Holiday Addition

Shelby Angel will be staying with us for a while as we search for her forever home.  Her feet are doing well and she has finished her first round of heartworm treatment.    

Obviously she is fitting in just fine.  All of the dogs helped me read Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton today, a fine holiday book if I may say so (lol:).   

  

  

Dear Santa, I've Been Good!

The front runners:
Jack LaLanne! ha ha!!! Dave must have bought this after he saw me watch that infomercial. He said I have been talking about getting a juicer for a while now, and since I actually do use the fruit dehydrator I got last year for Christmas, he figured he would risk getting me another kitchen appliance.  

(Is it weird, though, when your spouse starts buying you kitchen appliances for Christmas?)

An underwater video/camera!!!!!  Yes!!!!!  Now I can really record my horrible swim in all of its glory!
A gift card to Outdoors...yes!  My mom is finally coming around!!! (she did get me a Barbie Christmas ornament to go with the gift card- some things never change)

Vibram 5 Fingers- everyone made fun of me for wanting these and said they look silly.  I am going to do some running in them though!  I am all about doing new things this year.  

A running metronome- time to really make sure I am keeping that 180....
And real Brees jersey!!!  I guess I can stop wearing my Brooks jersey now.  

No new bike under the tree (ahem...) Julia (GoBigGreen').

Yea Christmas!  Everyone said I made out like a bandit this year.  And I agree!!!!!!!  Santa must have known that I have been really, really good this year.  :))))))))  

The Mid Week Round-Up

It is way past my bedtime...I am so tired but I have so much to do this week!!!  I am sure everyone feels this way.  

I am really excited for Christmas this year, despite my fatigue.  For one, the Saints have a winning record.  

And two, I am now running 5 minutes at a time up to 25 minutes total running with walk breaks.  I am all about form and more form right now.  I am running 3 days a week which is exciting!

I also went on my second mountain bike ride ever on Sunday- first mtn bike ride post surgery. Dave grumbled that I shouldn't be on riding a mountain bike right now, but luckily I only went straight over the front of the handlebars once.  The other time I fell to the side and it only felt like I broke my wrist.  Sheesh!  Mountain biking is dangerous, but fun!   

Swimming is swimming, and I am steadily working on getting back to where I was this summer.  I also found a great deal on my speedo women's vanquisher goggles at TJ Maxx tonight for $5.99- so I bought 5 pair.  Can't beat that!

And Shelby Angel is spending a few weeks with us.  This is not a picture of her, but rather a picture of Rooney the Thief on Shelby's bed.  

This will be a full, and good week.  

Checking In

- Dave and I have tickets to see the Saint's first divisional playoff game at the Superdome.  oh yeah!!!!!

- I am jogging 4 minutes now.  It mostly feels fine.  Except on the treadmill, which is why I am severing my relationship with the treadmill forever.   

- Because, I would like for someone to explain to me how a treadmill is considered a "soft surface."  Please show me that research.  Explain to me how a very thin rubber mat, covering a hunk of metal is soft.  I really will listen, but I am quite sure I need to see the research now to continue holding on to this widely held belief.  

-  I have been drinking Juven lately- the same protein drink the residents in the nursing home drink to help wound healing, etc.  I love it!  It "helps you feel strong and remain active and independent."  Dave took one look at it and said..."isn't that for geriatric people?"  Why yes it is.  And I think I qualify.  

-  I still can't kick my cold/sinus infection.  I took a Z-pack.  I take the vitamins.  I just drank some Emergen-C.  I hate the winter.  I must move further south at some point in my life.  

- I just watched an infomercial for a Jack Lelanne juicer and I totally want one.  

-Rooney, Cayenne, and I have become so nonchalant about Dave's rules that we dared to go to sleep together on the bed last night before Dave came home.  When Dave walked in the house, neither dog greeted him at the door.  Neither dog was waiting at his/her post to guard the house.  Neither dog even bothered to get up from the bed and even pretend to feel guilty when he walked through the bedroom door.  Nope, we just all stayed in bed in defiance with our eyes closed.  Dave was sooooooooooo mad.  

-  Today I was treating a patient that has diabetes, and the nurse came to check her blood sugar.  It was really low, so the nurse suggested she eat one of her peppermint candies OR eat a slice of cake nearby to bring her blood sugar up.  What is wrong with this picture, people?  

- We are half way through the week! :)  

Warming Up To The Holidays

Let the holidays begin!  My favorite part about the Christmas season is seeing good, old, and even lost friends.  I try to rebel every year against Christmas (the commercialization and pressure to "buy things"), but I usually come out of my Grinchy shell a little bit when I have the chance to enjoy friends during the holidays.  Tonight I had the chance to social butterfly my way to three different parties.  

