Monday, August 26, 2013

Yamato Scrub - Nice Trails Close to Home

We are fortunate here in Boca Raton, that when the city was being developed, there was some visionary person (or persons) looking out for the preservation of our natural landscape.  The city has more beach property that is public than most other Florida coastal cities, with Spanish River Park, Red Reef Park and the South Beach Pavilion providing two miles of beautiful lifeguard-protected beach for our use. 

The Yamato Scrub Natural Area is another treasure that has been kept undeveloped for years and, as part of the Conservation and Recreational Lands Preservation 2000 Project, is now open to the public.  The habitat encompasses 217 acres of flatwoods with slash pines and saw palmettos, a scrub community of sand pines, and a 10-acre wetland area, with 2.8 miles of trails throughout the area.

You may come across some of our protected plant and animal species--the airplant Spanish moss, the gopher tortoise and the scrub lizard.  Animal life you may see include birds such as the red-bellied woodpecker, the northern cardinal, the mottled duck, osprey, or the red-tailed hawk; and reptiles such as the rough green snake or the eastern racer, the green anole or the six-lined racerunner; and of course raccoons and squirrels.  Besides the soft sand and pine needle trails, there is a short paved nature trail for the less adventuresome. 

There is parking and entry into the preserve just off Clint Moore Road south of Congress Ave, or you can bike on the El Rio Trail to entry just north of Clint Moore.









Thursday, August 22, 2013

New Name, New Focus

There's been some evolving in the coaching I do; with all the biking and swimming I've been doing, along with the fact that I am getting older, I have sort of naturally gravitated toward a change of focus, more toward health fitness coaching along with the running.  Though running will always be my passion, I am so enjoying other forms of exercise, even weight work, especially kettlebell workouts!  Not being able to run for extended periods of time has actually forced me to find other outlets for all this energy I have.  I think the biking is really second to the running, though I do like my swim, too.

So I now introduce you to Absoulute Coaching.  New name, slightly different focus, all for the better!  Change is good!  Check it out: Absoulute Coaching


Sunday, August 4, 2013

Just For Fun

Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines is on my iPod workout playlist; has a great beat and keeps you moving!  I ran across this--really cute and fun!

Jimmy Fallon, Robin Thicke & The Roots sing "Blurred Lines" (w/classroom instruments):



Thursday, August 1, 2013

Damaged Cartilage, Stem Cell Therapy... and Lots of Biking!

It's been a very long time since I last posted.  Mostly because I am, once again, NOT running.  I was doing sooooo well back in January.  Hardly any pain, upping my mileage and pace ever so gradually.  Then I participated in a fitness coaching workshop, two eight-hour days of classes with other fitness professionals, and I ended up damaging the cartilage in that left hip of mine.  We did all kinds of moves the hip probably wasn't quite ready to do--boot camp type stuff, plyometrics, jumping up and down from boxes, that sort of thing.

I laid off running and even walking and biking, because I couldn't without it really starting to hurt, for the next couple weeks.  Still could not run or even walk without pain, so swimming was really my only option.  Things did not get better; in fact, it seemed to get worse.  So, in early June I had PRP/stem cell therapy done, this time using not just the stem cells from my fat, but also from my bone marrow.

 

PRP/Stem Cell Therapy


I saw Dr Joseph Purita at the Institute of Regenerative and Molecular Orthopedics, "world renowned stem cell therapist."  The MRI I had done that he ordered showed, first of all, that--YAY! the torn hamstring and rectus femoris tendons had healed!  I had PRP/stem cell therapy (using just my fat, not my bone marrow) for these a year ago with a doctor who has since retired from practice.  The fact that those tears were chronic (I am guessing a couple years, and the hamstring tears were partial avulsions off the bone), and I had had 8-9 months of physical therapy before the PRP/stem cell injections...   and the fact that the surgeon who cleaned out the synovial chondromatosis and repaired the labrum in that hip in 2011 said that he could not surgically repair the torn hamstrings and get a good result (thus the 8-9 months of PT, which did not help)...  well, for those tendons to heal..  I am a believer in stem cell therapy!!

The MRI also showed that the cartilage in the joint was damaged.  Dr Purita and I discussed my options and he said he thought I would get a good result with the stem cell therapy, so that's what we did.

It has been about 6-7 weeks now since the injection.  This time around they took my blood for the PRP, my own fat cells from a small area on my side (which Dr Purita says contain only a few stem cells compared to bone marrow), and bone marrow aspired from the back of my pelvis.  I was there at the office most of the day; pain/discomfort was minimal.  I was sore for a few days, but not too bad.  Obviously no running, or even much walking since the procedure.  Dr Purita said it would be several months before I noticed any difference, and 11-12 months before complete healing.

 

Biking


So, I am biking!  Which I am LOVING!!

Last week was spent at my sister and brother-in-law's home in Asheville, NC.  I of course took my bike with me, and I had the best time!  The famous Biltmore House and Estate is in Asheville, "George Vanderbilt’s extraordinary home, beautiful gardens, and Antler Hill Village & Winery, nestled on 8,000 acres in the mountains of Asheville, NC" (as it is billed on their web site).  It was mid-80's and sunny every day, perfect for biking the trails, which there are both paved and dirt/gravel, plus some technical trails in some wooded areas.  I really needed a mountain bike, and put my hybrid to the test on some of the trails! 

Some photos of my biking in Asheville:









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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