Oof. I just want to curl up under the tree like my cat and go to sleep. WHY is the week of Christmas so exhausting??? Every year I swear I’m going to get things done early, but it’s always a crunch. There were still workouts, of course! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s dive right into the festivities.
Monday
We have had the most beautiful weather this month! I think we’ve slept with windows open more nights in December than we did all of last winter. It was low 50s for this run- 4 miles in the nice, cool sunshine.
Tuesday
Strength workout at home- Runner’s Touch, dead bugs, crunches on the stability ball and work on the pull up bar. Notice how I never say “I did pull ups” because I CAN’T do pull ups- but I do negatives and assisted pull ups with the band. Pull up negative are always hard for me, but this felt like a good workout. At the time. More on that coming up…
Wednesday
Long run on the trail!
It was in the 60s, cloudy and breezy for this run. Yes, please! I’ll take this weather on race day! Everything about this run felt phenomenal except… my left arm. About halfway through the run I felt discomfort in that shoulder, and it got worse and worse until the last 4 miles, it was all I could think about. When I hit 24 miles, I was SO RELIEVED to be able to stop- because my arm was killing me. Everything else felt great.
I have no idea why that happened- all I can think of was, I tweaked it doing pull up negatives the day before. Although if that’s the case, I’m baffled as to why it didn’t hurt while I was doing them, or afterwards, or when I woke up on Wednesday, or why it felt fine until halfway through my run???
For the rest of the day, my arm was killing me. I was shopping at the mall, and I couldn’t hold anything with that arm! Did you know that four three-wick candles from Bath and Body Works are HEAVY? I couldn’t hold the bag with my left arm, so I had to hold that bag, and everything else I bought, with my right arm. It was really difficult.
Of course my thoughts were along this line: “Did I dislocate my shoulder? Maybe it’s a torn rotator cuff! How am I going to be able to work tomorrow? What if I need surgery? I don’t want to have surgery!” It was crazy.
Thursday
Okay. The arm is still sore… I’m able to pinpoint the pain as being in the deltoid. I can swing the arm gently back and forth, but I don’t want to risk running. Usually I do a short run the day after my long run, but I didn’t want to stress the arm. Instead I went to the gym, walked a mile on the treadmill, and then did 30 minutes on the stair climber. Sigh.
Then I went to work, where I discovered that my arm is still functional. It’s only certain movements that hurt it (moving it up and to the side) so I’m able to give massages. Phew. Maybe I won’t need surgery after all.
Friday
Off! It was a weird day to take off, but it just worked for this week. My daughter didn’t have school, so I was able to sleep in a little.
Saturday
Okay, I need to run. And I can! I can pump my arm back and forth just fine- the only thing that really hurts is if I try to lift it to look at my watch. That’s okay- I don’t need to look at my watch! Or, I could wear it on the other hand (that would feel sooo weird.)
I went to work and then of course we celebrated Festivus! We went out for bagels, aired our grievances, and watched “The Strike”- the Seinfelt Festivus episode. It’s funny that it’s called “The Strike” (one of the stories is that Kramer works at H&H Bagels, goes on strike, and is carrying a sign that says “Festivus Yes! Bagels No!”) Most people think of Festivus as the main story of that episode.
Sunday
On tap for today… the gym. I don’t want to go! I have so much to do. We’re having people over later in the day for cookie decorating and dinner. But I haven’t been to the gym all week, and my strength work has been… pretty lame. I’ll go first thing, get it over with, and then get ready for Christmas Eve festivities.
Christmas Day I want to collapse on the couch with my “book flood” and read all day. There might be a short run later in the day… we’ll see.
Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating! If you’re not celebrating, I wish you a peaceful and joyful day.
38 Responses
24 miles!!! Wow!!! Sorry to hear about the arm soreness–you must have strained that delt muscle. I have an ongoing issue with my right scapula–it actually hurts. I think it’s due to some issues with the shoulder and I continue to do my exercises at the gym to keep the joint open. I swear, it’s always something.
Enjoy the Christmas holiday! And yes, go for that run! After my early trip to Whole Foods, that’s what I plan on doing.
Yes, it’s always something! Who in the world hurts their arm while running- only me.
