Now it’s Friday and I’ve still not run since Tuesday night. All plans seem to get disrupted, and with time away from running, it is easy to fall into bad habits. I was thinking of getting up this morning and running, but a sleep-in just seemed the right thing to do when the alarm went off. FD#1 didn’t even get a response from me when she shoved her face in mine; if I pretend I’m still asleep she happily goes back to her bed until I get up. I am not enjoying not running; I feel like I’m being lazy as I’ve not replaced it with anything else except more consistent walking of FD#1.
My legs have felt fine since the run, but I really am nervous about going out again, as I am scared they will hurt and it will mean more time off. Tomorrow I will take myself out and attempt to cover the 7km route and desperately hope my legs are sound. I am feeling quite sad about it at the moment. Especially as the weather is so gorgeous, I should be out running in it. Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can, found seldom in a woman and never in an over achieving ultra racer in training!!! Well, not this one that is itching to run again.
I have also been to the GP this week for blood tests, just vitamin and mineral levels, etc. As I’ve not had a check-up in a while I thought it smart to make sure my body’s defenses are 100% as I embark on pushing it to the limit. I was going to leave it until after Christmas, but no time like the present.
Friday, September 17, 2010
September 14th – Fingers crossed?
Tonight was the night! A week off and lots of ice packs and stretching and massage to my calves, it was time to test the leg. I needed to know if this was only going to be a temporary inconvenience on a chronic pain in the bum! After work today I was itching for a run. I’d been eyeing off my shoes all week and wishing I could get out there. I’ve put the new orthotics in the new shoes; they look far too new and need some dirtying and scuffing up!
I have actually always prided myself in my stretching, as I always seem to do more than the next person when it comes to warm-ups and cool-downs. Obviously, lately, that’s not been enough or maybe I am just kidding myself I’m dedicated to it. I must admit, since I’ve been running this last 3 months, my hip flexors and ITBs have been the areas that have given me the most stiffness, and I have tended to concentrate on these areas without a whole lot of concern for my calves. Now I have paid the price I guess. I was really pleased that the podiatrist had said she didn’t believe that it was caused by shin splints, and that with early intervention (as I had) the muscles soreness should repair. If I had continued to run on it however, it was the type of muscle strain that would develop into shin splints. It made me feel a little better about the down time knowing I was doing the right thing.
So by tonight I was stubbornly determined to run. I made sure I had a good stretch, I mean better than I usually do. Heading out with the setting sun it was a gorgeous day, and a better evening. It was nice to be able to see where I was running, the days are definitely much longer now. I decided that I’d just start running and see how my leg felt. I try to focus a bit on my (perceived in my head) form, keeping my body relaxed and tonight I was thinking about the pelvis and keeping the legs moving freely. Every time I did that and checked my watch, my pace had lifted to less than 5:10min/km without any effort. My calves were both a bit tender (not the back main calf muscle but the deep seated muscle that runs along the inside of the leg behind the shin area), but I was hoping the stiffness would run out.
It did get a little better and seemed to all but disappear. I felt very energetic having not run for a week; and my pace was well under 5:30 all the time. I’d gone over 4kms when my right calf started to ache, so I did the sensible thing and stopped and walked. I had hoped to get 5kms, so I should be happy with that. My average HR was 169 and my average pace was 5:18. All in all a good short tempo run for me. It has shown me the leg needs a bit more rehab, and probably a week or two of short runs only. I think if after that it isn’t improved, I may have to look at going back to my Ariels. The podiatrist seemed to think the Adrenalin will provide me with enough support, but I will have to gradually accustom my legs to more movement through the shoe. I don’t want to devote too much time to this, so if in a fortnight it isn’t any better, I shall concede defeat on the shoe front and go back to the “bricks”.
I have actually always prided myself in my stretching, as I always seem to do more than the next person when it comes to warm-ups and cool-downs. Obviously, lately, that’s not been enough or maybe I am just kidding myself I’m dedicated to it. I must admit, since I’ve been running this last 3 months, my hip flexors and ITBs have been the areas that have given me the most stiffness, and I have tended to concentrate on these areas without a whole lot of concern for my calves. Now I have paid the price I guess. I was really pleased that the podiatrist had said she didn’t believe that it was caused by shin splints, and that with early intervention (as I had) the muscles soreness should repair. If I had continued to run on it however, it was the type of muscle strain that would develop into shin splints. It made me feel a little better about the down time knowing I was doing the right thing.
