Down But Not Defeated...

Hello Friends – I’ve been out of commission for the last couple of weeks…literally! My running adventures have been put on hold thanks to Post Tibial Tendonitis in my right leg. The post tibial is the tendon that runs down the inside of your leg and into your foot. I have my third physical therapy session tomorrow morning and am well on my way to getting stronger. After a very painful deep tissue massage during my last session, I am aware of how much damage I could have done had I not went to the doctor. “No pain no gain” is not always true. Luckily I caught my problem just in time. No torn ligaments, just lots of muscle damage. And I will spend the next 4-6 weeks (ugh!) working hard to get better.

On the bright side, my physical therapist said I wouldn’t be sidelined all 4-6 weeks. I will run again and hopefully it will be very soon! In fact, I have registered for my first half marathon this September. I have plenty of time to heal and train, and I will be running better than ever before I know it. This sort of setback, which has sidelined me from the gym as well (no elliptical, no spin), has unfortunately put me in a bitter mood the last week or so. Working out has always been my very own anti-depressant pill in sweat form. I need those endorphins to help alleviate worries, stress and anxiety. The weather was so beautiful today and all I wanted to do was lace up my running shoes and join the hundreds of others I saw jogging through Central Park. But alas, I will wait. My time will come and until then I will focus on stretching, eating right, and today I got the clearance to do a little light biking. Baby steps.

Since I’m on a health kick right now, I’ll share with you a frightening statistic I read yesterday on Yahoo! Health. This article stated that people who work at jobs that require them to sit most of the day (so many of us!) are 54% more likely to die of heart attacks. Depressing statistic? I think so! Needless to say I spent the rest of my day walking to get water as often as possible and standing when it was unnecessary for me to sit (on phone calls, while making spreadsheets…people were definitely starting to stare. Eh, I’ll live longer.) I decided then and there that my future cannot include cubical work – or at least not without a stand for my computer. I need to write standing or have a job that has me walking all day long. Maybe I’ll become a flight attendant…or a dog walker.

When I leave work, I often go home and sit in my hard desk chair, on my bed or on the couch flipping through twitter, my emails, and the daily news – that is too much sitting in one day for a person. Even a walk or a trip to the gym (sad face) can’t reverse nine hours of sitting. My next purchase will have to be a standing desk. While searching for such a desk online (they are not as common as you would think), I came across this NY Times article that informed me I am behind the times. Written in August of last year, the author states that standing work stations, while odd and challenging to come across, are in vogue. Not only are you able to cure writer’s block while standing, but you also burn more calories. Hopefully a day will come when movable desks are the norm in the workplace, but until then, I’ll be standing awkwardly in my cube.