Weekly Rundown- The Counterpunch
Well… this week happened. For most of it I felt like I was just hanging in there. But that only goes so far. In the same article I quoted last week, Jon Morrow says that when life punches you in the face, you need to throw a counterpunch. I’m ready to stop hanging and figure out my counterpunch. I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for this weekly rundown! Here’s how the week played out. Monday Monday is usually my day off, but I’ve been doing PT exercises every night while watching the Olympics. Yes, I’m staying up too late but at least I’m getting those exercises done. Tuesday Ugh. Didn’t sleep well and woke up feeling awful. Because my husband had Covid (he’s better now) I was afraid I had it too. I didn’t actually have any Covid symptoms, but you never know. I wanted to skip working out altogether and go immediately to get a Covid test, but I did one quick Peloton class first- Matt Wilpers 20 Minute Strength for Runners. Just that short 20 minutes made me feel better. And my Covid test was negative, PHEW. According to the CDC, if you are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, you do not have to quarantine even if you’ve been in close contact with someone who has Covid. Just to be doubly sure, my son and I got tested. Both negative. Wednesday Slept better and felt better! Did a 45 minute pool run. Funny thing about this “run” though… right in the beginning, my headphones died. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pool running is so, so boring. Without my headphones, I was totally screwed. At first I tried focusing on my surroundings. Ah, the sky is… blue! The water is so…. wet. No, this isn’t going to work. I ended up singing “99 Bottles of Beer” in my mind to get me through. I know it sounds crazy, but getting down to one bottle of beer was a major triumph. I had a little party in the pool… It was a strangely exhilarating experience. Thursday Arg. Again didn’t sleep well. I knew it should be a strength day, but I needed cardio so badly. I went out for a little “walk.” By that I mean I put on my running clothes and shoes and headed out walking, but knew in the back of my mind that unless one or both of my knees actually snapped in half, I was going to run. And I did! I walked for about 15 minutes and then alternated running and walking for the next 15. My knees hurt, but not as bad as the last time I ran. I didn’t care… I was running. Friday Okay, okay… I’ll do strength. I did Matt Wilpers class again, and then some upper body. Remember that? I sure didn’t. Ever since I’ve been doing the PT for my hip I’ve totally neglected upper body strength. My son decided to add insult to injury by policing my pushup form and let’s just say… ouch. I felt this one for a couple days. Saturday Back in the pool. No 99 Bottles this time- as fun as that was, it’s a one-time thing. My headphones worked and I happily listened to music. Sunday TRAIL RUN! Hooray hooray. I started off walking for ten minutes and then ran 2.5 miles. And guess what- the pain was totally gone in my left knee, and only slightly there in the right one. The reason I stopped after 2.5 miles is that I have to consider the fact that I’m still getting back into running. First there was the hip injury (which I’ve basically forgotten all about) and then the knee pain… I have to sensibly ease back into running so nothing ELSE goes wrong. Oh and by the way, I’ve lost my heat acclimation. At the end of this run I actually felt nauseous. And I call myself a Florida runner??? Oh well… I’ll get it back. We still have some hot months ahead of us here. After this run I did some core exercises. I’m definitely not taking full advantage of my Peloton membership yet. This was a blah week, but after the run today I feel more hopeful about what’s ahead. I’m ready to start throwing my counterpunches! How was your week? Did you feel like you were hanging in there or really going for it? Are you watching the track and field? Can you believe how fast the sprinters can run???