I think I'm a bit more adjusted to the grueling demands of broomball now. The third game was last Saturday. I took some good hits from the ball thanks to a guy on the opposing team who could really shoot. Ah the life of a defensive-woman. I also banged my knee pretty good. I need to stay on my feet more.
Sunday I lifted and did some cardio via Dance Central. Monday I ran 3 miles (woohoo!) and today I spinned. I think I'm only going to be able to stand spinning one day a week. I'm still settling in there. Today there was a war over the fan - whether or not to have it on. Really? Absolutely the most ridiculous thing I've ever encountered in a spinning class.
I've been doing counter push-ups. The thing is, I can't really do regular push-ups. I know. Pathetic. But counter push-ups are challenging (just leaning on the counter and doing the same form rather than on the ground). The hope is this will give me the strength to do regular push-ups. Then I will be... awesome!!!!
Tonight is yoga. Tomorrow and Thursday I'm going to run again, weather permitting. Take Friday off to lift, broomball Saturday...then that will be one hell of a consistant week! I'm still really feeling different about my body and the abilities I have now, knowing things can change in the future with no warning. I'm so thankful I can do what I can now. It's pretty amazing.
With the crazy weather today (it feels like spring outside), I've been thinking about what I want to run this year. I think I'd like to start with some 5Ks. I just looked up the Fit to Fight Ovarian Cancer website, thinking I'd love to do that this year. Like, race it. But sadly, they aren't going to do it this year! Bummer. Not sure if I'll be doing multi-sport. I'm still thinking about all the options. My first goal is to just get faster and stronger, and I really think some 5Ks work as the ticket to that.
I don't want to be at work. I have a strong urge to work on the art room. I'm such a mess with work these days. It's really getting me down.
Perhaps I'll get in a walk before more rain comes :)
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Spinnin' and Runnin'
Tuesday I spinned for the second time this year, and second time at the Community Center. It was a different instructor, Karen maybe? She was...well...amazing looking. Good god I want this woman's body. She had such sexy legs, I couldn't stop looking at her! But at least it was ok, because she's the instructor. My gawking was hidden ;) teehee.
Anyway, it was a class of interval hills. We did 4 sets. The sets had adds while seated, the add in 2, the add in 3. Occasionally jumps and surges were thrown in as well. Each set got longer in each position. The last set was pretty rough, but I think I paced myself well.
Tuesday night I did yoga. It's been since before Christmas since we've been. I knew it would be a rough class, but I didn't expect my joints to hurt so much. Just my wrists and elbows and shoulders. But I couldn't hold some of the positions because of the weight on my wrists. I guess they are still recovering, which is fine. Other than that, it was a great class! She mixed up a lot of the flow stuff and we did some new things. I rarely look forward to yoga, but I'm always glad about it afterwords. Just one of those things. Switching things up definitely made it way more enjoyable.
This morning I ran 4 miles!! It was great. It was slow, 10:30 pace. But it was 10:30 pace the entire time (I didn't start out faster and slow down) and it felt easy for the first 3 miles I'd say. It was great. I felt really happy being out there.
I'm trying to decide if I want to spin again tomorrow of swim. Hmmmm.......
Anyway, it was a class of interval hills. We did 4 sets. The sets had adds while seated, the add in 2, the add in 3. Occasionally jumps and surges were thrown in as well. Each set got longer in each position. The last set was pretty rough, but I think I paced myself well.
Tuesday night I did yoga. It's been since before Christmas since we've been. I knew it would be a rough class, but I didn't expect my joints to hurt so much. Just my wrists and elbows and shoulders. But I couldn't hold some of the positions because of the weight on my wrists. I guess they are still recovering, which is fine. Other than that, it was a great class! She mixed up a lot of the flow stuff and we did some new things. I rarely look forward to yoga, but I'm always glad about it afterwords. Just one of those things. Switching things up definitely made it way more enjoyable.
This morning I ran 4 miles!! It was great. It was slow, 10:30 pace. But it was 10:30 pace the entire time (I didn't start out faster and slow down) and it felt easy for the first 3 miles I'd say. It was great. I felt really happy being out there.
I'm trying to decide if I want to spin again tomorrow of swim. Hmmmm.......
Monday, January 14, 2013
Change
I'm pretty sure no one reads or can see this blog, but those who already have are most welcome to. I have always found it important to keep documentation of things, so here it goes.
I saw a rheumatologist last Friday because after seeing my doctor during one of my weird migratory joint pain bouts, I have tested positive for rheumatoid factor and have elevated levels of something that shows high inflammation. Both are indicators of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Definition: it is a chronic (no cure) auto-immune disease. The body's immune system attacks itself. In the case of RA, the immune system attacks the lining of joints, eventually bones and can also attack the heart and lungs. It causes extreme pain and possible deformity and inability to function. It appears to be a pretty nasty disease from what I see on the internet. However, every case of RA is completely different dependent on the person.
