Shin Splints Culprit

In February, I was crazy enough to sign up for a half marathon with a bunch of my friends.  I didn't sign up to get me started running.  I already run.  I love to run.  I have been a runner for years.  And maybe I will have to do a FBF or TBT to tell the story of how I started running after having kids.  But, that is for another day.

The reason I signed up for the half marathon is because it is something that I have always wanted to do, but haven't ever done it.  I have never upped my running workouts to that level, and I thought it would be awesome. Sadly, in the last month, I worried that I might not be able to accomplish it.  I started having shin splints.

The only other times I have had shin splints in my life was when I was terribly out of shape and my body was just working really hard to get back in shape.  I always just pushed right through them and recovered just fine.  The difference this time:  I was not out of shape.  I had been going for 8-mile runs and felt just fine.  I couldn't figure out what was the matter.  Luckily, I have a friend who is also an awesome podiatrist and he gave me some advice.

The first thing he asked me about was my shoes.  They were still pretty new so I quickly pushed that aside.  After that, I brought up my orthodics and we wondered if my 22+ year old orthodics could possibly be the culprit. But, the main thing he told me to do was rest my shins.  I HATE that advice.  I told him that I had pushed through it all the other times that I had experienced shin splints and I had always been just fine.  When I asked him what long-term damage could occur if I just ignored the shin splints, I was shocked to hear him respond, "Stress fractures."

What?!?

I had no idea.

So I resigned myself to an exercise bike for 2 weeks.  2 weeks.  It felt like forever, but I stayed disciplined.

Then, I laced up my running shoes...

...and went running.  I probably should have started out small, but we will just ignore that right now.  :)

I went for 6 miles.  

I felt good.  

I was praising my friend and his advice...until about 6:00 that night.  

Then the shin splints set in again.  

I was so frustrated.  

Another friend of mine had recommended compression socks and even let me borrow a pair from her.  They were heaven-sent.  They relieved me of almost all of the pain.  The problem was, after the first week, I felt like I had to wear them all the time.  I was afraid the compression socks were turning into a very large band-aid for a very large problem.  

I started thinking back on my podiatrist friend's advice again.  The FIRST thing he had mentioned was my shoes.  I wondered if that could be the problem.  The last 7-8 pair of running shoes I had bought were the same old thing, just a newer model.  Last time I went to buy a new pair of shoes, I couldn't find that kind anymore.  I wondered if it had finally been discontinued, so I tried something new, a stab in the dark.  That was my problem.  

I know I overpronate when I run, so I looked up the top shoes for overpronation.  The ones that I found were very similar to the last 7-8 pair I had owned.  I tried them on and bought them right away:

And the next day, I went out for a 7-mile run.  

It felt great.  

No compression socks.

No aches and pains

And NO SHIN SPLINTS!!!

Beautiful day!  I guess sometimes, shoes really do make the man, or woman, in my case. 

Bridge

These are some pictures from G's latest job:

He woke up at 12:15 this morning and was at work by 1.

They have been doing prep work for this bridge for nearly a year now and finally, today, they were able to swing girders across.  

I like numbers, so I've got a few for you here:

• This is an 11 million dollar project for 1.3 miles of road
• The big crane:
• Is a 600 ton crane
• Took over 24 truck loads to bring in the parts for assembly
• Took 3 weeks to assemble
• Is 36' wide (track to track)
• Has tracks that are taller than G's work truck
• Has a boom that is over 170' long
• Is holding counter-weights that are 550,000 lbs. 

• The girders they swung across weighed up to 289,000 pounds
• They are 8' tall and 223' long
• They are hoping to swing all 5 beams across and have them secured in 24 hours...in between the schedules of 3 freight trains and one Amtrak train
• There are 3 crane operators, 15 iron workers, supervisors, and train authorities all helping with the weekend's endeavors

Here's to crossing my fingers that they get it done by 2 am tonight.  That is when FrontRunner starts back up.  If they don't get it done, they have to wait until next Sunday.