So by tonight I was stubbornly determined to run. I made sure I had a good stretch, I mean better than I usually do. Heading out with the setting sun it was a gorgeous day, and a better evening. It was nice to be able to see where I was running, the days are definitely much longer now. I decided that I’d just start running and see how my leg felt. I try to focus a bit on my (perceived in my head) form, keeping my body relaxed and tonight I was thinking about the pelvis and keeping the legs moving freely. Every time I did that and checked my watch, my pace had lifted to less than 5:10min/km without any effort. My calves were both a bit tender (not the back main calf muscle but the deep seated muscle that runs along the inside of the leg behind the shin area), but I was hoping the stiffness would run out.
It did get a little better and seemed to all but disappear. I felt very energetic having not run for a week; and my pace was well under 5:30 all the time. I’d gone over 4kms when my right calf started to ache, so I did the sensible thing and stopped and walked. I had hoped to get 5kms, so I should be happy with that. My average HR was 169 and my average pace was 5:18. All in all a good short tempo run for me. It has shown me the leg needs a bit more rehab, and probably a week or two of short runs only. I think if after that it isn’t improved, I may have to look at going back to my Ariels. The podiatrist seemed to think the Adrenalin will provide me with enough support, but I will have to gradually accustom my legs to more movement through the shoe. I don’t want to devote too much time to this, so if in a fortnight it isn’t any better, I shall concede defeat on the shoe front and go back to the “bricks”.
Monday, September 13, 2010
September 13th – Way too busy for a normal person!
The weekend is gone, again. They seem to have a habit of disappearing way to fast and resulting in me not feeling rested at all. Well, if rest is for the wicked, then that’s why I never get any! As I was woken up on Sunday morning by the naughty cat meowing to come in at 6am… she isn’t supposed to have gotten out the night before… any imagined sleep-in I was hoping for evaporated! An old saying my mum used to use popped into my head – “if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride”.
Saturday morning was an early start; I didn’t set the alarm, but I did have so much to fit into the day that I got up when FD#1 woke me. She has had a bonus week of sorts, as I’m not running she actually got walked every day but one this week. Lucky dog. As I got out of bed, my Friday night activities were playing on my tired body. I had rented a carpet cleaner on the way home from work on Friday knowing that I had two rooms of carpet to clean and had left it too late to organise a professional! So I planned to don my domestic goddess suit (it hangs next to my Wonder Woman one in the closet!) and do it myself. The guy at the supermarket where I rented it raved about how easy it was to use, and that it had an upholstery attachment, and you could clean you mattresses and car interiors and everything. While I had no delusions about doing the inside of the car, it did get me thinking about doing the mattresses and the lounges in the theatre room.
The day started with walking FD#1, mainly to loosen my very stiff back! She was happy and it was a beautiful brisk morning, it reminded me of Canberra’s weather. Then I got back to the carpet cleaning machine! So the two rooms of carpet on Friday night had turned into (between 6pm Friday and 10.30am Saturday) two rooms of carpet + 2 x 3 seater lounges + 1 x single mattress + 2 x double mattresses + 1 x queen mattress = aching lower back from being constantly bent in half! I knew the carpets were filthy, but the water that came out of that machine makes me tempted to never have carpet again, even if it means tumbleweeds of pet hair billowing around the floor! Yuk! Have you ever noticed how stains seem to be more noticeable after you’ve cleaned the carpet? I mean, it is a stain, so obviously it isn’t coming our; but the dirty carpet camouflaged them so much better than clean carpet did! At least I know it’s clean, so that’s the main thing!
So with the filth in the carpet in mind, I decided to tackle the mattresses. With the kids away at their dad’s, it was the perfect weekend to strip their beds and let the mattresses dry. Neither of them looked particularly dirty; CBoy’s is only about six months old so barely dirty (right? even though on his weekends to change his sheets he often sleeps a few days directly on the mattress!! because the sheets come off with relative ease but never seem to go back on quite so quickly), and MGirl’s is blue and it belongs to a girl so it’s clean (right?). Mine as well… it looked relatively clean. Suffice to say they weren’t as dirty as the carpet, but the water was pretty yuk too. Anyone who doesn’t use mattress protectors (I do) should clean their mattresses to see how much hidden dirt is in them. I didn’t even use a very good machine (I mean I got it from Woolworth’s), but it made me realise that perhaps once every 5 years may not be frequent enough to do the carpets and mattresses!
