Becoming an Ultrarealist
In a recent Strength Running podcast, Jason interviewed Matt Fitzgerald about his new book, The Comeback Quotient. It’s.a collection of stories about athletes who faced setbacks but succeeded in overcoming them. Obviously, I want this book. I wanted it so badly that thanks to Amazon, it will be arriving on my doorstep tomorrow. While I’m waiting, here are three interesting points from the podcast. 1. Matt Fitzgerald is dealing with long haul Covid. Boy, that would suck. Apparently he got Covid in March of 2020, recovered, but six months later was hit with long haul symptoms and has been struggling with it ever since. He’s currently unable to run because of it. Talk about a frustrating situation! Having plantar fasciitis is frustrating, but it’s better than long haul Covid- so I should stop complaining. 2. The distinction between acceptance and embracing a situation. Matt says that people who who overcome difficult situations are “ultrarealists.” They start by accepting the current situation, but then go even farther than that and embrace it. He describes embracing a bad situation as fully committing to whatever needs to be done in the moment. According to Matt, becoming an “ultrarealist” is a key component to staging a comeback, and I’m looking forward to reading more about it. 3. Increase your overall well-being. Certain situations may seem temporarily hopeless. Like Matt can’t cure his long haul Covid today, and my plantar fasciitis won’t be gone tomorrow. But Matt says you can still strive to increase your overall well-being every day. Obviously we all know that lying on the couch reading comic books and eating candy bars for dinner won’t help anything. But we can go one step further and get better in some way every day. Maybe my foot won’t be healed, but can I make my hips stronger? Can I get more sleep? Can I eat a healthier dinner? I can still make my life better. I can’t wait to read this book. He does warn that parts of it may be hard to read, because some of the situations people deal with are very serious, like cancer and depression. But they all make comebacks, so I think in the end it will be inspiring. Just when I needed some serious inspiration, this book appeared on my radar- life is funny like that. Have you heard of this book? Have you read anything else by Matt Fitzgerald?
Thomas Edison Had Plantar Fasciitis
I’m positive that when Thomas Edison said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” he was talking about curing his plantar fasciitis. What? He didn’t? Oh… that. Yes, he may have been talking about inventing the light bulb, but I’m just saying he COULD have been talking about plantar fasciitis… it’s possible. I mean, I’ve never read anywhere that he DIDN’T have it, so you never know. Anyway, I have good news and bad news! The good news is that I got the results of my MRI. The bad news is that it didn’t really show anything, other than the thickened plantar fascia. Meanwhile, it’s not the heel that’s preventing me from running right now (although it does hurt) – there’s a very sore spot on the outer edge of my foot, and a lot of pain where the achilles tendon attaches to the bone. REALLY? Nothing showed up on the MRI? At this point, I would have been happier to find out that I have a stress fracture. Yes- just put me in a boot and tell me I can run again in eight weeks. But there’s more good news! I have a recommendation for a podiatrist (who’s also a runner) who “cured” my friend’s PF. The bad news is, she got shockwave therapy which I’ve already tried. Good news is they also offer other treatments. Bad news is the first appointment I could get was October 19th. Arg! I feel like Homer Simpson and the cursed frogurt. Anyway, I’ve been dealing with this since April of 2020, so it’s definitely time for a fresh perspective. I want someone else to look at the MRI, and I like the fact that this doctor is a runner. Bummer that I have to wait two weeks, but in the long run fourteen days won’t make a difference. In the meantime, I’ve been getting out for some walks: It hurts my foot a little, but so does everything, including resting it. Right now walking feels better psychologically than pool running, so I’m going with it. Feels good to be moving forward, even if I’m not “flying.” Oh, and here’s the actual quote from Thomas Edison I wanted to share: Never, ever give up! You may be closer to success than you think. Do you like quotes? What’s your favorite?
