There's really not much to summarize, this will be very different from 2016!
No races, no travel. I'd be happy for the money saved, except I blew all of it and more meeting deductibles ($1500 and $3000). I ran up to the end of March at which point I finally saw Dr L, a few short runs before surgery in Sept, and now a few times in December. Tried twice to establish a swim habit. Once stopped because of my back, second because it got cold outside. Don't like swimming in the cold, even if I'm swimming indoors! :)
Biked to work through the year, except in Sept/Oct while healing the hip. Started logging walking after surgery so I could track increases and improvements.
SWIM 43600 yards in just under 18 hours
BIKE 633 miles in 57 hours
RUN 306 miles in 56 hours
BIKE COMMUTE 1595 miles (seriously?!)
WALK 120 miles since surgery
Not logging the elliptical or strength sessions. They're really tiny on the pie chart.
Bird stayed on the trainer all year, with a worn-out retired tire worn smooth. Frea was stuck in the basement with flat tires, still with B2B stickers on the down tube. All the outdoor miles on Puppy. My Camelbak in storage along with all the other gear. Closeby is all the nutrition sugar I may end up throwing away. I have a new Garmin!
I first say Dr L for the hip/back in early April, and then started working with LH at ElitePT from April through June, at which point it was decided that PT wouldn't be sufficient and surgery needed to be considered. After seeing two surgeons, I picked the runner of of the two for surgery in Sept. After 2 weeks recovery I worked with JB at ElitePT from then through the end of the year. I still see Dr L weekly, recently testing out 10-14 day intervals, with success. By all accounts, the surgery improved things, but as I type this on Jan 4th, I still feel pains and tightnesses. The surgeon said this could happen for a few months, but it still grates on my obsessive-type worrying and thinking.
I spent the entire year No Sugar, No Grains. No Life Into Living as Vinnie would say. Started Keto in late November/early December. With these changes, I'm finally expanding my limited food choices and am symptom free for what I think is the first time in my life.
I'm impressed that I managed that much swimming. The biking was indoors but also Monday group rides in TGP with BE, IT, and sometimes JA. Running will get better, need time :) Bike commuting, just 5 miles short. Oh well. It's probably mixed into the BIKE segment.
Great year, given the circumstances. Remember back in Sept after surgery when I got on the exercise bike and 12 mph was too fast? When I didn't want to go to the pool, but did and look how far I got --43.6K yards.
And that walking? Yeah, in all the miles covered on foot the doggie and I found $11.96 in coin and $47 in paper! Really! Not gonna divide that out into money/mile. Or expect to find that much next year too!
ETA: And how could I forget to mention the eclipse this August! I'm getting ready to hit the Print button for the 2017 book and in looking for pictures I realized I didn't mention this. The eclipse was transcendental, I still get chills thinking back on it. Still have the images on my phone and computer screen. Still think that like the sun I eclipsed this year, a brief period of hiding before re-emerging.
In a way, coming out of my chrysalis.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Mental shit from 2017
Last thoughts on the year.
I kept having odd moments, when doing something other than running, where my mind would jump to a trail. Brushing my teeth, mind goes to that long slow climb on Hamburg. Walking the dog, mind goes to Greensfelder. Over and over and over again.
This mental shift wasn't always pleasant. Sometimes it was anxiety-inducing. A shot of adrenaline. It made me feel alone. I'm not sure what caused this, but I have some ideas.
One idea is the stress caused from the last few months of 2016 training. I was mostly running alone with only a podcast to keep my company. (I can't remember right now were TV was, except he was on a different 100 schedule, did he have an injury?). At the same time I wanted to be alone. I wanted only that non-dynamic won't-reply voice in my head. I was pushing hard to run, compelled to run even through the injury pains in the hip and shin. It was a sort of damaging therapy?
Another idea is that I'm afraid of never getting back to them again? Do I miss them? Not sure about this, I definitely needed a break from them after 2016. I wouldn't call this a yearning feeling, like I'm feeling the pull to return to the trails or an acute loss. That's not quite the description I'd give this.
I do want to go back, I do miss them. The trees. Dappled shade. The corner you can't see around. The feeling of descending a hill, pushing uphill, the feeling of having accomplished something. That I'm lacking right now.
The memories from last fall aren't always pleasant. There were some moments....won't define or describe them more. I know what they were. M was involved....
But sometimes while washing dishes I can see the trail ahead of me, I can feel the summer heat and weight of the camelbak. Like a burn on the retina. Like a track that I get on that holds me and leads me.
I kept having odd moments, when doing something other than running, where my mind would jump to a trail. Brushing my teeth, mind goes to that long slow climb on Hamburg. Walking the dog, mind goes to Greensfelder. Over and over and over again.
This mental shift wasn't always pleasant. Sometimes it was anxiety-inducing. A shot of adrenaline. It made me feel alone. I'm not sure what caused this, but I have some ideas.
One idea is the stress caused from the last few months of 2016 training. I was mostly running alone with only a podcast to keep my company. (I can't remember right now were TV was, except he was on a different 100 schedule, did he have an injury?). At the same time I wanted to be alone. I wanted only that non-dynamic won't-reply voice in my head. I was pushing hard to run, compelled to run even through the injury pains in the hip and shin. It was a sort of damaging therapy?