After seeing the doctor however, she thinks I may just have palindromic rheumatism. That is the same except the pain comes and goes (rather than is with you all the time) and most importantly, doesn't cause joint damage. Often PR turns into RA eventually, but not necessarily.
I had 12 x-rays of my hands and wrists. And I had more blood work done. There are other markers that will help give a better idea about where my disease is. I go back in three months for all of those results and to see how I'm feeling. She wondered if I have pain all the time and just don't pay attention to it. So I'm making sure I don't.
So...that is what I've been trying to process. There has been a lot of crying, a lot of worry. I have stopped researching RA and reading personal stories. However, my own suspicion about my "repeated weird joint virus thing" and finding a personal story that matched a lot of my own experiences is why I did end up going to the doctor and telling about the repetition of my symptoms rather than just riding out the pain.
After seeing the rheumatologist, it seems the possibilities are:
1) I have PR. I historically seem to be having year(s) in between flare ups. While inconvenient and very painful, I'll take it. No joint damage would be wonderful.
Because of my rheumatoid factor I could eventually develop RA. This is not ideal, but at least I have some time to figure things out, plan for it, take better care of myself now rather than later when it will be harder. I am not sure if my bloodwork will give indication of this or not.
2) I have early RA. But it's early so I can get going on drugs that might keep me from being crippled.
I am certainly very scared. I just read my last post and that was hard. So much was different just a couple weeks ago. I still don't know what to expect, but hopefully get some answers when I go back in the next months.
For now, it's hard to explain how much is different for me. Running and exercising is no long something I have to fit in or motivate myself to do. It is necessary. I have been scared about the possibility that I might not get to do what I want in the future. So I'm going to do it now. I am going to be as healthy as possible. I feel a huge responsibility to make what I can control of my body better. I suppose that feeling of control is what is helping for now.
I saw a rheumatologist last Friday because after seeing my doctor during one of my weird migratory joint pain bouts, I have tested positive for rheumatoid factor and have elevated levels of something that shows high inflammation. Both are indicators of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Definition: it is a chronic (no cure) auto-immune disease. The body's immune system attacks itself. In the case of RA, the immune system attacks the lining of joints, eventually bones and can also attack the heart and lungs. It causes extreme pain and possible deformity and inability to function. It appears to be a pretty nasty disease from what I see on the internet. However, every case of RA is completely different dependent on the person.
After seeing the doctor however, she thinks I may just have palindromic rheumatism. That is the same except the pain comes and goes (rather than is with you all the time) and most importantly, doesn't cause joint damage. Often PR turns into RA eventually, but not necessarily.
I had 12 x-rays of my hands and wrists. And I had more blood work done. There are other markers that will help give a better idea about where my disease is. I go back in three months for all of those results and to see how I'm feeling. She wondered if I have pain all the time and just don't pay attention to it. So I'm making sure I don't.
So...that is what I've been trying to process. There has been a lot of crying, a lot of worry. I have stopped researching RA and reading personal stories. However, my own suspicion about my "repeated weird joint virus thing" and finding a personal story that matched a lot of my own experiences is why I did end up going to the doctor and telling about the repetition of my symptoms rather than just riding out the pain.
After seeing the rheumatologist, it seems the possibilities are:
1) I have PR. I historically seem to be having year(s) in between flare ups. While inconvenient and very painful, I'll take it. No joint damage would be wonderful.
Because of my rheumatoid factor I could eventually develop RA. This is not ideal, but at least I have some time to figure things out, plan for it, take better care of myself now rather than later when it will be harder. I am not sure if my bloodwork will give indication of this or not.
2) I have early RA. But it's early so I can get going on drugs that might keep me from being crippled.
I am certainly very scared. I just read my last post and that was hard. So much was different just a couple weeks ago. I still don't know what to expect, but hopefully get some answers when I go back in the next months.
For now, it's hard to explain how much is different for me. Running and exercising is no long something I have to fit in or motivate myself to do. It is necessary. I have been scared about the possibility that I might not get to do what I want in the future. So I'm going to do it now. I am going to be as healthy as possible. I feel a huge responsibility to make what I can control of my body better. I suppose that feeling of control is what is helping for now.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The New Year
The new year is always a favorite time for me. I like beginnings, setting goals, new starts. I find it exciting and refreshing. I even like the beginnings of months, so the new YEAR is even bigger and better!
I heard a story on NPR about resolutions and habits, and why they do and don't work. An author talked about examples, such as the weight loss example. A goal of losing 5 pounds for example, is easy to break because the goal isn't directly addressing the habits. To lose the 5 pounds, you have to change habits. So e suggested that instead of the 5 pound goal, one should instead focus on something like "every time I want a snack, I'll have carrots". That mentality makes sense to me.