Hope your arm feels 100% soon! So strange that it started halfway through the run. But 24 miles– woweeee way to go! Hope the rest of your holiday prep goes well.
Thanks Melissa! Yes, it was a really weird thing. I’m kind of mad it ruined an otherwise great run- but then, something will definitely hurt at some point in my race- might as well get used to it.
Wow 24 miles is fantastic! You have come so far w your long distance running in the past year! Those temps in the 50’s are such a gift aren’t they?! I get weird shoulder and arm things sometimes that I can’t explain either. I add that to my list of old people aches. Hope yours feels better. Enjoy your cookie decorating and merry Christmas
Thank you Deborah! My son says he has arm pain if he sleeps in the wrong position- so maybe that’s what yours is?
That is one sweet present that you’ve got under the tree.
Boo to the arm! I’m about to start doing pull up work again – just hanging on the bar and negatives – and now I remember that the last time I did those I had to stop because it was stressing my shoulders too much. Sigh. I’ve got to figure out how to do this stuff at a rate that my body can handle.
FWIW I had the worst case of workout inertia yesterday. I finally bribed myself to workout in the afternoon so that I wouldn’t have to do it today. So enjoy the gym and/or give yourself permission to take the day off.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!
My son has gently and tactfully suggested that maybe negatives are too intense for me, and that I should just do assisted pull ups. Sigh.
Yes… I’m super tired today, and sitting on the couch, sipping tea, and reading sounds pretty appealing. Not sure that run is going to happen.
24 miles is pretty amazing to feel great other than your arm so yay! Yes the December weather has been really nice. Let’s hope January brings more of the same!!!! I love your enthusiasm for Festivus 🙂
Ha, Festivus was fun.
I can’t seem to run fast these days, but I can run far! At least I still have my slow twitch muscles : )
It’s always something, isn’t it? Maybe a pinched nerve (which would resolve in time. I hope it resolves for you soon! At least you gutted out your 25 miles — concentrate on that.
Have a great Christmas, Jenny!
Thank you Judy! Yes, I’m happy I finished that run. I’ll definitely have issues during my race, so might as well practice dealing with it.
Wow on that 24 mile long run. Pretty sure that could be a reason you’re tired — along with everything else. 😉
Ugh on the weird arm injury, but I had to laugh at the only impediment to running was not being able to check your Garmin.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Yes, I actually forgot to factor that in… maaaybe I was still a little tired from the run!
I hope you’re having a Merry Christmas, Coco.
The arm thing sucks! I hurt my arm last winter doing a workout. I think I lifted too much when doing chest flies. It did not hurt in the moment but it did after and it bothered me for months!!! So stupid. I hope your injury fades fast.
I had a good week of workouts since I worked from home and had a quieter week at work. I did 3 Caroline Girvan workouts and then ran 4 miles yesterday. I thought of you on my run as I saw a guy running around a lake, dragging a tire behind him!!! Crazy huh? Make me think of your sled work at the gym for some reason.
I’ve been wondering if you guys still have the stair stepper that your husband got from work!?
We are having beautiful weather. It’s kind of scary nice out. It was almost 50 here yesterday! This is so weird. It will cool off next week but even then, our highs will be in the low 30s which is NOT bad at all!!
Running while dragging the tire is probably a great workout! Yes, I miss my sled- I haven’t done it in a while because I was afraid it was stressing my foot. Maybe I can get back to it this week.
i totally forgot about that stair stepper! Yes, it’s still in the garage. I think it’s really more like an elliptical. I should re-visit it though- it would be a convenient option.
I’m glad you’re feeling good and got in those workouts this week! Merry Christmas!
24 miles?!? Holy cow! That would be it for the week for me!! lol. Glad your arm is on the upswing though. I used to work on pull ups but also basically just cannot do them (unassisted)… I blame longer legs to torso ratio? I don’t know. Haha. My current programs haven’t had them though at all and I don’t really miss them, though they did make my arms and back pretty ripped when I did them regularly.
Merry Christmas!
No, I have a long torso and I can’t do them- but I do think there’s something about women’s anatomy that makes pull ups really hard. I seriously don’t think I’m going to do them anymore- I’ll just stick to machines at the gym for upper body.
