A Lot to Cover

I knew it had been awhile since I'd written anything, but I didn't realize it had been since May. A lot has happened since then.

June
I had arthroscopic surgery on my right knee in late June. It went well and there wasn't as much damage to the knee as I was concerned there might be. My meniscus is in great condition. As the doctor explained to my husband he did a lot of "lawn mowing" on my cartilage. I took a week off of work to rest and heal. My one week follow-up appointment essentially got me released. The doctor's assistant who saw me said I could pretty much do anything I wanted to do and just let pain be my guide. That excited me - although I couldn't imagine anyone in my condition at that time doing much of anything. However, I got in the pool pretty straight away and for two days swam 1000 yards. On day three I realized that was too much and took it down to half of that.

August
Early August I saw my orthopedic surgeon for my final release - which I was given. However, he instructed me quite differently than his assistant had. Essentially I was told that swimming was great; eventually, I could start working out on a stationary bike; and before I begin running in the spring I needed to lose weight (no surprise there, but it was the first time I've been told that by a doctor). Besides swimming, I've done water aerobics a couple of times at the encouragement of my sister. I haven't been too impressed with the water aerobics, but it sounds like my sister's instructors are much more challenging than mine.

After quite a bit of research I joined Weight Watchers. The program is really user friendly and it comes with a phone app to input your points for the day. Plus, it keeps track of my activity registered from my Garmin. I've lost about two pounds per week - which is what the experts say is healthy. I fell off the wagon for one week while I was traveling for work, but got right back on as soon as I got home.

September
I had minor back surgery to remove a large lipoma. It was an in office procedure and the whole thing took about 35 minutes. They put in some dissolvable stitches and covered those with some sort of glue. I was able to resume normal activity the next day. However, I was definitely sore and have yet to go back in the water. I expect to start up again on Monday.

Today was a great day. I walked the Run for the Giraffes at the Kansas City Zoo with my old running partner, Michelle. I honestly wasn't sure if I'd be able to make the four miles without being in great pain by the end of it. However, my knee did well and everything felt normal. It took us 1:20 to finish, but we enjoyed the leisurely race that goes through the entire zoo. Plus, I got a really fun medal with a giraffe on it.

The consequence of today was proof that my body is truly ready to start moving again. I still plan to mainly do swimming, but I also plan to add walking into the mix. And...I have three four-mile races that I need to catch up on and register my time.

At the beginning of the year I signed up for the KC Sweet 16. This consists of four four-mile races: Westport St. Patrick's Day Run, Trolley Run, Four on the 4th and the Zoo Run. The first three I was unable to do because of my knee. I was able to collect my bib and swag ahead of time, but I am expected to complete the three I couldn't run on my own and register my time. As a reward for doing all four races I got a pretty sweet full-sized microfiber towel with the KC Sweet 16 logo on it. I want to make sure I've truly earned that towel and the medals from the other races. So, now that I know I can go four miles without being in pain I should be able to knock those out in the next month or so.

I'm excited to be back at the point I am. I know I have a long ways to go. I do have goals to work toward, however: 2019 KC Sweet 16 and the 2019 triathlon season. I'd also like to do a half marathon in 2020. I've finally admitted to myself that I probably have aged out (more mentally than physically) of doing another full marathon.

Now that I'm moving you can expect more frequent posting. Happy swimming, everyone!

My Word for the Year

In January I decided I needed a word for my year. Something to motivate me and keep me focused. The word I chose was...Forward.

Now, I feel like everything is on hold until I get my MRI next week. To catch you up, my right knee started really bothering me in February. I went to the doctor a few weeks later. I did eight weeks of PT that didn't help much. I went back to the doctor and scheduled an MRI. The appointment was scheduled three weeks out from when I made it. So, I've spent a lot of time dealing with my knee and figuring out what I can and can't do. A lot of time waiting.

Some days are better than others. There are times when it's painful, but doesn't seem to limit my walking or have a nagging sense of pain all the time. Then, there are other days when it hurts so much I don't feel like I can even walk much. I definitely can't run or ride my bike. I can swim, but I'm waiting to officially join the gym until after we get back from Annual Conference on June 11. All this means I haven't been moving much and that is frustrating - although, admittedly, somewhat self-imposed.

