Wrists, Rut, and Relaxin

Hey y'all! 


Today is day 1 of 7 seven days off! Woo-hoo. We get a 4 day "pass" out here, and I just strategically placed it in between days I already have off.... voila! 7 (really it's 8, since when I do go back to work, I'll be on nights again) days of me time. 


I mean, I'm still stuck on base, and it's probably going to be seven days of boredom... but oh well. I don't have to put my uniform on. Haha. Today I dedicated to being lazy. Yup. No exercise, and only left the room to eat. (Though I will go shower here soon...maybe...haha.) I kind of feel like exercising, but my legs are so tight from running, I decided to give them a break, and I think I have really hurt my wrist.


This darn wrist. My right wrist has been bothering me for two whole days now (I am unable to bend it back or forward, and it's getting worse) and I have no clue why. I didn't fall on it, I didn't twist it, I haven't been doing weight training for a while, what the heck??? My greatest fear is carpal tunnel syndrome, which honestly, is quite likely. I've been an IT for 4 years now, and my job is just me sitting at a computer for 12 hours straight. To come home and sit at a computer for even more time. If it is still hurting tomorrow I am going to the doctor. I have known quite a few co-workers to get carpal tunnel, and it is no joke. Plus, I am seriously looking forward to Bikram yoga when I get back to the states (22 days!!), and yoga will be out of the question with carpal tunnel. 


So, if you wouldn't mind, please a few prayers/good thoughts and vibes in my direction. (That direction would be east, unless you are in Asia! Hehe.) 


Alas y'all. I feel I am in a workout rut. Actually, I think I'm just in an Africa rut. I'm so ready to come home, and I'm so sick of being that I don't feel like doing anything. Haha. Seems counter-productive, since I do, in fact, have a lot to do. I know I just need to put my big-girl panties on and make like Nike and "just do it". So I was thumbing through my new edition of Women's Health magazine (Bee Tee Bubs,  -though I'm sure everyone already knows...- they are having a helathy blog contest, and if you go here you can nominate me your favorite blogs! There is no limit, so you can nominate as many times as you'd like.. I'd like to win!) and found a fun new exercise routine to try out tomorrow. 


I'll also be trying out my new Nike + iPod running thingy (I'm so technical) since I haven't yet. You can enter to win one in my giveaway, so if you haven't entered, make sure you do! (And pass the word on!) Basically this workout uses 4 sets of supersets, with cardio breaks in between. I'll give it a try tomorrow (if the wrist allows...) and write a more detailed description about it. But you can totally go here to see someone who actually in shape do the moves. Hehe. :)


Also, I have a question. I am like the PALEST girl alive, so what is everyone's advice for faux tanning. I hit up the sun and even the "cancer in a box", but I'd like some tips on "non-Oompa-Loompa" looking skin. This obviously is for when I get back to the states, since my options here are limited. Though, I guess I could go to the pool and lay out. But I am literally 11 degrees north of the equator. In Katy math that = lobster. Lemme know, y'all. 

Still Hurtin'

Workout: 30 minutes weights (various body parts) / 25 lunges / planks / 30 minutes elliptical


Found out today I am not. pain. free.

Major disappointment. But instead of getting super down about it, I'm going to try to stay positive. Running may not be in my immediate future, but at least I can still do what I've been doing with weights and the elliptical. It does make me sad, though. :(

I was going to try to upload a video my best friend made of her doing her lunges. It's hilarious. But it won't let me download it. I'll keep working the issue. :)

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend!

Decisions, Decisions....

Workout: (yesterday) 45 minutes weights (legs)

This is not a workout/exercise related post. Just a head's up! :)

So, I love the sunshine. Seriously. I'm a bona-fide Florida girl, and need sunshine to keep my sanity. Literally. I lived in Monterey, California for 2 years, and was affected by the lack of sunshine hardcore. Monterey was beautiful, but it is sunny like 5 days a year. It was torture. Thank God Shane loves Florida so much. Because as much as I want to visit his home state of Washington, and I'm sure it's beautiful in it's own ways, I couldn't live there forever.

That being said, my favorite weather is that right before a storm. You know when you walk outside, and there is a briskness to the air, and it feels like everything is electrically charged, and nature is just waiting for something to happen? Oooooh, I love it. Probably stems from the daily thunderstorms of Floridian summers, that you can set your clocks by. Love those summers.