Another idea is that I'm afraid of never getting back to them again? Do I miss them? Not sure about this, I definitely needed a break from them after 2016. I wouldn't call this a yearning feeling, like I'm feeling the pull to return to the trails or an acute loss. That's not quite the description I'd give this.
I do want to go back, I do miss them. The trees. Dappled shade. The corner you can't see around. The feeling of descending a hill, pushing uphill, the feeling of having accomplished something. That I'm lacking right now.
The memories from last fall aren't always pleasant. There were some moments....won't define or describe them more. I know what they were. M was involved....
But sometimes while washing dishes I can see the trail ahead of me, I can feel the summer heat and weight of the camelbak. Like a burn on the retina. Like a track that I get on that holds me and leads me.
2017 Songlist
Short list this year as I didn't have much exposure to new music or events to inspire them.
Telephone by Lady Gaga. "Stop callin', stop callin', I don't wanna talk anymore!". Gaga seems to always ends up on a songlist. One of my goals this year was to quit spending so much wasted time on my Blerch. Took most of the year!
Broken Halos by Chris Stapleton. "We're not meant to know the answers, they belong to the by and buy". My injury song for the year. I had to learn to quit looking backwards to understand why things happen the way the did, and look to the current moment for solutions, and to the future for inspirations.
Riptide by Taylor Swift (cover). "I just gotta, I just gotta know, If you're gonna, if you're gonna stay." I first found the original version but like her cover better. Found in a YT video, there's a trend here as I filled running time with Blerch time. Bouncy and random, it stuck with me a few weeks of wondering what the rest of the year would be without my beloved training.
I Don't Know My Name by Grace VanderWaal. "I am lost, trying to get found, in an ocean of people". Really an odd one found during a late night YT surf (reference Telephone song...). Kind of a raw song, unpolished, really young singer from a TV show. Hence the "odd" designation. I felt lost without my running and the social group I have with it. This just spoke to that feeling.
Skinny Love by Birdy (cover)."Come on skinny love, just last the year". Another one from YT, what the heck? Like the lyrics say, just last the year. And that became my focus. Just get through what I needed to, in order to start again next year.
Rainbow by Kesha. "I know that I'm still fucked up, but aren't we all my love? Darling, our scars make us who we are". Dug this song in the weeks before the surgery, played it from the phone while biking. I have a memory of riding home on Arsenal, in the middle of the empty street, singing along outload with the sun rising ahead of me.
One by Johnny Cash (cover). "We're one, but we're not the same. We hurt each other, then we do it again". Post-surgery, overheard at PT. I was in a mental low, battling Monster and wondering about depression. Self sabotage seemed the trend. And yet another cover song?
Run by George Straight. "Baby Run, cut a path across the blue sky". This was supposed to be in the 2016 Songlist, but I left it out. Good thing because it fits better here. In mid December I got the permission to get on the Return To Running protocol. Need any more explanation than that for this song!?
Telephone by Lady Gaga. "Stop callin', stop callin', I don't wanna talk anymore!". Gaga seems to always ends up on a songlist. One of my goals this year was to quit spending so much wasted time on my Blerch. Took most of the year!
Broken Halos by Chris Stapleton. "We're not meant to know the answers, they belong to the by and buy". My injury song for the year. I had to learn to quit looking backwards to understand why things happen the way the did, and look to the current moment for solutions, and to the future for inspirations.
Riptide by Taylor Swift (cover). "I just gotta, I just gotta know, If you're gonna, if you're gonna stay." I first found the original version but like her cover better. Found in a YT video, there's a trend here as I filled running time with Blerch time. Bouncy and random, it stuck with me a few weeks of wondering what the rest of the year would be without my beloved training.
I Don't Know My Name by Grace VanderWaal. "I am lost, trying to get found, in an ocean of people". Really an odd one found during a late night YT surf (reference Telephone song...). Kind of a raw song, unpolished, really young singer from a TV show. Hence the "odd" designation. I felt lost without my running and the social group I have with it. This just spoke to that feeling.
Skinny Love by Birdy (cover)."Come on skinny love, just last the year". Another one from YT, what the heck? Like the lyrics say, just last the year. And that became my focus. Just get through what I needed to, in order to start again next year.
Rainbow by Kesha. "I know that I'm still fucked up, but aren't we all my love? Darling, our scars make us who we are". Dug this song in the weeks before the surgery, played it from the phone while biking. I have a memory of riding home on Arsenal, in the middle of the empty street, singing along outload with the sun rising ahead of me.
One by Johnny Cash (cover). "We're one, but we're not the same. We hurt each other, then we do it again". Post-surgery, overheard at PT. I was in a mental low, battling Monster and wondering about depression. Self sabotage seemed the trend. And yet another cover song?
Run by George Straight. "Baby Run, cut a path across the blue sky". This was supposed to be in the 2016 Songlist, but I left it out. Good thing because it fits better here. In mid December I got the permission to get on the Return To Running protocol. Need any more explanation than that for this song!?
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Christmas to New Years, holiday week summary
Not much to summarize. I ran at the Y Saturday before the drive home on Sunday. Monday was Christmas! The rest of the week was rest (too much sitting), walking indoors (too much treadmill), and pork belly (never too much of that!).