There are a lot of things I want to do - the WIN for KC triathlon at the end of June, the July 4th four-miler, the KC Zoo Run in September, possibly a mission trip in August. However, I feel like I can't really make any solid plans until I know the results from the MRI and what the treatment plan will be.

So, it seems like "Forward" isn't really happening right now. I keep reminding myself that Forward doesn't have to just be physical. There are other things I want to do - start writing my book, Bible journaling, more focused and regular meditation, lose weight. I can't let my physical mentality eat away at the rest of what I want to do with the year.

Onward and Upward!

2018 Trolley Run

Today is the 30th annual Trolley Run in Kansas City. This is one of the more popular races in the midwest - with about 7000 participants. It's supposed to be one of the fastest four-mile courses in the country. It starts at 75th and Wornall in Waldo, runs down Brookside Boulevard and finished at the Plaza. So, it's right in my neighborhood.

I've run it a couple of times - years ago. I signed up to run it this year before my knee started getting wonky on me. So, I actually won't be running it. I did, however, do pick up my race packet this morning.

I'm doing the Sweet 16 race series this year. It's four four-mile races - Westport St. Patrick's Day Run, Trolley Run, Four on the 4th and the Zoo Run. Fortunately, if you aren't able to run in one of the races you can do it virtually. Once you've done the run on your own you send in proof of your course (like from my Garmin watch) and your time. This are officially entered and show up in Atlinks. So, it counts as a real race time.

I need to do both the St. Pat's Run and the Trolley Run virtually. I hope by the time July 4 gets here I'll be running well enough to do it in person. The Zoo Run isn't until September.

So, I'm sitting here on my couch with my race bib and t-shirt on the table in front of me, so eager to get to the time when I can go out and run my four miles. For now, I'll cheer on the others.

Time to Get Over Myself

I finally stopped feeling sorry for myself and decided it was time to get into the pool. I still can't run or bike, but there is nothing stopping me from swimming - except my own attitude.

We've just joined a new gym (although, we were members there the last time we lived in KC). It's not a fancy facility (it's connected to a hospital and does a lot of PT), but it has everything you need in a gym - including a great lap-swimming pool. Pools can be rarities in gyms and so I find it to be golden when you are able to join a gym that has one.

I've been swimming twice this week. Both times I swam 500 yards. The first time I stopped twice to catch my breath (although I think it was more mental than physical). The second time I swam without stopping and my time was 12:08. It's good to have a baseline to go off of as I build up my distance, endurance and fitness level.

On top of the swimming, I am still doing the 100 push-up challenge. I've had to restart it a few times, but I'm into week three and determined not to stop this time. I'm still doing modified push-ups using the arm of our couch, but I can tell I'm really using my muscles and getting some good strength training in there.

Finally, the PT for my knee (knees) has really ramped up. I'm supposed to do it twice a day (it takes about 25 minutes each time). However, I've only been doing it once a day this week because my legs and knees are so sore from the exercises. I can tell it's developed now into a real strength training routine and not just some easy PT exercises.

So, between PT, push-ups and swimming I have really been working my body this week. There isn't any noticeable change, but I can certainly feel a whole lot of my muscles groups being worked.

If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

...then how much is this video worth? To me, it's pretty priceless.

I put together this short video to share with my office in Columbia what I experienced during my time in Indonesia with the IBM Corporate Service Corps.

I hope you enjoy it.

IBM CSC Indo8 video

Concussion

In non-sports related news, I received a mild concussion on Saturday night. So, I am on "brain rest" for a few days. This means I cannot exercise until I am feeling normal - or as normal as I usually feel.

My last day for running and push-ups was Thursday, Jan. 26. That means it will be one week tomorrow since I've had a chance to exercise. It's frustrating, but I know it's just a minor setback and these are the types of things that have to go into my willingness to adjust my schedule when needed.

I hope I can go for a run on Saturday. We'll see.

Making an Impact: a CSC Indonesia 8 Update

All 13 of us on the Indonesia 8 team went to Solo City hoping we could make a difference. And I believe we left there after four weeks of hard work believing we did make a difference - or at least left behind the tools that could help make a difference in the organizations we worked with.

However, one place I don't believe we expected to make a difference was at the Royal Heritage Surakarta Hotel - our home for one month.

