Party Time- Weddings, Babies, and Birthdays!

The perfect weekend party triad with friends and family.

 

Wedding time!  Ginny, sweet friend from PT school gets married!  It all started when I covered some shifts at work for her one weekend so she could go to the beach.  Little did we know she would meet her future husband there!!!! 

 

Babies!!!  TWINS!!!  Our awesome running buddy, Wendy, no longer lives with us in Memphis.  But, she brought her precious, four-month-old twins to come and visit us. 

And birthday time.  My mom is now 62-years-young.  What do you get your mom for her birthday?  I got mine a new swimsuit for water aerobics!  LOL!  Love that she gets in the pool for some exercise. 

And....we interrupt this awesome weekend to bring you work.  Again.  

Oh weekend, how I love you!

The Meat Meltdown

My dislike of meat started at age 14.  My sweet friend, Mindy Johnson, brought an animal cruelty book to lunch one day in High School.  I remember exactly where I was sitting in the cafeteria that day when I read the book.  I haven't touched pork or beef in the 20 years since I have read that book.

For several years, I did not eat chicken or fish either.  As time went on, I felt pressured by coaches and adults to add some animal protein back into my diet so I would be a "healthier athlete."  I bought into it, and morphed into a some weird sort of vegetarian that never touched pork or beef, but ate chicken even though I hated it.  I still hate it, but try to force it from time to time.

As I get older, my compassion for animals grows daily.  I never thought that was possible.  I have always loved animals.  Yet, as I get older, I find that my need to be a better person is even more intricately tied to the way I treat the world and its beautiful creatures.  The need for me to have a positive relationship with the earth gets stronger as the days go by.  I just don't want to be connected in any way to cruelty.  

So imagine my mini-meltodown today when the doctor told me that I was to resume eating meats, along with a total diet change beyond that.  (The rest of the food plan is very plant based- I can handle that, and it is a really great plan).  I just simply told him no.  Not only am I not eating meat, but I no longer want to eat chicken.

That is a lie.  I didn't simply tell him no.  I had a full on cry-fest in the office where I not-so-calmly explained that I would not be eating meat.  There is no research in the world that I  have seen at this point that says I have to eat meat to be a good athlete.

ahem....Scott Jurek.  

Imagine my frustration (and disgust), when the nurse also offered her $.01 by telling me that "if I were here daughter....blah blah....eat meat for 4 weeks.....blah blah."  I was sitting there thinking, REALLY?  I am 34-years-old!  I am NOT your daughter!  My brain and ability to make decisions, form preferences, and make choices happened a long time ago.  You are talking to a fully functional adult, missy!

I realize research can go both ways, but for every research article on the benefits of Paleo, there is an opposite and just as compelling research article on eating a plant based diet with studies showing correlations between eating meat and disease.  You could spend a life time trying to educate yourself on nutrition and never know enough. 

Are we truly carnivores?  I am not here to judge.  I don't care how anyone else eats.  I just want my ability to choose.  I made that choice 20 years ago, and while I always reserve the right to change my mind, I would like to just stay the course right now. 

So, I am standing my ground, and we can work around it.  There are still some lines that need to be drawn in the sand....

Restless

I am on my 4th week of no exercise, and by that, I mean no "jogs" or "spins" or "light weights" anything!  Nothing but a little dog walking. 

I am hoping to get the ban lifted, even partially, on Friday.

Like many of you, I have not felt at all like myself without any sort of exercise.  Although I am working hard at my job, there is nothing like going through a day of training, work, and taking care of home-life to make me feel accomplished.  Now, I wake up, go to work, and come home....and then there is nothing to do!  It is really, really scary.  I literally walk through the door and feel a huge void.  What am I supposed to do with myself????

Read The Millionaire Next Door and romance novels?  Check.  Watch Honey Boo Boo?  Check.  Read a lot of dog blogs?  Check.   Listen to Dave Ramsey and a re-listen to old CompetitorRadio podcasts?  Check.

