Back Again

We are now back to "normal": sadly, Mom and Dad left on Tuesday. We had a great time with them as always so it is hard to see them go. Pic above is from our trip to the Eifel region in Germany, where we did some hiking around the volcanic lakes and saw a real geiser - cool!

On Monday it's the Ladies Run - I am doing the 11 km for the third time this year (I did the 5 k my first year, which was my very first race ever - I can still remember how nervous I was!). Because of the bursitis thing and having company I have not gotten in all the running I had originally planned...which does make me a little bit nervous. But I just picked up where I left off on my schedule and things seem fine. My hip feels okay so maybe it was a good thing to cut back on the running a bit and give it time to heal. We did do a lot of walking/hiking while we were in Germany and here in Leuven so it's not that I have been sitting on my behind and doing nothing! So I am just going to go on Monday and give it my best shot! Wish me luck!

Stepping out

Another great way to get some exercise - dancing with the stars!

Midweek run with Mom!

I asked Mom if she wanted to run today - it was a beautiful morning, perfect for running. At first she said no, but then I reminded her we still have to report to Jenny and this way we would be able to say, "Yes, as a matter of fact, we did run today!" So then she agreed. So we grabbed our house photographer and headed out to the lake, where we did a very enjoyable three loops (4.2 km). We were glad we went! My hip is fine while running, bothers me a lot more while walking and after running - thanks for all the good wishes!

Tomorrow we are off to Germany for a few days - going to visit the Eifel, which is a region just north of the Mosel. Mom is really looking forward to some apple strudel!

Unexpected Happenings

Mom and Dad are supposed to be here right now - but they aren't because their flights got delayed because of storms in the midwest, so they won't be here til tomorrow. So what's a girl to do when she already did all the cleaning, bed making and shopping for the visitors?

Go to the gym, right?

Right. I have to admit I have been a bit psyched out about running since this whole bursitis thing so I have been walking and biking everyday, did my aerobics class on Tuesday and yoga class on Thursday, but this would be my first run since Sunday. The hip is still bothering me a lot, but what I realized when I got on the treadmill is that it doesn't hurt while I am running, it just hurts in a major way afterwards. I did 8.4 km in 60 minutes and made sure I stretched really thoroughly before I went home. But I am definitely feeling the effects. Hopefully I will be recovered enough to take Mom out tomorrow to get the four essential items for visitors to Belgium: check it out here!

Happy Mother's Day!

To my mom in particular, and to all the other great women I know who are also great moms...Happy Happy Mother's Day!

Sometimes what a mom needs most is some time to herself and that's what my run was today... a long contemplative run...55 minutes, 7.1 km, sunny and perfect temperature... Lots of time to enjoy my music and think.

Have a great day!

Bursitis

I went to my doctor today for my regular thyroid blood test and she was asking me how my running was going and I told her about the Princess Race with Mom and Jenny, but I also mentioned that my hip had been bothering me for a long time, and then she got all serious and starting asking me questions about it, and before I knew it, she was examining my hip, back and leg joints to see if everything functioned properly. Her conclusion - bursitis of the hip joint, which means the sac surrounding the joint is inflammed. So I have to take a high dose course of anti-inflammatories for ten days and see if it improves. My burning question - do I have to cut back on my exercising? No, not at this time. So she wants to see if the bursitis improves at my current level of activity. I sure hope it does, because I think I would go seriously insance if I couldn't exercise at all. Not to mention needing much bigger clothes! So I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be all there is to it, and I will be feeling a lot better for the Ladies Run on June 1st.

For the rest, everything is good - we got our electricity issues sorted out, thanks to our wonderful electrician, Ludo. Now if only the weather would get a bit nicer for Gillis' confirmation and our special visitors next week!

One month til the Ladies Run!

It's May 1st - a holiday here in Belgium and a lot of other European countries. Since we have a communion to go to on Sunday morning we decided to take advantage of the day off and do our long run today. It was beautiful weather and there were lots of other runners out at the lake. We ended up doing our 7 loops in 65 minutes, a bit slower than average, but we got sidetracked a couple times by Felix and Gillis who came to play at the park while we ran, and had to check in with us for various things once or twice (bathroom? drink? chips?). All in all it was a good run.

Now I will be surrounded by testosterone as each of the boys will have a friend over this afternoon, the two older ones for homework assignments...good think I snuck up to the computer and got this blog typed out, because I think it will be in constant use today!

Hope you all have a lovely May 1st, whether you have to work or not!