Broken in Whistler

Even though I re-broke my foot only a day before Mark and I were supposed to be heading to Whistler, of course, we decided to still go anyway. We were scheduled to play in a grass co-ed reverse 2s tournament through TFC Volleyball and we did not want to miss out. We had friends playing in the co-ed reverse 4s tourney on the Saturday as well, but then there were just a few of us scheduled to play in the 2s on Sunday. 

I know, I know, I shouldn't have played, I shouldn't have even gone. I should have parked my butt on the couch with ice on my foot, but I couldn't resist. It's tradition for us to play in this Whistler tournament, we've been doing it for the entire 6+ years since Mark and I have been together, so there was no way I was going to miss out. 

I wrapped my foot nice and tight and laced up my shoes really well in the morning, but needless to say the aches and pain in my foot got progressively worse as the day wore on. We went 3-2 in the round robin and then in the play-offs it went: win, lose, win, lose. Next thing we knew it was over. After our second play-off loss we were knocked out, and to be honest, although disappointed (I knew I wasn't playing to my best ability), I was slightly relieved to be able to finally tend to my foot. I immediately put my air cast back on for the walk back to the car and then wrapped my foot in ice for the 2 hour car ride back home to White Rock. 

Mark & I
(Early morning waiting to get the tournament started) 

(The field set up for 40+ teams)

The Boys
(From left to right: Kyle, Mark & Ricki)

The Girls
(From left to right: Me, Jess & Sarah)

 All in all I am happy that I was able to play, but in the grand scheme of things, I know it was a terrible idea to put so much strain on my foot after such a fresh re-injury. Needless to say, I am paying for it now, and I have my butt parked on the couch in an attempt to expedite this recovery in any way possible. 

Do you have any summer traditions that you just cannot pass up?

-Linds

Back to Broken

Last week I posted about finally easing back into my usual routine of running, volleyball and head-standing. Unfortunately though, I have been set back to pretty much day one post broken foot. 

In the midst of taking it easy on my still recovering broken foot, I decided to try doing a workout with some low-impact activities (I'm supposed to be on orders of no high-impact for another two months - keep in mind though I already started jogging and played some light volleyball). Well, I did some squats, some knee push-ups, a ton of abs and then without really thinking decided to do a lunge. I learned my lesson quickly. Although a lunge can be considered low impact, the flexion on my back foot was way to extreme and I instantly felt pain shooting in my foot. I immediately stopped, sat on the couch, elevated my foot and put some ice on it. 

That night I had to work and I had a crazy busy night so unfortunately there was little to no sitting/resting for me. By the end of the shift my foot was throbbing uncontrollably. 

Here is why:

(Left: Originally fractured foot June 21, 2015, Right: Re-fractured foot August 1, 2015)

When I originally fractured my foot, I had what is called an "Oblique, non-displaced fracture of my 3rd metatarsal." (it's that's faint diagonal line in the left hand picture)

The right side picture shows what the fracture site looks like now. Sure there is evidence of bony callus forming (which means there is lots of healing going on), however, the bones aren't nearly as nicely aligned, and there are a few little "chips" coming off. 

I don't think there is much more to say other than this: I'm devastated.

I know, I know, it's my own fault for not taking a full 6 weeks to let the bones heal before any physical activity, and it's my own fault for starting running sooner than 3 months in, and it's my own fault for knowing better and still doing it all anyway. Regardless though, it doesn't make it any easier to sit here and tolerate not being able to participate in the things that for so long have defined the person I am. 

It feels impossible to just sit back and rest right now. I know my body needs it, but my mind can't handle. I'm stuck in this battle of body vs. mind and to be honest I'm not sure who is going to win. 

-Linds

The Usual Grind

It's been five and a half weeks and I am almost getting back to my usual grind. I have run six out of the last eight days, I played volleyball earlier this week and I practised my headstand three times this week. I've also started doing an added squat and ab routine workout in order to make up for the fact that I still have yet to do any Fitness Blender workouts. I know Fitness Blender has tons of low impact options, but honestly, I think I'm still just a little too timid to try because I'm worried I might strain my foot if I don't let it get its full strength back.

All that being said, I still don't quite feel like myself yet. Today was only my first day doing a neighbourhood (concrete/trail) run which finally included some hills and man did it feel way better than taking it easy on the cushiony track across the street. Sure my foot is way more sore after todays run, but mentally I feel stronger. 