I am a person that really thrives on accomplishment.  Sometimes that just means doing a workout the way I was supposed to do it.  Other times it means juggling different parts of my life graciously.  Right now I just feel so blah.  I am not tired.  I don't accomplish anything.  It is like I am Bill Murray in Groundhog Day before he figures out how to take advantage of the repetition of his life.  

It is not even about getting out of shape or sitting out.  That stinks, but that will come back around so I don't worry about it.  My off season simply started way earlier and is going to be more "restful" than most.  The problem is that I simply have nothing to do.  There is nothing to accomplish- there is nothing I can even think of that I want to accomplish that doesn't involve SBR. I don't have a goal...with anything!!!!!  It feels terrible!

Dave is convinced I need to be doing yoga.  Every day he asks me if I have gone to yoga, and I say NO!  I want to go run!  He thinks I need to turn my brain off, and I like to keep my brain on overdrive.   

The good news is, none of this is permanent, it is just a temporary rest break.  And, I get a little excited every time I think,

"for every setback, there is a comeback." 

And I LOVE comebacks!

So, in the meantime, I just need to find a little more comfort with not juggling it all, and really make sure I am enjoying the rest instead of fighting it.  And boy do I need to find something to do with my free time.  Any suggestions?  (that don't involve bringing home more animals....)  

The Back Row Reunion

I drove to Jackson, TN tonight to spend some long, overdue time with some of my best friends from PT school.  There is nothing like spending time with friends- what a great night! 

Every day the 5 of us sat together in the very back row of the class auditorium.  Nope, I was not one of those front row, raise your hand at every opportunity kind of grad student.  Not this time around, at least.  I was content to just chill in the back with these 4 girls.  So, we were dubbed the "back row girls."  It looks like we have two, new, sweet additions to our back row!  Welcome Layla and Elizabeth!

Getting Pro-Active

I keep writing, re-writing, and trashing posts.  I have so much in my head right now, it is hard to get it all down on paper.

Let me just say, it is time for me to get pro-active.   I finally decided to throw more energy into getting back to the sport I love.  I took a good step towards recovery today.  I woke up, put on all of my training gear, including my IMTX visor, as if I were going for a run.  I then went walking (with the dogs) as if it were scheduled as training.  (I am only allowed to dog-walk right now.)

I think this was a great way to stay positive and motivated.  When I can't train, everything falls apart.  My routine is destroyed, and work, home, sleep, and body suffer.  For a couple of months now, I have not had any scheduled training.  For the past month, I have not been able to do any training.  So, I decided I needed to continue to let my mind be in training by scheduling the things I could do.  I am even going to start logging my dog walks in training peaks.

I am not going to lie, I do not feel like I am gaining anything from walking.  In fact, I have lost a ton of muscle and gained a lot of fat.  I am not "power-walking" or hiking for long periods of time.  I am just social walking.  But, I keep telling myself it is exercise for my brain.  A walk is better than sitting on the couch. 

Another thing I need to address is the PTS (Parsonage Turner Syndrome) in my shoulder.  I got PTS in March, and it is now September.  I have absolutely NO suprspinatus, infraspinatus or deltoid.  I will have to post a picture at some point to show you, but I have a cave in my shoulder where muscle should be.  It has atrophied and gone away.  If you were to see me in person, you would see that part of my shoulder seems to be missing. 

I did finally get the doctor to give me an MRI and EMG.  He did not want to do so, and wanted me to take his word that I had PTS.  But, I wanted some objective data, and I got it.  I have PTS- resultant nerve damage and shut down of muscular function.  When I say I can move my shoulder, it is really because I can't physically move my shoulder. 

Here is a good little article written by a professional golfer on his fight with PTS.  You can ask Michelle- I literally woke up in the middle of the night screaming from the pain and had to crawl to her room, crying and begging for help. 

