Weekly Rundown- Not Bad, Just Different
Well, things were a bit different this week. I voluntarily took several steps back to try and heal up that sore hamstring, which meant lots of days in the gym (and lots of boring photos- sorry.) But it’s all good! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s just see how this gym-tastic week played out. Sunday Leg day! Deadlifts, leg curl, leg extension, glute push machine (I love that one) and piriformis exercises. Monday Spoiler alert- this was my only outdoor run this week. 4 miles, and my hamstring was achy. I realized why I look so pained in these photos- I start these runs in the dark, so I don’t think to bring my sunglasses. Then by the end I’m squinting into the sun. Tuesday Back to the gym for leg day #2! This time it was squats, Bulgarian split squats, leg curls (for that achy hamstring) and piriformis exercises. In the morning I also did my hip stability exercises. Wednesday First things first- I did a Caroline Girvan abs workout, and then instead of running, I decided to give my hamstring one more day of rest. I went to the gym for 45 minutes on the Stairmaster. Thursday In the morning I did Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout. After work I headed to the gym- let’s try this running thing! I ran 4 miles on the treadmill. I wasn’t limping or anything, but my hamstring was aching and I was happy when it was time to stop. At this point I had to take a good, hard look at the situation. I’m running a 50 mile race at the end of the month. I asked myself what it would be like to run 50 miles with an aching hamstring, and the answer was: not fun. I decided it would be worth it to pull back on the training- better to show up to the race slightly undertrained with all my muscles intact. Friday This was a day off, except for hip stability exercises. Oh, and guess what- I had been noticing the area on both sides of my sacrum felt weirdly tender, almost like they were bruised- and I think it’s from all the piriformis exercises I’ve been doing. These were recommended by a PT I saw last summer, but apparently they’re not working well for me. I’m stopping them! After work I went to the chiropractor where he worked on my hamstring, hip flexors, and adjusted my low back. I’m going at least once a week from now on. Saturday Sigh. Instead of my usual Saturday run, I went to the gym and did an hour on the Stairmaster. Something weird must have happened to my brain, because this actually wasn’t that bad! That’s a good thing, because there may be a lot of Stairmaster for me over the next few weeks. Sunday Originally this was scheduled as a long run day, but I’ve moved that to Wednesday. Instead I’ll be going to the gym for a leg workout. So… it’s fine. Everything’s fine! Right now I’m 100% planning to be at that race. Hopefully with two happy and healthy legs- I’m doing everything I can to make it happen. How was your week? Was it smooth sailing or did you have to alter your course? Top photo by Rupert Britton on Unsplash