stay-at-home resident
i could really get used to this lifestyle: working 2 days a week and spending the rest of my time working out, cooking, reading, blogging, and hanging around. i think i’d get bored and miss work eventually, though.
probably.
i think.
in all seriousness, i really do like my job and get a lot of satisfaction out of it. however, just because we’re on the subject: if, once i reach the promise land of pediatric endocrinology, i ever find myself feeling like i hate going to work every day, i hope that i have the strength to either morph my job into something different, or quit and do something else.
back to the present: it’s been a nice break away from work. i feel like i’ve been able to catch up on all sorts of things, both academic projects and other little nagging necessities of life, like my own health, and the health of my VW. did you know that the glass repair people will actually come to YOU? i’m impressed. although i should probably save my favorable review because they haven’t actually arrived yet (time window = 11 am to 3 pm today).
the rest of today will be dedicated to:
☆ reading for work and doing prep questions
☆ looking into some research options
☆ yoga or 30-day shred, depending on whether amazon comes through and delivers my DVD (and immersion blender!) on time
☆ making some fun doin’ time recipes, also immersion blender-dependent
hip report: the ART experience
so i had my first chiropractic appointment, at a practitioner who specializes in active release techniques (ART for short). i was really impressed in the way he was able to figure out exactly which muscles were stiff and where i had some weakness — he agrees that my problems are around the iliopsoas area, but he thinks it is more muscular than tendon. he said my injury was exactly the type of issue that ART is designed to help, and did my first session of ART exercises.
i didn’t know what to expect with these stretches, but for the hip, basically he palpated very deeply into my abdomen with me on my side and was able to feel the muscle coming through, and then had me push my leg in different directions. it really burned and i could really feel exactly which muscles were very sore and tight and inflamed. it corresponded exactly to where my pain was and i am positive he has it pinpointed exactly. overall i was really impressed and will be back up to twice weekly for the next few weeks as he feels this will greatly accelerate healing (and hopefully prevent reinjuring the area in the future).
he said that i could run on it, but to take it easy. i think i am going to play it safe and stick to elliptical and spinning this week, and then i’ll gradually introduce some running next week.
for anyone curious, the sessions are covered by insurance but there is a $35 copay on my plan. not exactly dirt cheap, but i think worth it if it will help me to continue doing the activities i love. i am not anticipating having to go frequently in the long term, but i have a feeling i may have to at first to get past the acute phase of the injury.
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3.9.09
workout: 1 hour spin class! i used my heart rate monitor to see what kind of cardiovascular workout the class would generate. the stats:
54 minutes (i didn’t have it on during stretching), average HR 173, max 187
pretty decent! i think i may play with using the HRM during workouts for a while because . . . why not? it’ll be nice to see the numbers come down after i get some of my running fitness back (i’m assuming i probably lost SOME ground in my 10 days off!).
i also did a 30 minute yogadownload: 30 minute intro to yoga. this session focused on perfecting alignment in the basic poses and was a good stretching session. after today’s ART session, i know i REALLY need to work on hip flexibility, especially on the right side. next time i’ll ask him what he thinks of yoga as a stretching technique.
doin’ time: last night’s martha recipe was super-easy: the moroccan chicken with couscous, which was basically chicken thighs, lots of veggies, chickpeas, and couscous, all in one nicely spiced dish. it was one of those easy dinners where everything just gets dumped into one pot and simmered for a while, which minimizes effort and cleanup (because you can get most of your cleaning done while the simmering is occuring). it is super-healthy (the only substitution i made was to use whole wheat couscous, because that’s what i had) and we both really liked the flavor. i would definitely make this again.
new chocolate find: i bought this bar because i liked the label and the idea of cherries. however, i could barely taste the cherry and found the bar too dark even for my taste (which usually leans toward the dark side). don’t worry, though — we’ll eat it anyway. even subpar dark chocolate is still pretty tasty.
reading: 40 minutes reading 2 march 09 pediatrics articles — one on functional abdominal pain syndrome (we see a LOT of that in the ER, actually!) and one on vitamin D deficiency in adolescents. the latter made me want to go for a walk in the sun!
3 Comments
Glad you are enjoying your down time! Keep us updated on the ART experience. I hope it continues to help out the hip.
I just found your blog – I like your perspective and reading how you balance everything, as I will be in a similar spot in a few years. Glad you have some downtime to enjoy.
Hope the hip is ok!
Did you do the shred yet?
The macaroni & cheese from a few days ago looks awesome!