It is definitely hot here in Playa del Carmen. Yesterday it got up to 37 degrees Celsius and it will likely be the same today. I spent a fair amount of time in our pool yesterday but to be honest it has been so hot lately that the pool is now like a tepid bath. However, it is still cooler that the outside air so provides some relief.
We are 2 weeks away from celebrating my brother’s 1st heavenly anniversary. If you recall he was with us at the condo when he passed. That was the 3rd year in a row that he had joined us for an extended trip at the condo and he loved it here. The challenge I have right now is that on Facebook memories of all those trips have been popping up almost every day. The ones from last year are the hardest because I think, if we only knew what was soon going to happen we would have done things differently. However, when I reflect on that I don’t think we would have. He looks so happy in all the pictures and he was obviously having a great time. What a way to spend the last 6 weeks of your life.
Living with these memories can be really hard but that is why I embrace Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. The belief is that you are never truly gone as long as someone remembers you. Last year we put together the altar for Day of the Dead. This included memories and offerings such as my brother’s favourite things. We also set up a digital picture frame with lots of pictures of him (actually we still have those pictures running) and made sure there were things like KD and a can of Bud. My sister and I actually found it quite cathartic to set up that altar and as we would think of him we often came up with something to add.
On June 7th we are hosting a heavenly anniversary party for my brother. It will be a gathering of several of the friends he made down here. I know I will likely shed a few tears but I am hoping there will also be some great stories and lots of laughter. As for my sister back at home, close friends will be joining her for dinner that night, Chinese food of course. Pretty sure they will be sharing similar memories to ours in Playa.
Yet another beautiful day here in Playa del Carmen. It’s hard to believe that as of tomorrow I will have been here 7 weeks and still have 3.5 to go. Because this has been such a long trip issues have come up like my husband’s US taxes. It’s been fun navigating the IRS system from Mexico. After many hours of my time I managed to get time sensitive information faxed off to them before the deadline which hopefully will resolve everything. Now we just have to wait to see if Canada Post goes on strike since we need to mail a new tax return which can’t be filed online. Worse comes to worst we’ll have to let it wait until we get back home next month and can mail it from the US.
The other day we learned that Joe Biden has been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and that it has metastasized to his bones. Sadly there are all sorts of people commenting on social media with all sorts of conspiracy theories about his doctor hiding the diagnosis while Biden was president, how there is no way cancer can metastasize so quickly, etc. My comment to that is the only words they should be posting is wishing Mr. Biden the best as he goes through treatment.
What his diagnosis did for me is to remind me how important it is to make sure you are healthy by being checked by medical professionals. I am going to concede that it may be easier said than done especially if you don’t have universal health care like we do. Having said that, I know plenty of people who believe that you only need to see your doctor when there is something wrong. Unfortunately that kind of mentality can lead to something not being diagnosed until it is too late or until serious damage had been done.
For me, I make sure my health is checked on a regular basis. I see my dentist twice a year (while we now have universal dental care, my husband and I don’t qualify so it is paid for out of our pockets). I also have my eyes checked by an optometrist every year (this is recommended for diabetics as you can be prone to things like glaucoma, retinopathy and cataracts). I do an annual physical with my family doctor which always includes a gamut of tests. And I ensure to be tested for colon cancer every 2 years and do a PAP test every 3 years. Of course since my Mom had breast cancer I do a screening mammogram every year.
Now I am pretty lucky because (knock on wood) at nearly 60 I am pretty healthy. My diabetes is in remission and I will continue to work hard to keep it there. Once I lost weight and got fit my blood pressure returned to normal levels. But I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for a doctor 7 years ago who was concerned about the level of stress I was under so ordered every test imaginable including an EKG, I could have gone on for years with diabetes until such time as it had done a lot of damage. I dodged that bullet because of the fact that doctor was very old school and believed that diseases could be asymptomatic.
And so for all of you out there doing the ‘I feel fine so I don’t need to see a doctor’ routine, please stop. Take your health seriously and make sure it is being checked by the professionals. I know, there is still no guarantee that you will be long lived but I figure if there are tools out there that will better my chances of being around for a long time I am going to make use of them.
Ok, I am really going off topic today but I feel I need to. Lately on social media (especially X) I have been seeing all of these absolutely hateful posts. All of them are when a responder disagrees with the original poster. I literally have cried at some of the awful words that are being said simply because people have different political opinions. Now don’t get me wrong, I know many of the people responding are extremists (both in the US and Canada) but what I don’t understand is how we got to the point as a society that this is ok. In my world it is not.
