Tag Archives: motivation

Peace And Tranquility

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“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.”

-Mother Teresa

It’s amazing how a single hike can change the attitude of a person for the better. I guess some people meditate to keep their sanity, some folks read and others listen to music. As I mentioned in my previous post, it’s been five very long months since I have been able to get out and enjoy the one thing that I truly love to do.

I missed a summer where it rained more often than it didn’t. I missed the change of seasons where the colors went from a dark green to darker oranges, reds and yellows. As the days passed, the temperatures fell and the hiking would have been easy. I missed interacting with my fellow hikers on the trail.

So as I made my way over the dirt, rocks and ice today, I felt that sense of peace that I have been missing since June. Even though I know that every day can’t and won’t deliver the same peace and tranquility that today did, I am thankful for today.

HAPPY HIKING!!!

 

It’s Been A Long Time

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Thinking about the upcoming hike.

It’s a great day!!! After 148 long days, many of them siting on my ass, along with hours upon hours of PT, I was actually able to head out into Ward Pound Ridge Reservation for a hike. True, it was only 2.6 miles, but it was a hike nonetheless and I didn’t have any ankle pain. Sure, my legs hurt like hell and I sure could tell I haven’t been hiking, but it felt good to be out in the woods.

I’ll keep the tale of woe short, but if you follow this blog, you know that on 6/28, I took a spill, fractured my ankle, was in renal failure, had surgery to repair the ankle, was confined to my house, had tons of PT and worked my ass off to get back hiking.

At 33 degrees with no wind or sun (tons of rain later), I knew the loop that I would be taking for my test run would be a good one. Most of the trail was flat with a couple of very short and easy hills put in just to irritate me and to test the ankle. Even as easy as it was, I was very careful to keep my eyes on the ground in front of me to look out for rocks rocks, roots and ice.

Having learned my lesson in June, I made sure that I had more than enough water with me and had consumed just about 64 ounces before leaving the house ensuring that I wouldn’t run into any dehydration issues. Yes, at this point I am that paranoid about having enough water with me even when it is a degree above freezing! I’ll have more on that in my next post.

So if I’m going to give this hike a rating, I’m going with a straight up A+.

HAPPY HIKING!!!

Hike #22-2.6-120.45

Don’t Let Them Fool You, PT Is No Joke!

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'Shall we start with some stretching exercises?'

My first PT session.

Yesterday I started PT. My daughter, who is 17 and has had the “pleasure” of participating in some quality PT told me that I would be in some pain after the first session. She was right. She was also quick to remind me of the time when she complained about the pain after a PT session and was told to, “suck it up.” So when she asked how my ankle felt when I got home, I told her. Her response??? You guessed it-“Suck it up dad.”

Since it was an initial visit, I spent about twenty minutes being questioned, then another thirty having my ankle twisted, turned, bent and pulled. This, I am told, will bring me closer to getting me back to where I want, no, need to be.

The need to be back in the woods hiking is a strong one. It has been two months to the day since I slid, fell and fractured my ankle on that fateful backpacking trip. Two months of sitting around recuperating isn’t as much fun as it sounds! Obviously it is sitting around time that is necessary, and that is what makes it somewhat bearable.

But as uncomfortable as it has been and will continue to be for a while longer, it also means that I am healing, and that is a good thing. The bottom line is this-You have to be positive. Life is way too short to set sucked into the negative. It will most certainly kill you.

My goal? I want to be back on the trails no later than October 1st!!

The Next Step (Not Literally)

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Besides actually having my ankle heal correctly, one of the things that I have been worrying about is how to stay physically active during this down time. Obviously, all forms of cardio are out of the question (for the time being), but what about other forms of exercise? Is there anything else that I can do during this time that will not only keep me active, but also aid in my recovery and healing?

With this in mind, a package arrived at my house yesterday afternoon from Amazon. Opening it, I saw that it was my friend Esther. In the box was a set of WENFENG Resistance Bands! Knowing how much I love to hike, and how much sitting around was killing me, this gift is beyond being perfect!

I had honestly never thought about different ways to stay active. My mindset has been on hiking, cardio and how to get back to that as quickly as I can. So what have I been doing since last night? That’s right, I have been scouring the web and you tube trying to find appropriate exercises and workouts that I can do while my ankle heals.

So many thanks to Esther for the thoughtful gift that will undoubtedly assist me on the road to recovery and being able to hike again!

More to come…

“Stay focused and stay determined. Don’t look to anyone else to be your determination – have self-determination. It will take you very far.”
-Justice Smith

Happy Hiking!!!