I have some "resolutions," but mostly I like to think about goals. I really like goals, large or small. Here's a snap shot.
1. I just found out my cholesterol is really high. So, I'm going to try to lower it first by diet and exercise. I don't want to go on cholesterol medicine. I'm going to really examine my food/intake and activity level first. I really hope that I can do it by that alone. If so, I'll be healthier in the process. :)
2. Cooking. I've been enjoying cooking at home more. And so, I'd like to keep this up, make it a permanent habit, and make it easier to accomplish. Then, we'll be eating healthier and saving money. Plus, I am looking at it as relaxing and creative rather than a chore. That is very important.
3. Illustration and art: I am still figuring this out. While I drew more last year, a lot more than I ever have, I still haven't figured out what to do with it.
4. Exercise. A friend said it very well: right now (meaning this age around 35) is the time we're setting up the habits that will determine how healthy we live as we get older. I really believe this is true. We're past the ages where our bodies bounce back from anything and can take lots of bad decisions. For example: I don't have a specific goal to run fast necessarily, but I want to focus on being able to run well for a long time.
5. Money. We are doing fine, but I want to be more mindful of where we spend and what we spend on.
So, those are a few things! I'm excited about 2013.
I heard a story on NPR about resolutions and habits, and why they do and don't work. An author talked about examples, such as the weight loss example. A goal of losing 5 pounds for example, is easy to break because the goal isn't directly addressing the habits. To lose the 5 pounds, you have to change habits. So e suggested that instead of the 5 pound goal, one should instead focus on something like "every time I want a snack, I'll have carrots". That mentality makes sense to me.
I have some "resolutions," but mostly I like to think about goals. I really like goals, large or small. Here's a snap shot.
1. I just found out my cholesterol is really high. So, I'm going to try to lower it first by diet and exercise. I don't want to go on cholesterol medicine. I'm going to really examine my food/intake and activity level first. I really hope that I can do it by that alone. If so, I'll be healthier in the process. :)
2. Cooking. I've been enjoying cooking at home more. And so, I'd like to keep this up, make it a permanent habit, and make it easier to accomplish. Then, we'll be eating healthier and saving money. Plus, I am looking at it as relaxing and creative rather than a chore. That is very important.
3. Illustration and art: I am still figuring this out. While I drew more last year, a lot more than I ever have, I still haven't figured out what to do with it.
4. Exercise. A friend said it very well: right now (meaning this age around 35) is the time we're setting up the habits that will determine how healthy we live as we get older. I really believe this is true. We're past the ages where our bodies bounce back from anything and can take lots of bad decisions. For example: I don't have a specific goal to run fast necessarily, but I want to focus on being able to run well for a long time.
5. Money. We are doing fine, but I want to be more mindful of where we spend and what we spend on.
So, those are a few things! I'm excited about 2013.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
I'm a Graphic Designer, I guess
I've been thinking a lot about my career the past months. It usually stems from cramming in time to draw, lamenting over how I'm not good enough yet, wondering how I can make it all work, what blog I can start to showcase my yet to be revealed talent, how I want to write more, etc etc etc.
The other day, I thought about design. Like the fifth or seventh kid of an over-crowded family, it hasn't been getting much attention lately. And, well, my parents paid a lot of money for me to go to school for 5 years for it. And I've been doing it for about 11 years...maybe I should look again at this career of mine.
I began thinking about what I really like to do in design, benchmarking those thoughts and feelings off of what I really like to do with drawing. A bit how they compare:
1. I like clever ideas/subjects with drawing --- I suck at anything clever with design. No really, I despise coming up with concepts and very much enjoy the work-horse part of projects over conceptualizing.
2. I like silly subjects with drawing --- There is nothing silly in design. Unless you get to use an illustrator.
3. I like to use color, form, space, texture and especially line weights in my drawings to communicate and get things just how I want them to be --- I took color, form, and space in college for design.
4. I like to organize things a LOT...charts, tables, clean and clear layouts...think of a redesign of a voting ballot. That's weird. It's the most non-glamorous design job out there. But I think it's important and needed. --- There isn't much organizing in illustration except with files. However I do notice I work very systematically, which is probably because of my design roots, and which could probably be pretty helpful for an illustration career.
5. I am not an artist as much as I am a communicator. --- I am not an artist as much as I am a communicator.
6. I feel my self and uniqueness and true me come out through what I draw. --- There is nothing of me in my designs. I'm not sure if this is just the nature of the trade or if I'm doing it wrong or I am just bad or if it even matters. I just really enjoy projecting myself the way drawing allows. I feel like I'm contributing rather than just being another monkey.