When my husband and I first met we had very different political beliefs, he was way right of center while I was a bit left of center (ok, now I am further left but that is a different story). That did not stop us from falling in love and getting married (and about to celebrate our 31st anniversary). Despite our differences we did not feel the need to insult or criticize each other for when we supported different political parties. As the years have gone by and my husband watched the work I did trying to make the world a better place, he slowly changed his political beliefs. I admit he is not exactly where I am now but certainly he has changed his view of politics.
We have a very eclectic group of friends in Canada, the USA and here in Mexico. Many of us share the same ideas as to who we want to lead our countries but not all. And yet, we are all friends who don’t find the need to disparage each other because of what political party we support. Some of those friends are on the exact opposite of the political spectrum than we are but there is a simple solution to it, we don’t talk politics when we gather, rather we just enjoy spending time together, it really is that simple. If we want to talk politics (and trust me my husband doesn’t) we have an awesome group of friends at home that are like minded that are more than willing to have that discussion with us.
One of our friends at home spent many years in our Provincial government in the opposite party to the one I support. Yet funny, not once in our political discussions did we ever feel the need to call each other names, we just had a friendly debate. Then there was my Uncle with whom every Christmas Eve brunch at his place I would get into a very rousing (and sometimes loud) political debate. Despite the fact we had nothing in common in terms of politics it was always in good fun especially hearing all of the extended family groan as soon as we got into it. As a matter of fact, that is what I miss most since he has passed.
So we can have different opinions and still be friends. Even if we aren’t friends, we can have different opinions and still be respectful, it is not that difficult if you want to be in a world where we are all allowed the freedom to have our own opinions, that is what my Dad as a teenage risked his life fighting in a war for us to have.
On a final note, I am disgusted at the people who are throwing around the slur, retard. Here’s the definition of that word per the Cambridge dictionary ‘a word for a person with a learning disability which was used by doctors in the past but is now extremely offensive’. Anyone using that horrible slur needs learn how to be a decent human being.
I had a great new experience today. My taxi driver found a place for me to go and get my nails done. My last experience here wasn’t great so I wanted to try something new. The woman has a salon in her house and of course speaks about as much English as I do Spanish. And so we both spoke our own version of Spanglish! We managed to get through the nails part and she did such a good job I had her do a pedicure as well. Definitely will have her do my nails again.
Of course it has been hot the entire time I have been here in Playa del Carmen. We are at the point now where the low for the day is 25 degrees Celsius and the highs into the 30’s. The part though that I have problems with is the high level of humidity. Now first of all when you have thick, curly hair like mine humidity is your enemy. Fortunately I have managed to find some hair product that seems to help keep it under control. Because of the humidity you walk around dripping sweat all of the time. For that I always carry a cloth with me so that I can wipe myself off. As well, I travel with a hand fan so at least I can pretend like there is a breeze.
But with this kind of heat/humidity there is also physical problems but I have learned how to deal with them. Pretty much within a week of getting here I always come down with dermatitis around my eyes. I’ve learned that as soon as I see it starting I need to begin treating it with some hydrocortisone cream. Usually 2 -3 days of that cream and all is good but if I wait to start using it my eyelids become puffy and red and my eyes won’t stop watering. Normally as soon as the dermatitis starts so does the heat rash. This really tends to take off in the crook of my elbows but will often run all the way down my forearms. Fortunately, the same hydrocortisone cream will take care of it as well.
The final thing that has happened a few times is heat blisters around my lips. I think these are the worst for being in this heat because not only do they hurt but as they start to heal they look horrible. I keep medicated lip balm down here because that seems to help them heal. It also keeps them moist so they are a bit less painful. Sadly I find with these that by time you realize they are starting to form you are already screwed.
Now I admit there is nothing preventative I can really do about any of this. We are cognizant of the electricity cost here so we avoid using the air conditioning except at night in our bedroom and in the living room when I am doing a workout. We instead open up all the doors and windows (all of which have screens) so that we can keep air flowing through the condo. We do make sure to keep on hand medical ointments (including topical antibiotic cream) which pretty much will cover everything for us.
To be honest, if the trade-off for these heat ailments is to be able to be sitting at my laptop typing this blog with a view of our park with the palm trees swaying and a pool 10 steps off our back deck then hell yeah I’ll deal with the ailments.
It is a somewhat busy week for me at the condo. I have been dealing with my monthly clients but also have been working on a project for a previous client. The good news is I am hoping to have everything completed by the end of the week and then I get a bit of a break before the next batch of work comes on board. I actually don’t mind working while here because 1) the money helps pay for the condo and 2) it is much easier to have an alcohol free day when you are working.
