Weekly Rundown- The Other “I” Word
Well, it was kind of a frustrating week! Nothing that I would call an Injury, but I had a couple Issues. We’ll get into that, but first, thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown! Check them out for more inspiration and fun. Okay, here’s how the week played out… Sunday This was a great run (for the most part.) I went to the park and ran on the cross country trail, then finished off with some hill repeats! Well, those of you who live in hilly areas would probably call this a “slope,” but it feels like a hill to me! I ran up and down it four times to end my run, 4.5 miles. I really enjoyed this run, except for… cue the ominous music… a nagging pain in my right hip. This hip has been tight ever since my race. I was trying to ignore it (always a great strategy) but I finally had to admit it needed some attention. Monday I know just what to do! A strength workout on Sally McRae’s app called “Bulletproof Runner.” I like the sound of that! It was a great workout focusing on hips, glutes and hamstrings. Tuesday On my schedule for today was an easy run, but I decided to take an extra day off and repeat the Bulletproof Runner workout. It’s mostly bodyweight, except for a couple exercises with bands, so I figured why not do it two days in a row. I added in a couple other things that help me as well, like side planks. Wednesday After two days of Hip Boot Camp, I decided to try running again. My hip felt achy in the beginning of the run, but felt better as it went on. It was my scheduled “speed” day, so I threw in some one to two minute intervals of a slightly faster pace. Everything was feeling GREAT until… more ominous music… (boy, if there’s ever a soundtrack to my life it would have to include a lot of ominous music) my CALF started to hurt. WHAT THE…??? It was the same thing that happened during my race- started with a pulling sensation around my achilles, then moved up to the middle of the muscle. I was near home anyway, so I ended the run at 3.5 miles. By the way, this run was during a very short break in our torrential rain this week. It was a crazy, soaking wet week. i can’t even believe there are little patches of blue sky in this photo! I went home and did my new plank routine, which is regular plank, side planks, and reverse planks (one of the moves from the Bulletproof Runner workout.) Thursday Well… the only thing to do was the Bulletproof Runner workout AGAIN. I took out a couple moves that didn’t seem to help me, and added some other things with heavier weights, like Bulgarian split squats. It was a HARD workout- I ended with side planks and could barely hold them for 30 seconds- my legs were shaking. Friday Ooookay. I had no idea how my calf was going to hold up, so, after some thorough foam rolling, I went to the gym and got on the treadmill. I figured I would try a run and if anything hurt I could get right off and onto something else. But I started the run and it felt okay! For about 3 1/2 miles- then the same painful pulling sensation started in my calf muscle. At that point I figured- screw it. I ran for 23 miles in my race with it hurting and nothing bad happened- I can run another half mile. 4 miles for the day. Oh, and here’s a fantastic photo… It wasn’t until later in the day that I realized- “hey, my hip didn’t hurt at all!” That’s good at least- better if I only have to deal with one pain at a time. Saturday Off! Was able to sleep in a little before going to work. Sunday Sigh. I’m incredibly frustrated with the calf situation- I don’t understand what’s going on so I don’t know what to do about it. My strategy for the next week is to limit my runs to three miles (since it seems to start hurting between 3-4 miles.) I know, that kind of sucks- but three miles of running is better than zero miles! So, on tap for today- a 3 mile run. Lots of foam rolling. We’ll see how it goes! By the way, thanks for putting up with my whining. Anyone who’s been reading for a while had to hear about my left foot for almost a year… then there was the sprained ankle, now this. Hopefully my next Weekly Rundown will be whine-free! How was your week? Did it involve rain, or whining?