Blogging Ruminations
February 28th is sometimes called “Discouragement Day” because so many people have abandoned their New Year’s resolutions by then. But Gretchen Rubin suggests reframing February 28th as “Determination Day,” a day to figure out what’s working so far and what’s not, and if something isn’t working, decide how to fix it. This year, February 28th fell on a Wednesday, which is my day off of work. I decided some self-reflection was in order, so I took myself to Barnes and Noble, where I sat in the cafe with a notebook and a cup of tea, evaluating 2024 so far. In some ways the year has been a train wreck (I’m looking at you, sprained ankle!) but some of my goals are still right on track. Sleeping has been better! And I’ve been keeping up a decent reading schedule. The only thing I didn’t do at all, which I wanted to, was participate in Gretchen Rubin’s challenge, “Write 24 for 24.” To make it less daunting, she gave the option of either writing for 24 minutes a day, OR 2-4 minutes a day. Other than blog posts, I did neither. But it’s never too late- Determination Day seemed like the perfect time to start. It just so happened that earlier in the day I was listening to this episode of The Mom Hour podcast, “Living a Writerly Life” where the hosts talk about their writing careers and how they’ve evolved over the years. One thing they said stood out to me: don’t confuse your writing identity with the platform you’re using. For example, instead of thinking of yourself as a “blogger,” you should think of yourself as a writer using blogging as your platform. The thought of saying “I’m a writer” kind of makes me cringe. But then, I think about people who say “I’m not really a runner” because they don’t run races, or they think they run slowly. No! If you run, you’re a runner. I’ve never had trouble calling myself a “runner,” even though I’ll never be on the same level as Shalane Flanagan. So why can’t I be a writer? I’m not saying I’m J.K. Rowling. But I write, so I’m a writer. Why make the distinction between “blogger” and “writer?” If you identify as a “blogger” it can be tempting to get caught up in what blogs are “supposed” to be like. You might compare yourself to other blogs, or think “this is too long for a blog post” or “a blog post should have photos.” But we all know there are endless variations on blogs. If you identify as a writer who blogs, it frees you up to do it the way YOU want to do it. My trip to Barnes and Noble turned into a little blogging retreat; I thought about where I started and where I want to go next. Before I started my own blog, I read a lot of fitness blogs and finally decided to join in. At first I followed more of a fitness blog format and posted on certain days so I could join various linkups. Now, over three years later, some of those are working better than others. Every Sunday I join the Weekly Rundown, hosted by Kim and Deborah. I LOVE this linkup! The community is so supportive- I get a lot of great advice and workout ideas. It also keeps me accountable on days where I just don’t feel like going to the gym. If I know I’ll be posting my week of workouts, I’m much less likely to skip any. Some of the other linkups aren’t working as well for me. I’ll have something I want to write about, but will struggle to fit it in the form of a “Runfession,” for example. So I’ll probably stop participating in that one (although now watch- this month I’ll probably think of a dozen “runfessions” and end up linking anyway. I’ll keep it flexible.) I also have some other ideas for regular weekly posts which will be unveiled shortly! In case anyone is interested, here’s my very first post from October 2020. Eh. It’s not quite as cringe-y as I thought it would be, but it’s just kind of boring. As Gretchen Rubin would say… “Onward and Upward!” If you have a blog, do you think of yourself as a writer? Is anyone else doing Gretchen Rubin’s “Write 24 for 24 challenge?” Photo by Mike Tinnion on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- Ups and Downs