I got a treadmill run in Tuesday, but then on Wednesday my lower back started some fatigued/spasm/locking feeling and I held off to rest. Also the hip flexors were irritated, the sitting maybe? Even the lateral surgery site ached for a day.
I maintained my keto! That wasn't at all hard like I feared. Plenty of pork belly, bacon from extra pork belly, then mom's rib roast. Had some fruit on Christmas, that's about it. Also mostly stuck to the 16:8 as best I could.
Sooooo relaxing to be at home. It was bitter cold, usually under 0F the whole week, and I didn't get outside much. Got to see JG for dinner on Friday, met DK for lunch on Thursday, played Puppy-poly with Gramma and the kids Friday. Yay! That's all it's own type of healing.
I came back to STL on Saturday, woke up Sunday on NYE to a frozen water pipe in the kitchen. Woke up the next day to both of them being frozen.
I got a treadmill run in Tuesday, but then on Wednesday my lower back started some fatigued/spasm/locking feeling and I held off to rest. Also the hip flexors were irritated, the sitting maybe? Even the lateral surgery site ached for a day.
I maintained my keto! That wasn't at all hard like I feared. Plenty of pork belly, bacon from extra pork belly, then mom's rib roast. Had some fruit on Christmas, that's about it. Also mostly stuck to the 16:8 as best I could.
Sooooo relaxing to be at home. It was bitter cold, usually under 0F the whole week, and I didn't get outside much. Got to see JG for dinner on Friday, met DK for lunch on Thursday, played Puppy-poly with Gramma and the kids Friday. Yay! That's all it's own type of healing.
I came back to STL on Saturday, woke up Sunday on NYE to a frozen water pipe in the kitchen. Woke up the next day to both of them being frozen.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Week 14, gait analysis, solstice, bone scan, pre-holiday
Monday BIKE COMMUTE 9.4 and RUN 0.7
Tuesday BIKE COMMUTE + TGP 5 miler
Wednesday PT and RUN gait analysis 0.7 miles, and BIKE COMMUTE
Thursday ELLIPTICAL 34 mins and SWIM 23 mins and 1000y
Friday PT and?
Writing this on Friday, so don't know yet!
Monday I ran OUTDOORS and loved it. Just around BP. It's unseasonably warm so I couldn't resist the temptation. Felt great, HR was below MAF (although that wasn't a target) and cadence was 168. Kinda low.
Tuesday, extra bike miles instead of gym ratting :) Noted that Puppy's chain was slapping the stay due to slack in the upper chain. Dr Google says free hub sticky.
Wednesday gait analysis! 6-7 min run trying to run normal under observation. JB noted slow cadence 164-165 and lots of hip/pelvic movement. More details later. Also got ASTYM, petichial bruising was immediate! More colors came later. The treatment was for that painful feeling I have from medial quads down to the knee. Especially when I step up on to something, it feels weak so I don't know if it's mental or physical.
Thursday I finally broke the bad no-swim streak! And my first keto swim. (Oh and finally confirmed that I'm in ketosis with my new meter). I did elliptical and almost talked myself out of swimming. But remembered it was the solstice and wanted to reverse this bad course. Glad I did, felt good and hit my goal of 1 hr at the gym. No bike commute, as Pupps gets dropped off to BigShark. Then off to West Co for my bone scan. Spine improved 4.8% (is that a meaningful measurement?) and hip about the same.
Friday PT and some gait analysis results: Lots of hip tilting on both sides, pronation on both feet especially right side, left elbow comes too far back across towards midline and too high, legs seem to be too close (like my knees could bump). Eeek! More details next year. Then ASTYM, then off to Dr L for a back-to-back session. I wondered what he'd say about ASTYM bruising (I hear he's not a huge fan, and it's not recommended to pile these soft tissue treatments up on each other) but he didn't note it. I mentioned odd feeling in back of right side ribs (Low "C+" thoracic rotation) which he worked on. He's quite amazing at quickly locating The Spot that hurts! That improved quickly. Then I mentioned the gait analysis and he checked the C5/C6 region, again found The Spot and ZING down the arm through the nerves! Ow, but cool how that works. We discussed this pile-up of injuries, his theory at first was that my body is overworked. I mentioned the Disney and nutritional issues, and he agreed -- my body just couldn't keep up. And we think I should be pulling out of the hole here soon.
Probably won't get to update this until next year or late December. I leave Sunday the 24th for home! The plan is to keep up a daily run or swim workout, have a PT exercise and plyo plan, Keep On Keto'ing, and get as much family time as possible!
Tuesday BIKE COMMUTE + TGP 5 miler
Wednesday PT and RUN gait analysis 0.7 miles, and BIKE COMMUTE
Thursday ELLIPTICAL 34 mins and SWIM 23 mins and 1000y
Friday PT and?
Writing this on Friday, so don't know yet!
Monday I ran OUTDOORS and loved it. Just around BP. It's unseasonably warm so I couldn't resist the temptation. Felt great, HR was below MAF (although that wasn't a target) and cadence was 168. Kinda low.
Tuesday, extra bike miles instead of gym ratting :) Noted that Puppy's chain was slapping the stay due to slack in the upper chain. Dr Google says free hub sticky.
