Lot's and Lot's of Fishing and Camping

It's been a little while, I apologize for being MIA for a while.  But it was a well needed fishing camping trip that came just at the right time.
I've had an eventful past few weeks, and I hate to say it, but it's not all been good!





HOPING THE FIRES OUT WEST ARE OUT SOON
A few weeks ago I thought it was bad, when I was out on a run and I was doing more coughing than running.  The fires out west are seriously bad, I really hope they can be put out soon.  It's a bit better this weekend, but still not great!  WE NEED RAIN!!!

I live right by the mountains, and I am surrounded almost in all directions with other mountains.  But even right up next to them the smoke from California, Washington, Oregon and others are so bad that I couldn't even see them at all some days.
You can see how bad it is in these pictures, so sad!

FITBIT SUPPORT IS AWESOME
So if you read my blog, you probably know I love my Fitbit and I love having fun with competitions on it!  A few weeks ago it quit working.

I contacted them, and they helped me do a reset on it.  But then it only worked a few days, and died again and no restart would fix it.

Fitbit Customer Service is awesome!  I didn't even have to ask, they just told me even though my Fitbit is beyond the 1 year warranty, they would still send me a FREE replacement!
Then they did, it arrived in the mail Saturday!  Unfortunately, I won't be using it much right now because...

THE PART I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT - RUNNING/WALKING
A bit over a week ago I started getting some major pains in my Tendon (worse than flare up pains.) I won't go into the details on the how, what and whys because I can't even begin to tell you how depressed it has made me.
But I will tell you this.
I can't even walk, and if I even try to run my tendon nearly gives out on me, RUNNING isn't possible right now.  When I say I can't walk, I mean I literally CAN NOT walk in a normal shoe, it's sheer terrible pain.
It's been this way for a little over a week now:(

Showing NO SIGNS of getting better, in fact if anything it just keeps getting worse.  I have woken up many days with my ankle almost swollen triple in size.
I am wearing the boot again, most of the time, I am doing what I know to do.
The only way I can walk, is if I am in a 3"-4" high heel, or up on my tip toes for short distances (when the tendon isn't stretched at all.)  It's the only way I can stand the pain enough to get around a little.
I am having a VERY hard time with this.
Actually, that is putting it mildly.  I am not handling this well at all.  Which is why when last Monday rolled around, I needed it more than ever!

A few weeks ago I wrote a Travel Tuesday post on hiking Bald Mountain.
Above is Bald Mountain, this is just what it looks like from below at Mirror Lake.

CAMPING / FISHING TRIP
I needed to get away before I got myself into a massive depressive funk because after 2 years 8 months, I am almost worse off than I was when I thought I went through the worst of the original worst part of the work injury.

So I went camping with my parents.  Normally when I camp I love to hike, obviously that wasn't going to happen much if any.

Luckily, I also love to go FISHING!
So, up to Utah's high Uinta mountains I went.  Life not only feels better at 9000-11,000 feet, but everything even tastes better up there!
Oh, and it was SO PEACEFUL, seriously just quit and nature AWESOME!

Usually all of this is lake, but they are draining it for he winter snow to come.

I went lake hopping, each day I fished a different lake or two.  I would sit in my totally cute PINK camouflage chair.  With my PINK Cabela's fishing vest that seriously makes all the other fisher women jealous, and I have a feeling gives all the boyfriends and husbands Christmas present idea's for their significant other:)
Threw my line out, and in between the waiting and catching I read a few books, took in the scenery and deeply breathed in the beautiful fresh air!

My dad out fly fishing next to me.

Wednesday it rained almost all day, but honestly it didn't even bother me, it was still beautiful. That and I absolutely LOVE the THUNDER in the mountains as it cracks and ricochets up the canyons and bounces off the different surrounding peaks.  It went on that day for hours, it was so relaxing to listen to.
I literally just sat and caught up on trilogy I have been wanting to read and listened to it all.

This Golden Eagle swooped across the lake and landed above me and stayed a while.
Probably hoping I would catch a fish he could come take from me.

I had a great time.  My niece came up one afternoon and begged me to take her hiking.  I can't resist her, and ya I HIKED the entire half mile up on my TIP TOES, ha ha.

Hey, whatever works right!  I would have been worried that I was making things worse, but I don't think they can get much worse!


