Recently I started going to see a MMT. I decided this year to give massages a try to see if it would help with long-term relief after I did lots of exercise during the week. It started to become apparent that I needed some help when my foot got injured and I was having trouble with heel striking. When I moved back over to the five-finger shoes it gave me some relief but I noticed that the impact from the Lems shoes I used was more intense than I realized so I got a massage a few months back to see if that would maybe help my muscles. The first one I got was normal, nothing fancy really and I felt the relief instantly but after my first run prior to the massage, I felt the strain back on my foot and muscles.
So I turned to a different approach. Deep Tissue Massage. I've never had one done and this guy I met walked me through the process. He would use cups to help get my muscles back into place. The idea is that the cup brings up the muscle, you constrict the muscle and then relax it and it makes the muscle go back to where it's supposed to. It's an interesting and intense process. Turns out my right side is super wound up and the muscles in my foot need more work than I thought. He let me know that it's not fractured and its not a bruised bone but it could be due to muscle weakness since it usually is sore after I do Long runs. I just got my second session done this past weekend and I feel much better than I have in a long while.
I've never invested in this sort of therapy before so I didn't know what to expect but to find some long-term relief is exciting and really gives me hope that I can improve my running, climbing, and just general health. I want to feel good while running and I want to find a way to give myself relief from my foot. I certainly don't want that to be long-term and cause more injury while I run the half marathon in September.
Have any of you done massage therapy? What did you think? Let me know your thoughts.
It's funny what you remember when you're going down a road you have traveled many times before.
On our way up to Wolf Creek, (the way we have to go anyway) we end up taking the road to Trinidad which is Interstate 25. It was pretty late when we were going up that road and of course, I get flashbacks to a few years ago when my Van was not in the best of shape. Coming up that road ended up being one of those times when my van decided to quit on me. It started in Trinidad and I somehow managed to make it up to Pueblo where my van had to be serviced. At that time we were going out to Yellowstone to run the half marathon there and I got lucky enough to have connections, through my father of course, to have someone to come get me from Denver and rescue me while I waited for my father to swoop in and come pick me up.
I learned a lot from that trip. I learned that I'm not all that smart with vehicles and we learned what other issues the van had at the time. It had an issue with the gas tank deciding that it was half full when really it was completely full whenever you went up any kind of hill or mountain. The best part of that is when the van would randomly stop working and turn off. That came into effect whenever I got into high elevations or went up mountains. Along with the transmission puking on me, we realized that the leak that it had when I bought it was more than a "little" leak. It was what it ended up killing my transmission and driving a diesel my whole "driving" life I was not well versed in how transmission fuel was supposed to look. Not my Dad's fault by the way, just me thinking that I could get away with not looking as often thinking the leak was "small" and deciding that it will ALLLLLL BE OKKK...yea ok. We all learned what happened then and if you have been following this blog and my father's blog long enough you remember that time as well.
Now coming into Wolf Creek with that memory it makes me smile at what I have learned and how thankful I am to have this platform and to have met so many from the Ticker. Over the years I have met many in different areas and some have helped me out on my adventures, teaching me so many lessons and giving out a helping hand with my vehicle troubles. Truth be told when the transmission died I really thought I was going to be more serious trouble. If you know Colorado Pueblo is NOT a good area and when one of the Tickers follower's Daughters came to save me it also put me back in touch with someone I met on a cruise ship which is really a small world.
This time around I'm not in the van and will be going back to Tennessee but I am grateful that I have learned all these lessons and of course, I'm sure there are more to come when I take off again In September. I hope you all will continue to follow along and I can't wait to share those stories with you when it happens.
Recently I did a test for my new job. The test was to see if it would work in the van with the new setup I have for it. The answer came to a solid yes. I can work from anywhere again and it excites me to think that I will be back on the road enjoying the freedom to explore whenever and wherever while still being able to make money and afford this amazing life that we live. I want to go back to Vegas and explore more of the areas out there. I want to climb, hike, and get out in the amazing Red Rocks area. I also want to go visit nearby states and head back to Utah.
