April (Fools) Coffee Date
It’s the first Friday of the month, which means it’s time for our coffee date, hosted as always by Coco and Deborah. I debated starting this post by saying how my foot feels so much better, I’ve signed up for an ultramarathon which takes place next month. Of course, the next sentence would be… APRIL FOOLS! Yes, that would have been hilarious (?) but I’ve never been into jokes like that. I guess I just don’t like fooling people, even for a second. I know… how boring. Anyway, let’s get started with this coffee date- no fooling allowed. If we were having coffee together, of course I would talk about what I’m reading. I just finished The Maid by Nita Prose. This book took me on a little journey. Although it’s never stated, I assume the main character, Molly, has Aspergers. Now, I have a very close relationship with someone who has Aspergers. I don’t mean to be cryptic, but I really can’t name names. Suffice it to say, I know a bit about this. At first I was chuckling at Molly’s idiosyncrasies. Like when she’s waiting for the detective, she says “It felt like I had been waiting for one hundred and twenty minutes.” Yes, that’s spot on. People with Aspergers take things very literally. They don’t understand it when people exaggerate or make generalizations. Molly would never say “It felt like I had been waiting a hundred years!” One hundred and twenty minutes is exactly what she would say. However, as the book went on, it made me so sad. The way that Molly struggled to understand people, and the way people took advantage of her, saddened me so much that I almost stopped reading halfway through. I know, I know… this is FICTION. I just couldn’t stand the thought of my Aspie going through something like that. Luckily, I forged ahead and all was well in the end. This book is a mystery, and at first I thought the plot line was too obvious- but there is a twist at the end. For a while I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book overall, but then I realized Nita Prose did something not every author does- she made me care deeply about the main character. So in the end it was a good book! Next up- Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. Okay, let’s talk about my foot, for real. For TWO YEARS now I’ve been dealing with a very stubborn case of plantar fasciitis, and a mysterious pain on the bottom outside edge of my foot. My doctor has now diagnosed that pain as “lateral column syndrome,” with a possible subluxation of the cuboid bone. Seriously??? I’ve had ELEVEN shockwave treatments (at $125 a pop) and gotten custom orthotics- all paid for out of my own pocket. Insurance covered nothing. My doctor still believes that he’ll cure this, and says he has a 100 percent success rate with shockwave therapy. One time I told him I hoped I wouldn’t be that person to bring him down to 99 percent, and he actually seemed offended. He looked me in the eye and said “I don’t do 99 percent.” So… unless he’s a pathological liar- anything is possible at this point- he believes he’s going to fix this. I’m starting to wonder when it’s time to cut my losses and seek a different treatment. Injection? Acupuncture? Surgery? All I have to say is… next time my foot hurts, tell me it’s a stress fracture, put me in a boot and say I can run again in eight weeks. That would be GREAT. What would you tell me over coffee? What are you reading now? Have you ever heard of a subluxation of the cuboid bone? (I hadn’t until now, but if you google it, there’s lots of information.). I hope you’re enjoying a delicious beverage this morning!
