Sidelined!

Yep, I've been sidelined by the darn injury bug. 

Last week I will admit that I probably (ok, considering I'm injured it would be obviously) overdid it.  I had several new Jillian videos that I was experimenting with, but also had a hard time giving up my runs.  So I had several days where I did a double workout.  My legs were tired, but I felt that and adjusted accordingly.  My calves and hamstrings were tight, but I adjusted for those, stretched well and made sure I warmed up well.  At no point in the week was there an odd ache or pain that made me worry about an overuse injury, or any injury for that matter.

My run on Sunday was just what my soul needed.  Outside, perfectly cool weather, barely a breeze, and I felt relaxed and strong.  Cut to about a half mile left of my seven-miler...  A twinge in my knee that hadn't been there before.  It was pretty sore by the time I finished, but not unbearable.  Over the next few hours though it went from sore to painful.

After talking with a couple of friends who are physical therapists, my self diagnosis is ITB pain.  I've been doing stretches several times a day and have been noticing a slow improvement.  Monday I was unable to walk up and down stairs on my right knee - let me tell you, it is slow going when you are taking every step with the same foot!  Tuesday was marginally better, I could somewhat navigate the stairs but it was still pretty rough trying to pack kids!

So far today it is tender, I feel it when I go up and down the stairs, but it is not debilitating.  I've tried a slow jog in my kitchen and the pain immediately returns.  I'm left with trying to figure out how long it will take before I can hop on the treadmill again.

*sigh* Lately it always seems about the time I get into a really good pattern something happens - I get sick or injured, kids are sick...  The most frustrating part about this is the suddenness of it.  If there had been a building pain that I ignored that led to this point, that would be one thing.  But I feel as though I went from 100% to 0% with no transition.

Well, I've been on the sideline quite a bit this last year, so I guess it's time to deal with it and move on.  God uses all things, right? So I should take my extra time that would be spent working out and use it to pray or read my daily scriptures and meditation.  I should take my frustration and offer it up for those that are permanently debilitated and won't ever be able to return to working out. 

Jewelry! (and a 40 bags update) {Tackle it Tuesday}

My Christmas present from Carl was a jewelry cabinet for my relatively new jewelry collection.  My jewelry was sitting atop of my dresser in the "pretty" silver boxes they came in or hanging from the mirror.  It was quite the heap!

This is only about half of the jewelry boxes - the rest are in a cupboard!

Well, after two months of sitting on the floor by my dresser, we finally got the jewelry cabinet hung up over the weekend.  I spent yesterday getting all of my jewelry into it and picking out pictures for the front.  Doesn't that look so much nicer?!

A quick update on my 40 bags... 5 bags for Goodwill down and 2 bags of garbage!  That's with only going through my closet & dresser, the kids toys, and three hall closets!  I took some pictures but they didn't look very interesting, so you'll have to trust me on the improvement it has made!

The Ordinary {Monday Meditation}

I think one of the biggest struggles of being a SAHM is the ordinary.  The simple repetitive motion of each day; the repetition of the same tasks over and over; the thankless tasks of wiping noses, changing diapers, picking up toys to turn around and do it all over again; the "Mommy, I want..." and the "Mommy, I don't want..." in constant repetition. 

http://reclusive-genius.tumblr.com/page/4

On my better days, I remind myself of the above.  It is in the ordinary acts of my day that God speaks to me when I let Him.  It is in the ordinary acts of discipline, care, and love that I show my children how much I love them.  It is in the ordinary routine of our day at home that I find comfort and peace.  It is in the ordinary acts of self-discipline and balance in my day that my soul thrives, grows, and comes to love God (and therefore my family) more each day.

So when I hit that point where I think I might scream if I change one more poopy diaper, or grumble at cleaning up a pile of toys that has already been picked up three times, or look in disbelief at clothes hampers that somehow are filled to overflowing in the two days since I addressed them - I remind myself of this.  My vocation is to be here at home.  God calls me to this "job".  And because it is a divine vocation the grace and beauty in every single "ordinary" action really makes them extraordinary!

Embracing the Mud!

Weekends are the days I have an opportunity to run outside.  I haven't taken as good advantage of it as I should these past few weeks, but at times I can be a fair weather runner... We live on a gravel road, so days that are really rainy or icy just are not particularly fun.  I also hate wind... like really hate it.  Anything above about a 15mph wind will keep me indoors most of the time.  I know, I know... I'm a wimp!