In the meantime, it was pretty amazing to watch:

Awesome job G!

Vibrations

B and I like to go to the temple often.  She does baptisms for the dead and I often do initiatories.  The first couple of months we went together, we found that the timing was almost perfect.  If we ever had to wait for each other, the longest was probably only about 5 minutes.  But then, the baptisms started getting busier and busier until B had to leave before she even got done.  That made her sad, so I suggested a solution that I didn't think she would go for--we could wake up even earlier and beat the crowds.   She was all over that idea.  What?!?  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been that great when I was her age.  She amazes me.

Our new, earlier schedule puts us at the temple before it even officially opens.  Last week, I parted ways with B and she headed down the stairs to the baptistry.  I stepped through the glass doors of the temple and saw the men at the desk who were scanning temple recommends.  I knew they wouldn't let me in yet--only temple workers are allowed past the desk at that time of morning.  I looked at the time, noting that I had about 20 minutes before they would let me in.  I sat down on an antique-style, blue upholstered bench with armrests and no back.  The bench was positioned against one of the outer walls of the temple.  At first, I sat there with my legs crossed with my back leaning forward.  But as time passed, I leaned against the wall.

At first, I didn't notice it, but then I started wondering if something was wrong with my back.  It felt like it was trembling.  I re-positioned myself and settled back into a different comfortable position against the wall, only to find that nothing changed.  The trembling was still there.  I leaned forward and it was gone.  I realized--it was in the wall, not my back.  There was a force behind the trembling that I can't describe. It was persistent, steady, and powerful, yet completely silent.  What was it?  Why would the wall feel that way?  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was probably just mechanical vibrations from the basement below--furnaces or anything big and loud.

But then I thought about where I was and how symbolic even those simple vibrations were to me at that moment.  I was in the temple, the house of God.  This is one place that Satan, the most powerful evil force on this earth, cannot enter.  But I'm sure that doesn't stop him from trying.  In my mind's eye, I saw perfect brightness emanating from the temple.  I also imagined threads of darkness surrounding it. I saw the outer walls of the temple as a place where good and evil meet, a place where these forces combine, creating a powerful and steady vibration of conflict, but a place where good always wins.  I realized that if I stayed near the outer walls, I would probably continue to feel that conflict and uneasiness.

Luckily for me, the men at the desk let us know that it was time to enter the temple.  I stood up, walked away from the vibrations, scanned my recommend, and soon started doing temple work for my ancestors. I was able to savor the sweet spirit inside the temple, look into the loving eyes of the temple workers, and enjoy the peace of being in a place filled with so much good. I didn't think about the vibrations again until I was outside the temple.

This made me realize something:  I want to stay away from the fence that is sometimes so easy to sit on.  I want to be away from the conflict, and away from evil influences that slowly thread themselves into my life.  When I am completely immersed in goodness, goodness and happiness are what I feel. That is where I want to be.  I am so thankful for the temple.

Belly Button Wedgie

The other day, Ka and I were out shopping when we passed by something that caught Ka's eye.  I wasn't paying too much attention, but she said to me, "Mom, we shouldn't ever get those belly button wedgie's, huh?"

She waited for just a second and then added, "Is that what they are called?"

I looked around and couldn't figure out what she was talking about so I asked her, "What is it?"

She quickly explained, "Those swimming suits that show our belly buttons."

Oh, a bikini?!?

I love the words and phrases that kids come up with.

Fashion sense

A really cute belt is even better as a head band...don't you think?  Ka does. :)

Harvesting Rocks

G, K, Bl, and I had the opportunity to watch the sun rise over the Utah Lake on Saturday morning as we fulfilled an assignment to work on the 3,000+ acre Welfare Farm owned by the church.  B stayed home and watched Ka.

The sea of vehicles and amounts of people pouring out over the fields were amazing!

Our job:  To harvest rocks.  No, not potatoes or any kind of produce...rocks.  :)  It is all part of the process.

