Let me see if you can run it, run it

It is now June 15th. Almost June 16th. And I still feel that this year is escaping without me having anything to show for it. I am still not a better calligrapher, I have not honed my photography skills, my French is still where it was when the year started, and I am feeling very unaccomplished because of it all. My friends tell me (remind me) that I did get a new job this year and that in itself would be a huge deal for most. I don’t know. I guess I kinda expected to do well at it, which I feel that I have, so it simply does not feel like that big of a deal.

No matter. Because I am doing big things with the latter half of this year, the biggest of said things being running a full marathon. Yiiiiikes. I am holding myself accountable this time. I have talked and talked and talked about running a full since completing my first half almost two years ago. But I never registered for one, and dammit, I did not train properly – mostly due to poor time management. This time, though… This time is different.

First off, I am running as part of a team and for a cause. Although it is unlikely that I will actually train with my teammates, we are all running (or in some cases cycling, lifting, etc) to raise money for The Humane League. OF COURSE I am doing this for animals. Nothing motivates me more in this world than helping out other species… Running for the animals! How awesome is that?!

Other motivating factors (i.e. reasons I cannot and will not back out):

• I have announced my plans just about everywhere! To my friends and family and coworkers, on social media (hi, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!), and… here.
• I already registered. Over 100 bucks later, I am registered.
• As mentioned above, I need to accomplish something this calendar year!

So! That’s that! December 13th is the big day – five days before the release of The Force Awakens! What a dually awesome week that will be! I have something to look forward to pretty much all year – what a wonderful way to live, huh?

Oh – I am struggling to write because the boyfriend keeps distracting me. This is why I should either wake up early and write while he is sleeping OR write during the day on Mondays while he is at work. This right now is not doing it for me. More on other plans for the year later.

With that, I will peace out.

Catchup

There is very much I want to write about. I don’t even know where to begin.

There was that funk I was in last month when I was given orders to stay off my feet. I was the last thing I wrote about. Well, a few days later I went to see an orthopedist who gave me a much more positive prognosis. Then, I started seeing a physical therapist a few times a week. A change in medications and a few key exercises and my knee started feeling A LOT better. I was almost in disbelief when thinking about how slowly my knee healed in the first two weeks (before seeing the orthopedist and beginning physical therapy) versus how quickly it healed in just a few days.

Now, I am pretty much back to normal except for some minor pain here and there when I apply too much pressure on it or have it bumped. The bruising on my leg is still ghastly, but I do not care: it’s summertime and will show off my legs if I want to!

Slowly but surely, I will return to running. I am continuing work on the stationary bike, then I should be moving on to the elliptical, then I will start jogging, and finally… I will be running again. The thought just fills me with flutters of excitement and anxiety. I cannot wait! During my last physical therapy session, they had me do exercises with weights and I flew right through them. I felt so proud because before, I had only done static stretches. When I was asked if I wanted to amp things up, I very enthusiastically responded that I did! I was told to speak up if any of the exercises were too much, but they were not. They felt fantastic! I felt fantastic!

So currently, I am in a state of happy stupor. I  can squat, I can lunge, I can kick, I can dance, I can jump. I can go on my long walks again. I can start volunteering (walking dogs) again. And, I know I keep coming back to it, but I can eventually start running again!

The excitement is almost too much to contain. It certainly cannot be contained in a blog post.

Have a happy, joyful day!

 

Oh knee, oh my

I will be seeing an orthopedics physician on Thursday, one that specializes in knees. I need help and I need it badly. I ended up going back to my primary care doctor who told me that I have been doing way too much. He could tell by my bruising, the fact that it was going down my leg and not staying localized in my knee area. He ordered me to stay off my feet.

Come again?

That’s right. I am not allowed to walk except when it is ABSOLUTELY necessary and even then, I MUST use my crutches. What a bother! I feel so inadequate. I hate not being able to help my crew at work. Friday, there were so many little things that I wanted to get up and do. Simple things, easy things, seemingly insignificant things that in reality, amounted to lost time if not done immediately. I couldn’t do them, though. Major suckage.

Beyond that, I hate that I am not able to walk my beloved dog. I hate that I can’t run. No running! And no volunteering. No putting on comfortable shoes and seeing where my walking and DART pass might take me. All the things that make me happy, just taken away from me. Frustration station.

This weekend, I’ve watched a lot of football and cleaned up a lot of my social media sites, including this blog. I am still optimistic that my knee will heal sooner rather than later (although it has already been TWO WEEKS) and that I will be back to my normal, happy life in no time. Meanwhile, I plan to continue blogging, I am trying to take calligraphy up, and I need to study more French. I also need to find modified workouts that I can do without involving my knees. I just cannot let my days waste away. That is the absolute worse.

Trying to stay positive!

Edit: You know you’ve watched a lot of soccer when you’re American and you accidentally called it “football” instead of soccer. Oy.

Pain and love

Last night, I fell asleep on the couch while watching tv. Dustin was out walking Canelo Dog. I woke up this morning covered by a blanket, a pillow underneath my head, and the cold pack that was on my knee when I fell asleep was gone. That Dustin guy. Is he a sweetheart or what?

My knee has not really gotten much better these last few days and now I’m starting to worry. After my first doctor visit, yeah, it improved. The swelling went down and it did not hurt as much. Since then, though? I feel that it is about the same. It’s probably my own damn fault for doing more than I should. Walking too much at work, not using my crutches at all times, not cold packing it enough.

I cannot wait to see the physical therapist. According to their website, the goal of physical therapy is to help the patient “return to activities that have become difficult or impossible due to injury” and the “elimination or reduction of pain related to the areas of the body affected”. Please get me back to running, walking dogs, and being able to do my job. Please take the pain away. I have such high hopes for this appointment. Please don’t be a disappointment.

Returning to Dustin, he has been anything but a disappointment throughout this. He has walked my dog, allows me to sit on my ass while he brings things to me, he constantly asks how I am feeling, and reminds me not to do more than I should.

A month ago, he and I had a huge fight that I never wrote about. Really, any fight between us is “huge” because we never fight. This one seemed especially epic because I ended up sleeping on the couch that night and thought I would be moving out. It was bad. We said some not-so-nice things to one another, which we both meant, but probably could have expressed more tactfully if it had been a more civil conversation. That’s our problem: we don’t express our problems and instead let our feelings and annoyances build up until we both erupt. Thank goodness we are both rational and thank goodness we both love each other.

He has expressed that love thoroughly and I do not know that he knows how much I appreciate it. What more can I do?

 

Wide awake

I love being up before seven on my days off. No sarcasm, I really do love it. Mornings are my favorite. I love the lighting in my apartment. I love stepping outside and seeing all the animals prepping for their days. The squirrels running about. All the birds chirping and flapping. The turtles swimming here and there. I love that the clamor of humans has yet to get going. And now that it’s (unofficially) summer in Texas, I love how cool the mornings are.

I should have gone for a run this morning, but I’m too busy taking the morning in. Soon, it will be too late (because it’s too hot) for me to go. It’s all right, though. Tonight, I’m running at least three miles with a running club I just joined. It will be my first time running with them. They formed last year so I am sure other members are already familiar with one another. That’s okay, though. I’m just going to fit myself in!

We are already almost three weekends into June, which should be a wake-up call to me. I cannot let this summer pass me by without doing everything I want to do! This happens every year: I have high hopes for the summer, but then it passes me by without me even realizing it! No excuses this year. I am only on-call once this summer and as far as I know, I will not be working any weekends. Gotta make things happen.

Okay. I need to go enjoy the fact that I am up this early. Toodles!