I had grand plans to write this post at exactly 4 weeks post-op, but that didn't happen because I'm lazy. Well, not really, I'm feeling pressed for time at times, because it takes me longer to do everything now and I'm having to prioritize and schedule my day down to almost the minute so that I can get everything done that I'd like to get done, and that wasn't writing this post - until now.

Or as I wanted to call this post - SQUATS, SQUATS, SQUATS!

So last week, I shared how my first 8 days went. You can find the post {HERE}. I will say that this week was much better in both terms of my recovery and how I spent my days. I really am not one to lay around and do nothing. It drives me crazy which, in turn, drives my family crazy. I can't not do things. True, I've been making great progress on my colorful cow, but there's only so much cross-stitch that I can do before I go all blurry-eyed. Pulling out the computer is ok, but I really need to be active. I miss my endorphins! Luckily, these last 6 days have found me actually working up a sweat while doing my daily PT exercises.

So my last update was right after my first PT visit since then I've had 2 more visits and they've added more exercises to my repertoire! Squee!

First things first, however, Thursday was my first day doing my exercises at home. It was painful for everyone in the house. However, before I woke the hubs so we could do the exercises, I went downstairs and made myself coffee, well two cups of coffee. By myself! Who knew that making yourself a morning cup of coffee would be so liberating? After enjoying both cups of coffee, I went back upstairs to get the real work done. I decided that I wouldn't eat breakfast until my exercises were done. We went through the exercises the way that my PT told me to do. Hubs was super awesome and did his spotter job admirably. The leg lifts were difficult, the knee bends were agonizing, but the quad sets weren't bad until the kids asked my right leg wasn't doing as much as the left leg. It's working children! You just can't see it. The left leg doesn't have to work as hard. There were definitely tears involved. There wasn't pain, but the effort and the newness of moving the leg took its toll. I don't know if I mentioned in my last post, but the ice therapy machine that I got is worth at least 4 times it's water-weight in gold. The ice machine after my exercises is one of my favorite parts of the day.

Friday was day 2 of PT and my therapist was on vacation, so I had a substitute therapist. She was quite nice and competent if a little hesitant to adjust my brace. I was disappointed that my brace wasn't adjusted, but there was improvement during my leg lifts and the addition of side leg lifts was fun. She barely had to help me get my heel off the table during both exercises, which was exciting because that is what I struggled with during those same exercises on Wednesday and Thursday. Also, I discovered that I can walk down the stairs without my crutch. I'm still holding onto the railing, but I managed those stairs by myself!

So I woke up early both Thursday and Friday but didn't think much of it. Then it happened again on Saturday. I mean I didn't have an alarm set, but 6:14 came and my eyeballs were open. Weird, but maybe my internal clock was just resetting itself, but this is 3 days in a row where I've awoken between 6:12 and 6:14. It's just curious. So anyways, I'm awake which means coffee! I walked all the way downstairs, made my coffee, and then enjoyed it without touching my crutch once! Woot! That was pretty amazing. The house woke up fairly early, and we got my exercises done. I didn't need help with any of the leg lifts, and the hubs was duly impressed. It was nice to show off a bit. Afterward, the hubs went downstairs to start working on the garage, and I had the Big Guy bring up the new shower shelves so I could get them built. Building those shelves was a little job, but it was big for me.

Sunday found me waking up early again, and as has become my habit, I wander downstairs for coffee and me-time. The early morning routine has become one of my favorite moments. Its just me, usually, and I can get myself prepped for the day. I write in my journal and organize my bullet journal. I work on little crafts with Baby Girl. I sip my coffee and just enjoy myself. We pick up Small Fry from camp, and then after we get home he gets to see how much I've improved. He's a pretty good cheerleader. We then moved me out of our bedroom and back down into the family room. No more convalescing in the bedroom! The afternoon found me going to my parents' house and visiting with them and my grandparents. It was a lovely day.

6:12 and my eyeballs are open. Hello Monday. Why do I even bother setting an alarm at this point? I make my coffee, and spend some time with the Big Guy. We head to PT just before 8. I get to warm-up on the recumbent bike. I was supposed to be on there for 10 minutes, but somehow it ended up being 12. Oops. Not sorry. I also kept asking for resistance, because it was easy. The knee felt good and wasn't fighting the movements at all. My therapist was fussing at me for pushing more, but it was easy. She almost threw my protocol at me, well not really, but she did bring it over and told me we were following it and not going to deviate. She then told her assistant that I was going to have to be reigned in. I don't know which is worse in the world of PT, having a patient that doesn't want to do or having one that wants to do too much. Both probably have their own sets of headaches. After the time on the bike, I got to walk across the area to the barre. It was scary, and they had to fetch me a cane. Then we had to keep lengthening the cane because of tall people problems. I make it to the barre, and I didn't fall. I got to do mini squats, only bending the knees to about 30° and then it was on to calf raises. Love calf raises! So after that, it was onto wearing the brace again and all the leg lifts. We upped my reps to 30. I was working up a definite sweat during this visit, and it felt marvelous. The ice compression machine felt amazing. I took the kids to the pool and let them play for about 90 minutes. The heat took a toll on me, and after we got home I took a shower. My knee felt unstable in the shower after trying to pick the soap up off the floor. That was not very fun, so after I got out of the shower I laid on the couch and proceeded to take a nap.

