Lessons Learned.

Y'all.  Monday is the start of Injury Week 7.  This means that I can start introducing a little running back into my life.  I'm planning to start out with about 15 minutes at a time and keep the pace no faster than 10:00/miles.  I'm going to add mileage slowly, maybe half a mile every few days.


But here's the thing... I've got races to run, so I cannot get injured again.  I've been thinking a lot lately about what I can learn from this experience, and I've come up with some rules for myself that will hopefully keep me on track this time (unintentional pun, but I like it, so I'm keeping it in).


1.  CrossFit is not an option for cross training.  This one is going to be the hardest, for sure.  I love CrossFit.  A little over a year ago, I was not exercising, eating terribly (this one hasn't changed so much), stressing out about the bar and finding a job, and I had ballooned up to my highest weight ever.  I would never have had the confidence to start running again and making all of these very public goals if it weren't for the changes I saw in myself physically and mentally during this last year of doing CrossFit.  However, it is hard on my body.  For the six weeks leading up to the start of HM training, I was not doing any running/DUs/box jumps because my shin splints were flaring up.  My legs just can't handle the pounding of running workouts and CrossFit workouts.  So from now on, during race season, I'll be sticking with low-impact cross training like Pilates, swimming, and spin classes.


2.  I need 2 rest days.  I know a lot of runners who take like one rest day every three weeks.  I would be in a full body cast if I tried that.  I'm going to stick with a version of the FIRST training plan for now, so that means three running days +  two cross training days + two rest days per week.  I am leaving this one open for re-evaluation... if I feel like my body can handle a one-rest-day week every now and then, that will be an option.


3.  Easy runs are called easy for a reason.  Throughout my HM training, I had issues with sticking to my goal paces.  As in, I almost always went too fast.  While this indicates that I probably need to adjust everything down slightly, I know that a big part of those fast paces was being my usual super competitive self.  I want to go as fast as I can all the time... I hate when people pass me on the path or when I'm supposed to be doing a slow mile and I'm on a busy road.  I need to get over it and slow down when slow is called for.  Training at 100% all the time isn't going to be to finish line faster; it's going to get me right back where I am now.


4.  Stretch, roll, stretch, roll, stretch, roll.  Yeah, I don't do either of these nearly enough.  My calves, hamstrings, and hips are suuuuuuuper tight.  I've been told by one doctor that I am the most inflexible person he's ever seen.  That is not good.  Stretching and rolling will be done every day.  No excuses.  I think this is also a great reason to get more massages.  I have Monday off for President's Day so I will be treating myself to one then.


5.  Pay more attention to hydration.  I don't do a good job of drinking water during the day at work.  I have a weird aversion to drinking tap water from the sink at the office, which is completely irrational since my office is about 2.5 miles from my house, and our water there comes from the same place.  I've ordered a big 24 oz Tervis (I drink more when I have a straw) to be my "work cup" and I think that will help immensely.  Tervis makes everything better.


6.  Every 4th week will be a cut-back week.  I've read about this strategy in plenty of places, including the running Bible, and I'm going to try it out for a few months.  I'll rethink this one if it doesn't seem to help or if I feel like I'm losing more in fitness than I'm gaining in health.  I'm not sure how much I'll need this if I'm also doing two rest days, so I'll just see how it works out.


So, those are my six rules.  I'm also going to experiment with some things like compression sleeves for my calves and taking a calcium supplement.  This is my fifth bone break, so clearly I have some issues with my bones, and I'm hoping the supplement will help that.  If you have any recommendations for coming back from an injury, please let me know in the comments!

A Gimpy Update

A little gimpy update for y'all... 

Monday marks the start of Week 6.  Generally, six to eight weeks is the recovery time frame for a stress fracture or shin splints, so this means that the end is in sight!  I am beyond excited... only seven more days and I can start to introduce some running back into my routine.  I'm talking a mile at a time, really slow and easy, but it will be running nonetheless.  And of course there will be lots of stretching and rolling afterwards, which, I'm ashamed to say, I haven't been very good about lately.  

But none of this is what I really want to talk about.  What I want to talk about is the New River Half Marathon.  Because I registered for it last night!  It's the weekend after my birthday (and J's birthday since we're one day apart), and it's in the mountains (the mountains around Asheville are one of my favorite places in the entire world), so sweet J agreed to go up there for the weekend.  He's going to run the 5K, and I'm going to get another shot a half, since I will be missing the one here in Columbia.  We're going to stay at this cute little B&B, and, aside from the race, probably do nothing.  I am super pumped.

{Mountains in the fall}

I'm gonna need to do some serious hill training... 

Gimpy Workouts - Week 2

Ok, so it has been an interesting first week back at the "regular" gym (as opposed to my beloved Crossfit gym).  It took me all of 30 seconds to remember why it wasn't a good fit for me before... no one socializes, you have to make up your own workouts, there's no coaching, the parking situation is a nightmare, etc.  HOWEVER, the pool is never crowded, and I was able to get sweaty quite a few days this week, so that's all good with me.


I also discovered that the pool only works for me when the plan is a speed/sprint workout.  I tried to do a long(ish) pool run at a steady pace, and it was miserable.  The pool is pretty short, so I kept having to turn around every 30 seconds or so, and I just can't get my heart rate up without sprinting (even accounting for the fact that your heart rate stay lower in the pool).  Worst of all, after 3 days in a row of sprint paces, my hip flexors had had enough, so I took an unplanned rest day on Thursday, and on Friday, I decided to try a 30 min interval workout on the bike.  It was much better - I was dripping sweat, my heart was racing, and best of all, my leg didn't bother me at all during or after the workout.  Yay!


