Hello Everyone! I hope you had an awesome week. My week was uneventful, and ended on a positive note. I’m joining Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown! Let’s get started…
Monday
Day off as always! It was Memorial Day but I had to work, so it just felt like a normal Monday.
Tuesday
45 minute pool run. There’s so little to say about pool running, other than that you have to play little games to keep yourself from getting too bored. I do things like ladder intervals, timed intervals, and so on. For this “run” I listened to this podcast, “When Working Out Doesn’t Work Out.” The host explores her feelings (lukewarm) around exercise and explains why she didn’t really do it much during the pandemic. “She must be crazy!” I thought, as I crazily ran in little circles around and around my pool.
Wednesday
Another 45 minute pool run.
Thursday
Wait! I need some strength training around here. First I went for a 20 minute walk to test out my hip (it hurt) and then I did Amanda’s core workout and some lower body work. Coco mentioned that the bird dogs from the core workout look hard. “Hard” is the wrong word. They are literally IMPOSSIBLE. You do them two ways- with your knees on a stability ball and your hands on a chair, and vice versa. Amanda somehow thinks you will then lift one arm and the opposite leg, but let me tell you that’s not happening. I can barely lift one arm shakily and quickly. I’m working on it!
Friday
Guess what I did today? A 45 minute pool run!
Saturday
I did the Impossible Core Workout again today (to be fair, it’s only the bird dogs that are impossible- everything else is do-able) plus pull-ups and squats.
Sunday
I started off with a 30 minute walk. I felt very, very good about this walk because my hip was much better than it was on my last walk. On Thursday I walked for 20 minutes and my hip was cranky the whole time. It wasn’t terrible, and didn’t get any worse as I went on, but it was uncomfortable enough that I wanted to stop. Today I walked for 30 minutes and while I could feel my hip, a little, I didn’t have that level of discomfort. It was encouraging to see that much progress over three days!
After my walk I got in the pool for a 5k. Ha… no, I didn’t run 3.1 miles in the pool- that would truly be insane. But I “ran” hard for the same amount of time as my last 5k time trial, three weeks ago. The thing about the water is, you just can’t get your heart rate as high as when running. But mentally it’s very, very hard to keep going fast. And I felt like I got a workout. It’s all good!
Do you use a stability ball for core workouts? Ever tried bird dogs on it?
What’s the longest you’ve had to take off from running because of an injury? – About ten years ago, I had peroneal tendinitis for an entire year. Every time I would start running again, it would come back. That was a nightmare! But of course it eventually went away and I haven’t had it since.
30 Responses
Yea those bird dogs do look impossible! Although I’m tempted to try them. I like doing the dead bugs with a stability ball. Sorry you are still having hip pain! At least it sounds like its getting better!
Yes, I definitely like the dead bugs. I’m warning everyone that if you try the bird dogs and can do them right away, I’ll be mad at you 🙂
That bird dog move looks insane! Kudos for attempting it! Great job sticking with the pool running, even though its mentally tough. It will be worth it!
The only upside to pool running is that at least it’s cool! The downside is when I return to running, I”ll have to acclimate to the heat all over again.
Those “balancing” bird dogs do sound impossible (But now I’m intrigued enough to try them LOL). You have probably heard me mention my two extended running sabbaticals (3 months during the summer of 2017, and about 2 months just this past fall). The first was following a freak emergency knee surgery (phantom staph infection my local doc misdiagnosed) and the other was due to a stress fracture in my foot. With the knee incident, I was able to at least walk (after the initial two weeks), so that was my main form of fitness at the time. This recent stress fracture, I was not supposed to be on my feet any more than just routine walking back and forth in the house or at work, so biking was my poison. For me, I just kept my focus on all the positives and accepted that the temporary setback was not the end-all. Hang in there! I know how frustrating it is ((hugs))
Thank you so much Kim! The thing I’ve learned from injuries is that you have to keep moving, in one way or another. I’ll be interested to hear how those bird dogs go for you (but just a warning- I’ll be mad if you can do them right away!)