I think that's the biggest reason why I've still been feeling so unsettled. Before I hurt my foot, I was just finally starting to feel confident about my body/size again. I was running and working out consistently every week, and it definitely helped my body image perception. I was averaging about 144-146lbs and my legs/butt we're finally tightening up (I have the hill running and HIIT to thank for that). Once I hurt my foot, I jumped back up to 149-150lbs and my legs got all jiggly again. Now that I'm moving again I'm averaging around 147lbs, but the legs haven't quite tightened up yet. It's the high intensity training that I need in order to get back to where I was, but it's the high intensity/high impact training that I am just still too sore to do.

The doctor told me minimum three months before I should be doing any high impact activities (technically running is considered high impact), and it's only been a little over a month since my fracture and there's no way I am going to last any longer. Like I said, I already played some rec volleyball earlier this week which was great to get into, but I definitely paid for it that night and the next day with aches and pains. I'm hoping next week I will be able to stay off track for my running and incorporate even more hills, and if that goes well then hopefully the following week I will start my high intensity workouts again.

It's a long road to full recover, wish me luck!

-Linds

Getting Along

Mark and I have not been getting along the greatest lately. Nothing outrageous to worry about, but just one of those phases where we keep butting heads or rubbing each other the wrong way, and it's all over petty little things. 

The important thing to remember is that it's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, and even when we disagree it doesn't mean we stop caring about each other. This used to be a tough concept for me to understand, but with the right man, it now makes all the sense in the world. 

Even on our bad days, I can't help but love this man dearly.

-Linds

Volleyball Terminology: Side Out

Side out is a term that the players will shout out, as encouragement to their own team, to win the next point so that their team then has next serve.

(Source)

It's kind of an old term, back before volleyball turned into rally point. You used to have to win a rally, to gain possession of a ball, and then win another rally right after in order to actually achieve a point. Side out, meant to win the rally to gain possession of the ball. That way you have the opportunity to then start gaining points.


-Linds

Stop Telling Me

Everyday someone tells me:

"You're not good enough."


"You're too stubborn."

"You can't do it,
so you shouldn't even try it."




Everyday someone whispers to me:


"You're not worth it."

"You're not beautiful,
so no one looks your way."


"You don't deserve it."




Everyday someone screams at me:
"You're going to fail, 
so just give up now."

"You're going to regret it."


"You can't handle it."





Everyday someone tells me, that I am that someone...

Poetry on the spot...
-Linds

Temporary Hiatus

I haven't blogged in about two to three weeks and honestly, I did and I did not miss it. I missed the creative and social aspect of it, but it also felt kind of nice to get myself away from the computer for a while. Anyway, I thought I would get back into things by giving an update on what's going on in my life and how these last few weeks have unfolded.

Let's get started:
About 2.5-3 weeks ago I was doing one of my usual Fitness Blender workouts (barefoot, as per usual), and I was doing a move where I pivot and push off from one foot to the next. At one point when I pushed off my right foot, I kind of felt something "give." It hurt pretty bad, but I toughed it out and finished up my workout just taking it a bit easy.

The next day I went to go for my regular run, but my foot was still so sore that I only ended up doing about 2.5 kms and was moving very lightly on my foot. Again, I figured I probably just strained something, maybe pulled a muscle, nothing major to be worried about.

I took it easy for a few days. I walked down to the beach with a couple friends and had dinner at the boathouse one night. Mark and I also had friends over for some boardgames., and another night we had some friends over for a campfire where we were able to bond a bit more with our upstairs landlord as well (we are so lucky they are so easy-going). Our landlord ended up telling us about a hidden gem which was that there is actually a fully fenced dog park only about a 5 minute walk from our house just across the street and past the playground. We already knew about Dogwood dog park which is about a 6 minute drive, but this other dog park is only a 5 minute walk so it's even more convenient. Obviously Mark and I checked it out the next day, and although it's only a small one, it's almost all in the shade and has a neat little doggy fountain so it's a perfect little spot to go.

(New dog park)

This then brings us to the last Sunday of June, we headed to Buntzen Lake to meet up with some of our volleyball friends. Unfortunately, our friends that got there first told us that the main parking was full so if we wanted to go there we were going to have to pay for parking and do a 45 minute walk from where we would be able to park. Obviously none of us were interested in this since we were aiming for a fun relaxing day by the lake (plus my foot was still totally acting up - I had it tensor wrapped), so we decided to slightly change route and head to Alouette Lake instead. While Mark and I were on our way my car decided to overheat. We pulled off the road (where we got the lovely view of a deer chewing some grass in someones front yard - not even the littlest bit bothered by our car pulling up) and filled the radiator with almost 7 litres of water. 

(car overheating)

(Mark trying to rescue my car)

(Wild deer in the neighbourhood)

The gang at Alouette Lake

We drove the rest of the way with the heat cranked to try to pull the heat away from the engine. We were drenched in sweat but we made it to the lake and had a blast. On our way back from the lake we ended up stopping at some beach volleyball courts at The Ranch (p.s. did I mention my foot was still bothering me - at this point I was icing it every morning and wrapping it during the day time to help take some pressure off of it.)

