walkers walk… but runners fly

Weekly Rundown- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Actually, the title should be “The great, the good and the terrible.”  There was so much that went well this week- the weather was phenomenal, I had some great runs, we had a VERY exciting high school football game, and my rib is about 90% better!  Woohoo!  But… I hurt my back, ARRRRG!  As always, I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown (thanks, ladies!) Let’s just see what happened…

Monday

After the holiday week, I couldn’t face waking up at 5 am to run.  I knew it would be cool and beautiful all day, so I decided to run after work.  In the morning I did an upper body strength workout.  I can now raise my arms above my head, and this was the best upper body workout I’ve had since I hurt my rib.

Things are going GREAT!  Before going to work, I just decided to tidy up a little- Christmas bins were out, and I needed to put things back into place.  All I did was bend down to move the coffee table over a few feet, and when I stood up, I immediately knew that my low back was messed up.  Phooey.

It was so stiff and achy, I was worried about running.  But after work I decided to give it a try and hooray!  I can still run… 3 happy miles.

Tuesday

My back felt TERRIBLE.  I decided to do a lower body strength workout at home.  Some moves were impossible, but I could do squats so I hit those pretty hard.  Good workout, in spite of my back.

Wednesday

I started the day with a lovely 6 mile run!  It was 50 degrees and look- I’m wearing long sleeves!

Running on the cross country trail.

After this run, DOMS from my workout yesterday kicked in with a vengeance.  I really put myself in a predicament- I couldn’t bend over because of my back but now I also couldn’t squat down because my legs were SO SORE.  So, if I wanted to pick something up from the floor… I couldn’t.  It was pretty funny (if you have a dark sense of humor.) I would say I felt like a 90-year-old woman, but actually I hope I’m moving better than that when I’m 90.  It was a rough day.

Thursday

Okay- enough is enough!  Since I can now raise my arm above my head, I decided to try the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout..  I haven’t been able to do any core since the rib injury.

I could do it!!!  I did feel my rib a little, but it was okay. After I finished I stretched my back for a while.  This workout and stretching session was the turning point for my back- after this it started to slowly, slowly feel better.

After work, another 3 mile run!

Friday

Since it felt so good the day before, I did the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout again, followed by hip stability exercises.  I felt like I was gradually putting my body back together.

At night… high school football game!  It was the state semi-finals.  The game was close and exciting, and in the last five seconds the other team almost scored the winning touchdown, but were stopped at the goal line and we won 14-11!  It was the kind of game where everyone was on their feet screaming in horror, and then shouting for joy (unless, of course, you were rooting for the other team, in which case, reverse that.)

The band was in high spirits!

Next week, our team (and the band!) will travel to the State Championship game.  Everyone is so excited!  This has never happened before in the history of our school.  I can’t go because I have to work, SOB!!!!  But it will be live streamed, so I’ll watch as much as I can.

Saturday

4 mile run before work.  My back is much better!  And, every run this week has been great.  I credit the amazing weather.

Long sleeve shirt weather again!

Sunday

Off!  But I HAVE TO get our outdoor lights up!  If I don’t, the Christmas police are going to come and arrest me.  My rib is better, my back is better; I have no more excuses.

How was your week?  Any mysterious ailments?  If you celebrate Christmas, are you finished decorating?

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33 Responses

  1. Of course, you can’t just have a rib injury; you have to have a back injury. I feel you on this! My left knee is still wonky and my back is still sore from my deadlift injury. But running is good and that is all that counts!

    It’s been too cold to do any outdoor decorating, but today is the day–we’re going to be in the 50s! It’s a heat wave! But first running….

    1. Oh, that is a heat wave! Get all your outdoor decorations up TODAY! And- running is actually good for back pain, as long as you can do it fairly comfortably. We need to keep the circulation going! Hope yours feels better soon.

  2. Wow what a finish to a huge game! That is a bummer you can’t go to the championship game! Darn work!

    The back injury is so annoying. Just when you ribs heal, something else happens. Sigh. I am glad it’s getting a bit better and that you could go for some nice, cooler runs!

    We had ailments but not mystery ones – both boys had strep. They recovered very fast thanks to ABX though! So the week was salvaged. We are all done decorating for Christmas. I decided not to do anything with our window boxes this week. I just can’t motivate myself to do it and it feels like too much work considering Christmas is 3 weeks away!

    1. DO not remind me how close Christmas is!!! I’m getting my outdoor lights up as soon as I finish this. Glad the boys are doing better- that’s the great things about a bacterial infection, it clears up pretty fast.

