Friday Five

Oh you know….because you have to have a random bulleted list every once in awhile! Here’s a little more of what’s being going on around these parts…

1. I have a new TV show addiction. This past winter, I went through the entire series of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars (don’t judge, there is nothing better to do when you’re on crutches!)…but watching an episode or two every evening is how I unwind after my day, so of course I needed to search for something new!…..and I stumbled upon Greek.

I know, I know. It’s silly and ridiculous but I can’t help getting invested! aah! I think this show is about 1000x funnier for me than for most people because I was actually in a sorority at a southern university (AXO). It wasn’t half as ridiculous as in this TV show (and there were definitely none of the stereotypical vapid sorority girls….we all had to be accepted to W&M to be there, after all lol!), but so much of the plot and concepts are familiar.

2. Yesterday, I went to the chiropractor to get some ART, Graston, Stim and ice. Now, I’ve had some pretty painful treatments before but HOLY CRAP this was bad.  The chiro who works on me at home is very fast-paced and aggressive (I mean with how he does ART, not his personality lol), whereas the guy I saw out in Colorado was very cautious and gentle.  I actually have bruises from this treatment! I would show you, but given that my surgery was on the groin area….not entirely appropriate

I honestly don’t know how anyone recovers from surgery without chiropractic/masssage treatment to break up the scar tissue!

3. Tomorrow I’m going to Baltimore for a day trip to see my best friend from college! She lives in southern Maryland/DC and I’m in Philadephia so B-More is in the middle – we’ve done this meetup every year since graduation! SO PUMPED TO SEE HER!

4. I’ve been kiiiiiiind of contemplating trying out Whole30. Yes the 30 days of Paleo thing.  I know this is shocking – I used to rant about Paleo diets all the time! And I don’t have a specific reason for wanting to try this, except…well why the hell not? After all if I’m going to talk shit about Paleo I should probably at least try it first in order to not be hypocritical lol. Now this doesn’t mean I believe for a second that this diet is how our ancestors ate (it’s not….archaeology has proven that recently), and of course humans have evolved which is why we are not suddenly experiencing a mass extinction due to all the grains we’re eating (….obviously). Not at all.  Honestly I guess I’m just kind of curious – so many people say they feel awesome on this diet, and I want to know WHY.

I couldn’t even find a paleo meal in my photo archives….pretend like those cannelini beans are chicken or something.

 

The upshot to this is that I’m already gluten-intolerant so I really don’t eat a ton of grains anyway. The downside is that I love beans and tofu and I really don’t like meat that much. Only salmon and sometimes chicken.

5. But on that note, a new froyo place opened up in my hometown! Mom and I tried it on Wednesday night….and unfortunately I was disappointed. It’s cool that they have both hard-scoop and soft-serve options, and can blend any soft-serve flavor (any of the 80 they offer!) on the spot. However…..the flavor was WAY too strong and um…I’m sorry $5.00 for HALF A CUP? that’s over a dollar an ounce. When I can get 10 ounces of froyo for $5 at the place down the road. Nope.

And here is a picture of Leo…….because who doesn’t like to look at cute animals?

 

Do you have a “guilty pleasure” TV show?

What makes a froyo/ice cream place awesome in your opinion?

Life Lately

SO…..I should probably update you all on what I’ve been up to since coming home right? I’m really trying to get back in the blogging groove here…it’s funny, the more time on my hands, the less I actually do with that time. I need to be busy! But in any case, I’ve been home about three weeks: here’s what I’ve been up to! (spoiler alert: it involves me having too much time on my hands lol)

1. The Job Search

Has been quite the epic failure so far.  I move to Charlottesville at the beginning of August (at the latest…I’m really trying to convince my parents to let me move NOW lol), and no one wants to hire me when I’m only here for three months. This isn’t like college (much to my dismay) where I come home on breaks etc – with the exception of Thanksgiving and a week or two at Christmas, I’m at UVA pretty permanently for the next two years.  It’s also just a really hard time to find a job because ALLLL the college kids be tryna get jobs!

But I’ve been trying. I’ve sent my resume out to every physical therapy clinic in the greater Philadelphia area, and even had an interview at a place in center city – but nothing’s come through.  As such I’ve been working for my mom, doing all the housekeeping in attempts to keep myself busy.

