A Confession

For those who haven't figured it out yet, I lost my workout mojo.  No, that really isn't true.  I still Death Gym and love it.  I even run or bike there if the weather is decent enough.  But other than that, well....bes (I really have to interrupt here.  There are a bunch of douchebags kicking a football in the middle of the street.  One of them managed to hit my front door with it.  Seriously.  Go find a fucking field to kick the football around.  I don't practice hitting softballs in the middle of the street.) Anyways...where was I?  Oh, yeah.  But other than that, well....besides softball, my workout mojo has left the building.

So....what do you do for that?  Sign up for a race, right?

Ha.

Epic fail.

Several months ago, the hubs and I signed up for the Tortoise and Hare 5k run/walk.  He was training his little heart out for it, and I was so proud of him.  But that was before he ended up in the hospital.  Now, I know that was back in March, and that generally people would say suck it up....but that whole episode really zapped him.  He lost like 30lbs in five days.  It took him forever to feel normal.

Then his knees started bugging him.  Long story short, he's going to need his knee replaced in like 6 months....not the 6 years we originally thought.

Blah.

Meanwhile, we're stilled signed up for this 5k.  I've been going back and forth in my head if I even want to do it.  Seriously.  I'm going to suck.  It will be my slowest 5k ever.  Honestly though, I have no right to complain.  It isn't like I've been doing anything to focus my efforts on running a 5k.  I was seriously thinking about scrapping the whole thing.

Then I realized.  That'd be like quitting.  Before I even started.  When did I become a fucking quitter?  Just because I didn't want to suck?  Seriously?  Suck it up, buttercup.

Tomorrow, I will run/walk my slowest 5k ever.  Chris is also going to walk.  Why not, right?

So I Entered a Contest...

Just a quick little ditty.  I know, I know....I owe you all a real, meaty update.  But right at this moment, just a quickie.

A while ago, a friend of mine who works for Mary Kay gave me an awesome makeover.  Seriously...it rocked.  Well, I thought the makeover was just for fun....I didn't realize that I could enter the One Woman Can contest with it.

Well, I did.  We had to choose a charity that would benefit women and children.  I chose Girls on the Run.  They are a seriously awesome program that helps girls in 3rd - 5th grade foster a sense of self-worth, respect for others, and a sense of accomplishment through activity-based programming.

Seriously.  How awesome is that?

I've been a Running Buddy for Girls on the Run a couple of times, and I've witnessed first hand how huge running, jogging, walking, and skipping through a 5k is for these girls.  They have such nerves before they start.  They wonder if they can do it.  Can they finish?  3.1 miles is sooooo long.

My job is to encourage them.  Share with them my accomplishments.  Tell them they can.  I run, jog, walk, skip....whatever the girls want to do to finish.  We talk almost the whole time.  Sometimes, they tell me about their families.  Sometimes, their friends.  I gain so much during the 3.1 miles I spend with the girl I'm paired up with.

Anyways......so I entered a contest.  And would LOVE it if you would vote for me (up to five times a day), so I can have a chance at winning a donation of $5,000 for Girls on the Run.

Vote for me here!

Playing with the Pros

I don't know why, but I always beat myself up.  Not physically, but mentally.  Today was a big day for me....the first day of coed softball with the peeps I refer to as "the pros."  It is a team that Chris has been playing on for a while, the other peeps have been playing with each other for a really long time, and they are good.  Seriously.  Good.  Some of the chicks played softball in college, the guys play on really good all-star type teams.

And then there's me.  I haven't played softball since like 7th grade.  And I pretty much sucked back then.  This year, I told the hubbs I wanted to play coed.  So we put together a team, and we play some weeknights on a completely no pressure, in it to have fun team.  We are in the lowest of the low brackets, and we're doing well.  On that team, I'm comfortable.  I hit decently, I make plays decently, and I feel good.

And then there's Sunday.

I struck out (thank God, swinging and not looking) at my first at bat today.  Blah.  I managed to catch a ball at home plate, but was straddling the fucking plate, so the runner was safe.  More blah.  I didn't make it on base once; I got thrown out at first at my other two at bats.  (Although after the fact, the ump did say he blew the call on my last at bat, and that I was safe....he didn't think I was as speedy as I was.)  Even more blah.  I caught another ball at home, had my foot on the fucking plate, and it fell right out of my glove, so the runner was safe again. (This time around, the ump told me he was glad I dropped the ball b/c it would have been a really close play; I made his job easier.  Yeah.  That's why I play.  To make his job easier.)  More.  Fucking.  Blah.

