I have been carrying my cross country skis around in my car for over a month in hopes that one day, I'll actually have time to put them to use. Now that I can't run, I have plenty of time! Yesterday, for the first time this year, I went out for a ski.
Mr. Physio said I could use the bike and elliptical. He said I couldn't run. He didn't say I couldn't ski. He didn't say I could either, so I decided to play it safe. Rather than hitting the rolling trails out of town, I went to the nice flat lake close to home, where I knew there woulndn't be much risk of falling.
Unfortunately, I'd also been carrying my wax around in my car for a month too, and it was frozen, so I didn't have much glide. It was slow going, and I really had to use my arms, so it was a good workout. I took exactly an hour to circle around half the lake.
This morning I woke up with sore legs. I was definitely using some different muscles on the skis than I do when I run! It felt good to have tired leg muscles, because I definitely don't get that from the elliptical. Even better - my legs were sore, but my hip, lower back were pain free this morning and though I'm a bit sore there this evening, this is a big improvement.
Today I found a yoga DVD on sale and grabbed it. 70 minutes of yoga after work felt great.
The BF is out of town this week, so my big challenge is eating healthy meals without someone else to cook and eat with me. I am NOT off to a good start, and will need to redeem myself tomorrow!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Week 4 - Wallowing in Cross Training
My fourth week of "training" did not go so well.
I started my Monday with my physio appointment to find out that I have done something to the ligaments in my sacral-illial joint. I may have done this by slipping on ice while running, or by bending down to pick up something. Lame. The good news (if there's good news) is that this wasn't caused by having different leg lengths. Mr. Physio measured. He also gave me some exercises to try and booked a second appointment for Wednesday. Oh ya, and the sucky part: No running until there's no pain.
Tuesday, I spent the day feeling fairly sorry for myself and didn't do anything.
Wednesday, I worked myself up to an hour of yoga and had my second appointment with Mr. Physio. He gave me some exercises to do and used ultrasound on my upper butt until it stung.
Thursday, I finally made it to the gym for an hour split between the bike and the elliptical, trying to think positively.
Friday, back at the gym for 70 minutes of bike and eliptical and lots of stretching.
Saturday, I just couldn't force myself to do the equivalent of a long run on the elliptical. I did 30 minutes of core and cleaned the house like a madwoman. I have to put this energy somewhere!
I had planned to go back to the gym on Sunday, but it was a beautiful day and I just had to be outside. The BF and I went for a hike in the snow instead. We were out for about 90 minutes and it was hard work trudging through the snow. I hope I didn't break any rules by hiking - I certainly wasn't running.
Over the past week I've gone from wanting to give up on this marathon altogether to convincing myself to keep training to switching to a half marathon, to looking for marathons a couple of weeks later, and back and around again and again.
Right now, I've convinced myself that the marathon is still possible. I missed an entire 10 days of training in July while on a road trip with the BF and didn't do a lick of cross training, so I'm already better off now as I am doing a lot more now than I was then. Anything is better than nothing!
My plan for this week is lots of stretching and core, some cross country skiing to get outside to balance out the gym time on the elliptical and bike. I'm hoping to do the equivalent amount of time cross training as I would be running on my training plan. I also have a physio appointment booked for Friday and since I'm already noticing a difference in the pain I've been feeling, I'm hoping to get the go ahead to start running then. (Fingers crossed, please). Oh yeah, and I'm going to get caught up on bloggy world too!
I started my Monday with my physio appointment to find out that I have done something to the ligaments in my sacral-illial joint. I may have done this by slipping on ice while running, or by bending down to pick up something. Lame. The good news (if there's good news) is that this wasn't caused by having different leg lengths. Mr. Physio measured. He also gave me some exercises to try and booked a second appointment for Wednesday. Oh ya, and the sucky part: No running until there's no pain.
Tuesday, I spent the day feeling fairly sorry for myself and didn't do anything.
Wednesday, I worked myself up to an hour of yoga and had my second appointment with Mr. Physio. He gave me some exercises to do and used ultrasound on my upper butt until it stung.
Thursday, I finally made it to the gym for an hour split between the bike and the elliptical, trying to think positively.
Friday, back at the gym for 70 minutes of bike and eliptical and lots of stretching.