2. Grad School

I CAN’T WAAAIT! Mom and I are going down to Charlottesville next week to check out campus and try to find a place to live.…I’ve got my eye on a pretty sweet place about half a mile from campus! The main pull for me was the in-unit washer and dryer…..let’s not forget how I washed my clothes by hand out in Colorado….anyway. Of course I will update you all on the restaurants we check out and how cute the boys are on a scale from 1-10….oh come on don’t even pretend like you didn’t do that when you looked at colleges.

the UVA freezable beer glass is clearly a must-have

Oh and for the new followers – since I noticed I have some, hello! – I’m going to UVA in the fall for an M.Ed in Exercise Physiology, and after that I plan on going to physical therapy school for a D.PT…what can I say, I‘m bad at existing in the real world so I’m staying in school as long as possible

3. Living at Home

Has it’s perks, like free food and the occasional, “oh no worries Dad, of course you can take my car! but, it’s kind of low on gas…” (tee hee). However, after living all by myself for the past year…um living with my family is hard. It’s annoying when my dad yells at me like I’m ten, our fridge is claustrophobic because all four of us eat so differently, four people and a dog = everyone getting in each others’ way and STRESSS. Not to mention the fact that I have about four friends still living in the area and compared to Colorado Springs there’s nothing to do. Oh well, only a few more months! (and then I’ll miss home haha)

But having this doofus around again is pretty awesome

4.  Surgery Recovery

Active Release Therapy + Graston + Ice + Stim Treatment all in the span of an hour….hurts so good!

Is….up and down. The past two weeks were AWESOME – I got up to a one hour walking and 50 minutes biking (with intensity) pain-free. I even went for a little run! 8×2 minutes with 2 minutes in between…yes, incredibly lame but you have to start somewhere. It was my first run on solid ground after running on the Alter-G at therapy! But this week everything is sore and angsty, I swear my hip is like a pre-pubescent teen. My surgeon tells me that it takes about six MONTHS for everything to go back to normal, so I’m hoping this down-swing isn’t anything to worry about. However, if I’m still not making many gains by August, I will be getting another MRI to make sure it’s healed. Ain’t nobody got time for walking around with a torn labrum, especially not me!

So that’s it from me….and now I want to hear from you! I feel like my blog is totally random, and I honestly don’t know what direction I want to take it in.  What do YOU guys want to hear about?

Thanks Mom!

Okay, so I know I haven’t posted in quite some time….I have a lot to talk about but I’ve been having trouble putting it into words and finding a place to start! But I guess today, a good place would be mothers’ day.  This post, goes out to you, mom!

In just the past two years, my mom has done so many selfless and amazing things for me.

When the first grad program I entered fell through, she let me come live at home for almost a full year (october thru july), paying for my food and everything while I figured out my life.

Last summer, she let me move 2/3 of the way across the country to Colorado in order to do something that I wasn’t getting paid for. Most moms would be like “WTF? Get a real job”, but mine knew I needed a crazy opportunity like this, and she let me take it.

This past January, she came all the way out to Colorado to be with me during my surgery recovery. When it became apparent that I was going to need some help for a little longer than a week, she cancelled her flight and stayed with me until I was completely off the crutches – aka a whole month. On a whim. She took that much time away from her life just to help me when I was down.

Three weeks ago, she once again came all the way out to Colorado, packed up my life for me, and helped me drive ALL THE DAMN WAY HOME. Okay, her main reason for doing this was that she didn’t think I’d ever leave on my own (she was like 95% correct about that), but still.

And through it all, my mom has always been there comforting me, pushing me, encouraging me, and telling me that I’m way more awesome than I tend to think I am. She selflessly drops everything to be by my side through the tough times, stays connected with me when I’m far away, and most importantly, ALWAYS lets me come home.

It also doesn’t hurt that she loves froyo and beer as much as I do

LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM!!

Home Sweet Home: Road Trip Recap

…..you know, I would say something like “Blogging fail!” or “oh man I’m so sorry I’ve been MIA!”…but whatever I just drove 2/3 of the way across the country and I have had nooooo motivation to write for the past week and a half. Also dealing with lots of emotions surrounding this stage of surgery recovery and, of course, being home.

BUT anyway I have so much to say! I guess that’s what happens when I disappear for a bit, I come back and “OH EM GEE YOU GUYS WE HAVE SOOO MUCH TO CATCH UP ON!”

Anywho. I will start you off…at the beginning I guess….with a recap of my road trip, in photos.