Today has started just like the last 5 days. 6:12 and I'm awake. I take my time over my coffee this morning though. Baby Girl and I made a perler bead cupcake, and then I head back upstairs to do my exercises. The hubs was nervous for my exercises today because of the addition of the squats and lifts, but it was all good. The knee aches a bit today, probably from all the use and abuse and I've put it through, but it's not terrible.

SQUATS! SQUATS! SQUATS!

So overall week 2 has gone much better and I'm excited to see what the next week brings. I'm still working towards not sleeping with the brace on and being able to drive, but every day I see improvement so I am quite pleased with how everything is progressing.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

You guys may remember my review from last spring about the Zombies, Run! virtual race.  Well, I've done it again.  They held another one back in October, and I loved the last one so much I signed up for it as soon as it was announced.

Like the spring virtual race, this last one came with some great swag and a bunch of extra content.

So here's everything all together.  That little brown card in the upper left corner are my mission instructions.  And the envelope in the bottom right are my post-race completion prizes.  And how do you like that stamp on the envelope itself?  I wonder what my mail carrier thinks.

Happy Monday!!

This first week of training went great! I ended up sore, and feeling muscles I'd forgotten I had. I do not enjoy being sore, but at least I know that I put in some work. Work that I don't usually do.

I may or may not have avoided coughing one day, because my abs were so sore. Oh, and not to be left out of the party, my hips have decided to throw a tantrum. I need to find an in-network chiropractor to get them adjusted. The pain that they decided to grace me with yesterday was less than welcome. I still made them work though.

So enough of my rambling, let's get on with the show.

Last week was definitely full of exercise - exercising patience.

Baby Girl got sick towards the middle/end of the week, and she wholly believes in sharing her misery. I can't remember the last time I've been that exhausted, which cut into my motivation to be a functioning adult.

I did get another new pair of running shoes. I scoped out DSW earlier in the week, and they had 4 different models of Brooks running shoes, including the Ravenna 6's. I had a plan to come back during the weekend, with my DSW coupon in tow, to get them. When I returned on Saturday, DSW had gone from 4 models of Brooks to 2! The Ravenna's and the Adrenaline's were gone! Ack! So, I run over to The Running Store, and talk to one of the sales guys. I need a Brooks Ravenna 6 (I know the 7's just came out) in a size 11.

It was fate. Their last pair of Ravenna 6's were my size. I bought them on the spot, and earned a free t-shirt. Yay for free clothes! So I now own two of the exact same shoes. Hubs suggested I call the new shoes Ravenge, which I totally love, so that's their name.

It's too close to Nashville to wear them at the race, but I'm going to wear them this week. I'm wearing the old Ravenna's for the race on Saturday. Super excited about Nashville! 5 days! Squee!

Ok back on topic - Read on to see this week's recap!

This week started off full of gusto and starry-eyed wonder, but then it came to a crashing halt.

This week was ok. I got my workouts in, but still no core training. Seriously, I need someone to yell at me to get those strength workouts in. I know why I'm not doing them. The only time I'd really be able to focus and get them done is during Baby Girl's nap and there are other things on the list competing for that uninterrupted time. It comes down to exercise or getting the house in order. Right now, getting the house in order is more important. The state of the house is causing stress. There's discord everywhere. Baby Girl seems to revel in the chaos she creates. Hubs and I do not share her admiration for the mess.

I am not really into zombies...says the girl who loves the film "Warm Bodies" and the TV show "iZombie" and only runs because there are undead around.  I have less than no interest in "The Walking Dead" and most other zombie related things, though, so that makes my initial claim legit, right?  Dubious.  I'm selectively into zombies?  I'm digressing, more about the running.

For those who are unfamiliar, there is a really fantastic app called "Zombies, Run!".  It is the only thing that has kept me on any kind of fitness regimen, which it has done extraordinarily well.  I tried different things for about two years before finding ZR.

Happy Monday everyone!

Hello, all!  Dana here.  If you know me at all, you know I have a very curious mind.  You may also know that I often will venture out on my own to discover my own answers.  What's that you say?  The answers for why or how to do pretty much anything probably already exists on that amazing place we call the Internet?  Super-duper!  I will now ignore all that and embark on my own journey of discovery.  That's just how my brain works.  I have to see it for myself, much to the chagrin of those around me.

This week was a very exciting week.

I got to break in my new shoes!

I'm a dork. I know it, but I can't help it. I get excited about new stuff.

The overall week wasn't great, I let crappy weather keep me inside. At church though, the pastor said something that spoke to me. He equated faith with not quitting. It made me think of how faithful I'd been to my running. I've never quitted, but I have gotten lazy and complacent, which in some respects is just as bad. I need to refocus. Part of my issue is that I've decided not to try and PR RnR Nashville. I'm going to run the 5k with my sister, and then immediately head into the half marathon. It'll be further than I've ever run, but given that it's the longest distance I've run, I'm not going to go for the PR. I'll PR the distance.

So now that some of the gushing is out of the way, let's get to the meat and potatoes of the post.

Last week was a wonderful week. I didn't get all my workouts in, but the ones I did were awesome. The week also ended with me running the Rock 'N Roll DC half. It was also amazing, but that's tomorrow's post. So without too much ado, here's the recap!

Hello all!

Happy Leap Day Everyone!

Training last week, started off really strong, then sickness invaded the house. All the kids shared some nasty stomach bug, which meant plan changes for me, but it's all ok.