Boy, did I forget what DOMS (delayed onset muscular soreness) felt like. I haven’t been getting sore after long runs in the past, but I think that because I was running at an RPE (rate of perceived exertion) of about 8 for the entirety of my race, I put a bit more strain on my body than usual. My calves are still really tight, my hip joints are only satisfied by supta baddha konasana, and my back is killing me.
Everything else- the legs, the hips- I consider to be par for the course, but the back is a problem. Every few months, I get the same pinched, sore feeling in the exact same spot of my back (upper right, between the spine and the shoulder blade) and it’s painfully uncomfortable for about a week. I saw a chiropractor six months ago for the same problem (although I’m not sure I believed his diagnosis), and since then have had the same pain a few more times. I thought Monday’s massage would help, and it did feel good, but I think I might finally be ready to try acupuncture. Unfortunately I don’t have any time to go before the holidays by which point the spot may have disappeared again, but we’ll see.
To stretch myself out, I did about five minutes of Vinyasa yoga yesterday before work. It may not be enough to be considered a “real workout,” but I did feel a lot better. I’m sure standing in one place all day doesn’t help things, but I’m doing what I can.
I packed breakfast to eat at work:
- 1 cup Stonyfield Organic plain yogurt
- almond butter
- 1/2 banana
- 1/4 cup Cinnamon Quaker Oatmeal Squares
- 1/4 cup Maple Pecan Quinoa Galaxy Granola
I’ve eaten this breakfast almost every day for the past month, but it hasn’t gotten old yet! I really love the mix of granola and nut butter, and the Oatmeal Squares (one of my latest obsessions) when they get a little soggy in the yogurt.
Throughout the day, I snacked on an apple and a granola bar (and plenty of coffee):
For lunch, I ate the leftover Wilted Spinach Salad from V-Note. I don’t find this to be true about salads, but this was even better the second day! The mix of roasted corn, smoky tempeh, cashews and soy bacon is simply fabulous. I must recreate it!
After work I picked up a few groceries before heading over to meet my parents and most of the usual crew. This city really is something, isn’t it?
Columbus CIrcle
Stewart hosted a pre-theater dinner, featuring leftovers from Sunday night’s feast.
The crab soup was even better two days later! The spices really got a chance to breathe.
I also had fennel + orange salad (made by Stewart… such a coincidence because I picked up the ingredients for my Fennel and Citrus Salad right before I got there!), leftover Roasted Pumpkin + Sweet Potato Gnocchi, and leftover sweet potato + okra salad.
For dessert, we had dark chocolate, clementines, and chocolate chip pumpkin bread from the Union Square Greenmarket.
Such a cozy meal with friends. The dark chocolate did a good job of keeping me awake throughout the entire play! (I have an unfortunate history of sleeping through plays and movies.) We saw Lincoln Center’s Other Desert Cities , which starred Stockard Channing, Linda Lavin and Stacy Keach. The acting was quite good, the story extremely tense and emotional. I found some of the dialogue to be stilted and contrived, but I still really enjoyed it.
When I got home, I snacked on a pear while I read in bed. 
At work this past week, my friend Heather organized a Secret Santa gift exchange. Unlike other gift exchanges I’ve participated in before, we each wrote down three things we liked or were interested in. Some people wrote specific stores and items, others wrote more general things (i.e. “sports, women, booze”). I came out very well, with a Forever21 gift card! Can’t wait to use it… I’m sorely in need of some new threads.
My friend Andre- who was not my Secret Santa- surprised me with Lush’s Each Peach (And Two’s A Pair) Massage Bar, because I’m constantly complaining about my horribly dry skin. It’s made with avocado and shea butter, and is supposed to be really great at softening and repairing damaged and dry skin.
Right now, my legs are in one of the worst states they’ve ever been in. I’m only showing you this photo because I want to document how well the bar works, although, honestly, I’m embarrassed even to wear shorts around the house. I’ve been plagued by dry skin for years, and when I sleep, I scratch. As you can see, I’ve even got scabs from all of the scratching I’ve done. Gross, I know. I sleep in leggings to minimize the damage, and hopefully that coupled with the massage bar will help. I’ll keep you posted!
Have you ever participated in a Secret Santa, White Elephant, or other kind of gift exchange? This year I was involved with three!
Hope you feel 100% better!
I did a blogger secret santa a few years ago – loved it!
Ohhh DOMS..you hurt so good. It’s no fun, but I feel like I’ve really worked hard whenever it happens.
I love gift exchanges! I’ve never really participated in any except in elementary school..but they were always a lot of fun.