Wednesday gait analysis! 6-7 min run trying to run normal under observation. JB noted slow cadence 164-165 and lots of hip/pelvic movement. More details later. Also got ASTYM, petichial bruising was immediate! More colors came later. The treatment was for that painful feeling I have from medial quads down to the knee. Especially when I step up on to something, it feels weak so I don't know if it's mental or physical.
Thursday I finally broke the bad no-swim streak! And my first keto swim. (Oh and finally confirmed that I'm in ketosis with my new meter). I did elliptical and almost talked myself out of swimming. But remembered it was the solstice and wanted to reverse this bad course. Glad I did, felt good and hit my goal of 1 hr at the gym. No bike commute, as Pupps gets dropped off to BigShark. Then off to West Co for my bone scan. Spine improved 4.8% (is that a meaningful measurement?) and hip about the same.
Friday PT and some gait analysis results: Lots of hip tilting on both sides, pronation on both feet especially right side, left elbow comes too far back across towards midline and too high, legs seem to be too close (like my knees could bump). Eeek! More details next year. Then ASTYM, then off to Dr L for a back-to-back session. I wondered what he'd say about ASTYM bruising (I hear he's not a huge fan, and it's not recommended to pile these soft tissue treatments up on each other) but he didn't note it. I mentioned odd feeling in back of right side ribs (Low "C+" thoracic rotation) which he worked on. He's quite amazing at quickly locating The Spot that hurts! That improved quickly. Then I mentioned the gait analysis and he checked the C5/C6 region, again found The Spot and ZING down the arm through the nerves! Ow, but cool how that works. We discussed this pile-up of injuries, his theory at first was that my body is overworked. I mentioned the Disney and nutritional issues, and he agreed -- my body just couldn't keep up. And we think I should be pulling out of the hole here soon.
Probably won't get to update this until next year or late December. I leave Sunday the 24th for home! The plan is to keep up a daily run or swim workout, have a PT exercise and plyo plan, Keep On Keto'ing, and get as much family time as possible!
Monday, December 18, 2017
Week 13: The Return To Running!
Monday BIKE COMMUTE 9.4 miles and walk
Tuesday Elliptical 15 mins (all the time I had) and 13 week surgical follow-up!
Wednesday PT and 10' elliptical
Thursday RUN on treadmill, 7x 1 min intervals of run/walk
Friday elliptical 10 mins and BIKE COMMUTE
Saturday RUN as on Thursday, total 30mins and 2.4 miles of run and walk mixed
Sunday nothing
Monday, FINALLY biked in with my new windshell pants. Warm and windy today, think this week is up/down temps so it's good that I took away that excuse to not ride the bike. Takes away some walking though, as walking to the truck was 1.2-1.3 miles.
Tuesday, I had planned to go to the gym for a full workout of elliptical a/o treadmill and pool, but didn't get there. Woke up dragging mentally, this continued all day. Ugh. Actually took a nap around 2pm at my desk! Dr L appt in the morning - he mentioned the perseverance of 100 mile runners and PhDs - kept this in mind as I tried to persevere through this drag-out day (and I should mention it was a 23:1 day but I woke up feeling like crap so I can't entirely blame that). We discussed the SI-joint, he said it's not supposed to move and flex, and the fact that it is prolly means something above it (lumbar) or below it (hip) isn't moving as it should. Minor work on my lumbar and hip, and out the door!
Deserving of it's own paragraph -- my follow up with Dr P-G went great. She really stressed taking care of the still-sore-sometimes hip flexor (rectis something.or.other) but GO AHEAD AND TRY RUNNING! If I wasn't so mentally gassed I probably would have run the rest of the evening! YAYAYAYAYAY! Much emphasis on paying attention to the type of pain -- rehab or injury; taking it slowly and having patience; the likelihood that it will still have pain symptoms for 2-3 months but that's OK; the importance of sticking to the progression. Aye Aye Captain! No problems there. I didn't wait this long to f^ck it up now by hurrying. She also said to try running and make sure I can make progress there before working with Jeff Huse, as per the plan with JB and Dr L.
Wednesday, a FACS day and sadly warmer outside, I didn't get to bike commute. Of course tomorrow will be colder, but really now is 39F a deal breaker? Um.....yeah? LOL Full PT this morning and plans with JB to get a gait analysis before xmas!
Thursday RUN has it's own post :)
Friday JB and I went through the plyometrics and warm up protocols. I did the harder PT exercises but it wasn't a full round. She suggested making an A and a B schedule of exercises to build into the whole routine.
Saturday another RUN on the treadmill, this time after the full dynamic WU on the little track at the gym. I went a full 30 mins, 10 min WU walking, 14 min intervals, then CD. I found it funny that the distance was 2.4 miles -- the IM swim distance. The walking segments were "aggressive" paced as per protocol. This would have been hard to do on sidewalks, and especially with the dog.
Sunday, the goal was a 1 hr bike ride bc it was warm out, but I lost all momentum early in the day and felt soooooo tired. Wasn't a good day overall. Went to bed around 6pm, slept two hours, awake for 1.5 hours, then slept through to 6am! Guess I needed it?