I had been looking forward all week to a nice run outside.  I was hoping to go long - at least longer than I've been going - in the 9 - 11 mile range.  Yesterday was a nice, quiet family day in the house (see my prior post).  There was quite a bit of snow and slush on the road and my legs were still really tired and sore from a hard week of double workouts so I pushed my run to today.

Bring on Sunday... driving home from church this morning, it was evident that our road was a goopy, soft, muddy mess.  Our suburban looks like we went off-roading just from the drive home!  I moped around most of the late morning and early afternoon - really wanting to run but continuing to look outside at the road. (I realize that I could get in my car to drive somewhere to run on a paved surface, but that wasn't on my agenda for the day).  Finally, as my mood continued to deteriorate, I decided that I just needed to get off my duff, put on my shoes and go for it.  A little mud never scared me before, why was it keeping me from running today?!?!

I. am. so. glad. I. went!!  It was a glorious run.  Muddy, yes. Soggy, yes. But barely a breeze, a little sun peeked through a couple of times, and the fresh air... just what my soul needed today!  It is also the first run in a long time that I did without music.  I used to always run without music and forgot how much I love it.  Just me, my thoughts and prayers, and the sound of my feet crunching (or rather squishing) on the gravel.

I intended this to be an easy long-ish run.  Because I kept putting it off, I was racing the sunset and only had time for 7.  It was a great 7 though.  I almost always start off slower (in the 9:30 - 9:00 range).  I find that when I go much faster before I'm warmed up, I never seem to get my breath back under control and usually have really poor runs.  Today I followed my plan and most of my splits were negative: 9:07, 8:59, 8:30, 8:33, 8:25, 8:10, and 7:20!!  (and no, I don't consider these times as an easy run... I had a hard time not pushing the pace at each half mile interval.)

The last three miles I was thinking about my form - I thought I remembered reading that you should lean (or fall) slightly forward as you run - kind of like you are leaning into your next stride... I tell you what - I don't know if I was mechanically sound, but it felt like I found another gear without really trying!  My natural form when I run is pretty upright so this was an adjustment and I kept finding myself back in my old form.  It will be interesting to experiment with this to see if it continues to help me improve!

The only downside is that about a half a mile from the end my right knee started bothering me a little.  By the time I finished it was bothering me alot.  Tonight it has been really tight and almost feels as though it won't support me if I step on it wrong.  I'm hoping that some ice and Aleve will make it feel better!

The picture doesn't look as messy as it really was, but here's the evidence of my muddy run... muddy shoes, muddy splash up on my pants!

Snow Day

We woke up Friday to a light dusting of snow and it proceeded to snow off and on for most of the day.  It didn't accumulate too much - a few inches - but then proceeded to start raining about 5pm.  Bummer!

Our Saturday started off pretty typically with kids playing, Carl at the desk, and myself doing house work that wasn't finished up during the week.  We followed this pattern for most of the day, forgetting the remnant of the winter wonderland outside. 

About 3:00 Megan came running to me and in her most excited three-year old voice... "Mommy, it snowed outside!!"  Funny because the curtains had been open all day, they had watched the snow come down all day the day before... but as can only happen with kids, it took most of Saturday for the reality of snow on the ground to sink through their play.  Karen and Megan both begged to go outside and play.

We were in the midst of the final stages of house-cleaning... vacuuming.  Carl took over for me while I got the girls ready to venture outside!  Our first time this year.  The few times we've had enough snow to play in, the kids were either sick or it turned off and was bitterly cold.  So this was their first venture in snow gear. 

Can you tell by their faces that they are excited?  Just a little bit, right?! :)

Lauren was trying to figure out how come her coat wasn't getting put on.  She recovered pretty quickly though once the door was closed.  She spent the next couple of hours glued to the window watching them play, squealing, and pointing.

First up was snowman building.  This was an all Daddy job with two girls excitedly hovering.  They didn't care that there was barely enough snow and that it wouldn't really roll into a ball.  Their snowman is roughly 1.5 feet tall... but boy are they proud of it!

Next up... sledding!  Daddy hooked up their sled and (very) slowly pulled them around the yard behind our three wheeler.  They dumped out a few times, but had great fun even with that!

They were less than thrilled to have to come inside and the only reason it was accomplished with out many tears and fits was because of the coming darkness and the promise of hot cocoa with marshmallows!  I neglected to get a picture of the crew with their treat, so use your imagination.  It was a picture perfect afternoon on Saturday!