Boy, whoever said “progress isn’t linear” wasn’t kidding. This week has been a roller coaster. Now that the swelling has subsided, I no longer have a gigantic clubfoot and can finally identify the lingering issues. We’ll get into that! But first, thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s just see how this week went. (Warning! This post contains some phenomenally bad gym selfies. I think we’ll all be relieved when I can get back to my usual running photos.) Sunday Gym! I “graduated” from the bike to the elliptical, but it turns out I didn’t like it. Maybe it was that the position I had to put my foot felt weird, but I just wasn’t comfortable. 30 minutes of this… and then I did the leg press machine, abs and low back. Monday Back on the bike for 20 minutes, followed by some upper body strength- reverse fly, bench press, abs and low back. Tuesday This was a rough, rough day. It started at the gym with 50 minutes on the bike, followed by abs. Then I went to work. For whatever reason, my foot and ankle felt awful. They were aching and throbbing all day long. I wanted to take some Advil, but I hadn’t brought any with me and the thought of taking extra steps to seek some out filled me with despair. I just ground along miserably to the end. This was a day that had me questioning all my life choices and wanting to get in bed at 4 pm. Wednesday New day, new foot! I decided to try some strength at home to see where I was at. I could do squats (just not with heavy weights- but still!) Runners Touch was impossible on my left side, but I did it on the right side and just practiced balancing on the left foot. I attempted split squats- that was a no-go- but I did some heel raises and tibialis raises, and those felt good. I also did crunches on a stability ball. This was a day off of work, and my foot felt much better. Thursday Back at it. 50 minutes on the bike, followed by abs. At work, I felt like a completely different person. If my foot on Tuesday was 100% worse than Monday, then today was 500% better than Tuesday. Go figure! It was a much more hopeful day. Friday Upper body strength- bench press, overhead dumbbell press, reverse flys, and lat pulldowns. Followed by abs and low back. I don’t think I’ve ever done so much ab work in my entire life. I should have a six-pack! Actually, I probably do have one, it’s just covered up by a little “padding.” Oh, and get ready for the worst selfie ever. I was trying to show how I’m working my low back, and… yeah. Saturday Off! This has become my weekly day off, since the gym doesn’t open until 8 and I have to be at work at 8:45. Sunday On tap- a fun and exciting trip to… the gym. Sigh. So, what exactly is going on with that foot? The peroneal tendon (that’s the one that runs underneath the outside of the ankle bone) is supremely irritated. And, my achilles tendon seems to have been replaced by a block of wood. I don’t recall that area being involved in the original injury, but it’s so stiff and tight. Actually I think it’s my soleus- that’s the muscle in the calf that you’re stretching when you lean forward and bend your knee (if you lean forward with your hands against the wall and keep your back leg straight, you’re stretching your gastrocs- if you bend your knee, you’re stretching your soleus.) If I lean against the wall in that typical calf stretch position, I almost can’t bend my knee at all on the left side. I’ve been watching Bob and Brad (the two most famous physical therapists on the internet.) If you’ve never seen them, check them out- all their videos are free on YouTube and they’re really helpful. They said the peroneal tendon can definitely be involved if you have tight calf muscles, due to the way you’re compensating for that lack of mobility. So loosening up that soleus muscle is my #1 priority right now. In addition to the fact that I’d obviously rather be running, I also have a self-imposed deadline for recovery. As soon as I DNF’d my race, I started thinking about another 50 mile race in Florida at the end of April. I want to run it so badly! But, I need to a) recover and b) put in some training before then. I can’t take eight weeks off and then show up for a 50 mile race. So… I feel the clock ticking down. There’s still hope, but I need to heal up ASAP. Fingers crossed! Do you have any exciting races coming up? Have you ever watched Bob and Brad?- Check them out next time you have any injuries or issues- it’s the next best thing to actually going to PT in person. Header photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash
March Coffee Date!