But here is the kicker.  What did the docs do after they diagnosed me?  Nothing.  They told me to come back in a year and let's see if anything has come back.  What kind of health care is that?  Who tells a patient, especially an athlete that swims, they have nerve and muscle damage, and sends them home with a good luck and no referral for help?

I accepted this for many months.  NO LONGER.  Today on my walk I compiled a list of physical therapists that I know and trust that I want to help me with my shoulder.   Again, it is time for me to be pro-active.  Even if we cannot facilitate muscle return to that area, perhaps we can strengthen around it. 

So, this week it is all about doing what I can do.  It is not much.  I can walk the dogs.  I could do some light strengthening to my shoulder.  I could go to PT and get evaluated for treatment for the PTS.  I can stretch.

I can do something.  It might not be what I want to do, but I can be creative.  It felt good to take some initiative today.  It is not like me to sit around helpless, but that is exactly what I have been doing lately.  More updates to come!

Checking In

This past weekend was IMWales and this upcoming weekend is Leadman 250.  Being sandwiched between these races leave me desiring to be out there again- swimming through another world, climbing mountains, and running to the sounds of my breath.  I told Dave last night that we would definitely be back in Europe one day for another hidden jewel of a race.  One day.

My husband always knows how to cheer me up.  After some tough weeks, he figured a Camaro would make a great addition to what the doctor ordered.  It was only mine for the weekend, but I drove it like I owned it!   If I can't race triathlons, I can drive a fast car. :)  Of course, being of semi white-trash personality, I wore white pants after Labor Day, as they were the only clean ones in the closet, they matched my unwashed/greasy hair, and I completely forgot it was a big no-no.  Thank you Denise for calling me out. 

I find that I am feeling the need to blog about the health issues I am having, a little for myself, and also for other athletes that might be having the same struggles.  I am oscillating between being a private person and a public one.  It is obvious by the fact that I have a blog that I don't hide too much from others.  I know I scour blogs and learn from them, and I hope mine can be a resource for others as well at times.  Yet, I am also feeling a little pull towards being more private on this front, at least for a while until my own spirit calms down. 

Mainly, I don't want to be dramatic about this as we know far to many friends and people with real serious injuries and diseases- none of which I have.  I don't want this blog to become a breeding ground for negativity about something that really is just a solo endeavor to restore health and not anything over which my friends need to feel concern.  I just don't want this blog to be about "sickness" for the next few months.  I am "sick" but I am okay.

I think right now I am still in the learning process of what is going on here.  I finally have a good doctor that ran me through all of the testing I had hoped the other 6 would have done.  We have some answers- and lots of them.  The road is long and the solution is not simple.  The best news to come out of this is the fact that I do indeed know my body, and I was not "burned-out" or "over-trained" or "training too hard" or "not resting enough" or any of the other things people tended to tell me as an athlete.

Knowledge is power!  So, when I get a little better grasp on everything and feel a little more educated, I will share and hopefully be able to bring it all together in a meaningful way.

Until then, I am forwarding a couple of lessons my friend, Lucia, shared with me this weekend.

Lesson 1: 

"The highest form of ignorance is criticizing something you know nothing about."

Wayne Dyer

Lesson 2:

"If you are busy criticizing, there isn't enough room for love."

I thought these were super lessons, and I can add Lucia Colbert as a role model to my list.  She has won 6 Xterra regional championships, and is now on her way to compete in Nationals again in the 55-59 AG.  She has the most serious relationship with her spirit, health, and performance.  She is a good one to emulate. 

Over and out!  Have a great week of work and or training!

Role Models?

Hello!  I am still alive in some weird version of my former self.  Swimming, biking, and running has been replaced with work, motivational videos, balancing our budget, and more work.  (For those of you who have wondered, no...I am not preggers).  That doesn't give me much inspiration to blog.

But, I figure, if I am going to be out of commission for a while, I might as well learn a thing or two.  I have enjoyed listening to Tony Robbins- mostly because he cusses, but also because he has some great things to say.  I listened to a seminar the other day where he discussed surrounding yourself with the people you want to be...the people that make you better....the people who can teach you to be your best self.  This is not a new idea, but it is one we need to hear often.