Thursday night was my last night teaching the indoor cycling at CTS.  I’ve really gotten to know this group of people over the past 8 months and it’s been a BLAST coaching them. I’m honestly really going to miss them, totally almost cried when I went home lol. THey sent me away with a huge thank-you card and $100. I was totally blown away, not expecting anything!

Friday, we packed the car……

Or the batmobile?

…took one last look at Pike’s peak (*sigh*…)….

And were off! through Eastern Colorado (= dirt and cows….gross) and Kansas (sky and bright-ass sun)

Kansas wasn’t all boring though. There were random herds of buffalo, llamas, and cows randomly chillin on the roadsides.

There were also gorillas.

Anyway. We stopped in a small college town, Hays, for the night, and actually managed to find a really AWESOME brewpub downtown for dinner.

I mean, Kansas is a big, flat, boring state…..beer is kind of necessary

Saturday was more flat driving, and by the end of it we were both hangry and bitchy. We didn’t make it to St. Louis, but stayed about 40 minutes outside the city. The dinner place we went to was also really great…but I was in too crappy of a mood to take a pic lol. ALso the Phillies were playing STL that day and I was wearing my Phils t-shirt…got a lot of evil looks haha.

The next day we passed through St. Louis, and didn’t stop to see the arch because we stopped at the border of Illinois to see the Cahokia Mounds. It’s a native american settlement historical site – we just wanted to walk the trails and stretch our legs.

Ok so fast forward, we made it to Circleville, OH and stayed in my Nonno’s empty house (he and his wife, my step-Nonna, live in Florida most of the year)….I finally got to go to the local Y and work out, and then we left and did a short four hour drive to PITTSBURGH!

My aunt, uncle, cousin, cousin-in-law, and cousin’s baby live there, so we relaxed, went for walks, and it was great to spend time with my family. Especially Owen, he’s the cutest (18 months old):

all ready to walk for froyo!

too cool to ride in the stroller.

We left on Tuesday mid-morning (not before grabbing Panera to-go for lunch in the car) and made the six hour drive home to Philly.

did you know part of West Virginia is between Pennsylvania and Ohio? I totally didn’t. Epic geographical knowledge fail.

Anyway, who cares, the most important part of the whole trip was coming home to THIS:

And of course my BFFL:

So long story short….I HATE CAR RIDES, especially when they last five days. My legs and back are STILL totally messed up, and yes, you get totally bloated in the car and I felt fat and disgusting basically Sunday through Wednesday.

BUT – I’m home, and I’m all good! And I’ll be posting more regularly and on Eastern Standard Time now

Do you like multi-day road trips? Or do they make you sore and bloated?

Coolest place you’ve ever driven to?

Too Much Excitement!

Hey Everyone! So…..tomorrow is MOVING DAY.

Which means today is pack up all my shit and get really stressed day.

Lol anyway  yes, the day has come….I picked my mom up at the airport this morning, my apartment is (mostly) packed up…we still have some cleaning….and I’m chilling at work before my LAST class starts. Tomorrow we’ll load the car and peace out….hoping to make it to Kansas City by the end of the day.

It’s really surreal. I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that I’m leaving, and to be honest….It’s a lot of mixed emotions. Everyone’s always like “oooh I bet you’re excited!” and actually….I mean, I’m ready to go home but I’m not that excited. Home is not “exciting”…living in Colorado is. And despite how much I complain about the weather, I really love it here and I’m pretty upset that I have to leave.  I’m definitely going to miss it a lot, and I’d be lying if I said I weren’t already plotting ways to end up back here. Probably not at CTS….seeing as I want to be a physical therapist, durr….but here, in CO Springs.

Anyway. That plus all the stress of moving is putting me in a pretty bad mood lol.

BUT another update is that I graduated from physical therapy yesterday!  Though my hip still hurts every now and then, we are all pretty sure that it’s just scar tissue that needs to be worked out. But other than that, everything is “green light” – I’m good to start running (on solid ground), biking, hiking, doing whatever kind of workout I please…..of course I’m TERRIFIED to try any of it, but I am hoping I’ll get over that in due time.

Ok anyways…..I may or may not be posting much over the next few days. I plan to do a lot of writing….HELLO LOTS OF CAR TIME!….but the internet situation is unknown. BUT….in four days I will be home!

Anyone have any audio-book or movie recommendations? (they have to be mom-friendly…)

Ever had to leave a place you love….to go to another place you love?

Love Prevails.

