I couldn’t talk myself into getting in the pool yesterday because I was too cold, but I did get some strength training in… I am determined to be able to do a pull-up again. So far, I just start from the top, hold it as long as possible, and slowly lower. Doing that over and over again for about a month is how I was able to build up to them last time, so I’m trying that again.
Winter in the morning…
Fall in the afternoon… our tree has only dropped about 1/4th of it’s leaves so far.
Beck’s teacher gave him this cute book and a Kinder Egg for his birthday.
These banana muffins are made at least once a week here.
This pup is so very loved. Brooke wanted a dog more than anything when it was just the two of us but we never got one because we were in apartments that didn’t allow them. Not only did Brooke gain a step-dad and brother when Andrew and I got married, but she got the dog she had always wanted, too.
For dinner, we had the Hearty Minestrone from the Run Fast, Eat Slow cookbook.
I’m grateful my dad taught me the importance of taking Dad Tax from our Halloween candy so that I could learn this and now take Mom Tax.
This is starting to get unhealthy… We are beyond addicted to Harry Potter and canceling things in our lives to keep reading.
Whenever I am at a hard point in life, whatever it may be, I try to hurry and rush to learn as much as I can from the situation, thinking that the situation will get better once I learn whatever I need to learn from the whole ordeal… Spoiler: it doesn’t make it automatically better, but at least it helps me to figure out a few things in life. So, without further ado, here are the things I’ve learned so far from this injury:
*That people who deal with chronic pain are my actual heroes. I am so sorry. I cannot imagine. The strength you have to do all that you do while constantly dealing with pain, wow.
*Walking is such a gift. It’s been really nice to slow down and notice more about the architecture of different homes, the details of the mountains, and the way movement feels like medicine for me.
*That I can actually fix my posture. I’ve tried and quit at least 100 times after a few days, but it turns out that pain is my best motivator, and my posture is finally much better.
*I’ve learned that I can actually swim laps. I might need a million breaks and to go extremely slow, but it’s really empowering to do something now that I’ve always told myself that I couldn’t.
*Not running saves me a lot of money haha. I haven’t bought new running shoes since September! This might be a record;)
*The little things matter oh so much. I get so focused on the mileage, the workouts, and hitting every pace perfectly, but that isn’t the only thing that will get us to our goals. It’s the yoga, the strength, the stretching, the sleep, the massages, the vitamins, the core work, the stability, and the mobility that will make it come together.
*To go along with the one above: As Dumbledore says in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, “The trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them.” I normally have a knack for avoiding everything that will keep me running healthy and choosing to sit as much as possible and skip the important things, but this injury has taught me I’ll be in pain if I keep choosing the things that are the worst for me.
*I should have pulled back sooner. My insides knew it was too much, and I didn’t start pulling back until too late. I need to trust what I know to be right for me!
*I feel like after a marathon, I’ve always hated the idea of losing all of my fitness and starting from zero again (because it sounds so hard to get back there again), but I’m learning that it’s okay. I’m of course losing a lot of fitness but in the big picture, I think it is going to help me out a lot to have given my body this break from running. Remember when Shalane won NYCM after coming back from her injury break?
*We are so much more than our running! It’s fun during an injury when we have more time to explore other things that bring us joy. It’s nice to have this time (especially during the holidays) to try new things, read more, cook more, snuggle more, and write more in my journal. I feel more well-rounded right now and I love that about this time!
*The tiny PT exercises that seem like they aren’t going to do anything do the most. I’ll stick with them forever!
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Any running or life lessons you have learned lately?
Did anyone else want to go to bed at 6 pm last night?
Pull-up people… how did you get to them?
What are you making for dinner tonight?
