Week 11 & 12 Recaps

WHAT I DID

Week 11-total miles 14.5.   I did a couple of trail "runs" by myself, at a slow pace, and I did a Cotton Row training run (at a very respectable pace).

Week 12-total miles 11.  Other than the Week Five when I had to lay completely off this was my worst training week.  I walked Monday's miles start to finish and made an appointment for an MRI when it was over.  Tuesday with my group, I started out limping, but I tried very hard to just push through the pain.  It didn't work.  It really HURT to keep trying to run....which I stubbornly did the whole 4.5 miles, with very little success.  Thursday I tried to do a 3 mile trail run.  Although my average pace was 15 (yes, that's basically fast walking), I did manage to get a good little sprint in at the end, which felt great.  But, Saturday when I was supposed to be doing 5 miles with my group, I was anxiously awaiting the results of my MRI.

WHAT I LEARNED

 

Since I go to church with my doctor, I got my MRI results today--I'll make a whole separate post on that, but suffice it to say I learned that putting off recovery from an injury doesn't really get you anywhere good.

I also learned there is a difference between just "taking it easy" and "rest".  Taking it easy means not going full throttle with training (this is pretty much what I've done the last 8 weeks).  Rest, on the other hand, means do NOT run. 

WHAT I'M GOING TO DO

As much as I hate to...I'm going to rest my leg for a minimum of six weeks.  I want it to get better.  So, I'm going to consider taking up swimming and/or biking.  Maybe I can train for the HiWAAY Huntsville Sprint Tritahlon (minus the running of course)?  The only down side--I don't own a bike.  But, since biking and swimming are both good, maybe I can convince my husband that the bike is a necessary therapy aide?? ((Honey, just think of what it will do for my legs!)) 

FOOD UPDATE

I haven't been following any certain "way of eating", I've just been watching what I eat, and trying to eat organic as much as possible (little or no processed food, and "no" high fructose corn syrup).  This morning, I was down a few pounds, but I don't expect that to stick.  It's been like that all year, down a few, back up to base-line.  The good news is I haven't gained!!    I go to the doctor tomorrow to have a full allergy panel done.  It's going to take about 3 weeks for the results to get back, but I completely expect to find out I'm "intolerant" of several foods I eat regularly.  I'm excited to find out because I'm very hopeful that eliminating those foods will 1) allow me to eventually get off thyroid medications,  2) help me lose weight, and 3) allow me to sleep and feel better overall.

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!

:D 

Week 7 & 8 Recaps

WARNING:  This is a long and boring update that I'm really writing for my own personal benefit!  I'd love for you to read it, but it certainly won't hurt my feelings if you skip it!!  I've just found keeping updates is very helpful for me to be able to look back at how far I've come objectively.... :D

WHAT I DID

((WEEK 7))  I ended up not running on Monday the 12th...but because I didn't write it up then, I have no idea why now!  My guess is that I was in pain from the five mile run the Saturday before!  Tuesday was "Diva Night" at Fleet Feet. I was the lucky door prize winner of a six month membership to Riviera Fitness!!  I had considered joining, but the locations aren't super convenient so I had decided not to.  But, since the membership is free, the gas to get there and back is a small price to pay.  So I got up bright and early the very next day and did Body Pump.  I turned around that same night and ran 3.5 miles with my running group (at a pace of 11:52!).  Since I was running the Cookie Dash 5K that weekend, I opted to not run again until the race.  (You can click the link to read about the race...if I get started talking about it again I might not be able to stop--it was a great experience!) 

