Dance like no one's watching

I was able to walk 1.5 miles today, normal pace, normal stride, with only a few twinges from my knee. It doesn't sound like much, but it is a mile and a quarter farther than I could walk last week. I call that progress!

Unfortunately, the twinges tell me I shouldn't rung yet. I'm a little worried I won't be back up to distance, not to mention speed, by mid February. That's when I'm signed up to do the Center for Families and Children 15K Trail Run. I guess I'll just do the best I can, and walk it if I have to.


Running has been my main form of exercise for the past year. I did a bit of riding over the summer, but haven't had the bike out since September. There's talk of getting me a stand so I can ride over the winter, but that hasn't happened yet. I'm not sure the knee would hold up, at this point, anyway.

What I have been doing is DVD yoga, which I have to be careful with. The last time I took yoga classes I ended up in the emergency room with a migraine. I thought it was an allergy from the candles, but it turns out it was from being inverted, and likely high blood pressure from my thyroid. I can only stay in down dog for so long before it becomes a problem. I also have to be careful of my back. I've a blown disc, which I was reminded of this past week. My new yoga DVD has me rolling back and forth on my back, and I ended up feeling queasy. Overall, it's good to dedicate to stretching again, though. I'd gotten away from that, and forgotten how good it feels.

I've also been playing with dance aerobics. Hip Hop. Burlesque. Latin. Again, I have to be careful. The first day I twisted my knee, which may be why I'm still feeling twinges when I walk. It's all low impact, and it's fun learning new moves. I can't wait until I learn the routines enough to really let go. It makes me think of how I used to dance with abandon in my living room, back when the boys were young and I wasn't so crippled with image issues. Maybe it's time to just break out the iPod and crank some dance tunes...