Now I'm just waiting for temps consistently above 50 so that I can clean up the yard without displacing the pollinators, and so that I can continue the good cycling trend I've recently been on.
The weather this weekend was pretty amazing. I got some shorter distance bike rides in, but rode with more intensity and sought out hills. And I got some nice long walks in with Haley.
 |
| 3 weeks ago - many layers! |
 |
| Today! |
My hip was bugging me going into the weekend after being in DC this week for work and doing A LOT of walking (yay!) but doing very little of my PT exercises (boo!). But after doing all the stretches and the exercises tonight, I'm feeling pretty good.
In the third week of March, I went to Zion with the sister and brother to whom I'm fully blood related. We did a lot of hiking (the second and third days I used hiking poles, which helped my stability and my hip on uneven terrain), and talked about how much my dad would have wanted to be right there with us. We all miss him so much.
 |
| Early on day 1 - wondering if we'll survive vacation together. (Also, I didn't get their permission to share this photo. Whoops.) |
 |
| Day 1 - we walked down this river valley, further than the hoards. |
 |
| Day 2 - a less crowded area of the park, with lots (>50) stream crossings. |
 |
| Day 3 - super isolated hike - - other than the evidence of coyotes and mountain lions. |
 |
| Day 3 - it would be oppressively hot on this trail in the summer. We lost the trail a few times, but found it again. |
It was a great trip - so good to be moving, hanging out with people I like, and getting a mental break from work. Nonetheless, I was feeling pretty discouraged after the trip, due to the discomfort despite all the effort I'm putting into getting that dang hip better. But with some recalibration by my PT person, I'm now feeling much more optimistic about the future, including my ability to comfortably-enough do the fundraiser 5-day bike ride.
Thank you so much for your donations to the MS Society of $1,225. I am optimistic that I can meet my goal of $5,000. I found this interesting image on the MS Society website about its research initiatives. They're doing really good work. (And they don't just do research; they also provide services and engage in advocacy work to ensure that people who are affected with MS have health care, access and protections, etc.)
You can help support them! Here's the link to donate for the 5-day bike ride I'm doing in July. https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/Go-Maggie-Go
