I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a Happy Holiday season. I probably won’t be posting again until the new year. Thank you so much for coming here to visit.

I design my holiday card every year. It’s a creative outlet I look forward to and dread each year but somehow I figure it out. Duncan was the star of the card again this year.

a little sarcasm this year

a little sarcasm this year

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This blog is another creative outlet for me and it’s really awesome when I hear from you and feel like I’ve got a little bonus world of friends.

Not much has happened since I told you about the Big Chill 5K earlier this month. Well Richard the elf and Jingles, his reindeer sidekick have been busy…

baking

baking

Crossword time

Crossword time

As a matter of fact I haven’t run a single mile since. I’m still nursing my poor feet. Bursitis, tendinitis….whatever I have, it’s so frustrating. But I do a bit of improvement in the last day or two so maybe by 2018 I’ll be ready to run? One good thing about all my injuries this year is that I don’t even think I fee sad anymore. My expectations have plummeted and I’ll just be happy to run at all next year.

I haven’t even been to yoga in over a week. And the last hike I went on was 3 weeks ago.

Duncan is still keeping up with his downward dog though

Duncan is still keeping up with his downward dog though

The seasons sure have changed as we officially enter Winter today…

Just a little side-by-side from a couple of weeks apart

Just a little side-by-side from a couple of weeks apart

I love the color contrast and pattern of the snow on the green shrub

I love the color contrast and pattern of the snow on the green shrub

snowface

snowface

it's getting cold

it’s getting cold

Since I’m on a running hiatus I thought I’d share some of my silly neighborhood holiday decorations runs with you.

There was the Candy Cane EditionIMG_7942

And a Walk in 2014 thanks to a sprained ankle.

And my innaugural holiday decorations run in 2013 where I discovered the square snowman…iceman

Well, I’ve got a client call in 22 minutes and then it’s work.work.work. I’m thrilled to be so busy in Q4 but it’s hard to find the time to enjoy the spirit of the season.

Here’s to a happy and healthy new year! I wish you all strong bodies and minds and less stress.

Happy Happy Holidays!

What is your most favorite part of the holiday season? Least favorite?

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?

2017 sure has been a roller coaster for me. The highs and lows of injury…..Sigh!

First off, I think I’m going to have to accept that the posting frequency on this blog will have to be what it is for the time being. Every 10 days or so is about all I have time for. So thank you to my small circle of loyal readers who come back to read and don’t forget about me.

So here’s the funny, not funny story…

Last Monday I woke up with some general back/hip aching. I assumed it was because of how I slept combined with PMS. I always get low back pain around that time. I had also had a string of workouts including 2 bike rides the Friday and Sunday before.

Friday ride...high!

Friday ride…high!

Sunday ride with Mr. SOTSS-double high!

Sunday ride with Mr. SOTSS-double high!

The discomfort was mild and I just assumed it’d be gone by the next day. Later on in the evening I went to yoga. Had a great class, held crow for long time, managed a few wheels. Did some awesome hip opening pigeon pose stretches an left there feeling good. Next up was grocery shopping. I live in a 3 level townhouse and refuse to take multiple trips with my grocery bags up to the kitchen on the second floor so I grab them all and do the transport in one trip.

Random photo because I have no pics of yoga or the grocery bags.... I baked some brown butter cookie bars last weekend :)

Random photo because I have no pics of yoga or the grocery bags…. I baked some brown butter cookie bars last weekend 🙂

Tuesday morning I went to physical therapy for my last toe PT session with the same mild back/hip ache but still not thinking any big deal. My PT told me he thought I was ready for some more weight bearing exercises so he had me do some toe raises, lunges and press off from this machine that reminds me of a space shuttle. And then we did 3 sets of 10 jumps. Still, I felt fine. I actually was giddy at the progression to the final step before returning to running. I was instructed to do the lunges and jumps every other day and if after a week I still felt good I could start running again. Well, Wednesday morning I woke up feeling worse. My back was really hurting. Walking seemed to be the only thing that took the pressure/pain down so I went on my hike figuring the workout would keep the muscles warm and help me recover. Thursday I felt even worse and by the afternoon my back was full on in spasm mode. Tears started. Sleeping each night got worse and worse and by Friday morning I texted Mr. SOTSS with a desperate cry for help.

