Minneapolis Taste Buds

I'm participating in the #last90days challenge that Rachel Hollis and her husband Dave are hosting. This week's theme is habits, and yesterday's live stream was about establishing good morning routines. They talked about the importance of not hitting the snooze button, and waking up at the same time everyday. I used to sleep in. Then I became a runner. Summer months in Minnesota are steamy. My Texas relatives laugh when I say this, but it does get hot here. I'd rather run first thing in the morning before the blazing sun adds to the "feels like" temperature. And, it's great to have a run logged before heading to work. I also used to go to Body Pump at the Y at 5:30 twice a week. My husband thought I was crazy. He's the night owl of the family. I had my daughter almost six years ago. That's another reason I get up early. In addition to squeezing in a workout, I also had needed to squeeze - I mean pump -  before running. So, I've been waking...

Today I visited my physical therapist for a check-up. I hadn't been there since May, right before the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon. I kept meaning to check-in, but life really happens sometimes, and we put off some of our favorite and most productive forms of self care for 4+months. Oopsie. I was a little nervous, but excited to see the results of my hard work this summer. I know I'm the strongest I've been since my 20s, thanks to 80 Day Obsession, my PT exercises that I'm still very dedicated to fitting in, and now LIIFT4. But I wasn't sure how the healing and strength were in the hamstring that had hurt so badly after an injury in March. My PT confirmed that my hard work paid off, and I felt pretty proud. No dry needling or lasers needed today. There was no need for "therapy," and we could finally start adding exercises just focused on isolating the hamstrings. I think I should always have some sort of a coach in my life, whatever form they take - o...

So, my last post was seven years ago? A lot has happened since then. I had my daughter in 2012. I changed jobs a couple of times, threw in a couple more marathons, and here we are. I'm ready to start writing again. I ran my 10th marathon in May, which was my fourth fastest. I was really proud of that accomplishment after a brutal winter of training, and a weather-related injury. My TC Orthopedics physical therapists never doubted that I'd get to the finish line. One of them even ran the same marathon! They helped ease the hamstring pain and and taught me exercises to strengthen the weak runner's butt. I felt great on race day and was blessed with perfect weather. For me finishing a marathon is followed by a honeymoon phase filled with pride and excitement. But, it also brings up questions like, when will I do all of that great creative thinking I do on my mid-week runs? How can I possibly justify three hours to myself on Saturday mornings now? And, inevitably, will I do...