Bella's bum leg--Round 2

Earlier this year, you may remember hearing about Bella and her trouble with her rear left leg. Bella had a bit of a limp, but after a number of vet appointments, a few x-rays, and surgery prep, we determined (with the orthopedic specialist's help) a conservative approach would be best. Fast forward four months, and Bella was up to two thirty-minute walks a day and cleared to add more normal activity back into her day. That was back in August.

Since then, Bella has played with her friends, chased a few tennis balls, and gone back to a relatively normal life. Until Tuesday, that is. On Tuesday, Bella was chasing the cat, and I heard a yelp. She then wandered into the computer room and sat down. It was clear her right leg was bothering her. She wouldn't put it down.

Fast forward a few days, and even with pain medication she will not put her right leg down. We have a vet appointment with the orthopedic specialist Monday, and I can't wait to get some professional feedback on what is wrong (Google is NOT a great vet) and hopefully get a plan in place to set her up for recovery. Bella needs to get back to being a happy and playful puppy!

(See that right leg and how she is sticking it out to the side? That's one of the common symptoms of an ACL injury. Yikes!)

Running a half, the second time around

There will be no pictures in this post, which I know makes for a less appealing read. Shawn didn't take any pictures, and the ones that were taken by the photographers were not particularly attractive, so not worth the $19.95 in my book. Aside from the pictures, here is the story of my recent half marathon:

Last Sunday, I completed my second half-marathon. I participated in a similar event last year, which I believe followed the same course. I have been training for the half marathon for the past few months, and except for a bit of travel and a bout of illness, I was pretty consistent in my methods. Mondays were mid-distance runs, Tuesdays were sprints or hills, Thursday was some version of yoga or stretching and Fridays were my long-distance runs. I enjoyed the training....most of the time. Sometimes, I wanted to sleep in, or take a cycling class. Overall, however, I think it paid off.

On Sunday, I was up at 6:15 a.m. getting ready to go. By 7:30 a.m., I was at the race start. It was supposed to be a clear day, without much wind. There still wasn't a ton of sun at 7:30 a.m., but I had my running sunglasses on just in case. I started out around the 8:30 pace group, although I never did find the pacer. I didn't wear a watch, and no one provided splits, but I had a goal time of about an 8:30/mile pace. Last year, I ran the race in 1:55, which was just more than an 8:50 pace. Without information on timing to spur me on, I tried to just pace myself and keep moving. I was strong until about mile six, and by mile nine I really had to start using the mantra of "just keep moving." The last few miles were the toughest. The course had a lot of hills, with some major ones coming up at the end of every mile, and the end of the course. I wish I could say that when I hit mile 12, I had a surge of energy, but no. I was dead tired, but just kept moving and eventually the finish was in sight. I did pick it up for the last 200 yards or so, but that was only because I could only see half the race clock and wanted to be as fast as I could (especially, I told myself, if this was the last half marathon I ever do--I frequently told myself it might be my last during the race).

The race clock said 1:52 or so when I went through. When the results were posted, my chip time was 1:51:27, which gave me an 8:30 pace. Success! I was so excited to have met my goal. I felt much better this time around than when I completed the half marathon last year, and I even had energy throughout the day after the race, although my quads were quite sore from all the hills.

I don't know if I will do another half marathon. I think I preferred the sprint triathlon. No matter what event I decide to train for next though, I am enjoying the downtime right now. I went for a run today, and I didn't wear a heart rate monitor, GPS, or even a watch. I just ran until I reached a point I wanted to turn around, enjoying the crunch of the fall leaves under my feet, the big blue sky overhead, and the music on my iPod. Sometimes, it's nice not to be training.

Ready...Set...Swim?

Last weekend I completed my first sprint triathlon. I'm actually really excited about it. I have been wanting to do a sprint triathlon for more than three years--back before I took conditioning swimming at Washington State in preparation. I had always been too timid and not quite motivated enough to make it happen. This year, when a sprint triathlon was happening in my area, I decided to give it a try.

I went the day before the race to a clinic for first-timers to learn about transitions and setting up my equipment. I ate a good dinner and went to bed at a reasonable hour, and then got up before 6 a.m. so that Shawn and I could head over to the race location at 6:30. I went and set up my transition area, making sure my helmet was unstrapped, my bike was facing outward, and my shoes and socks were easily accessible. I didn't invest in a lot of expensive gear since it was my first event, so I also had clothes to add over my swimsuit for the bike and run portion of the race.

