Adventures in Austin!
Guess what? Texas has hills! Coming from Florida, where everything is flat as a pancake, this is actually a challenge for running. Several years ago I visited my sister near Chicago, and we took up a trip up to Door County, Wisconsin. I did my usual running mileage during that trip, and felt like I was constantly running either up or down a hill- and I returned home with a terrible case of shinsplints. It turns out the “too much, too soon, too fast” caution applies to hills as well. Luckily, I’m just returning to running after the hip injury, so yesterday did my 2 minutes run/8 minutes walk x 3 (for a total of 30 minutes) and tomorrow will progress to 3 minutes of running/7 minutes of walking, x3. I don’t think I’ll do much damage to my shins with that schedule! Yesterday we did a scavenger hunt in downtown Austin. We got clues on my phone and had to walk around the city finding different landmarks and solving puzzles. It was REALLY FUN! Well, except for the incident of the “Capital Clue” where we couldn’t figure it out, walked around and around the Capital building, got overheated and thirsty, and one of us actually cried (it wasn’t me.) But we rebounded from that debacle and went on to finish the hunt! Our team, the “Floridian Fireballs” finished 13th out of all the teams who did the hunt in the last thirty days. I have to admit I’m a little depressed about the fact that we ranked behind a team named “We Tried,” but the important thing is that it built character! And we really did learn a lot about the city. The name of the tour is Urban Adventure Quest, and they have scavenger hunts in 69 different locations. I highly recommend it! The other thing we seem to be doing is going on a scavenger hunt of every vegan place in the entire city. We’ve only been here 2 1/2 days (and spent part of one of those days in Waco, visiting Baylor University) and so far we’ve been to three vegan restaurants, a vegan taco truck (food trucks are a huge thing here), an all-vegan ice cream parlor, Voodoo Doughnuts (which has a large vegan selection), the flagship Whole Foods location, and an all-vegan grocery store. How is that all even possible??? Luckily we walked seven miles yesterday, and today we have a hike planned, otherwise we might all return home weighing 500 pounds. But my philosophy is always to live it up while on vacation! Okay, we’re off for a hike and more eating! Hope everyone has a great Friday! Do you try to eat healthy while on vacation, or throw caution to the wind and just enjoy yourself? Ever done a scavenger hunt like this? – I would even do it in my own city if they had one.
Getting Out of Florida!
Boy, were we happy to see this!!! With a tropical storm bearing down on Florida, we weren’t sure we would be able to fly out. The storm was forecast to hit to the west of us, but these things can change directions quickly. They also said we would be getting some rain and heavy winds from the outer bands, but luckily our flight took off without a problem. I spent the entire flight reading this book: I love Cory Reese so much. The first part of the book talks about his 314 mile race across Tennessee. He describes the trials and tribulations of this run with his usual humor: “We stumble back into the night looking like The Three Musketeers if they had been buried alive, and just barely managed to claw their way out of their graves.” The race is called Vol State 500k, because Tennessee’s official nickname is the “Volunteer State,” although according to Cory (after doing this race which is held in the middle of July) the only reason this is the nickname is that “Fiery Furnace of Molten Lava” is too long to fit on t-shirts and mugs. I love stories about a grueling ultramarathon, and this was a good one. But a large part of the book is about Cory’s struggle with depression, and he writes about it beautifully. I love the reminder that depression isn’t something you can just snap out of by thinking positively or focusing on happy things. Cory talks about using a combination of medication and therapy to get his under control. Lots of insights for everyone, but especially for anyone dealing with depression. I read 197 pages of this 235 page book, and was mad when our flight landed before I finished. The other thing I did during the entire flight was this: So, after taking six weeks off of running for my hip injury, my plantar fasciitis is so much worse. Yes, you heard me- not better- worse. I went from having it under control, still there, but manageable, to literally not being able to step down first thing in the morning, or after sitting for any length of time. I actually hopped to the bathroom when I woke up this morning, and dreaded having to sit on the plane for three hours. I brought my spiky ball and rolled it all around my foot for the entire plane ride. AND IT WORKED. I got up twice to use the bathroom, and then again when the plane landed and each time stepped down with minimal discomfort. So I guess I’m going to roll my foot every time I sit down from now on. I’m glad I’m starting to run again, because it seems that running keeps it stretched out. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll have this PF in my left foot for the rest of my life! One more thing I did on the plane was eat these breakfast cookies from Running on Real Food. They definitely taste healthy, but that’s a good thing. You wouldn’t want to be sitting on a plane with a batch of sugary, decadent cookies (I’ve done that in the past and it doesn’t lead to anything good.) Okay, we’re off to start our adventures in Austin! I’ll check back later in the week with stories of hikes, food, sightseeing, food… and more food. Lots and lots of food. What do you like to do on an airplane? – I read this book and my son watched an entire “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. Do you like to fly? –It definitely isn’t as luxurious as it once was, but this flight wasn’t bad at all.
Weekly Rundown- I Ran! I Ran!!!
