What Step Am I On?

So since we last checked in, I have had a minor meltdown.  Mind you, it was the first one since all of this hip business started so that's not too bad.  Just a few tears while listening to my favorite band's new album and realizing that I can't listen to it while running for what already feels like an eternity.  Besides that?  No big deal, right?  It actually didn't last that long.  Mostly because I was in a government car returning from Chicago and was about 20 minutes from the hospital and didn't want to have to return the keys with red, puffy eyes.  But hey, it worked right?  Got me to calm myself down. 

Life has been pretty crazy lately what with starting a new business and all.  For those of you who haven't checked out the website, it's www.beckleyfitness.com and our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/beckleyfitness.  I change the website on an almost regular basis right now until I get one I'm happy with.  I had taken some pictures with a friend who is very in shape and his turned out well but mine?  Well I just looked incredibly pissed off in all of them!  So needless to say, they are not on the website.  We are taking new pictures this week in a photo studio with a much nicer camera than my iphone so hopefully there will be some new, more personal pictures on the site soon.  Keep an eye on it.

In other news, the hip is healing well.  At least that's what my PT tells me.  I'm no longer in the lovely brace or on crutches which is very liberating.  And he told me at PT this morning that my range of motion is good and had started increasing the amount of weights I use with my exercises.  And this morning, we bumped the treadmill up to a whopping 1.8 mph.  As a frame of reference, normal pace is 2.2 mph.  I'm not complaining though.  It's better than where I was a few weeks ago (read: 0.4 mph).  Slow and steady wins the race is what they tell me.  Of course, I'm a slow and steady runner and have yet to win a race so I'm not sure I believe that anymore. 

My brother was in town this past weekend and we had fun as we always do.  Well, that is except for the disagreement we had with the grill.  I decided last week that it would be fun to have people over for a BBQ while he was in town.  Mind you, I did not own a grill at the time I decided to have said BBQ.  I was going to buy one of those "some assembly required" grills and a friend suggested that I find a pre-assembled one a one of those large retailers in town.  What the heck.  It would save me time and frustration.  Or so I thought.  Fast forward to Saturday afternoon as my brother and I are preparing for the BBQ and we decide we should make sure the grill works.  Hmmm...something doesn't seem right.  The grill does not want to stay lit.  So we read the instructions (each of us, several times) and still can't get the stupid thing to light.  So we wait (as suggested in the instructions) and then try again.  No luck.  Fast forward AN HOUR AND A HALF and the stupid thing is still not lit.  So now we are thinking that the genius that put it together might have missed something.  So I call for backup who arrives and tries with no luck.  More back up arrives and tries with no luck.  Hmmm...how many grown adults does it take to light a grill??  "Hey, I don't think there's any propane in this tank."  "Are you freaking kidding me?" (That was censored for the faint of heart).  Yep.  The store sold us an empty tank of gas.  Fantastic.  So needless to say, by the time everyone else arrived, we were all starving with no grill while the aforementioned back up went to return the empty tank and get a new one. 

And then there was the rain.  I have a single car garage so you can imagine how crowded it was with about 12 adults, chairs, grill, motorcycle and two tables.  But we had fun and didn't let the rain spoil our evening.  I have a few pictures but haven't uploaded them yet so I will post that once I do. 

It's been a while since I've shared a piece of trivia with you or made any recommendations on new music.  In light of that, I am going to do both!! 

Music recommendations: yes there are TWO recommendations this time.  The first is the newest album from a band called Imagine Dragons.  If you watch ABC's Good Morning America and have heard the song "On Top of the World" that they played when Robin Roberts was sick, that's the band.  I recently bought their deluxe album for two songs I heard on the radio not knowing they also sing "On Top of the World" and it is a fantastic album.  Highly recommend it!

The second album is the new album by my favorite band Thirty Seconds to Mars (formerly 30 Seconds to Mars).  Now I have to admit that when I heard their first single "Up in the Air" I wasn't entirely blown away like I have been in the past with thier songs.  And then when the album came out (yes I pre-ordered it and downloaded it at 12:01am the day it was released), my immediate reaction was not great.  The first few songs, especially Conquistador, I loved but the rest kind of left me blah.  But, because they are my favorite band, I decided to give it more time and you know what?  I really love the album.  Is it my favorite of thiers?  That remains to be seen but I will say that everytime I listen to it (which is almost all the time), I find another song that I loved more than the last time I listened to it.  So if you are Echelon (and if you don't know what that means then you are not Echelon), YOU MUST HAVE THIS ALBUM.  If you are not Echelon but enjoy alternative/rock/electronic, then I recommend listening to it on iTunes first.  And if you are not an alternative/rock person, I don't recommend it. 

