Wednesday, September 18, 2013

PF Update and a Must-Have for H2O

So as you may recall, I've been dealing with Plantar Fasciitis for a little over a month now. I have gotten some great advice from you guys. I've been stretching my foot, icing it, rolling a tennis ball underneath the heel, never going barefoot. Everything. And even though I've been super diligent, nothing really seems to help. What I've discovered is that PF is extremely common, and sometimes the only thing that truly helps is time. I probably don't need to tell you this, but patience is not one of my virtues. So I went to the walking track at my gym last week and walked for about 20 minutes. And then paid for it all night long.

Oddly enough, the PF doesn't really bother me when I am going about my daily activities...walking around my school campus, standing up all day teaching. It's only at night and in the morning when I just literally kills me.

I've been doing some yoga here and there, but have really been missing the endorphin rush I get from sweating. I don't know why I've never thought of this before, but as I was going to the gym on Monday to do some weight training,  I passed the elliptical trainer. Specifically this gigantic, state-of-the-art Cybex elliptical trainer WITH a built in oscillating fan. Hello, my new friend.
Oh my gosh. It's a great workout. I got on just to see how it would go. It felt alright, so I just kept on going. I turned up the resistance and the incline, and did about 16 minutes as fast as I could go without stopping. I haven't sweated so much in years. I had to dig deep to be able to go for that long. And I had sent to crank some appropriately angry, motivating music. I'm quite sure the people who walked past me had no idea the middle-age woman on the elliptical was listening to Tupac and Rage Against the Machine. But hey...whatever helps, right? When I got done I felt great. And sweaty. The best part of all? No PF pain later.

So I went again yesterday. I'll go tomorrow and Saturday too. It feels great to be on a four-day work out schedule again. I plan to increase my time little by little until I can go for 25 -30 minutes.

The other thing I wanted to tell you guys is that the BKR Water Bottle I mentioned in my post last Thursday is the DEAL. Seriously. At $28, it's a bit pricey for a water bottle, but it is so worth it. Mine was gifted to me by my BF Rachel for my birthday last week. I love it so much, I'm thinking about buying another one just so I can have one at home and one at school. Look how pretty it is.
It's a 16oz glass water bottle with a silicone sleeve. The silicone insulates it, provides grip, and protects it from breakage. Because it's glass, the water gets really cold in the fridge in a shorter amount of time. If bein' in love with a water bottle is wrong, I don't wanna be right. Rachel ordered mine online, but apparently you can get them at Gap Body too.
 
I hope everyone is having a great week. Thanks for reading!



9 comments:

  1. Thanks! I bought another one in green last night!

    You are on my mind this week. I know your surgery is going to go WONDERFULLY!

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  2. I had pf in the back if my heel which caused a huge lump and i had to wear a boot to immobilize it for 6 weeks. It took almost a year after that for it to go away. The podiatrist said the wrong shoes cause it so other than tennis shoes for exercising i only wear birkenstocks. The stretching before you get out of bed helps But it will heal with tone.

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    1. Oh my. A year. Dang. That is just crazy!

      No lump yet, but the pain can get intense. Luckily the elliptical doesn't seem to be making it worse.

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  3. Water bottle questions...what kind of spout...how much water does it hold and is the glass heavy?

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    1. Hey you! One thing I forgot in the email I sent...it's a 16 oz bottle. I thought that would be too small, but it's perfect.

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  4. I worked in a podiatrist office for 4 years as a medical assistant. I feel ya girl on that PF pain. Its nothing to joke about. Did you get custom insoles? They are hugely helpful.

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    1. Yes! I did try that for a while and it was a BIG help. As I kept going with the Cybex arc trainer, the pain lessened and lessened. Now...almost 90 pounds lost...the PF pain has completely gone away except when I'm on my feet for looooonnnnng hours. It's awesome. :)

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