((WEEK 8))  Monday, I went to do Body Pump at a different location-at 5:30 in the morning!!  I think I would prefer to go that early if that location were closer...but as it is, it's kind of a hassle to get over there and back in time to get my daughter to school by 8.  I added weights to my bar...but by looking at my heart rate, I still wasn't working that hard.  (And, shockingly enough, the next day I wasn't very sore at all.)  I ran with my group Tuesday night.  I'm not 100% sure how far we went because I forgot to stop my Garmin.  I can say I was DYING almost the whole time.  I started out the run limping along, and by the end all I wanted to do was lay down!  NOT a good run at all.  Wednesday-back to Body Pump.  Thursday was my day at the cross country park.  I will definitely go back there-as soon as I can forget the complete AGONY of the ridiculously steep hill on that loop.  I'm not kidding you--the website says, "There are rolling hills except for one exceptionally steep section that is hard - both uphill and downhill."  You know a hill is steep if the downhill is hard!!  I probably did three miles there (not quite sure because I stopped my Garmin when I stopped to die on that hill and forgot to start it back until much later).  The first part wasn't bad, but that hill really took it out of me!  Saturday it was supposed to be storming so I slept until 7...only to wake to find sunshine!  It turned out to be a good thing that I didn't join the group because I was extremely sore.  I joined up with two gals from my group as well as my neighbor for 5 miles.  I'm going to blame the heat and unbelievable humidity for my poor performance that day...but at least I did finish it.  I think that's what counts.

I also bought a trigger point massage thing that is supposed to be a self-help therapy tool for what is believed to be scar tissue in my leg.   I've been using it every day since I got it and I think I can tell a difference.  It's not completely better, but I think it's helping.

WHAT I LEARNED

I like running in the woods--just like my husband said I would.  When I get in better running shape, I can certainly see myself trail running.  

I really am worth my salt!

I believe strength training is helping.  The first time I went I barely had weight on the bar.  It was HARD and I was very sore the next day.  The next time I increased my weights and I wasn't very sore at all the next day.  I talked to the instructor of the class the third time I went and she said I had obviously worked out before (true) because muscles have memory and they "remember" pretty quickly.  She encouraged me to keep raising my weights, which I have done.  I do think it's making a difference in strength, which will no doubt help my runs (even if it's not causing any weight loss-yet).

I do NOT like running in humidity.  I'm telling you, maybe it's and excuse, but I felt like I couldn't breathe on that 5 mile with the girls!

I can run faster than I give myself credit for and can still sprint at the end of a race!!!  (See the race recap for the full story on that!)

Self-help trigger point massage therapy hurts as much as a massage therapist!  But at home no one has to hear the funny noises I make!!

WHAT I'M GOING TO DO

Keep on running.  The physical therapist told me I had to choose between running and coming to therapy because, in her opinion, therapy wasn't going to help me as long as I kept running....so, I canceled (well, postponed) my orthopaedic doctor's appointment until after the 10K I've been training for.  I believe I've slowed down enough and am paying attention to what I think my body is saying enough that I'm not going to "injure" myself.  I really think it's just a matter of strengthening the muscles in my leg, conditioning (my body as well as my mind) and working to break up the scar tissue...

Keep on using the trigger point massage thing every single day.  I might even get the DVD that shows specific things to do with it to work on different areas of the body.
 

One very important thing I'm going to work very hard on--staying positive.  I want to rewire my thoughts to not focus on the pain.  Knowing how much I love quotes...please indulge me:

The truth is that we can learn to condition our minds, bodies, and emotions to link pain or pleasure to whatever we choose. By changing what we link pain and pleasure to, we will instantly change our behavior.

Tony Robbins, American self-help author and motivational speaker

ZONE UPDATE  

Nothing to update here...I'm not living the Zone lifestyle anymore.  I will say this--I believe I had more energy with that way of eating.  But, the careful measurement of everything was getting very difficult.  And, I'm somewhat of a legalist so if I was going to do it, then I was going to do it right and that was actually pretty stressful.  Not to mention, my darling husband didn't like it at all after the novelty wore off.

 

I'm currently reading Mastering Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels.  So far, it has the resounding ring of truth to my ears.  She basically says if it doesn't have a mother or didn't come from the ground, don't eat it.  It's all about bringing your hormones into line--which is what I think I need.  So...this section will likely be changed to "Metabolism Update" soon???

Thanks for reading, come again soon!

:D