My JourKNEE Back

This week, my husband and I registered for a local 5K that will take place in May. The race is a fundraising event for an organization that I am passionate about and yet I kept putting off the registration. The thought of the 5K actually scared me a bit which is crazy because there is no doubt I can do that distance. Instead, I asked my husband if he wanted to do the 1-mile walk. He said with a smirk "No, we can handle the 5k!" When I was telling my friend "J" about this interaction, she said "What?! Why would you consider doing the 1-mile walk?" I told her that I'm so afraid of coming in last at a race. I'm so afraid of people looking at me and saying either in disgust or sympathy, "Oh, look at that fat, slow girl."  "J" shook her head and said, "I don't even know what to say to you." We have been running partners for many years. The years turned into countless miles of conversation which has led to the growth of ...

Getting back to running after the cast came off my hand on February 18th has been hard. I went for a "trial run" on February 19th and my first buddy run with "J" on February 21st. I didn't assume running would return easily, but I also didn't anticipate exactly how heavy and hard it would feel. Initially, my breathing was heavy, but after I felt that had gotten better, my legs have felt very stiff and heavy as well. I'm still out there, putting in more miles than I have been averaging, but a lot of the miles are walking and even that isn't feeling great. I can't say, overall, that it has been enjoyable. It's been four weeks since that "trial run" and I have finally seen some small progress this past week, however, so I am encouraged by that. I know that consistency is key. I also know that strength training, mobility work, and switching up my runs will lead to improvement. Why do I push against doing all of those things? I'm sit...

In the words of Tom Petty, "The waiting is the hardest part." (from his song "The Waiting") Isn't that the truth? Whether you're waiting for something good or something bad, waiting is hard. Waiting can cause anxiety and frustration.  This may sound morbid, but I've been waiting for my cat to pass all week. We have three cats; a brother and sister pair named Sable and Marvin, and a younger crazy girl named Cinnamon. Sable could not be officially diagnosed, without testing, but we are pretty sure she has cancer. We found out January 23rd and she has been slowly declining ever since. My heart breaks for her and I just want her to have peace, but I'm not ready to make that final decision yet.    There is a situation with a family member and a conversation that will take place this weekend. Depending on this individual's decision, her life could be altered for the better or for the worse. We are waiting to see what she decides. Even if she makes the ...

I had my first physical therapy appointment for my hand this week since getting my cast removed. At one point, I was asked to grab a handful of little plastic pieces in a fist and drop them one by one into a container using only my index finger and thumb. As I watched the therapist do it as an example, I thought "That looks pretty easy." However, since the fourth and fifth finger on my right hand are not fully able to make a fist, it was very difficult. It was even painful. Something she had made look so easy, took me at least three times longer to complete.  It got me thinking about other tasks in our life that we try to complete or overcome. We may have seen someone else do the same thing and it looked easy for them. We may feel like we prepared and have a solid plan on how to accomplish the task, so we attack it with confidence only to be faced with failure. Just because someone else has done something and it seemed easy for them, doesn't mean the same thing will be ea...