Last Week's Quick Hits

Friday was a hot mess at work, so I didn't even think to post the top five for the week. Thank goodness I stuck to my original plan and updated it throughout the week. So without further adieu, a belated update on the last week or so in my world...

-We attended a celebration for the end of the Keely’s basketball season. Playing basketball was something I didn’t push her into, she decided on her own that she wanted to (as she has done with most things in her life – case in point, when at age 2 she decided she was going to do ballet and I’d thought it best be time to find her a ballet class). She really enjoyed the season, though I can’t say it seems like it compares to soccer for her. But what I am grateful for is that she tried it out, learned some new skills, and says she wants to continue. She got paired with a really great coach, at random, and I couldn’t have been happier with the way it worked out. Well, except if there weren't umpteen schedule changes and a couple of games on a floor that was like a slip-n-slide making basketball pretty interesting.

-Quinn also played and finished his basketball season with ABGC. He was also paired with a great coach, who has seen in him promise and has helped to encourage Quinn’s strengths (defense) and work on his weaknesses (shooting and offense). He’s not really a team sport child, so I love that he showed the desire to play and now has joined a second league to play for another 8 weeks or so. He had the first game with the other league on Sunday (same coach, and most of the same players from his ABGC team). They won by 1 point in OT, and were so thrilled – especially because they only had 5 players!

-My first soccer game was canceled – because of, you guessed it, snow! As we quickly approach April, I am looking out at snow covered grounds yet again. Can anyone spell F-L-O-R-I-D-A? Because that’s where you may find us living after this long winter!

 -Keely finished up a 7 week session of indoor soccer last weekend. Their team has improved quite a bit, and they won most of their games and were competitive in all but one game when they lost. Most surprising is that Keely found a like (I won’t go so far as love) for playing goalie. I coached the 2^nd game and had to put her in goal because there just aren’t enough girls on her team willing to play that position, and she was a fireball. She rocked it, I didn’t even know who that girl was – and after that, she played in goal each game and even started in goal playing most of the first half in the last game. James hit the nail on the head crediting playing basketball for her improved use of hands because now she knows she can catch a ball that big and isn’t afraid. She even says she wants to play goal when they start outdoor in a couple of weeks. I’m sure her skills are better used on the field, but it’s nice that she’s willing to try different things!

-I played my first soccer game on Saturday. Keely came and watched, my faithful cheerleader because it was raining the entire time. Once you were wet, it was fine. And thankfully it was a warm rain. I was nervous, but needn’t have been. I fell back into it, and was definitely one of the better players on the field. I played every position except goal, scored one goal, and our team won 6-1. It was a great game, and then reality set in. I am S.O.R.E. all capitals well deserved! Two days later, it’s not much better and I’m just hoping and praying that it gets better each time I play. I can’t be in this.much.pain after each game! But boy, was it fun. And for now, that makes the pain so worth it. I loved that Keely got to see me play, and I loved hearing her cheer ‘Go, Mom’ J

Trying Something New - Top 5

• We started this week with yet another snowstorm. This winter is like the gift that keeps on giving J We got another 10” or so, and school was canceled for the 11^th day this year. I even got to work from home. Because it was St. Patrick’s Day, Quinn made a shamrock in snow using green food coloring.
• Keely’s heading to Jamestown on May 1. She is super excited and has honestly been looking forward to this trip since Quinn went two years ago! There was some uncertainty about whether MC would go, but apparently they do the same as BT for 4^th graders.
• Quinn took the first step in qualifying to take Algebra 1 (a HS math class) next year in 7^th grade by achieving a 95^th percentile on the Iowa Math Tests. He also has to get above a 500 on his SOLs later this year, and then will need a recommendation from his math teachers. We are proud of him! This does seem to come naturally though so I guess he got some of this math brain from James and I J
• I went out for two runs – one on Saturday of 20 minutes and one on Thursday of 25 minutes. I’m focusing on adding time, not distance and running at a comfortable leisurely pace as I continue to test the waters. These runs are not pain free, and honestly I sometimes wonder if I’ve literally ‘had a good run’ with distance running and may just need to focus on other areas to stay physically fit.
• We continued to talk and talk and talk about our plans for Spring Break. We are most likely renting a car and driving to Florida but the exact dates and any stops along the way are undecided.

