Since we got back last Wednesday, we did little to nothing. No big plans, no to-dos, continuing the spontaneity we adopted during our vacation. I love it! Time feels longer and more enjoyable when we are not rushed. Few things made me smile:
- Girls are really into rollerblading. The best of all, they go down to the terrace near the gym all by themselves. We don’t feel the need to watch them anymore. This has been great as they are fully independent and we know they are safe as they are surrounded by other people.
- The entire family was at the gym Sunday morning. Daddy was working out (he is working hard to lose the 15 lbs he has put in the last two months). Sofia was on the treadmill for her run as pollution was bad and I felt better having her running indoor. Lizzy is rollerblading around us. I was stretching after my 16 miles run. It was AMAZING to all be working out on a Sunday.
- Sweet bed. I’ve been sleeping on the floor in China. It was the only solution given the space. It was fine, especially when Lizzy was sleeping by my side. But how much I missed my bed. Husband said the same. We got to appreciate our own bed.
- We got a massage table at home for our home massages. It was overdue as we have massage at home every week, sometimes twice a week. It was a good investment.
- We watched this documentary about Barkley marathon and really enjoyed it. Sofia was super happy/inspired after it.
- I watched this movie while girls did homework, surprisingly entertaining.
- Lizzy came to “complain” that life in Shanghai was better as we’d go somewhere everyday. I said to her, well… we are back in Jakarta. Sofia asked me when are we going to another trip? Our next planned one is in December. I told her… after we enjoy our home for a while.
- Girls are back into doing chores. It was great that during weekend, they’d make my bed, organize their rooms, clean the dishes, and even mop the floor.
Update on my hip situation.
The acupuncture helped to alleviate the soreness but did not fix it. I went to a new Physio on Saturday, apparently the national team goes there. The Physio doctor examined me and concluded that it’s not bone, not tender, but muscle weakness on my left hip. The prescribed solution is twice a week physic for 2-3 weeks. If it improves, great. If not, I’ll do a MRI.
I was quite worried about the situation as my training plan is ramping up. This Sunday I had 16 miles run with last 3 miles fast. I was anxious about the run. The pollution was terrible but I couldn’t imagine running 16 miles on the treadmill so I went out 5am.
The run went way better than I anticipated. The air was much cooler than Shanghai, relatively speaking. I realized the temperature and humidity is not informative, but the dew point. In Shanghai, dew point was 27C when I felt really hot. Jakarta was 21C on Sunday after my run. I didn’t even have to drink that much (1.2 liter for the entire run). The pace felt easier and my HR hovered around 130 for a long time, truly easy. My hip was sore, but not too sore, and didn’t get worse as miles progressed. What a surprised! After the run, I soaked at the cold pool for 10 min, recommended by the Physio doctor. I was not exhausted the rest of the day as I was during my last few long runs in Shanghai. The weather made a huge difference. I did 30 min stretching and my hip soreness completely went away! What a surprise.
I plan to do strength, mobility, and stretching exercise EVERYDAY hoping to fix the issue.
I am back to office on Monday. Girls will start school on Wednesday. Life is slowly getting back to routine, and I am looking forward to it while keeping my vacation mindset.
Our New Journey 
Happy to hear that your hip felt better after the stretching session. Hope it continues to improve! I, too, am enjoying staying in – albeit in Poland with my friend at her country house 🙂 I know that once the school year starts (August 28th) we will be back into the routine and will have many opportunities to explore again.
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It’s great that you didn’t have any major plans to come home to. I think that’s so hard… we’ve had that before, when we get home from an extended time away and then immediately have a million plans on the schedule. It’s like, WHOA. Haha. Glad you’re able to slowly ease back into normal life.
Good luck with the hip! I’m still really struggling with my back, too. I have some good days, where I think it’s really getting better, and then other days where it seems worse than ever. I’ve still being going to the chiropractor 2x/ week for in-office spinal adjustments, and he said it is a long, slow process and I’m about where he expects right now. But who knows. I’m not 100% convinced it’s working, lol. I will give it some more time. I am not SO great about doing the home stretches and exercises he prescribed though.. oops. I try but they take a long time! Like at least 20-25 minutes I’d say to do them all. So sometimes at the end of the day I just get tired or don’t feel like it…. I’m trying to make sure to prioritize them though, since I can’t say the whole thing isn’t working if I’m not putting in the work on my end, too.
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Hope the hip improves and I’m glad that you are being seen by a great professional.
The pollution sounds horrible. Ugh. We’re so fortunate with clean air where we live, but that must make it hard to train.
Everyone at the gym together sounds lovely!!!
And I am JEALOUS of your at-home massages. I love, love, love massages.
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I hope the hip pain continues to improve. I had a labral tear on my left hip that required surgery – hopefully you can avoid that! I am sure your physio will really focus on core strength like glutes, quads and hamstrings. If you have glute weakness, your hip muscles work harder than they should and it can cause things like the tear I had.
It’s nice to get back to normal life after a long stretch away. I am a total creature of habit so am happy to get back to my routines after most trips. And I always miss my bed and pillows!!
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What was your symptom for the labral tear? And how was it diagnosed?
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It’s hard to describe the pain. It felt like it was on the inside of the hip joint. My PT described it was a ‘catching’ feeling. It was really noticeable when I did a figure four stretch or pigeon pose if you are familiar with those yoga poses. I had a physical examination by a PT, did PT for probably 6 weeks with no improvement and then had an MRI and had surgery. I hope this isn’t what is causing your hip pain! The surgery was very hard as I was on crutches for 3 weeks and it took me 5 months to get back to running. But I have an anatomical abnormality where my the ball joint of my hip is misshapen. So that abnormality combined with overuse/weaker glutes caused the tear. That’s why my marathon days are over. I don’t think I could handle going through that surgery again, especially now that I have kids. But I only know of one other runner that needed this surgery.
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I am sorry you’re still dealing with your hip. I can’t believe your run 16 miles with a sore hip… you’re badass.
I had to chuckle about your kids complaining that you were doing more things in Shanghai! Yes, it’s called vacation… and now it’s back to the normal grind. Hehe. But also, back to your own bed… oh, one of the best feelings of coming home from a vacation!
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