Saturday, I just couldn't force myself to do the equivalent of a long run on the elliptical. I did 30 minutes of core and cleaned the house like a madwoman. I have to put this energy somewhere!
I had planned to go back to the gym on Sunday, but it was a beautiful day and I just had to be outside. The BF and I went for a hike in the snow instead. We were out for about 90 minutes and it was hard work trudging through the snow. I hope I didn't break any rules by hiking - I certainly wasn't running.
Over the past week I've gone from wanting to give up on this marathon altogether to convincing myself to keep training to switching to a half marathon, to looking for marathons a couple of weeks later, and back and around again and again.
Right now, I've convinced myself that the marathon is still possible. I missed an entire 10 days of training in July while on a road trip with the BF and didn't do a lick of cross training, so I'm already better off now as I am doing a lot more now than I was then. Anything is better than nothing!
My plan for this week is lots of stretching and core, some cross country skiing to get outside to balance out the gym time on the elliptical and bike. I'm hoping to do the equivalent amount of time cross training as I would be running on my training plan. I also have a physio appointment booked for Friday and since I'm already noticing a difference in the pain I've been feeling, I'm hoping to get the go ahead to start running then. (Fingers crossed, please). Oh yeah, and I'm going to get caught up on bloggy world too!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Week 4 - Getting Better
If you remember, my last week (and last post, oops!) ended with me feeling a big pain in my hip that caused me to finish my long run early last weekend. I'm happy to say that though I can still "feel" my hip, it's definitely feeling better this Sunday than it was at this time last week.
On Monday, I recovered with yoga, and rolling around on my tennis ball. I think I managed to bruise my back, which didn't feel so good, but my hip definitely felt better.
On Tuesday, I had a flight to catch to Calgary for work, but I got to the gym for 45 minutes on the eliptical and 15 minutes of stretching before I left.
Wednesday morning, I woke early to give the treadmill a try at the hotel. I'd brought my outdoor running gear, but forgot my reflector vest. Since the sidewalks were icy and it was dark at 6 am, I opted for the treadmill for safety, and to keep myself from slipping on ice and re-triggering the pain in my hip. After about 30 minutes, I wasn't feeling any pain, but my hip was aching a bit. I switched over to the eliptical for 10 more minutes of cardio and then had a good 20 minute stretch. No pain afterwards, just some stiffness as I was sitting in a meeting room all day.
Thursday morning, I managed 60 minutes on the treadmill and another 10 minutes of stretching afterwards. Again, no pain, but I could just "feel" my hip all day.
Friday, I flew back to Prince George and gave myself a rest day.
Saturday morning, I wasn't sure what to do. Half of me wanted to do at least a 2 hour long run as was on my schedule, the other half didn't want to push my luck with my hip. In the end, the weather decided for me. It was raining a bit when I headed out, but it turned into big fluffy, wet flakes of snow mixed with rain about 10 minutes in. My body wasn't cold, but my hands were freezing after an hour. I toughed it out for 90 minutes, then decided to call it a day and do a second run on Sunday.
This afternoon, I headed out for another run. My plan was to run for at least an hour, depending how I felt. Though I was sluggish to start, I felt pretty good for the second half of what ended up being an 80 minute run.
Tomorrow is my first ever appointment with a physiotherapist. I'll let you know how it goes!
On Monday, I recovered with yoga, and rolling around on my tennis ball. I think I managed to bruise my back, which didn't feel so good, but my hip definitely felt better.
On Tuesday, I had a flight to catch to Calgary for work, but I got to the gym for 45 minutes on the eliptical and 15 minutes of stretching before I left.
Wednesday morning, I woke early to give the treadmill a try at the hotel. I'd brought my outdoor running gear, but forgot my reflector vest. Since the sidewalks were icy and it was dark at 6 am, I opted for the treadmill for safety, and to keep myself from slipping on ice and re-triggering the pain in my hip. After about 30 minutes, I wasn't feeling any pain, but my hip was aching a bit. I switched over to the eliptical for 10 more minutes of cardio and then had a good 20 minute stretch. No pain afterwards, just some stiffness as I was sitting in a meeting room all day.
Thursday morning, I managed 60 minutes on the treadmill and another 10 minutes of stretching afterwards. Again, no pain, but I could just "feel" my hip all day.
Friday, I flew back to Prince George and gave myself a rest day.
