Don’t Count Yourself Short
Hello! Today I’m sharing the incredible podcast I listened to with Alexi Pappas. Rich Roll podcasts are always loooong, and this one was two hours and forty minutes. If you listen to your podcasts on double speed to save time, I would urge you NOT to do that with this one. Alexi is so well-spoken, listening to her talk is like listening to someone recite poetry. I enjoyed this so much, not just for the content but for the beautiful way Alexi expresses herself. Alexi is thirty years old, and her accomplishments include competing in the 2016 Olympics in the Women’s 10k; writing, directing, and starring in two films, Tracktown and Olympic Dreams; and recently publishing her book, Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas. Rich marveled that a person could have accomplished all this, all within a relatively short period of time, and asked if it was all part of a five-year plan or something. Alexi’s answer was that one thing naturally evolved from another, and “Had I planned five years in the future, I would have counted myself short.” Sometimes it’s good to have a five-year plan. Like if you want to qualify for the Boston Marathon but you need to shave forty-five minutes off your current time, a five-year plan would be perfect. But in the larger scheme of things, I love the idea that the future is vast. Making a five-year plan now would limit us to our current level of knowledge and experience. If we leave ourselves open to whatever comes our way as we move through life, who knows where we could be in five years? This podcast was so enjoyable- I hope people will give it a listen. I haven’t read Bravey yet, but it went immediately onto my TBR list after hearing Alexi speak. In other news, I made this recipe for Banana Bread Oatmeal this morning. YUM. Mine doesn’t look as pretty as hers does (as usual) but I garnished it with toasted almonds and well, in my world banana bread has chocolate chips, so why not? And, we had some rain today! I know… everyone else is dealing with polar vortexes and blizzards. We had a drizzle. Who’s read Alexi’s book? After hearing her speak I imagine that it’s beautifully written! Anyone seen either of Alexi’s movies? I especially want to see Olympic Dreams now. Please check in on Friday because I will be writing all about the Somatic Movement exercises I’ve been doing, and delving deeper into the book The Pain Relief Secret. I can’t wait to share it!
Weekly Rundown- Taking a Step Back
Happy Valentine’s Day! My week started off normally but took a sharp left turn on Tuesday. As I mentioned in this post, I decided to try somatic movement exercises to clear up the lingering pain in my foot. My book arrived… … and I spent the week reading it and doing the exercises. Full review of the book and process will be coming up! In the meantime, I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Rundown. It was an unusual week but here it is! Monday Day off as usual. Tuesday Ran three miles, followed by Runner’s Touch exercise and pullups. It was during this run that I listened to the podcast about somatic movement to heal chronic pain. I was able to access the video of the plantar fasciitis routine on the website, and she recommends taking a break from any activity which could be exacerbating the problem, so I reluctantly decided to take three days off running. Then, because the exercises involve loosening the low back, feet, and calves, I wasn’t sure if anything else I was doing (deadlifts, planks) might also interfere with the process, so I made the radical decision to take three days off of all exercise, other than the somatic healing movements. This is where things got weird. Wednesday Did nothing other than the eighteen-minute somatic movement routine. I entered into a strange, parallel universe… one where people sleep a little longer, move their bodies in gentle ways, don’t run around outside or lift heavy objects. Who am I? What’s going on? Thursday Again only did the somatic movement exercises. To clarify, I’m referring to them as “exercises” but it’s really slow, gentle movements. It’s not strengthening or even stretching. You’re very consciously contracting and then slowly, slowly, sloooooowly releasing the muscle, to re-set the nervous system. Friday Day three of nothing other than somatic movement exercises. I literally had a moment of confusion as I was getting in the shower- wait! I’m not all sweaty? Why am I showering again??? Ha ha… funny to think most people live like this all the time! Saturday Enough is enough! I ran! Three miles and it felt amazing. There’s nothing like taking a little time off to make you super-appreciative of being able to run. Also did the somatic movement exercises afterwards. Sunday Ran four miles, followed by walking lunges and planks. It was a cutback week for sure, for both running and strength. I’m glad I did it, but I’m excited to get back to regular training next week. As I said, I’ll be doing a full review of the somatic movement process soon but I will say one thing- it’s not a magical quick-fix. Darn! That’s what I was hoping for (ha ha.) I’m going to continue to do the routines while getting back to regular running. Lastly, congratulations to everyone who ran the Ft. Lauderdale Marathon and Half today, including my husband who ran the Half! The weather was beautiful.. .for sitting on the beach. Not so much for running a race, and I feel especially bad for the marathoners. Most of them are finishing in hot, humid conditions. Even with the weather conditions, I’m sad I wasn’t able to run it this year. Well, there’s always next year! Anyone doing something fun for Valentine’s Day? And who ran the marathon/half today? I’m looking forward to reading some race recaps!
