Thankful Thursday 5: Restoration

Welcome to the fifth instalment of my Thankful Thursday. I can’t believe it’s been a month of doing this already! This week I’m focusing on gratitude for the restoration that’s going on in my life.

Here’s my Thankful Thursday for the Week of May 11-May 17, 2018!

Things I am thankful for this week:

  • This week Andrew had a big win at work which I’m thankful for and really excited about.
  • I’m also thankful for the delicious Breka treats we got to celebrate that win – donuts and torte!
  • For another week, it’s been hot and sunny. We actually hit a temperature record here in Vancouver on Monday at 25 degrees Celsius! Over the past couple days it’s cooled down a bit, but it’s still not rainy, which is awesome.
  • These beautiful flowers:
Across the street from home.
On my walk from the parking lot into work.
  • As usual, I spent a big chunk of time with my best friend over the weekend doing work (teachers don’t just work M-F 8-3!!). I was super productive. I’ve had a lot of marking hanging over my head for a few weeks now and I managed to finish ALL OF IT!

And the title of this post, Restoration!

  • The main reason I chose restoration for this week’s gratitude theme is that I’m working on restoring my hip to full health.
  • I’m thankful for the good chiro session I had last Thursday, which helped.
  • I also went to physio on Monday and Wednesday. I’m thankful to my friend Sagal, who recommended the physiotherapist that I saw and liked. I’m also thankful that he determined that I likely haven’t actually injured anything. I just have a LOT of sympathetic/compensatory tightness after twisting my hip a bit coaching rugby. I also made it angry without giving it the rest it needed. Lesson learned.
  • In the same vein, I’m thankful that my physiotherapist now thinks it’s within reason to aim for me to be able to run the next half I’m registered for, the Scotia Half toward the end of June!
  • At yesterday’s appointment, my physio did IMS which is probably the weirdest feeling I’ve ever experienced. It’s not exactly painful, but it made the insides of my muscles twitch involuntarily, which he said was textbook. Now that I’ve rested and my muscles have recovered a bit, my hip is feeling miles better, which is amazing.
  • This restoration of my body that I’ve done while resting post-BMO half has also allowed some other types of restoration to happen.
  • The state of our apartment tends to run on a sliding scale exactly the opposite of the sliding scale that shows how busy we are. Training for a half-marathon takes about 10 hours a week. When you’re working full-time and coaching a high school sport and tutoring, there’s not much time for a clean kitchen or clothes. Now that the rugby season is over and I’m resting, the dishes are getting done with more regularity, which does wonders for my mental health (I’m not exaggerating).
  • I’m also thankful to restore some of my time writing and planning, which really fell off the table during the busy season.

There you have it!

So, that’s my Thankful Thursday list for this week. I hope it inspires you to make your own, and get on that gratitude train!

Peace and love,

Bee

Thankful Thursday 4: Motivation

Welcome to the fourth week of my Thankful Thursday. This week has flown by, and this time I’m focusing on gratitude for getting my motivation back.

Here’s my Thankful Thursday for the Week of May 4-May 10, 2018!

Things I am thankful for this week:

  • I was able to run my half-marathon on Sunday. My hip gave out at around 13-14km in. I ended up missing my PB by 6 seconds, but I did PB the first 5k (28:31) and 10k (1:00:15), which I’m proud of.
I did it!
  • It was also really great to have Dad, Sharon, and Andrew all at the finish line cheering me on.
Part one of the cheer squad.
Part two of the cheer squad.
  • I felt like I was going to die for the last 400 metres and their cheering really got me over the finish line!
Me feeling like I’m going to die.
  • I’m also thankful for all the awesome signs that people held along the course. Some of my favourites:
    • If Trump can run, so can you
    • Run quietly, I’m hungover
    • Smile, you paid to do this
    • Go random stranger go
    • Worst parade ever
    • Run like someone called you a jogger
  • The weather has been pretty consistently good once again, and I’m really enjoying the sun
  • We’ve had a few really nice dinners and visits with my Dad and Sharon and got to play Mario Kart together (I’ll let you imagine who won, lol)
  • Since my hip flexor is pretty sore after the run, I’m now on a complete rest period until it’s entirely better. It’s nice to be forced to slow down after 5 months of non-stop training.
  • I’ve also booked a chiro appointment and a physio session, which I’m really excited about. Chiro is today, I can’t wait!

Motivation

  • And the title of this post, motivation! For most of March and April, I had totally lost all my motivation, and over the past week it’s finally felt like it’s coming back. I think that some of this could be due to the change in my thyroid meds, which really has lessened my levels of fatigue. My counselling appointment on Tuesday really helped, also. Those sessions really help me process all the things going through my head at a mile a minute. I also think the sun and the longer days are helpful as well. It’s nice to get home from work and still have at least 3-4 hours of sunlight left both for energy and to bask in.
  • I’ve also been reading more. The catalyst for this was realizing that I had an Advanced Reader Copy of a book to read and review two days before the due date.

There you have it!

So, that’s my Thankful Thursday list for this week. I hope it inspires you to make your own, and get on that gratitude train!

Peace and love,

Bee