Trivia:  One of the things I love about Thirty Seconds to Mars is that they are intelligent and thought-provoking not just "rock stars."  So your trivia for today comes from a song on thier new album called "Pyres of Varanasi."  Now some of you may know what pyres are but I had absolutely no idea until I saw an interview with the band.  So I did a little research and it turns out that pyres (or funeral pyres as they are better known) are piles of wood where bodies are burned/cremated after death, primarily in Hinduism, as it is believed to release the soul/spirit from the human flesh.  So there you go.  If it wasn't for my favorite band, I wouldn't know anything about pyres and neither would you (unless you already knew, in which case, never mind). 

Until next time, dear readers...Keep Calm and Run On!

All By Myself

Mom's gone :( And it took me less than an hour to appreciate even more having her here. It's kinda difficult to carry anything when you are using crutches. Hopefully, my PT will take me down to one crutch tomorrow. Especially since I go back to work tomorrow and I really don't want to be on two crutches. We shall see. 

My Grizz are currently having issues remembering who they are and how to play. It's very frustrating to watch. 

Beckley Fitness has a Facebook page now. Please like it if you haven't already.  www.facebook.com/BeckleyFitness

More to come...

12 Steps continued

Step 8:  progress made at physical torture, I mean therapy. Well, that was after my PT and I had a minor incident that resulted I me almost in tears from the pain. Once we got past that, it was on the bike for me. Not complete revolutions yet but it was ice to be "active."  

Step 9: trip to Escanaba (finally) to the "mall" to the fabric store. Got lots of good scrapbooking supplies but man did it wear me out. Made it one in time for game 3 of the series. Started the game on the couch and it didn't work. Rey well. They played like garbage. So moved to my bed for the second half. If you remember, dear reader, the previous wins came when I was in bed recovering and barely conscious. Well, I was fully conscious and they pulled off the win!!  Next game is tonight and is an 8:30 start time. Good thing I'm still on sick leave so I can sleep in tomorrow. 

Step 10: I'm running out of steps and still have a week of being at home so I might be on the 15 step recovery plan :)  However, the 10th step was a HUGE step!!  Not only did I manage to shower, dress, do my hair and put one shoe and sock on all by myself while mom was at church, I was able to pull my leg up to almost 90 degrees without using the machine or my hands!! SUCCESS!!  

12 Step Program

Step 1: surgery to repair the cartilage that I knew was torn but couldn't convince surgeon was there. Oh he also lengthened my tendon. Yeah, that part is the worst to recover from. 

Step 2: return home and with the aid of wonderful nurse friends made it up the long flight of stairs to my apartment and bed and crawl in to bed and doze until Game 6 of the Grizzlies-Clippers game starts. Watch first half and try desperately to stay awake until the end. Find out next morning they won!! Next stop, OKC. 

Step 3: sleep as much as I feel like without anyone thinking twice about it. :) there is a positive side to this :) 

Step 4: watch first game of Grizz-Thunder series in a somewhat stupor. Grizz lose. Sad day. 

Step 5: watch game two of series and start to fall asleep and wake up in time to see Grizz pull off win. Hmmmm...I may be on to something. 

Step 6: start physical therapy where I am told repeatedly that being a good patient for one or two months means a lifetime of running. Okay, he may know me well. :( 

Step 7: try to go to Escanaba for something to do but find out car battery is dead. Call in for backup and have mom help clean room until backup arrives. Back arrives. Don't go to Esky but take mom on nickel tour of Iron Mountain. 

Step 8: well...that's where we are today. More to come. 

I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry!

I am a terrible blogger, I know!  I didn't realize it has been almost a month since I posted anything.  Good thing I don't get paid for blogging or I would be the best dressed homeless person! 

It's been a crazy month, that's for sure.  But the snow is FINALLY gone and it was 60+ degrees this past weekend.  I had forgotten what warm weather felt like!  Here's a short version of what's been going on...

One of my good friends from Memphis met me in Milwaukee a few weekends ago.  Such fun!  We hung out, toured a brewery, went to the Harley museum, had dinner at a Safe House (that's all I can tell you because we are sworn to secrecy) and generally had a fantastic weekend! 

Then the bombings happened.  I actually found out about it while I was driving home from Milwaukee.  I listened to the radio coverage for most of the drive home.  I have to say that of all the recent, horrible events that have occurred, this one impacted me the most.  I'm not sure if it's because I am a runner and can't even fathom experiencing that or because I love Boston so much.  Either way, it really did consume my life for a while.  Every news report. Every photo on line.  One of my co-workers told me a few days after the bombings, that I was no longer allowed to run races in the US.  While I appreciate her concern, I told her that the US is probably the safest place to run a race now.  I just can't even imagine what the victims are going through.  That could have been any one of my loved ones that so graciously come watch me race.  Makes me thankful for them and thankful that no one I know what injured.  The local trail runners group held a "Run for Boston" last week.  It was pretty special. 