(Mark serving)

(Me and matt waiting to receive a ball)

The day after the lake, I swaped cars with my Dad so that he could check out my car (he was an automotive mechanic for years so I'm spoiled rotten). I worked a couple of days in the meantime (yes, my foot was still killing me), but not much exciting happened.


On July 1, Canada Day, we played in Cambie Sports annual SalmonFest Grass Reverse 4s Volleyball Tournament. Dustin put on a great tourny, as per usual, and had a record breaking 75 teams this year! It was a long, hot day, but we had so much fun! I played the first game in barefeet (my preference for grass), but my foot was in so much pain, that I eventually had to put shoes on so that I had the extra support. During either our second or third game (I can't remember exactly anymore), Mark managed to get one of the ropes holding the net in place, caught between his toes while runnning, and kept on running so the rope yanked his toe sideways. It bruised and swelled instantly, but he trucked along and played the entire rest of the day. The two of us were quite the pair, both sore right feet, limping around the fields, trading off with ice and tape. We ended up fnishing 2nd place in the AA pool. Not to shabby.

AA Second Place Winners
(From left to right: Matt, Sarah, Dustin (tournament host), Me, & Mark)

(Kyle and Mark, new best buds)

(Long time friends - from left to right: Sarah, me, Jess)

The next day when Mark woke up, we checked out his toe and he could barely move it so we decided to go get him looked at by a Doctor. Why not take advantage of working in a hospital and having an "in."  We were in and out of the hospital in a total of 2.5 hrs. Mark got x-rays and sure enough his toe was broken. I considered getting my foot checked as well since it was so sore while playing the day before (there were moments when I was almost in tears), but considering mine was barely swollen and not bruised at all (especially in comparison to Mark's) I figured there was no way mine was broken, so I didn't want to make a fuss about my pain.

(Mark's broken toe)

Mark took the day off work, iced his toe a bunch. We swapped cars back with my dad (he had it all fixed up and in working order), so all I had left to do was have a nap before work. That night when I went to work, I finally decided that if it was convenient in the morning I would try to find a radiologist to order me an x-ray so I could once and for all confirm that I had nothing to worry about with my foot. By this time it had been about a week and a half since I initially hurt my foot. Sure enough I got myself x-rayed (by a fellow tech of course) and she just laughed at me. Yep, it's broken. Turns out I have an oblique, non-displaced fracture of my 3rd metatarsal. The radiologist was super helpful and called over to the ortho department and they snuck me in right away. They gave me and aircast (thank goodness so I can take it on and off as I please) and I'm on orders for no "high-imapct" for 3 months. Obviously that's not going to happen since I already did a workout, a run, and played 8 hrs in a volleyball tournament on it, but obviously I need to take it easy for a bit (at least 4-6 weeks until the bone fully heals).

(Constantly icing and elevating my broken foot)

Since Mark and I have received our diagnosis (what are the chances we are both broken at the same time), we have been going crazy just sitting at home. Sure we still hobble over to the dog park because obviously Captain needs his exercise, but, we haven't done any of our usual walks, no volleyball, no runs for me or workouts. I haven't even been able to work on my headstand because the pressure on my toes going up and coming down is too much of a strain. We are both just going stir crazy, and getting so restless. It's going to be a tough few weeks for us active people to get through.

So, even though I have worked my butt off for a little over four solid months and managed to lose 5lbs, it's only been a little over a week of limited activity and I'm already gaining it all back. Total bummer, but oh well, at least I know I can lose the weight. Also, I feel like it's too risky to practice my headstand right now, so I'm definitely going to lose a lot of progress, and there's no chance I'm going to start working on my handstand yet, again, total bummer.

Finally, last but not least, I chopped all my hair off this week too. I was really eager to do it, but now that I have done it, I'm not feeling thrilled about it. I thought it was going to be totally short and edgy....but I just feel kind of bleh about it. I've received a few compliments about it, but I think it's just people trying to be nice, not honest.

(New haircut: Straight vs. wavy)

So there you have it folks, my recap for the last few weeks while I was MIA. Honestly I don't know how much I will continue to post over the next couple weeks cause I'm feeling totally depressed with this lack of physical activity,, but I also might end up posting a ton because I'll be bored out of my mind and I'm pretty much house bound since even just plain walking still hurts me. Who knows how the next few weeks is going to unfold.

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying this summer weather, we really have been so lucky! How have your last few weeks unfolded?
-Linds