What a busy week. There was a lot of sugar eaten this past week, along with pizza and beer. Yes, it’s holiday social season! It was a packed week of seeing friends and family. So fun! How’s my knee doing? Well, unfortunately not much has changed! It still feels odd, and now I feel the pain above the knee cap, compared to the side where I felt it before. What does all of this mean?? Once again I did some Googling and discussed the situation with ChatGTP. I thought using the elliptical would be a good thing, but I noticed that my knee was actually irritated when I used it. A potential cause of the pain is now Patellofemoral pain syndrome or quadriceps tendinitis. I asked ChatGTP to come up with some exercises and a plan specific to my upcoming ski trip, and it was very helpful with some recommendations and also gave me hope that “smart” skiing should be fine. ChatGTP is pretty much always agreeable, so that did not really surprise me, but it was good to hear 🙂
Here’s what went down this week…
Mon – skiing! Yes, we went downhill skiing! Our closest ski resort is only 1 hr 15 mins away. I really wanted to see how my knee felt when I skied, so we hit the slopes. It was a good test. Thankfully my knee was not irritated by skiing. This is Day 1 of our goal of 20 ski days this season! We have skied in all kinds of conditions, but somehow today seemed extra cold. It was a short ski day (only 1 hour!) but we were able to ski all of the open runs.. twice. That’s how small Mt Brighton is. But the old saying is true, a cold day on the slopes is always better than a day in the office 😉
Tues – 25 mins elliptical. At work we had more holiday treats. And hey, there was a cookie that matched my ugly Christmas sweater! There is no shortage of sugary delights at work lately.
Weds – 4 miles running. Wow, this seemed like a long run! Probably because I’m usually the slowest one there and have to keep up with everyone LOL Luckily I ran with a friend I haven’t seen in awhile. It was great to catch up with her! We looked at Christmas lights around the town and enjoyed some pizza and beer afterwards. This was the 11th year my friend organized this Christmas Lights run!
Thurs – 20 mins elliptical, PT exercises. It was a busy day of baking and fixing the snowman lights. Wrapping gifts and getting ready for Christmas!
We participated in a Christmas Lights scavenger hunt. We had a list of items to find and an hour to find them. We had a disadvantage since the hunt took place in a town that we were not familiar with. It’s a little challenging when you’re not sure where the best neighborhoods are! But we did pretty good. We met up at a brewery to share our results and enjoy a beer!
Fri – 2 miles running. It was a busy day! I was stressed about a family Christmas party so even though I said I wasn’t going to run, I needed to get out there. 20 mins in the cold weather was good for me! I decided to give the knee band a try (this was an idea from Wendy!). I figured it was worth a try since I already owned one, but I’m not sure this is the right device for my issue. Things felt fine.
The family Christmas party was fun! I stressed for no reason at all.
Sat – 30 mins elliptical, PT exercises. Also went to the gym today with Zach today! As mentioned earlier, I have decided the elliptical will not be part of my workouts until this knee issue goes away.
Sun – who knows what the heck I’m doing today. Maybe go for a run? We have more holiday events on the calendar so I’ll see what time allows! Both of the kids are home from college now and I’m trying to schedule ALL of the things while we are together.
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
There has been a lot of AI holiday pictures going around Facebook lately, but my favorite is how AI dressed up Sam!! What a handsome boy he is. Maybe we should really buy him a tie!
Q: Have you had AI create pictures for you yet?
The results are pretty entertaining!
Q: Do you own an ugly sweater?
Mine was falling apart. Glue gun to the rescue this year!!
I have stressed about family get togethers myself- LOL glad yours went ok! Bummer that your knee pain is still hanging around. Hope you can get some answers (from a Dr ha!) on what’s going on. How fun to already go skiing! Love it. Have a very merry Christmas
I have thought about making an appointment, but today my knee was barely even an issue! Hopefully it’s heading in the right direction now.
Yes to ties for Sam! Have you asked AI to make a picture of him as a human? And to think that people are so worried about AI when it can do fun things like that.
I’m sending good knee vibes your way!