We were supposed to remove anything bigger than the size of our fist.  And for Bl, that isn't very big.  :)

I know this has been done tons before, but sometimes it seems like the ground produces rocks as well.  

A backhoe and loader were available to load up our harvest.

We shoveled, hauled, picked, and piled for three hours.  G never seemed to take a break.  He sometimes turns into a machine with a shovel.  :)  

Without realizing the amount of energy needed for this job, I had decided to go for a 6-mile run before our job began.  Combine a 6-miler with 3-hours of rock hauling and I had a hard time moving later in the day.  Good thing I'm not too old yet.

Flat Tire

My Saturday started off as a beautiful day. I told G that I wanted to go for a bike ride, but he reminded me that my mountain bike tires were still on my bike.  G snuck out without me even knowing it and put on my road bike tires.  That made my morning.

I headed out for a ride, anticipating to be able to go 15-20 miles.  The ride was gorgeous.  I love the spring air, the sunshine that seems to warm right through me with its rays, and the beginnings of life again.  Combine that with the spin of my tires, the wind blowing through my hair, and thoughts of hitting the bike path for the first time in months, and I was in heaven.  I was nearing my turn-around point and loving every minute of it...

...Right until my tire went flat.

I turned around and kept pedaling, hoping that I could limp it home.  But I didn't want to bend my rim or ruin my tire so I got off and started walking.  I called G.  But his truck was, well, filled a little over capacity:  

(His is the front one.  They were helping a family in our ward move to a new home.)  Good thing that biker didn't need any help.  :)

So, I told him that I would just be walking and he could come get me when he got done.  

I walked for about 15 minutes and was nowhere near home.  I realized the amazing amount of ground I  was able to cover on a bike, especially compared to the amount of ground I was covering at the current moment...on foot...pushing along a bike...with a flat tire.  No fun.

Cars, trucks, and SUVs came and went.  I was off in my own world when a blue Ford truck slowed down and pulled off the side of the road.  I wasn't sure if I should be scared or excited.  A man rolled down his window.  I am a small town girl and this is just what people do, but I live in the city now.  I wasn't sure if this should change how I would normally act.  

Thoughts were quickly whirling around in my head, "What should I do?  Should I walk up to him and talk to him or quickly avoid him and go to the other side of the road? Is he a crazy person, like I hear about on the news?  Was he here to help me or hurt me?"  I realized that there is one person who knew the answers to my questions and it wasn't me.   I said a prayer in my heart that I would be prompted to know whether or not this was a good person, approached the truck, and started talking to the man.  Before he even said a word, I felt like he was a person I could trust and was comforted.

Inside the truck, I saw a kind old  man with white hair, gentle eyes, and a warm smile, probably in his seventies, sitting alone in the driver's seat of his crew cab pick-up truck.  He pointed at my bike and said, "Most people I see out here with a bike aren't walking.  Does that mean you are having a problem?"  

I explained to him that my tire was flat and that I was heading home.

He then posed the question that I have coached my kids for years now to ALWAYS refuse, "Do you want a ride?"  

I told him that my husband was on his way, but thanked him for his kindness.  

He looked at me and said, "Are you sure?  I can take you home right now."  

I called G and asked him if he had left yet and he said they were still unloading and would be a while.  I told G what was happening, and surprisingly, he seemed alright with it.

I took this man up on his offer.  He quickly threw my bike in the back.  We had a great conversation on the way home.  I learned a little bit about this semi-retired man who lived in a city nearby, who liked to spend his winters a little further south in the sunshine.  But what I learned about most was of the kindness of his heart and his willingness to serve a complete stranger through his actions.  

Before I knew it, he was pulling up in front of my house.  I thanked him and before he left, he told me his name.  It is amazing what you can find online.  Even though he wasn't on Facebook, his wife was.  :)

I was so thankful for this Good Samaritan who stopped and helped me in my time of need.  Even though I got a flat tire, it still turned out to be a beautiful day!

