Women
Because I knew I would be spending a LOT of time watching the Olympics this week, I picked a book that I thought would be a quick and easy read. I’m definitely reading it quickly, but it’s not as light as I thought it would be. I knew the subject matter was heavy- a ten-year-old boy falls from a three-story window and is now in the ICU- but it’s even sadder than that. The story is told from the viewpoint of four different women whose lives intersect. Each of the four women is privately struggling in a different way with her attitude toward motherhood, career, and marriage. So much sorrow hidden from the rest of the world! I know this is a work of fiction, and I certainly hope most people I meet are happier than these women- but it reminds me of the saying “Be very kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” You just don’t know what people are going through. Speaking of women… how about Simone Biles? Imagine the pressure she’s under. Everyone is watching her, especially after what happened in Tokyo. And on the first night of competition, she nailed it (in spite of hurting her CALF! I have some exercises for you, Simone!) That’s some mental toughness. It makes me think of another woman- Kamala Harris. Imagine the pressure SHE’S under! All eyes are upon her- half our country hates her, and the other half has pinned all their hopes and dreams for this election (and the future of our country?) on her. And she wants it! She obviously feels that she’s up to the challenge. Now that is a TOUGH WOMAN. Have you read The Whispers? Did you watch the first night of women’s gymnastics? Top photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- I’M BACK!
Well, it was quite a week! My ongoing calf issue refused to let go; I basically threw everything but the kitchen sink at it, and apparently something stuck. Let’s see how it all played out. But first- thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown! Monday Sigh. This was a rough one. I walked for a mile and then started running… and after a few minutes my calf pain returned. I completed 2 miles of running, but it didn’t feel good, which made me depressed for the rest of the day. Will this EVER go away??? Later in the day I rallied and did the four hip stability exercises from Brad Beer’s book. Tuesday I started with a hard leg day, including squats and Bulgarian split squats. Later in the day I did the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout. I also noticed that, unlike previous experiences, the calf pain I felt in my run yesterday did not continue into the next day. I was able to do heel raises, run in place, and also stretch the muscle with no pain. Hmmm… maybe there IS hope, after all??? Wednesday All right, this is it. No more messing around! I taped up my calf and went to the gym for a treadmill run. I wanted to put a lot of focus on my running form, and also be able to stop and do something different if my calf hurt. I walked for half a mile, then cautiously, hopefully started to run very slowly, making sure to pick my heels up behind me and keep my lower legs relaxed. When that didn’t hurt, I gradually increased the speed to a normal running pace, and then ran 3 miles WITHOUT PAIN. VICTORY!!! I followed this triumphant run with bench press and some abs. Later in the day I did my hip stability exercises again. Thursday I started the day with an upper body workout at home, focusing on back and biceps. Later I did one of the hip exercises. There are four of them- two are boring and tedious, one is challenging but rewarding, and the last one I hate with my entire heart and soul. This one, of course, is for the piriformis, which is the main thing my PT wanted me to work on. Of course. A couple people asked about this exercise, and I’m just going to show the photo from the book, although I’m sure Brad Beer would prefer that you buy it (sorry, Brad!) It’s hard to tell from the photos, but what you’re doing in this move is externally rotating your hip, which is the action of the piriformis. It is so, so hard. You’re supposed to do 100 reps- I get to 30 and want to start crying. I can get up to 50, with some rest breaks. Obviously I need this one so I keep doing it- but I dread it every single time. Friday Let’s try running again! This time, I have my RunFloat harness, which finally arrived in the mail. The idea is to keep your arms moving minimally, and only back and forth. If your arms are flailing around (like mine) your hips are probably as well, and that slows you down and leads to injuries. The jury is still out on the harness, but I did run for 3 miles with no pain. I don’t want to jinx it, but I think this calf issue is finally, finally behind me. Saturday OFF- other than hip stability exercises, including the piriformis torture. Sunday On tap- It’s time to take my run harness and taped up calf outside for a run! I’m excited to get back out there. And then later in the day of course there’s the Olympics! Swimming! Gymnastics! Diving! So much to be happy about- this week is ending on a high note. How was your week? Are you watching the Olympics? Top photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
July Runfessions
