’t really help much.

My dad started us off with the longest leg. He told us he wanted to run around a 9 minute pace and ended up running way faster than that (but that always happens). My brother had the second leg (around 6.2) and then it was my turn! The one complaint I have is I feel bad for all the marathoners that have to run through the relay exchange because people are trying to pass off bibs and they’re trying to run a marathon.. but I digress.

I started off feeling pretty good. Actually, probably too good since my first mile was 9:05. I knew there was no way I could hold that pace but I was hoping that I could finish my 5K in under 30 minutes. My second mile was 9:28 and then my knee started hurting. I didn’t want to kill myself so I took a few short walk breaks and finished my 5K portion in 30:16. Pretty close to my 30 minute goal and I survived my leg. I handed my bib off to my mom and Jim finished us up.

Our team finished in 4:09:09, which was 6 minutes faster than last year’s race! My brother had to get back to school so he didn’t get in our picture but here’s our team!

We had a good time trying to figure out the logistics of 5 people driving around Toledo with my brother needing to leave early. We luckily had enough time to grab our beers at the finish area and hang out for a little bit. I am always grateful they have pizza when you’re done (and yes, I know I only ran 3.1 but man, that pizza was amazing). I didn’t drink any beer because my stomach was still bothering me but that pizza really hit the spot!

I’m hoping someday to be able to do the half again because it’s a great opportunity to PR and it’s flat. This year was obviously not that year but I’ll be back! This race also helped me feel more confident about being able to run the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon in a few weeks. I know I can do it!

 

Knee Updates

I finally gave in and got the cortisone shot in my knee yesterday. It’s still pretty tender and it hurts to bend my knee, but I’m hoping it will relieve some of the pain I’ve been having. I’m going to PT once a week before work on Thursdays as well. My doctor is hoping that the shot + PT will finally get me some relief from this never-ending injury.

He also told me to try running again in 3-5 days. So I’m going to wait until the weekend and see how it feels. I’m running the Glass City Marathon Relay with my family in a few weeks (either running 3.1 or 4.9 depending how the knee feels) and then the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon challenge is a few weeks after. I’m going to be at that start line whether I have to walk or run it. I’m not missing it again this year.

It’s frustrating to keep having pain that never seems to get better. I felt like it was finally getting better and then I golfed and it went back to throbbing all day. I want it to get better. I want to be able to exercise regularly without having to worry about pain. I want to be able to run 2 miles straight again!

Sooo here we go. A little over a month from Cleveland and I’m going to have quite a short training cycle for the 10K. But as long as I get there and finish, I’m going to be happy.

Weight loss Update

I haven’t talked about my weight loss or done any of my Weight Watchers posts in a while. Mostly because I quit WW (I didn’t like paying $45/month for meetings I wasn’t going to). I started to give up on it because I just didn’t have the motivation or drive to track everything I was eating and I didn’t want to feel like I was restricting what I was eating. I know that’s a bad attitude towards weight loss, but it was truly how I was feeling.

I tend to stress eat and my life has been pretty stressful as of late. I turn to snacks instead of exercising, which isn’t ideal. I missed how I felt after I lost 35 pounds in 2012-2013 before our wedding. I would look forward to working out and making healthy dinners. Where did that drive go? Why did I give up?

In the past month or so, I gave up sugar and limited going out to eat and alcohol. I already lost 9 pounds and I’m starting to feel so much better. While I’m not tracking every single thing I eat, I’m watching my portion sizes and making an effort to get to the gym more often. I have a cheat meal every once in a while and I’ve learned to not regret it. I gave up mindless snacking and instead made a list of things I need to do around the house instead of eating. I make an effort to at least walk more, even if I can’t run due to my knee. With golf season starting up, I’m going to try to walk more during the week instead of riding in the cart.

I think this more “laid-back” approach to weight loss is working for me. I didn’t like restricting everything I was eating when I lost weight before. I feel good when I step on the scale and see a smaller number. I’m getting closer to my wedding weight. I know it will take some sacrifice (and probably more time than before), but I know I can do it.

The never-ending knee saga

Well, here we are again. Every week I think will be the week that I will be able to run consistently, and every week I’m disappointed that I can’t.

I didn’t run the 5K last weekend. I woke up with terrible pain in the entire muscle in my leg and didn’t think it would be a good idea. I didn’t even want to walk 3 miles let alone run them. I was sad because I hate spending money on a race that I can’t run and I was even more sad when I went to pick up my packet and saw everyone doing their warmups. I know I was being smart, but it still hurt.

I joined the gym and have been doing hip exercises on the hip machine to help strengthen the muscle beyond what I can do at home with the resistance bands. It’s very hard to lift any weight on that leg right now and it worries me. I have upcoming races that I don’t want to miss and golf season is starting up and I want to be able to put weight on that leg without changing my swing. I called the doctor to try to get in for another appointment. I’m either seeing more PT or a cortisone shot in my future 😦

Luckily, I was able to meet up with my fellow Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors last week and that totally cheered me up! We had a great time and it was so good to see friends!

I golfed almost 36 holes on Saturday and could hardly walk when I got home. I am hoping that I can find some answers in the next few weeks so I can get back to running and exercising normally again! It’s so frustrating to have a nagging injury that just won’t go away. I want to get to the starting line of Cleveland this year knowing that I won’t be in pain while I’m running. I’m hoping that I can get to that point soon.

If you want to try to win a free entry into the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, check out Pam’s blog! It runs until Friday!