Most evening when we got back to the hotel we would sit out by the pool to converse (and sometimes work) while enjoying some adult beverages. While we never got crazy I'm pretty certain the beer consumption in the hotel more than quadrupled while we were there (partially because it is a predominately Muslim country and so fewer people drink).

Even during our stay things changed a little at the pool bar. About halfway through our stay they started offering a special on bottled beer by the bucket. Prior to this we had to buy individual bottles and it sometimes took awhile to get our order from the pool to the restaurant downstairs where the beer was kept and then back to the pool to be served. Having buckets definitely made it more efficient for them and a little less expensive and quicker gratification for us.

Well, apparently, we inspired them. The hotel manager told one of my team members that they saw all of us chill out there. So, why don't they make something in the pool bar. Now, every Friday night they have happy hour and live music.

It just goes to show that you can never tell when and where you will make a difference.

#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8 #IBMIndo

Whoa!

I did 47 push-ups today using five reps - 11, 8, 8, 9, 11. It was HARD. For most of them I couldn't go down all the way and by the end of each rep I was really struggling to get back to the point my elbows were straight.

Thursday I do 53. Ugh.

I Needs It To Be Warmer

I can't run outside when it's 20 degrees F. I'm not that tough right now. I need it to get warmer, please.

114

Today I finished the first week of Hundred Push-ups. 114 is the total number of push-ups I did over the course of three days (with rest days in between). They weren't pretty. They were girly push-ups. But, it's more push-ups than I've ever done in one week - maybe since grade school.

I haven't begun the C25K. The weather got cold and icy and I haven't ventured outside. This coming week is going to be cold. It will be well below freezing until Thursday. However, it appears it will be dry with little wind - and even sunny for most of the days. So, today I will find my warmest winter running gear and will begin the program in earnest tomorrow.

The Beginning

Today was the day.

I started the 100 push-ups program. I found an app for it. It's simple, but it tells me how many push-ups to do for each rep and counts the time in between reps. Plus, on the last rep you're supposed to do as many push-ups as possible and on the app I can edit that number and get an accurate count for the day. The minimum required today was 25 and I did 33. I can already tell my arms are going to be sore tomorrow.

C25K did not begin. I was planning to go in the morning, but ran out of time last night before being able to find my gear for running in the dark. Then, I had a meeting after work and it got dark, again. So, I will find my gear tonight and will have to begin the running program on Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday I'll be in Columbia. I can run Thursday, Friday and Saturday, use Sunday as a rest day and then be back on schedule for next Monday.

Not the greatest of starts, but it's something.

Welcome 2018

2017 was an amazing year. Despite the politics and the current climate in our country and the world I will look back on last year as one of the best ones I've personally had. This has made me excited for 2018 because I want to keep moving forward with the momentum I ended 2017 with.

I've taken time to write out my overall goals for the year and a roadmap for how to reach each of those goals. It will take discipline (meaning don't watch so much TV), but I'm excited at the potential set out before me.

My blog will move back to focusing on my fitness - primarily my triathlon training and the road I am taking to get to WIN for KC triathlon in July. I have a few baby steps I am taking to get my body back into conditioning form. Since breaking my elbow in May I pretty much put fitness to the side for the remainder of 2017. So, it now feels like I am starting over.

The first thing I am doing is the Hundred Push-Ups challenge. This is a six week program that takes your starting fitness level and over the course of three days per week gets you to the goal of being able to do 100 push-ups. Steve is doing it, too, and I'd like to thank our friend Leah Gunn Emerick for introducing us to this challenge. I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

Following that I am going to do the 12 week Body Boss challenge. This one looks pretty intimidating, but I'm excited about the results that should come from it. I believe doing the Hundred Push-Ups challenge prior to this will get be in good shape to start the next 12 weeks of training.

Triathlon training goes into full force at the beginning of March. So, some of the triathlon training will overlap with the Body Boss training, but it should be a good mix of physical training and challenges. My goal is to finish the triathlon in under 1.5 hours.

Additionally, I plan on doing the Kansas City Sweet 16. This is four 4-mile races that take place beginning March 10 at the Westport St. Patrick's Day Run and culminate with the KC Zoo Run on Sept. 22.

So, I have a lot on my plate and because of my focuses will be doing a great deal of cross-training beginning with strength training and running.

Let's get this done!