John Mayer - Why Georgia

5-2-12  Running again! I went to my first physical therapy appointment on Monday morning.  It went really well.  I learned some exercises that are really important to loosen and strengthen muscles.  Funny thing is that the exercises are the exact same ones that I used to do back when I was going to a personal trainer many years ago.  I also learned the same things Kai has been telling me that your hips and core are so important.  If you don't have a strong core and strong hip muscles then the muscles in your lower legs take more of a beating every time you pound the pavement.  She told me that my soleus muscle in my right calf is really tight and I need to work on stretching that.  So until the next visit she gave me  the following exercises to do at home; side lying leg lifts, standing soleus stretch, double leg heel raises, toe raises, and bridges.  She did ultrasound on my shin and also did some deep massaging of the same area.  On Friday they will video me running on a treadmill with a camera that attaches to a laptop and then she will analyze the way I run to see if there is anything I need to change.  She also told me that I could try to start running again but to keep it short at first and close to home.  Go in loops around where I live so I am never too far from home if I start to have problems.  I ran today, only 1.5 miles but wanted to make sure I was going to feel okay afterwards before I start ramping up the distance.  My plan is to run again in the morning before work, probably another shortish distance and then take t from there.  My shin still hurts a little but no where near as bad as last week.  I could hardly walk last week.  I had trouble making it from my car to the building at work!

I don't know what to do about the marathon or what the best plan is to try and ramp back up to the distance that I was running quickly!  I may google that and see what is said about recovering from an injury and getting back up to speed.  I know I can't run 20 miles this weekend which is where I should be.  I don't even want to try for fear that I would just put myself right back where I was a week ago.

My peony bush, that I showed a few weeks ago as it just started sprouting out of the ground, is in full bloom.  This usually blooms closer to Memorial Day.  This year is just all messed up.  I have covered this plant several times when we had frost warnings because it brings me such joy each spring and I would be crushed if it froze and didn't bloom. That did happen a couple of years ago.  I even take pictures of this plant every spring, they look the same, lol.  This is actually two different plants, that I planted together.  The other section of the bush is still in large buds, will probably bloom next week and I'll post those too, they are very different and exotic looking.

I really like this John Mayer song.  I love the music but the lyrics are good too, for a 20 something that thinks they should know by now what their life is meant to be about!  Oh what they don't really know at that age.


I am driving up 85 in the
Kind of morning that lasts all afternoon
Just stuck inside the gloom
4 more exits to my apartment but
I am tempted to keep the car in drive
And leave it all behind

Cause I wonder sometimes
About the outcome
Of a still verdictless life

Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Why, why Georgia, why?

I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul

Either way I wonder sometimes
About the outcome
Of a still verdictless life

So what, so I've got a smile on
But it's hiding the quiet superstitions in my head
Don't believe me
Don't believe me
When I say I've got it down

Everybody is just a stranger but
That's the danger in going my own way
I guess it's the price I have to pay
Still "everything happens for a reason"
Is no reason not to ask myself