One step at a time...

Last November, on my initial physical therapy visit for the second flare up of my piriformis muscle, my physical therapist told me, "there is a reason why most elite women runners have bodies that look like men, a man's body is more efficient for running.  You are not built like a man"...

Okay, I get it, I have wide hips, too many curves and my weight fluctuates, widely, but I do love to run!  Unfortunately, I have been on the side lines since late last summer when pain from my piriformis muscle stopped me in mid-step.

This morning was the target date for my first real run since the summer of 2011.  The run would be short, just one mile around a flat area in our neighborhood.  As it turns out, I could have picked a better weather day!  A temperature of 24 with a blustry "feels like" of 15, sent me back to my early running days when winter overdressing was the norm.  Not long into the run, I had my jacket tied around my waist.

The run went surprisingly well.  I paid careful attention to stride follow through and keeping my legs loose.  As my anxiety subsided, my labored breathing became relaxed and I enjoyed experience.  The mile went by too quickly. I could have continued on but my promise to myself and to John was to take it slow so I stopped and walked home (no hills just yet).

Providing the hip discomfort remains minimal today, I will be back at it in the morning.  One more mile...

After the run, I took the opportunity to walk around the yard. Along with the cold temperatures, we had a bit of snow last night.  Daffodil leaves are about 8" above ground now.  My initial surprise quickly subsided as I remembered that the temperatures in Knoxville have been hovering in the 50's daytime and 40's nighttime.  The daffodils are as confused as we are.  
 

Daffodil leaves in the snow

The Lenton Roses looked cold.  Buds should be forcing their way out right now but on casual glance, I did not see any.

   Lenton Roses mingle with daffodils

A moment or two spent digging leaves away from the center of a plant netted this little treasure. The season of Lenton Roses is almost here....

A very busy March...

Another month has flown by and my goal to increase the frequency of my blogs is yet unattained.

March was particularly busy. Much of my "exercise" time was spent in physical therapy. As it turns out, running should not hurt as much as I was hurting. I went into PT complaining about knee pain and discovered the knee was only a by product of other issues. My left side has not been carrying it's share of the load. A tight IT band, inflamed bursa and weak inner thigh muscles resulted in knee issues. After lots of heat, ice, electrical therapy and pushing, I was released, pain free, with a sheet of target strengthening exercises. It's a lot of work but my PT reminded me that active aging requires some diligence. I am okay with that and should be running again next week! My goal 5k at the end of April is a bit of an uncertainty right now.

I am also waist deep into a home repair project that has lasted most of a very rainy March. Aside from mulch, the outside of the house is almost complete. I went from this look of faded paint and aging window boxes (note lumber and areas where I tore down window boxes):

To this...new paint in an updated color and no window boxes. Nice!

And from this old fence,

to this new fence. The contractor still has to cut in a scallop pattern to even up the boards...not like the stair steps above. If you could see my neighbor's house, you would understand why the fence is there.

Oh Mr. Contractor Man, what the heck is this? A new torture device?? It is a potential lawsuit because the nails are sticking out on my neighbor's side the fence. I made a quick phone call this morning and my contractor will shave these off on Monday. He should have caught this!!

I just went out and took this picture of my neighbor's house. Luckily most of the homes in my little neighborhood do not look this bad. This is an improvement for her as her house was repainted and the porch fixed last fall. I guess every neighborhood has one trashy resident.

There is still a little work to do on the inside of my house but not too much. It should take my contractor most of next week to finish my house completely. I have now embarked on another house related project and will post about this soon!

With the above going on, we were very limited with time to get out and about. In mid-March, we did take a trip to Asheville, NC with friends Sonya and Mac (Asheville is our favorite city in this region). A few days later I spent the day in Pigeon Forge with my dad and sister as we cruised the outlet malls for items on Leslie's "must have" list. Late in the month, my cousins from Tazewell, VA drove down to spend the day with my mother and we also had several occasions to have dinner with friends. Otherwise, we were occupied with the mundane tasks that equate to day to day living. April has some potentials and we hope to get ourselves and our camera out a little bit more. Happy Spring everyone!