In something I was reading for work, I came across something about a "Life Balance Wheel." It has a circle divided into areas of the person's life:
Career,
Personal Growth,
Fun and Recreation,
Time Alone,
Partner/Romance,
Family,
Friends/Social Life,
Health and Exercise,
Spirituality,
Financial.
And when I read that, it hit me -- running (and boot camp) is what fills a lot of my circles!
It's fun and recreational -- aside from travel, it's probably one of the most fun activities I do with any regularity.
It's one of the things I love doing with my husband.
It's my time with friends and it's a big part of my social life. I run/boot camp with many of my dearest fiends -- feel free to draw your own conclusions about cause/correlation -- when you run with someone, you spend hours talking to them every week, so you'd better hope it's someone you like. I'm very lucky there, and I know it. I don't spend tons of time on the phone with out of town friends, and the local friends I spend the most time talking to are definitely working out friends. Sure, I'm emailing with people while injured, and people have stopped by to sign my cast and commiserate, but it's not the same as spending hours chatting per week.
It's my health and exercise. I have been trying to go to boot camp the last few days and just stay on my mat, doing abs and arms and stuff, but yikes, not really burning any calories at all. I've been struggling to find any cardio I can actually do in this cast, but honestly, even if I found something, I'm not wild about it since I've noticed sweating in the cast is very uncomfortable and makes it even itchier.
It's what I spend most of my "fun money" on, so I guess the financial part of my life is better without it? Not really, since it's fun money and I don't really spend a ton on it.
And in a lot of ways, it's where I feel like I set goals and have personal growth.
So what now??????
I know there's a lot more to my life than running/boot camp, and I know with certainty I'll be back as soon as this ankle is healed, but right now, I'm mostly just crying in my beer at my own little pity party.
Going to the doctor again this morning to get this stupid itchy cast off. And I find out what's next. Another cast for 8 weeks? A brace of some sort? Or (my hope, hope, hope), the "all healed, good luck in the marathon next weekend"?!
Haha, wishful thinking. It's still pretty sore and I'm worried about what the doc will say.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
He Said, She Said
Another quiz. What's funny is that I actually have a few million blog posts I should write. When I ran the San Francisco marathon, I carried my phone and took a bunch of pictures I can share. And I went on a self-guided Breaking Bad tour in Albuquerque. And I turned 40. And I went to Pittsburgh to visit aging inlaws. And I got to meet (and run and have breakfast with) Jennifer, from Running on Lentils -- in real life! But life has kind of been kicking my butt lately! Lots of miles on the road -- running and traveling for work. And I'm just feeling wiped out. So ready to taper. (Heh, clearly written pre-ankle injury.)
But somewhere in the last month or so since I've been inspired to write, I came across another quiz when I was reading the Jen Chooses Joy blog. And it was kind of a fun one, so I wrote out my answers, figuring we'd have some down-time in Pittsburgh for the AC to give his answers, so I wrote mine out, but of course we were busier than expected, so it took another week plus to do this. Anyway, here we go!
Directions: First answer the questions about yourself. Then, without ANY prompting, ask your spouse, boyfriend, partner, etc…these questions about yourself and write down EXACTLY what they say. Husband's answers in BLUE and my answers (written first) in PINK.
1. What is something your wife always says to you?
"Be present." (When I tell him to ignore his phone.)
I love you!
2. What makes your wife happy?
Flowers.
Being with friends and/or family
3. What makes your wife sad?
Injured feet and legs (as I asked these questions, I just finished 22 miles and we are watching wrestling on tv while I sit with my legs on his lap and he's halfheartedly rubbing them) (now that I'm posting this, wearing my below-the-knee cast, waiting for more answers on Thursday about my leg, this would definitely be his answer!).
Missing my family.
4. How does your wife make you laugh?
I don't know. Says funny things.
Silly jokes or showing him funny FB memes.
5. What was your wife like as a child?
Difficult.
Bossy and in my own world.
6. How old is your wife?
40
40 and 2.5 weeks!
7. How tall is your wife?
5’6″ (I laughed, then he said 5'5"?)
5’4″ (maybe 5'5"?)
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Run.
Plan and go on vacations and trips.
9. If your wife became famous, what would it be for?
Running. Or a famous lawyer.
Probably losing my $hit and yelling and flailing my arms at inefficiency and waste while someone stood by and recorded the whole thing (I had jury duty a couple weeks ago and the wounds of wasted hours are still fresh).
10. What is your wife really good at?
Arguing. It's your job. You are good at it. No arguing that.
