Month: June 2013

You can have bad days

by Katie Welker

Cue Daniel Powter’s one-hit wonder.

I don’t think anything frustrates me more than being told that I cannot do something. Especially when I know that not doing what I want is actually good for me — I’m stubborn, shocker.

After winning a personal victory and  overcoming my own road blocks, I finally felt like my running patterns have been consistent. I even ran six miles on Saturday night, a personal outdoor record for me. Too bad I paid for it on Sunday and could barely bend my knee. Conveniently enough I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon this morning.

My doctor evaluated the MRI I had taken two weeks ago and said that I have right knee patellar and quadriceps tendinitis with patellofemoral syndrome, AKA I have extreme pain in my knees, especially when I run more than 5 miles.

The solution? Cut my running down from 4-5 times a week to once a week. Keep my distance under five miles. Incorporate swimming into my exercise routine at least twice a week, go back to physical therapy to strengthen my core and the muscles around my knee and get new fitted sneakers (my baby-sized feet make it difficult to just walk into a store and find shoes conducive to my troubling situation.) This may not sound like a bad deal to some, but when running is the one form of exercise I genuinely look forward to in order to relieve my stress, it’s nothing short of a major bummer to me. The inconsistency just kills me.

I had plans to run the Rochester Marathon at the end of September. I was following a 15-week training program. Some call me crazy, I refer to it as ambitious. Looks like I’ll be swapping marathons for an excessive amount of 5Ks to keep my competitive spirit alive.

The bad news: No marathon, not even a half marathon in my near future. Spend more time and money to fix my knees. Find an exercise other than running to relieve my stress.

The good news: My patience for frustrating situations is only growing stronger. It could be worse. It will get better.

You’re allowed to have bad days, more than one actually. Sometimes your circumstances are just out of your control. As long as you stay focused on your goals and keep your heart full of appreciation for the blessings you already have, then I believe life has no other choice but to eventually reward you with brand new blessings that are sure to be worthwhile.

“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.”- S. Freud

What chapstick taught me

by Katie Welker

chapstick

Disclaimer: there is a point to this post, I swear.

Earlier today at work I was looking for my pomegranate flavored Burt’s Bees chapstick. I thought it was in my purse but after looking, I couldn’t seem to find it. I moved on to look in my bag with my work materials in it. Nope. It wasn’t there, either. My pockets were empty so I knew I must have left it somewhere back at my apartment. It was only one o’clock in the afternoon and I knew I’d survive without it, but I didn’t want to wait until I got home after 7 p.m. to finally use my Burt’s Bees.

Frustrated, I sat down and went back to work. Not even two minutes later I looked down at my keyboard and realized I had a stick of Softlips chapstick sitting right there, literally less than two inches from my fingertips. I laughed out loud. I spent almost five minutes searching for my specific pomegranate Burt’s Bees that I was completely oblivious to the fact that I had a perfectly good alternative right in front of me.

So often in life we search for things that we think we need or think we want. We are hell-bent on the fact that these images we have created in our heads — of people, jobs, friends, whatever it may be — is what’s best for us, that it is the only option for our ideal happiness.

I am a big fan of working hard for what I want and an even bigger fan of never settling for less than I deserve and desire. But sometimes it’s necessary to be humbled by the stable and predictable parts of our day that rarely waiver. It can be okay to accept your second choice sometimes.

Maybe what you find isn’t exactly what you were looking for, but sometimes it turns out to be just what you need.

Dalai_Lama