Weekly Rundown- The Mystery Deepens
Well… this was kind of a frustrating week. But guess what? Life goes on, and we have to keep moving, right? I’m linking up as always with Kim and Deborah for this weekly rundown. Here’s how it went… Monday Monday always used to be a day off, but lately I’ve been doing a shorter yoga flow class on the Peloton app. This Monday was no different- 30 minute yoga flow with my favorite, Denis Morton. Tuesday Well, arg. I started off with a 30 minute pool run… ….after which I decided I really, really needed an actual run for my mental health. So I got out of the pool, put on my running shoes, did some lunges and hip circles and went out for what I was hoping would be a short run. You know how sometimes you’re running, and something kind of hurts but you can just tell that it’s okay to keep going? Well, this was not one of those times. I’ve run so many times with this foot just hurting slightly, but within the first few steps of this one I just knew that it was a big, fat “NO.” I don’t think my foot has ever hurt this much while running. I was pretty surprised, because I had just had a full week off, and I thought whatever current flare-up I was having would have subsided. Not this time! Looking on the bright side, at least I knew that getting the MRI was the absolute correct next step. I tried to console myself by doing a 20 minute power yoga class- it helped. Wednesday Hoping to get the day started off right, I did a 60 minute yoga flow class in the morning, again on the Peloton app with my favorite teacher, Denis. In the afternoon I had my MRI. Wouldn’t it be nice to get the results ASAP? Ha! Thursday More yoga! A 45 minute power class, and this was another good one that I’ll come back to. Lots of side planks and half moons… just what my legs need. Friday Even though on Wednesday I felt like I was done with pool running, I convinced myself to get back in this morning. My legs were actually a little sore from the yoga and I just figured I could get in the pool once more. After a 40 minute pool run, I did an easy 10 minute yoga flow class. Now wait a minute! Shouldn’t I get the results of my MRI by now??? I called the doctor, talked to the receptionist who said that yes, they got the results and the doctor would call me later to talk it over. I waited all day, didn’t get a call, finally called them back only to find that they were gone for the weekend. Perfect. Saturday Another 45 minute power yoga class with Denis. This one started off slowly- well, it IS yoga, it’s not going to start with jumping jacks, but it seemed even slower than usual- and at first I worried that it wouldn’t give me what I was looking for. But I was WRONG! He did a lot of lunge work- holding a high lunge, then lowering the back knee to the floor, repeatedly- then several Warrior 3s. By the last one my legs were trembling. Good class! At night we watched the Baylor game, which they very sadly lost- but we had fun eating veggie burgers and fries, and I drank one of these, which Wendy mentioned last week in the comments: I loved it! My husband and I both thought it tasted more like beer than the non-alcoholic beer we tried the week before. I’m getting more of these! Sunday As much as I love Denis Morton’s yoga classes, there’s one thing he doesn’t have- a really long one. The longest class Denis has is 60 minutes, but I noticed there were some 75 minute classes on the app and wanted to try one of those. So I did Kristin McGee’s 75 minute “Bring the Heat” power yoga class. It was a good, challenging class, but I missed Denis. I’m just used to the way he runs his class. The plan for later today is to get out for a walk (if possible, sigh) or pool run… I’m needing a cardio fix. So that was the week! I have a recommendation for ANOTHER doctor, from someone who says this guy cured her plantar fasciitis. We’ll see! The one thing I’ve learned about PF is that everyone has a different miracle cure, that only worked for them. But… I’ll get the results of the MRI (when I call the current doctor to yell at him) and I’ll go from there. Onward! How are you liking these dark mornings? –Ha, it sure makes things more challenging, right? Do you like yoga? – I used to think yoga was a lot of stretching and meditation. HA! I got a big surprise when I attended my first power yoga class.
October Coffee Date- Spooky Edition
Gasp! It’s October! How exciting! Halloween decorations are UP! I’m joining Coco and Deborah for this month’s coffee date. If we were having coffee together on this first day of October, I would tell you it’s been six weeks since I left my son at college. Because he’s so far away, we knew we wouldn’t see him until Thanksgiving. I’m actually fine with that- it was so hard for me to say goodbye to him, I would hate to have to keep doing it over and over again. Better to say one big goodbye and then give us all time to get adjusted to our new normal. I still have moments where I’m really sad, but that alternates with appreciation for the fact that- although I hate to admit it- life really is easier with just one kid at home! And I’m also already excited at the thought of having him home for a week at Thanksgiving. In other words, I’ve adjusted pretty much the same as all the other moms who had their kids go off to college. This article on “Grown and Flown” describes a mom’s experience of leaving her son at college for the first time: “That moment when you walked away from us, we went one way and you went the other. You walked into a bright new chapter of your life where the possibilities are almost endless. I was walking away from a piece of my heart…” Moms of grown kids… do you remember that specific moment leaving them at college, when they went one way and you went the other? I do. In other news… I had my MRI on Wednesday and am still waiting for the results. I’ve had a couple other MRIs before this so I knew pretty much what to expect. But do you ever wonder… although the technology we have now is so amazing, couldn’t it be just a little bit better? I mean… what is up with all those loud noises??? Couldn’t they quiet that down somehow, or muffle it? It just seems kind of… clunky. Since this was for my foot, I didn’t have to have my head inside- but I can see how people have panic attacks. And here’s a pro tip! Did you know you can self-pay for the MRI, and it’s often cheaper than your co-pay would be if you used your insurance? I saved about $100 by doing it that way, although they warned me that of course it won’t go towards my deductible. HA! I’ve had some pretty bad years (come to think of it, this is one of them) but I’ve never come close to meeting my deductible. And lastly… In my last post I explained the problem I have with most forms of cross training… but the next day I saw someone out on an Elliptigo. It looks so fun! They’re not cheap (of course) but I’m going to try to find one on Craigslist. Could this be the answer to my cross training dilemma? Well, that’s it! As I mentioned, the inside of my house has been spook-ified. This weekend I’ll be putting up the outdoor Halloween decorations. How about you- do you decorate for Halloween? Ever tried an Elliptigo? Do you think I would like it?