Arguing, negotiating and convincing (it's my job!)
For the record, I am totally appalled by the fact that we agreed on this. Felt like a zinger!
11. What is your wife not very good at?
Barbeque-ing. (I pushed for another answer and he said "sprinting.")
Singing, and being patient.
12. What does your wife do for a job?
She's a lawyer.
Attorney.
13. What is your wife’s favorite food?
Macaroni and cheese.
Too broad to just say cheese? Mac and cheese, pizza, cheesecake...
14. What makes you proud of your wife?
She's very smart. And beautiful.
My running. He brags about me all the time, even if I'm disappointed with my performance in a race.
15. If your wife was a tv or movie character, who would she be?
Someone on Law & Order (you wish you were)
I wouldn't mind hosting The Amazing Race. In terms of a character, I always wanted to be Frances Houseman. I also wanted to be Vivian Ward (but that was before I really understood the movie). But I think right now, I'd most want to be Abby Carmichael (the ADA from Law & Order, I'd frigging love to look like Angie Harmon!), or Elizabeth on The Americans (it would be kind of fun to be a Russian spy living in the US undercover in the 80s). I predict my husband will say Gillian Anderson from the X Files, since he thinks I look a bit like her.
16. What do you and your wife do together?
Boot camp.
See the world, travel, cuddle, work out, watch TV.
17. How are you and your wife different?
I like to eat animal flesh.
I'm more of a planner and list-maker.
18. How do you know your wife loves you?
She takes good care of me.
I tell him all the time!
19. What does your wife like most about you?
I don't know. I think she likes pretty much everything about me. Maybe that I don't like sports very much. Except this (while watching wrestling). Be glad we don't live in Iran. This stuff is probably on all the time over there.
His sweetness. He's such a nice and good person, it balances me out. I think we're a good team.
20. Where is your wife’s favorite place to go?
Italy.
Calabria in Italy! If I had to be more specific, I'd say my husband's aunt's house in Lamezia (maybe on the little balcony off "our" room when we stay there), or in the piazza in Pizzo, overlooking the sea and the castle where we got married.
But somewhere in the last month or so since I've been inspired to write, I came across another quiz when I was reading the Jen Chooses Joy blog. And it was kind of a fun one, so I wrote out my answers, figuring we'd have some down-time in Pittsburgh for the AC to give his answers, so I wrote mine out, but of course we were busier than expected, so it took another week plus to do this. Anyway, here we go!
Directions: First answer the questions about yourself. Then, without ANY prompting, ask your spouse, boyfriend, partner, etc…these questions about yourself and write down EXACTLY what they say. Husband's answers in BLUE and my answers (written first) in PINK.
1. What is something your wife always says to you?
"Be present." (When I tell him to ignore his phone.)
I love you!
2. What makes your wife happy?
Flowers.
Being with friends and/or family
3. What makes your wife sad?
Injured feet and legs (as I asked these questions, I just finished 22 miles and we are watching wrestling on tv while I sit with my legs on his lap and he's halfheartedly rubbing them) (now that I'm posting this, wearing my below-the-knee cast, waiting for more answers on Thursday about my leg, this would definitely be his answer!).
Missing my family.
4. How does your wife make you laugh?
I don't know. Says funny things.
Silly jokes or showing him funny FB memes.
5. What was your wife like as a child?
Difficult.
Bossy and in my own world.
6. How old is your wife?
40
40 and 2.5 weeks!
7. How tall is your wife?
5’6″ (I laughed, then he said 5'5"?)
5’4″ (maybe 5'5"?)
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Run.
Plan and go on vacations and trips.
9. If your wife became famous, what would it be for?
Running. Or a famous lawyer.
Probably losing my $hit and yelling and flailing my arms at inefficiency and waste while someone stood by and recorded the whole thing (I had jury duty a couple weeks ago and the wounds of wasted hours are still fresh).
10. What is your wife really good at?
Arguing. It's your job. You are good at it. No arguing that.
Arguing, negotiating and convincing (it's my job!)
For the record, I am totally appalled by the fact that we agreed on this. Felt like a zinger!
11. What is your wife not very good at?
Barbeque-ing. (I pushed for another answer and he said "sprinting.")
Singing, and being patient.
12. What does your wife do for a job?
She's a lawyer.
Attorney.
13. What is your wife’s favorite food?
Macaroni and cheese.
Too broad to just say cheese? Mac and cheese, pizza, cheesecake...
14. What makes you proud of your wife?
She's very smart. And beautiful.