Exactly – look how fun AI is. How can it be bad? 😉 I did just ask for the “human Sam” picture… it made him look like a lady with a cat face!! How bizarre.
That sounds like such a fun week with lots of Christmas cheer. Must be busy times to squeeze in all the fun while your kids are at home! I love your flamingos (or whatever they are) with Santa hats.
I’m the boring type and would see a physio for real advice about the knee if I were you, but it’s good news that skiing was successful. Happy Christmas to you and your family!
The biggest challenge is trying to find a time around my daughter’s work schedule. She always works on weekends! And my son has one less week off college than she does, so time is limited. But I’m doing my best to get all of our favorite activities done.
I am a bit surprised my knee issue is still going on, but today it’s barely even noticeable! I ran 3 miles this morning. I guess it prefers running to the elliptical and stretching! I know, I am dragging my feet on seeing a Dr about my knee. It just seems kind of silly to go see the Dr when it’s really just a minor annoyance. I only rate it a “1” on the pain scale, but I certainly don’t want it to get worse.
I’m sorry to hear that your knee is bothering you so much. I hope that you can figure out what to do/not do and get it on the road to recovery quickly!
I have not participated in the AI Christmas glamour picture yet. Sam looks incredibly handsome in his, though!
Merry Christmas, Lisa!
Sam really is quite a dapper kitty. It’s crazy how realistic the pictures are!
Oh that is funny- I thought at first that Sam was actually wearing a tie and I thought HOW DID SHE MANAGE THAT??? My cats would kill me if I tried to put a tie on them.
Well- the good news about the knee is that skiing doesn’t hurt it. That’s your main concern at this point, right? It seems like all the PT exercises you’re doing can only help.
I don’t own an ugly Christmas sweater. Do they make ugly Christmas tank tops? It’s been in the 80s here and I’m a little salty about that- it would be nice to be a LITTLE cooler for Christmas.
It’s going to be warmer around here than I would like, but still not as tropical as Florida! I never thought that an ugly sweater wouldn’t be a thing where you live. Too funny.
I’m pretty sure Sam would not tolerate a tie either. I hoped he would be one of those cats who would not be bothered by a harness (so he could walk outside!) but that is not happening either.
Oh we could be (almost) twinning with our Christmas sweaters!
Ugh on the persistent knee issues, but I’m glad skiing doesn’t bother it. I don’t think any East Coast resorts are really open. We had a bit of snow and blast of arctic air last week but then it got balmy.
Enjoy all the festivities with your kids!
I have heard that the Eastern ski resorts are the place to go this year instead of going out West! A lot of people on the FB ski groups have been quite concerned about their Christmas ski vacations in Colorado. It is what it is though – so often you have to make non refundable reservations far in advance and don’t have the luxury of changing based on the snow!
I have a few “ugly” sweaters (from 30-ish years ago, LOL). They weren’t ugly back then, and I paid a lot of money for them, but they’re looking pretty vintage these days. We’ve had a LOT of sweets at the office as well. My sweet tooth simply cannot resist. That’s great you were able to ski without issue!
I have no restraint when it comes to all of the treats at the office! I wish people would stop bringing them in. I do remember when people didn’t call them ugly sweaters!
I have’nt done the AI holiday photo yet but I have LOVED the ones I’ve seen – they’re so fun! I do have a few ugly sweaters but I always misplace them and find them a week after Christmas it seems. I got them a few years ago before “ugly” sweaters were really a thing lol which makes them better! I’ve been doing a lot of baking, and eating a lot of treats 🙂 ’tis the season!
My sweater was a garage sale find. And then it started falling apart. This might be the last year for it!
I am glad your knee didn’t hurt while skiing! And sorry that the knee strap didn’t help. With my patellofemoral tendinitis, it was a lifesaver.
Sam looks very dapper! Yes, I did the AI photo challenge with Cocoa! As you saw, it turned out so cute. Way better than had I done it with me lol!
Have a very Merry Christmas Lisa!
I love all the AI photos, but I don’t like making my own. Sam is so handsome, and festive!
I am so glad skiing didn’t aggravate your knee any more.
And I’m so glad your family party ended up not being super stressful. I hate how that feels and am always so relieved when things work out.