Friday, April 27, 2007

My poor feet

I have a raging blister on my left foot and a minor one on my right, all because I didn't wear the right socks. Gold Toe makes the best sock, IMHO - not the one that mentions blisters, but the one further down the page called Bounce Quarter. They are very padded and soft, and I have never had even the inkling of a blister while wearing them. Target stopped carrying them (I'm still mourning). I wore the Target replacement, I think they're made by Champion, to the gym for the first time yesterday, and ended up with two blisters. Today I must go to the mall and see if anyone still has The Good Socks, or I'll have to order them online, and I'll be on the bike instead of the treadmill until my feet heal a bit. Girlchild and I are both at the gym just about every day, and she also needs socks for work, so we go through a lot of socks and do a lot of laundry. I want to add 6 more pairs to the rotation.

As of yesterday I've done 49 miles for Runagogo, all "official" sweat inducing exercise miles on treadmill or elliptical or bike. With all of this exercise, I haven't lost an ounce. I'm pretty frustrated by that, but I feel great so I have no desire to stop.

I went to the cardiologist yesterday, he says I'm basically okay but I have a slight irregularity in my EKG, which he doesn't think is a big deal, it may have been caused by my brain hemorrhage and my heart is still recovering, or I may have been born with it and it has never been an issue. (I had no idea that a SAH can damage your heart and even cause cardiac arrest until it was over and I was declared healthy - there are so many bad things that could have happened, I'm glad I was ignorant while they could have happened.) I have to go for a fancy stress test after I get back from MD, but I'm not terribly concerned. Even if it is a permanent heart problem I can deal with it, Dr. Z was glad to hear about my gym activities and when I mentioned hiring a trainer he encouraged that too - he's a marathoner and I think he wants to lure me into the cult - he asked me if I've thought of trying a half-marathon.

He didn't put me on any medication and laughed that another cardiologist had put me on Lipitor when I first got out of the hospital. We both laughed that I had too many doctors and couldn't tell them apart - I don't even know who wrote the script for Lipitor, it was just part of my discharge meds and was marked "no refills." When it ran out I stopped taking it, because I was going to see Dr. Z anyway. Dr. Z did not refill it, he said my cholesterol was a wee bit elevated but not really abnormal and he'd rather see what diet and exercise does for me first. So I like this guy too - I lucked into two specialists who believe exercise is better than pills! I've been so lucky all the way around this adventure.

I'm still getting ready for the garage sale, and I'm still finding knitting stuff I can part with - I went through my magazines and was honest with myself - would I really want to make/wear/use anything in them? My monster magazine collection is down to about 15 magazines.

I was listening to the news the other night and a report about the economy referred to us, Americans, citizens, as "Consumers." That is our job as good Americans - consume. Consume more and more, newer, better, different. Buy a bigger house to keep it all. I've been sensing a rebellion against this, at least among the people I know, it seems like if I mention downsizing they all chime in and say that they've been doing the same thing. We've Consumed enough.

4 comments:

Gigi said...

Consumers. That we are. I have been working on not buying anything that does not further me toward me goal. I have done ok. I won't give myself any gold stars. But we use shopping as a leisure activity, a hobby. Is it any real surprise tht we have too much stuff? When people ask what your hobby is, some of us say knitting, or sewing or excercize, or reading, but an awful lot of people say 'shopping'. I have great hopes tht the new green trendiness will also translate into at least some decrease in our buying. ANd I am not claiming to be oh, so good about it. But I am more aware, and I think that is the first step. It also doesn't hurt that I am flat broke!

The hardest for em to part with are the things I love- anything knitting, anything fabric. But I am trying.

I am so glad you have been recovering so well. That was a scary time for those of us who read you regularly.

Catherine said...

I agree, being aware of one's consumption habits is the first step. I still like to shop when I NEED something, but I've finally started asking myself whether I really need it, instead of talking myself into it or buying out of habit. "Does this get me closer to my goal?" is a great question to ask - since my goal is to minimize the cost of moving my Stuff, the answer will almost always be no.

Amy in StL said...

Go get a trainer! It's the best thing that I've ever done for myself. If you don't like the first one you have, find one you mesh well with. Mine is a 20-something girl with insane ideas that I'll give up cheese and drink. But she's not crazy pushy about it and she's not scary happy all the time. She's very no-nonsense about our workouts and I've never been in better shape. Shop around for price as well as personality. Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now....

Catherine said...

I"ve had trainers in the past, Amy, including one I really loved, a woman around my own age who was fantasitic (this was at another gym and around 10-12 years ago). I'm watching the ones on staff at this gym to see if there's one I like. I want someone a bit older, because the really young ones tend to act like I am their mother, and have to be persuaded that though there is a layer of fat on them at the moment, I do have muscles. But this won't happen until I am working again and have a paycheck coming in.