If I had been thinking about it, I would have worn all of my Red Sox garb.  But, that's okay.  It was great to run this with Tania.  And I actually ran most of it.  My hip started to hurt after about a mile and a half but we only did 2 1/2 miles so I just toughed it out. 

Speaking of my hip, surgery is this Friday.  It's a different surgery than last year in that he is doing what's called an Iliopsoas Tendon lengthening.  He's also going to see if there is a labral tear (what I had last year).  My money has been on labral tear this whole time so we will see if I am right.  Here's some info on what is going to happen in case you are interested. 

http://arthroscopyofhip.wordpress.com/about/apatientsperspective/surgery/iliopsoastenotomy/

Because this surgery is different/involves more, I get some fun equipment after for post-op.  There's this wonderful machine that basically moves my leg for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc17IXQHm0A

And then there is the "iceman" machine that keeps my hip cold/decreases swelling.  And then there is this beauty...

https://www.google.com/search?q=california+hip+orthosis&hl=en&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADRA_enUS481US482&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=2xB_UaKEBsa9ygG8zoHIDA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1093&bih=490#imgrc=H86kHJGQ3EL3AM%3A%3BWkNcCVuI27CHcM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.doctorcloseout.com%252FThumbnail.aspx%253FImage%253Dca_hip.jpg%2526size%253D285%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.doctorcloseout.com%252FViewProduct%252FOrthomericaCaliforniaHipOrthosis%252F1541.aspx%3B99%3B285

Yep.  I feel old as crap!  They tell me I can wear it under clothes and you would never know.  I'm not sure I believe "them".  So I'm pretty sure I will not be leaving the house as long as I have to wear that. 

But my momma is coming in Thursday night and staying for 2 1/2 weeks.  I have the best momma in the world!  Of course, she's an old pro at this by now.  Let's just hope we don't have any falling accidents like last year after my surgery.  No long hallways this year but a set of stairs which should be interesting. 

So I will probably be blogging more while on recovering.  I mean, what else am I going to do?  Though my blogs might not be very interesting.  Of course, if I right them while on pain killers, they might be the funniest ones I've ever written!! 

One more thing before I go.  I FINALLY came up with a name for my Personal Trainer business and have set up a website.  Check it out!  www.beckleyfitness.com  I haven't really customized it yet with pictures and stuff but I'm working on that.  I had hoped to start seeing clients May 1st but since my surgery is the 3rd and I won't be able to show clients how to do exercises, it will probably be June 1st.  I am happy to do "long-distance" training too so if you are interested let me know.  I can design a program for you and we can video-chat once or twice a week. 

That's all for now, boys and girls!  Have a super week!

Relax. I'm Hilarious.

That's what is on my new shirt I got in Minneapolis this weekend. Perfect for me, don't ya think? Let me tell you, though. It was kind of stressful for the first few hours of my trip and it took a few cocktails to get me to the point that I could appreciate a shirt like that. We all know that I have a tendency to pull bonehead moves, right? Well I pulled a doozie of one Friday. Here's how it goes:

Friday 5:30am - Alarm goes off to go to Physical Therapy

6:45am - Leave apartment with all my stuff for Minneapolis and arrive at PT ready to go.

6:55am - PT and I discover a new popping in my hip as he is doing routine stretches. Hmmm...need to address this with Ortho doc at appointment.

8:00am - On the road to Minneapolis. Gased up, snacks (chocolate cake courtesy of PT), grapes and good tunes to get me going on the 5 1/2 hour drive.

10:30am - Text from Bill that he arrived in Mpls (I'm tired of spelling it out). I'm still about 2 1/2 hours out.

Noon - It suddenly hits me that I forgot the one thing I need the most. THE FREAKING GAME TICKETS.

12:02pm - Call Bill in tears telling him what I've done. A little freaking out (on my part) ensues. Bill calms me down and says we will figure it out when I get to Mpls. Thank heaven he stays calm in situations like this.

12:15 pm - Janet calls me after getting my text about the tickets and she also talks me down of the wall.

1:15pm - Arrive at hotel in less than happy mood and immediately call Stub Hub to find out options. Because the tickets were not the downloadable kind (that I normally get) and they were the actual hard tickets, Stub Hub is not sure they can re-issue. They contact seller and left a message and informed me they would know by 6pm.

1:30pm - Bill says "doesn't Tania have a key to your apartment?" Yes, she does but can she get off work in time to get to Fed Ex to overnight the tickets?