Ooh! Let me know if that soap works. My legs look EXACTLY like yours. If I do not shave EVERY day, they get even worse! My hubby is begging me to go to the doctor because he swears I have some awful skin disease. Apparently he has forgotten last winter!
You’ve probably already tried every product under the sun for dry skin, but have you ever used Vanicream or Cerave? Both are about 15 bucks at most drug stores. I used to nanny for a little girl with severe eczema, and she would scratch until she bled and scabbed. I would slather one of those two creams on her straight from a long soak in the bathtub and when I could do that consistently, it really helped.
I’ve participated in a couple of secret santas this year – I coordinated a UK bloggers exchange and I took part in one at work too. I actually ended up getting almost identical gifts via each one! Your poor legs look so sore, I find my skin reacts badly to the cold weather. I love kiehls Creme de corps body cream and lotion – believe me if that stuff doesn’t help nothing will!
Oh no – hope your legs feel better soon.
My friends and I used to do Secret Santa every year, but stopped when we all decided we had enough stuff. It’s still fun, but I’m paring down my smallish gifts.
By the way, I love chocolate chip pumpkin bread, and that picture made me crave it!
omg those legs. Girl, get thee that cream i rec’ed and if you’re making a drugstore dot com order, also order this “DML Forte” White tube with pink/green words. About $10. My dermatologist sells it for like $18 a tube. It’s also magical for what you have going on!
The crab soup looks so good
The F21..nice score!!!!
Sweet!
ahh i used to have this problem, too! a lot of mine actually came from the effects of my grave’s disease though (go figure!). it affected things i never even knew it could affect. try some vaseline cocoa butter lotion. I LOVE that stuff.
I love DOMS
I hope the bar works for you. I’ve got some great body butter from Simply Divine Botanicals- it’s got lavendar, mowrah, shea, avocado, hemp seed, msm- that does wonders for my eczema. also, you might try massaging warm coconut oil onto your legs (and eating a spoonful of the stuff every day is good too!). taking an msm supplement (I like to mix msm crystals in a glass of water with a squeeze of lemon; citrus/vit c makes msm bioavailable) and also the chinese herbs schizandra and lycium (lycium= goji) have really helped my skin too!
we did a white elephant this year, and I got a pretty hideous white, antlered candle holder along with a candle that doesn’t fit in it. also, a high-powered magnetic dart board. good stuff!
Yes, I’ve participated in several secret Santa exchanges, mostly with the ones I work with, but not this year. I love to do it, as I love creating cute and yummy lil gifts.
You are lucky to have received a F21 giftcard. Have fun spending it.
I hope you have a delicious Christmas!
I am so sorry to hear about your back woes! Acupuncture may help, and I think it’s good that you’re willing to try alternative options.
As you know I suffer from dry skin as well, especially this time of year. I wear leggings at night too. One thing I’ve been doing that helps is to either rub my legs with Vaseline or coconut oil after I get out of the shower at night before putting on my leggings. It really helps and since my legs just soak it up it’s not greasy at all!
what a great idea for a secret santa! sometimes its so hard to shop for them especially when or if you dont know the person that well. we did secret santa at my office and i was the lucky one who got picked by the foodie who’s hubby is a big wig in the wine industry. they were in paris when we all exchanged but she brought me back kusmi tea which i’ve been drowning myself in!
give me some of your leftover soup PLEEEEASE!
I know this is late, but congrats on your awesome race last weekend! We should def get together sometime while I’m on break:)
I suffer from dry skin, especially the legs area. I am still trying to figure out why?
My family has picked up the tradition of while elephant. We are having our party tomorrow, should be interesting, haha
Your post made me think of a number of things, including the following:
1) You may want to see a massage therapist who specializes in neuromuscular work. They can do things such as orthopedic assessment, injury prevention & rehab, chronic pain management, etc. I feel like they might be able to help determine what’s happening in your back (or at the very least direct you to someone who can help). They often collaborate with other healthcare pros.
2) Theatre–LOVE Stacy Keach! He’s hilarious as the father on Christopher Titus’ sitcom “Titus”–check it out if you have the chance–just wickedly funny.
3) My right leg looks a lot like yours right now–partially from shaving things that haven’t healed, and itchiness! We both need to find better lotions:)
Happy Holidays to you:)
Sweetie! It looks like you’ve got eczema, both my husband and I suffer from it and though mine is different his is just like yours. You should get it checked out! And get a humidifier in your room at night! It does wonders.
If you can, find some Eucerin. My 3 kids have eczema and it flares really bad in the winter, I put Eucerin cream on them every night after baths and it really seems to do the trick.
Your breakfast looks so good!
Jen
i love that you go to plays and hang out with your parents often! let us know how the bar is, i have sand fly bites that arent healing well at all!