Tuesday Elliptical 15 mins (all the time I had) and 13 week surgical follow-up!
Wednesday PT and 10' elliptical
Thursday RUN on treadmill, 7x 1 min intervals of run/walk
Friday elliptical 10 mins and BIKE COMMUTE
Saturday RUN as on Thursday, total 30mins and 2.4 miles of run and walk mixed
Sunday nothing
Monday, FINALLY biked in with my new windshell pants. Warm and windy today, think this week is up/down temps so it's good that I took away that excuse to not ride the bike. Takes away some walking though, as walking to the truck was 1.2-1.3 miles.
Tuesday, I had planned to go to the gym for a full workout of elliptical a/o treadmill and pool, but didn't get there. Woke up dragging mentally, this continued all day. Ugh. Actually took a nap around 2pm at my desk! Dr L appt in the morning - he mentioned the perseverance of 100 mile runners and PhDs - kept this in mind as I tried to persevere through this drag-out day (and I should mention it was a 23:1 day but I woke up feeling like crap so I can't entirely blame that). We discussed the SI-joint, he said it's not supposed to move and flex, and the fact that it is prolly means something above it (lumbar) or below it (hip) isn't moving as it should. Minor work on my lumbar and hip, and out the door!
Deserving of it's own paragraph -- my follow up with Dr P-G went great. She really stressed taking care of the still-sore-sometimes hip flexor (rectis something.or.other) but GO AHEAD AND TRY RUNNING! If I wasn't so mentally gassed I probably would have run the rest of the evening! YAYAYAYAYAY! Much emphasis on paying attention to the type of pain -- rehab or injury; taking it slowly and having patience; the likelihood that it will still have pain symptoms for 2-3 months but that's OK; the importance of sticking to the progression. Aye Aye Captain! No problems there. I didn't wait this long to f^ck it up now by hurrying. She also said to try running and make sure I can make progress there before working with Jeff Huse, as per the plan with JB and Dr L.
Wednesday, a FACS day and sadly warmer outside, I didn't get to bike commute. Of course tomorrow will be colder, but really now is 39F a deal breaker? Um.....yeah? LOL Full PT this morning and plans with JB to get a gait analysis before xmas!
Thursday RUN has it's own post :)
Friday JB and I went through the plyometrics and warm up protocols. I did the harder PT exercises but it wasn't a full round. She suggested making an A and a B schedule of exercises to build into the whole routine.
Saturday another RUN on the treadmill, this time after the full dynamic WU on the little track at the gym. I went a full 30 mins, 10 min WU walking, 14 min intervals, then CD. I found it funny that the distance was 2.4 miles -- the IM swim distance. The walking segments were "aggressive" paced as per protocol. This would have been hard to do on sidewalks, and especially with the dog.
Sunday, the goal was a 1 hr bike ride bc it was warm out, but I lost all momentum early in the day and felt soooooo tired. Wasn't a good day overall. Went to bed around 6pm, slept two hours, awake for 1.5 hours, then slept through to 6am! Guess I needed it?
The first outdoor run, under a New Moon
RUN! 7x of 1 min run and 1 min walk, total time was 12 mins and distance 1 mile
BIKE COMMUTE 9.4 miles
Oh my this was delish. WONDERFUL. I did a walking WU walking the dog, then my dynamic WU in the house, then took off out the door! Just like the old days :)
I kept it simple and close to home just in case something happened. As with the treadmill runs, running felt less pained than walking, but even then the pain was minor. As I came up along the north edge of BP, I mentally went back to one of the last pre-surgery runs I did and the pain I was feeling.
No pain in bike commute (none different, anyway, from last week). What I note overall is that the hip feels "weak" in step-ups. Like it's really tired.
Walked for 3-5 mins as instructed, then ended it with 10 mins of foam rolling. Really gotta stick to the pre and post WU and CD.
And happily the Garmin accurately recorded HR and cadence! YAY! Of course this is just one test, but I'm encouraged.
Walking cadence about 120, run cadence just under 170 (so a bit low).
All HR under my MAF, which of course I'm going to adhere to as I build up.
BIKE COMMUTE 9.4 miles
Oh my this was delish. WONDERFUL. I did a walking WU walking the dog, then my dynamic WU in the house, then took off out the door! Just like the old days :)
I kept it simple and close to home just in case something happened. As with the treadmill runs, running felt less pained than walking, but even then the pain was minor. As I came up along the north edge of BP, I mentally went back to one of the last pre-surgery runs I did and the pain I was feeling.
No pain in bike commute (none different, anyway, from last week). What I note overall is that the hip feels "weak" in step-ups. Like it's really tired.
Walked for 3-5 mins as instructed, then ended it with 10 mins of foam rolling. Really gotta stick to the pre and post WU and CD.
And happily the Garmin accurately recorded HR and cadence! YAY! Of course this is just one test, but I'm encouraged.
Walking cadence about 120, run cadence just under 170 (so a bit low).
All HR under my MAF, which of course I'm going to adhere to as I build up.
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Baby RUN
RUN 7 minutes, just under 0.7 miles probably
(as an aside, this run wasn't fast, but it was fasted. A 23:1 day too!)
OMG it's here! I ran!! It wasn't much but it was wonderful.