I go back and forth on the blog and how to shape it into something I can maintain. I need it not to feel like a chore, yet I continue to feel guilty because of not updating it. I feel like I only capture the ‘big events’ and not enough of everyday life. But then I wonder what the purpose of capturing everyday life is – will I feel better reading about birthdays and holidays, or reading about the minutia of everyday life when I get older and wistful for times past? I guess I need to decide, because ultimately I write this mostly for myself. I do think Keely will read it at some point because she very much likes to hear stories of the past, about herself and our family. So for now, I’ll try this Top 5 format. Maybe I can update it more on a daily basis and publish each week. We’ll see how it goes, but it can’t be worse than posting nothing and feeling guilty about it J

A Light at the End of the Tunnel…or Staying Healthy

I started having pains in my left leg when running back in October. I presumed it was a hamstring issue, stemming from my high hamstring and that it would either get worse causing me to stop running or it would go away. It persisted though, and just became a nagging issue through the end of December. However, let it be known that I had three PRs with this issue…including my best 5 mile at the Born to Run and my best half marathon at the Wilson Bridge both in November. So it was an issue, but one that clearly didn’t prevent me from running at my best. Or so I thought. By the end of December, I was through with it. I decided it wasn’t going to go away with my current course of action so I stopped running and made an appointment with my orthopedist. At the end of 2013, my goals for 2014 included balancing my running with other activities, i.e. cross training and strength training so that I would be a better runner. Now I am even more convinced of that goal, and I am working to make it a reality. I ran minimal miles in January and didn’t run a mile in February. The diagnosis from my orthopedist was not a hamstring issue, but a nerve issue that he thought stemmed from my lower back. I did have resident pain in my lower back but I didn’t connect it to the leg pain. I thought this was plausible, but the nerve pain could either be from lower back or piriformis syndrome. I now think it was (is) both. To date, I have been through 6 PT sessions and am in the middle of 13 chiropractic adjustments. PT was good for teaching me strengthening and stretching exercises for my core, lower back, hips and upper legs. But the pain was still there so I decided to try a chiropractor. 

At this point, I am beginning to see the light at the end of this tunnel. I am feeling stronger and getting healthier. My pain is lowering with each day, and I believe it’s either the chiropractor or time off from running. I have tried two runs in the past week – the first 8-10 minutes and the second for 15 minutes – with good success. I know that’s not going to be a magic bullet but I did want to test the waters. I still hope and pray that this issue doesn’t come back, or flare up again but I do know that’s a possibility as I try to increase distance and mileage. But as much as I know I love running, I also now know that I value being healthy over that livelihood. I have found other ways to stay active – finally using my gym membership to take classes and work out. I vary my workouts to elliptical, stationary bike, rowing, yoga, and an occasional kickboxing or Zumba class although I am very careful with my back in these types of classes. I also do core and strength work at home including squats, lunges, and a lot of stretching. I know I could always be doing more but I have a lot of variety right now and it’s hard to fit any one thing in more than 1-2 times a week. When I add running in, I’m going to have to maintain more of a strict schedule with my non-running days. Truth be told, I’m lazy some days and I am quick to push the workout to the next day. With the long, cold winter we’ve had, it’s been easy to fall into that lazy mode. I actually haven’t missed running as much as I thought I would. It’s no longer the be-all, end-all for me. I know that there is life outside running, and I’m embracing that. I want to add running back into my workout, but not for the sake of injury. I plan to run three times a week – one speedwork, one tempo, and one long slow easy run. Long may start out 4 but I need to work it up to 8-10. I have a half marathon on May 4^th that I plan to use as a test to see if I can cover the distance. I have another half on June 8^th – depending on how my return to running goes, I tentatively plan to PR in that race. But my perspective has changed greatly. I really miss the camaraderie of running with my friends, and the joy of running with some great music. I don’t miss trying to beat paces and increase mileage. I just want to run for fun, and mostly I just want it to be pain free. If I can't do that, then I am not sure it's worth it. As another aspect of cross-training, I have joined an over-30 women's soccer team! This will be my first outdoor experience since college and I'm nervous but excited. On weeks with a soccer game, I will consider this my 'speed' workout. I know I'm not in soccer shape but my goals are to be competitive with the other women on my team and the league, have fun and stay active! 

I'm not sure how to wrap this up, other than to say I have learned a lot about myself these last few months and weeks. I have challenged myself in ways other than running, while giving my body and mind time to recharge and focus on priorities. I hope that's been helpful, but time will tell!