So I've decided to modify my plan - all of my sprint and short interval workouts will be in the pool, but the longer intervals and long, steady workouts will be on the bike.  After another two weeks or so, I might try introducing the elliptical for some of the long workouts too, just to mix it up.  This is week 3 of no running/lower body impact, and my legs feel about 1000 times better.  I can even walk up down the stairs without feeling any pain in my shins, which is awesome, since my office is on the fourth floor and the elevators in my building are super sketchy.


Ok anyway, here is this week's plan:

I'll only be in the pool one day this week, but most weeks have two pool days.  And since I took an unplanned rest day on Thursday, I'm off to get wet as soon as the gym opens at 1.  


Hope y'all are having a good, sweaty weekend! :)

Gimpy Workouts - Week 1

I'm working on making a full 7 week schedule for myself, but it's not finished yet, so I'm just posting the first week.  I made the decision to put my Crossfit membership on hold for the next 2 months, and I joined the Y on Friday so that I can have access to a pool.  I've been once, and I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would.  (I can swim, have been able to since I was very little, but I usually choose not to unless I'm at the lake and I need to get my ski or something.  I've certainly never done it for exercise.)  The main problem is the boredom, but I ordered a waterproof pouch and headphones for my iPod, which should be here on Tuesday, so hopefully that will help.

Anyway, I'm easing into the pool running routine this week with 3 days in the water, 2 days of Pilates + Abs, and 1 day of upper body weight training.  I may end up substituting Tuesday's Pilates/Abs workout with another day in the pool depending on how my legs are feeling.

Have you tried pool running?  How do you fight the boredom?

Update.

So last Monday after Crossfit, I finally caved to the pain in my shins.  We only did 3 x 400 and I could barely stand to walk afterwards.  One of my friends at there, who is also a doctor, checked me out and told me that I have one spot on my left leg that is "borderline stress fracture."  I really need an x-ray to confirm, but I just started a new job this week, so I don't have any time off.  (Why do doctors not work past 5:00pm??)  And the truth is, whether it's a fracture or just severe shin splints, the prescription is basically the same: don't run for 6-8 weeks.  I'm still trying to get to the doc, but for now I'm not running at all.  I took 5 days completely off from all exercise, but by yesterday afternoon, I couldn't stand it anymore.  I HAD to get moving somehow, so I took my bike down to the river to get my sweat on.


Let me just say... biking sucksssssss.  Did any of y'all watch the Olympic Marathon Trials yesterday?  Well, the top 3 guys ran approximately 4:55 min/mi (yes, for 26.2 miles).  The top 3 women ran approximately 5:31 min/mi.  My fastest mile on the bike was 5:01.  So yeah... I can't even BIKE a marathon as fast as those peeps can RUN one.  Not that I went 26.2 miles... I went 5 plus a half mile warm up and a mile cool down.


Nevertheless, biking got me sweaty and made my thighs ache, so it's all good.  After the ride, I finished up with 30 push ups, 30 sit ups, 30 triceps dips, and 2 plank holds for 1 minute each.  (I need some serious help with my core strength).  And best of all, none of this made my legs hurt.

At this point, I just want to be able to race.  The half-marathon is 9 weeks from now.  I'm hoping that if I'm smart about letting my leg heal, I can at least run it, even if I have to give up my goal of running under 2 hours.  


So that's that.  Any of y'all ever had a stress fracture?  How did you stay active while you it healed?

Long Run: 8 Miles.

The run today was 8 miles and it was supposed to be race pace + 20s.  My coaches told me to do 9:23, but I did that for the first mile and it felt really slow, so I bumped it down to 9:05ish because MY race pace goal is 8:45ish pace.  I did pretty well with the exception of Mile 6-7.  At that point it felt like everything went wrong at once... my hips tightened up and my shorts chafed my legs to the point of drawing blood.  (Yay, Thunder Thighs!)  But I pushed through it and finished up under 9:00 minutes, so I felt alright about it.

Jimmy mapped my route out for me and it ended up being a pretty good one.  I ran down Main Street to the Statehouse, through USC and back.  I snapped this while I was waiting for the light to change.

{SC Statehouse}

Did you have a long run planned this weekend?  How did it go?

Tempo Run: Ice Cold Edition

Remember when I complained about running in 55 degree weather?  Well today, it was 34 degrees when I decided it was time for a run.  Thankfully, my mom and brother hooked me up with some cold weather running gear at Christmas, so I was semi-warm at least.  Thanks guys!


I was worried about this run because I felt like I had to work so hard on Saturday, and I was supposed to hit some of the same paces today.  The plan was 1 mile easy (10:00ish), 2 MT (8:40), 1 easy, 2 MT, 1 easy.  (It was the same run I did when I was home at Christmas.)  I don't know if I was just having a better day or if there's something about this format that works for me, but I felt really good.  My shins behaved (they may have been frozen), and I just felt glad to be running.  I hit all of my splits except one... I will win against this hill someday.  On Saturday, it took 10 seconds off my pace.  Today it took 4.  I'm coming for you, big ugly hill.

Heyyy, Garmin.  Look at you all fancy.