Walking the dog this morning, the hip flexor hurt. Not a terribly painful hurt, more like it was enough that I noticed it and wondered if running would be a good idea. I decided to just keep the morning rolling and see how it felt once moving and warmed up.
And in reading that protocol, I learned that there's a Level I Plyometrics phase that I should complete before the running program! Ladders, hops, stuff like that. I'll learn more tomorrow at PT.
I forgot to bring home the printed run protocol with the warm-up directions, so I did what I honestly remembered (sooo tempting to skip and get to the good stuff). I did the knee-hug/calf raise, the in/out heel taps, glute kicks, and.... can't remember. I did this on the little track at the gym. Next time I'll go downstairs if the gym is open. The track has uneven surfaces.
Then to the treadmill. I did a walking warmup and on minute 3 I ramped up to a run pace, easy at just under 5.0. The subsequent minutes were at or near 6.0, or a 10 min/mile pace.
The minutes went by so fast! My garmin was reading HR of 140 while I was walking so I don't have the HR data I wanted.
It hurt too during the warm-up, but not surprisingly didn't hurt while running! I was very sensitive to my run form during the intervals: my shoulders, did my left one dip? my arms, do they swing out too far? And I think my right knee is dipping inwards (turns out it does this during lunges, so I'm more aware of it now). I kept thinking ahead to the upcoming gait analysis, how will it look? Can I get a copy to watch over and over and over?!
I'm thinking that in the xmas cards this weekend, I'll exclaim JOY over today. Er, maybe not. So few would understand, LOL.
But happy happy joy joy!!
(as an aside, this run wasn't fast, but it was fasted. A 23:1 day too!)
OMG it's here! I ran!! It wasn't much but it was wonderful.
Walking the dog this morning, the hip flexor hurt. Not a terribly painful hurt, more like it was enough that I noticed it and wondered if running would be a good idea. I decided to just keep the morning rolling and see how it felt once moving and warmed up.
And in reading that protocol, I learned that there's a Level I Plyometrics phase that I should complete before the running program! Ladders, hops, stuff like that. I'll learn more tomorrow at PT.
I forgot to bring home the printed run protocol with the warm-up directions, so I did what I honestly remembered (sooo tempting to skip and get to the good stuff). I did the knee-hug/calf raise, the in/out heel taps, glute kicks, and.... can't remember. I did this on the little track at the gym. Next time I'll go downstairs if the gym is open. The track has uneven surfaces.
Then to the treadmill. I did a walking warmup and on minute 3 I ramped up to a run pace, easy at just under 5.0. The subsequent minutes were at or near 6.0, or a 10 min/mile pace.
The minutes went by so fast! My garmin was reading HR of 140 while I was walking so I don't have the HR data I wanted.
It hurt too during the warm-up, but not surprisingly didn't hurt while running! I was very sensitive to my run form during the intervals: my shoulders, did my left one dip? my arms, do they swing out too far? And I think my right knee is dipping inwards (turns out it does this during lunges, so I'm more aware of it now). I kept thinking ahead to the upcoming gait analysis, how will it look? Can I get a copy to watch over and over and over?!
I'm thinking that in the xmas cards this weekend, I'll exclaim JOY over today. Er, maybe not. So few would understand, LOL.
But happy happy joy joy!!
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Week 12: Keto!
SUMMARY: 22.8 miles walked and only 1 bike commute on Monday. The only warm day of the week!
I'm not going to go into a day-by-day for this week. I didn't swim, bike, commute, nothing.
On sunday I started a keto induction (or maybe it was saturday....) either way I was awake and functioning just not on a high level. Ha, and I'm doing this for energy. The weather turned COLD and I wasn't ready for that. Spoiled by 60F days, so when it went to 20-30 I drove to work instead.
Also my 12 week follow up with Dr P-G was rescheduled into next week, I didn't see Dr L, so I only have JB/PT updates.
I got a new list of exercises! Lots of lunges, I think 100 on each leg with varying types. It's a workout, and I like it, but I'm not doing them everyday. That would wear me out and burn me out.
I entered keto around Thursday, as judged by simple measures. Nothing exact, so on Friday I ordered a meter. Splurge! Guess that means I'm serious about this? I'm feeling great, which makes me wonder if I'm "in" or "out. Thinking too much.
So week 12 happened, but not much happened in week 12.
I'm not going to go into a day-by-day for this week. I didn't swim, bike, commute, nothing.
On sunday I started a keto induction (or maybe it was saturday....) either way I was awake and functioning just not on a high level. Ha, and I'm doing this for energy. The weather turned COLD and I wasn't ready for that. Spoiled by 60F days, so when it went to 20-30 I drove to work instead.
Also my 12 week follow up with Dr P-G was rescheduled into next week, I didn't see Dr L, so I only have JB/PT updates.
I got a new list of exercises! Lots of lunges, I think 100 on each leg with varying types. It's a workout, and I like it, but I'm not doing them everyday. That would wear me out and burn me out.
I entered keto around Thursday, as judged by simple measures. Nothing exact, so on Friday I ordered a meter. Splurge! Guess that means I'm serious about this? I'm feeling great, which makes me wonder if I'm "in" or "out. Thinking too much.
So week 12 happened, but not much happened in week 12.