Well…..needless to say today is a tough day to be writing a post. Truth be told, I haven’t read a single thing – on blogs, in the news, on facebook or twitter – that wasn’t about Boston.

I think it’s all been said, and so I’m not going to belabor the point. Yesterday was an incredibly hard day for me – one of my close friends was among the wounded at the finish line yesterday. She had run an incredible marathon – a 3:16 – and had stayed at the finish line to cheer on her fellow runners. When I heard about the blast, I texted her to see if she was okay….and three hours later, got a response from her mother, saying that she was in the hospital – stable and with no physical damage save a broken rib – but in a coma.

She didn’t wake up until around 1am EST….needless to say the hours between 4pm and 11pm (MST) consisted of me trying not to go out of my mind. My boss saw my tweet and offered to let me stay home, but I opted to go in to distract myself (it worked, we were busy last night!). I tried to eat dinner, got about two bites in and realized my stomach had too many butterflies. I watched movies to try to distract myself (hellooo Mean Girls and Roman Holiday), until her father called me to tell her she was conscious.

Anyway, so yes, the tragedy REALLY hit home for me. And I can’t thank you enough for all your support through that time – I got so many texts, tweets, emails, facebook messages…..you guys are true friends.

And that’s what I want to touch on today – the human spirit, human life.

Boston was a terrible tragedy. Shocking. So was the Newtown massacre. And the Aurora shooting (I live 45 minutes away from Aurora, BTW). The Virginia Tech shooting seven years ago today. September 11. the Columbine shooting (I was so young when this happened that my parents wouldn’t tell me what was going on).

And I’ve seen some really bitchy things on social media, tweets and posts COMPARING these tragedies. Which was worse? Which deserves my attention?

Like….REALLY??? That’s not what this is about at all. HUMAN LIFE – precious human life was lost in every single one of these tragedies. Runners, law enforcement officers, small children, college students, office workers…..they are all precious. All of them lost their lives due to senseless acts of hatred.

But love rises up in response to each of these abominations. The response of love is always so much stronger than the act of hate…..and that’s the important thing to keep in mind.

So the takeaway here is….people do really heinous shit to other people. But love always prevails, and so love is what we should focus on. “Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” So, call your friends, hug your parents, your significant other, the guy you have a crush on but can never get up the guts to talk to (okay maybe not lol)…and make sure they know that you love them. THAT, right there, is so much more important than how many miles you ran today, or what t-shirt you wore, or what your cover photo on facebook is.

Simply exhibit your love. That’s all you need to do to drive out the hate in this world.

Have Fun in the Sun…Without Being an Idiot

Spring is (mostly) in full bloom, summer is around the corner…you know what that means….time to get your tan on, right??

No. Wrong. It means that it’s time to talk about something that most of you (and by “you” I mean, women in your 20s….like me…) overlook and brush off as un-important: SUN SAFETY.

The sun is beautiful, and it’s nice and warm, and yes, it makes us tan and sexy. It also allows our body to produce ample vitamin D. However, there’s a downside – the sunlight consists of ultraviolet rays that can severely damage your skin cells and lead to things like wrinkles, moles, and even cancer.  Still sound sexy and appealing? Yeah no I didn’t think so.

Don’t worry though – you can still enjoy the summer while protecting your skin and ensuring that you won’t look like a leather wallet by the time you’re forty.

1. WEAR YOUR DAMN SUNSCREEN.

I don’t care how dark-skinned you are, whether you never burn….it doesn’t matter. While sunburns do put you at higher risk, it’s not just the burns that are dangerous…it’s exposure, period.  There’s no reason you can’t be out and about during the day – we’re not vampires after all – just layer up with some SPF. Most dermatologists recommend 30 SPF or higher. I usually wear 30 EXCEPT when I know I’m going to be outdoors for a long period of time – then I wear 50 (but I’m half northern-european and therefore quite fair. You may not need as high an SPF.

2. COVER DAT ASS.

If you’re not actually ON the beach, then put a damn shirt on. Walking around town in your bikini is trashy anyways.  And you should probably wear a hat….your scalp counts as skin too ya know!

you can rep your favorite sports team and be sun-savvy at the same time…win.

3. STUNNA SHADES

Gotta protect those eyes.  I mean, I think this is a no-brainer and most of us wear sunglasses anyway, but it is important to protect your eyes – and the skin around your eyes – from sun damage. personally, most sunscreens make my eyes water a bit so it’s really hard to apply SPF like…on my lids. enter sunglasses.