My running. He brags about me all the time, even if I'm disappointed with my performance in a race.
15. If your wife was a tv or movie character, who would she be?
Someone on Law & Order (you wish you were)
I wouldn't mind hosting The Amazing Race. In terms of a character, I always wanted to be Frances Houseman. I also wanted to be Vivian Ward (but that was before I really understood the movie). But I think right now, I'd most want to be Abby Carmichael (the ADA from Law & Order, I'd frigging love to look like Angie Harmon!), or Elizabeth on The Americans (it would be kind of fun to be a Russian spy living in the US undercover in the 80s). I predict my husband will say Gillian Anderson from the X Files, since he thinks I look a bit like her.
16. What do you and your wife do together?
Boot camp.
See the world, travel, cuddle, work out, watch TV.
17. How are you and your wife different?
I like to eat animal flesh.
I'm more of a planner and list-maker.
18. How do you know your wife loves you?
She takes good care of me.
I tell him all the time!
19. What does your wife like most about you?
I don't know. I think she likes pretty much everything about me. Maybe that I don't like sports very much. Except this (while watching wrestling). Be glad we don't live in Iran. This stuff is probably on all the time over there.
His sweetness. He's such a nice and good person, it balances me out. I think we're a good team.
20. Where is your wife’s favorite place to go?
Italy.
Calabria in Italy! If I had to be more specific, I'd say my husband's aunt's house in Lamezia (maybe on the little balcony off "our" room when we stay there), or in the piazza in Pizzo, overlooking the sea and the castle where we got married.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Down for the Count
Well ... for the first time in my life, this is my new look:
Ugh. I made it over 40 years without ever getting a cast, and I decide to have my first one put on 2 weeks and 3 days before I have an out-of-town marathon on the calendar for which I am fully trained.
Here's the "before" when I was in the ortho waiting room:
On the upside, I'm lucky both my husband and my running husband chose purple so I didn't have to explain another color to one of them...
Doctor thinks it's grade 3 sprains (my ankle rolled in and out), but there are two possible breaks based on the x-ray. He said the best thing to do was cast and immobilize it for a week, then we'll look at it again next Thursday when the swelling has gone down.
He advised I would not be running the Oktoberfest 5k that I love so much this weekend, and that he does not think it looks good for running a marathon in two weeks. But he wouldn't say it was impossible. He said he'd never seen anyone fully recover from grade 3 sprains in less than 2 weeks, but he couldn't say it could never happen. I'm super strong and I think I'll heal fast.
So I guess I'm just going with an extreme taper?
No running obviously, and no swimming since I can't get the cast wet. I might try a stationary bike or an elliptical early next week. I think I need to do something, but the upside to doing nothing is that maybe I'll gain 100+ pounds this week and my cast will split open -- which will finally allow me to scratch my damn leg and point my damn toe! Both of which I'm dying to do!
It hurts like crazy, I've taken a double dose of OTC sleeping pills all three nights with no luck, and I don't think I can stand it any more. I should have asked for pain meds. Ooops.
This officially breaks my years-long streak of no significant running injuries.
So if you don't mind, cross your fingers for a second and hope it's healed by the marathon and definitely that I'm not hobbling through Morocco a month from now... (not asking for prayers, too many things far more worthy of prayers in this world) (can you tell I've been clicking on sob stories on FB to try to keep this all in perspective?) (honestly, I wasn't in PR shape and it's really not the end of the world).
Ugh. I made it over 40 years without ever getting a cast, and I decide to have my first one put on 2 weeks and 3 days before I have an out-of-town marathon on the calendar for which I am fully trained.
Here's the "before" when I was in the ortho waiting room:
Doctor thinks it's grade 3 sprains (my ankle rolled in and out), but there are two possible breaks based on the x-ray. He said the best thing to do was cast and immobilize it for a week, then we'll look at it again next Thursday when the swelling has gone down.
It hurts like crazy, I've taken a double dose of OTC sleeping pills all three nights with no luck, and I don't think I can stand it any more. I should have asked for pain meds. Ooops.
This officially breaks my years-long streak of no significant running injuries.
So if you don't mind, cross your fingers for a second and hope it's healed by the marathon and definitely that I'm not hobbling through Morocco a month from now... (not asking for prayers, too many things far more worthy of prayers in this world) (can you tell I've been clicking on sob stories on FB to try to keep this all in perspective?) (honestly, I wasn't in PR shape and it's really not the end of the world).
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Owww
So I went running yesterday morning in Philly and it did not go well.
