Tag: running
Old Age and such / Today is a Very Special Day!!
Trying to go to sleep many nights ago, I remembered when I feared I had a stress fracture. Because bedtime is the perfect time for your brain to think about…everything. At the time, I was routinely wearing steel-toed boots for my job as a government contractor. Those suckers are heavy! Pretty sure the boots hadn’t caused the possible injury, so I was looking for other reasons. Mileage and running were the culprits, in my mind.
Some weeks went by and as I was contemplating finally calling my doctor I realized the problem. As a right-side sleeper, I typically lay with my left leg over the top of my right with my left heel wedged firmly into the top of my right foot. Exactly where the pain was. Once I made a conscious decision to move my feet away from each other, the pain subsided within days.
So what exactly is the point of this jog down memory lane? Honestly, I don’t remember anymore but I’m sure there’s a lesson here somewhere.
Now it’s coming back to me! My coworker recently shared women should be getting their first mammogram around age 35. Wait. I’m 35. So now I need to remember to call my doctor. At least the coworker said colonoscopy screening is near age 40. Small favors. You can bet I’ll be sharing all those details.
Again, I digress. Seems the pulled ACL/MCL issue I’ve been toying with for many months now may be caused by none other than yours truly. Shocking, I know. When I’m sitting or have my legs up – which I do often – I tend to cross my feet at the ankles, left over right. This position places strain on my inner right knee which is exactly where I develop bruising and pain especially as training mileage increases. Coincidence? Ha!
So here we are to this point. I’m attempting to keep my legs in their proper places. Preferably not kicking anyone, although I did take a knee to the shin one night and considered it. Next thing you know I’ll forget where that bruise came from because middle 30s and all.
Final thought: speaking of old age – today is my sweet baby’s 5th birthday. It’s so hard to believe because I could never imagine this day. Everything about her pushes me to be a better person. Even when it’s not-so-sweet qualities. She knows my every button, my every weakness, my every desire for all good things in her life. Yet she tries me still. She tree, me apple.
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I ask you –
Do you self diagnose or make an immediate appointment with professionals?
Be honest – how often do you forget things?
Coincidences don’t exist! I’ll say it.
Weekly Training Record, wk 5
Oh Where…is My Hairbrush?
It’s not unusual I find odd things in my purse, but sometimes I crack up at the scavenger hunter’s dream it has become. Fruit snacks? Check! Hair ties and barrettes? Check, Check! Sunscreen? Got it! Random banana? I have one of those! You just never know what you’ll find.
My Navy days have never let me down in terms of hydration. Though I’ve been known to let myself down. Water is a staple. I go nowhere without it. Luckily a huge purse can carry water bottles, too.
Something about springtime or maybe it’s just spring training makes me crave sandwiches. I grew up hating sandwiches so this is a big deal. Bread = yuck. Cheese = double yuck. Slowly I’ve come around to the adoption of the sandwich as a viable food option. Pile it high with vegetables and add “special sandwich sauce” aka Boar’s Head Deli Dressing. Ta-da! A sandwich connoisseur I am! Surprisingly the training hunger hasn’t kicked in. Yet. But it shouldn’t be too long until it does. Then the real fun begins. I’ll take a baker’s dozen of donuts, please! No, I’m not sharing these!
Maybe instead of “I Met All My Husbands in the Police Report” I should start with something easier to digest, like “The Sandwich Stories!” Would I become a food blogger then? Nah. Seems like a lot of pressure for someone who really only wants to cook chicken and fish and vegetables. Maybe next time.
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I ask you –
Are you the familial stuff holder?
What food did you despise as a child but love now?
Name the craziest thing you’ve found in your purse or pockets!
Day in Photos, pt 921
“Day in Photos” started when I realized there were a lot of photos in my phone that maybe didn’t fit whatever topic I was writing about during the day/week. Now look at it. Just look at it! It’s become a successful way to share a whole bunch of photos, very few words, and still count as a blog post!
Let’s begin –
I’m madly in love with my logo and what my sister gifted me with on our birthday: branded apparel. I truly enjoy advertising for other small, local, women-owned, military-owned, etc brands – and will continue to do so – but I also need to share my own!
No matter how many times I say ‘the foam roller is not a toy’ it never fails to become a group activity. Not really a group type of girl. Solo foam rolling is much appreciated. Unbeknownst to me, some people have no clue what a foam roller is or what it does. All I can say is it hurts so good!
Leaving you with this photo of my twin. It’s been nice catching up lately. Never a dull moment when she’s around!
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I ask you –
How often are you shocked at the number of phone photos you have amassed?
Are there items in your home with the designation “not a toy'”?
Tell me your sibling(s) name(s)!
Weekly Training Record, wk 3
Runner’s High
I think running gets an unfairly bad rap. My good friends at Brooks Sports aka Brooks Running say running can significantly improve physical and mental health.
They aren’t wrong. As someone who battles anxiety, specifically postpartum anxiety and depression (post forthcoming on the subject), running has changed the way I think, move, and breathe. Because breathing is pretty important, right?
Naysayers will purport running is bad for your knees. “You’ll burn out your joints, kid!” Tell me this: if it’s so bad, then why do we encourage children to do it? Sure, some people should not be out there running. For some, it can exacerbate issues they already have. But as a whole – running is good. Cardio is good for the body and heart. With a propensity for our population to be facing heart and health issues, perhaps running could alleviate some of our weight control problems. Just a thought.
20-25 minutes. That’s the magic number for runners to begin feeling euphoria. On average, I run 45-60 mins/day. I should be so euphoric you have to pull me down from the clouds!
Alas, it’s not that easy.
Aside from the above photo, in which I ran a PR (personal record) of 13.1 miles in 2:28 (that’s 2 hours and 28 minutes), running can be tough! One training cycle after another really burns you out after an extended period of time. Recovery is just as important as training. Where was I going with this? Oh yes, euphoria!
A study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that even five to 10 minutes a day of low-intensity running is enough to extend life by several years, compared with not running at all. It shows that the minimal healthy “dose” of exercise is smaller than many people might assume.
https://www.health.harvard.edu
Did you read that correctly?! Several years! At 5-10 mins per day?! It takes me that long to make a cup of coffee (threenagerhood makes everything take infinitely longer). Do you have to run a half marathon or 10k to benefit? Absolutely not.
But if you want to run a half marathon and need a coach, training cycle planner, or race manager, I’m your girl!
I’ll leave you with one last item. See those smiles in the photo below? That’s a half marathon smile. Are you ready to run with me? I promise I’m slow. And I walk sometimes. And I have trouble maintaining a solid nutrition plan. But I get out there and run because I can. Some people never have this opportunity.
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I ask you –
Have you run a 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, or Marathon? Share your stories with us!
Which distance do you find the most challenging? Why?
Do you enjoy training in a group setting or solo?
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