Saturday morning, I wasn't sure what to do. Half of me wanted to do at least a 2 hour long run as was on my schedule, the other half didn't want to push my luck with my hip. In the end, the weather decided for me. It was raining a bit when I headed out, but it turned into big fluffy, wet flakes of snow mixed with rain about 10 minutes in. My body wasn't cold, but my hands were freezing after an hour. I toughed it out for 90 minutes, then decided to call it a day and do a second run on Sunday.
This afternoon, I headed out for another run. My plan was to run for at least an hour, depending how I felt. Though I was sluggish to start, I felt pretty good for the second half of what ended up being an 80 minute run.
Tomorrow is my first ever appointment with a physiotherapist. I'll let you know how it goes!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Week Three - Oh crap.
This week got off to a good start. I went out for the group run on Monday, started slow and felt cold, but finished strong and felt great.
Tuesday was my cross training day and I headed to the gym for 45 minutes on the bike. So far, so good.
Tuesday night, I ended up working until 11pm.
Wednesday morning, I was supposed to get up and take the bus to another town for a meeting at 6:30am. I woke up feeling craptacular. The work trip didn't happen, and I spent the day feeling under the weather and missed the group run that night.
Thursday, I made a trip to another town for work, was able to take a break for yoga in the afternoon, but because I was still not feeling 100% and it wet snow was falling from the sky, I decided not to run.
I was supposed to take the bus home at 11:15pm which would get me in at 12:45am. Not great, but better than driving on slippery roads. It seemed like a good plan. The bus got half way home, when the driver got a call from dispatch and we had to go back to pick up more passengers. I got home at 2:45am. Ok, i could deal with this on a good week, but when I was already not feeling well, and had already had a late work night, it completely wiped me out on Friday, and another day passed without a run.
Saturday, I was determined to get out for a good long run. I wanted to be out for about 2 hours, and had a route in mind to take which would take me down hill, along the river for a loop and then back up hill to home. I was excited to head out and feeling good that I was no longer intimidated by THE HILL. On the way down the hill, I was feeling the odd twinge in my right hip. It was pretty icy, and I was being as cautious as I could be. When I got onto flat ground, it felt better, and I kept going. As I got to my turn around point, I stopped to use a washroom in a coffee shop. When I started running again, something wasn't right. My hip was feeling really stiff. I kept going, hoping that I just needed to warm it back up, but the pain became more consistent, and then spread through my hip to my lower back. I tried a couple of walk breaks, but when I got close to the rec centre, I knew I was done.
For the first time ever, I had to call for a ride home. I couldn't make the last 7K.
Sunday morning I was still feeling stiff, but went out for a walk in the snow with the BF. It felt good to be outside, and because the snow was deep, it made for a good cardio workout, and convenient intermittent icing as I rested and lay down in the snow (sorry, no pictures of that).
When I got home from the walk, I got out a tennis ball and rolled around on it to massage the muscles around my hip. The area where it was first sore at the front of my hip is feeling a lot better, but I think I managed to bruise my tail bone when I was rolling around on my back.
This was just not my week!
Yoga today, heading to the eliptical tomorrow, and have the first available physio appointment booked for next Monday.
Tuesday was my cross training day and I headed to the gym for 45 minutes on the bike. So far, so good.
Tuesday night, I ended up working until 11pm.
Wednesday morning, I was supposed to get up and take the bus to another town for a meeting at 6:30am. I woke up feeling craptacular. The work trip didn't happen, and I spent the day feeling under the weather and missed the group run that night.
Thursday, I made a trip to another town for work, was able to take a break for yoga in the afternoon, but because I was still not feeling 100% and it wet snow was falling from the sky, I decided not to run.
I was supposed to take the bus home at 11:15pm which would get me in at 12:45am. Not great, but better than driving on slippery roads. It seemed like a good plan. The bus got half way home, when the driver got a call from dispatch and we had to go back to pick up more passengers. I got home at 2:45am. Ok, i could deal with this on a good week, but when I was already not feeling well, and had already had a late work night, it completely wiped me out on Friday, and another day passed without a run.
