One (Running) Step at a Time

After a month and a half away from running, I’m happy to say I’m slowly getting back to hitting the pavement!

It started last week. I was really missing the camaraderie of my two running buddies and the feeling I had after morning runs, so I sent a text asking when their next run was. That next morning I met up with them and we had a nice run/walk for about 3.75 miles. I was OK with the slow pace and the two walk breaks because I knew these two wouldn’t let me push my knee too hard. I came home and walked the dogs for a little over a mile or so, stretched, and readied for my work day.

My knee felt just fine through the day, enough to go to CrossFit that night!

Now I’m aiming to get back to running twice a week, with low mileage right now. Tuesday morning, after around four hours of sleep (due to reffing volleyball until midnight), I got up and ran with the crew around my neighborhood. We only did 3 miles, but it was at a good clip, with only one short walk. I then walked the dogs for two miles, stretched, and felt great throughout the rest of the day.

Thursday I go back to the sports medicine doctor for a follow-up, and so far my knee is doing alright. I’m planning to get a run in the morning just to see how my knee reacts for the doctor. I also plan to talk to him about my heel hurting after my runs, which has been another concern of mine.

My goal is to get my mileage back up in time for the Bluegrass 10K on July 4th. It was a great experience last year, and I want to run it again. Not to mention getting my mileage back up for hopefully a fall half marathon. Before my “injury vacation” I was able to get my 5K time down to the 27 minute mark…I’m sure I’ll have to work back to that speed again, but it’d be great to hit the fall 5Ks with a nice speed.

But don’t worry, I plan to follow the doctor’s orders. This is all dependent on what Dr. Kibler says about my knee and heel. Fingers crossed!!

How have you come back from a running injury?

Healthy Living Survey

I always find surveys to be fun ways to get to know people, plus it can be a change from the usual everyday posts. I found this one on a fellow HealthysELFer’s (and Sweat Pink sister) site…thanks, Lauren!

1. What did you eat for breakfast?

French Toast Scramble and a glass of cold skim milk

2. How much water do you drink a day?

At least 2-3 full 24 oz CamelBack bottles during work, then some more throughout the evening.

3. What is your current favorite workout?

Running and CrossFit. Since I can’t really run, I’ve been loving CrossFit more and more!

4. How many calories do you eat a day?

I really need to keep better track of those right now…

5. What are your favorite healthy snacks?

Strawberries!! I could snack on those all the time! And almonds, too!

6. What do you usually eat for lunch?

Depends. For the most part a simple sandwich with Greek yogurt and Wheat Thins or pretzels. Or leftovers. It varies from day to day.

7. What is your favorite part of the body to strength train?

My legs–I feel like they are so strong.

8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train?

My arms because I feel so weak. Though it’s my favorite to train because I feel weak and I want to improve that. Does that make sense?

9. What are your “bad” food cravings?

Kettle chips from Jimmy John’s, anything chocolate just about (horrible sweet tooth), fresh kettle corn (can’t go to an event in Lexington without some!)

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?

No, but I know I should, especially some glucosamine and chondroitin for my joints with all the running I do. I do drink protein shakes–does that count?

11. How often do you eat out?

M and I have tried to curtail our eating out. Now we’ll go out to dinner most often only once a week. Most days I have lunch at home, but there are times that I just crave something different and pick something up for lunch.

12. Do you eat fast food?

Yes, but mostly it’s breakfast on the road on the way to dog agility trials, and then it’s usually an Egg McMuffin. Unless you count SubWay as fast food (and I do occasionally enjoy Jimmy John’s).

I was so happy to have my cheerleader to meet me at the finish line.

13. Who is your biggest supporter?

My parents have always been my biggest supporters in everything I’ve ever done. I’m very happy to have big support from M. I greatly appreciated seeing his face after I crossed the finish line of the Run The Bluegrass a couple of weeks ago.

14. Do you have a gym membership?

Yes. I use my membership for treadmill runs when the weather isn’t the best, plus I enjoy participating in the group fitness classes and spin classes now and then, not the mention the weights. I’d be lost without a gym membership! Though I just started CrossFit, so I’m thinking of canceling my membership to my regular gym and just do CF.

15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

I always feel like I didn’t get enough sleep. The amount of sleep a night varies from 5 to 7 hours a night. But even on days that I can sleep in, my body/mind doesn’t let me.

