Rather be underdressed, a proud moment and leg length inequality.

Yes, I have leg problems. My right is a lot shorter than my left. I broke my femur in college (stress from running) and Mayo Clinic suspects it is the reason for my foot & ankle injuries. I’ve compensated for it for too long. Now I’m in PT working on those imbalances. I wished your doctor lived closer although my PT at Mayo is pretty darn good!

I remember that photo of Brooke. She was so tiny then :)

That’s interesting about the leg issue. I actually never knew about that, thanks for sharing Janae.

I guess seeing deer tracks is better then bear tracks!

So cute that she loves broccoli as much as you do!

Annabelle finally kicked the bottle habit (it was long overdue) and she is eating much better now! She also loves to give hugs and pat you on the back while she is hugging you. It melts my heart. :)

I have no idea if one of my legs is shorter! I’m the same way when I dress for running. I’d rather be cold than hot with the exception of my hands and feet! I won’t hesitate to double up gloves and socks.

I definitely think the BEST thing I do when I’m not running is hot yoga. It stretches me out and helps build more strength in my core and legs.

I should do more foam rolling and more strength training but that’s for another discussion.

Brooke is so cute! I wish my 2 year old would eat more veggies! I always have to find ways to sneak them in. My proud parenting moment lately was when my munchkin was able after tons of practice to identify a ton of her ABC’s. Not all but most, we’ve made the flashcards a fun no pressure game and I love that she loves learning.

That picture of you and Brooke working out gets me every time, it’s so cute!

Duncan my labradoodle knows when we get off the highway to go to my brothers house. He gets so excited. He also knows how to do lots of silly circus tricks. And when I drive up my block as I am headed home I can see him in the window of my living room and I can see his face when he realizes it’s me. So cute.
I need to foam roll more. I definitely have more issues on my left leg from running on the roads.

Agreed- would rather be a little cold than too hot out there, except for my hands! The Luluelmon Fluff Over Mittens have been a lifesaver this year – best running accessory I have ever purchased!

Oh, and when I originally read your title, I read it as “undressed”, not underdressed. Thought maybe I stumbled onto the wrong blog. :)

I saw that dog story too! It made me so happy, i emailed it to my mom and sister. I love animals and have 5 dogs and 3 cats. One of dogs, Muffin, smiles. When I call her name she makes a huge grin and shows all her teeth. Shes such a sweetie.
Im glad youre training is going well! Keep up the great work, i know it’ll pay off!

Ahh yes! Dogs are the best! That story is too much. I’m hoping to get a dog soon and can’t wait to have stories. :]

I saw that story earlier and loved it!

We are such dog lovers around here, especially Labs. At one time we had four Labs living inside (2 yellows, a black, and a chocolate). We only have one yellow left, Duke, who is nine and as laid back as they come. We had a chocolate lab, Zeus, who lived to be almost 17. We called him the Stealth Lab because he could jump onto the bed while we were asleep and we never felt him getting up there. He knew he wasn’t allowed to get on the beds, so he learned to wait until we were asleep and then he’d jump up and lie down wherever he landed. We finally gave up and let him take his place at the foot of the bed. There are worse things in life than a warm puppy on your feet.

Janae, this explains so much about my recent running-related injuries! I just started training for my very first marathon and for whatever reason my right leg has been killing me for no apparent reason. I vaguely remembered the nurse at my last physical saying one of my legs was longer than the other but forgot about it until I read this post. Looks like I might need to get this checked out…thanks for your insight!

My right innominate is always anteriorly rotated, making my right leg appear “longer.” It also leads to some funny shifts in my posture in regards to my shoulder and my loving Quadratus Lumborum (QL) (you can’t tell with the naked eye but I can feel them). I love my QL trigger points and my TFL has had some severe trigger points to the point of injury. You can use muscle energy techniques to correct the obliquity briefly yourself if you have the hip pain before you can get into the doc. I’ve also been interning at a place called ADAPT in Beaverton, OR and they have some amazing routines that calm the adductors and work on the little stabilizing muscles in the hip so the bigger muscles don’t have to be overworked and pull our pelvis in all different directions. I love my dogs!! They always alway always know when my boyfriend and I are going running, there is no way to leave her! The ADAPT exercises are what I do outside of running- they are awesome! I’ve definitely turned orange before but from carrots, although sweet potatoes are amazing! I love your post :D

Yep, I have the exact same recurring problem, and on the same leg (the right). I never know the exact moment of when it goes “out” rather I get this feeling on the subsequent runs as if I’m dragging my right leg behind me a bit. I notice that it’ll scuff the ground a bit. It’s tough to move in a fluid motion, almost as if it’s a wooden leg. I can still run on it, but it’s just… off. You know exactly what I’m talking about, I’m sure. If I keep running on it like that then I’ll get some problems… sore hamstring, sore knee, sore ankle… etc. Once I even got sciatica as all the muscles in my right leg were inflamed from working too hard at moving (because my hip wasn’t rotating properly).

I started turning orange too from all the sweet potatoes, butternut squash- so I am trying to back off a little, but I NEED sweet potatoes in my life! :-)

I actually stay very warm when I run. I can run in the cold easily and have to be careful of overdressing…I get headaches when that happens!
I have a stalker dog that follows me everywhere I go. He even sits and stares at me while I do my core exercises! As soon as I am done he is at my side. No petting needed just to be close, its really kind of odd.

After I start training or running longer distances, my left knee always starts to bother me. My friend is a physical therapist so she will usually dry needle me and I have to tape my knee so that it stays in place.

That article is so sweet!!

Do you cook sweet potatoes every day? Or do you cook a bunch like once a week? If so, what is the best way to keep/reheat them?

Your Dad’s painting is beautiful! I am an artist too and do mostly charcoal and pencil drawings of animals.

Very cool deer footprints! I was running my dog last night and we came face to face with 4 deer crossing the road in front of us! (These animals aren’t afraid of anything or anyone in our town!) I think you would enjoy a dog to run with Janae, and Brooke would love it!

Try wall-sits (a/k/a wall squats), 8 per day for 1 minute each (every other day). Wall squats engage every muscle in your legs as well as your glutes at the same time…this has helped me tremendously with imbalance issues since all the muscles fire at the same time. I stand straight against the wall and then slide down until I am in a seated position with me feet about a foot apart, hold for one minute. I swear by them!

You sure those are deer tracks? They look like rabbit to me :)

I have a blind dog, so he has learned out of necessity how to follow voice commands so he doesn’t run into things (step up/down, stop, slow, go left, etc). I think that’s pretty cool!

Mmm, roasted broccoli is the best! I love that Brooke loves it too!