1:32pm - Light bulb goes on that property manager at apartment not only has key to my apartment but WORKS FOR FED EX!!! Place urgent call and leave message to please, please, please, please call me right away.

1:33pm - She calls back and I explain situation. She has not left for work yet so will go get tickets and send overnight with guaranteed Saturday delivery.

1:35pm - I try to relax and enjoy being in Mpls with Bill.

2:00pm - Head to Mall of America and have a few cocktails before shopping. EVERYONE should shop after a few cocktails.

3:30pm - Notice I missed a call from random area code and listen to voicemail. It was Stub Hub stating the seller re-issued the tickets electronically and they waived the re-issue fee. Stub Hub has now become my favorite on-line ticket broker.

3:32pm - Call property manager back asking if it's too late to pull the tickets back. She says we are good. Thank her profusely and promise to take her out on the town to thank her.

3:35pm - Call Janet to update her that the world has not come to an end and we will be going to the game without having to buy more tickets.

3:40pm - FUN WEEKEND BEGINS!!

So, the lesson learned here is that when you don't go through your normal checklist (read: put your tickets in your purse the night before) you forget said tickets. Now mind you, had I realized I forgot them in Rhinelander or Wausau, I would have turned around and just taken longer to get to Mpls. But because I was 4 hours from home, that was not going to happen.

So other than that, the weekend was great! Our hotel was right in the heart of downtown and was only 2 blocks from the Target Center (where the game was). Friday night we went to dinner at a place Bill described as pretentious but I thought it was very cool. I think that any restaurant that comes with "stuff" on his food he doesn't like/doesn't know what it is, is pretentious. I, however, had a wonderful piece of salmon and some candied winter squash. YUMMMMMM!!! Here's how Friday night  ended...



 

 

 

The game was on Saturday and I would just like to say a few things about going to see the Grizz play somewhere besides Memphis:

 

a) I am officially undefeated.  4-0 in games I've seen live.  It was tough to watch at times but they pulled out the win.

 

b) Can I please, for one simple game, not be sitting behind some prissy girl who is there with her boyfriend/husband and doesn't know a bloody thing about the game yet constantly wants to give me dirty looks when I cheer like I'm the one out of line for cheering AT A BASKETBALL GAME?  That's all I want.  Is that too much to ask???  Seriously.

 

c) There is no better place to watch an NBA game than the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis.  I have now been to three other NBA arenas and their fans suck.  I'm not just saying that because they are not the Memphis fans.  It's true.  In Memphis, there is always cheering/noise/music and fans get loud for any good play (or bad for that matter).  They don't wait for a dunk or the end of a quarter or the 4th quarter.  We cheer all the bloody time! 

 

So all in all, it was a great weekend!  I'm sad that I won't get to see my boys play again this year, but am very thankful I got to see them play as much as I did. 

 

 





 

 

 

 



The Wait Begins...

...technically it began Sunday about 5:15 pm but who's counting. It was a very long weekend that's for sure. The class was very good and a lot of information. Luckily, the instructor was very funny so it made the class that much better. It was interesting to "learn" that particular organizations views on weight training and training n general. I mean most of it was the same/common knowledge it there were some ideas that were different. I will say, though, that when he was explaining why certain exercises were not beneficial and explained the science behind it (muscular structure, etc), it made complete sense.

Now, if I had remembered anatomy and kinesiology from college, that would have been helpful too!! I mean that was only 15+ years ago and I don't use the knowledge so why would I remember it! Hahaha. The test was not too bad. There were many questions I knew right away but then there were some that I looked and thought "What the bleep bleep bleep?!?!?!" So it's a crap shoot at this point. I am supposed to hear something in 2-3 weeks so fingers crossed!

Saturday night my brother and I went to have frozen yogurt. He had been nice enough to be my body dummy as I was naming planes of movement, muscles, joints, etc as he demonstrated exercises. Boy did we work up an appetite for sugar. Here's the problem with siblings with serious sweet teeth walking to get frozen yogurt. They have to walk by the yummy Mexican bakery. 20 minutes later, we were back on the sidewalk walking to the yogurt shop with a bag of pastry goodies!! Yep. No will power sometimes but boy were they worth it!! And we didn't even eat them all at once!! I think that shows great restraint!

This coming weekend I am off to Minneapolis to see Bill and watch my Grizz play!! It's been a few months since I've been to a game so I'm very excited. I just hope they start playing better because if they play like garbage, I am not gonna be a happy camper. And Marky Marc has been injured so I hope he is better by Saturday :(

No new update on the hip. Well, other than it still hurts. And I can't run.

Did I mention I can't run???? UGH!!!