Well, one of us doesn't have any discomfort while trying to sleep

Well, one of us doesn’t have any discomfort while trying to sleep

I could barely walk down my stairs. He came over and took me to urgent care where I saw a wonderful doctor who helped a ton. He agreed it wasn’t one specific thing but the months of my lack of impact exercise and my compromised walking gait from the toe injury most definitely contributed. So maybe I overstretched in yoga or maybe those lunges or jumps in PT set me off but the weakness was brewing for some time. He prescribed 800mg of Ibuprofen along with a muscle relaxer to take for 10 days. He diagnosed me with back spasms with sacroiliac joint involvement. I spent the rest of Friday with the essentials, remote, coffee, heating pad, pb&j and meds…

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The spasms in my lower middle back have gone away but the sacroiliac hip pain is still there although after 5 full days of meds it’s definitely improving.

My back managed to hold it together barely going over the potholes in Brooklyn for a ride to Brooklyn Bridge Park on date night with Mr. SOTSS

My back managed to hold it together barely going over the potholes in Brooklyn for a ride to Brooklyn Bridge Park on date night with Mr. SOTSS

A tree really does grow in Brooklyn

A tree really does grow in Brooklyn

I went to what should have been my last PT appointment for my toe today and instead we jumped right into PT for my back. The usual, ultrasound, massage, electro-stim and some gentle stretches. If I’m feeling 100 percent by the weekend I’ll return to yoga on Saturday and then take it from there.IMG_2766

I can only laugh and hope that next year I’ll reminisce about that time I was just about to return to running when I got injured AGAIN!

I’m starting to realize that my desire to be active and “Sweat Out the Small Stuff” needs to sync up better to what my body is capable of. I’m almost 44 years old and all the years of running “stupidly” without cross training and strength training has caught up to me.

I’m optimistic about this back/hip thing not lasting so long. We’ll see. In the meantime at least the dogs are feeling just fine…

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“So long as your backache doesn’t interfere with my walks…”

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Have you ever had a second injury on the heels of recovering from the first?

Do you have a funny, not funny story to share?

Random question: What are your favorite crunchy snacks? I need some new options. Getting sick of baby carrots and potato chips. 🙂

I thought before I update you on my weekend I’d take a look back at a post I wrote a couple of months ago about the what if’s that come with injury. I thought it would be interesting to show how some of those played out:

what if update

“What if the MRI doesn’t reveal anything” Well it sort of didn’t. Only showed a neuroma which isn’t where my pain is and edema (swelling).

“What if I don’t get answers” Well i didn’t really. I still don’t know what happened although I’ve recently begun physical therapy and they feel pretty strongly that my pain is from bone and not ligament/tendon.

“What if the MRI reveals that something is in need of repair surgically.” Luckily it didn’t

“What if I have to wear a boot” I didn’t but wondering if maybe I should have. It boggles my mind how long this pain has lasted. It’s like walking on a black and blue for 4 months.

“What if I need crutches” I didn’t but wondering if maybe I should have.

“What if I gain too much weight from being less active” well I’ve managed to keep my weight stable. It did go up a few pounds but came back down recently. I’m about 142-144 pounds which is my “normal” range.

“What if I can’t run again” well I healed enough to run for a couple of weeks before the setback so I’m confident that I’ll be able to run again. Just gonna have to take it even slower to return to it this time around. I keep setting a new date to strive for but really it doesn’t matter what I want. It’s what my body tells me. And at this point I doubt I’ll be running for the remainder of the summer.

“What if I can’t run the New Jersey Half” I couldn’t. I cried. I survived.

“What if I can’t wear heels to Barbara’s wedding”. Luckily I was able to wear heals and made it through most of the night.

“What if I can’t run the Brooklyn Half” I couldn’t. I cried. I survived. I had a donut.

 

weekend update

Friday, one of my clients let me know how appreciative he was of my hard work keeping up with his assignment turnover. It left me smiling and going into the weekend with a smile.work-week

I went to yoga on Saturday morning. strength-within-yogaI’m finally able to do Wheel pose but my crow seems to have stagnated. Hrumph! But I’m determined to keep at it. We joked in class yesterday about how we’re all going to be able to go into a head stand from crow soon and I said….yeah #2018goals ! But just like olympians I guess practicing for years to get to a goal isn’t such a bad thing 🙂

I took my bike to Mr. SOTSS’ this weekend so I could go for a ride while he did his long run.bike-10-miles It’s been nice to not clock a time or distance to my workouts these days. I ended up curious when I got home so I mapped out my course online and saw I had biked about 10 miles.