16. Do you have a “cheat” day?

I used to do cheat days with one program that I did–they were scheduled. Now it’s more like “cheat meals” if it’s something special. I’m trying to keep a balanced lifestyle, especially when it comes to eating and I feel like cheat days made me feel allowed to go crazy for 24 hours–not the most balanced lifestyle.

17. Do you drink alcohol?

Yes, but not as much as I used to. I enjoy a beer (or two) on the weekends while at agility trials, and maybe a glass of wine or bourbon and Sprite Zero to wind down after stressful days, but not that often.

18. Do you have a workout buddy?

I have running buddies for some days, and now I workout with people at CrossFit, but a lot of times it’s just me, myself, and I.

19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a healthy lifestyle?

When I’m being active and healthy, it gives me a new confidence in myself. I realize the control I have over myself and my own life.

20. What was the last healthy thing you did?

Walked the dogs with my husband after eating lunch. I love my lunchtime dog walks because they’re a nice break in my day at the office.

Your turn!

Good Reads 5.11.13 Preakness Day!

Just like how the first Saturday of May is the Kentucky Derby, the third Saturday of May is the Preakness Stakes–the second jewel of the Triple Crown. I’m not working it (it’s held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.) but I’ll be cheering on Orb from a Buffalo Wild Wings in Ohio after my agility trial.

My week has been very busy and stressful–so much so I haven’t been able to do as much reading as I usually like to do, but here are a few posts I have been able to find worth sharing:

Tips for Backpacking with Your Dog (Just a Colorado Gal): I have to think Lindsay for this find–she tweeted it Thursday. M and I love hiking with the Stump Kids, so this is nice to know. Though we don’t usually take them on long hikes (Dally’s stumps can only take her so far), but we make sure we bring plenty of water for them no matter how warm it is.

The Best WordPress Plug-Ins (The Lean Green Bean Blog): Lindsay has been awesome with helping fellow bloggers make their blogs better and stronger with her social media tips and blogging advice lately. This is a really neat tool for those getting started and trying to grow their blog, like myself. Thanks so much, Lindsay!

Before You go on a Hike (It’s a Harleyyy Life): I love hiking! I love going with M and friends, especially with the dogs, but unfortunately we don’t get to do it very often. Danielle shares some quick tips for those who might not be that experienced with hiking.

CrossFit 2 Days in a Row? Yes!

An email came through from my dog agility instructor that our class on Thursday was cancelled, which meant I had a free evening. So what to do with it?

I was feeling like yoga, but my other gym wasn’t offering it until 7, so when I saw that the WOD at Man O’War CrossFit was “core” I decided to push for two classes in two days!

We warmed up with doing 5 sets of 5 reps of wall balls and ball slams. Because of my knee I didn’t go as low as you should for the wall balls, but I squatted enough to warm up the body.

WOD:

AMRAP – 5 minutes
15 Scoops
15 Reverse Scoops
15 Combinations (each leg)
15 Tuck Jumps

Rest 3 minutes (long enough to set up your bar)

AMRAP – 12 minutes
5 Dead Lifts (Rx 75/65lbs)
10 Push-Ups
15 Air Squats
Then, once the timer goes off (no rest) 800 m run

To save my knees, instead of doing the tuck jumps, I stayed flat on my back and just tucked my knees into my chest and out for 15. For the first part of the WOD I was able to get in almost 2 whole rounds (I had just started my second set of knee tucks when the timer went off).

Again, to save my knees, I didn’t go very deep in my air squats. But I did do the Rx for the dead lifts–65lbs! w00t! It was a hard ending to the WOD! I was able to get in 12 rounds (Taylor was pushing us to get at least 12), with push-ups on my knees (arms still sore from Wednesday’s workout). I had done the 13th set of dead lifts when the timer went off. The 800 m run seemed longer than it was, and my knee was a little ouchy from the workout.

Great workout–I was soaked with sweat! After we were done I did a little foam rolling on my quads, calves, and IT band (holy ow!) and stretched before heading home to take the pups on a 3-mile walk with M to enjoy the gorgeous evening (no rain–yay!).

How do you kick off your weekend, fitness-wise?

Making CrossFit Work, Even with a Bum Knee

So I’ve been a bit of a bad blogger and have been MIA lately. But, I have a good excuse! You see, on top of my regular 8-5 job, I have a second job as a volleyball ref for a bar league a couple nights a week (6 pm to midnight), plus I am a freelance writer for a few different equine magazines. Lo and behold, I had three big features all due on the same day (May 15) and other things in my personal life going on that made blogging not very important at the time. But, my articles are submitted, so I’m hoping to be back in action. (I hope you can forgive me!)

