Wow, November already. Â Crap, does that mean it’s almost Christmas? And 2011? Huh?
What’s Going On?
Things continue to go really well. Â 99% of the remaining pain I have is muscle soreness due to increased activity.
The mind-body connection workbook is really being a big help (I’m on day 21 now as I write in it most, but not all, nights). Â I really recommend it to anyone with chronic pain. Â Also, the book Full Catastrophe Living. Â I promise I’m not wearing crystals and calling myself Moonbeam or anything, but the mindfulness and meditation have really helped the back pain way more than I thought that they would. Â Meditating is also helping me with work, general stress, and my anxiety issues. Â So, I say “OK”!
Exercise.
- Still doing planks every night (“normal” forearm ones for 30 seconds, then side planks for 20 seconds on each side).
- Still weekly training with Melinda. Â We’re continuing to focus on core/bodyweight stuff but she’s slowly but surely incorporating some “real person” exercises. Â Granted, at very low weights to start, but that’s OK! Â I’ve had some soreness after my last session with her, but I think it’s normal DOMS and I’m just not used to that anymore. 😉
- I’ve also restarted the Couch to 5K program and I’m able to do it 3x per week! That means I’m in the gym 4 days out of 5! Holy crap! I’m taking C25K very slowly (literally) — the “walking” intervals are at 80 strides/minute (a slow walk) and the “running” intervals are at 120 strides/minute (a fast walk). Â I’m not even breaking a sweat…but I’m able to do it without pain. Â And considering my cardio was so trashed that a flight of stairs would leave me winded, it’s probably a good thing that I’m taking really baby steps.
Skating.
- No skating again this month. Â Like last month, this was due to scheduling difficulties more than my ability or lack thereof. Â Right now my plan is to focus on the motorcycle until it starts raining; I’ll switch my focus to skating over the winter.
- My buddy Shauna has agreed to give me skating lessons for a half hour or so per week. Â I need to find a time to work that into my schedule. Â It would be great to have a skating instructor; like Melinda at the gym, it’s so useful to have someone point out where I’m doing something wrong or how I could change my posture to avoid injury.
Motorcycling.
- I’m still doing roughly 20 miles per weekend. Â I haven’t really had any issues at all with the Ninja; it’s going well.
- Still hoping to do an overnight ride over the Thankgiving week, but now I have to be at work at least one of the “break” days (boo!) so we’ll see what our schedules and the weather report look like.
So, all in all, life is good. Â I continue to have stiffness/soreness, but if that’s about as bad as life gets, I can’t really complain.
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