Triangles

For Family Home Evening tonight, B taught the lesson on trials.  She started out the lesson with a simple question, "What are trials?"

K lit up, raised her hand, and answered, "Something with three sides!"

We were all confused for a second until we realized that she had heard the word triangles instead of trials. 

It gave us all a good laugh.  :)

My Hero Today

As I was studying this morning, I came across the story in 1 Nephi where Nephi is asked to kill Laban.  As he is battling with the decision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." 1 Nephi 4:13

So, how does this apply to me?

I am pretty sure that I will never be asked to kill a person.  This isn't a common requirement in my church.  Then, the particular wording hit me.  It doesn't say, "The Lord slayeth the wicked people..."  It just says, "The Lord slayeth the wicked." 

What do I have in my life, in my control, that I can slay or get rid of that is wicked? 

For a lot of my adult life, I have heard the terms, "Be true to YOURSELF...YOU have to do what is right for YOU...Make YOURSELF happy first..."

And for some reason, that has never settled well with me.

It feels like an excuse for selfishness, an excuse to let the natural man win.

And, I don't want that.

In Nephi's situation, it was "better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle in unbelief."  For me, and people of today, I think that it is better that one desire, one inner craving, one self-indulging thing can be let go so our Father's righteous purposes can be brought to pass.  . 

We can bring about His righteous purposes by slaying and eliminating the natural man within us all.  Nephi truly is a hero to me.

Illusions

A couple of weeks ago, I took my kids to the Museum of Natural Curiosity.  My kids spent two solid hours in interactive play from water creations, motion, wind, rope bridges, and so on.  I know there were tons of things we didn't even get to experience.  I watched in amazement when my kids stepped into the magic shop.  We were surrounded by things that tricked our eyes.  K stared at an image like this for quite a while:

It frustrated her a bit because she never could see the old woman.  She could easily spot the young woman.  She grew impatient and walked away after a while. 

However, she quickly saw the illusion in this picture:

How can this so clearly have three ends on one side, but two ends on the other side?  She smiled at the thought.

Screen monitors showed us that this rectangle is not really a rectangle, it is a square.

These are the same.  But are they the same, really?

Earlier this week, my kids started watching a show on Netflix called Brain Games.  It was filled with more of these optical illusions:

The color on the top block is the same as the color on the bottom block.  Don't believe me?  Put your finger over the middle.  They are the same. 

And there is this one, where the center, top, brownish color is supposedly the same color as the center, side, orange color.  Take away all the other colors--yep, it's the same.

Then came this picture:

It drove me CrAzY!

I know what I see and it isn't what everyone else tells me to see.  At first I thought it was a silly internet thing, but after asking my family we were all split with the white/gold and blue/black controversy as well. 

I stared at it and stared at it.  I didn't understand. 

It just plain messed with my mind. 

I started talking to my kids about all of these illusions we had come across and the thought occurred to me--illusions haven't just snuck in during the last couple of weeks.  We are surrounded by them daily, from the voice on the radio and the image on the computer screen to the influences in the halls at school.

Satan is THE master of illusions. He knows that if he can twist, shade, mold, shape, bend, or shadow things enough, they can look completely different than they really are.  Good can look evil, and evil somehow seems good.  (Isaiah 5:20) But, we don't have to become a victim of our own perceptions--a victim of Satan's deceptions. 

How?  By one of the greatest gifts given to man:  The Holy Ghost.  I am so thankful for the power of the Holy Ghost who manifests "the truth of all things."  (Moroni 10:5) I know that the Holy Ghost can and does testify of the truth of all things, not just things of a spiritual nature...the truth of ALL things.  I know that if I had really needed an answer to the dress dilemma, I could've just asked.  More importantly, I know that if I ask my Heavenly Father specifically about what my son is struggling with or how to best help my daughter through a certain trial, that the truth will be made known to me. 

I can be guided without deceptions, I can be directed without shadows, I can be taught without mind games, and I can be instructed without bias.  What a beautiful gift!

