July - Bring IT!

I had high hopes of rolling outta bed early this morning for a run (you see where this is going already, right?). BUT (yep, here comes the lousy excuse as to why I slept in and didn't do an early morning run - read on, though, it does get better, at least in my opinion), my calves hurt like heck after an express circuit class yesterday; so I shut the alarm off, rolled over, and decided to 'figure it all out later.'

Later ended up being not too much later as I decided to try a run around 10am-ish. I planned a 3-miler somewhere kinda flat, but ended up running near my house, which is all hills - yeah, that felt great on the aching gastrocks! I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do the 3 miles of hills, but I ended up finishing it in 29:09 - not great, but I felt hugely accomplished - I powered through a few hills, I felt stronger on this run than any other run I've  had since 'rehab,' and it allowed me to set my goals for my upcoming race!

WHAT? A RACE? That's a word I haven't mentioned in quite some time. More about my race goals soon. Back to this run. I sweat like crazy, I felt nauseous at times, I turned beet-red. Sounds like torture, but honestly, it was exactly.what.I.needed.

I've been waiting for that 1 good run that would let me know that I'm getting back on track and I think today may have been it. Now I'm getting excited to race.......

Life is Crazy

A day in the life........

Up @ 4am tending to a child with the stomach flu.
Off to a crazy day of work.
Running 3.63 miles on lunch break.
Finishing a crazy day of work.
Errands.
Supper.
Correcting papers @ home.
Boat ride with the boys (thank goodness for a quick moving, hopefully not contagious, stomach bug) to catch a glimpse at some of these:

Welcome summer!

I'm Running........

For real!

I'm back at it - I'm seeing it as my 'rehab,' and not really my 'training,' but, darn it, I'm running!

~4 weeks ago, I had so much pain in my knee that running was totally out of the question (even walking hurt occasionally).

~3 weeks ago, the PT wanted me to 'try' a run - so I did; only to  experience pain 30 seconds into the run. So I kept up with the strengthening, stability, icing, resting, elevating routine. Then in PT, I was able to run 3 minutes (it hurt, but not too bad), then 6 minutes, then 10 minutes.

~2 weeks ago I started a routine of trying to run 1 day and then the next day I'd complete my leg exercises. This was a good strategy and continues to be my path to full rehabilitation.

This week, I put in a few runs, adding 1-2 minutes to each run.

Today, I ran 24:04 minutes! PAIN FREE! And I picked a challenging route - hills, uneven pavement, and hills (oh, did I mention that? They totally kicked my butt). The sense of satisfaction is beyond words!

I started an exercise class @ work - it's M-W-F over lunch, so between the this class and my running, I really feel like I'm starting to get back on track. So much so, that I'm looking @ races........

National Running Day - How did you celebrate?

I RAN!!!! Yes I did - 10 entire minutes.

No biggie for most people, but a huge step in the right direction for me.

I promised my PT I'd increase time/distance S-L-O-W-L-Y.......

The Sure-Fire Ways of Ruining your Diet on Picnic Day

1. Start Early - get up good n' early in order to maximize your time for calorie consumption - then get right on to #2.

2. Eat breakfast - load up on carbs - you're going to need the energy for the long day of picnic activities.

3. Load up on diet sodas - this will ensure a good level of dehydration, high sodium retention, and increased thirst. It also helps to ensure a high likelihood of the afternoon bloat!

4. A word about exercise: you'll most likely be making many trips from the picnic table to the food table - count each trip as exercise :)
You should probably focus on moving as little as possible b/c of the heat - you don't want to overdo it!.

5. Graze - the food will be out all day, so eat several many smaller meals.

6. Eat a variety of colors - I found cupcakes with red/white/blue icing and sprinkles - these cupcakes paired with the numerous other items you'll be consuming will ensure a plethora of vitamins and minerals.

7. Lemon bars count as a fruit!

8. Salt - its' the spice of life - use liberally. Not only will it make everything taste a little better, but it'll help promote that 'puffy' feeling in the evening and it's a great way to ensure your rings won't fall off your fingers!

9. Don't skip supper. Just because you've been eating all day, you should plan to eat a nice supper. Be sure it's a balanced meal and includes dessert. Hey - treat yourself, it's a picnic!

10. Don't worry about calories. When you eat in social situations, calories don't count :)

Follow these 10 simple steps and in no time you'll realize how far off your fitness routine you are...........

Obviously, I overdid it today. Tomorrow is a new day and water will be my friend! Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day.

Instead of Running

I really don't think it's time to start thinking about finding another sport, but running isn't working out so well for me. I'm in PT, though, and hoping this does the trick. I'm a slave to my strengthening and stability exercises, but when it comes time to 'run,' I don't do so well. I've managed to run a 3-minute block, a 6-minute block, and a 4:30 minute block (all on separate days) - but no more without increasing pain :(

So what have I been doing? I've been working on my arms and abs and trying to just keep a positive focus.

Also have been enjoying some time outside, because we finally can :)

We went to my cousin's family camp yesterday and had so much fun. It was great to get away for a little bit. It's amazing how you can spend the day 'exercising' without counting miles, minutes, reps. I was totally dirty and sweaty when we got home.

Me and my little guys!

 Me doing my rendition of "Endless Love" - you can feel it, can't you? I guess it kinda looks like I'm having intestinal problems, but I swear I was singing.....

I look @ this photo and think if I could go back to the me from 1 year ago and flash forward to the me today, I'd be pretty excited to see what I see and wouldn't be too hard on myself for not being able to run right now. 

(Thanks for taking this photo, Jeremy!)

PT-ing it for the Weekend

I have 2 sessions of PT under my belt (and a crap-load of exercises to do over the weekend) and dare I chance to say that I think I am noticing some improvement already? Dare I? I dare....

Boy, I am really hoping this is the path back to running. I realize that I may have to start @ square 1 with running, but that's OK (well, I am a little bitter over the fact that I was running 12/13 miles and now I'd be lucky if I could run up for the mail). I will be thrilled to get the 'go-ahead' from the PT to try some jogging.

Gotta go do some leg lifts (and maybe some side bends).