With that done I returned the machine to the shops by about 11am and headed off on a task to buy fixtures for the laundry. I have quite a large laundry and I have wanted to turn it into a laundry/bathroom for some time. With the workman available shortly, I wanted to have everything there for him so there was no excuse to get onto it straight away. I still have to buy the tiles, but the shower, vanity and taps and toilet etc are all ready and waiting to be installed. It will help ease morning congestion in the mornings as I think we have the smallest bathroom ever invented and fitting 3 people into it of a morning is very crowded and cause arguments that shouldn’t even happen. CBoy’s bedroom is right next to the laundry, so he will have no excuse for not being clean, as it is basically an ensuite for him. When that is finished, we will tackle the dreaded bathroom. We can’t really do much about the layout of it, but at least with new tiles, taps and a shower it will look a whole lot better.
After the plumbing shop took my money, I quickly went over to pick up a single bed for our house guest for the next 5 months. We are hosting an American player/coach for the baseball club which is why I’ve been working hard at getting the 4th bedroom empty and clean. CBoy commented that it was funny that BGuy’s bedroom is now the cleanest room in our disheveled house! The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent moving the bookshelves into the theatre room with the now clean carpet and sofas. It is looking so nice in there now we might even start watching the TV that’s in there.
Sunday started, as I said, by having a sleep in stolen from me by the cat. I got up early, but refused to do anything for anyone else (which was only the pets as the kids weren’t home) until I’d had a coffee (or 2) and read the Sunday paper from cover to cover. Many papers go unopened and into the recycling because I never make time… today I was making time. After my indulgent hour or so (which did include about 3 loads of washing), FD#1 and I headed out to the local pet supplies store for her bi-monthly dog wash! It was another gorgeous sunny and crisp morning and I was glad I had taken her out, other than the fact that she smelt far from like a princess and was well overdue for a bath! They love FD#1 at the shop, fussing over her all the time and she always gets treats. Everybody thinks she is so unusual, I know she’s special.
The rest of the day passed much like the day before, still sorting and cleaning and rearranging. I’m often not sure lately if I am actually making headway with the cleaning, or if I am just shifting piles from one location to another. At least by the end of the day, and the weekend, I could say I saw a difference and I felt proud of my efforts. I just wish it could stay that way, at least for a little while. The weekend ended over a coffee with a friend, and though I was tired, my legs did feel fresher for the (most of) week off! I am hoping the elastic calf brace I ordered arrives in the mail, as I am itching to get out and run again, hopefully tomorrow with a short 5km. My two MGal’s and I have plans for the Fremantle Half Marathon on October 3rd…and I hate not being able to do something I’ve set my mind on! So fingers crossed things all fall into place. Not much of this entry was anything to do with running, or even sweating, but I wanted to share what a typical weekend is like for me lately. Even if I had run, this still would’ve been squeezed into what I’d done. And then the weekends when the kids are home are another story entirely!
Saturday morning was an early start; I didn’t set the alarm, but I did have so much to fit into the day that I got up when FD#1 woke me. She has had a bonus week of sorts, as I’m not running she actually got walked every day but one this week. Lucky dog. As I got out of bed, my Friday night activities were playing on my tired body. I had rented a carpet cleaner on the way home from work on Friday knowing that I had two rooms of carpet to clean and had left it too late to organise a professional! So I planned to don my domestic goddess suit (it hangs next to my Wonder Woman one in the closet!) and do it myself. The guy at the supermarket where I rented it raved about how easy it was to use, and that it had an upholstery attachment, and you could clean you mattresses and car interiors and everything. While I had no delusions about doing the inside of the car, it did get me thinking about doing the mattresses and the lounges in the theatre room.