It started off wonderfully. I was staying out in the 'burbs, so I ran toward Swarthmore College. Tons of beautiful homes in the area, and running around campus so early was fun.
Technically, sunrise was at 7:10 or something, and I set out a little before 6, planning to run about 10k and wanting to be back by 6:50 or so.
It was not actually pitch black when I started running. A combination of street lights and that pre-dawn light meant I could see just fine, especially after the first mile or so.
It was COLD! Temps in the low 60s, so (like any runner on the first fall-ish run) I wore long sleeves. Totally not necessary, but ah, so nice to get to wear them and not be miserably hot.
I ran until about mile 3.5 and was getting ready to U-turn, thinking I would take a more direct route back to the hotel, so I'd be good on distance.
It was so pretty.
Those were the last happy pictures. 6:26 a.m., both of them.
I wanted to run just a little bit further and I realized the sidewalk I was on was leading to a public transit station. I saw a sidewalk on the other side of the street.
There were a few cars coming from my right, so I waited for them before crossing. There was a car in the distance to my left, but I wasn't worried about it.
As the last car passed, I stepped out into the street to run across. And somehow I stepped on a single huge (softball sized?) rock in the road.
I rolled my left ankle BOTH WAYS, if that's even possible? I went all the way down and got some very slight scrapes on my knees and my left hand, but I think my ankle absorbed all of it. I quickly crawled back to the grass so the oncoming car wouldn't hit me. I sat in the grass for a minute. I actually felt like I was going to pass out it hurt so much. I tried to stand on it and I knew I was done. No more running. I tried to get an uber, but of course my phone wasn't working (100% operator error, I think I tried to turn off the wifi in the morning before I ran but I accidentally put it in airplane mode). So I walked/jogged painfully back to the hotel.
Perhaps the worst part was crossing a very busy intersection -- turns out my defense counsel was driving through and saw me. He said he almost yelled but he was worried I'd turn to see him and get hit by a car. Just hearing that I could have been spared the misery of the last mile almost makes me cry.
Anyway, got to the hotel, got a bag of ice to put on it, and took off my shoe. It was already very swollen and seems to be bruising a bit. Owww. This would happen 2.5 weeks before my marathon. I'm hoping it's just a sprain. I'm kind of a wuss and I don't think I could have gone about 2 miles on a broken ankle.
I ended up settling my case in a hurry just so I could get on an early flight home. I got to the airport, changed my flight, and walked right on a plane to Dallas. They gave me bags of ice on the plane so I could keep icing, but it's ugly. I sat next to a really nice guy and we ended up talking for a fair amount of the flight, which is so rare for me. He's 61, married 26 years, 4 kids, youngest is a senior in HS now. He was connecting in Dallas and heading on to Lake Charles, LA for work. I had started working on the plane, but after about an hour, I asked him what he was reading, and that started the conversation -- he was reading a book by a friend to do an Amazon review for him, and then he told me about this friend, and we just exchanged stories for the next hour-plus about travel, people, family, everything. So pleasant!
As they made a final trash sweep on the plane, I asked if I could get a wheelchair when we landed. I've never used one so I didn't know if you had to pay for it, or arrange it when you booked your flight or what, but apparently not -- you just let them know and they get it set up for you right then and there. They ordered one for me, but when we got off the plane, while there were several wheelchairs, no one was there to push.
The sweet guy I'd talked to for most of the flight had carried my suitcase off the plane for me and hung out with me while I was waiting for a chair-pusher. He eventually asked the guy at the counter if he could just push me, and the guy said it was fine. He insisted he had more than 2 hours before his flight and he didn't mind. He pushed me to the tram that we took to the terminal where we parked. And while he pushed me, he dragged my suitcase and briefcase with his other arm (I carried his briefcase on my lap). We got to the terminal where I was parked and he was ready to push me all the way out to my car, but I insisted he stop at the security exit -- no telling what the lines would be like to go back in to security and I didn't want him to risk a mess. It just kind of blew my mind. And I never even got his name (though I know where he lives, the names/schools/future plans of his kids, names of his brothers, father's age, his surgical history, how he spent the summer when he was 19, what he thinks about Donald Trump, etc.).
How in the world are there people this nice in the world still?
Needless to say, no mile repeats for me this morning. I slept late and I'm about to leave for the ortho. I got an 8:00 appointment because I want to have it checked out. And I want to hear from "a real M.D." (to quote Pretty Woman) that it's just a sprain and it will be fine in about 3 days...
Fingers crossed!