Just Like Me…
Lately I’ve been making my way slowly but happily through Pema Chodron’s Welcoming the Unwelcome, and I love it. (Thanks again to Nicole for the recommendation!) It’s not a long book but I’m reading one chapter at a time and not rushing through it. This is the second book I’ve read by Pema, and what I love is, although she’s a Buddhist nun, she writes in a very clear, down-to-earth style. You know what I mean… sometimes these spiritual books say things like “Life is a river… it ebbs and flows” or “A cloud never dies.” Okay- what am I supposed to do with that? Or, let’s take Eckhart Tolle. I actually love Eckhart, but here’s a quote from his book A New Earth: “The Subject, the I, the knower without which nothing could be known, perceived, thought, or felt, must remain forever unknowable. This is because the I has no form. Only forms can be known, and yet without the formless dimension, the world of form could not be.” ACK! What??? Let’s get back to Pema Chodron (quickly.) Not only is her writing crystal clear, where everything makes sense the first time through, but she gives examples of things you can do right now to start implementing her ideas. The underlying theme of the book is the importance of overcoming polarization. She says, “There are many ways to talk about the problems of this world, but one way or another, they all have to do with polarization.” And, polarizations begins in our own minds. Pema suggests an exercise we can do called “Just like me.” You go to a public place and look around at the people. Choose a random person, and say to yourself, “Just like me, this person doesn’t want to feel uncomfortable. Just like me, this person doesn’t want to be disliked. Just like me, this person wants to have friends and intimacy.” By doing this you realize that our similarities are greater than our differences. Here’s an example from my own life where I’ve done a form of this exercise. I’ve found that sometimes I’ll begin a massage, and I’ll start to notice the odor of cigarettes emanating from the person’s skin. Outwardly I’m still working hard at the massage, but my thoughts start to go something like this: “Oh, this person smokes. They obviously don’t care about their health. What difference will one massage make? They’re not doing much to take care of themselves.” I’ve unconsciously put them in a separate category from myself, maybe even thinking that they don’t deserve a massage as much as another person. The last time I caught myself in that situation, I instead thought like this: “Just like me, this person doesn’t want to be in pain. Just like me, this person wants to feel good, Just like me, this person has some bad habits that are very hard to break.” I could go on and on. This person wants to be loved, This person wants to be healthy. This person doesn’t want to suffer. I guess the point it, I consider myself to be a reasonably tolerant and somewhat enlightened person- but I can find all sorts of examples of times when I fall into the “us” vs. “them” mentality. I’m working hard at becoming aware of this because Pema says if we can commit to overcoming polarization in our own minds, it will help the world. God knows we need as much help as possible. I know what you’re thinking- “Jenny, the title of your blog is RUNNERS FLY. What in the world does this have to do with running?” Well… I have to do something while my foot heals up! I’ve got extra time on my hands- might as well try to help the world, right? Have you read any books by Eckhart Tolle or Pema Chodron? Do you like books like this? Do you have times where you find yourself falling into an “us” vs. “them” mentality?
Weekly Rundown- It’s All Good!
Welcome to the Weekly Rundown! As if to make up for the fact that March has whizzed past, this week seemed really looooooong. I’m linking up as always this Sunday with Kim and Deborah. Let’s just see how this week went… Sunday This was the day before my birthday, and until a few weeks ago I had planned to do a long run to the beach on this day. But I came to my senses and realized my foot couldn’t handle such a run. Instead, I woke up and did a 60 minute yoga class (all classes this week were on Peloton- yoga with Denis Morton as always!) That felt good, but as the day went on I started to feel pretty blah. In the afternoon I decided I needed to get outside and get moving. “Motion is the Potion”, right? The magic potion to cure a low mood. I got out for a two mile walk, and then came home and did a 10 minute core class. Much, much better. Monday March 21st- it’s my birthday! I did a 3.21 mile run in honor of the occasion. Then, goaded on by Kim, I did a 3 minute, 21 second plank. But! I took two breaks during that time. As Coco said, “I might be able to hold a 3+ minute plank, but I certainly don’t want to.” Ha ha… well put, Coco. Kim was a beast and DID hold a 3.21 minute plank though!!! Tuesday I have a new favorite Peloton instructor for strength classes- Ben Alldis. I did one of his 20 minute glutes and legs strength classes, and then a 5 minute core class. Later in the day I did a 30 minute yoga flow, focused on lower body. My left hip is still a little cranky. Sometimes I feel it in my hip flexor and sometimes pain shoots all the way down the side of my leg. But it’s not keeping me from running, so I’m just going about my workouts normally, with a little more focus on yoga. Wednesday