I thought....YES!!!!  Great idea.  Birds of a feather flock together.  I become the people that surround me.

(Well, I hope not entirely, because that would mean I would become a criminal, since I spend my entire work day in the hood. )

But, never mind work.  YES!!!  I need to be around good people and find role models.

And then I just kind of forgot the whole seminar.

A few days later,  Michele Landry posted a question on her facebook page.  Who is your role model?  I was embarrassed to realize I couldn't name one role model.  There are lots of people I like and that I think are great, but I never took the time to consider who I wanted to emulate.  Who are my role models?  If I don't have any, why am I waiting to start finding them?

So, that is what I plan to study and contemplate for the next bit of time.  Who do I like and why?  What inspires me, and how can I learn from others?  Am I really surrounding myself and learning from people that are good for me, bring value to my life, and promote the kind of life I think I want to live?  

So, on that note- check out Smashfestqueen.com and Michelelandrydesigns.com to check out not only some pretty great looking kits, but also see first hand some hard working women that are putting some dreams and plans into action.  How many times have I had a cool idea and did nothing with it?  How awesome is it to start your own business? Whenever I see women make something happen, it gives me such inspiration. 

New Fan

I have never been to a professional wrestling match...

Yet all of a sudden I find that I am a big fan.  Why didn't anyone tell me that this sport involved men that could be underwear models? 

Here Comes Fall!

Fall is here, although you can't tell with the 90+ degree days that are continuing to linger.

But, I know the season has changed, because all of a sudden I don't have a single weekend free for the next 3 months.  My mailman, Walter, asked me the other day if it was my birthday because I have had so many cards coming to me in the mail.  Nope!  Just a lot of great invitations!  Every single weekend there is some wedding, baby shower, trip, birthday party, event, etc...  It is going to be busy, but I absolutely love it.   

And, as of today, I also booked my flight to Pittsburgh, to don a Steelers jersey with Kari at the end of October.  It kind of creeps me out to think I have to dress like a Steelers fan.  (I just literally had the shivers).  But, she was a good sport about wearing a Saints shirt when she came to a game with me in New Orleans last year, so I have to be a good sport too.

Kari begrudgingly put on a Saints shirt last year at the Superdome.

At least Kari is not making me run a half marathon for this trip.  We are going to do a fun Halloween 5k instead.  I have two options:  1.  wear a really big costume so I have an excuse to walk the 5k  or 2.  wear a Saintsation costume.  

 We did have some pretty cute outfits for our half marathon. :)

So, all of this fall fun starts to add up $$$$.  Here is a cool link for 2 free tickets to a local museum on September 29th in your area if you are looking to get out of the house and go have some FREE fun. I have also thrown this on my schedule for a little brain stimulus.  Plus, it always feels good to do cool things that don't cost a dime.  Click on your city to see which museums are on the list in your city. 

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/ticket/


Happy September!

Adventure Weekend Part 2- With the Fam

Saturday I took my supremely tired, scratched up, bug bitten, bruised body to Hot Springs to spend some time with my parents at the lake.  It is always good to see them, and nothing is better to me than a day in Arkansas.  

Sunday morning we went ziplining in a beautiful part of Arkansas.  I must say, it was one of the best things I have done this year.  There is nothing like trying a new adventure in the forest.  

I did a pretty good job on the lines, and had some good chuckles over everyone betting whether or not I would make some of the longer ones.  On the line above, I tried to get as aero as possible and still came up a little short.  Here I am in a little ball, trying to make it over the water :)

And, I lost all bets.  I had to hand over hand it to the dock. 

The best part of the day was watching my parents on the ziplines.  At 62 years old, they are having more fun than ever.  My dad was hanging upside down and trying tricks.  This did not surprise me.  But, my mom (pictured above) really hung in there- no complaints.  I enjoyed seeing her have fun. 