Party # 1- Frommage Fest 2009.  Wine and cheese...my favorite.  And boy, I haven't seen these girls in soooooo long!!!!  Good friends are meant to be seen often.  
Why does Laura always have to wear 6 inch heels to parties? ;)

Party #2- Some high school friends (my more studious friends....).  They could recall specific classroom incidents with tests and teachers.  Two of my friends could even regurgitate some long Latin paragraph they said we had to learn.  It was scary...I mean, that was 16 years ago!  Some things never change.   

And Party #3- more high school friends (my less studious friends!!!!)  We didn't have time to study our Latin in high school because we were too busy chasing boys!   :))))

I am looking forward to party hopping a little more next week as well.  

I somehow managed to catch a bug or cold or something from one of you on the internet- concluded by the fact that no one at work is sick, but I have heard grumblings hear and there from a few of you. So, here I am- 7:30 pm- ready for bed- drinking hot tea and honey and going through roll after roll of toilet paper.

As if I have real Kleenex at my house. You know I would never think to spend my money on that when I can blow snot rockets, use my sleeve, etc...

I did have some good mental highlights within the past few days. I read a really good Alan Smith interview this weekend about his sickening, devastating injury from a few years back (which robbed him of his best playing years) and how happy he is to still be playing, even at a lower level. The article gave me a bigger perspective on my measly injury. I would link some of the articles to you guys, but I know none of you care one bit about Alan Smith or premiership soccer. He is cute to look at, though. Soccer guys are my fave.

I also spent 2 hours at PT today (yes, 2...). I have a great PT/friend/fellow triathlete, Ashley, that really helps me use my own knowledge combined with her vast experience to figure things out. Tonight we decided to analyze my run a little bit since I have had some pain the past week and the emergence of other small problems.

We had a few hearty laughs at the fact that my knees were rubbing together when I ran. It could be the now 5 extra pounds I carry, but it is more likely some severe internal rotation from hip weakness. I have so much to focus on right now with strengthening and FORM! Injury + weakness = terrible form ->more injuries. So, we are sticking to super small runs with form focus.

And I wanted to lose those 5 pounds, but I ate pizza tonight instead. Tomorrow.

Again and Again

Do or do not- there is no try.  

Never, ever give up.  

The post-injury recovery is pretty tough mentally, as well as physically.  This has been my first week of pain and doubt (I am 5 weeks post sx).  I am working hard to get back into the swing of things, and I am having to challenge my mind to stay on top of the recovery as well.    

It just hit me yesterday how hard the process it- the recovery, the doubt, the work that I will have to do.  I freaked out in swim on Friday, it was just such a bad, bad swim.  I have been back to 5 master's practices, and I am just not ready for IM sets for time or for back to back hard swim classes.  My knee is not ready, I am not ready.  I was so hard on myself that day.  But, today is a new day and I am eager to get in the pool tomorrow and do the best that I can.  I have to be willing to do it again.  

Today I rode my bike for 45 minutes...at a 15mph average.  So, basically I am where I was when I first rode my bike 4 years ago.  Ughh, huh?  I know you feel my pain.  I came home mad and sad.  But, it is all part of the process- and poof, I will back on the bike tomorrow to try to figure it out.  What is it going to take?  What do I need to do?  When you lose control over the input=output, all you can do it work hard every day, regardless of the outcome.  

Of course the hardest has been the running.  1 minute 30 seconds is my limit right now.  Painful...??? not really painful.  Right???  no, not right.  Yet.  I hope.  So it is really about hope.  You know, if I tore my ACL in soccer, they would repair it and I would be running/playing again.  But my injury is a little more convoluted, it is a guessing game with no guarantees.  How do I fight that?  

By guaranteeing myself that I will work as much as I can on it and not focus on the future or outcomes I cannot control. 

So right now I cannot even think about racing.  I can't set goals like that.  I am setting goals to do my strength training, eat my vegetables, do something daily that will help me get fit, ride my bike no matter what the mph says, have gratitude for any amount of running I accomplish, and be willing to face weakness as many days/months/years as it takes to continue the journey.    

And like Kevin Leathers told me not too long ago (which I think about often because it is comforting)- he is still PRing in his 60s.  Just kidding, he is PRing at 45.  And he is a fellow soccer player, so I will actually listen to him.  

And just to stay competitive at something, I think I was the first bridesmaid to order both my dress and buy my shoes for Joy's wedding.  Go me!