Armpit chaffing. Gold Bond helps a little.
I had a massage in Lansing IA, and the next day I felt really sore, as if I was set back to normal and then abruptly reminded how broken down I often feel on the river. The following day, however, I felt stronger than I had ever felt, as if the reset massage really did bolster my abilities.
I've had a crummy head cold for about a week now which I think I caught from Jake (I found his handkerchief wadded up in my couch bed one morning). It put me out of commission for a couple days back in Bettendorf, and I was feverish one night, but other than that it's just been coughing, runny nose, headache. I've been paddling through it since then, but took a short day on my worst feeling day, and I've been really careful to stay hydrated. I am on the other side of crud, but I think Leanne's got the crud now. So we've enjoyed a day's rest in Burlington to rest this sickness off and get some blogging done.
I continue to take turmeric for joint pain and it does a lot of good. I feel muscle pain now where I used to only feel joint pain. I never felt the good burn of having exercised the day before for the first couple months, because I just felt like I’d been run over. Now, I feel the good kind of muscle tiredness in my triceps, pecs, and biceps. I forgot to take my supplements while I was in Bettendorf, and the joint pain came back after just a few days of not taking turmeric. So, I’m sold on it!
I’ve got a huge bruise on the inside of my right thigh—same place I had one a few weeks ago, but I can’t figure out how I’m getting them.
In general, I’m feeling stronger. My left shoulder has been clicking for almost a month, with every stroke, and it stopped clicking 2 days ago. It feels like my muscles are finally strong enough to hold my joints in place where they belong. I don’t feel like I’m all that strong compared to most people, but I feel like I’m probably as strong as most people are normally now. It feels really good not to feel like I’m about to fall apart at the seams (joints) at every moment.
One campsite had crazy no-see-ums and my legs were eaten up the next day with 100s of tiny bites. Some got crazy itchy and a bit infected the next day because it was so hot and sweaty in my kayak. I used some of Leanne’s Gold Bond to dry them out and it worked like a charm. Infection cleared up, all healed over.
I’ve got some chaffing going on in my left armpit. I find it strange that it’s not in both armpits. I used some of Leanne’s Gold Bond on that too—it helped to soothe the burn a bit, but didn’t dry it out as much as I had hoped.
Still have: trigger finger, synovial cyst, numbness on forearms, regular sun poisoning on hot days, charley horse/cramps in my hands and legs. Left hip bursitis has good days and bad days.
Diet: Trying to maintain a decent balance of fresh food and my dehydrated camp food; cooking and accepting (generous! But often not as healthy) donated meals. Some days I feel like I’m really slimming down--how could I not, I’m paddling 20-30 miles a day! Some days I feel like I’m maintaining or gaining weight--how could I not, I’m eating like a horse and putting on muscle! So, in reality, I’m probably just maintaining what I started with some internal changes.
Mentally: these past few weeks I’ve been camping with Jake and Julie, and most recently paddling and camping with Leanne. I noticed that my anxiety dreams disappeared when I shared camp with my new friends. I’m back to no anxiety. I do think more now about When I Get Back than I did at the beginning of the journey, but it’s not with anxiety but just anticipation and curiosity.
I've had a crummy head cold for about a week now which I think I caught from Jake (I found his handkerchief wadded up in my couch bed one morning). It put me out of commission for a couple days back in Bettendorf, and I was feverish one night, but other than that it's just been coughing, runny nose, headache. I've been paddling through it since then, but took a short day on my worst feeling day, and I've been really careful to stay hydrated. I am on the other side of crud, but I think Leanne's got the crud now. So we've enjoyed a day's rest in Burlington to rest this sickness off and get some blogging done.
I continue to take turmeric for joint pain and it does a lot of good. I feel muscle pain now where I used to only feel joint pain. I never felt the good burn of having exercised the day before for the first couple months, because I just felt like I’d been run over. Now, I feel the good kind of muscle tiredness in my triceps, pecs, and biceps. I forgot to take my supplements while I was in Bettendorf, and the joint pain came back after just a few days of not taking turmeric. So, I’m sold on it!
I’ve got a huge bruise on the inside of my right thigh—same place I had one a few weeks ago, but I can’t figure out how I’m getting them.
In general, I’m feeling stronger. My left shoulder has been clicking for almost a month, with every stroke, and it stopped clicking 2 days ago. It feels like my muscles are finally strong enough to hold my joints in place where they belong. I don’t feel like I’m all that strong compared to most people, but I feel like I’m probably as strong as most people are normally now. It feels really good not to feel like I’m about to fall apart at the seams (joints) at every moment.
One campsite had crazy no-see-ums and my legs were eaten up the next day with 100s of tiny bites. Some got crazy itchy and a bit infected the next day because it was so hot and sweaty in my kayak. I used some of Leanne’s Gold Bond to dry them out and it worked like a charm. Infection cleared up, all healed over.
I’ve got some chaffing going on in my left armpit. I find it strange that it’s not in both armpits. I used some of Leanne’s Gold Bond on that too—it helped to soothe the burn a bit, but didn’t dry it out as much as I had hoped.
Still have: trigger finger, synovial cyst, numbness on forearms, regular sun poisoning on hot days, charley horse/cramps in my hands and legs. Left hip bursitis has good days and bad days.
Diet: Trying to maintain a decent balance of fresh food and my dehydrated camp food; cooking and accepting (generous! But often not as healthy) donated meals. Some days I feel like I’m really slimming down--how could I not, I’m paddling 20-30 miles a day! Some days I feel like I’m maintaining or gaining weight--how could I not, I’m eating like a horse and putting on muscle! So, in reality, I’m probably just maintaining what I started with some internal changes.
Mentally: these past few weeks I’ve been camping with Jake and Julie, and most recently paddling and camping with Leanne. I noticed that my anxiety dreams disappeared when I shared camp with my new friends. I’m back to no anxiety. I do think more now about When I Get Back than I did at the beginning of the journey, but it’s not with anxiety but just anticipation and curiosity.
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