Author: Jolene Cooper

You still there?
OK, don’t say I didn’t warn you…

I’ve previously expressed my desire to reduce my whining and complaining, and since instigated a rule, along with some coworkers, that complaining is reserved for Mondays and Mondays only.  We’ve also tried to come up with a daily “best thing” (BT), taking Suzanne’s suggestion to focus on the good things rather than the bad. While I do think my whining has been reduced, I’ve also realized that my blogging falls on Tuesdays, and only in the cases of holiday Mondays have we allowed complaints on any other day.  Well today I’m breaking the rule, and be forewarned, I’m not holding back.

I’ll start with my chiropractor appointment last week. For a month or so, I’ve suspected that I’m not benefitting from treatment anymore, and for the last few weeks, I really haven’t felt the need for a chiropractic adjustment. I know what you’re thinking, “isn’t this good news?” and the simple answer is “Yes. BUT …” I honoured my appointment, even though I felt it unnecessary, where my chiropractor began adjusting areas that haven’t needed adjustments previously. So please explain to me why I felt better than I have in months and somehow required extra chiropractic care? Ok that is a bit of an exaggeration, my doctor did say I’ve made great improvements and can now reduce the frequency of treatment, but then why do my knees and ankles require adjustments all of a sudden? 

Obviously, I am not a chiropractor, and I wouldn’t normally challenge their expertise, but I’m seriously puzzled. Especially since receiving adjustment on my ankle last week, I’ve experienced numerous bouts of locking and joint weakness. Now don’t overreact, I occasionally experience these symptoms in my left ankle due to a surgery over 10 years ago, but complete joint instability has been quite rare until last week.

So now what do I do? What can be done when the person I should be complaining to, is the very cause of the complaint.  Should I dump my chiropractor and hope my ankle settles into it’s old groove? Or seek an alternative chiropractor? Or return to my chiropractor and file my complaint.

Oh, and I’m not done there. I’ve also noticed my skin has been exceptionally dry the last few weeks. I’m not sure if this is due to the change in season, but no amount of moisturizer seems to do the trick. Is there some west coast secret I’m not privy to?

If you haven’t already figured it out, I crave consistency, so these issues really annoy me, even though it must just sound like sour grapes to most of you. Bitter apples is more like it. My daily apple is often the highlight of my lunch hour, but I haven’t been able to locate a decent quality apple in the last month. Lately, my apples have been extra waxy and stale tasting. I usually stick to Spartan, as their pretty reliable in the taste department, but every time I go to the market, they’re either not there or all bruised.
Is there some super dependable and extra tasty fruit market out there that I don’t know about yet?

That ought to satisfy my need to complain until the next holiday Monday…

Last night I had my first game of dodgeball.

Walking into that gymnasium, I was reminded of why I hated gym class as a child.
The stale smell of sweat and rubber assaulted my nose, the temperature was about 15 degrees warmer than in the hallway, and that whistle. Don’t get me started on the whistle.

While I wouldn’t exactly call our first dodgeball game a success, I would say we probably had more fun than the other team; and that’s all I really wanted. So I’m calling my sore right arm a bonus gift. 

I did take some solace in the fact that I wasn’t the only one with a sore throwing arm by the end of our crippling defeat.  And now I’m known as the girl on the team who teaches the post-game stretches. 

So my plan this week is to develop an arm strengthening program, something I apparently forgot about since last week’s post where I made the exact same realization.

What our team lacks in strength and actual skill, we’re hoping to make up for in strategy.  Does anyone know of any dodgeball strategies to improve our game?

Remember a few weeks ago when I made one of my goals to “try new activities that are out of my comfort zone”?
Well, don’t listen to me. I’m painfully stupid. Emphasis on painful.
If you’re going to venture out of your comfort zone, make sure you’ve got it securely tethered to your ankle, because I think I lost mine somewhere off the coast of Tofino.

Three hours in the surf off Chesterman’s Beach, and all I’ve got to show for it is a sprained toe, a massive bruise and two earfuls of sand. 

Ok that’s not entirely true; I also have a few photos to show for it. Lucky for you, I’m sharing these photos free of charge. You didn’t have to earn them like I did.

Speaking as someone who’s never skied or snowboarded, wake boarded or water-skied, surfing is hard. Anyone who’s attempted it more than once, I am thoroughly impressed. I’ll admit that it was pretty exhilarating being out in the cold Pacific waters. And after that first wipeout, swallowing gallons of freezing cold salt water doesn’t seem too terrifying. A big thank you goes out to my surf instructor, without him, I would likely be typing this blog post from a hospital bed.
 
Major lessons learned this weekend:
1. I have very weak arms.
2. Surfboards are heavy.

So what do I take away from this experience, other than the fact that I’m clearly never going to be a professional surfer?  I think some strengthening exercises for my arms might be a good idea, and maybe next time I decide to venture out of my comfort zone, I should wear a full body cast in preparation. 

I attacked the Grouse Grind again this past weekend, and to my own surprise, it wasn’t as bad as the first few times I tackled it. I even found I had enough energy at the very top to sprint up the last few hundred metres into the clearing.

Unfortunately, when I first set my fitness plan goals, I had hoped to do the Grouse Grind once a week. That has obviously not happened. Summer is a busy time, and with a multitude of friends coming to visit me from back east, there were much more fun things to do than torture myself climbing a mountain.

From this weekend’s adventure, however, I have been reminded of the benefits of the Grind. Not only did I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment upon completion, I sweat out all the toxins in my body (many times over), got a great (and free!) cardio vascular workout, but as I noticed on my regular run last night, breathing is so much easier on flat ground. I shaved maybe 10 minutes off my typical run time just due to the increased elasticity in my lungs.

One of my goals for 2010 is to run the Vancouver half marathon, so I think using the Grind to build endurance will be a great asset. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it back a few more times before it closes for the season. Luckily, another friend of mine arrives later this week, and she happens to be the fittest Ontarian I know, so we’ll see is she survives the Grind.  This might provide some evidence to support my theory regarding different fitness standards between provinces.  I’ll keep you up to date on my findings.