Updates Galore

Well hello there! I have so much stuff not related to this past weekend to tell you guys! I’m going to jump right into it.

I’m making great strides with physical therapy. So much so that one of the PT Boys called me his “test monkey” today – as in, he wanted to see how my form reacted doing squats with the stability ball against a wall, with my hands interlaced behind my head. They love me there because I love to stretch – no matter how much I go “ooh, ow, ooh…” I still push harder and farther. With that being said, I’m down to possibly only one remaining visit. I talked to them about my running plans – 10 on Saturday, (hopefully) 4 on Tuesday, and 4 on Wednesday, with a return to the PT office on Thursday. He wants to evaluate me after my longest post-injury week. If all is well I’ll be released from care. They did say I’m welcome to come back, and if I continue to go once a month, my prescription from my doctor will stay good for a year. I may take them up on that. Why not right? Who doesn’t love heat and trigger point therapy?

I’m also making great strides with my runs. This past Saturday was the third Saturday in my half-marathon training cycle, and I had 8-miles on the agenda.

I set a goal of sub 10 minute miles. That’s a minute slower than a sub 2-hour half, which I am still working toward. I’m not saying I’m going to do that in Providence – whatever happens then, happens, I’m not striving toward anything in particular, but I do want to be training with purpose. Love the hills or what? Sheesh. I did stop 3 times on this run – once because I was overheating (the sun was STRONG because I procrastinated and ran mid-day), so I found shade and rested; once to refill my water and fuel up; and once because I didn’t turn where I thought I had turned and ended up with a big ol’ hill to climb (see that right around Mile 7? yeah that one). The pollen count is wicked high – combined with a slight loss of fitness from less running – and my lungs are feeling less than stellar.

Then yesterday I did this:

 

I did stop a couple times on this run too – pollen count/HILLS were kicking my butt! I pushed as hard as I could on that last hill trying to keep all of my miles in the 8’s, a 9:03 was all I had in me, but I’ll take it. 8:37 for a 4-miler? I’m pretty sure that’s a PR, especially on these hills. After all I am still going for quality over quantity in my runs.

I have 10 Miles on tap for Saturday and I have plans for 6 of those miles – but I’m not sharing those plans. It seems every time I share a time goal, I don’t get it. I’m jinxing myself, and adding way too much pressure, so time goal in my head only. I’ll tell you guys when it’s all said and done.

Next update is dietary – I’ve done really well with my new eating habits this week – eating LOTS of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and whole foods in general. No junk binges, actually not much junk at all. I ate dinner out Friday night (2 crab cakes and a small salad), brunch on Sunday (smoked salmon eggs benedict – which was phenomenal), and a Dunkin’ Donuts breakfast sandwich on Marathon Monday (what else do you do at 6 a.m. when you’re in a town you’re not familiar with, over an hour from home?). Other than that – the eating is going very well. Combined with three full dairy-free days, and my abs have decided to show themselves again.

I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever shown my stomach on the blog. I am still working on them, but with the dietary changes I am very happy with what I see. And more importantly, how I feel. No bloating, no discomfort. My tummy is happy!

Final update – Sunday, April 29, is my one year blog-iversary. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Speaking of fun – I have got some SERIOUS fun in store for you guys for blog-iversary week. Stay tuned! (Lets just say it includes giveaways – lots of giveaways – you don’t want to miss this)

Hope you all had a great Thursday!

Anything new and exciting you’d like to share with me?

Work Those Legs

I had my third PT session today. Today was they day they made me run on the treadmill while observing my hips, legs, etc.

When I run my hips swivel. Not all the time, but they don’t always swing like a pendulum, like they should. When this happens my legs swivel inward, causing my legs to touch, my knees may brush each other, etc. (this could also be a cause of inner thigh chafe).  I do, however, have very good running posture (yay for a strong core!).

I was told that I not only need to strengthen my quads, but also my glutes and hips. An additional exercise was added to my therapy regiment, along with the stretches and foam rolling I have been doing. This will all align my hips, legs, etc. and hopefully open up the space between my legs a bit, in order to have the “pendulum” rather than “swivel” when I run.

Today I was sitting at work, wondering about what I’d do tonight. I had thought I’d run 4 miles, then I thought, I ran after PT last week and it was slow and a bit stiff. So I continued to contemplate (aka be a complete flake) what I was going to do. Then around 4 it dawned on me – why don’t I work on leg strength?!

I’m trying for quality over quantity in my runs right now – no recovery runs, no running just to run – I need to rebuild strength, so those runs aren’t going to do much for me. I’m limiting myself to two runs a week while I’m still in physical therapy, and I’m not running on the days I go to therapy because I don’t want to undo everything they did. So I will run on Wednesdays (hopefully speedwork) and Saturdays (long-ish in preparation for Cox Rhode Races Half Marathon).

So I created my own legs and abs workout. This is in addition to the leg work I do on Wednesdays (squats, step-ups, and calf raises) and also yoga.

Do each exercise 5 times (per side if it’s a one-sided exercise) and do each set 5 times. Rest for 2 minutes, then move on to the next set.

It’s actually not a short workout because these moves require a lot of focus and form – it took me 45 minutes (and multiple falls off of my stability ball).

I’m feeling pretty good, I’m ready to tackle my first speed workout in ages tomorrow (just two miles of 1/4 mile intervals, baby steps), and most importantly I feel happy. I am focused and ready to attack anything and everything necessary to come back better, faster, and stronger than ever!

Do you ever have one of those “light bulb moments” when you know exactly what you have to do? That’s how I was today with this leg strength. If you try my workout, I’d love to hear how it went!