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Showing posts from January, 2015

What Not to Say to an Injured Runner

When things happen to you, like an injury that is obvious, it's kind of amazing what tends to happen. Hobbling around in a walking boot is uncomfortable enough, but I have been really surprised at the responses it/I have gotten. Complete strangers have stopped to ask me what I did to cause my injury. I've had people just stare down at my boot like it was a third boob. I've had people try to joke around, real comedians I tell ya, others like to make comments about getting a matching boot, or that it matches my outfit. If I tell someone that it is an overuse running injury coupled with being vitamin D deficient as well as other workouts (like plyo) then I get that knowing smug look and nod then something about how running will kill you or some such crap. As if sitting around on your rear eating ho-hos and cheetos won't. But ... I digress and won't touch that tangent today. Along with some insanely ridiculous comments, I have gotten a fair amount of advice, sugge

Black Bean Tempeh Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole

Do you have that one kitchen appliance that you never seem to use? The one you either bought or asked for as a gift certain it'd make your life easier? For me it was a slow cooker. We had an old one given as a gift that pretty much had two temperatures settings: hot and hotter. So for Christmas a few years back, I asked for a fancy upgrade. One that had timers and various temperature settings. It even locks the lid into place, how's that for fancy? I tried using it a few times for some soups or chili. Each time I either overcooked the vegetables until they were basically mush, or it was so undercooked I ended up transferring to a regular pot and finishing the meal on the stove. Not exactly simplifying life. One of my problems is that I can't seem to follow a recipe. I pin them, write them out, email them to myself, print them even. But when it comes to following them step-by-step, I don't. I decide to add my own spin on things. Sometimes it works out really well,

There's Always Something to be Thankful For

I know that my posts have been far and few in between lately. I also know that they've not been all that chipper in tone either. I've definitely been in a funk with this injury situation. I always try to remember that there is someone out there suffering much worse and that I do indeed have many things to be thankful for. Like this big ball of fluff we call Heath Man. He's our special needs child being that he's blind and also suffers from gallbladder disease. He has always been a trooper though, a total goof and love bug. I am very thankful for Jason's complete patience with me right now. A caged runner isn't always a pleasant person I'll admit. I am thankful for waking up to an email from my dad simply letting me and my sister know how much he loves us. Not everyone is so lucky to have their dad in their lives. I'm thankful for friends who care enough to send me something special. I'm thankful for running friends who keep che

Trying to Just Breathe

Last Tuesday I mentioned that I had a stress fracture, or a possible stress fracture pending MRI confirmation. Well, Thursday I went in for my MRI. Friday morning I got a call from my doctor's office. I was told it was a fracture in my 3rd metatarsal and that they wanted me to come in and get the dreaded boot. I only met with the nurse, and not the doctor unfortunately. So I really only know what she told me. I have no idea on the severity of the fracture. And I was simply told to come back in 3 weeks for a re-check. Of course I have questions after the fact that I didn't think about the day of. I don't know if I'm supposed to be sleeping in it, hope not because I'm not. I don't know if it's ok to go for a walk with it on. I have. Though, walking isn't easy. There is a good 2 1/2 to 3 inches discrepancy when I wear the boot and my other foot. This means walking is really cumbersome unless I have on a wedge shoe of some sort on my left foot. A

Truthful Tuesday - Another Running Injury

This is certainly a post I never wanted to have to write again .  As a runner, I know I'm prone to injuries. I've had a bout with IT Band problems when I first started running. I've dealt with plantar fasciitis not once, but twice even going so far as to tear the one on my left foot during a half marathon. I've lived with piriformis pain for years now, and recently a weird pain in my heel that I thought might just be another manifestation of plantar fasciitis perhaps. Hint: it's not.  I am definitely going through the stages of mourning right now. I'm currently in the wallowing in self-pity phase. Jason has suggested, hinted that he may need to move out for 6 weeks. Joking/sort of. The one thing that I use to de-stress, to help deal with depression, to stay centered is being pulled away from me again.  Two words every runner dreads: Stress Fracture I tend to be an honest person to a fault. So here it goes ... The Truth Is ... The Truth Is I ha

Reasons to Find a Workout Buddy

If you're like many people, you set out some New Year resolutions or goals, even if they were only in your mind. The new year seems to bring about feeling of renewal or a sense of a fresh start. It feels like the perfect time to achieve some of those goals, project, bucket list items you've been putting off. At first, it feels pretty easy to jump right in, especially with fitness goals. You're coming off the holiday eating festivities. Even if you mostly behaved, bets are you were still out of your routine. Now that the parties are over, it's a great time to get serious right? But what do you do when that energy, enthusiasm starts to fade? And it does. You have a crummy day at work, the weather stinks, you're flat out tired. You want to stomp your foot like a child and say, "no, no, no." It's ok to do that once, maybe twice, but how can you prevent that feeling from derailing your well-meant, whole-hearted best intentions to get healthy? I say, f

Breathing and Enjoying the End and Beginning of Years

I feel like I've been neglecting my blog lately. It wasn't intentional. It just happened. I didn't feel like I had anything important to say or share other than my marathon journey. I've wanted to write more about my feelings after my first marathon , more than just the race day recap. Honestly, it still seems completely surreal. I have that, "did that just happen" feeling. It's been hard for me to even respond to all of your incredibly kind comments (I will though; I promise). Everyone seems to want to know how my recovery went, when I'm signing up for another, IF I'm signing up for another, what's up next, and so on. I want to talk about all of that, but I also want to talk about the amazing 11 days off I had from work that started Christmas Day. What I learned most about the time off was how much I tend to miss when I let myself get into a rut. I tend to crave normalcy, schedules, timelines, but then when I don't have that, I reali