It’s the last Friday of the month (noooooo! Can’t we have a “July extension?”) so I’m meeting Marcia at her RUNFESSIONAL. But have I been running enough to collect any runfessions? Let’s find out… This week got off to a rocky start, when I ran on Monday AND MY CALF PAIN RETURNED. I have to runfess that I had a mini- temper tantrum and rage-fired my physical therapist (to be clear… the rage was all in my mind- I did not rage AT the PT! But I did cancel my future appointments.) Then I calmed down, re-framed the situation, and tried to be grateful for what I have. Two days later, I had a PAIN-FREE RUN, and I’ll runfess that it’s much easier to have things go your way, rather than putting forth all the mental energy to “think positive” and “look on the bright side.” Screw all that! Just give me a good run and let me get on with my life. I would also runfess that I did so many things at once that I can’t pinpoint what it was that made my calf feel better. It could have been the dry needling kicking in after a delay, or it could have been the Bob and Brad video I watched on strain/counter strain technique, or it could be the PNF stretching, or the KT tape, or it could have been this… I’ll runfess that when I see videos of myself running, I notice all sorts of bad habits. The Chi Running cues of relaxing my lower legs, shortening my stride, and lifting my heels up behind me really seemed to help my calf. And as if that’s not enough… I finally got my FloatRun Harness in the mail! I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but I’ll try it out on my run tomorrow. If nothing else, it will keep my arms from flailing all over the place. I’m excited! Between the Chi running and my new harness, soon I’ll be looking like an Olympic runner. OH YEAH… the Olympics start tonight!!! I runfess that my sleep schedule will suffer greatly for the next two weeks, but it will be worth it. Have you read Chi Running? Do you ever analyze your running form? ARE YOU EXCITED FOR THE OLYMPICS?
Reading, Eating, and Ruminating…
You know what I hate about running injuries? After a while it gets SO BORING. My calf is hurting me AGAIN, and I started to write a post yesterday all about it. First I was ranting, then I was wallowing, and then I thought about my husband’s friend who’s dying from ALS, and I deleted the whole post. Today I read SHU’s post about near-death experiences and how they can change your perspective. It reminded me of something I like to do when I’m feeling down: imagine that I suddenly end up in the hospital, incapacitated in some way, my whole life turned upside-down. Then I think of everything I would miss about my normal life, even in the absence of running. If I were suddenly out of commission I would miss getting up in the morning and feeding the cats; I would miss driving my daughter to camp; I would miss drinking my cup of Earl Grey in the morning; I would even miss going to work. Hey, my everyday life is pretty great- I don’t want to wait for some tragedy to happen so I can appreciate it in retrospect. Okay, onto the books! I finished two books this week, The Decagon House Murders and this one: The Decagon House Murders is another classic Japanese mystery, written by the same author as The Mill House Murders, Yukito Ayatsuji. If you appreciate mysteries, these are good ones! The Decagon House Murders was inspired by Agatha’s Christie’s And Then There Were None, and you will NOT guess the ending. The Claudia Gray book is the third in her “Jane Austen” series. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s son, Jonathon, is now a young adult. He and Juliet Tilney (also a young adult, daughter of Catherine Moreland of Northanger Abbey) team up to solve another mystery. If you love Jane Austen, this book couldn’t be more fun. It involves Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who- Pride and Prejudice fans will remember- is the patroness of the fawning and ridiculous Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins and Charlotte, along with their two children, feature prominently in the story. If you aren’t a fan of Jane Austen, I wouldn’t recommend this book. The mystery is passable, but the real fun is revisiting beloved characters. Gray does a good job of writing in Austen’s style and keeping the characters true to the originals. And one more thing- definitely read this series in order. The third book has spoilers to the two previous mysteries. Eating- The Return of Kamala Kookies! Okay, this is a little weird, but if you’ve been reading for a while you know my family has some strange traditions. Right around this time four years ago, my sister and I discovered the Banana Bread Cookie recipe from Cadry’s Kitchen. Neither one of us can remember why, but we started calling them “Kamala Kookies.” I think it was just random silliness- as far as I know, Kamala Harris has no affiliation with bananas, banana bread, or cookies- but the name stuck. WELL. Obviously, it’s time to bake the Kamala Kookies again! I used this maple syrup and these chocolate chips: … and used the alternate flax/water mixture in place of applesauce (I also added 1/4 teaspoon salt, which wasn’t called for in the recipe.) I even made this batch with chickpea flour, and they still came out well! To be clear, these are definitely “healthy” cookies. I wouldn’t bring them to a bake sale, but I’m enjoying them. Many more batches of Kamala Kookies to come! (Note to self- next time, add walnuts or pecans. Yum.) What are you reading now? Do you believe in “healthy” cookies? Or do you think cookies should be a delicious treat-not a time to be worrying about health?