A welcome day off

This week, my second week after reconstructive surgery, I planned to ease into work by working 20 hours from home.  Well, I ended up working more than half time most days, and got in over 20 hours by Thursday.  So I decided to take today off.  No work.  No email.  It was great.  I don't know when I have done that recently - not worked at all an entire day.  I often check email even on the weekend.  But not today.

I made some South Beach Diet friendly food this morning, cleaned the kitchen a bit, and then did beginner yoga.  After yoga, I went out for a long walk: 4 miles.  According to my Garmin 305, my splits were 16:24, 16:02, 16:02, and 15:45. 

While walking today, I listened to Geek Girl Runner for most of the walk and then switched to Steverunner when Geek Girl's episode was done.

I really like Geek Girl, aka Kris Howard.  She grew up in the states, somewhere in the Midwest.  Now she lives in Sydney, Austrailia with her Aussie husband, the Snook (his actual name).  She's a back of the pack runner, like me and has great motivation and a great attitude.  It's refreshing to hear a running podcast person talk about running times that are similar to what I run.  She's 10 years younger than me, though, and seems to be able to ramp up the distance miles much quicker than I can. 

Day 7 of South Beach Diet
Breakfast: egg substitute omelet with asparagus, green pepper, mushrooms, and lite Laughing Cow swiss cheese
Lunch: two pieces of ham, a small piece of cheese, and half an avocado
Snack: a 5.5oz can of V8 (I really like these) and a piece of string cheese
Dinner:  3 slices of cucumber, 4 pieces of raw cauliflower, 2 slices of orange pepper, a little bit of spicy chicken, fresh spinach, lettuce with some kind of dressing that I attempted to scrape off

I agree.  My dinner sounds strange.  We were at the annual kick-off summer swim team meeting and potluck at the pool.  It was very fun.  I had no idea if I'd be able to eat anything there or not.  I think I did pretty well, actually.  And that's pretty impressive given all the yummy stuff that was there, especially the desserts.  There were more desserts than real food!

As for the Lymphedema, my finger is still swelling.  After I showered this morning I forgot to put my compression glove back on for two hours.  Grrrrr.  I just got busy working in the kitchen and forgot. At the pool tonight, I talked with another woman who has Lymphedema and she gave me the name of a massage therapist who is certified and works in Upper Arlington (near OSU campus).  I'm certainly planning to look her up and to get an appointment.  I also want to find someone who is an expert in Lymphedema, other than the PT.  Don't they have doctor experts too?  I need to learn more and figure out what my best course of action is besides wrapping it and squeezing a ball.