Boy, February was a month that really didn’t need an extra day. How do you like my new “dumpster fire” mug? I definitely don’t need any new mugs, but this one was just too perfect to pass up. I’m drinking delicious Earl Grey tea while joining Coco and Deborah for this Ultimate coffee date. So why was February such a dumpster fire? Glad you asked! Pour yourself a nice, big cup of coffee and I’ll tell you all about it. Obviously, everyone knows I DNF’d my race. That was bad, but even worse has been hobbling around on an injured ankle. Yes, it’s getting better, but not as quickly as I would like. It’s exhausting and frustrating not to be able to walk properly, and it doesn’t leave me much patience for anything else. SUCH AS… Our dishwasher broke. This was perfect timing, because spending even more time on my feet, washing every dish by hand, was just what I needed! And then there were the snarky comments from my daughter, like this one: “You’re always hurting yourself! Why don’t you just stop running?” You know how, when someone has a big goal, people will ask “What’s your ‘why’?” And they’ll say, “I’m doing this for my kids.” Well, I would say I’m doing this in spite of my kids. Anyway, enough complaining! It’s a new month, and that means a new attitude. Several weeks ago Catrina left this comment on one of my posts: “I love the German word for joyful anticipation: Vorfreude (vor = before, Freude = joy). Many people say it’s the best kind of joy and I tend to agree!” In the spirit of vorfreude, here are some things I’m looking forward to in March: My birthday! I’ll be turning 58. The age doesn’t bother me, especially because I thought I already WAS 58. Ha ha… does anyone else do this? For the last couple months I’ve been thinking I’m “almost 58” and then last week, when someone asked how old I was, I told them I’m 58. It wasn’t until a few days later that I thought “Wait a minute? AM I 58? How old am I, anyway?” No, I’m still 57, and on March 21st I’ll ONLY be turning 58. Hooray! I like birthdays. My daughter’s spring break is the third week of March. I’ll still be working my normal schedule, but with her off of school it will feel like a mini-vacation. I can get up an hour later and I don’t have to make her lunch or get her to school. OR, I could continue to get up at my usual time, and have extra time to myself in the morning. I’m still deciding how I’m going to play this, but I’m definitely looking forward to the week. Easter! Easter is not usually my favorite holiday, but this year my son will be home. He won’t be coming home for spring break (his trumpet ensemble is going to a national competition that week) so he arranged to come home for Easter instead. I’m very excited about this, and am already planning some fun meals. So that’s where I’m at: “New Month, New Me.” What would you tell me over coffee? Do you have any vorfreude for the month of March? Balloon photo by Morgan Lane on Unsplash Easter photo by Eric Heininger on Unsplash
… and Reading
When I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I had a “book dilemma,” Engie commented that she was afraid I wanted to DNF My Brilliant Friend. Fear not! I seem to be one of the few people who likes the book, and I’m looking forward to finishing it this week. It’s funny how we can all have such different tastes. Having different tastes is what my dilemma is all about, but first let’s look at a book I’m currently reading: I discovered Ann Cleeves from Lindsay’s blog. I read the first one in the series, The Crow Trap, and enjoyed it. Now I’m reading the second one, Telling Tales, and I LOVE it! I was drawn into the story immediately and was completely engrossed in the character’s life. This is a book that changes narrators, and every time it changes I’m initially disappointed, because I was loving the previous point of view- but after a couple paragraphs I’m 100% engrossed in the new character. And, since I finished The Crow Trap, I feel confident that this too will be a mystery with a satisfying ending. On to the dilemma. Months ago, I mentioned an elderly client who is an avid reader. Just for the fun of it, I asked her to recommend a recent book she’d read. I got the book out of the library and HATED it. I wanted to stop reading after two pages, but I kept on because I was vaguely curious about one of the plot points- but the ending turned out to be more stupid than I could ever have imagined. The only silver lining is that I was able to read it very quickly. Not wanting to hurt this woman’s feelings, when she asked me about the book I said some things that weren’t lies and sounded vaguely positive: “Wow, I couldn’t believe that ending! That was so crazy!” All was well, until Christmas, when she brought me a nicely wrapped present… which was a book. NOOOOOO! Now, I will say this one doesn’t look as bad as the other one, yet I still don’t feel like reading it. But I HAVE to! Once again, I don’t want to hurt her feelings. Has anyone heard of this book, or read it? Please tell me it’s good??? But my woes don’t end there! I have ANOTHER client- I mentioned her recently- who reads over 100 books a year, buys them all new, and then gives them away when she’s done. You probably know where I’m going with this. Now, I do like mysteries, and I decided to get it over with and read one of them quickly, so I read An English Garden Murder. It actually wasn’t bad- the writing was decent and the story was fairly interesting. But it just wasn’t great, and I don’t want to spend time reading so-so books. And I’m particularly wary of Fatal Fascinator (although, Engie- it’s a “hat shop mystery!”) So that’s my dilemma- suddenly people are giving me books, really NICE people, and I don’t want to hurt their feelings. But I don’t want to read their books. Tell me what to do!!! Life is too short to read mediocre books. What do you do when someone gives you a book you don’t want to read???