When I came down to the condo I committed to a few goals. Firstly, I was going to not miss a single day of doing some sort of workout. Secondly, I was going to try and get to a local gym so that I could work with heavier weights so as not to lose any strength. Thirdly, I wanted to include more alcohol free days in my trips to the condo. And finally, I would build myself up to doing a 4 minute plank. It was a big list but I can be pretty goal oriented and thought I could do it.
Now things started out well. I was actually pushing myself more than I had in quite a while and for a few weeks 5 days each week I was walking at least 3 hours a day and doing an hour long online class. While I cut back on the weekends I still got in some walking. I was getting in 3 days a week at the gym as well. I was doing alcohol free days and trying on other days to limit alcohol (hard to do because of our social life down here). And, I was working on my plank.
But things kind of went south about 10 days ago. The good news is that my plantar fasciitis finally cleared up which was such a relief. However, right afterwards a whole new round of pain showed up. This was in my left foot (you know the one that has the torn tendons and partially detached ligament). It actually felt somewhat skeletal but combined with some soft tissue pain. It was almost like I had whacked my foot really hard on something. Then the next day I realized how badly swollen that foot was and recognized goals really needed to change.
I have not been working on my plank because my foot in that position really hurt. Walking has been reduced to about 45 minutes each day (though I note I have still gotten out each day). I stopped doing my online workouts and the gym became a day to day decision (because I would have to walk there). The end result is after 10 days I think things are finally improving. Today was the 1st day that I got home from my morning walk when my foot hasn’t been painful. Moreover, the swelling really seems to have diminished the past couple days. Trust me, I know much of this is because of scaling back, icing my foot frequently and using my prescription Voltaren 3 times a day.
This all just means I sort of changed the goals. Obviously I had hoped to meet my plank goal but really not horribly disappointed to miss that one. I had wanted to be able to say I didn’t miss any of my booked online classes but that was a day to day decision and deciding to cancel them all of last week was the right one (though am happy to report I did a class this morning and will try another one on Thursday). I have made it to the gym several times and push the weights I use while I am there. Most importantly I have done something every single day since I have been here.
You look at all of that and I have to say I think I’ve done pretty well. I have listened to my body telling me I needed to cut back and I did. Yet, I have not lost my momentum and plan to continue to build it up over the next few weeks. Ok, maybe the 3 hours of walking on top of a fitness class might be a bit much but I’ll see how I do for the next little while
My apologies if you have been checking my blog this past week but I haven’t been posting. My husband arrived at the condo last Thursday and we have been pretty busy with our social network ever since. However, we have slowed down the past few days (this is actually our 3rd consecutive day alcohol free, we haven’t even had tequila) so I am getting other things accomplished.
As many of you know Monday was a federal election in Canada. I had to vote at an Elections Canada office before I left for the condo because I came here long before even the advance polls were happening. I made sure I voted because it is important to me to always vote. In the past I have done it many ways in various elections such as on election day, at advance polls even using a mail in ballot. But I have always voted.
But what is different this time is the hatred that is now occurring. It actually started before the election but after Monday many of those that didn’t get the outcome they wanted seem to be furious. It is unbelievable the hatred and vitriol that is blanketing social media. I am terrified to even congratulate the successful candidate in my area on X because I know I will be inundated with posts spewing hate and calling me all sorts of names. Even worse to me is words that our society decades ago had almost erased because of their offensive nature are now appearing everywhere. And trust me, they are not being used in a complimentary way.
I just have to ask, why? Why has it suddenly become ok to be this horrible often to people you don’t even know. Why, because I have a different political belief than some do they feel it is ok that they are abusive and trust me they are abusive. Even more frightening are the ones making blatant threats of violence to those that they don’t agree with. Why are we allowing this to happen? We have laws about hate speech and threats, why aren’t we doing something about these people.
I am hoping that my country pushes back against this behaviour. I vow that I will not accept this kind of hatred in my life. If you are someone in my life and you spew this kind of crap, well you no longer will be in my life in any way. And if you want to start something with me, I will turn my back to you and walk away. I think it will be the only way that I can survive this era of hatred.
Moreover, I’m going to focus on the Corgi groups that I follow. I have to say seeing those sweet, smiling faces is uplifting. I also think I should follow more kitten groups because a cute kitten will always make me happy.