Anyway, last week I failed to blog about my class at Man O’War CrossFit, so I figured I’d combine this week’s class with last weeks.

First up, last week’s class:

Last week’s class was a trial in pride for me. We worked on push presses and trying to get 70% of our max so we could do four sets of 10, along with 10 medicine ball throws for our strength portion of the workout. I’ll be the first to admit that I have a weak upper body–a lot of women do. But I didn’t realize how weak until we started this exercise. After many attempts, I ended up doing the push presses with a 35-lb woman’s bar. (Hey, at least I have a starting point to build from!)

After the strength portion, we worked with a partner to do the WOD:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Thrusters (rx 95/64#)
Lateral bar jump
Sit-ups
For Time

Working with a partner, one did 10, you did 9, partner 8…until you hit 1, then you switched and went back up, so partner would do 1, you 2, partner 3… I did the thrusters with the 35-lb bar, but jumped over my partner’s bar that had 15-lb weights on it. Part-way through the WOD, my knee started bothering me. I figured maybe it was just doing the later bar jumps, so I tried to take it easy. Unfortunately, I think too many squats (with the thrusters) and heavy weights, plus the jumps wasn’t the best thing. Later that day, and the next day, my knee was sore, so I didn’t go back for my Friday class like originally planned.

Now, last night’s class:

Before class I contacted Taylor (coach) about my knee and how I was concerned about the strength portion: 8 reps of split squats on each leg for 5 reps. He told me not to worry, that he’d come up with something for me to do in replace of the leg stuff and to come on to class.

My strength workout? 12 reps of body weight pull-ups and chest-2-bar pull-ups, 3 sets each. (I told him I really wanted to work on my upper body strength, so he listened!) I used the wide band on my pull-ups. Those are tricky little things–you start off feeling so strong for the first couple, then quickly you’re starting to struggle to get your chest to the bar. But, I did it!

Our WOD:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Dumbbell Thrusters
Handstand Push-Ups
1 50m Farmer Carry

For me, I did dumbbell push presses instead of thrusters to save on my knees. Then, for those of us who couldn’t do handstand push-ups (yet), we worked off of boxes. You set your toes in the middle of the box, then got in a plank position for your push-ups. The closer you got your hands to the box, the harder it was. Also, the higher the box was, the harder the exercise was. But you didn’t want to get your body in less than a 90* angle at the hips. I used the 24″ side of the box and tried to get my hands close. But I know I’m going to need a lot more work on push-ups, period, to get the strength for HSPU!

Here’s a great explanation of the progression training you can do for handstand push-ups:

Taylor wanted us to finish in no more than 15 minutes. I finished in 10:33 with 15lb dumbbells (for push presses and farmer carry). I rounded up the workout with 100 full butterfly sit-ups using the ab mat, since I wanted to take it easy on my knee and not do wall balls for the day.

What’s one CrossFit exercise you’re afraid to try? I think HSPU are going to be my big fear! Haha

Piling up the Doctors’ Appointments

Just a quick post to let you know I’m still alive, just buried in work and life at the current moment.

The doctors’ appointments are piling up lately, though. I had my last physical therapy appointment last Wednesday with Ryan. We went through our usual exercises and stretches, but there still hasn’t been much improvement with my knee. I haven’t run in almost three weeks now, and it’s killing me. I’ve been waking up early every morning to walk the dogs for 30 minutes (about 2.25 miles) to get both parties exercise, and to help wear them down for when M comes home from work at 8 am and goes to sleep (they don’t understand why he doesn’t want to play with them when he comes home). Even spinning has started to bother my knee some.

At CrossFit last week (post to come), we did more squats than I figured, so my knee hurt for the next three days, causing me to be cautious and not go back on Friday like I intended. Talk about more disappointment for me.

My follow-up appointment with the sports medicine doctor isn’t until May 23. I call everyday to check if there’s been any cancellations, but, alas, so far nothing.

But now, another doctor appointment has been made. While cleaning the kitchen last week, M found an old note from my doctor dated back in February. It was the results of my last physical, saying my test came back abnormal for the second year in a row, so they wanted to refer me to a gynocologist. At first I was irritated–who sends a letter, via snail mail, with news like this?? No phone call, just a printed letter. Who knows what might have been if we had accidentally thrown the envelope away! So, after a few repeated phone calls, I now have an appointment set for mid-June. Yep…that’s the earliest I could get into that one, too. Ugh.

