a legacy of athleticism

is that the right word? im not sure, but you get what im going for, right?

jason and i have been talking a lot lately about the difference in our lives. tonight it was about his 7 mile run. i told him, its just 7 miles, youll be fine. he laughed and said what a difference that now we say "just 7 miles." a year ago, that was a killer. his 6 miles were rough last august for his last triathlon, and the farthest id run in recent years (and possibly ever) was when i was running with heidi (was emma around? now i dont remember, but i think so...) and we went 2-4 miles at a time. 7 would have killed me. but not now.

growing up, he played a lot of team sports. he was athletic in high school and in college. i played volley ball for all of jr high and half of high school, and as an early adult i had a pretty active life walking around for shopping or errands in eugene. but neither one of us had active parents. athletics were a part of team sports in school and they stayed with that time in our lives. that wont be the case for our kids.

george and emma, and whatever kiddos are still to come have parents who are intentionally physically active on a regular basis for the purposes of good health, and enjoyment! its not just about loosing weight (thats maybe the spark, or the first draft, but not the whole story, or the coals the keep the fire hot) its about finding something active that we enjoy, and making it an integral part of our daily lives.

we have been doing a lot of studying lately in several different parts of our lives (college classes for jason, run training, injury, weight management and healthy eating for me, bible study together and apart, leadership through role modeling with the teens) and have noticed changes take place over the last year in our attitudes and parenting and so many things. not a very eloquent sentence, i know, but im having a hard time putting a feeling into words. its just been pretty great to make these changes now, and to know that the impact they have on our kids will be a lasting one.

whew. okay, that said, i did level 2 again today. that makes 3 days in a row. its pretty tough, but in a good sort of way. the plan is to do it again in the morning with jason as we start our first week (of 3) of summer. we are testing out a couple new schedules and morning work outs are one of them.

level 2

last night i did level two again, this time alone. jason had the kids and i paid close attention to the instructions and watched each move. i felt much more capable at the end, and i did at least one set of each move, and both sets of most of them!

this evening the kids were asleep and jason was still at work so i popped in level 2 again. it went really well. i am feeling weak all over because i havent been able to run, but i dont want to actually get weaker, so im trying to change my mindset about my hurting leg. i plan to take it out for a little jog tomorrow and see how it goes.

i took a little walk with the kids yesterday to the park and back. my leg felt mostly fine. this morning jason and i did level 2 of the shred and that was a lot more difficult. jillian does a lot of planks and plank related moves in those 20 minutes. i dont have the upper body strength. next time i will go through it a little more slowly and figure out the moves and i think that will help.

with the reduced work outs comes a reduce in calorie burn (duh). but not a reduce in consumption. so, this week i am up 0.4 pounds and weigh 155.6 pounds. now its time to be more conscious, and more active, even if i cant run.

running injured

on thursday i ran at the gym. for a mile and a half. i switched to the eliptical for a few minutes before giving up entirely and coming home. after a weekend of rest, and ice, and wrapping my leg i headed out last night for a nice easy 4 mile run.

it was not nice, or easy, or 4 miles. it seems i have a combination of runners knee and a grade 2 calf strain in my left leg. recommendations include a 4-6 week heal time. (the race is in 4 and a half weeks.) after a lot of ice and compression last night it felt so much better. today i walked to the park and back (stretching it out first) and it still feels okay.

my plan is to walk it often, ice it often, and keep it wrapped at night to keep swelling down. i will try to jog some short distance and see how it feels, but for the most part i think i am going to be cross training the next couple weeks to see if i can speed the recovery a little.

to be honest, im pretty bummed.

just fyi

i had a pretty down day yesterday all around. from the errands i had to run in the morning (a whole different story) to failed naps, a lousy run and sick babe (georgies got a fever hanging out around 102 that is still here this morning.)

but- after a night of rest, ice, compression, and elevation for my leg, and 7 hours of sleep for my mind i am feeling better. im planning to mow the lawn this afternoon while its cooler and to finish up sewing my quilt. its amazing what some rest will do for you.

from the gym

with this leg pain and the stomp of my feet on a treadmill, i sure do feel like i have thunder thighs. :( hope to feel better when im finished in 4 more miles.


i wrote that text from the gym this afternoon. 18 minutes and only a mile and a half into my 5 mile run i had to turn it down to a walk and call jason. i hurt too much to just push through without any advice. we decided that i should try a different approach, maybe elliptical, and see if that helped, but to stop running on it.

the elliptical felt SO MUCH BETTER. i finished out a few minutes then drove to walmart and bough a new bottle of ibuprofen. i am resting, icing, compressing and elevating, and praying it feels better tomorrow.

sarah thinks ive done something to my ligaments, and that rest should help.

last wednesday i weighed 156.4 pounds. this morning i weigh 155.2 pounds, a loss of 1.2 pounds for this week.

i am getting there.