Dave, of course, did all of the fun tricks as well.  I chickened out. 

 

Dave, Damie, Nami(mom)

We spent the rest of the day on the lake, enjoying the beautiful water and sunshine.  I don't ever realize how much I miss the boats and water until I get back on one, and then it is the funnest things I can imagine. 

Papa and Nami on the lake- it was wonderful to spend time with my parents. 

I can't really put into words how happy I am to share my life with Dave. 

The weekend was capped off with some girlfriend time with Laura G and Nancy.  Dave brought home a convertible Mustang for the weekend, which is why my hair looks so hot.  :) Another weekend of good times. 

Adventure Weekend Part 1

I got asked to do an adventure race with studly Olaf.  Since I love these races,  I could not turn the offer down.  I warned him I have been sick, haven't done anything over 30 minutes in a month, etc... I should have made him sign off on the disclaimer.  :)  I truly don't know what I was thinking, except that I am full of myself just thinking I can "jump in" events. 

The last time I did an adventure race, I remember it being so mild and mellow, I thought, is this it????  So, I thought I would just be spending another Saturday morning hiking around the trails with Olaf.  Low level exercise, right?  I could do that out of shape and recovering.  No big deal. (I failed to remember that last adventure race I was in the best shape of my life after IM Wales).

 Olaf and Damie Pre-Race. 

Yea Right.  I really underestimated the race and overestimated myself.  The last adventure race, I think we ran maybe 100 yards- it was so easy.  Saturday, we covered about 10 miles running, and I was miserably sure that I had a fever.  Oh, and the easy mountain bike through the trails?  Um, no.  It was like 30 miles of time trialing.  I was caught between being happy to be in the great outdoors with an awesome friend, and wanting to shoot myself for signing up like and idiot and putting my body through torture.  

I would give you a blow by blow race report, but it would be hard to really write down every single mistake we made that costs us TONS of time.  For example, we came into transition in the lead 2 different times, only to leave in 4th or 5th place.  We lost a pair of shoes on the course.  We incorrectly plotted a point.  We underestimated my ability to swim with a life vest around my neck. We chose the long way to a point.  Our map got wet and we couldn't read part of it.  We couldn't get clipped into our bikes.  (okay, that was really just me, but I am using "we" since this is a team effort.  :)  

I honestly was not expecting to have to put forth such an athletic effort, and I spent most of my day praying that Olaf would need to stop running and read the map, mainly so I could have a break.  I had never been so happy to see a mountain bike in my whole life.   

So, it was not my most brilliant athletic accomplishment, and I might have scared Olaf off for good, but at the end of the day, I still totally love adventure racing.  It is the best. Olaf rocks and is a super adventure racer.  It is awesome to race with the best.  And the great thing is, you always win or lose together.  There is no one person responsible for any outcome.  It is a fun team sport. 

 

Ahhhh....finished.  Not quite the fresh daisy anymore. Who can pick out the fit athlete that has been training?  * Hint, by using process of elimination, you can assume it is not the athlete with pale legs from sitting indoors watching the Kardashians and Honey Boo Boo Child.  

We came in 2nd place by a mere 3 seconds.  At first, I was so frustrated to have been so close and not win.  It was a long day, and 2nd was frustrating-not to mention, we are capable of so much more.  But, the more I think about it, we were so lucky we made it that close considering the enormous about of mistakes we made throughout the day.  We didn't deserve to win on that day, and our ability to make it a race at the end was demonstrative of our love of the outdoors, respect for each other, and giving it everything we had.  

And, I hope that Olaf will always remember that I love him so much that I ran about .75 miles with no shoes or socks on through the trails to try to pull out the win.  I also promise him that I will a.  get a bike that fits me for the next race.  b.  ride the mountain bike more than 2-3 x per  year  and c.  stop borrowing bike shoes that are 2 sizes too big for me. d.  will start training and getting fit again, eventually.....

the adventure continued through the next day-to be told on the next post.  :)