Thursday, my reel broke.  I was kind of shocked, it was a nice reel and expensive.  It's probably about 10 years old though or close to it.  I have another, but it was at home.  So when I took it all apart and nothing I could do would fix it.  I just borrowed one of my dad's extra poles or my brothers.
Luckily, unlike me they bring more than one to fish with:)

My dad, my brother and I did a lot of fishing!
If I told you I catch fish every time I go out, that would be a lie.  I have not had the greatest past year as far as fishing and catching is concerned.
But that ALL changed on this trip!

I had one of those days, where every single time I threw out the line I caught a fish.  Literally, I didn't even have to wait more than 30 seconds to a minute at times.
I think the longest I waited was a couple of minutes.
Seriously, I have never had a day like that.  The fish were biting, I was in the right place at the right time, fishing with the right bait and LUCKY ME!

The first Tiger Trout I caught.  I only snapped a picture of one fish, but promise there were LOTS more!

Seriously, I caught so many fish that day, I would have been bored by it.  Except I was loving every minute of it.

Also a full moon, loved it!

Especially when at one point I was alone and these guys came up and were fishing not to far down the lake from me, and catching nothing.  I was reeling them in like a pro, LOL
I'd be lying if I didn't love the fact that many eyes were on me while I was out that night, they were all jealous and I pretended to be HUMBLE but yet secretly loved every single minute of it!

In case your wondering, I am a CATCH AND RELEASE type of girl.  I don't eat fish, so I do my best to try and let them all go.  Lucky for them, they all looked pretty healthy as I un hooked the hook and set them free:)

I hope it happens again, but even if it doesn't I will always have the memories of having the fish hit my line every time I tossed it out.  SO AWESOME!

I didn't get my camera in time.  But this lady was seriously out walking her PET GOAT
Ha ha, it was the cutest and funniest thing I have seen.  The goat was totally well behaved
and didn't seem to mind being on a lease, Ha Ha.

It was a great trip and so well needed.  Aside from being in pain all the time, it actually helped me take my mind from my problems and that was needed!
Hopefully, it will help me deal with it all this week much better, I've got a lot of thinking to do on the Achilles tendon, and if I am being honest I am not looking forward to any of it!

Nothing beats campfires in the evening!

This is probably a long enough post.  But I'll talk more about it over the next few weeks.  But in case your interested in hosting a giveaway and participating in the Fall GIVEAWAY HOP with myself and HoHo Runs as well as all the other amazing bloggers who are and will be joining us.  The sign up is now open, and you can get to it by visiting HERE.



How have you all been doing this past few weeks?  I know I have been away from Wifi and blogs for a while, and it may take me forever to catch up.  So I'd love for you to tell me some of what has been going on with you!

One of the MOST Common Injuries For Runners

I've been wanting to write this post for a while, but I kept putting it off. Not only do I have current personal experience, but I have talked to so many other runners who have it, as well as several different doctors. It's one of the most common injuries for runners, here's some information that might help save a few of you from ever having to deal with this!

This injury is Achilles Tendinitis as well as Bursitis in the Achilles area.

The sad truth about if you get it, it can last a few weeks (If you can catch it early and get off your foot.) To several months and believe it or not quite a few runners deal with this for 2-3 years. Many runners, can't deal with the recovery and even give up running because of it.

The good news is, for the most part you can take many precautions to prevent this from ever happening to you!

So these are what I call Kristy's tips on avoiding Achilles tendon issues and tips on what to do if you think you may have it.  Note, these are just my tips, you should see a doctor or trust a doctors advice if you have any injuries or pains you are worried about.

Tip #1 - More than likely the injury won't happen while your running! It will most likely happen while you are walking down the street, stepping off a curve or pushing or lifting something heavy when the calf is stretched.

Tip #2 - If you have high arches, or even medium arches. Especially if you are a distance runner avoid wearing flat shoes, flip flops, low drop and flats when you are not running.

Tip #3 - Low Drop A.K.A Minimal shoes, Natural Shoes and Barefoot Running Shoes - Don't use them! I know they are becoming increasingly popular with runners, but runners injuries are also on the rise. 
The shoes may work for flat foot runners or people who have difficulties with other shoes and a foot doctor may recommend them for some with problems with regular shoes (which is fine). 
But unless your doctor recommends you switch and you are having issues running with regular types of running shoes DON'T make the switch just for the heck of it!!!  Doing so can increase your risk of tendon injury, but there are also several other injuries runners get with wearing the wrong shoes for them.
I can't tell you how many runners who have told me this is how their started, including myself who had issue because of these type of shoes. (FYI mine was from walking around in a minimal shoe at work.)

