A Book, Fun Fact, and Quote of the Week
Happy Friday! I hope everyone is having an amazing week! Here are some fun and interesting things from my world right now. This book. I’m currently reading Blueprint by Katie Hoff. I heard her on the Rich Roll podcast, and her story is so interesting I bought her book. Katie was an Olympic swimmer in 2004 and 2008. Before the 2008 Olympics the media referred to her as the “female Michael Phelps” and she was expected to win multiple gold medals. When she came away from the Beijing games with a silver and two bronze medals, she (and the rest of the world) felt as if she had failed. The story of how she dealt with that disappointment- and subsequent ups and downs of her career- is fascinating, but my favorite thing about this book is that it’s “interactive.” She’ll talk about a key race, and then there’s a code you can scan into your phone to see a video of it. I LOVE this feature! It’s fun to see the race as it occurred, while knowing what was going through her mind at the time. Related fun fact… A few years ago I read about a study which showed that Olympians who won a bronze medal were, in general, happier than those who won silver. This was based on interviews of the athletes after their races, and facial analysis during the medal ceremonies. The conclusion was that athletes who won bronze were just happy to have medaled at all, while those who won a silver medal felt that they had “lost” the gold. And a quote! This week I’ve been all about embracing the good in every situation, and I came across this quote: Who else loves watching the swimming in the Olympics? – I assumed everyone did until my sister told me she thinks it’s boring! To each his own…
I Blinked
At my son’s high school graduation yesterday, the principal gave a speech and said “Remember the day you dropped them off at kindergarten, and someone warned you not to blink?” Well… I blinked, and now it’s over. I was prepared for the ceremony… …and afterwards we went out for an amazing vegan dinner. The food was incredible. I enjoyed the giant cookie vicariously, since I don’t eat sugar. Then we went for a walk around beautiful downtown West Palm Beach. It was a night to remember- just what you would want to mark a big occasion. At graduation, the valedictorian spoke about everything the class of 2021 has been through. The tragedy our friends at Marjory Stoneman Douglas endured, in the town next to us. Nine of the kids who were killed there on February 14, 2018 should have graduated last night. He spoke about the pandemic, of course, and how painful it’s been to log into a google meet every day instead of going to school with their friends. I’ve been so sad all year about everything these kids have missed- the football games, concerts, band trips, prom… everything that makes school fun, and all the milestones of senior year. The graduation ceremony itself was modified due to Covid. For purposes of social distancing, the graduates were in a separate hall from the spectators. They did process in to our hall, briefly, so we could see them before processing out to their location. We watched most of the ceremony on a large screen. Although I’m still sad at how this year played out, I realized yesterday that all the years counted- not just this one. The class of 2021 who entered school together worked hard for twelve years to get to this moment. Last year there was no graduation at all, so I’m grateful for what we had. Before I know it, we’ll be sitting at his college graduation… and then his wedding… I’m afraid to blink again.
It Was a Week
Hello Everyone! I hope you had an awesome week. My week was uneventful, and ended on a positive note. I’m joining Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown! Let’s get started… Monday Day off as always! It was Memorial Day but I had to work, so it just felt like a normal Monday. Tuesday 45 minute pool run. There’s so little to say about pool running, other than that you have to play little games to keep yourself from getting too bored. I do things like ladder intervals, timed intervals, and so on. For this “run” I listened to this podcast, “When Working Out Doesn’t Work Out.” The host explores her feelings (lukewarm) around exercise and explains why she didn’t really do it much during the pandemic. “She must be crazy!” I thought, as I crazily ran in little circles around and around my pool. Wednesday Another 45 minute pool run. Thursday Wait! I need some strength training around here. First I went for a 20 minute walk to test out my hip (it hurt) and then I did Amanda’s core workout and some lower body work. Coco mentioned that the bird dogs from the core workout look hard. “Hard” is the wrong word. They are literally IMPOSSIBLE. You do them two ways- with your knees on a stability ball and your hands on a chair, and vice versa. Amanda somehow thinks you will then lift one arm and the opposite leg, but let me tell you that’s not happening. I can barely lift one arm shakily and quickly. I’m working on it! Friday Guess what I did today? A 45 minute pool run! Saturday I did the Impossible Core Workout again today (to be fair, it’s only the bird dogs that are impossible- everything else is do-able) plus pull-ups and squats. Sunday I started off with a 30 minute walk. I felt very, very good about this walk because my hip was much better than it was on my last walk. On Thursday I walked for 20 minutes and my hip was cranky the whole time. It wasn’t terrible, and didn’t get any worse as I went on, but it was uncomfortable enough that I wanted to stop. Today I walked for 30 minutes and while I could feel my hip, a little, I didn’t have that level of discomfort. It was encouraging to see that much progress over three days! After my walk I got in the pool for a 5k. Ha… no, I didn’t run 3.1 miles in the pool- that would truly be insane. But I “ran” hard for the same amount of time as my last 5k time trial, three weeks ago. The thing about the water is, you just can’t get your heart rate as high as when running. But mentally it’s very, very hard to keep going fast. And I felt like I got a workout. It’s all good! Do you use a stability ball for core workouts? Ever tried bird dogs on it? What’s the longest you’ve had to take off from running because of an injury? – About ten years ago, I had peroneal tendinitis for an entire year. Every time I would start running again, it would come back. That was a nightmare! But of course it eventually went away and I haven’t had it since.
June Coffee Date
Hello there! I’m linking up for the first time with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date! Because who doesn’t like coffee? Actually, I don’t. My beverage of choice is Starbucks Earl Grey tea. I hope everyone is getting comfortable with their own hot (or cold!) beverage because I have THINGS TO SAY! First things first. My son had his graduation rehearsal today and got his cap and gown. Graduation is next Tuesday, and I already know I’m going to be a ridiculous mess. How do I know this? Well, there was the incident where I wept uncontrollably through my sister’s entire wedding. Then, there’s the fact that every time I imagine the melody of “Pomp and Circumstance” my eyes well up with tears. He’s my baby! Well, I actually have another “baby,” my twelve-year-old daughter. My son and I spent a lot of time together in the early days. He didn’t like other kids, and I had trouble finding moms to be friends with at that time. My husband worked crazy hours, so it was just my son and me, most of the time. Over the years he’s developed excellent social skills (phew) but we still have a special relationship. It will be hard to see him go. And speaking of that… We’re taking a trip to Texas in July! I’m so excited, because we’ll spend most of the time in Austin, a city I’ve always wanted to visit. We’ll also spend a day at Baylor University in Waco, where my son will be a freshman in the fall. Because of Covid he couldn’t visit any of the schools he applied to last year, so we just want to check it out before he goes in August. I’ve spent the last several evenings googling “Best places to hike in Austin,” “Best vegan restaurants in Austin,” and of course, “Best places to run in Austin.” The only thing I wish is that we weren’t going in July… it’s going to be hot. But we live in Florida, so we know all about heat. So how’s that running thing going, anyway? Arg. My hip is healing up… very, very slowly. Instead of my daily pool run, I went for a walk today! I could feel my hip, which was upsetting. Then I reminded myself how much worse it was two weeks ago, which made me feel slightly better. I’m tired of baby steps- I want one giant leap back into running! The plantar fasciitis is still there in my left foot, which confirms my suspicions- taking a break from running is not helping it. Looking on the bright side, everything OTHER THAN my right hip and left foot feel great. How’s that for optimism? Who’s planning a vacation this summer? Those with kids in college…. how did you cope with them leaving? – I have a feeling I’ll be revisiting this subject in August!