Being injured is hard.

Being injured has been hard. I won't lie. And it is a completely different experience than when I had a tibial stress fracture just over a year ago.

This time I can't go pool running, which saved my sanity last time. Not being able to get any real cardio of any kind is taking its toll, mentally and physically.

I miss the endorphins. And finishing a workout feeling like I really pushed my body. Even the hardest strength workout barely causes me to break a sweat. I can't add any cardio bursts to kick things up a little because everything involves movement that uses my ankle, so it's hard to feel like I'm doing much when I basically have to stand in one spot the entire workout.

I have been trying to focus on what I can do though. I have been working out, doing lower body strength that doesn't affect or hurt my ankle and really working on my core and upper body. I'm seeing small changes in my arms, and my core seems to be getting stronger.

I'm also trying to eat better. I'll admit this is much easier during the week than on the weekend. It's much easier to plan what I'm eating for each meal during the week because we have a more structured schedule, even in spite of it being summer. The weekends just end up being a free-for-all around here when it comes to eating real meals.

When I can get through a weekend without eating way too much and way too much junk, I'll know I have really succeeded in actually changing my eating habits. And you better believe you'll hear about it.

Speaking of changing my eating habits...

I was sent this book last week and the timing couldn't be better. It has some great tips for cleaning up your eating and making small but effective changes.

Other things that have helped get me through the last week were getting up early on a Saturday to spend some time here (since getting up early to run isn't happening these days):

And getting to spend time with my family during a long weekend, which included seeing this girl so completely in her element at the rodeo Saturday night:

For the record, she has moved on from wanting a Clydesdale. After petting and feeding five different ones before the rodeo began, she now wants an English Shire. Because they are bigger than Clydesdales. We're in trouble.