Tip #4 - If you feel any pain in the Achilles area (even slight) that doesn't go away after a short time, that may be the start. Start R.I.C.E methods and don't run on it or walk on it much until the pain goes away.  Catch it early you may only be out a week or so if it didn't pull bad.  Not doing this, you could end up like me 9 months with little to no running or years like others I have spoken to.
I'd also like to add to this, it starts so gradual at times and a lot of this has to do with paying attention to your body, know what "good pains" and "bad pains" are so you can help correct issues before they start!

Tip #5 - If you don't see a noticeable recovery after 1 week, make sure you see a doctor!

Tip #6 - Walking or gradually warming up before you run will help.  Additionally building up strong calves using toe raiser exercises can help prevent it.  The standing leg stretch is also a great way to keep this tendon loose.  However, there are many other stretches and foam rollers that can help too.

Tip #7 - If you your Achilles is bothering you.  You can buy a brace at a local store that will be supportive and help apply compression to the area - A doctor may later put you into a walking boot.

Tip #8 - Cross training, this will help you in a lot of ways.  This can help strengthen your legs/caves and ankles in ways that running and stretching alone will not and can be a great preventative measure!

Tip #9 - Most important of all, if you need to visit a doctor, ONLY visit one who is a runner or who works with runners!  Doctors who are runners get us, they understand us and they know the best recovery programs for us to help keep us lifelong runners.  Non-running doctors, you risk getting told "to find a new sport."  There are plenty of them out there, if you don't know of one, just ask a local running store, or ask other runners in the area.  Most experienced runners have a short list of running doctors to visit, and they'll gladly share! (Well at least I would if asked:)

Tip #10 - Be smart!

I may not have made all of the mistakes listed above, but I did make a few!

Sometimes life happens, and injuries are a part of life.  But when you get them, they are not fun and really the best thing you can get out of them is what to never do again.  Pay attention to your body, its so easy to think a small slight pain will go away the next day..  Then the next, and before you know it, it can get worse so gradually you'll pass up on warning signs.  When in doubt, take a day or two off running and see if it gets better, if it doesn't then you have some choices to make!  The smarter the choice, the sooner you'll be back doing what you love pain free again!

Some runners who have tendinitis (tendons that haven't yet ruptured) choose to run through the pain.  This choice is entirely yours.  But from what I have learned it is best not too.  Scar tissue can build up, and you may get through several years of running with just minimal pain in the area, only to hit a point where your running career is over for good.  Take care of yourself, it is better to pass up a few runs or one race, rather than a lifetime of running!

Stay safe my running friends, and pay attention to your body!  I hope to be joining you all on the race courses and logging in the road miles very very soon!!! - Cheers - 


Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor a sports physical therapist.  None of the information above should be taken as medical advice.  If you are injured or suspect injury, you should visit a doctor as soon as possible.

Running with my Tendon Injury

Linking up with Jill for Fitness Friday and Running Bloggers Fitness Friday

I feel like I am starting to sound like a broken record, because every fitness activity I do seems to revolve around the stupid tendon injury!  However, this week I have been running with the injury.

On the good note, every morning when I wake the injury is HARDLY noticeable.  I have been running daily this week and WHILE I have been running I've only barely noticed the pain and even then it's only on the uphill portions.

However, on the down side.  Between 2-5 hours after I run I can barely walk....  But all the icing and evening/night rest by each morning the pain is back down to hardly noticeable again.  So all I can say is thank goodness for high heels, because without them I wouldn't be able to walk at all in the afternoon and evening:)

Normally I would never push the running with the injury.  But with the appointment with the Surgeon 13 days away, I figure what more damage can I really do to it at this point, (in theory).

Regardless, I have felt great this week.  Even if my mileage is very small and maybe not worth mentioning - But I still will anyway:)

Monday - 1 Mile Running
Tuesday - 2 Miles Running
Wednesday - 1 Mile Running
Thursday - 2 Miles Running
Friday - 3 Miles Running
Saturday - Rest day - I've 2 weddings to decorate this day, so that will be enough Workout:)

On top of it all, I have successfully started working on a 2nd goal.  Which is to quit drinking Pepsi, except for 1 day a week:)  (Gotta have one splurge day:)  If I make it through today, then I will have gone 6 days without it.  I've had minimal headaches and I think this has also attributed a lot to my feeling so great!

All in all, it's not much.  But it's been a successful week for me, and despite the injury, its been great!!

So tell me, what successes have you had this week?  Any races this weekend you're looking forward too?