Recovery Day 11 and 12

Happy Labor Day Weekend Everyone!

I'm sorry that I did not post yesterday, it proved to be a very discouraging day in my "hip recovery" world and I just did not have the mental energy to write about it.  However, today is going MUCH better! :)

After wining and dining myself on Friday night at Stamna with some great friends, falling asleep at the table and getting AWFUL stomach pains... I realized that I still need to be taking it easy and that alcohol just needs to stay away until I'm more recovered.  It may sound ridiculous, but the few glasses of wine that I had really made my entire body swell, especially my hips/thighs.  So listen up people, NO MORE ALCHY for a while!

I woke up on Saturday morning and enjoyed a delicious North Jersey diner breakfast with my friend James.  We had great conversation about life goals, education and fitness.  I had two eggs over easy with a side of melon AND allowed myself to eat ONE whole wheat pancake ;)

After, my stomach seemed to be in much better shape and my headache was wearing off, so I decided to go to LA Fitness and ride the spin bike.  However, I only lasted 10 minutes due to feeling faint and my muscles shaking uncontrollably.  I was really annoyed with myself, since I wanted to get a work out in and it took some time for me to self-talk myself back into a positive mood.  However, one of my best friend's Jaci came to the rescue.  It was her birthday and she invited me to have a birthday lunch with her on the patio at The Cheesecake Factory!  I enjoyed a delicious vegetable salad, with a side of Tramadol (pain medication) and had wonderful conversation!

I spent the rest of my afternoon icing and got to bed early.  However, I developed ANOTHER allergic reaction to my pain medication (the same type I had to the antiinflammatory drug) and had to take more Benedryl.  Luckily, the Benedryl eliminated my symptoms and I was able to get a good night's sleep.

So, I'm learning that I really need to embrace the phrase "less is more" at the moment, but it is so HARD!

This morning I woke up and told myself that I would have a much better day, NO MATTER WHAT.  I went to 8:15 spin class, told the instructor my situation and had the RIDE OF MY LIFE.  Well, the best cardio workout I've had in almost two weeks anyway.  I lasted 35 minutes, sprinted on a level 8, reached a level 14 and burned 300 calories!  I finished with some light arm work, pushups and topped it off with very few crunches.  I even downed some Motrin, since I knew I'd be sore.

The best part of my morning was attending church!  I went to my congregation of the New Apostolic Church in Wayne, NJ and had a LOVELY spiritual hour with minister Jeff Harmon!  He held a thrilling and uplifting service about not worrying and fearing your life away.  He spoke about striving to be more like Jesus Christ, letting go and allowing God to be in control of our lives.  It was wonderful!

I'm on the couch icing now, since I feel swollen from spin... IN A GOOD WAY THOUGH ;)  I'm getting excited for the afternoon BBQ at my friends Kevin and Emilee Orlofski's.  They just bought their first home a few months ago and invited a bunch of people over to celebrate the last weekend of summer!  I made my Grandmother's famous chocolate chip cookies and I'm excited to eat some great grilled food before going back to internship on Tuesday!

Learning that less really might be more,
Ashley