It started off wonderfully. I was staying out in the 'burbs, so I ran toward Swarthmore College. Tons of beautiful homes in the area, and running around campus so early was fun.
Technically, sunrise was at 7:10 or something, and I set out a little before 6, planning to run about 10k and wanting to be back by 6:50 or so.
It was not actually pitch black when I started running. A combination of street lights and that pre-dawn light meant I could see just fine, especially after the first mile or so.
It was COLD! Temps in the low 60s, so (like any runner on the first fall-ish run) I wore long sleeves. Totally not necessary, but ah, so nice to get to wear them and not be miserably hot.
I ran until about mile 3.5 and was getting ready to U-turn, thinking I would take a more direct route back to the hotel, so I'd be good on distance.
It was so pretty.
Those were the last happy pictures. 6:26 a.m., both of them.
I wanted to run just a little bit further and I realized the sidewalk I was on was leading to a public transit station. I saw a sidewalk on the other side of the street.
There were a few cars coming from my right, so I waited for them before crossing. There was a car in the distance to my left, but I wasn't worried about it.
As the last car passed, I stepped out into the street to run across. And somehow I stepped on a single huge (softball sized?) rock in the road.
I rolled my left ankle BOTH WAYS, if that's even possible? I went all the way down and got some very slight scrapes on my knees and my left hand, but I think my ankle absorbed all of it. I quickly crawled back to the grass so the oncoming car wouldn't hit me. I sat in the grass for a minute. I actually felt like I was going to pass out it hurt so much. I tried to stand on it and I knew I was done. No more running. I tried to get an uber, but of course my phone wasn't working (100% operator error, I think I tried to turn off the wifi in the morning before I ran but I accidentally put it in airplane mode). So I walked/jogged painfully back to the hotel.
Perhaps the worst part was crossing a very busy intersection -- turns out my defense counsel was driving through and saw me. He said he almost yelled but he was worried I'd turn to see him and get hit by a car. Just hearing that I could have been spared the misery of the last mile almost makes me cry.
Anyway, got to the hotel, got a bag of ice to put on it, and took off my shoe. It was already very swollen and seems to be bruising a bit. Owww. This would happen 2.5 weeks before my marathon. I'm hoping it's just a sprain. I'm kind of a wuss and I don't think I could have gone about 2 miles on a broken ankle.
And a picture of the swelling on the inside.
I ended up settling my case in a hurry just so I could get on an early flight home. I got to the airport, changed my flight, and walked right on a plane to Dallas. They gave me bags of ice on the plane so I could keep icing, but it's ugly. I sat next to a really nice guy and we ended up talking for a fair amount of the flight, which is so rare for me. He's 61, married 26 years, 4 kids, youngest is a senior in HS now. He was connecting in Dallas and heading on to Lake Charles, LA for work. I had started working on the plane, but after about an hour, I asked him what he was reading, and that started the conversation -- he was reading a book by a friend to do an Amazon review for him, and then he told me about this friend, and we just exchanged stories for the next hour-plus about travel, people, family, everything. So pleasant!
As they made a final trash sweep on the plane, I asked if I could get a wheelchair when we landed. I've never used one so I didn't know if you had to pay for it, or arrange it when you booked your flight or what, but apparently not -- you just let them know and they get it set up for you right then and there. They ordered one for me, but when we got off the plane, while there were several wheelchairs, no one was there to push.
The sweet guy I'd talked to for most of the flight had carried my suitcase off the plane for me and hung out with me while I was waiting for a chair-pusher. He eventually asked the guy at the counter if he could just push me, and the guy said it was fine. He insisted he had more than 2 hours before his flight and he didn't mind. He pushed me to the tram that we took to the terminal where we parked. And while he pushed me, he dragged my suitcase and briefcase with his other arm (I carried his briefcase on my lap). We got to the terminal where I was parked and he was ready to push me all the way out to my car, but I insisted he stop at the security exit -- no telling what the lines would be like to go back in to security and I didn't want him to risk a mess. It just kind of blew my mind. And I never even got his name (though I know where he lives, the names/schools/future plans of his kids, names of his brothers, father's age, his surgical history, how he spent the summer when he was 19, what he thinks about Donald Trump, etc.).
How in the world are there people this nice in the world still?
Needless to say, no mile repeats for me this morning. I slept late and I'm about to leave for the ortho. I got an 8:00 appointment because I want to have it checked out. And I want to hear from "a real M.D." (to quote Pretty Woman) that it's just a sprain and it will be fine in about 3 days...
Fingers crossed!
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