Plus, the squinty-look is NOT sexy. not at all. Wear your shades.  You can even wear them at night, because the sun never sets on a playaaaaa (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist).

….whatever works for you.

4. STEP AWAY FROM THE TANNING BED.

Okay, I apologize for my vulgarity here….but if you still think that tanning beds are safe…you are a fucking idiot. End of story.

….not sexy.

However, I appreciate that most of us feel more attractive when our skin glows with a tan and markedly less attractive when we’re pale. And if your skin sparkles white like Edward Cullen….okay well that’s an entirely different problem that I can’t help you with. Enter sunless tanning lotions!  There are brands that exist that don’t smell like a moldy bread loaf, and you can apply them before bed. That way you can wear your SPF in the morning when you start your day without layering lotions and feeling like a slippery seal.

5. AVOID PEAK SUN HOURS

Again, you don’t have to be a total vampire. But if you make it a point to either be indoors or stick to the shade during the hours of 10am – 3pm (when the sun is highest and strongest), then you’re good. I mean besides…..those are the hours of the day when it’s nasty-hot anyways, so if you’re out in the sun then you probably have a masochistic streak. I’ll leave you to be the judge of that though.

always a good time of day to be outside

6. VITAMIN D…???

Remember elite marathoner Deena Kastor, Olympic Bronze medalist?  Well, once upon a time, she had skin cancer. After that scare, she broke her foot because she was soooo cautious about sun-safety that she wasn’t getting enough Vitamin D. So…how do we reconcile this? Well, you have a few options:

1. Experts generally agree that fifteen minutes of sun exposure without sunblock is both effective at triggering Vitamin D synthesis AND is low-risk behavior.

2. Take a supplement. It’s really hard to get enough D from the foods we eat…so get off your high anti-supplement horse (if you’re on one) and pop a 2000 IU pill every once in awhile. Your bones will thank you.

6. CHECK YOURSELF OUT

Take a look in the mirror. I don’t give a shit how body-conscious you are, this is important.  Once a month, you should do a once-over and check out your moles.  Here is a good guide of what to look for. Ladies, when you do your monthly BSE (that’s another public service announcment….girls if you’re not already checkin your boobs out every month, you should get into that habit), you can take an extra 30 seconds and check your skin out.

7. VISIT YOUR DERM.

Not your family practitioner. Not your sports medicine doctor. Your DERMATOLOGIST. Obviously if you see something of concern you should make an appointment ASAP, but in general you should go once a year. they will perform a full-body skin exam, and really – your FP is not qualified to do that, so yes, you need to see a dermatologist not just any doctor.

8. DON’T BECOME A SHUT IN

or a vampire. You don’t have to hole up indoors and hate your life -you just have to be SMART and PROACTIVE.

Anything you want to add? Tips for sun-safety?

What’s your favorite thing to do outdoors in the spring/summertime?

Currently Kate

So here I am, sitting at work with not much to do (as I usually am around 11am on Saturdays….SURVEY SATURDAY!  thanks for letting me steal this, Amanda!

Current books: Reading fail….I haven’t read an actual book since like…February….I’ve got a ton I could start with though but for now I’ve been devouring magazines.

and beer…..there’s been beer too.

Current music:  I’m on that classic rock grind.  I’ve always been a huge fan of classic rock (think Queen, Boston, Guns n Roses, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Foreigner, The Police…..etc etc), but it’s definitely more appealing now that current music sucks so much. I mean, think about it. Classic rock has real instruments and people who can actually sing……can’t really say that about much other music!  This example is my favorite song OF ALL TIME:

Current guilty pleasure: Gossip Girl! I have all six seasons on DVD….and I’ve watched the ENTIRE series since my surgery (hey, there was a lot of couch time that first month, don’t judge).  It’s so good. Dorota has the most hilarious lines. Ladies, if you are looking for an addictive TV show and haven’t seen Gossip Girl….DO IT! And oh, the season finale? PERFECTION.

Current nail color:  umm….bare…my toenails are chipped hot pink….I plan on getting myself to a nail salon this weekend lol.

Current drink: Sipping some Yogi Super-Antioxidant Green Tea at work….this is my last bag!