We won’t mention the dentist appointment this week–at least that’s just routine (fingers crossed). Same with the chiropractor appointment for both dogs before the agility trial this weekend (yep, my dogs see a chiropractor, but I’ve never had one work on me before), or the potential vet appointment for my 16-year-old cat who needs fluid removed from her lungs soon.

Ever have one of those weeks where it doesn’t just rain, but pours when it comes to appointments?

Here’s to a simple week…if that’s possible!

Good Reads 5.11.13

I’m sorry for the lack of posts this week. Life has taken a sharp, fast turn and it’s been crazy for me lately. I got hit with freelancing deadlines, plus an extra article that I couldn’t turn down, plus picking up some extra reffing nights for the next week or so. Needless to say, I haven’t spent much time at home and I haven’t had any time to relax or sit down to really blog. I’m hoping things will quiet down soon and I can share some things with you.

That being said, I’ve been able to squeeze in just a little bit of reading this week, so here’s some link love for you:

Finding my Blogger Identity (High Heels & Shotgun Shells): Danielle is so frank about everything she writes about. I was introduced to her blog by a friend I went to college with, and it’s great for me to keep in touch with what’s happening in agriculture and anything else. For bloggers starting out, we go into this venture with the high notion of exactly what we’re going to do and say, but things always change. We tend to forget the blogs need to be about us–who we are and how we feel–and just be us. That’s what people want to read.

Divorce (Newlyweds on a Budget): It seems like all of a sudden I’m hearing about friends and family members having marital problems. It’s scary for someone such as myself who is a newlywed of 218 days and working hard to have that happy marriage when battling differing schedules, money woes, etc., to see and hear how some couples just seem to give up instead of trying to work things out. Great point: “As individuals, we’re not happy all the time. And I think too often when we become married, we seem to blame our unhappiness on our marriage rather than look at our own issues.”

#Whats Beautiful? Recovery (Live, Travel, Eat and Run): So UnderAmour has started a new campaign with some of the FitFluential Ambassadors about what’s beautiful for women. Amalia chose her goal for the campaign to “recover strong.” It seems rather fitting, considering the struggles I’ve been having with my knee. My hope is to recover strong in time to start training for a Fall half marathon and to be able to run in the Bluegrass 10K on July 4, so this was an inspirational post for me.

On Balance (Fitting It All In): Clare hit the nail on the head with this blog post for me right now. I’m struggling to find a balance with my personal life, professional/money-making life, social life, and my exercise life at the current moment. Lately it’s been a struggle for me to have a normal day, and, as mentioned above, life has been really crazy for me with some unexpected deadlines and changes in schedules, etc. I’m an all-or-nothing type of person too, and I’ve been self-medicating through emotional eating throughout the struggle, and it shows already. It’s hard to find that balance–it’s always an ongoing project for you life. If you’ve found the key, can you share it with me?

What’s been your favorite blog this week?

Scenes from my iPhone: Kentucky Derby

Sorry for the lack of posts lately–it’s been a crazy busy week. And even though the Kentucky Derby was five days ago, I wanted to share some of the photos I took with my iPhone of that long, rainy, but always amazing day.

(BTW, Orb was the winner, and I bet on him–yay! I ended up leaving Churchill Downs earning money after betting, instead of losing it all like I normally do!)

Churchill Downs grandstand from the backside

Churchill Downs grandstand from the final turn of the track on a gloomy day.

THe field breaks from the gate for the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, the race before the Kentucky Derby

The 139th Kentucky Derby, Presented by Yum! Brands (mouthful, huh?)

Just some of the cameras used on the starting gate for the Derby. We have one there.

 

Chad Harmon, one of our magazine’s photographers. He was keeping the camera dry in the rain (I joke and say no one taught him not to play in plastic bags).

Through these gates will pass a champion. (The starting gate)

I rocked the green “Gumby suit” with my navy blue polka dot wellies for my Derby attire.

Eventual Kentucky Derby winner Orb warms up before the race.

 

Hundreds of (CrossFit) Fun

Friday night’s workout is brought to you by Man O’War CrossFit, and Taylor decided we needed to end the week with a bang.

(I forgot to take a photo of the WOD on the board–that’s how worn out I was from the workout!)

