Weekly Rundown- There’s Hope!
Do you remember how, in every made-for-TV movie in the 90s, at some point the main character exclaims, “I just want my life back!” That’s how I felt last weekend. I couldn’t even write the usual Weekly Rundown because I was so down and frustrated with my injury. But as they say, it’s always darkest before the dawn! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting- this time I have a proper rundown. Let’s get right into it… Sunday This day was the turning point! I couldn’t face the gym again, so I went for a walk outside. My ankle was still very achy, but at one point I just thought “What the heck- I might as well try running.” AND… running felt better than walking. Don’t ask me why! I continued to walk, inserting 30 second running intervals, and ended feeling energized and encouraged. I followed this run with Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout.. My new motto is, “when in doubt, do core.” You can’t go wrong strengthening your core. Monday Still feeling encouraged and optimistic, I went to the gym and tried deadlifts for the first time since the injury. Yes, I could do it! I also did squats with the bar- I didn’t want to get too crazy the first time back- and Bulgarian spilt squats. Those were SO HARD on the left side- just balancing on that foot is still hard. I didn’t even use any weights for those and it was exhausting. But, I left the gym feeling more like my old self. Tuesday Okay, let’s try this running thing again! I covered 3 miles, lots of walking, but threw in 30 second, and then one minute running intervals. The ankle is still achy while I’m walking and feels better when running. Again, followed it up with Caroline’s deadbug workout. Wednesday Back to the gym for a “long cardio” day. Well, I am training for a race so if I can’t do a long run (yet) I need to do something. 30 minutes on the stairclimber and then 30 minutes on the treadmill for the 3-12-30 workout- 3 mph, 12% incline for 30 minutes. What’s that, you say? A race? Well, YES!!! I signed up for a 50K at the end of May. It’s in Inverness, Florida, which is north and west of me- Sweat, Swat ‘n Swear. Yes, there will be plenty of sweating! Possibly swearing. But what is this about swatting? I’m not sure I want to know. I’m really excited about it though (in spite of the name.) Thursday More walking/running (same distance, threw in more one minute running intervals) and I tried out a new hydration vest. I’m looking for a vest with bottles in the front and more pockets to store things (such as, AHEM, a rain jacket.) I liked everything about this one, except that I think it will make me too hot. It was only 60 degrees on this run and my back felt hot- no way will it work when it’s 90. I’m returning it! Once again, followed this run with Caroline Girvan Deadbug workout. Friday Back to the gym. Bench press, reverse flys, squats, Bulgarian spilt squats (again bodyweight only- still so hard) and abs. Saturday Wait. Why am I only doing one minute run intervals? This time I did two minutes running/one minute walking. Hooray! Covered 3 miles, followed again by the CG deadbug workout. Sunday Off! Sleeping in… waffles… and then cleaning the house. My son will be home this week for Easter, and I’ll probably do some food prep today as well. My ankle isn’t back to normal, but I’m getting there. I do strength and mobility exercises every day, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I’m running!!! Hooray. Any hydration vest recommendations for me? – I need one for HOT weather! Speaking of weather… are you getting spring-like weather yet? – Our summer humidity has returned. Top photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash
Birthday Coffee Date
Yep! It’s my birthday (today as I’m writing this- March 21st.) I love birthdays, so even though I’m not doing anything super-celebratory, I’m enjoying the day. No need for the dumpster fire coffee mug this week! Things are going well. Grab yourself a nice, hot beverage and I’ll tell you all about it. First things first! I signed up for a race!!! Sweat, Swat ‘n Swear on May 26th. If we can ignore the name- which seems a little ominous- it sounds like a great race. I’m doing the 50K distance (there’s also a 10K and 25K) and it’s on the west coast of Florida, north of Tampa. My life has meaning again! I’m really excited about this, and it gives me plenty of time to get my ankle 100% healed. And, it’s “only” a 50K. I know that sounds ridiculous, but there really is a big difference between 50K and 50 miles (like, 20 miles worth of difference.) I was all mentally geared up for a 50 mile race, so 50K seems easy. At least it does right now- I’m sure it won’t be easy while I’m actually running it. But as long as my ankle cooperates, I can do it. Let’s move on to birthday week! Because of the way everyone’s schedules worked out, I feel like I celebrated my birthday for days. Tuesday was the only night my husband was free, so we went out for dinner and delicious beers. When they served the beers my husband said “Aren’t you going to take a picture?” Well… it’s the same place we went for our anniversary a couple weeks ago, and I got another IPA sampler, so it looks almost identical to that picture… but okay! Here it is. Again, we both ordered the only vegan thing on the menu, which fortunately is a very tasty tofu and broccoli stir fry. Fun night! On to Birthday Eve. Okay- Birthday Eve isn’t normally a thing, but this year my birthday is on Thursday- a work day- and Wednesday is my day off. So I took myself out for a little Birthday Eve celebration. I went to Barnes and Noble, where I sat and read magazines and drank tea for a long time. And then I browsed, but this time I was actually determined to buy something! A client gave me $50 as a birthday gift, and I decided to buy books with it. This was actually easier said than done, because while I love browsing, it kills me to spend money on something I could get from the library. I finally picked out two unusual-sounding mysteries… and decided to spend the last $15 ordering Nevil Shute’s The Breaking Wave from Amazon. My actual birthday was spent at work, but as we know, every day counts! I enjoyed the day. Even though we don’t make a big deal over birthdays, my husband and I both believe that everyone should have presents to open on their special day- so he got me a book light (for my new favorite pastime of reading in bed) and two tank tops. And he cooked dinner (best present of all!) What would your ideal birthday celebration be? Do you like browsing in bookstores? Do you buy books or get them from the library? Anyone else have a March birthday? Top photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Reading and Eating
