Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Random Ramblings

Figure I should post an update... My first graduate class is pretty much done, so I don't really know what to do with myself.  I guess I could finish the last two chapters of reading, but sadly, I really don't feel like it.  I sure am hoping I did well on my final paper.  I need an A in this class!  It's kinda cool to think I'll have a graduate degree in a couple of years.  Assuming I make it through, of course.  Hmmm... I guess I could play my flute - haven't done that in a couple of weeks, since my tooth was very painful, and then I had root canal part one.  PAAAIIINNNN.  And since I need my mouth to play my flute... Yeah, not very compatible.  

What else, well, I'm flying to Germany in a few weeks to visit the boyfriend.  Oh, I am stoked.  We have all sorts of fun plans, and this time he gets to show me around :)  The last few times we saw each other, it was on my turf, so I showed him around instead of the other way around.  Well, actually, I've been to Germany, and have been to where he lives, but only a few times, and it's been YEARS (like seven years).  Very much looking forward to this trip!

Next up is my marathon, which is in less than five weeks.  Ah!  Aaannnd... the foot still hurts.  GR.  It's partially my fault, I'm sure.  I'm stubborn, and like to test my foot out to see if I can run on it.  Note to self: if doing the motion of running hurts when not actually running, then running isn't a good idea.  Fortunately, nothing else hurts, so I can use the stair-climber machine and the elliptical for an awesome workout.  I did thirty minutes on the stair machine on Sunday, and oh man, I was DRIPPING in sweat at the end of that workout.  I'm hoping this translates into SOME running fitness.  I have also done some bike rides and kept my heart rate around where it would be on a similar run.  Sadly, my IT band, while doing much better than it was, does not like cycling very much.  Less so than it liked running.  LUCKILY, the tightness from cycling usually goes away in a couple of days - ESPECIALLY if I apply heat to it to help loosen it up.  I don't know why I never thought of heat before... It works so much better than ice for that injury. Everyone says to ice, but ice just numbs the pain... I guess it reduces swelling too, but it doesn't help with tightness, and that's what caused my IT band to hurt!  Heat also seems to help my foot when I apply it to my calves (which I'm ASSUMING are pulling on the tendons in my foot, because stretching makes the pain go away COMPLETELY).  Also, rubbing my cayenne paper mix on my foot helps a lot too, followed by some soaking in epsom salts.  I'm sure if I keep this up WITHOUT trying to run until I'm pain free, then I'll be back to running soon.  In the meanwhile, the rest of my body is getting in better shape.  Lots of ab, leg, and arm workouts to make up for my lack of running.  Lunges, one-legged squats, calf raises (which also helped my foot, oddly enough), and other things that I hope will help translate into better running, and less future injuries (stronger hips = less injury for the most part!)

Also, random note: reading suspense novels before bed is probably not a great idea, especially if you are like me and tend to dream about whatever happened during the day.  I had dreams of flying from random brain controlling people (I like dreams where I can fly though!)  It wasn't a nightmare or scary dream, it was just kinda strange.

Okay, nothing else interesting to write about today.  I'm sleepy from staying up reading (I only went to bed around 10:30, but that's late for me)

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