Started the day with a 3 mile run! Every running day is a good day. After the run I did a 10 minute core class with Ben, and then Denis’s 10 minute hip focus flow. This is a great stretch for your hips- my only complaint is that he runs out of time on the left side for pigeon. I just keep holding the pose while he ends the class. Later in the afternoon I did my pull-up work- assisted pull-ups with a band, and “negatives”- I pull myself up with the band, then slip my leg out of the band and lower myself down, very slowly. These are KILLERS. Thursday Started the morning with a 45 minute yoga flow, which felt great. I fully intended to do a core class after work, but I completely forgot. Thursdays are weird. Friday Ah, speaking of weird days. My daughter’s school band went on a trip to Universal, and she had to get up at 4:30 am. It was one of those restless nights where I was afraid we were going to oversleep, so I probably got about… three or four hours of sleep? Arg. After getting her to school and onto the bus, I went back to bed. I woke up a couple hours later and did a 20 minute yoga flow before heading to work. Definitely not my usual Friday morning! After work I did a 3 mile run and a 10 minute core class. I’m normally a morning runner, but I do like these late afternoon runs! So, having my daughter gone overnight gave me a taste of what it will be like when both kids are out of the house… and I didn’t like it ONE BIT! Luckily we have five more years before we’re empty nesters. I’m not looking forward to it. Saturday Before work I did my pull-up routine, and then later in the afternoon I did a 20 minute glutes and legs class with Ben Alldis, and then one of his 10 minute core classes. After that I felt like I needed a good stretch, so I did Denis’s 10 minute hip focus flow again. Sunday On tap for the day is a five mile run! We’re so, so lucky to be getting a beautiful cooldown for a few days- nights down to the 50s, days in the 70s, and low humidity. It’s truly a gift this late in the year, and I can’t wait for my run. How was your week? Were you able to get outside as much as you wanted? Those of you with older kids… what’s is like being an empty nester! – Please tell me it’s not too sad!
March Runfessions- Deep Thoughts
First of all, how in the world is it already the end of March? What’s going on? Time is just flying by. As always on the last Friday of the month, I’m linking up with Marcia and her “runfessional.” Since I haven’t been running as much lately, I’ve had extra time to ponder some Great Truths. I know… you wish I would stick to my usual topics of the weather and digestive issues. Well, this time we’re going deep- let’s get started! So… I have to runfess that I’ve been feeling pretty down lately. I blamed it on not being able to do my birthday long run, but I think the problem is bigger than that. Running is how I experience the outdoors. I always love my long runs because they’re my weekly adventures. While I’m grateful that I’m able to run at all, three mile runs around my neighborhood- in the early morning darkness- aren’t very exciting. The chapter I just finished in Pema Chodron’s Welcoming the Unwelcome is called “Beyond the Comfort Zone.” She shows this model describing the process of growth: We’re naturally drawn to the Comfort Zone. The Learning/Challenge Zone is where growth occurs, and the Excessive Risk Zone is to be avoided as too risky to encourage growth. I started thinking: “When was the last time I got out of my comfort zone?” As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time I did much of anything at all, other than the usual work, runs, and Peloton classes. This past weekend was spent binge watching old episodes of Spring Baking Championship on Discovery Plus, while sitting on the couch with a huge bowl of popcorn. The funny thing is, the whole point of the comfort zone is to make you feel better, but the longer you stay there, the worse you feel. I decided I needed to do something, anything to get myself out of this rut. So I searched up races, and picked the weirdest one I could find. It’s a 5K trail run to benefit the Solid Waste Authority. It was a little hard to convince my husband- I think it sounded like we were going to be running through a huge garbage dump or something- but I signed us both up. According to the website, “The Run AWAY 5K is a unique race that takes participants AWAY through cabbage palms, cypress hammocks, marshes and lush pine flat woods, with glimpses of Grassy Waters Preserve and the Renewable Energy Park.” That sounds pretty good! I hope we get a t-shirt that says “Solid Waste Authority” on it. The race is April 3rd, and- to make it further outside my comfort zone- it’s over an hour away and starts at 7:30 am. Neither one of us is in shape to actually race a 5K- I haven’t done any real speedwork in about two years- but it will be a new experience. I’m feeling better already! Hopefully my foot will hold up to some faster running… I’ll find out. But I can’t just continue to sit around and wait for my foot to be 100% healed before I can enjoy life again. I have to get out there and do what I can with the limitations I have right now. The “Run Away” 5K is a perfect start. What do you take refuge in for your comfort zone? – We all need to be in our comfort zone sometimes. If you find yourself in a rut, how do you get out of your comfort zone?