Hello everyone! Yes, I ran- for two minutes. But it was two pain-free minutes! Victory! I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for this weekly rundown. There was a lot more than just two minutes of running, so let’s get to it! Monday Normally a day off, but now that I’ve been going to PT, I started the day with leg lifts, clam shells, planks, leg lifts… all my exercises. Tuesday Started the morning with a 45 minute pool run, and then it was off to PT. Things got a little more exciting because I added some weights to my squats and deadlifts. This was my sixth and possibly last PT appointment, at least for a little while. I’m pretty sure I’m going to do the exercises on my own from now on rather than continue to go and spend the money. Wednesday After the PT appointment on Tuesday, I was SORE. That’s what happens when you lift some weights after doing only bodyweight exercises for a while. Since my hip was SO MUCH BETTER, I decided to go for a walk. Later in the day I did the PT exercises that focused on abs, but let my legs and hips rest for the day. Thursday Spent an hour on PT exercises in the morning. There’s so much to do that I’ve decided to divide them into categories and just make sure I do them all several times a week, as opposed to all in one day. By the way, several people have marveled at how good I am about doing my exercises. Remember- I CAN’T RUN. Having the discipline to do pre-hab exercises is one thing- I blow them off as much as the next person (obviously- or I wouldn’t be in this predicament.) But take running away and tell me the way back to it is through doing these exercises, and you can bet I’ll dedicate my life to it with the zeal of an Olympic gymnast! Until I’m all better and then I’ll never do them again. JUST KIDDING. I swear that this time I’ll be better about strength training. Friday 40 minute pool run in the morning, followed by PT exercises in the evening. Saturday The big day arrived. You know how, the first time you run again after an injury, it’s either going to be the best day or the worst day of your life? If everything feels great, you’re on top of the world. If it hurts again, you’re filled with despair. For that reason I was a little scared and didn’t exactly set out for a run. I just got all my running clothes on and headed out for a walk just to see how everything felt. I walked for about fifteen minutes, then stopped to do some quick exercises just to remind my glute medius muscles what they’re there for. Then I casually started to walk, and broke into a run. I ran for a minute! Everything felt great. I stopped and walked for about five more minutes, then ran again for another minute. Again, no pain in the hip. It seems to be completely healed. Sunday Happy 4th of July! Funny story… right before I injured my hip, I signed my husband and myself up for a July 4th 5k. Obviously I wasn’t able to run it, and my husband was not too happy about getting up at 5:30 am and driving 35 minutes to another town to run the race by himself. Wait- I guess that story isn’t really funny. At least I got a good night’s sleep! I got up later and did my long pool run. Moving forward, I’m going to start a very conservative return-to-running schedule! You run for one minute, walk for nine, run for another minute, walk for nine, run for one more minute and then walk again for nine. The second day, you run for two, walk for eight, etc. I’ll do it every other day and it goes by quickly- before you know it, you’re running for thirty minutes straight and ready to start building mileage again. SO EXCITED to be at this point, finally!!! Is anyone doing a race or special run today? What are your plans for the 4th? – We’ll be celebrating a little, but also getting ready for our trip. We leave for Austin on Tuesday. Hopefully. Unless the tropical storm hits us, and then we won’t be going anywhere. Fingers crossed!
July Coffee Date (already???)
Well, I think we can all agree that June was the shortest month ever. And now I’m linking up once again with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date! Let’s get to it… If we were having coffee (or, earl grey tea) together, I would run this scenario past you: I finished my first six PT sessions, and my hip feels 100% better- except that I haven’t run on it to test it out yet. I’m hesitating because I still feel the strength imbalances that (we believe) caused the problem in the first place. My right hip had the injury, but now my left hip is sore and achy from all the PT exercises I’ve been doing. In the last session, Arvon (my therapist) had me hooked up to a machine that was like a TENS unit, to promote bloodflow to my left glutes throughout the session. He said he thinks the pain on that side is due to some tendonosis from a previous injury that never healed correctly. Could be! And I could continue PT for the left hip now, and while we’re at it, how about the plantar fasciitis in my left foot that I still have? This could go on and on. Arvon recommends more therapy so that I continue to strengthen the muscles with a “proper progression.” The problem is, PT is expensive. If it were free I would go indefinitely! However, I’m now faced with the choice of 1) paying for another six sessions, 2) continuing to do the exercises on my own (since I’m pretty sure I understand the meaning of the word “progression”) OR… 3) maybe what I actually need is a strength coach? Next week we’ll be out of town, so I’m holding off on a decision until I get back, and in the meantime I’ll continue to do the exercises on my own. What would you do if you were me? I got COMPLETELY ENGROSSED in this book!!! Maybe it’s because my husband was out of town this week so I had more time to read… but holy crap, it’s been a long time since I was so into a book. The last day I was reading it, I felt like all my non-reading time was just annoying interruptions until I could get back to it again. Hope everyone is enjoying their beverage of choice! What was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?