Sunday, September 15, 2013

The post about my action packed weekend and some reader's questions answered

So over the weekend, I had a rip roaring good time...doing this puzzle.  It has become my new obsession. It is freakishly hard.  None of the colors on the box picture actually match the colors of the puzzle.  I started it Friday afternoon and I'm about 2/3 of the way done.  Heavens to murgatroyd it is consuming me.  I cannot wait to finish, so that I can tear it apart and put it away forever!  See what I did there?  My post title is actually a false teaser.  I haven't even left my house this weekend.  Wah, wah, wah.

We are not friends...this puzzle and I!

Since I've had the moon boot (aka: air cast), sleeping at night was next to impossible.  My ankle would end up in a lot of pain and I could never find a comfortable position.  Until last night.  I decided to put my brains back into my head and deflate the damn boot.  Of course pumping it for the daytime makes sense for extra support when you're up and about, but I don't need that support any longer when I'm lying in bed.  Sucking the air out of the air cast made me have the first restful night's sleep I've had since acquiring the dreaded thing. Good thing I put my thinking cap on.  I was seriously considering chucking it and going back to the fracture clinic for a plaster cast.  I would have gotten a purple cast.  That plan is still not off the table yet. Maybe I'll go back the last week I have to wear this thing and demand a purple plaster cast.

And what is with my stinky foot?  I have a removable cast.  I take it off to shower and do my exercises everyday.  Still my foot smells like FEET!  You know, the sweaty stinky kind.  I wash that foot every single day.  It baffles me that it smells.  Just imagine what it would smell like if I was in a plaster cast.  Yikes!  I'd hate to be the sucker whose job it would be to remove that baby.

So over the past few weeks, I've gotten some questions asked to me in post comments.  I like to save them up and answer them all in a post.  So here goes in no particular order.  Salemslot9 wanted to know if I watch the Steven and Chris show.  Well Salemslot9, I don't watch much television at all.  But I do watch Steven and Chris sometimes on Saturday and Sunday morning before my runs (when I was running) and while I'm enjoying my coffee.  The weekend episodes are repeats from the previous week.

Can_Lil_Saint asked if I could post the playlist I listen to when I run.  That is sadly an impossible request for me to do because I don't listen to a playlist.  I normally listen to either talk radio, an audio book or if I'm doing shorter runs, classic rock Q107.  The reason I don't often listen to music when I run is because it affects my pace a lot.  I found that the beat of the song would either speed me up or slow me down.  I try to stay consistent when I run.  Sometimes I don't listen to anything at all.  I did listen to the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy while running.  That messed with my pace, but for other reasons.

Enyonam asked if I eat any grains at all.  Nope, I do not.  I only eat lean protein (including meat, fish, seafood, eggs), vegetables (no white potatoes or corn, which is actually a grain), fruit and nuts.  I only have cream in my coffee and no other dairy.  That is all.  No grains, processed carbs, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, legumes or lentils.  Am I forgetting a type of food I don't eat?

Marion asked if I could do upper body weight lifting while I was grounded from running.  I did go to physio to get exercises to work on my upper body.  They gave me resistant bands to work with.  I would love to get into a gym and do some weight training.  Sadly, my budget does not allow for me to join a gym at this time.  Perhaps in the spring when some things will be paid off.  That will give me more wiggle room financially.

I think I may have answered this already, but I'll do it again.  Boxedb asked what application I use for running and motoring my heart rate.  I use the Nike+ Running App.  It's a pretty decent app.  It clocks time, distance and splits.  It was the first running app I tried and since it's free and still serves my purposes fairly well, I continue to use it.  I actually don't monitor my heart rate.  It is definitely an effective way to become a faster runner, but I have not gotten there yet.  One of these days I'm going to splurge on myself and buy a proper distance and heart rate watch.  The Garmin Forerunner 310XT sounds like a good option.

Finally, an anonymous reader asked my thoughts on barefoot running.  I am jealous of people who can barefoot run.  I cannot.  I have useless orthotics I have to think about.  But more importantly, my feet are just too messed up to run that way.  I was told that I'd always have to purchase a stability shoe for the support it would give me.  A neutral shoe would be okay if I had my orthotics in.  I was diagnosed with Morton's Neuroma and when I run long distances, it feels like a bone is sticking out of the bottom of my foot.  Running barefoot would not be a good thing for that.  I tried minimalist shoes for a very short run and couldn't go very far.  I know that if you switch over you're supposed to do it very slowly.  I know that for me it would not be a good fit.  However, the runners that I know who do run barefoot, love it and claim they would never go back to wearing supportive running shoes again.  Which brings me to this Youtube video.  Cracked me up!

Anywho, there you have it.  I'm all caught up once again on reader's questions.  This weekend I have been back on track with my eating.  Hubby is still flaunting his nuts in front of me.  Hardy, har, har.  No seriously, the bastard is eating a bevy of mixed nuts, banana chips and Thompson's raisins every single night.  And to add insult to injury, he insists on keeping his concoction of nuts and fruity goodness in the fridge.  It was easier for them to be out of sight, out of mind when they were in the pantry.  But he likes them cold so he keeps them in the fridge.  Do you know how many times a day I have to open the fridge?  BASTARD!

I know today's lunch was strange.  I have to do a food shop tomorrow.