Last Friday marked three months since my ankle surgery. The recovery has, in my opinion, been slow. I keep being told that my recovery is within the normal limits of such a surgery but I think everyone wants to bounce back fast. I feel like I’ve been dealing with this for a lifetime, it has been more than six months since all this started.

As part of my recovery I’ve started walking a few days a week at Longwood Gardens. Each walk I take I try to go further, faster. Some walks are better than others of course but for the most part it feels good to be out getting my heart pumping again. I still have a tiny bit of a limp but I’m becoming more conscience about trying to control it.

Last Thursday I had a horrible walk, my foot and ankle felt really tight and I finished my walk frustrated and discouraged. Something happened later that day though, much of the tightness went away and I could feel a noticeable difference in my range of motion. It kind of caught me of guard when all of a sudden it hit me that over the course of a few hours I was feeling better than I had in MONTHS. It was as though someone had flipped a switch.

Is three months the magic time?

It was probably the first time in a while I felt excited about this whole recovery process. On Friday I got brave, I took a few running strides down the hallway at work. It felt good! By Saturday the wheels started turning in my head and I started to think that maybe I’m ready to hit the road again.

Every person I mentioned running to told me not to, but really I have to start sometime and I’d been given the clearance to run a month ago as long as I felt I could and as long as I was listening to what my body had to say about it. As tempting as it was to try and go out as soon as the doctor told me I could, I waited. I knew I wasn’t ready yet and I listen to what my body was telling me. I assured my friends and family that I’d be careful and on Sunday I took the plunge. One hundred and eighty one day since my last (failed) attempt at running.

It was glorious!

Eleven days ahead of my goal day to start running I took those first steps and it was freaking awesome! I ran 1.68 slow, easy miles. Sure, that’s nothing compared to what I was running before but it’s an amazing start. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it a block when I set out. I think I was as nervous Sunday morning as I was standing at the starting line of my first half marathon but once I got going all those nerves just dropped away and I was in the moment gliding over the pavement.

Now I have a plan. I’ll take two runs a week for the next few weeks just to make sure everything is all good. By November 1st I’ll be running two miles and on January 5th my half marathon training will kick in. So between November and January I need to get up to a consistent five miles which is TOTALLY doable. My goal is to take it slow and steady so I can stay injury free and it’d be nice to PR at the Philly Love Run next year. That race is my birthday gift to myself, the gift of a comeback when I could have just given up.

This has been such a long, dark road, I can’t even express how good it feels to FINALLY see some light at the end of the tunnel.

I use my iPhone for more than just texting and checking social media, my phone is also a powerful tool to help me achieve my health goals. While I have a folder full of health and fitness apps on my phone, I have a few that are my favorites that I use the most.

Here are my top three favorite health and fitness apps. PLUS a bonus.

Fitbit

I’ve been a loyal Fitbit user since 2011 and I’ve been singing it’s praises since the very beginning. When I put on my first Fitbit there wasn’t even an app for that, you had to visit your computer to check out your data or enter a meal.

The app has a gorgeous interface that puts all the important stuff right where you need it. You even have the ability to move things around so you can see what’s more important to you.

Not only do I wear my Fitbit to track my steps, I also track my water intake, food consumption and weight. With the app I can easily add food or water with just a few taps.

The food database is pretty expansive and I rarely need to enter things myself. When I do, I need to go to my computer but 9 out of 10 times I don’t need to create a new food. In one of the more recent updates to the app they added the ability to scan a barcode to enter your food. The barcodes aren’t always in the database but I have a feeling you’ll be able to start adding things very soon.

Also new to the app is the ability to track your exercise. This is for when you run, walk or hike and uses your phone’s GPS signal to track your workout. I’ve been using this feature on my rehab walks and I really like how it works. You have the ability to play your music right through the app so you don’t need to open your music library or Pandora before you start your workout.

My Aria scale also syncs to the Fitbit app so I have a complete picture each time I open it.

Nike+

This is an essential for every runner.

There is more than meets the eye with this app, not only is it a great tool for tracking your runs, but there is also a Coach section where you can train for different distances. Within each distance, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon or Full Marathon, there are three ability settings from beginner to advanced.

If competition gets you going the Nike+ app has a leaderboard to rank you amongst your running friends. I may or may not go the extra mile if I see I’m close to beating one of my friends. Hey, a little healthy competition never hurt anyone.

Don’t wear Nike running shoes? No problem, the app works off the GPS in your phone so no need to have the chip in your shoe.

WebMD

This app has a lot to offer, from recipes to a health improvement program, there’s a lot packed into this free app.

Healthy Target is the health improvement program and it offers a few simple things you can do each day to be more healthy.

Above you can see my week one daily goals. All I need to do is check each thing off that I accomplish each day. Everyday the app sends me a push notification to encourage me to either keep up the good work or get my act together.

Further down the page it shows my data which is pulled from my Fitbit data for sleep, steps, and weight. After all my data are articles that I might find interesting on my health journey.

The other thing I use the WebMD app for is the Health Tools where I can look into a drug my doctor has prescribed, research a condition or procedure, check out any symptoms I may be feeling or get important first aid information.

Like I said, there’s a lot packed into this free app.

Apple Health

I’m really excited to see what is to come with the new Apple Health. I like the idea of pulling data from multiple sources and having it available in one convenient location.

Right now the best part of the new Apple Health is the Medical ID. I know someone who collapsed and had a heart attack while refereeing a soccer game. They grabbed his iPhone to call his wife but it was password protected, they couldn’t get in and his family was delayed in being notified of his medical emergency.

The new Medical ID is accessible from the lock screen in case of an emergency.

Rumor on the street is that Fitbit will not be integrating and I really think that’s a missed opportunity on their part. If you wear other fitness trackers you may be in luck since many of the others have integrated.

To see what apps are currently Apple Health compatable you can find a listing under the featured tab in your App Store, they were kind enough to put them all in one place.

What are your favorite health and fitness app?