Those bird dogs on the ball do look challenging! Hope your hip is starting to feel better and that you will be. back to running soon. It is super frustrating for sure
Thanks Deborah! It’s getting better but soooo slowly. Sigh!
I’m so sorry about your hip! I think I’ve already told you about my battle with PF and that was a long time off running. I still did strength, cycling, and pool running, tho, which kept me decently fit. I hope you find out what is going on with your hip so that it never comes back! Oh and BTW, my strength coach makes me do all kinds of weird stuff like that bird dog on the ball…
Thanks Wendy. I do feel like I’m keeping decently fit. but in my experience there’s no real substitute for running. Hopefully I’ll be back to it soon. Why am I not surprised that you do bird dogs on the stability ball?
The only time that I had an injury was years ago and I was in one of those phases where running didn’t feel good and I started really pushing myself and did something very painful to my hip. It took WEEKS for the pain to clear out and every day felt like an eternity. So hang in there! It will get better, but I know it must feel like the days are dragging.
Wait! That was the only time you ever had an injury! What am I doing wrong???
Wow those bird dogs look hard!
I’m so sorry to hear about your hip 🙁 I know it can feel very frustrating but hang in there!
Thanks Kim! I’m envisioning posting photos on this blog of me doing the full bird dog… we’ll see if that ever happens.
Those bird dogs look evil! Glad the hip felt so much better
Thanks Cari! Those bird dogs are evil- I wonder if I’ll ever be able to do them.
Sorry about the hip. It seems like you are doing everything right. Sending healing vibes.
I had ankle surgery so 5 months off. Then had a stress fracture in the other foot. 2 more months. Not a fun year.
Ugh, that year does sound awful. It always seems hopeless when you’re in the middle of these things, but we’ve recovered from them all. Thanks for the healing vibes!
Those stability ball bird dogs look downright dangerous!
I think I was out of running for 6 weeks. It was peroneal tendonitis and I ran in the pool the whole time and you know what? I had a great Boston Marathon despite not doing any terrestrial running for so long. I ran a fall marathon that same year with no other issues from the peroneal tendon. You are doing so great in the pool! That mental toughness will pay off!
I’ve hear of other people running marathons coming off of pool running- Joan Benoit did it in 1984 to win the Olympic marathon trials. Somehow it’s hard for me to imagine though! Luckily I don’t have a big race coming up.
Those bird dogs don’t look fun or safe, I’d certainly manage to fall off! I think my longest time off running was when I had an internal operation in 2017 and didn’t run for a month. I didn’t mean to run then I ran to catch a bus and was fine, so started up again!
Wow, if a month was your longest time off, that’s great- I’m envious! Yes, I’m afraid of falling off the ball during the bird dogs, but it hasn’t happened yet.
I think I would roll right off that ball if I had to do bird dogs on it!
So when I had my tonsils out, I was out of running for about 2.5 months. That was about 8 years ago. Then I broke my leg in 2019 and was out for about five months. It was so frustrating. I hope you are back to it sooner rather than later.
Ugh, that five months off for a broken leg must have been awful! I guess looking on the bright side, a little time off for your oral surgery is better than having your tonsils out, right?
Those bird dogs look crazy hard!
Good job with all of the pool running – it will pay off in the end. Mental training, right?!
Thanks Michelle! Pool running is way better than doing nothing- you have to keep moving somehow.
I am sure I will fall if I attempt bird dogs core workouts!!! I am sorry to hear your hip is still giving you trouble. Hopefully soon it will get better so you can start running again.
i’m still working on those bird dogs- it really is a little scary!
I don’t know, those bird dogs on a chair look like a recipe for disaster to me!! LOL!!!! So no, I’ll stick with the ground for my workout. I have never succeeded with pool running. The depth of the water in my pool isn’t enough in the shallow end, so that’s as far as I got on that! Kudos to you for doing it!
Yes, you need a pool with a real deep end. Once again, I know how lucky I am to have that!