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Week 11: bike commuting!
Monday BIKE COMMUTE! 5x5 and HIIT
Tuesday Elliptical 15 min, treadmill 15 min brisk, SWIM 40' 1600y, BIKE COMMUTE 2 miles
Wednesday BIKE COMMUTE, 10' ellip at PT, 5x5 session, walk 1.8 miles
Thursday SWIM 40 1650 yards, BIKE COMMUTE, walk 3.3 miles
Friday 10' elliptical and 2 miles walking
Saturday 4 miles walking
Sunday BIKE 1hr and 14 miles, 2.8 mile walk
Monday was a gorgeously warm day, up to 70F! Biking in felt wonderful, biking home even more so. No issues at all with hip, hitting bumps and standing on the pedals feels better than it did a few weeks ago but I'm still limiting it. I was amused by all the changes that have occurred on my route in the past 11 weeks. TGA has a lane change at the Magnolia intersection, the MoBot building is taking shape (a modern shape, unfortunately), and the old Kaufmaff Heating building is under remod. I finally set up the weight bench I got in my swap with TV. I was waiting to clear some space for it, but enough waiting. It took some figuring, and I don't have it all figured yet. But I got to use my ratchet set :) I found a 5x5 Stronglifts app (5 sets of 5 reps with simple bar exercises) and I also found a 30 days of HIIT guide. So I did both today, see how that feels tomorrow! Week 2 day 1 of the Keto experiment. Today I got 66g carbs, -18 for fiber. Felt OK.
Tuesday is another gorgeous day. And what a morning. First off I slept awful last night. Didn't fall asleep sound until after midnight. When the alarm went off at 4:45am it was too soon. Not sure why I kept waking up? Too much phone before bed? Too much activity? (Don't think so, I've biked on trainer before bed). Kombucha with caffeine? Dunno. I made it to the gym at 6:51 which is 10 mins earlier than expected. Elliptical, backwards walking on treadmill, brisk 15 mins on treadmill, then swim -- longest distance and time yet! Left gym barely on time, hit traffic all the way out to Dr L and I was 5-10 mins LATE. Stress. For the 3rd week in a row, I was bottom of the sign-in list of patients, Dr L said "we've seen 24 people so far, started at 5am". Compared to what I've done since 5am....So on top of being late, I forgot to bring in my 'Dr L' change of clothes into the gym but I was wearing leggings and I hadn't shaved, so I hoped this was OK. Nope, he had me change in to a "borrowable" pair of running shorts. Nuts. Good news -- I'm maintaining and can move to every 2 weeks!! Awesome hip flexor ROM, he worked on the hip capsule (under surgery site) and I was done. Running so late, it was now 10am. Drove to FP, missed a turn, drove through the Muny lot and thought I should just park there because who knows my usual FoPa parking could be full this late in the day. Ugh, nope, construction blocked all the spots. And by this time I had consumed most of my 1L of water and I HAD TO PEE. And DaveK back home got a text about all this when he asked how my day was going. In good news, I held to my 10am (16 hrs) goal, had a 500 meal, and I'm feeling good. At this rate, I can stop doing weekly updates, go back to daily?
Wednesday PT, did elliptical instead of bike because I planned to bike commute later. Didn't get much walking in, but did get my 15 stair flights. All PT exercises felt easy, so JB is going to revamp my list for Friday. Nice December 1st coincidence :)
Thursday It only occurred to me as I typed it that I was 20 yards away from 1 mile!!! Can I call it a mile anyway?! That was a November goal...my watch read 1700 but it stumbles on kick board laps. I skipped the elliptical and walked the dog instead for 1.3 miles this morning. Figured I'd be indoors when the weather started to get worse and this morning was calm and quiet and relatively warm. I arrived early for the swim and the master's class was still going. Anton got me into the 5th lane, the last lane where the classes are usually held. There was one other head-phone wearing swimming with a super wide form and a tendency to swim towards the middle of the lane. We made contact a few times, one instance he contacted twice -- hand and foot!On top of that, this is the worst lane to swim in at this pool. I'm not sure of the physics behind it, but something about the L-shaped area. Maybe it focuses waves like a narrowing of a river or channel? And the wall that appears half way into the lane, if you're trending towards the lane line you'll hit your right hand into the wall! And how do I know this....? I rarely swim in this lane, and I can recall a swim years ago, probably 2012, when I was swimming with an ankle injury and pulled a long 2-3k yard swim. Partway into my swim, we got a 3rd swimmer, circled until Mr Headphones finished. With 3 of us I pulled more than I planned on doing so I could keep a consistent pace. In the end, my back isn't happy. Not sure if it's the swim or the 5x5 weights last night. (5 sets of 5 reps of 50lb squat and 45lb overhead press). Hip feeling good, but realized this morning that I don't feel muscular pain or fatigue like JB warns me about. She says that's OK, but other pain isn't. Is my hip flexor pain considered "muscle pain"? Good question for tomorrow. My hip flexor pain is getting better, but not as fast as I'd like it to.
The rest of the week -- I'm writing this up over a week afterwards, week 12 isn't even a draft post yet.
