New MRI and Front Eaters New York

I got another MRI yesterday, my fourth one since November.  You'll recall that my first three MRIs were on my ankle, my back and hip).  Yesterday's MRI was, believe it or not, the first MRI I've gotten in the actual location where I'm feeling my butt pain, that is, the "right proximal hamstring @ ischial tuberosity."  (The ischial tuberosity is the sit bone of the pelvis where the hamstring attaches itself to via a tendon).

Dr. Degis had me get this new MRI.  His plan is for me to get a steroid injection into my hamstring, and the MRI will pinpoint the exact spot of the tear where the steroid will be injected.  Once that is figured out, I will be working with Dr. Ronald Adler of Hospital for Special Surgery, who specializes in radiology and imaging, to perform an "ultrasound guided steroid injection."  I'm not sure what that means, but it sounded really promising.  I even did some research on my own and I found this article which recommends ultrasound guided steroid injections for "high hamstring tendinopathy in runners," which is what I think I have.

Well, I just got the results of the MRI back.  Apparently there is nothing f-cking wrong with my hamstring.  "No fracture, periosteal new bone formation, or marrow edema."  "No muscle tear, contusion, or hematoma."  "No associated marrow change."  Everything's frigging normal.  Yeah, that's why when I sit down for 10 minutes, it feels like my leg is getting attacked by a million pins and needles.  That's why I can't do a frigging speed workout without limping for the next week.  That's when when I stretch my hamstring after even an easy run, it feels like it's on fire.  Cuz everything's normal.

Ugh, all I want is for someone to figure out what I have, and for them to fix it.  This butt pain has been going on for eight months now, without any sign of it going away.  I'm starting to wonder if i should reconsider my fall running plans, maybe not doing a marathon or Reach the Beach...I feel like that would be devastating.  I can't begin to say how frustrated I am.

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Tomorrow I'm doing the Park to Park Swim.  It's a two-mile swim in the Hudson River, from 125th Street to 165th Street.  It'll be my longest open water swim ever (if I finish, haha).  I'm excited but nervous.  Last year, I did the Great Hudson River Swim, a 1.3-miler from Christopher Street to Battery Park City.  It seems a little odd that this time I'm swimming northward, but apparently the Hudson River Swim Series are all timed to have a tidal assist.  My goal tomorrow is first to finish without drowning, and second, to finish somewhere in the top 70%.  The 70% is kind of an arbitrary number, but it would qualify me to swim in the Liberty Island Swim on June 25th (I don't even want to swim it, it would just be nice to qualify).   Last year the 70% finisher completed the swim in 1:12.  My one-mile swim last week was 32:18.  So in theory, with a tidal assist, I think I can break 1:12.  We'll see.  At the Great Hudson River Swim, I was 140 out of 171, so that's 82%.  But that was before I learned how to swim.

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I've been skipping the outdoor speed workouts with Front Runners over the past several weeks.  On Thursdays and Sundays, the club does workouts on the outdoor track, and on Tuesdays it does hill workouts in Central Park.  I really like the Tuesday workouts, but I've been skipping them because of my butt.  One good thing to come out of having my Tuesdays free is that I've gotten a chance to eat with Front Runners, which is just as fun as running with Front Runners.

My friend Fatai, who often appears in this blog (see here and here), has started a new business venture.  Fatai is a Ph.D. candidate in Food Studies at NYU, so he's an expert in all things food-related.  His new business, Budding Taste, takes people on "Taste Excursions" in restaurants all over the city.  The excursions are based on a unifying theme, like Chinese food or spicy food, and we get to experience the city's diverse food flavors and learn how to taste critically.  Of course, that means we get to eat really tasty food!

I went on the Chinese tasting series, which took people to restaurants in Queens and Manhattan serving Sichuan, Cantonese, Northern Chinese, Fujianese, and Taiwanese food.  I've actually learned a lot about the different cuisines of China, and really enjoyed the chance to sample them all.  Here are some pics from the Northern Chinese place we went to in Queens.  (Sorry for the crappy Blackberry photos, they don't do justice to the food!)

Fatai's taking reservations now for his next series, which will be spicy foods.  We'll be sampling the food of Korean, the West Indies, Sichuan Province, Ethiopia and India.  I'm really excited.  If you let him know that you're a reader of Running to Dinner, I'm sure he will give you a discount!

PS: Like the Budding Taste website?  Fellow Front Runner John MacConnell designed it!

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I've been obsessed with flank steak lately.  Flank steak is usually what goes into fajitas and sometimes asian stir-fries.  I like it because it's a relatively inexpensive cut of beef, yet it's very lean, easy to make and flavorful when done correctly.  It also lets me break out my cast-iron skillet, which I like cooking with.  

Ideally it would be good to marinate a flank steak, but sometimes I get lazy and just rub some salt and pepper onto it, maybe some Worcestershire or soy sauce, a little mirin.  It's best to have it sit on the counter for a little while for it to reach room temperature so it cooks quicker.  The cooking part is easy, I just put it in a HOT cast iron skillet, for about 4-5 minutes a side, depending on the thickness.  It ends up getting my house super smoky, but I can live for a day or two with the smell of meat if it tastes good, which this definitely does.

After a 5-10 minute rest wrapped up in foil, I'll slice it up.  The key to flank steak is you have to slice it very thinly, across the grain.  The flank is pretty much the cow's abdominal muscle, so the grain runs the long way down the belly.  Just like the ab muscles of a runner are always engaged, the flank is always working for a cow too, and thus can be extremely tough if you cut it like a normal steak.  But, cooked quickly and cut thinly across the grain, flank steak is super tender and delicious.  Yummm.