On the Road
Just like last week, I am sitting in an airport as I write this. I’m on my way home after 7 days in Oregon this time around. This event was very physically challenging this time. I’m always struggling with my bad knees but sadly that wasn’t what was bugging me the most. I have had back pain for the last two years and pain in my shoulder since October. I don’t know what the cause of either of these is. I feel like I am falling apart some times. I don’t really have the option of being injured. When you work for yourself there are no sick days. I don’t get paid if I don’t work. I’m pretty good at just pushing through it. All those years as an athlete have prepared me for it. I also have a really high pain tolerance and just have to suck it up sometimes. I do complain to my husband and ask for massages to help with the pain but others likely have no idea how much pain I am in.
I know I need to see a doctor about it all but I don’t really want to. I have been injured enough to know the process. See the doctor, get x-rays, see a specialist, get an MRI, and then go to physical therapy, blah, blah, blah. And then if I am really lucky I can get another surgery on something. I have had four knee surgeries, 1 hand surgery (the avocado incident), 1 wrist surgery (be careful while standing on a semi-truck) and 1 elbow surgery (watch out for rocks while mountain biking). Never mind that it will cost thousands of dollars and time away from work so instead I just deal.
With all of that going on I know I still must work out and take care of myself. When I am at an event I don’t work out outside of all the walking and lifting I do at an event. To give you an example of the amount of miles I walked this past week.
Day 1 – 3.3 miles (travel day)
Day 2 – 10.2 miles (event day)
Day 3 – 4.6 miles (event day)
Day 4 – 3.1 miles (event day)
Day 5 – 9.4 miles (event day)
Day 6 – 5 miles (event day)
Day 2 and 5 were good ones and the busiest days. But what did I eat during that time? Crap and more crap! Well ok, so maybe half of it wasn’t so bad. We found a grocery store that had pre-made meals that we could just warm up in our hotel room microwave that was nice instead of eating in a restaurant for every meal. It is my constant struggle. I can get into a bit a routine at home and keep healthier foods in the house but when I am on the road it’s really hard. I’m sure you have the same challenges I do just in different ways. I’m working on trying to figure it all out. Note the picture of my work space in the airport and my view. Ugh!