Current food:  I ate breakfast a few hours ago…it was a yogurt mess with fruit, flaxseeds, and almond butter. not really picturesque. But here’s a colorful summery dinner I had earlier this week! (yes…it was snowing the day I ate this…)

summer squash, purple potatoes, kale, tofu, and hummus. Yes, I eat 90% vegan and I love it. (the other 10% being froyo, salmon, and chicken…)

Current favorite show:  Gossip Girl, see above. GAH I’m so sad that it’s over. And of course, Pretty Little Liars…which I’ll have to wait until fall to get my fix of!

Current wish list:  I need new pajama shorts, a new bathrobe, and a new Timex Ironman (yes, you will probably never catch me with any of that clunky garmin shit…..I run to run, not to obsessively track my pace/mileage/beat myself on every run etc). Oh and also a pair of espadrilles. But hey….my birthday is in THREE WEEKS!

Current needs:  Friend time.  I’ll be honest – as lame and pathetic as this sounds, I haven’t made any friends out in Colorado.  Earlier in the year I didn’t mind- I was at the office for twelve hours a day and didn’t have time. But now I find myself pretty damn lonely….so I really can’t wait to be back on the east coast and hang out with real people that I actually like again.

My bestie/former roomie Meredith and I…this was the first day we met/our first day at William and Mary, and our first of many “roomie pics” in front of the iconic Crim Dell bridge. We’ll be going back there together this summer!

Current triumphs SO MANY!! I finally decided on a grad school, I started running again for the first time since my surgery, and i finally got my monthly visitor again (sorry, I know that’s TMI, but it’d been awhile lol). And I didn’t have to gain a pound to get it. 

Current bane of my existence:  THIS GOD DAMN COLORADO WEATHER!! Okay, it’s seriously not fair. It’ll be in the 70s for a few days, and then all of a sudden…-8 degree wind chill with SNOW. And then it takes four days to warm up, and we repeat the cycle. I can’t take it. April is NOT supposed to be colder than January…especially when we’re like thirty minutes from the New Mexico border…..*sigh* okay I need to put on my big girl pants and get over it.

Current celebrity crush:  Chase Utley, second baseman for the Phillies.  I’ll be honest with you guys, I don’t really get into actors/musicians that much…I’m all about the athletes.

the caption for this pic was “Chase Utley is on fire!” Mhmm. Damn right he is. Oh wait, were they referring to his batting average?….

Oh, and obviously Jesse Thomas. But you guys are well aware of that haha. What can I say, I just like men. Now if only I could find one for myself LOL.

Current indulgence:  is this the same thing as guilty pleasure? Hmm. Well, I’d say this lovely frozen yogurt – salted caramel pretzel + cheesecake + cookies n cream…..there was a lot to celebrate this week (see “triumphs”)

Current blessing: I’m alive. I feel good. I look good. I can run. I have a kickass future ahead of me. I’m surrounded by people who love and support me.  How can I just pick one? I am SO blessed. 

Current slang:  mmm lets not talk about that, I have a dirty mouth.

Current outfit: The forecast is high of 70 today (and yes….it will snow on Tuesday, I already checked…), but it’s pretty foggy still. So….since the sun didn’t come out, I brought it to work with me!

In my defense, I’m the only one here…therefore it’s totally appropriate to take selfies at work.

Current excitement:   I’M MOVING BACK HOME IN SIX DAYS!!!!!!!!!! As much as I love Colorado (and yes, I’m going to miss it a ton)…..it’s not a moment too soon. I’m ready to be back home, and not just home but within traveling distance of my friends.

Current mood:  bored and antsy.  A four hour work shift where no one comes in will do that to you….

Current link:  A good injury-prevention article from Running Times.  Rehab is great and all, but PRE-hab (doing the exercises before you get hurt…to ensure that you don’t get hurt) is really the most important. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, after all!

Answer any of these for me! And tell me what your plans for this lovely weekend are!

New Beginnings

Hello Hello!

So….I would start by apologizing for my absence, but….I’m not really sorry. lol. Honestly I just haven’t felt inspired to write for awhile, and of course have been stressing and figuring out my future.

Well, I’m done figuring out my future! So, that problem at least has been solved.  However, I still don’t feel all that motivated to post….I’m not really sure what to talk about? If you guys have any ideas, let me know!

But for now, I’ll just give you some updates:

1. Surgery Recovery

….overall it’s been going well! This week I started…ahem….RUNNING on the Alter-G!!! Monday = best day of my life lol.  We started at 50% of my body weight for five minutes, and then moved up to 70% of my body weight for 8 minutes today.  Let me tell you – running is relatively easy when you’re 100 pounds, but then when you know what it feels like to run as a 70 pound person?!? Oh man. There’s something to be said for your weight affecting your performance!