We had some gorgeous weather and I got out to bike in TGP for a hour on Sunday. See this coincided with a keto induction, I think that distraction and energy sap killed off my chattiness :)
Tuesday Elliptical 15 min, treadmill 15 min brisk, SWIM 40' 1600y, BIKE COMMUTE 2 miles
Wednesday BIKE COMMUTE, 10' ellip at PT, 5x5 session, walk 1.8 miles
Thursday SWIM 40 1650 yards, BIKE COMMUTE, walk 3.3 miles
Friday 10' elliptical and 2 miles walking
Saturday 4 miles walking
Sunday BIKE 1hr and 14 miles, 2.8 mile walk
Monday was a gorgeously warm day, up to 70F! Biking in felt wonderful, biking home even more so. No issues at all with hip, hitting bumps and standing on the pedals feels better than it did a few weeks ago but I'm still limiting it. I was amused by all the changes that have occurred on my route in the past 11 weeks. TGA has a lane change at the Magnolia intersection, the MoBot building is taking shape (a modern shape, unfortunately), and the old Kaufmaff Heating building is under remod. I finally set up the weight bench I got in my swap with TV. I was waiting to clear some space for it, but enough waiting. It took some figuring, and I don't have it all figured yet. But I got to use my ratchet set :) I found a 5x5 Stronglifts app (5 sets of 5 reps with simple bar exercises) and I also found a 30 days of HIIT guide. So I did both today, see how that feels tomorrow! Week 2 day 1 of the Keto experiment. Today I got 66g carbs, -18 for fiber. Felt OK.
Tuesday is another gorgeous day. And what a morning. First off I slept awful last night. Didn't fall asleep sound until after midnight. When the alarm went off at 4:45am it was too soon. Not sure why I kept waking up? Too much phone before bed? Too much activity? (Don't think so, I've biked on trainer before bed). Kombucha with caffeine? Dunno. I made it to the gym at 6:51 which is 10 mins earlier than expected. Elliptical, backwards walking on treadmill, brisk 15 mins on treadmill, then swim -- longest distance and time yet! Left gym barely on time, hit traffic all the way out to Dr L and I was 5-10 mins LATE. Stress. For the 3rd week in a row, I was bottom of the sign-in list of patients, Dr L said "we've seen 24 people so far, started at 5am". Compared to what I've done since 5am....So on top of being late, I forgot to bring in my 'Dr L' change of clothes into the gym but I was wearing leggings and I hadn't shaved, so I hoped this was OK. Nope, he had me change in to a "borrowable" pair of running shorts. Nuts. Good news -- I'm maintaining and can move to every 2 weeks!! Awesome hip flexor ROM, he worked on the hip capsule (under surgery site) and I was done. Running so late, it was now 10am. Drove to FP, missed a turn, drove through the Muny lot and thought I should just park there because who knows my usual FoPa parking could be full this late in the day. Ugh, nope, construction blocked all the spots. And by this time I had consumed most of my 1L of water and I HAD TO PEE. And DaveK back home got a text about all this when he asked how my day was going. In good news, I held to my 10am (16 hrs) goal, had a 500 meal, and I'm feeling good. At this rate, I can stop doing weekly updates, go back to daily?
Wednesday PT, did elliptical instead of bike because I planned to bike commute later. Didn't get much walking in, but did get my 15 stair flights. All PT exercises felt easy, so JB is going to revamp my list for Friday. Nice December 1st coincidence :)
Thursday It only occurred to me as I typed it that I was 20 yards away from 1 mile!!! Can I call it a mile anyway?! That was a November goal...my watch read 1700 but it stumbles on kick board laps. I skipped the elliptical and walked the dog instead for 1.3 miles this morning. Figured I'd be indoors when the weather started to get worse and this morning was calm and quiet and relatively warm. I arrived early for the swim and the master's class was still going. Anton got me into the 5th lane, the last lane where the classes are usually held. There was one other head-phone wearing swimming with a super wide form and a tendency to swim towards the middle of the lane. We made contact a few times, one instance he contacted twice -- hand and foot!On top of that, this is the worst lane to swim in at this pool. I'm not sure of the physics behind it, but something about the L-shaped area. Maybe it focuses waves like a narrowing of a river or channel? And the wall that appears half way into the lane, if you're trending towards the lane line you'll hit your right hand into the wall! And how do I know this....? I rarely swim in this lane, and I can recall a swim years ago, probably 2012, when I was swimming with an ankle injury and pulled a long 2-3k yard swim. Partway into my swim, we got a 3rd swimmer, circled until Mr Headphones finished. With 3 of us I pulled more than I planned on doing so I could keep a consistent pace. In the end, my back isn't happy. Not sure if it's the swim or the 5x5 weights last night. (5 sets of 5 reps of 50lb squat and 45lb overhead press). Hip feeling good, but realized this morning that I don't feel muscular pain or fatigue like JB warns me about. She says that's OK, but other pain isn't. Is my hip flexor pain considered "muscle pain"? Good question for tomorrow. My hip flexor pain is getting better, but not as fast as I'd like it to.
The rest of the week -- I'm writing this up over a week afterwards, week 12 isn't even a draft post yet.
We had some gorgeous weather and I got out to bike in TGP for a hour on Sunday. See this coincided with a keto induction, I think that distraction and energy sap killed off my chattiness :)
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