The first event was the swim. It took place in an indoor pool, which meant that participants had to start one at a time. I didn't even get in the pool until sometime after 9:30 (the race had an 8 a.m. start time) because I was in the middle swim group. The swim started off well, but I definitely was tired at about half-way, which made the last few laps a little tough. When I do another, I will definitely spend more time in the pool in preparation.

My first transition took longer than I had anticipated. While I had practiced putting on the clothing and other elements, being wet from the swim really did slow me down a considerable amount. Another "next time" point: get triathlon specific gear.

The bike was also somewhat challenging for me. I have never been a big cyclist, and I didn't really change that in preparing for the event. I used my mountain bike, which while not ideal, was common in the event. I also am horrible on hills! It's funny, because I tend to think in running I am fairly good at hills. I like to power up them knowing that at some point the other side will have a downhill I can enjoy, but even that mentality didn't help me much this time around. At least a dozen people passed me at various points on the bike, and I only passed a few. Somehow I got through it though, and it was so nice to see Shawn taking pictures and cheering me on as I came in from the bike portion.

I made it back into the transition area, drank some water while racking my bike and taking off the helmet, and then headed out for the run portion. My legs felt a little like lead, but I knew that I could run two miles. I have also been training for a half-marathon, and even my shortest runs of the past month or so have been longer than two miles. No one passed me on the run, and I passed more than a dozen people, finishing the two miles in 15:36. (I'll take it!). It was really exciting to come up on the finish line, with Shawn cheering as well as other spectators. The race organizers put your name on your race bib (and on your arm) so people can cheer you on along the way, which I really appreciate. The volunteers with this series are also great. I did a half marathon with them last year. They are encouraging throughout the various portions of the event, which is probably tiring for them since the race can take awhile.                  

Overall, I finished in 1:18. I definitely didn't set any records, but I had a great time. I wish I had a picture of tired me, coming in to the finish line, smiling and high-fiving Shawn, who also had a big grin on his face. It was so nice to have him there to cheer me on throughout the event, and I think in a way triathlons lend themselves to spectators more than some of the other races I have participated in. If you hang out around the transition area, you get to see the start and finish of just about every portion. I guess I will have to test this out, as well as the things I learned this time around, in another sprint triathlon.

Lighthouses--continued

One lighthouse just wasn't enough though. After checking out the Currituck lighthouse, we visited two others.

First up: Bodie light house (pronounced BODY)

We did not climb this lighthouse but instead spent time checking out the grounds (and posing for group pictures!).

Next up: Cape Hatteras

This is the tallest lighthouse in North America! My uncle and I climbed to the top while others in our group spent some time relaxing.

Cape Hatteras light house was renovated for nearly a million dollars, but you would not know it from the fact that pieces of the railing along the top were disintegrating. A lot of that money was actually used not just to renovate, but to move the lighthouse.

Cape Hatteras used to be closer to the shore, but the wind was causing all sorts of problems to the building, so eventually it was moved a little further inland.

I really enjoyed seeing the lighthouses. I find them fascinating!

A week at the beach

After graduation, my family and I headed out to the Outer Banks (specifically, Nags Head). We had rented a house for the week right on the beach. Shawn had to stay behind for a few days and work, but he got in Tuesday night.

Overall, the trip was a blast. We had great views--we could even see dolphins from the deck!

We spent our time visiting sites such as the Wright Brother's Memorial (NC is "first in flight" you know).

And the various lighthouses of the Outer Banks. First up was Currituck. This lighthouse is the only one along the Outer Banks left in its original brick state. It was thought that with the original brick, it was easier to see just how many bricks were used to make up the lighthouse. 

Shawn, Jeff and I made the climb to the top.

More on some of our other excursions in the days to come.

Graduation 2013

After three plus years I am the proud recipient of a PhD! (I add the "plus" to the three years because the PhD program was three years, but the master's program was two, and the bachelor's was four...). Most PhD programs take four or more years, but the program at UNC is supposed to be accomplished in three years--that's how long your funding lasts anyway. Some semesters I took five classes; I submitted and received a grant to support my dissertation research; I completed my comprehensive exams (a series of five closed book essay-like documents that were about 15 pages each, done in a four hour time block over the course of a week and a half) early in the summer; I defended my dissertation proposal in the summer before my third year and then spent the third year using the grant funds to implement a campaign in six NC schools and evaluate it; I then wrote up my dissertation--a 100 plus page document that included theory and application, and passed my dissertation defense. When I look back, it seems like A LOT happened in those three years.