Utah has been one my favorite states to visit and every time I go there I love it more and more. It has so many wonderful trails and it doesn't take long to get in complete isolation. It's perfect for those of us who just want peace and quiet. When we get back I know I will be ready to sit out by the fire and watch as the sky comes to life before my very eyes. Will it be as bright as it once was before we polluted our planet with so much light? No, but it will be enough for me to still enjoy the sky while we still see it.
In another life, I could have chased the stars and been happy that way. Traveling all around the world to take pictures in remote places of the stars sounds like a wild and crazy dream. But for now will take my quiet time with the sky in the desert. With this job, this will offer me the opportunity to make more money while I am on the road and have the weekends off. This is a win-win in my case because then I get to go outside and not stress about times dropping on Saturday or Sunday just to make an extra buck. This job may be the door I needed to open up more chances to change my life. And man am I taking it by the balls and running with it.
I hope everyone had a great new year and a great start to 2024.
2024 is going to be an interesting year and I have this feeling that it will be filled with interesting change. So far it has been a good start. I have officially settled into my new job and have set goals for what I want to do for the year. From now until September I will be doing a small amount of traveling and spending time with my father and my boyfriend. When September rolls around I will be doing my fourth half marathon and it will be the Smokey Mountain Half. Its in early September and if anyone is interested in joining in please sign up and come out with me on this beautiful course. If not cheer for me. It will be an interesting one.
While I am preparing for that race I have small trips planned out. Going to Colorado to SNowboard here soon, going to P.A to visit my boyfriend's family and enjoy the sites, WIll be going to Nashville to enjoy a Passenger concert, Hiking in Glacier National Park to celebrate two years with my man, and so many other adventures. We will even be starting the planning for Peru, Scotland, and Ireland. Not all in one trip but two separate ones. I also have a new plan for my artwork now that my life has slowed down a bit when it comes to my jobs. My schedule is not longer so hectic and is manageable which I'm really excited about. The opportunities are endless and im ready to jump in fully.
With this new job, I can now relax a little bit and move forward with what's needed. There are a lot of goals to achieve and I can't wait to see what comes my way this year.
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Castle of Glass 12*12 $125
One of my favorite things about being out in the van is the ability to step out my door and suddenly be immersed by nature. It's refreshing after a long day of working away to just step back and take in the fresh air. When Lylah and I were on the road we often would pack the van up and go for a hike. Spend a few hours in the air enjoying the scenery and getting some movement in. She loved to run ahead and sniff the trail while I slowly made my way towards our "destination". For us it was peaceful. It was a step away from the real world and all its troubles. It was a chance to breathe in the air and live this life that we were given.
For me its always a reset to the day. I never thought that I would be traveling as much as I do, seeing the world, and enjoying my life in the way I am today. Thirteen years ago I would have thought I'd be married and have a kid or two. I pictured what every woman probably thinks of at least once in their life. A picture-perfect home with a boy and a girl running around and the love of their life by their side. I thought that I wanted that and in a few years time my mind switched completely. I decided I didn't want to go to college, get married or even have kids. I just wanted to live my life and enjoy it. I wanted to be free (in whatever capacity I could have) and finally break out of the mold that everyone falls into. At 18 I started traveling to new places, staying at campsites, and just trying to get a sense of this world I was in. Slowly I traveled more and more. I took Spice with me to a few places, showed her little bits of the world, and eventually graduated to traveling overseas a little bit and mixed in trips with my father to see wonderful places together. Before COVID started I bought my Van, adopted Lylah and, now I travel a lot in the U.S. I did my first 8 months in the van and I took a year off of Van life to get everything situated with my job. Now I'm here again looking at another 8 month's tour in the van. Looking at all the possibilities.
It's funny how you can change an image of your life in such a short time. I went from a very shy, reserved, and mold-ready human to a wild, adventurous, and curious human. I'm not great with people and I can be a quiet human but I love the taste of adventure. I love being out and enjoying our world while it's here and I'm so happy to have landed where I am. Every day I got to step out of my van and see a new place, was a day that I treasure with all my heart and I can't wait to do that again and share more of those moments with those I love.
