Aint Nothin Gonna Break My Stride

Matthew Wilder sang it best:

Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride
Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no
I got to keep on movin'...

To say this hasn't slowed me down would be a little bit of a stretch, but keeping moving has kept me from throwing myself an all out Pity Party of the grandest kind!!!

The "crankies" and the lack of patience seem to be waning, not with absolution, but my goal this week of having appropriate expectations seems to be helping. I think. I suppose you have to ask the peeps I live with about that??? There was a chart for last week that set the ground work for the expectations! A LOT got accomplished and that was wonderful. The goals for this week have not been set and with a 2 day getaway in the plans I have a feeling very little will get accomplished, but I will breathe deep and chalk it up to SUMMER VACATION and be O.K. with it :)

My other goal this week was not to cry too much and I have met that goal with flying colors!!! I was a little uncomfortable for the first few days after the boot adjustment, but now feel pretty darn good. Some days I still do too much and my foot and ankle swell and ache and I am reminded to elevate and behave.

The things that keep me going and keep my spirits up include Movie Nights with the family, Coffee Meetings with the girls, CrossFit, the many Graduation Parties/BBQ's and of course all the new babies! I like having things to go to and to be a part of. I appreciate feeling included :)

The things I struggle with still are: 1. Not having a job this summer and feeling stuck, feeling like I am not contributing, 2. I get frustrated that I cannot go for a run or even a walk. On one hand I feel like my leg is getting stronger and I think I'll be able to take little steps or scoots, but it's just not true. I have been measuring the pounds of force that I am able to tolerate on the bathroom scale and I am only up 40 lbs on my ATR (achilles tendon rupture) and that is only about 1/3 of my total body weight, so I still have a ways to go :(

I have been getting pictures of where the boot can go to show you and remind myself that I am still on the move. That "Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride, Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no I got to keep on movin'..."


The Boot on the road ... I am NOT driving (in this pic) ;P












The Boot in Starbucks ... mmmmmmmm














The Boot and a Baby :)















Thanks for reading...pass it on!

In Good Company with David Beckham and Kalin Lucas

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00719/sport-graphics-
2006_719264a.jpg
http://media.mlive.com/spartans_impact/photo/kalin-lucas-michigan-state-df140cb1401f908c_medium.jpg

I have been surfing the dreaded internet, typing "Achilles Rupture" into every search engine and sometimes it makes my stomach turn quick little puke-y flips and sometimes I find out that I am in good company. As it turns out this is considered an "older persons" injury...WHO'S CALLING ME OLD??? It also seems to go along with those weekend warrior types, you know the type, you might even be married to one. The guy that hasn't exercised since the the first Bush Administration, but is sure he can play a game of basketball without stretching ;) I am not too old and I have actually been fairly consistent in my workouts this year. And as my surfing has unearthed, it turns out, it's not just old outta shape guys that rupture their Achilles! Just in the past few months, two count 'em TWO elite athletes have also (also meaning "just-like-me") have had to have their muscles and tendons sewn back together.

First up David Beckham! Becks is one of the most well known people in the whole world. At age 34 (almost 35) he did the deed of completely tearing his achilles - and might I add it wasn't even a back flip! Now, for me it's a bummer, but for Becks, he was on the cusp of history!!! He was about to be the first player to appear in the World Cup for England FOUR times!!! That's a healthy career! I, on the other hand was just hoping to get to the grocery store before the milk ran out.

The reports on Beckham's recovery look like this on the world wide web: “The plan includes a complete recovery in six months, at the end of which he can play again,” the club said. http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-beckhaminjured

I don't mean to sound glad about that, because I certainly don't wish any pain on another human being. What makes me happy or I guess content is that I have been given the same time frame. In reading Beckham's story as well as the next athlete's, I wondered how my mid-west recovery process would compare to the State-of-the-Art care and rehab of these elite athletes. (I feel a little like Rocky right now, you know the one where he fights Ivan Drago? Drago has all of the high tech computers and trains in a lab while Rocky is out in a cabin in the snowy mountains using rafters and logs...Hears hoping I have that kind of heart)! :-/

So Becks ripppped his achilles in March and there are pictures of him walking about in a walking boot. With three weeks in I can't tell you how much this lifts my spirits!!! So much so that as I "sit" (I'm really laying back with my foot up) here writing, researching, skimming through pictures, I dozed off and IT happened again, A promising little dream of myself walking and it didn't even hurt! I was cautious, even in the dream, but I was doing it! Thanks Becks for the images, it truly gives me hope :)

Closer to home, during College Basketball's March Madness, one of Michigan State's beloved Spartans did the same number heading into the Final Four! What heartbreak! Kalin Lucas, tore it up, literally! Lucas was given a 4-6 month recovery time table. I'm guessing they threw that 4 months in there because he was born in 1989! Whatever whipper-snapper! And it's no surprise that reports are out there saying he is recovering ahead of schedule. Being the competitor he is, I expect there is a certain title he has his eye on! And a goal can be the greatest gift in recovery! (Also, at this time it looks like State fans should partially thank Lucas for his recovery efforts as having an impact on keeping a certain Izzo in the house)!

I found some interesting little connections in my rummaging through the internet machine. They are silly, but here we go. David, Kalin and I were all born in May! David and I just one year apart, Kalin and I one day apart! (Ok, 15 years and one day). The Boys are both 6 feet even and I am 5 feet even! I was born in Detroit and raised in the tri-county area, Kalin is also a Metro-Detroiter. David Beckham now plays in Los Angeles and I have been to Los Angeles :) And most fun of all, these guys are exceptional athletes and champions of their respective sports AND in 1988 (a year before Kalin Lucas was born) I was the Class III Compulsory Michigan State Champion in gymnastics (wow that really makes me feel like Al Bundy reliving the glory days).

Well, I'm in good company with this wretched little set back and I just wanted the guys to know that they are in good company too... with some suburban housewife in the middle of right here :)

EXTRA:
As I was writing about Kalin and how his goal for a certain title was a great recovery tool, it dawned on me that I needed a goal. I was planning on running The Brooksie Way Half Marathon this October, the doctors say NO, NO, NO!!! They say I can run it next year, but I don't want to wait 'til next year! I know I'm no Kalin Lucas, so I won't push the time frame. I'm actually a year older than Becks and I read today that his recovery is NOT going a quick as he'd like. So with all this in consideration, maybe I can start training by Thanksgiving (good timing - I'd hate to be completely sedentary with all those carbs in my reach) and be ready for an event in say February? What do you think? What is there in February?
This is my new goal, to find a goal!
Suggestions welcome!
Maybe not more than a 10K. Is that too wimpy? Too much? We'll see :)