Something strange is going on

I have never been a morning person. In fact, when I was younger and more self-centered, I was occasionally downright putrid in the morning -- unpleasant, irritable, moody, and ready to snap at whatever poor soul crossed my path. (Ugh. That's pretty embarrassing to admit.)

Over the past two years or so, as life has become increasingly busy and insomnia has refused to release me from its grasp, I have turned myself into a morning workout person. Most days, when the alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m., I get up and get it done. After work, I'm just too tired, too busy, too over-committed to work out, so the mornings seem to work better for me.

However, recently I've skipped some morning workouts because I just cannot drag myself out of bed at 5:30. That extra hour of sleep is too appealing... too persuasive. "Stay in bed," it tells me. "Sleep!"

The trouble is, I don't sleep. I end up tossing and turning for that hour, getting 5 or 10 minutes of sleep before waking up again, looking at the clock in exasperation, and trying again. When the alarm goes off and I get up for good, I feel FAR worse than I would have if I'd just gotten up and worked out, fercrissakes. For the rest of the day, I'm groggy, unfocused, lethargic, and fighting to stay awake. It happened Tuesday, and it's happening again today.

So my question is this. Do I feel this way because of the ill-fated extra hour of non-sleep? Or because of the skipped workout? In other words, is there something physiological about working out in the morning that really, truly gives you more energy throughout the day? I mean, I know it feels that way, but is that real or just a placebo effect?

Walking on the moon

Giant steps are what you take
Walking on the moon
~ The Police

Yesterday, my PT said those seven words every girl dreams of hearing. "Today, we're putting you on the treadmill."

This treadmill, to be exact.

After all the hands-on stretching, strengthening, and torturing, I got to zip myself into the Anti-Gravity treadmill. First you have to pull on these shorts that are very much like a wetsuit, but with a huge zipper dangling out of the front. Then you step into the treadmill and get zipped into the plastic casing. When you turn the treadmill on, the plastic fills with air. (Now I know what it feels like inside a balloon.)

We set the treadmill at 80% of body weight, and I was off. 1 minute walking (3.5 to 4 mph), 2 minutes jogging (6 mph), five sets for 15 minutes total. To be honest, 80% of body weight didn't feel THAT different, other than the whole sausage-in-its-casing deal with all the air and the wetsuit shorts, so I asked if I could try it at a lower body weight when I was done. He lowered it to 50%, and suddenly I was bouncing, barely touching the belt! So cool!!! Walking on the moon!

And the running? Minimal pain the glute, and what little pain I did have was more like a pinch. Today? No pain at all. Slight tingling in my glute and upper hamstring this morning, but otherwise I'm ready to go again. YES!

And even more YES... I'm down 7 pounds. :) (Not from the walk/jog yesterday, although wouldn't THAT be something? 7 pounds in general since mid-June.)

The accidental run

My office is next to an elementary school, and when I leave the parking lot I drive right by the playing fields. Yesterday, as I was heading out, I noticed a football rolling down the street. I also noticed two children in the field, so I pulled over and asked if the football was theirs. It was.

So I hopped out of my car, jogged down the street to retrieve the football, threw the worst spiral ever over the fence to the kid who was closer, jogged back to my car, and headed home.

Wait. Let's review that sentence again.

I jogged down the street, threw the football, and jogged back to my car. Without any thought or intention, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And, more importantly, without any pain. I didn't even realize what I'd done until I was a block or so away, at which point I thought, "OMG! I ran! I ran and didn't feel anything! I ran!!!!"

It's been more than 9 weeks since the injury occured and more than 6 weeks since I last ran. Think I'm getting a bit restless? :)

I told this story to my physical therapist last night, and he said I will start running on the anti-gravity treadmill next week. Probably just 1-2 minutes at a time, interspersed with walking, but can I get a WOO HOO????

Relaxed. Restored.

What is it about 8 days at the shore that can make all your worries and problems seem to disappear?

And given that that's the case, why don't I live there year-round???

My family and I spent 8 glorious days at the Jersey Shore. Not the stupid Jersey Shore from the tv show; we were several hours south of those knuckleheads, thankyouverymuch. My shore town is an idyllic, peaceful, quiet family town. We've been vacationing there since I was about 6, and I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather go. It's where I want to retire someday. Where I want my children and grandchildren to go so they can enjoy the same wonderful memories I've enjoyed all these years.

Last week we had some really, really hot days and some dreary, drizzly days. We ate the best icecream in the world (Springer's Homemade Ice Cream) four times. I biked four times, did a freestanding, unassisted headstand in yoga (my first!), walked everywhere, frolicked in the ocean, tanned, ate, slept, relaxed, and generally felt like I was in heaven for a short time.

Coming back was really, really hard.

The comments I'm posting on other blogs are disappearing into Internet-World

This is happening with more and more frequency... I post a comment on someone's blog, and it either (a) never shows up, or (b) shows up and then disappears.

So either people are deleting my comments (sad face) or they're being gobbled up by the Internet for some strange reason. (The comments, not the bloggers.)

In either case, I feel badly that the comments I'm leaving aren't being seen by the bloggers. I know I love to read everyone's comments. It sort of validates what I wrote, you know? I therefore assume that other bloggers like to receive comments as well. This whole blogging thing works best when there's feedback, I think.

Anyway, if you've deleted my comment, then I don't know what to say about that. But if you haven't, then I apologize that it didn't work for whatever reason, and I hope you know that I do enjoy reading all your blogs and keeping up on what's going on with all of you.

Funny how things work out

Not funny as in haha. I don't want you to think you're going to read this post and chuckle all the way through, thinking, "Oh that Theia. She is SO funny! What a wonderfully brilliant sense of humor she has!"

Not that kind of funny.

More like ironic funny. Because if you remember, a few months ago I was ready to sell my bike and never ride it again. I just wasn't enjoying cycling, didn't want to train for races, and felt an overwhelming sense of "why bother?"

Then on May 23, while teaching one of my classes, I tore my glute. You already know about that. And THEN, on June 29, also while teaching a class, I strained my lower back. Now, the back problem is related to the glute; weakness in my glute caused my back to give out because all the other muscles in my right side had been working overtime to compensate for the glute, and at that moment my lower back had had enough, apparently.

No running for me, obviously. But guess what I can still do?

You got it. Ride my bike.

So instead of selling my bike, I've spent nearly $600 on it this summer! New bike rack for my car, new pump, and new pedals, clips, insoles, and shoes. What the ?? I thought I was going to MAKE money off this blasted thing! Not so much, huh?

But can you imagine if I had indeed sold it? No running, no biking, no sustained exercise of any kind. I would be even more of a miserable wretch than I already am! (Now THAT's a scary thought!)