G's Bailing Wire and Duct Tape

 There is not much that this guy:

 

 

 

Can't fix with a little bit of J-B Weld

 

 

And in this particular case, dental floss.

 

It reminds me of the old farm fix:  Bailing wire and duct tape.  However this is tons better. 

 

I thought the Rubik's cube was a total loss.  B optimistically hoped it was fixable.  But the plastic was cracked.  Super glue can't withstand the pressure.  G came home and made the impossible happen.  What a super dad!

 

 

We love him so much!  I love that he can be the knight in shining armor in so many ways for all of my girls, especially since there are so many of us.  This particular girl was extremely happy.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I'm kind of embarrassed by my bragging about these cookies last week.  We really like these cookies, but that doesn't mean everyone will.  One of my friends asked for the recipe, though, so here it is:

2 cubes butter or margarine (I use imperial margarine) :)
1 c packed brown sugar
3/4 white sugar
2 eggs (I use medium eggs)
1 t vanilla
3 - 3 1/2 c flour (If the dough is too sticky, add that extra 1/2 cup of flour.  Not enough flour will make the cookies flat)
3/4 t salt
3/4 t baking soda
chocolate chips

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients then mix with wet ingredients.  Add chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. 

Rubik's cube: A turn for the best

My daughter (B) is growing up.  It's been sneaking up on me, but it is really happening.  I register her for Junior High School next week.  Her days of preschool are long gone.  She has started going to Young Women's.  I swear I was just dropping her off at nursery.  One of her favorite things to do is curling up and reading a really good book, not sitting on the floor with a bucket of toys.  Where has the time gone?  Of all these accomplishments and milestones, however, today was one of my favorites.

A little background first.  B and K decided to buy Rubik's cubes at the dollar store over the holidays.  After the initial scrambling, they were really frustrated that they couldn't get it back together.  They were even more disgruntled when I told them that I couldn't fix it.  I had absolutely no clue how to fix a Rubik's cube.  When my husband got home, he turned to the best solution out there--YouTube.  He spent over an hour on a 15-minute tutorial teaching him how to solve the Rubik's cube.  He was their hero when he figured it out.  The girls spent hours over the next couple of weeks trying to figure it out until they had completely mastered it.  Ever since then, B often has her Rubik's cube around.

Today, she took it to school with her and when she got home, she showed me this:

A bag filled with Rubik's cube pieces.  When I asked her what happened, she explained it to me.  She had it with her as she was doing her hall monitor duty.  She left it on a chair and one of those slightly frustrating, trouble-causing boys came down the hall and grabbed her Rubik's cube off the chair.  He played with it for a minute, turned around, and tossed it back to B.  She didn't quite catch it.  It fell to the ground and shattered. 

B had a few different emotions go through her mind at the time.  At first, she was really mad at the boy, then she thought she would go tell her teacher, then she thought some more.  A realization came to her.  Yes, the boy shouldn't have picked up her Rubik's cube.  Yes, he shouldn't have thrown it to her.  Yes, she could go tell her teacher, and yes, he might get in trouble.  But...B had brought the Rubik's cube to school.  She was the one who didn't quite catch it when it was tossed to her, and tattling to a teacher really wasn't going to solve the situation.

 

In this moment, in a mom's eyes, she squared her shoulders, gathered the pieces, and realized that she was bigger than that.  She didn't yell at the boy.  She didn't tell her teacher.  She turned the other cheek as our Savior has told us to do so many times.  She was forgiving.  She knew that she might be able to fix it and even if she couldn't, it wasn't worth getting mad at someone for.  I know she's probably grown 1/2 inch in the last few months, but today, she grew 2 feet taller to me.  I love you B.  Thanks for being such a good example to us all.  

Small and simple...not insignificant

I used to make the best cookies. I don't mean to be boastful, but they were awesome.  Every time I made them, they came out pretty dang good.   Friends, neighbor kids, and acquaintances were often dropping hints that I should make more cookies.  :)  We loved them. But then something happened...we moved.