Pretty random, huh? I bring this up, only because this is what it's like outside right now. Such a nice change of pace from hot, glaring sun. (I love beach sunshine. Not desert sunshine!)

Ok, I lied. This post will have a little exercise in it! Lol. I did legs yesterday, and I'm thinking I should take it a little easier. My hip stills hurts so much. I'm starting to worry there is something that could be seriously wrong with it. And of course, we don't really have way of discovering serious injuries with the facilities located out here. So I'm at a crossroads. Do I continue with my cardio, putting more stress on my hip, added to the already stressful environment of walking on loose gravel in heavy boots all day? Or do I not neglect my fitness, and just go easier, and pray that once I get back to the states and can see a professional that it's not very serious?

I'm rather concerned. I'm not a doctor, and I don't know what's wrong. All I know is I feel pain. And it is NOT a post-workout soreness wonderfulness pain. It HURTS. And with my work schedule and the pool hours, a regular swimming regiment is just not possible.

Any advice? EIther way, I'll continue with weights. But I'm very concerned about what a lack of cardio will do.

Today' Sad Revelation

Workout: 45 minutes weights (chest) / 1 mi run on TM (9:15)

So I had an awesome chest weights workout today, and was looking forward to my runon the TM, did my stretches, put that mother on 6.5 mph, and took my first step.

And promptly thought my hip was going to SNAP. It was excruciating. I hobbled through a few more steps, and finally got into some sort of stride, and pushed myself through a mile of hell. Seriously, it hurt so badly. I had to stop, hobble over to the stretching mat, and then hobble the 1/2 mile back to my room. I felt like SUCH A FAILURE.

I have had some sort of hip/thigh (it moves) for weeks. I can barely walk without limping, especially with my 300lb 8 lb boots on. I ignore it for the most part, or just try and convince myself it's regular soreness prior to a workout, and I can't let it stop me from working out. After all, I'm 24 years old, and I shouldn't be falling apart from running a measly THREE MILES every so often. Add that to the standard military viewpoint of, if you're hurt and put on limited duty, you are probably just a pansy trying to get out of pt. Needless to say, it was easy to ignore my very real pain.

Not so much anymore. As I was hobbling back to my room to shower and go back to work all I could think was:

I'll never be a runner.
I'll never run a marathon.
I have to give up exercise and my blog.
I'm going to gain a whole bunch of weight.

By the time I got back to my room I was in full breakdown mode. Tears and all. Because before I started exercising seriously, I was just barely getting by out here on this deployment. I would sleep like 13 hours on my days off, and when I was awake, I didn't do anything. Except feel sad. Exercise helped me like times 1000. I look forward to exercise. I get excited about our once a month base 5k's. I love sweating and challenging myself. Mostly sweating. I've pretty much become addicted to endorphines and sweat.

So I grabbed my York Peppermint Pattie, and thought, hey, if I'm gonna stop working out, might as well get serious about gaining my weight.

Then I said "&*^$ that." (Sorry, but I am a sailor, and sometimes I feel a strong word is warranted.) I'm going to medical tomorrow to get a limited duty chit, so I don't have to participate in command pt. I will kick my booty on the elliptical and the rowing machine, (since I am almost completely sure the pain is to blame on a mix of running/stairmaster goodness. My two favorites, of course.) until I have felt NO PAIN (and I am serious about it this time) for at least 2 weeks. Minimum. Then I will re-evaluate and start running SLOWLY. If I can. I'll determine then how I am, injury-wise. Once I get back to the States (and real doctors! Please don't get me started on what "free" healthcare really is.) I will get my hip/thigh checked out, and figure out my options.

If I am able to run again (PLEASE GOD), then I will go down that path. If my stupid ole legs just weren't meant to be runner's legs, I will get back into swimming. (Which I will probably do anyways, since I do love swimming so much.) If I am UNABLE to run I will sob myself to sleep realistically plan new goals for myself, involving swimming. Like THIS. This is something I was going to work on after I had my lofty goal of a marathon under my belt, but maybe it needs to get moved up.

Anyways, what I was trying to get to in this very long novel is this: Just because I can't run (hopefully temporarily), doesn't mean I have to give up my new lifestyle, or joy I get from it. I may need a few more movies on my iPod, and you may want to buy some stock in gossip magazines, since I will be buying them by the dozens to get me through BORING elliptical workouts. But I can do this. And I will.

Off to do non-running things.
-Katy