I cannot believe I am starting my 4th week in Playa del Carmen and still have 6 weeks to go. What I am really happy about is that since I arrived on April 2nd I have not missed a single day of working out. I acknowledge that a couple days it has only been an hour of walking but still I haven’t fallen into that complacent trap that admittedly happened the last time I was here. As a matter of fact, these past 2 weeks I have been pushing myself harder than I ever done have before while at the condo. My husband arrives later today which will test me some because he will try and cut into some of my fitness time. I’ve decided I just need to stand firm on the fact that this is what I have needed for a long time and I want to keep it up.
My fitness centre posted the following on Facebook today, ‘You don’t need more time, you just need a plan’. It further went on to say ‘Let’s find a routine that fits your life, not the other way around’. I thought about that for a moment and realized that is really what I have done. Now don’t get me wrong, if you work fulltime, have kids, aging parents, etc you likely don’t have the time I do to do 20k steps most days. Moreover, I realize that not everyone is crazy enough to get up basically in the middle of the night so that they can get in several hours of early morning workouts to start the day like I do. But you know what, I agree, it is about finding your time flexibility and making a plan.
While I am here at the condo my plan changes dramatically. Normally when I am home I start with a 5:30am fitness class followed by a 2 hour walk (after a brief rest and rehydration). Then I will try to fit in another hour walk sometime during the day working around work for clients and volunteering. Saturdays my class isn’t until 8:00am so I do a 2 hour walk before heading off to class. That all changes when I am in Playa because of 1) the time difference and 2) the weather.
And so I have to change my plan while I am here. Since the weekday early morning fitness classes don’t start here until 7:30am, I still get up early and do an 1 1/2 hour walk before class. I then, immediately after class, get in another 1/2 hour walk so at minimum I am doing 3 hours a day during the week. Saturdays the class doesn’t start until 10:00am Playa time which is just too late in the day for me. Since I do a bit less on the weekend I still get up early and do a 2 hour walk though try to get a little more walking in later in the day. I will also note that Monday/Wednesday/Friday I put some time in at the local gym so that I can do a workout with heavier weights (remember the ones I have in the condo are only 10 lbs).
Now that explains the time issue but this time of year the weather is also a major factor. My goal weekdays is to get in 3 hours of walking. I used to do that all the time at home (though had slacked off the past few months and cut it down to 2 hours a day) by doing a 2 hour walk then later in the day another hour walk. That is simply not possible here because of the heat. I do my first walk at 5:30am when it is a ‘cool’ at 25 degrees Celsius. By time I do my 1/2 hour walk after the fitness class it is in the high 20’s and will by 10am be reaching 30+ degrees. And so, to get in the rest of my walking I do 2 other 1/2 hour walks as that is about as much as I can handle in this heat. So far it has been working and I hope it continues.
For me, I find the time by finding the flexibility that I need to get it done. I acknowledge that if you had told me even a few years ago that I would be at the point that exercising would take over my neurotic need to always have a fixed schedule I would have scoffed at you. Now, my priorities have shifted to my own fitness and personal health. I kind of like that shift in my thinking.
I am trying to get 3 hours of walking done each day Monday – Friday. I was successful doing so last week and I burned past my calorie goal each day. The problem is every day it seems to get hotter here. For example I went for a walk at 11am today and by time I got back I was soaked in sweat. I’m trying to be strategic by getting a big walk (1 1/2 hour) done first thing then several 1/2 hour walks. I could wait until later in the day to do my final walk but then that interferes with social time by the pool. Sigh, I guess I just have to suck it up and get the final walk done.
It was exactly 1 year ago today that I came home from the gym and realized my ankle was bothering me. At that point I had been running 6.5-10 km every day and had been doing so for months. I decided after the fitness class that I was going to have to scale back a bit and just do a walk (it was really disappointing because I was on such a roll). I got just passed the 6 km mark on my walk when I felt a pop in my ankle and then shooting pain up my leg. I knew this could not be good so called home for a ride and then took several days off before going back to walking. I have never returned to running.
It would be months later before I finally got my ankle looked at. During that time it was somewhat painful (though not debilitating) and had some mild swelling. When I did break down and go to the doctor she predicted that I had some significant soft tissue damage. Turns out she was right and I had 2 torn tendons and a partially detached ligament. I started physio and am on a waiting list to see a specialist (not any specialist but one of the best foot and ankle injury clinics hence why I am still waiting).
There have been several changes that this injury has caused. I now where a brace whenever I am doing anything that I believe will cause me to need additional stability for my ankle (I always wear it during my fitness classes). I don’t really do any high impact exercises though on occasion I have tried some but wasn’t really confident I wasn’t going to do more damage. And, I gave up running completely.