Then there's the partner thing. I'm stuck with a controlling, moody partner. I regret ever having done this partnership, except that, well, you always learn from your mistakes. However, I don't know how to get out of it.
Money is always a motivator, unfortunately. We make good money. I like that, but know that I am not afraid to take a pay cut. I am not sure what would happen if I were to leave. I think I'd lose out and it would be bad for me. So, the only thing I can think of to do is work part time and make my fortunes elsewhere.
This has been consuming me for quite a while. But I finally think I have some ideas on what I want to do. I still need to learn how one makes a living in illustration. That is a mystery to me.
The other day, I thought about design. Like the fifth or seventh kid of an over-crowded family, it hasn't been getting much attention lately. And, well, my parents paid a lot of money for me to go to school for 5 years for it. And I've been doing it for about 11 years...maybe I should look again at this career of mine.
I began thinking about what I really like to do in design, benchmarking those thoughts and feelings off of what I really like to do with drawing. A bit how they compare:
1. I like clever ideas/subjects with drawing --- I suck at anything clever with design. No really, I despise coming up with concepts and very much enjoy the work-horse part of projects over conceptualizing.
2. I like silly subjects with drawing --- There is nothing silly in design. Unless you get to use an illustrator.
3. I like to use color, form, space, texture and especially line weights in my drawings to communicate and get things just how I want them to be --- I took color, form, and space in college for design.
4. I like to organize things a LOT...charts, tables, clean and clear layouts...think of a redesign of a voting ballot. That's weird. It's the most non-glamorous design job out there. But I think it's important and needed. --- There isn't much organizing in illustration except with files. However I do notice I work very systematically, which is probably because of my design roots, and which could probably be pretty helpful for an illustration career.
5. I am not an artist as much as I am a communicator. --- I am not an artist as much as I am a communicator.
6. I feel my self and uniqueness and true me come out through what I draw. --- There is nothing of me in my designs. I'm not sure if this is just the nature of the trade or if I'm doing it wrong or I am just bad or if it even matters. I just really enjoy projecting myself the way drawing allows. I feel like I'm contributing rather than just being another monkey.
Then there's the partner thing. I'm stuck with a controlling, moody partner. I regret ever having done this partnership, except that, well, you always learn from your mistakes. However, I don't know how to get out of it.
Money is always a motivator, unfortunately. We make good money. I like that, but know that I am not afraid to take a pay cut. I am not sure what would happen if I were to leave. I think I'd lose out and it would be bad for me. So, the only thing I can think of to do is work part time and make my fortunes elsewhere.
This has been consuming me for quite a while. But I finally think I have some ideas on what I want to do. I still need to learn how one makes a living in illustration. That is a mystery to me.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Dec 4th
This morning I ran...despite feeling pretty terrible this morning after a horrible night's sleep. Last night I rode for 45 minutes on my bike on the indoor trainer. That was fun, kinda. It's just so not outside, nor a spinning set up. But I'll make it work, it's calories. Didn't do yoga tonight, so I'll have to do it tomorrow so my back doesn't suffer.
I have a silly notion to loose 5 pounds before my birthday. We'll see!
I have a silly notion to loose 5 pounds before my birthday. We'll see!
Monday, December 3, 2012
It's December
Yep, the last month of the year. I am optimistic it might be a good one!
I'm trying to do something every single day of this month. Not running, necessarily, because I'm finding that is a bit lofty of a goal for me, which is fine. I'm trying to alternate running with strength. I think that's a great goal.
Dec 1st I did nothing. I have a little cold, more effecting the energy levels rather than the chest or nose so far. I rested a bunch.
Dec 2nd I ran 3 miles. It started off great! And then, well, I have a cold... I faded fast :) But I am glad I got out there.
Dec 3rd. That's today. I woke up feeling awful. I slept like crap - restless and nauseating headache. But now that I'm at work, up and moving, I feel a little better. So hopefully this 70 DEGREE DAY HOLY CRAP I can get out for a walk and do some strength.
I'm trying to do something every single day of this month. Not running, necessarily, because I'm finding that is a bit lofty of a goal for me, which is fine. I'm trying to alternate running with strength. I think that's a great goal.
Dec 1st I did nothing. I have a little cold, more effecting the energy levels rather than the chest or nose so far. I rested a bunch.
Dec 2nd I ran 3 miles. It started off great! And then, well, I have a cold... I faded fast :) But I am glad I got out there.
Dec 3rd. That's today. I woke up feeling awful. I slept like crap - restless and nauseating headache. But now that I'm at work, up and moving, I feel a little better. So hopefully this 70 DEGREE DAY HOLY CRAP I can get out for a walk and do some strength.
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