Saturday, I was determined to get out for a good long run. I wanted to be out for about 2 hours, and had a route in mind to take which would take me down hill, along the river for a loop and then back up hill to home. I was excited to head out and feeling good that I was no longer intimidated by THE HILL. On the way down the hill, I was feeling the odd twinge in my right hip. It was pretty icy, and I was being as cautious as I could be. When I got onto flat ground, it felt better, and I kept going. As I got to my turn around point, I stopped to use a washroom in a coffee shop. When I started running again, something wasn't right. My hip was feeling really stiff. I kept going, hoping that I just needed to warm it back up, but the pain became more consistent, and then spread through my hip to my lower back. I tried a couple of walk breaks, but when I got close to the rec centre, I knew I was done.
For the first time ever, I had to call for a ride home. I couldn't make the last 7K.
Sunday morning I was still feeling stiff, but went out for a walk in the snow with the BF. It felt good to be outside, and because the snow was deep, it made for a good cardio workout, and convenient intermittent icing as I rested and lay down in the snow (sorry, no pictures of that).
When I got home from the walk, I got out a tennis ball and rolled around on it to massage the muscles around my hip. The area where it was first sore at the front of my hip is feeling a lot better, but I think I managed to bruise my tail bone when I was rolling around on my back.
This was just not my week!
Yoga today, heading to the eliptical tomorrow, and have the first available physio appointment booked for next Monday.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
January Recap
I can't believe January has come and gone already! January usually drags by at a snail's pace for me, but not this year. I have to believe that running through the winter has something to do with it. This is my first time running through January and February 1st marked my one year runniversary! I've been running on and off for years, but have always taken the winter months off. Last year's mild temperatures and a serious case of the down in the dumps got me running in February and my longest hiatus has been 9 days while on vacation in July.
Here's a look at January:
Number of miles: 86 miles/ 138 kms
Number of runs: 15
Number of cross training days: 5
Number of strength training days: 2 :S
Reviewing my goals:
Running and Exercise:
Finish the Vancouver Marathon faster than I finished the Victoria Marathon.
I started (and re-started) my training this month. Though I got off to a rough start when a busy work week got in the way of my training schedule, I'm still ahead in miles run one month into training from the last time around. I'm also incorporating a lot more hills, and though I'm running more slowly at the moment, I am sure the snow and ice is the reason rather than my fitness level!
Run my third marathon in the fall.
I need to get through number two first!
Run at least 1100 miles in 2011.
86 miles down! Though I'm 5 miles below the average monthly total I need to achieve this goal, I'm confident I will make up for this as marathon training amps up.
Cross train at least 30 minutes once per week.
Week 1 - 1 hour hike in the snow
Week 2 - Oops! (This was the week of work madness)
Week 3 - Oops!
Week 4 - 40 minutes on the bike, and 1h15 min hike
Do at least 30 minutes of yoga once per week.
I started this last week with 45 minutes of yoga in my schedule. It felt so good that I'm motivated to keep it up!
Diet and Nutrition:
Eat fruit every day.
I missed this on 2 days. I've made a new rule for myself: Fruit sugar before processed sugar. Before I let myself eat candy or chocolate or ice cream or cake or cookies, I have to eat a piece of fruit. So far, so good!
Try at least 2 new recipes every month.
Done! I made two new dinners and modified a coffee cake recipe (cutting down on fat and sugar) when a friend came over to visit.
Eat at least 3 meals a day.
I think I only missed one day, but that one really busy work week is a bit of a blur...
Don't drink coffee after noon. (I used to be good at this, but it's sneaking back in to my day!)
Done!
Mind:Read two books every month.
I read one, but it was a good one. I was given The Birth House for Christmas and loved it. It was one of those books that I didn't want to read because I didn't want it to be over, but at the same time, I couldn't put it down. It is one of the books on CBC's Canada Reads debates this year. It is being defended by Debbie Travis, and I'm eager to hear what she has to say about it.
Apply for school by March 1st.
I had hoped to visit the UNBC campus in January to ask some questions about how my first degree might help me finish my second degree faster, but have not got around to this. I will do this by the end of this week.
Etudie le francais pour 90 minutes par semaine
Study? No. Read, write and speak in French for work? Yes. In the first week of the month, I facilitated program orientation workshops in English and French for 2 full days. In the second week, I had several one on one conversations in French, and in the third week I made a few phone calls in French. I've been using our databases for work and have my Google settings in my second language as well. In February, I'd like to set aside time to actually study French in addition to finding ways to practice with work.
The Earth:
Find a fulfilling, ongoing volunteer project (a few hours a month would be manageable).