  3. Um, have I even started decorating? ~sigh~ But I can’t do it from 500 miles away.

    That game sounds thrilling!

    Glad you are ending the week feeling good!

    1. Yes, I guess it would be hard to decorate if you’re in Chicago. Well- you’ll get it done. I say we leave all the decorations up for a while AFTER Christmas so we can enjoy them longer.

  4. Hehe, the Christmas police! Love it. Glad the weather is good for you for running — it’s starting to get snowy and icy here and I don’t like it!

    1. No, I wouldn’t like that either! That’s why I live in Florida, and I have to remind myself of that when I’m complaining about the heat in summer.

  5. Enjoy those cooler temps while they last! Florida weather is so unpredictable this time of the year. Seems like you are having one thing after another lately. I vote for an extra rest day and a hot bath . Hope you are feeling better!

    1. A hot bath sounds AMAZING. Or, a heating pad (or both!) Yes, our weather is going to get warm again next week (nooooo!) Unpredictable is the correct word.

  6. I love a good story with a happy ending! It sounds like your back injury was muscular, not structural which is a very good thing. Yay for a happy back and ribs!

    Now, why are you sitting here reading this comment? Go put your outdoor lights up before the Christmas police come arrest you! 😉

  7. Well boo to your back but at least it didn’t stop you from running and the pain took a hike pretty quickly. I don’t hurt my back often, but when I do it makes itself known.

    We’ve got our tree up! I say “we” but the truth is that our House Holiday Decorator (Hubs) put the tree up. I continue to enjoy the neighborhood decorations on our dog walks.

  8. Ugh. If it’s not one thing, it’s another! I hate that! Just take it easy, please! We need you well!

    Congratulations to your team! That’s amazing!

    I have to put the rest of our outdoor lights up today. We had to get new lights. Then we had to get new clips. And now it’s time. BLah.

    1. Yes, I know- I had to get some new lights as well. There’s always something that stops me, but I’m out of excuses. Time to get them up.

  9. I’m glad your back and rib are feeling better, and now you can decorate outside!

    I ran a 50K yesterday, as a long supported training run for the 100K I’m signed up for next month, so my feet are pretty sore right now, but fortunately the rest of me feels pretty good! But I must have slept wrong so now my neck is sore which is just annoying — how can we finish an ultra feeling decent, but doing something pretty benign ends in pain?!

  10. I’m so glad your back is better! And I’m also glad you’ve been able to run even when it wasn’t, and that you can do the deadbugs again! All good news! Enjoy that good running weather.

  11. despite hurting your back, you still managed to run and workout! wooo! that’s a role model to me! hopefully with few more days of recovery, your back feels normal again so you can enjoy more of this amazing weather for the runs.
    we are not celebrating as big as you guys, just doing the advent calendar for the girls with small gifts, and a big gift at the end.

  12. Wow! Crazy that you can run with a sore back. I basically can’t do anything if I have so much as a tweak. LOL. I think maybe your pain tolerance is a bit higher than mine. I am glad it’s doing better. Here’s for an uneventful week!

  13. Jenny, So happy you got to enjoy some great runs and your team and A’s band going to the championships!! That is super exciting!!
    Congrats!!!!
    (You’re already doing more than most people I know, but I hope your rib thing heals soon…)

    1. Thank you Maya! Yes, lots of excitement around here. And… my rib is ALMOST better. I still feel it a little- but I can do pretty much anything I want now.

  14. I have a heating pad on my back right now as I type this!!! No idea what happened to my back today, but it started feeling questionable in the afternoon. Ugh. Seriously? I’m glad you are feeling good and that rib pain has ended. Hopefully my issue is fleeting.
    Congrats to the football team. That’s so great!

    1. Thank you Lisa! And… I hope your back feels better soon. I’ll bet the heat will help- I need to dig out my heating pad. Standing in a hot shower has been feeling good on mine.

    1. Okay well that makes me feel better! I did get my outdoor lights up, and the inside is mostly done. MOSTLY. There are still some thing I need to do, like get the Christmas sheets on the beds. It never ends, in my house!

  15. Ack! So glad you are on the mend. And I’m impressed that you can run with back pain. I’d be afraid I would make things worse, but likely it helps to keep your core strong and loosen things up a bit.

    We just decorated yesterday, and I’m putting the last of my Christmas cards in the mail today.

  16. Good news on the pains.
    I have had no time to do much. Glad that I don’t decorate a lot.

    The only gifts I’m buying are for baby. I did that today. Thank God for Amazon.

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