September was the month for redemption.
Last year, my Lisfranc injury caused me to miss out on a lot of things from July through December. I am making up for all of the time lost with a fury this year.
I missed Comic Con last year. So, naturally this year, we went all in. We stayed at a hotel right across the street from the Convention Center, so we had easy access to the Con and it made for some great people watching! I actually saw a couple of people on a knee scooter. I didn't actually stop to chat with any of those people, but I thought that they were just so brave to attend Comic Con that way. I found that it was pretty accessible friendly, and there were different lines and areas marked specifically for ADA needs. I thought that was pretty rad, and had some immediate regret for not going last year. I could have gotten a wheelchair and worked that into my cosplay somehow - Professor X?? I had a great time, clocked in about 6 miles of walking each day (3 days), met some super cool geeks and celebrity types. I certainly was a bit sore at the end of each day but not enough to concern myself with it. A nice soak in the tub and some foot rubs from my hubby did wonders! Can't wait for next year!
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| Nate's Stormtrooper/Galactic Empire Flagbearer Costume |
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| Meeting Billy Boyd! (Pippin the Hobbit from LOTR) |
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| Best part about the Con is the art! Here we have a Cat Khaleesi with Kitten Dragons |
Of course, my next redemption was attending the Utah Utes home games in the stadium with no crutches, no scooter, and no boot! I didn't have to get into the stadium an hour prior to kick-off, just so that we could get to our seats and store my scooter at Guest Services before the game. I also could leave with the crowd, not having to wait for traffic to clear so Nate could go pickup my scooter. I always try to offer words of encouragement when I see people attending the game with assitance devices. I've been there, admire your spirit, and just know it will get better and you'll be glad you came!
I of course also got to host and coordinate our annual rib-cook off for our tailgate group (which didn't happen last year because I was on injured reserve). We had mountains of meat and it was awesome!
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| In the bleachers! No boot. No crutches. No scooters. No nothin'! Just my own two feet in flipflops. |
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| Teriyaki Ribs - smoked by Chef Nate |
I got on the treadmill today for the very first time since June 2015. Not to run on it - ugh never again - but just to try walking. It was super weird! It felt really unnatural. I started out with a really slow pace, like 1 mph. I didn't have pain or anything, but I had some serious balance issues. Definitely not used to the ground moving at any sort of consistent pace, and I had to hold on to the side rails! I eventually got the hang of it, and increased my pace ever so slowly as I felt comfortable. I did about 15 minutes, ending at about 3.5 mph. I think I'll stick to normal walking for now. Or the stair stepper. I've been working on the stair stepper as my main cardio at the gym. I think it helps me practice pushing off my foot, which I still think is my weakest after all this time. And it really is killer cardio.
No hikes this month. I've actually been training for......
...........drum roll please.............
RAGNAR!
I may just be insane, that's what you surely must be thinking? I know, I think I might be crazy too. But, I really, really, really want to do it. I've signed up, paid my race dues and booked my flight and hotel in Las Vegas for the weekend of November 4th. So it's official, ,and there's no backing out now. I took the easiest legs (Runner 7), which hurt my pride a bit, but I didn't want to push myself too much and get into a situation where I wasn't able to complete the race. I'm at a slowish turtle pace of about 14:00 minutes per mile, and I'll be clocking in 11 miles total, over the course of about 30 hours or so. The first leg is 3.1 miles, the second is 6.1 (the one I'm most scared of), and the third is 2.4 miles. My team is aware that I can do some running or very brisk walking. They know about my injury and know that I may or may not be able to complete or may need to skip all or part of some legs. I'm giving it my very best though, and I'll go as long as I can, as fast as I can. And I'll be a pretty awesome directions navigator and van cheerleader if nothing else. I'm scared though. I'm scared of not being able to finish. I'm scared of the pain. I'm scared of stepping wrong, or coming down funny on my foot. I'm scared my teammates will resent me if I have to give up. But, I'm doing it, and that's that. It might be my "version" of Ragnar....but it'll be all mine!!
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| YASSSS.... Oh wait...... |
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| YASSSS.... |