 

I tried to make chocolate chip cookies again and they were terrible.  The first obstacle I had to overcome was the oven.  The cookies were doughy on top and burned on the bottom.  Not my favorite.  After many batches, I learned that with my particular oven, I had to put the rack on the highest slot (way too high in my mind) to make almost everything finally turn out "normal". 

 

However, "normal" still wasn't great for my cookies.  What had changed?

 

I couldn't figure it out.  The elevation wasn't that much different, I followed the recipe precisely, but my cookies were flat and just didn't look pretty.  The texture was all wrong too. 

 

So, what had changed?  Costco.

 

I didn't have a Costco where we used to live.  (How did I survive?!?)  Back when we were poor college students and newlyweds, I bought the cheapest EVERYTHING.  The cheapest eggs were the medium ones.  The cheapest butter was really just margarine, and the cheapest margarine was Imperial brand. 

 

Costco carries 5 dozen eggs that are pretty affordable as well, but they are large.  Would that make a difference?  I didn't think so.

 

Costco also sells butter instead of margarine, which is healthier, and we could all use healthier cookies...I didn't think these small things would make a difference.

 

So, I didn't change.  Those two tiny things occurred to me over two years ago and I didn't change.  My family suffered through flat, boring, cake-like-textured chocolate chip cookies all for the sake of a little chocolate fix.  And it could have been so much better, but I didn't change.

 

Why?  I guess I didn't want to.  It was easier to buy eggs in the 5-dozen size. Costco didn't stock imperial margarine, and I didn't want to make yet another stop on my shopping days.  It was hard.

 

A few weeks ago, I finally decided to do something about our cookie issues.  I made a wonderful discovery:  Macey's sells medium eggs AND they have imperial margarine.  I made the purchase and quickly went to work.  I knew right away that they were going to turn out different.  The texture of the dough felt right and they looked perfect when they came out of the oven.  I can't tell you how excited I was!   I made over 7 dozen cookies that day and shared with everyone I could think of.  It all worked out how it was supposed to, all by making two small, simple, almost insignificant changes.  But they were significant.

 

This has made me think a lot about how I handle some things in my life.  Am I going through the motions, trying to do things like I have always done them, but unwilling to adapt when things change?  Am I unwilling to change when things are hard?  We are promised in the scriptures "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."  Could I make eye contact and smile to a stranger I see on the street?  Could I spend a little more time listening to how the day went for my children?  Could I put a little more effort into coming up with a new Lego creation with my boy?  Can I give my husband an extra tight hug when he comes home and really let him know how much I appreciate him?  There are many times when I am prompted to do the right things...the small and simple things.  When I make the choice to actually do them, the results are amazing!  I want my cookies and my life to turn out the best they possibly can.  Who doesn't?   With the right ingredients, the proper steps, the best intentions, and following through, I know that is exactly how things can be. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Beginning

I have wanted to blog again for a while now.  I can't tell you how many people have asked me to start things back up again, but I haven't done it.   I have come up against some road blocks...life is busy, computer issues, the name of my old blog doesn't fit anymore, and probably the biggest one of all is privacy.  The best way to really have my words out there is to have a public blog.  I write about my life, my family, and my thoughts.  Is it dangerous to have all that information out there where everyone can see?  Of course it is. 

After thinking it over for a long time, however, I have decided that I am going to go forward with it.  I started a new blog.  I won't give out personal information or names.  For those of you who know me personally, you can probably figure out what child I am writing about.  You know the general area that I live.  I won't leave out descriptive details because that is how I write.  I love to paint the pictures with words. 

I plan on writing at least once a week, but mostly just when the thoughts and words come.  There is fulfillment for me as I put words together and I want to share it all with you.  Please, if you have a minute, share with me some of your thoughts, pointers, tips, and suggestions on privacy and the things you want to see when you come read.  I would love to hear from you.