Congrats on 24 miles! That’s so great! Sorry about the delt. Sounds like you strained it and the long miles fatigued it. Hope you’re able to relax and enjoy over the next couple of days!
Yes, that’s probably the explanation- I somehow strained it doing pull up negatives and 24 miles was too much for it. I think it’s okay now.
Yes, I’m relaxing today and I hope you are too, Marcia!
24 miles. Wow.
Sorry to hear about the arm pain. Hope it gets resolved.
And after the holidays, you can relax.
Yes, I’m already relaxing (writing this on Christmas Day.) This week should be pretty chill- after I get my daughter off to Rome.
24 miles, Jenny! Wow! The arm thing is so weird though! I’m glad it’s feeling better. What a strange injury!
Love the picture of your cat curled up under the tree. Oh, to be a cat!
I know- cats have the best life. All love, snuggles, good food and comfort. I hope you’re enjoying your Christmas!
24 miles, muy impressivo!!! That’s a bummer on the arm issue…isn’t it bizarre how those phantom aches/pains are MIA until an inopportune time? Then we have to back-step to figure where they came from…totally frustrating! I’ve had so many late nights knitting (and sitting in an awkward position as I do so), that my exhaustion is almost maxed out, but I tell myself it’s all for a worthwhile cause 😉
Kim, if I knitted I would definitely end up with a knitting injury! I hope you finished it in time.
Nice job on your 24-mile run! I hope you have equally nice weather for your race. Sorry, though, to hear about your arm hurting during your run. Of course, at my age the first thing I think of with left arm/shoulder hurting is a heart attack.
Would it really be the holidays without crazy business? I, too, promise myself every year that I’ll get stuff done earlier, but…
Merry Christmas, Jenny!
Debbie, the first thing I thought of was a heart attack. It just didn’t seem like it though (like it stopped hurting if I stopped running, and hurt again as soon as I swung my arm back and forth.) And yes… I guess it wouldn’t be Christmas without the craziness.
Merry Christmas!
24 miles! That’s incredible and so glad you felt so good- except for the arm! Yikes! Glad you can still work.
Okay, I guess I need to watch that Seinfeld episode- I asked Dustin my husband and he was very familiar!
Ha ha, I hope you guys like it. Sometimes these things aren’t funny if you’re watching them now for the first time (lots of these old shows are so dated.) I think this one is still funny? I don’t know!
Congrats on 24 miles! I’ve barely been running with my foot pain but I’m running more often. 2 miles with the new to me dog 🙂 I do plan on going today if it’s not raining.
My right arm randomly hurts. At the elbow I think. Definitely hurts when I rotate it and it’s hard to lift things. I tried to grab a soda from the top shelf at Wawa and had to switch arms lol
Merry Christmas!!!
Thank you Karen! What is the issue with your foot? I’ve had a LOT of foot pain in my life!
Merry Christmas : )
Merry Christmas! I’m glad your arm is feeling better. That had to be so frustrating. Ugh.
We are all exhausted after the last few weeks. I, too, would love to curl up with all my new books. I do believe I am sleeping in tomorrow (til 7, lol). I actually dozed off on the couch. I wish we could just order takeout, but my husband is all into recreating Thanksgiving, so that’s happening. I’ll be happy when my tummy is all full later.
Ha, I did have a lazy day! And then I made lasagna. I’m also sleeping in tomorrow… till 6:30. It’s better than 5:30!
24 miles is seriously amazing! I don’t think I will ever run that far in training because it would take me all day since I’m so slow haha but to make it through all those miles with just a hurt arm is impressive. Hopefully the arm is back to normal!
I was so busy that I completely forgot to watch the Festivus episode this year, but I guess I can always watch it after the fact! There’s actually a few Christmas specials/movies that I haven’t watched yet so I’ll probably do that over the next few days.
I wonder if it was the combo of the negatives + wearing the hydration vest/backpack? You might have slightly aggravated something with the negatives, then wearing the vest for such a long run could have added to the problem. Anyway – hope it goes away and STAYS away! Glad you rested over Christmas – you need a break!
You had perfect running weather. And a 24-miler. Woowza.
I am sorry about your shoulder pain. I hate when pain comes on out of the blue and you have no freakin’ idea where it came from. I am surprised you were able to work with it. I hope it’s gone by now (I am commenting late.)