After our warm-up, Taylor went through teaching us about snatches, cleans, and overhead squats. I am such a stickler for making sure I’m doing all of the movements right I get to thinking too much, so when it was coming to the cleans, my head was too much in the game and I’d lose focus and momentum just to get the 35-lb bar over my head. I was thinking about how coach was saying we need to keep the bar close to us, but yet I wasn’t feeling it close to me. Then he said that was OK–use the momentum and it’ll get the bar up. After taking a few moments to get my head right, I tried it and had no problems.

Then we went through front squats, first learning the movement, then starting to work on our one-rep max. Unfortunately I was afraid to really push myself on that max because of my knee bothering me. I worked slowly on finding the right weight, first with 15-lb plates, then 25-lb plates on my 35-lb bar. Taylor noticed I wasn’t getting my butt down past parallel, so I worked with it some, making sure my knee wasn’t tweaking. I decided to just try to add 5 more pounds, so I had a total of 90-lbs for my front squat max. I hated that I wasn’t pushing myself as hard as the others in my class, but I also wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything too horrible to my knee. But, 90-lbs gives me something to work on, once I know my knee can handle it.

After we found our one rep max, it was time for what Taylor called:

“Hundreds of Fun”

100 push-ups
100 air squats
100 sit-ups
*Every 2 minutes, do 5 burpees
For time

I start out doing full push-ups for about 15 (woohoo!), then put my knees on the sit-up pads and got to work. Taylor kept an eye on the clock and told us when it was time for burpees. He warned us about those first burpees after doing the pushups, and he was right! Your arms did not want to catch you–I think I heard someone’s face smack into the floor. Those first sets of burpees made you want to push through the push-ups just to get done with using your arms.

The air squats weren’t as difficult as I thought they’d be and I breezed through those pretty quickly. Then came the full sit-ups. Those took a lot longer than I thought they would. I didn’t want to do any more burpees, but when I got to 96, Taylor yelled i was time for burpees. Blast! Five burpees later, I did 4 more butterfly sit-ups and I was finished. Total time: 14:39  Total burpees: 35

After catching my breath, I started to work on my wall balls for the May challenge. With the 14-lb medicine ball, I did 67. I was able to add 30 more due to my 1.5 hours of “physical activity outside of the gym” (for every 30 minutes we spend doing physical activity outside the gym, we got to add 10 wall balls) from my agility class last night. So it was a total of 97 wall balls tonight, for a week total of 157.

It was a great workout, that ended with a relaxing walk with the dogs in the park to celebrate the end of the week!

I have to admit, I think this workout would be good to do at home.

What’s one of your favorite WODs to do at home?

Related articles

• My First Foray into CrossFit! (planetmarsz.wordpress.com)

Good Reads 5.4.2013

Happy Derby Day!!! While you’re reading this, I’m currently hustling all around Churchill Downs working with photographers for the 139th Kentucky Derby. Hopefully the sun is shining on “My Old Kentucky Home” and all 20 horses cross the finish line in good shape. (And I hope you’re able to watch the race–check out your local NBC affiliate for times!)

Here’s a smattering of some good reads from this week:

To You, Love Me (The Lean Green Bean Blog): Lindsay actually posted this archived blogpost in her Bean Bytes on Monday, and even though it’s an older post, it’s perfect for how I’m feeling right now. Right now I’m so frustrated with my body in many ways, but everyone needs reminders about what’s good about their body and that it’s not always about the number on the scale or how you think you look in your clothes. Plus is has a killer circuit workout at the end to try!

What I Learned Hanging out with Jillian Michaels (RunLadyLike): I’m uber envious of Jesica right now! I’d love to go see Jillian Michaels during her “Maximizing Your Health” tour, but the closest she comes to Lexington is Indianapolis, and I wasn’t able to go because of work. I love watching Jillian on TBL, but I’ve also enjoyed her workout videos and book. I love this quote: Failure is an integral part of learning to be better.

What Happened When I Stopped Exercising (Running With Spoons): Amanda tackles exercise addiction, and after reading her blog post it makes me wonder if I have a little bit of that going on. She talks about how her life has changed, for the better, when she stopped focusing on formal exercising.

What blog posts have made you think or inspire you this week?

(BTW, my Derby picks: Oxbow, Will Take Charge, Orb, and Goldencents. Though that might change by betting time. I’ll let you know!)