I have not taken any steps forward on finding an ongoing project, but I did volunteer at a loppet this month.
Continue to eat as locally and sustainably as possible (cut out prawns!)
A new store has opened in town selling local, hormone-free beef! Our chickens are laying eggs, and are also providing meat. The only prawns and fish I've purchased have been Ocean-Wise. Fruits and veggies are tough at this time of year, but aside from bananas, I've been trying to buy from west coast North America.
Start a small veggie garden in the spring.
I'll have to wait on this one!
January ended with a group run in frigid temps on Monday evening. It was about as cold as it had been for our long run on Sunday morning, but felt colder without the sun. Despite the cold, I was smiling the whole time because we started the run before it was pitch black. The days are getting longer!
Here's a look at January:
Number of miles: 86 miles/ 138 kms
Number of runs: 15
Number of cross training days: 5
Number of strength training days: 2 :S
Reviewing my goals:
Running and Exercise:
Finish the Vancouver Marathon faster than I finished the Victoria Marathon.
I started (and re-started) my training this month. Though I got off to a rough start when a busy work week got in the way of my training schedule, I'm still ahead in miles run one month into training from the last time around. I'm also incorporating a lot more hills, and though I'm running more slowly at the moment, I am sure the snow and ice is the reason rather than my fitness level!
Run my third marathon in the fall.
I need to get through number two first!
Run at least 1100 miles in 2011.
86 miles down! Though I'm 5 miles below the average monthly total I need to achieve this goal, I'm confident I will make up for this as marathon training amps up.
Cross train at least 30 minutes once per week.
Week 1 - 1 hour hike in the snow
Week 2 - Oops! (This was the week of work madness)
Week 3 - Oops!
Week 4 - 40 minutes on the bike, and 1h15 min hike
Do at least 30 minutes of yoga once per week.
I started this last week with 45 minutes of yoga in my schedule. It felt so good that I'm motivated to keep it up!
Diet and Nutrition:
Eat fruit every day.
I missed this on 2 days. I've made a new rule for myself: Fruit sugar before processed sugar. Before I let myself eat candy or chocolate or ice cream or cake or cookies, I have to eat a piece of fruit. So far, so good!
Try at least 2 new recipes every month.
Done! I made two new dinners and modified a coffee cake recipe (cutting down on fat and sugar) when a friend came over to visit.
Eat at least 3 meals a day.
I think I only missed one day, but that one really busy work week is a bit of a blur...
Don't drink coffee after noon. (I used to be good at this, but it's sneaking back in to my day!)
Done!
Mind:Read two books every month.
I read one, but it was a good one. I was given The Birth House for Christmas and loved it. It was one of those books that I didn't want to read because I didn't want it to be over, but at the same time, I couldn't put it down. It is one of the books on CBC's Canada Reads debates this year. It is being defended by Debbie Travis, and I'm eager to hear what she has to say about it.
Apply for school by March 1st.
I had hoped to visit the UNBC campus in January to ask some questions about how my first degree might help me finish my second degree faster, but have not got around to this. I will do this by the end of this week.
Etudie le francais pour 90 minutes par semaine
Study? No. Read, write and speak in French for work? Yes. In the first week of the month, I facilitated program orientation workshops in English and French for 2 full days. In the second week, I had several one on one conversations in French, and in the third week I made a few phone calls in French. I've been using our databases for work and have my Google settings in my second language as well. In February, I'd like to set aside time to actually study French in addition to finding ways to practice with work.
The Earth:
Find a fulfilling, ongoing volunteer project (a few hours a month would be manageable).
I have not taken any steps forward on finding an ongoing project, but I did volunteer at a loppet this month.
Continue to eat as locally and sustainably as possible (cut out prawns!)
A new store has opened in town selling local, hormone-free beef! Our chickens are laying eggs, and are also providing meat. The only prawns and fish I've purchased have been Ocean-Wise. Fruits and veggies are tough at this time of year, but aside from bananas, I've been trying to buy from west coast North America.
Start a small veggie garden in the spring.
I'll have to wait on this one!
January ended with a group run in frigid temps on Monday evening. It was about as cold as it had been for our long run on Sunday morning, but felt colder without the sun. Despite the cold, I was smiling the whole time because we started the run before it was pitch black. The days are getting longer!
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