We hit up the movie theater Saturday night to see The Big Sick. It was a really great movie. I laughed a ton and forgot how funny Ray Romano is.movie

Sunday was such a beautiful day that we drove to the beach and just walked along the boardwalk, stopping for a bit to sit on a bench and just take in the views of colorful beach umbrellas and the ocean. jersey-shoreSome of my favorite times with Mr. SOTSS are those unplanned, easy and quiet days. We continued the theme with some backyard chillaxing. He strummed his guitar and we sipped some frozen daqueris.

I love how Chester is waiting for one of us to toss his football

I love how Chester is waiting for one of us to toss his football

IMG_1594Life can be so hectic and #AdultingCanBeSoHard that just taking those few easy hours felt like a week’s vacation!

When you get jealous that your boyfriend is cudding his dog and you ask for the same treatment....you get it!

When you get jealous that your boyfriend is cudding his dog and you ask for the same treatment….you get it!

Chillaxin

Chillaxin

PT

I just got back from my 4th physical therapy appointment. In addition to the e-stim and ultrasound I got my first scraping treatment. We also worked on stretching my calves which have been tight from all the limping. Scraping sounds so scary right?

How was your weekend?

What is your favorite kind of weekend? Busy with lots of activities or relaxing and low key?

It’s 54 degrees and rainy today. It was close to or over 90 degrees last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I going from air conditioning to heated seats in the car. 🙂weird weatherSpeaking of heated….i’m loving that the yoga studio is warmed to about 82 degrees during class. I went to class on Saturday and then went for a run. I RAN 4 MILES!!!!

First running (timer-camera) selfie in 8+ weeks!

First running (timer-camera) selfie in 8+ weeks!

It’s been the longest run since before my injury back in Mid-March. And the honeysuckles are emerging and I couldn’t be happier.

honeysuckles are my favorite!

honeysuckles are my favorite!

I RAN 4 MILES!!

I RAN 4 MILES!!

Had I not had this injury I would have been running the Brooklyn Half on Saturday so it was really nice to not only have a great yoga class in its place but to be able to run 4 miles as well. It helped me handle the situation rather well. Although the day before I had a sad moment and handled the situation by giving myself some TLC in the form of a Donut and some weird toe massage thingys.

TLC donut and Flex Tastic toe thingys

TLC donut and Flex Tastic toe thingys

I’m really excited that I’ll FINALLY be able to run a race that I registered for next weekend….the Spring Lake 5 miler. I ran it last year after being injured or just spectating the two years prior.

Last Thursday Mr. SOTSS and I attended a fundraiser event held by the Greenbelt Conservancy here on Staten Island. They are the organization that maintains the trails and organizes the weekly night hikes that I joined earlier this year. They are also now my client which I love.

Had fun in the photo booth with my hiking group and got to ride a carousel too

Had fun in the photo booth with my hiking group and got to ride a carousel too

Other than yoga and running this weekend, we took the doggies for a walk at a new park (ticks! I hate them! Duncan ended up with 3).

Nope I'm not sick....just look a little green from the light filtering through the green leaves above me. Wearing a green sweatshirt doesn't help the color balance lol!

Nope I’m not sick….just look a little green from the light filtering through the green leaves above me. Wearing a green sweatshirt doesn’t help the color balance lol!

Happy pups each in their own lane. Of course Chester is in the "fast lane"

Happy pups each in their own lane. Of course Chester is in the “fast lane”

There are 3 ticks photo bombing this photo.

There are 3 ticks photo bombing this photo.

Then we made beef and chicken kebobs on the grill. I even made some Tzatziki to go with them.

MMMMMM

MMMMMM

Let's eat

Let’s eat

Latest wine discovery. I nice blend from Australia...Cab, Shiraz and Merlot.

Latest wine discovery. I nice blend from Australia…Cab, Shiraz and Merlot.

I’ll be working all day while it rains outside and then hitting up yoga tonight. It’s still so bizarre that the word yoga has entered my life. I’m so happily surprised at how much I love it. 🙂