But anyways, that’s a topic for another day maybe.  The point is, I ran and it didn’t hurt. It was slow….like ten minute miles….but that was obviously the point, you don’t just bust out seven minute miles after you’ve been injured for over a year. But it felt good, felt easy, and YAY. Onward and upward my friends!

I’ve also had lots of good bike rides – and today my therapist gave me permission to get back on my road bike woooo!

2. Grad School

Well guys, I decided! I am going to University of Virginia this fall to get my masters in kinesiology/health sciences! I  couldn’t be more excited – Virginia is the perfect place for me, their program is the best (and CHEAPEST tuition, hollaaa….especially cuz mommy and daddy aren’t paying a cent for it…), and….well Charlottesville is gorgeous.

I’ve also decided that I’ll definitely be going to Physical Therapy school after getting my masters – it’s definitely my “calling” in more ways than one.

Other than that I’ve been watching a lot of the Phillies.  Mmmmm Chase Utley. So sexy.

Alright so….yeeeaaah. That’s it from me for now! I’ve started running, I (finally) decided on a grad school, and I’m headed HOME in a week in a half!  Which means….only a few more late evenings at work….Man, I am getting seriously sick of people dawdling and staying past the 7pm closing time. Anyway, I digress.

What’s new in your life??

Any ideas for blog post topics? I’m pulling a blank….

Once a Runner Part 4: To Infinity and Beyond

So. Here I am, it has been 11 weeks since my surgery….and next week, at the 12 week mark, I will be able to start “jogging” on the Alter-G treadmill.

It’s going to be a very VERY slow progression back to running. It’s been almost two years since I’ve been able to string together any decent training, and honestly I am in no rush (we all know rushing to get back in shape is a bad idea…).  So I’m going to start on the Alter-G ,which allows me to start running at, say, only half of my body weight. This means less impact, so I can get my muscles and nerves used to the motion of running again without risk of injury.

And then I’ll progress to adding more and more of my body weight…and then running at 100% of my body weight on a normal treadmill….and then…well….hopefuly getting back into the swing of things, slowly building back to running 5 days a week, building the amount of mileage I can do at once….and HOPEFULLY be back in the game soon.

You think I’d be excited, but in all honesty I am TERRIFIED to run again.

For one thing, I’m not sure I’m ready. I still have days where my hip hurts, and I haven’t really built up that good a base of stationary biking or walking.  I’m not sure I’m fit enough to start running (lol…I never, EVER thought I’d say that!). I’m not sure my pain levels are where they should be.  It doesn’t hurt all the time, and when it does get achy it’s never really bad, but.. ..??

Okay I suppose I should just ask my therapists instead of turning this question over and over in my head….right, typical Kate.

And then of course I’m worried about other injuries.  Obviously I’m not going to run injury-free for the rest of my life – I don’t expect that – but guys, I’ve already been under the knife  for a serious operation once. I don’t really want to go through that again. I’m TERRIFIED of getting hurt, and I’ll guiltily admit that a part of me is wondering if running is worth that.

Although, I think I ask that question because it’s been SO long since I ran injury-free and without much worry. I don’t remember what that’s like, and I can’t even imagine being back there again after this.

And THEN there’s my LEFT hip – which might hold up through my training, or it might need a more minor surgery. I don’t know. I haven’t been able to make a decision about what to do yet, all I know is I can’t have the surgery out here – I’m moving home next month.

So. okay. there are just so many thoughts going on in my mind as I prepare to take my first running steps soon.

Am I ready?

Do I remember how to do this?

Will I ever be back in the shape I was once in?

Will I get seriously hurt again?

Should I get another surgery before starting to run?

I think a lot of it is getting over fear, and the rest, well, if my therapists think I’m ready then I need to trust them.

I need to remember the good old days of running, remember that my body IS capable of this, and that I just need to work with some professionals (my therapists) on building a very VERY conservative plan for my return.

And I need to do a lot of praying! Whatever God has in store for me will be. I hope it’s running. I hope it’s racing. but there’s really only one way to find out…and that’s just to give it a shot when I feel ready.

Hopefully, “Once A Runner Part 5″ will be titled “Guess what…STILL a runner!”