Now remember, I really didn’t like running so it is odd that that change hit me the hardest. For me, running had me chanting in my head about how much I disliked running. Or I would be counting how far I had gone or after the 1/2 way mark how little I had left to go. But what that did was allow me to for an hour or so each day completely clear my head. There was no room for other thoughts to get in. Thoughts like panic about everything I had outstanding or how I was going to solve a problem. These are the types of things that are always in my head and I believe one of the reasons I suffer so badly from insomnia. This past year in particular I have missed that ‘free’ time in my head as I have had so much crap to think about. I truly hope once I have seen the specialists that there is a resolve to help me safely return to running.
So yeah, things changed a year ago and I am hoping sometime in the near future I can go back to where I was.
Wahoo, it’s Saturday!!!! That means I get to cut myself a bit of slack and scale back the workouts. From Monday to Friday last week I put in at least 4 hours each day. That includes a mix of walking, online fitness and weights at the gym a couple days. I pushed hard last week so now it is 2 days of recovery. And to be clear, recovery means only doing about 2 hours of walking today and tomorrow.
I got up this morning, put my left foot on the floor and realized for the first time in months I had absolutely no pain, none whatsoever. I thought, ok now it is time to strategize. The reason being is yesterday the plantar fasciitis seemed pretty good, but I noticed after the 2 hour walk, I had some pain in the side of my foot which likely was caused by the messed up ankle. If you recall I stopped wearing my ankle brace during walks because it seemed to irritate the plantar fasciitis but obviously the ankle was not happy with the amount of walking that has happened this week. Time to come up with a plan.
The one thing I can say about being at the condo is I have enough equipment down here that I am prepared for just about anything. So, I went digging in the bathroom drawers and found what I was looking for, an ankle sleeve. This is basically a tight compression sleeve that gives some stability to my ankle without restricting the mobility as much as the brace does. I don’t normally like wearing it because the seams bother me (it has more to do with how they feel against my skin than anything) but I thought what the hell, let’s give this a try.
Off I went for my early morning walk and I realized this plan seemed to be working. I had absolutely no pain in my heel and my ankle felt a bit more supported. However, I realized things could be different by time I completed 10 km. It was a lovely walk with it being the right temperature and lots of cats wanting some loving (and food) from me. I got back to the condo and both my ankle and heel still felt great. Wow, that hasn’t happened in so long.
I’m celebrating my pain free day and hoping it is the same tomorrow. Walking is just so much more enjoyable when it doesn’t hurt. I’m going to be optimistic and not think this was a one off but rather a sign that things are finally healing.
Today has been a great day. My friends offered to take me to their gym and then grocery shopping. That changed my day a bit so I gave myself a 1/2 hour sleep in before doing a 2 hour walk, shower then a 1 hour walk. I then got in an hour of weights at the gym and pushed myself with heavier weights. Then it was many stops shopping but in the end got everything I wanted including 2 really nice steaks for when my husband gets here.
I don’t know about you but for me reading social media right now is really impacting me. I watch what is happening in the USA and I admit I am terrified of the world we are living in. Don’t get me wrong, there are people here in Canada who think all of that is the right way to go. I do not. I was raised to be tolerant and kind. I was raised to help those in need even if I myself need help, Dad’s motto was always remember, there is always someone going through worse. I was raised that my freedom does not come at the expense of other’s freedom. But today that does not seem to be the way the world is going.
But I have found something that really lifts my spirits. Remember a few weeks ago when I talked about spending a day just randomly posting supportive comments on X. I have taken it even further. I have a network of people who are starting their own journey into health a fitness. I try each day to leave at least one supportive comment for these people. I don’t know them, hell some of them aren’t even in North America. That doesn’t matter, what matters is they know that I have been where they are and fought my way back up. I try to make them understand they can do the same.
A couple of examples. There is a 17 year old young man from the UK. A couple years ago he tried to commit suicide. You see he is a big guy and was suffering a mental health crisis exacerbated by the fact he was being bullied. Today he is attempting to be the youngest person to run the entire UK doing so to raise funds for mental health. I like and comment on many of his posts especially when some asshole has made derogatory comments about him. Another example is a recent follow. It is a young man who is on the spectrum. He has started walking to lose weight and get more in shape. He posted the other day that he had taken a day off and seemed to feel guilty about it. You bet I commented to him that he deserved that day and to just get back at it the next day. He thanked me for my support.
And so, I will drown out the horrible things I am reading by encouraging everyone I see on social media who is trying to better themselves. Maybe by doing so I can make the world a better place for someone.
gwennefarrell 