Monday, February 24, 2014

Training Week 6: I actually went!




I made it to training this week! Woo hoo! It was a gorgeous morning for a run. The four + miles went by rather fast. I took mental notes as I ran on what was aching and hurting and then put the notes in my phone so I can ask PT this week. The knee did pretty good but my quads are still so sore today. This morning it was way worse than it was Saturday or Sunday. 

Sports Backers was there selling shirts and other merch so I went ahead and stocked up so I wouldn't have to worry about it at packet pick up. It was also shirt day! The training team shirts are red this year and I like them a lot.
On Thursday it was finally warm enough for us to get out in the jogger! This time I found the leash and that made the run so much better. Pushing a stroller and running is very awkward but I figured out that if I could at least swing one arm it made it easier. B seems to enjoy it and even managed to fall asleep while I ran.

This week was a good week in running!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Training Week 5: Oops I skipped it again

Last Saturday I skipped my training run. I know I shouldn't make excuses, but we got a ton of snow and since the roads actually got plowed this time, there were (and still are) snow mountains lining the streets. I have seen people out running almost in the middle of the road and cars have had to swerve around them to keep from hitting them. In my opinion, it's not worth the risk.

As I wait for the snow to melt some more, I've been hitting the gym and getting my physical therapy in.  Saturday was cold, wet and rainy so I mostly stayed indoors and Sunday we spent the day out of town. This week is just crazy busy for me after work so I think this is going to be the week that my training lags. Hopefully it won't hurt me too much come Saturday.

 So what's with the knee? Back in October I was at Body Pump. I squatted down and I felt a pop in my left knee. It wasn't enough to make me stop so I finished the class. I've been in pain ever since. A few weeks ago I finally got my act together and went to see a doctor. Last time I went through this with my hip my doctor was kind of an idiot and could never diagnose me with anything. After MRI's with contrast (the worst pain in the world) and a lot of worthless PT that was a waste of money because the PT in her office wasn't even a licensed PT, I got better on my own by getting massages and continuing to run. I could tell that this knee issue was not going to just go away like the hip did.

The doctor I saw was great and he knew right away what was wrong and said he sees it a lot with women my age. Basically my knee cap has moved out of place. He gave me a brace to wear, some meds to make it feel better and sent me off to PT. The physical therapist was even more helpful and explained that since I have zero flexibility in my quads, they pretty much pulled my knee cap up. Luckily it is not a horrible injury and can be pretty easily fixed with some work. They are really working me too. I left yesterday after an hour and a half soaked in sweat. Last week was easy but yesterday was a beast. The foam roller he has is also my new enemy. It is the hardest foam roller I have ever come across and I literally had bruises up and down my legs last week from it. Also my IT band is a big problem apparently and yesterday Kevin (the therapist) spent some time at the end working the knots out of it. HOLY SH*& that hurt!! He also stretches out my quads which hurts but feels great after. The husband will have to help my with that from now on after races ;-)

So far I am pretty satisfied with where I am with it all. Kevin told me yesterday that he can already see improvement in my flexibility. Yay! It will be nice to run without feeling hunched over at the end.

Mom I found your foam roller!


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Training Week 4: fitting it in

This week was all about trying to fit this run in. C was out of town this weekend and B had a cold so I stayed home from my training run. I did drop him off with my parent's for a bit went out to the gym on Saturday which was nice. I am really enjoying the gym these days.

Sunday, C got home from his trip at a decent time so I headed out that afternoon and did my 3 miles. Over the weekend I was able to catch up on a few more issues of Runner's World during baby naps. In one there was an article about speed work. Since speed work can help you improve your running overall, I thought I would give it a try on my next run. So on Sunday after running the first 2 miles I sprinted at the beginning of mile 3. It actually felt really good while I was doing it and then it came back to bite me during the rest of the mile. I did finish that last mile faster than the first 2 though. Speed work can help you improve overall if you do it about once a week. I think I might try to get a little in here and there.

Since we have this snowstorm on the horizon, I made sure that I got to the gym yesterday afternoon because I don't know when I will make it out of the house again.  I started my workout with a warm up run around the indoor track and it actually hurt my legs. I'm not sure if I was just tight or what, so I ran 5 laps, did a machine, ran five laps, did a machine...and so on. It worked pretty well and after about 45 minutes I felt like I had gotten enough work in. Stretching after never felt so good.

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You know what is really hard though? As I did my dead lifts in the weight room, I stood there looking at myself and I really started to notice what 9+ months of not running (and pregnancy) has done to my body. When I look in the mirror, I see what I saw 6 years ago when I first became a runner. It's tough to look at that. I feel like 5 years worth of work went down the drain. I know I can get back to where I was, it is just a LOT harder now because I don't have the extra time that I used to. Even when I make the time I feel as though it's not enough, and it's not. Hopefully soon this will change, once the weather gets warmer and I can use the jogger on a regular basis. If I can add B to my gym membership this summer, that will really help. I'll get there, I know I will, in my own slow, turtle way.

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This made me laugh :-) Be a cupcake! Be a cupcake!!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Training Week 3: lies!

This week was 3 miles...or at least it was supposed to be. Instead it was actually 3.7 miles. I really wish that they did a better job of making it closer to what it is supposed to be. That 0.7 can really make a difference on someone who is not used to running.

I did fairly well all things considered. I ran all the miles in about 11:30 or less which is good since I am really just coming back to running. My clothes did great, love those fleece lined pants, and it warmed up and I got so hot near the end I started stripping things off. Being able to strip after all this cold weather was nice. My knee did good but was sore for about 2 days after. I had to ice it for awhile on Sunday. I go to the doctor tomorrow. Hopefully some PT will get things back in line. Wish me luck!

This week is a bit crazy so I went to the gym today and got in a quick workout before going to get my hair cut and then heading back to school for the kids' talent show. I ran a few laps around the track, did some weight machines, free weights and ropes and then called it day. It was quick but it felt really good. I plan on going again tomorrow depending on what this knee doctor tells me.

The training plan says this week is another 3 mile run and since the hubby will be out of town, B and I may just go on our own with the jogger.

Knee update coming soon...