And Now For Something Completely Different
Anyone who’s read my blog at all knows that I’ve been blathering on and on about my foot for quite a while. I had (have?) plantar fasciitis, which I received all sorts of treatments for, including shockwave therapy, and it’s better… kind of. Every day my husband asks me how my foot is doing and at this point I just look at him blankly. When I get up in the morning, it feels horrendous. But after I walk around for a few minutes, it starts to feel pretty good. I took some time off running but am now back to it, and so far it hasn’t hurt at all when I run. But then it will hurt randomly during the day, especially when I get up after sitting for a while. The answer to the question “how is your foot?” really depends on the moment you ask me. It’s crappy! It’s amazing! It’s crap-mazing! I’m glad it doesn’t hurt when I run, but I can’t say the problem is resolved, and I’m worried it will flare up again and if I run farther or faster. I’ve tried everything I can think of- stretching, massage, strengthening, heat, mobility drills, but nothing seems to make a difference. I feel like there’s a piece of the puzzle missing. Well, on the most recent episode of the Running Rogue podcast, the host, Chris McClung, talks to Somatic Educator Sarah Warren about her new book, The Pain Relief Secret: How to Retrain Your Nervous System, Heal Your Body, and Overcome Chronic Pain. I hadn’t even gotten past the intro of the podcast before I was on Amazon clicking “Buy Now.”. This is a huge subject, but the way Sarah describes it on the podcast is that somatic movements re-train the nervous system. She gives the example of sitting hunched over a computer all day. In this position, your pecs and abdominal muscles are contracted. Over time, your nervous system notices that you’re frequently in that position, and in an effort to be more efficient, starts to contract those muscles all the time (this is what’s known as muscle memory.) In the somatic movement technique, you focus on contracting a certain muscle, then slowly, slowly, releasing it against the force of gravity (or against another resistance if gravity doesn’t work in that particular case.) All of your attention is focused inward, on the tension and release of that muscle. In this way you re-set the nervous system to its normal baseline of muscle relaxation, rather than the chronically tense state it’s become used to. My book arrives Thursday, but Sarah Warren has a website which describes all aspects of Somatic Movement, and includes three videos, one of which is a routine for plantar fasciitis! (To clarify, the videos only seem to be accessible through a link on the podcast episode page.) I did the plantar fasciitis routine for the first time today, and it’s an eighteen-minute sequence designed to release the calf muscles, feet, and interestingly, the low back. Obviously I’ll be doing a full review of the routine and the book as soon as possible. In the meantime I would encourage anyone who’s interested to check out the podcast or her website. Fascinating stuff!!! On a food note, more waffles happened! They were very, very loosely based on this recipe. As usual, I made so many changes I can’t call this a review of the original recipe, but I’m sure it’s delicious (my version was!) One thing I can vouch for is the spice level, which I kept the same and it was perfect. I hate recipes that promise a certain flavor and then it’s too mild- not this time! As a matter of fact while I was making them I thought “isn’t this going to be a little too much cardamom?” but no- it was delicious. One more thing- look at my mug in that picture- it’s one of my favorites and it has a huge chip right where my mouth goes. Sob! And I got it at Pier 1 which is now closed. Well… time for some mug shopping. Anyone heard of Somatic Movement Therapy? And… who else is heartbroken that Pier 1 went out of business? I know they have an online store now, but the quality doesn’t seem the same.
Weekly Rundown- Making it Work
You know those articles that describe an amazing morning routine? The guy will talk about how he gets up, meditates, writes in his journal, drinks a healthy green smoothie, does his workout, then sits down for three or four incredibly productive hours at his computer… and suddenly you think ‘Wait a minute! Who’s taking care of his kids while all this is going on???” It’s a fact- you can have it all, but not all at the same time. Kid duties seemed more intense around here this week, with an early morning band rehearsal (daughter) and lots of college application/audition stress (son.) Sleep suffered a bit and mentally I wasn’t as focused on my workouts, but I still had a good week. Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Rundown- here it is! Monday Day off, as usual. Tuesday Run 3 miles, followed by Runner’s Touch exercise. Wednesday Run 2 miles. I added a fifth day of running this week, hooray! This was the added day so I kept it short. Because of my daughter’s schedule, I did lower body strength before the run- squats and lunges. I don’t usually do strength before running, but I figured it was only 2 miles- what could possibly go wrong? It was fine. Thursday Okay. I know everyone up north is laughing at us, complaining about our “cold” weather, but holy crap! It was cold this week! LOOK AT THIS: I know 39 sound balmy to some people, but we’re not used to it. Our blood is thinner down here! Luckily it wasn’t windy so with a hat and gloves I was fine. The funny thing is, later at work when I was telling a co-worker that it was 39 when I got up, she asked “Did you still run?” Ha! Of course I ran! I think it would have to be 39 BELOW for me not to run. I did grow up in the midwest- so I’m not that much of a wimp. Followed the run with Gauntlet Plank Workout. Friday This was my day off from running, and since anything involving my upper body was conspicuously absent this week, I did strength training focusing on pullups. Considering how sore I was the next day, I think it was effective! Saturday By the weekend, summer had returned. I felt bad for my husband, who was doing his last long run before his half marathon next weekend. After all the chilly mornings, Saturday was muggy and in the 70s. But, he survived and so did I- I ran 3 miles. Followed by lunges and single leg squats. Sunday Ran 5 miles! I wanted to increase the distance, but I had to get home to help my son out- he has a big audition via Zoom today. It’s probably for the best anyway, since I already added a day of running and two miles this week. Might as well take it slowly. It was warm, and I returned home drenched in sweat- and it made me happy. That’s what a Sunday morning should feel like! Followed this run with Gauntlet Plank Workout. Hope everyone had a great week! What do you guys think- it can be tough juggling everything with kids, right? In the end, they always come first.