THE TREADMILL DIARIES

Good morning folks! I am ready to hit the gym today! Especially since my first day back didn't kill me.  It was weird being back and remembering my old quirks like which locker or shower I prefer...but not being able to remember why. Hmmm... Maybe writings on strange gym practices, customs, and culture is coming next.   At any rate, I felt like somewhat of a celebrity amongst gym goers.  Some of the trainers remembered me and welcomed me back.  Even the locker room attendant came to greet me and said, "Oh my! Long time!"  I was happy she didn't say, "Oh my! You got fat!" At any rate, it was great to be back.       I started out on the treadmill.  I was wearing new Nikes, yoga pants, and an extremely large t-shirt to hide my flab.  Just in case my ankle wanted to act up, I confined it in an ace ankle brace.  I just wanted to be sure my body parts were up to be challenged again, before I let them go free. I honestly had an e...

Guess who's coming back?!!   Me! Seriously. I am.  It's been TWO YEARS since I've been on a treadmill and I can honestly tell you that I look like its been four years. :-0   Soooo here's what I'm gonna do about it.  I rejoined the gym...yes, sigh... I had quit when I started graduate school...and I start up again on November 1!!! I am so excited to look like myself again, and to have healthy lungs! I am a singer/songwriter and am about to work on my second CD so I have to make sure the lungs is right chile!  Stay tuned to read about my adventures!! I don't expect it will be easy... Xoxo

It's been a while since I wrote anything about the gym or the treadmill.  That's because I struggled with pain in my ankles so much that I ended up going to three different specialist for opinions. Finally, I got to a NYU specialist who was very thorough and on point. He showed me on my X-ray where I had a very mild case of arthritis in my ankles, which flared up whenever I overdid it; causing my tendons to become stressed and to swell. Now previously, doctors/specialists had told me to never run again because I had injured my ankle beyond repair. This specialist, however, told me to continue running but to know that from now on I will have to monitor my ankles and if there is a sign of even remote pain, to stop and rest it for a few days. He also suggested I exercise with an ankle sleeve on (Ace makes a perfect one) for extra support.   While I have yet to trust my ankles enough to run, because remember...they talk to each other and play tricks on me, I have been tryin...

Ok. I know it's wrong to talk about people. Well, except for the sociopaths who plot your demise over a locker at the gym. That never happened to you? Well then you are in for a real treat. So... I go to the gym every other day during lunch, instead of pigging out on Five Guys burgers and fries.  I don't know...I think it makes me feel better about what I eat sometimes.  I try to go at the same time but am sometimes a few minutes late. Well last Monday, I get there and someone I have never seen before is standing in front of the locker I normally use, reaching up and fiddling with a lock on the locker above it.  Most of the ladies at the gym return to use the same locker over and over again so we chat with each other as we prepare for and after our workouts. Being a creature of habit, and knowing that most of the surrounding lockers are missing the shelf that holds small things like jewelry and cell phones inside, I decide to go for my regular locker. Now of course it d...

Hola!! Oh my! It is so nice to be back! I apologize to you for being gone so long! It really wasn't my fault...ok well, it was, but still. I had a little set back and I'll tell you all about it. You see what had happened was... Remember when I told you all about my sneakers and my ankle pain, et cetera? Well...I kind of shouldn't have kept running on it, it turns out. I strained both ankles and have been going to physical therapy for two months now. I know, I know! It's horrible. Poor me. Poor ankles. They couldn't even talk anymore, except to say, "Owwwwww..."  They were swollen..for weeks. There was constant pain...but only when I walked. And it seemed to be moving up my tendon.  The physical therapist ordered x-rays and MRIs.  It was  that serious. He thought, because I couldn't walk, that I had fractured at least one of my ankles. Believe me, although more painful, a fracture would have been better because it would have healed faster. The docto...

Okay. I am starting to think my legs, feet, and ankles have grown weary of carrying me around all these…um, 28 years. Watch yourself. I’m sticking with 28. I agree with you that is way too soon for body parts to start aching and complaining and giving up on life, but my right ankle seems to have missed this memo. Before I tell you what happened, let me describe exactly which part of the ankle I am referring to. You know where your ankle is, on the outside of your foot? Where a lot of females, including yours truly got tattooed in the 90s? That’s not it. I’m talking about the part of your ankle on the inside of your foot…the forgotten inner ankle joint area diagonally above that indention over your heel. Yeah. There. Mine decided to abandon me.      Here’s what happened. I’ve been running on the treadmill for approximately three weeks now. I used to do the elliptical machine (I was crazy with it!), water aerobics, and speed walk on the treadmill. I started runni...