Hello and welcome to Wednesday’s Reads and Eats! I had some good ones this week. Let’s start with this book… I REALLY enjoyed it. As a matter of fact I enjoyed it so much I stayed up way past my bedtime reading it (come on! If you’re at the last 50 pages of a murder mystery, you can’t put it down.) This is the same guy who wrote Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, which I also enjoyed- but I liked this one more. It’s a murder mystery set ON A TRAIN! What’s not to love? Just like the last one, the plot got a little convoluted- but it all made sense, and followed the “fair play” rules of the classic whodunit. Since I’m making “Reading and Eating” a weekly feature, and I don’t usually get through more than one book a week, I’ve decided to include any blog posts or articles I especially enjoyed. I always like Marc and Angel, but somehow this article, “10 Daily Habits that Often Waste 90 Percent of our Time” particularly hit home. So many quotes seemed like they were speaking directly to me: Patience is not about waiting, it’s the ability to maintain a positive outlook while working hard for what you believe in. Effort is never wasted, even when it leads to disappointing results. (Wait! Were Marc and Angel at my race last month? Have they been spying on me???) The “10 Daily Habits” to avoid include: Change Nothing and Expect Different Results, Keep Waiting for the Right Time (“we forget that paths were made by walking, not waiting”) and Refuse to Accept Necessary Risks. This article is definitely worth a read. Okay, FOOD! Well, it was a lackluster week of eating. EXCEPT FOR SUNDAY! To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day I made Irish Soda Bread and Vegan Irish Stew, both from Nora Cooks. You know how bread is so addictive, and once you start eating it, it’s hard to stop? Well, I’m convinced that if the only bread in the entire world were Irish Soda Bread, we wouldn’t have that problem. I always want to make it on St. Patrick’s Day, and then I remember that we don’t really like it. You wouldn’t want to eat it plain, that’s for sure. It was a good tool for sopping up the stew though: Especially since I messed up the recipe. At the end you’re supposed to add a slurry of cornstarch and water- well yes, that would have been good! Except that I forgot to do that. I was wondering why the stew was so… soupy. I also forgot to add parsley. I used seitan instead of the Gardein product that Nora recommended, and in spite of all the ways I tried to ruin it, it still tasted good. There was a bottle of Guinness in the stew, and my husband drank one for the occasion, but I skipped it because I knew I would be having a drink the next two nights (more on that coming up later this week!). I know, so boring- but I knew I wouldn’t feel good if I drank three nights in a row. Did you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? What are you reading now? Header photo by Richard Bell on Unsplash
Bob and Brad Massage Gun Review
If you read fitness blogs, you’ve probably been seeing a lot of posts lately about Bob and Brad’s massage gun. A few weeks ago, the Bob and Brad team sent me an email asking if they could send me their Bob and Brad C2 Pro Massage Gun in return for a review. Why yes- I would be HAPPY to review your massage gun! The Bob and Brad massage gun was actually on my Christmas list, but I ended up getting an air fryer instead (that air fryer, by the way, is seriously underutilized. But that’s a post for another day.) The reason I haven’t owned a massage gun before is that I have access to one at work. That’s fine, but it’s obviously more convenient to have one at home. The Bob and Brad massage gun comes in a nice little case… and has the option of five different heads. One of the heads has a heat/cold option. That’s the one I tried out first, but while I appreciated the hot or cold feature, I like a more targeted massage, so I prefer this head: The massage gun comes with a pamphlet explaining how to use it, but Bob and Brad also have some videos on their Youtube channel that are more helpful. You can find two of them here and here. Here’s something Bob and Brad don’t talk about- in addition to moving the massage gun up and down, or across the muscle, you can also find a tender spot, hold the gun steady there, and contract and release the muscle. I received the gun after my ankle injury, so I’ve mostly been using it on my calf. I use it to warm up the area before doing my stretches and mobility exercises. I’ve also heard of people using it to activate muscles before a run, and of course it’s great to use on tight muscles after running. When I’m running more regularly again, I’ll report back on all the ways I’m using it. So- do you NEED a massage gun? Honestly… no. I think it has a similar effect as a foam roller, so if you have one of those and use it regularly, you’re just fine. BUT, I would rather use the massage gun than the foam roller (I should probably be using both, but let’s not get too crazy.) It feels really good, and I can sit on the couch watching TV while I massage my stiff calf muscles. I think the Bob and Brad massage gun is very reasonably priced, and if you haven’t seen Bob and Brad’s free videos on Youtube, check them out immediately! I’m currently doing the mobility exercises from this video and the ankle strengthening videos from this one.. If you are interested in purchasing this massage gun, use discount code PRC2PRO10 for 10% off. Bob and Brad! The two most famous physical therapists on the internet. (In their opinion, of course.) I’m linking up with Jenn and Zenaida for their Tuesday topics- today they’re talking about their spring running schedules. Do you use a massage gun or foam roller? Which one do you like more?