The day started with walking FD#1, mainly to loosen my very stiff back! She was happy and it was a beautiful brisk morning, it reminded me of Canberra’s weather. Then I got back to the carpet cleaning machine! So the two rooms of carpet on Friday night had turned into (between 6pm Friday and 10.30am Saturday) two rooms of carpet + 2 x 3 seater lounges + 1 x single mattress + 2 x double mattresses + 1 x queen mattress = aching lower back from being constantly bent in half! I knew the carpets were filthy, but the water that came out of that machine makes me tempted to never have carpet again, even if it means tumbleweeds of pet hair billowing around the floor! Yuk! Have you ever noticed how stains seem to be more noticeable after you’ve cleaned the carpet? I mean, it is a stain, so obviously it isn’t coming our; but the dirty carpet camouflaged them so much better than clean carpet did! At least I know it’s clean, so that’s the main thing!
So with the filth in the carpet in mind, I decided to tackle the mattresses. With the kids away at their dad’s, it was the perfect weekend to strip their beds and let the mattresses dry. Neither of them looked particularly dirty; CBoy’s is only about six months old so barely dirty (right? even though on his weekends to change his sheets he often sleeps a few days directly on the mattress!! because the sheets come off with relative ease but never seem to go back on quite so quickly), and MGirl’s is blue and it belongs to a girl so it’s clean (right?). Mine as well… it looked relatively clean. Suffice to say they weren’t as dirty as the carpet, but the water was pretty yuk too. Anyone who doesn’t use mattress protectors (I do) should clean their mattresses to see how much hidden dirt is in them. I didn’t even use a very good machine (I mean I got it from Woolworth’s), but it made me realise that perhaps once every 5 years may not be frequent enough to do the carpets and mattresses!
With that done I returned the machine to the shops by about 11am and headed off on a task to buy fixtures for the laundry. I have quite a large laundry and I have wanted to turn it into a laundry/bathroom for some time. With the workman available shortly, I wanted to have everything there for him so there was no excuse to get onto it straight away. I still have to buy the tiles, but the shower, vanity and taps and toilet etc are all ready and waiting to be installed. It will help ease morning congestion in the mornings as I think we have the smallest bathroom ever invented and fitting 3 people into it of a morning is very crowded and cause arguments that shouldn’t even happen. CBoy’s bedroom is right next to the laundry, so he will have no excuse for not being clean, as it is basically an ensuite for him. When that is finished, we will tackle the dreaded bathroom. We can’t really do much about the layout of it, but at least with new tiles, taps and a shower it will look a whole lot better.
After the plumbing shop took my money, I quickly went over to pick up a single bed for our house guest for the next 5 months. We are hosting an American player/coach for the baseball club which is why I’ve been working hard at getting the 4th bedroom empty and clean. CBoy commented that it was funny that BGuy’s bedroom is now the cleanest room in our disheveled house! The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent moving the bookshelves into the theatre room with the now clean carpet and sofas. It is looking so nice in there now we might even start watching the TV that’s in there.
Sunday started, as I said, by having a sleep in stolen from me by the cat. I got up early, but refused to do anything for anyone else (which was only the pets as the kids weren’t home) until I’d had a coffee (or 2) and read the Sunday paper from cover to cover. Many papers go unopened and into the recycling because I never make time… today I was making time. After my indulgent hour or so (which did include about 3 loads of washing), FD#1 and I headed out to the local pet supplies store for her bi-monthly dog wash! It was another gorgeous sunny and crisp morning and I was glad I had taken her out, other than the fact that she smelt far from like a princess and was well overdue for a bath! They love FD#1 at the shop, fussing over her all the time and she always gets treats. Everybody thinks she is so unusual, I know she’s special.
The rest of the day passed much like the day before, still sorting and cleaning and rearranging. I’m often not sure lately if I am actually making headway with the cleaning, or if I am just shifting piles from one location to another. At least by the end of the day, and the weekend, I could say I saw a difference and I felt proud of my efforts. I just wish it could stay that way, at least for a little while. The weekend ended over a coffee with a friend, and though I was tired, my legs did feel fresher for the (most of) week off! I am hoping the elastic calf brace I ordered arrives in the mail, as I am itching to get out and run again, hopefully tomorrow with a short 5km. My two MGal’s and I have plans for the Fremantle Half Marathon on October 3rd…and I hate not being able to do something I’ve set my mind on! So fingers crossed things all fall into place. Not much of this entry was anything to do with running, or even sweating, but I wanted to share what a typical weekend is like for me lately. Even if I had run, this still would’ve been squeezed into what I’d done. And then the weekends when the kids are home are another story entirely!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)