In my defense, I've never played catcher before.  With my hubby's team, I've been focusing on right field and left field, and feel really comfortable out there.  I realized I love chasing down the ball while it is flying through the air, and giving it my best attempt at catching it.  I love standing at the ready, making a break for the ball and sprinting after it.  I've been called "deceptively fast."  Cause, you know, I certainly don't look fast.  

On the good side, I did catch a foul ball to get a batter out.  So  I had that going for me.  But still.  I came up real short.

Why?

Because I let the fact that I think I suck compared to the professionals I'm playing with bring me down.  So I played to my expectations of myself.  Plus, being thrown in the catchers position without ever playing there put me waaay out of my element.  But, that's just an excuse.  Basically, it came down to me thinking I sucked in comparison to the others I was playing with, so I sucked.

At least the rest of the team had a shitty game too.  So my crappiness didn't stand out as much as it could have.  But still.....

This upcoming week is a big one.  My new bat should come in, so I'm super excited for that.  Friday night I have coed with the fun team, and Saturday we're playing in a tournament.  A minimum of three games.  I'm not going to get better unless I play, right?  Sunday is ball with the pros.  I'm going to try to not put so much pressure on myself.  Hopefully, things will go well on Friday and Saturday, so I can up my confidence level on the field.

I'll keep you all posted.

Nervy Little Nerve

I went to the ortho today about the whole hand/wrist/elbow issue (which started to migrate to my upper arm/shoulder...yikes).  And before you all get excited, I went to my normal ortho's office; not the new one I was asking about on Facebook.  Why?  Because I called the normal ortho on Tuesday afternoon, and they got me in this morning at 9:30.  Sometimes, you just gotta buck up and deal.

Quite frankly, it wasn't so bad.  I actually met the the Physician's Assistant, and she was very nice, listened to me, and was helpful.  They took x-rays of my neck, and she commented that my neck looked good, except that it is pretty much straight...most necks have a curve to them.  Ha.  I told her I go to a chiro regularly, and he's had x-rays done of my whole neck/back, and I knew my neck is pretty much straight.  (Along with a laundry list of other issues.)

Anyways.....the verdict is: pinched nerve in my neck.  Not really a big deal, if you ask me.  I'll be on a steroid pack for a couple days (grrrr...roid rage, lol), and no lifting overhead for a week or two (ummm, yeah....that'll be a week, thank you very much), but other than that, I'm good.

Oh, except for spin.  Out convo went a little like this:

Me: I'm assuming I shouldn't be lifting.
PA: No, you shouldn't lift heavy boxes or anything.
Me.: I mean, like at the gym.
PA: No, you shouldn't lift anything above your head.  Cardio is fine.
Me: Even riding bike?
PA: Yeah, you can ride bike.  But nothing crazy like spin.
Me: Spin is not crazy. (In my head...what the hell is so crazy about spin?)
PA: But you're up and down a lot on the bike.
Me: (In my head....uhhhh....pretty similar on a normal bike....oh well....she said I can do that.)  And running?
PA: Running is fine.
Me: If I can't lift above my head, can I do rows?  They're not lifting above my head.
PA: Ummm, no, you should probably avoid them too.
Me: Okay.  (In my head....just stop asking questions....core and lower body it is.)

I'll deal with the steroids and the not lifting for a week.  The PA said she had a very similar problem a couple months ago, exact same symptoms, and the steroids knocked out the pain.  So hopefully, I'll have the same response, and I'll be back in the game in no time.

Tomorrow morning, treadmill run.  It looks like the weather will be perking up next week, so maybe I'll finally be able to get in an early morning run outside then!

I Just Can't Win

So, the random hand pain I mentioned before.  Yeah.  It is getting worse.  Pretty much a constant ache in my elbow/wrist, with shooting pains in my hand/fingers depending on what I do.  Typing at work sucks.  Sleeping sucks, because I have to try and keep my arm straight, or it hurts.

Now, I know I said I have no issues while actually lifting, but it seems as though lifting may be a contributing factor.  Seriously.  Shoot me now.

I completely stopped step class (my first cardio love) because of my knees.  I cut back on running because of my knee.  Now, I have to calm it with lifting because of my hand/wrist/elbow issue.  Plus, if it is ulnar nerve related (which it definitely seems to be), apparently riding bike aggravates that as well.

Like I said before.  Shoot me.

Ok.  Not really.  Death is not an appropriate action.

But honestly.  This is frustrating.

I spoke with my chiro today, and he advised I make an appt with my ortho.  That way, I can get x-rays and whatever else done, and we can all (hopefully) work together for an outcome.  Tomorrow will be two weeks that this nonsense has been going on.  A perfectly acceptable time frame for contacting a doc.

I'm going for a run tomorrow.  Maybe outside.  I need to clear out the head.