Graduation was great. My parents, brother and extended family came out. So nice to have so much support! I can't even begin to thank everyone for all their support and encouragement throughout the last three years. Shawn has been wonderful, whether it was dealing with late night study sessions or listening to my research presentations, and my family and friends have really helped make this experience a great one.

UNC has multiple graduations (three in total that PhDs could participate in). I participated in two of them. The first was just for graduate degrees across the university. We had a great commencement speaker and that was when I was first "hooded." On my left is my wonderful advisor.

The second graduation was the next day for all students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. At this ceremony, I again was hooded by my advisor, but I also received my diploma!

Overall, it was a great weekend, and I really enjoyed sharing it with all my family!

Below are a few other pictures from the weekend:

Success

The defense was a success! I was a little nervous in the half hour or so before the defense, but it actually turned out just fine. My committee was great and provided excellent feedback that will help me make positive changes as I move forward. And, I passed! That means I can finish off the dissertation, submit it to the grad school, and get my PhD.

This is a pic of me from before the defense--see how excited I was?

 

When I came home, Shawn had gotten me flowers and a gift--a nice watch! We then went out for Italian food (where it was also $5 Martini Wednesday!). 

When we came home that evening though, we found a box of dark chocolate eggs that Bella had eaten splayed all over the floor. Bella ate about 14 eggs! Needless to say, we were nervous. But Shawn knew what to do. He said we needed to get them out of her system, so we called our wonderful friend who is also a vet tech and she helped us. After Bella got sick (she was a real champ as we keep feeding her hydrogen peroxide--just happy to have all the attention), she was pretty tired out for the rest of the evening. Luckily, it seems like most the chocolate was out of her system and she seems to be doing alright.

What a day!

D-Day

Today is the morning of my defense. My day will start out pretty normally, with some meetings at UNC about a project I am currently working on. Then at noon, I will meet with my committee to talk about the project I have spent the last two years or so working on.

I have prepared a brief powerpoint to highlight aspects of the project, and we will then discuss the 100 plus page document I sent them three weeks ago. The presentation is supposed to be about 10 minutes. It is actually quite hard to pare down 2 years worth of work to 10 minutes. Good thing they also had 100 pages to get the gist.

I will let you know how it all turns out, but overall, I am pretty excited. I anticipate a meeting that is informative and provides some good feedback on the work I have done--feedback that will help me improve it so that I can send it out to journals for publication. Hopefully, the next post you see from me will be written by Dr. Jessica Fitts Willoughby.

Birthday building!

Happy birthday to me!

I had a birthday last weekend. Instead of presents, I asked Shawn to help me ("help me") build a cedar planter box for the backyard. Being the good sport that he is, we spent the morning of my birthday picking out wood, followed by brunch with friends, and then spent the afternoon building.

We had a few mistakes along the way (but all our fingers are intact, which I was concerned about when I first attempted the circular saw).

Overall, we came out with a pretty solid box though.

After that, Shawn took the time to bake me a cake, and our friends brought us some delicious cupcakes.

The following weekend, we finished the planter box off with some trim and planted romaine, spinach, onions and tomatoes in there. Excited to see what actually grows over the next few months! (Bella appears to be a little less excited).

Fun outside NC--in the Bahamas

Alright...I am approximately four months behind in posts. My fans (e.g., my parents and about 2 friends) are getting restless.

Shawn and I have been up to a lot in the last four months. Aside from an amazing Christmas with my family in NC, I have started a new semester, Shawn has been busy at work, and we have gone on vacation. Here is some information on our trip from last month. Over the next few weeks, I will catch you all up on the many things we have done, from house projects to PhD milestones, so stay tuned.

In early February, Shawn and I took a trip with two of our good friends to the Bahamas! We visited Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport. Part of the fun took place on the way, though, because we went there on a Carnival cruise (and don't worry--our cruise moved at just the right pace--luckily no time stuck at sea for us).

On the ship, we had a lot of fun. We participated in every scavenger hunt the ship had to offer, digital or otherwise, and after winning gold medals in two of those, we made up our own scavenger hunt!

We also spent time eating, dancing, enjoying comedy shows, and watching sunsets and sunrises. Here are some pictures from those great times:

We also enjoyed activities off the ship, like a beach day at our first stop: Port Canaveral.

And paddle boarding, snorkeling, walking downtown and beach time in Nassau.

And jeeping! We went on a Jeep adventure that took us off-road around Grand Bahama, Freeport, as well as to a beautiful garden and another great beach.

Overall, we had a great trip with some great company!