Bring on the Sun

It's March break and I'm working more now than when school is in! I keep using this work thing as an excuse not to go to the gym... In some ways that has been a good thing. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been very careful not to aggravate my hip any more than necessary. The result is that I can walk without favouring it and the pain is barely noticeable. That being said, I want to take some time this weekend to get out my trusty bike (20 yrs old!). I hope all it needs is a little TLC. I am planning on laying off the running for another few weeks so that I don't go right back to where I started with the pain. I suppose I will have to get into the pool again too – thinking of the smell of the chlorine evokes a visceral antagonism that is not easily suppressed (used up all of my big words for the day ;). My partner in crime has been pretty busy as well, so the both of us need to get our derrieres in gear and get back on schedule. I think I might just pop in on the way home tonight…

Beyond My Limits

After my last post, I went to the Y and ran a mile.  Then I did it again the next day.  I haven't been able to run since.  I did exactly what I told myself I wouldn't do - push beyond my limits.  Over the last couple of weeks, I have been cycling and swimming to keep active.  I love cycling, and I find it pretty easy; however, using a stationary takes the joy right out of it.  I can't wait until I can get outside again.  I took on quite a few more hours in my business, so it has been hard to work in physiotherapy and the time at the Y.  My hip seems to get better every day, but I jar it quite often which seems to set me back.  I came down with a cold this morning, so I think I'm going to take a few days to recover from that and maybe give my hip a rest too.  I plan to stick with the biking and the swimming until I can run outside comfortably.  As much as it sounds like I haven't had a great few weeks, I have made some progress.  I've noticed an increase in muscle tone and definition.  I've dropped five pounds (for a total of 60) and it has become really noticeable in my face and other normally boney areas.  In the coming month, I want to work on getting my eating under control.  I eat too few fruits and veggies and too much junk food.  It's not so much about losing weight as it is promoting a healthy body so that I can achieve my goals.  I will take this sunny streak as a premonition of the month to come and look forward to moving onward.

Back At It Again

I was starting to worry that I was never going to get back to the running.  With the physio, my hip has gotten better, but there is still a lot of pain.  I decided yesterday that I was going to run anyway - I have just missed it so much that I didn't care if it made the pain worse.  I did my stretching before going to the Y and my hip was feeling not too bad.  I tried a new plan of attack - minimize the amount of impact by skipping the walking as much as possible.  I did a four minute warm up while catching up with my partner in crime.  I started running and my hip protested a bit at first.  The pain subsided, I got into a groove, and it was feeling great to run.  After a couple of minutes, I realized that the running wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  After a few more minutes I thought maybe I can get a half a mile in.  Still feeling strong, I thought I might just be able to make it to a mile.  As I approached the mile mark, I was starting to tire and feel a little out of breath.  I pushed through to the end and was really proud of myself for hanging in there.  I probably could have gone farther, but I knew I was already pushing my hip too far.  I went through my physio regime while I waited for my partner to finish her 5k.  We then went on to do a 12 mile cycle together, which was a little more difficult after the run.  I felt really good afterwards, and my hip really didn't seem to hurt any more than before I went.  I think using the heel lift and changing my stride a bit made a big difference.  I plan to go in again this afternoon, but I have no idea if I'm going to run again or not.  My hip is pretty tender in the morning usually, but right now it's not that bad so a run may be in order.  Hopefully I'm back on track and I'll make my June 1st goal :)

Brick Wall??

In my last post I said I was going to pay for my running, and here I am five days later and still paying. I was good on Saturday and I stuck to my plan to only walk for 30 minutes. It was disappointing, but I figured walking a bit was better than feeling sorry for myself. Swimming has not been my favourite activity, but it was a lot more fun going with someone. I found that I pushed myself more, especially after realizing that they were going to do 60 lengths in the time that I might pull off 12 or so! Monday was a true Monday – I needed something to pick me up. I decided to try swimming again as my hip was still protesting. I managed to do my 12 lengths, but this time it was more difficult than any other time I’ve been. My form was better, I inhaled less water, but I was so out of breath after each length! It was then that I started to worry a bit. I’ve had premature heartbeats for as long as I can remember. They usually are the result of me taking new medication (Claritin was one of the worst!) or having way too much caffeine. I’ve been having them constantly since at least Saturday, and the frequency is a bit higher than I’m used to. Normally, this would only annoy me; however, this time things are a little different. I am so tired and I am yawning all the time. I can’t seem to catch my breath even when I’m barely doing anything and it’s a struggle just to get through the day (apparently this is not serious enough to get me an appointment with my doctor any time in the next month :S). Add in the hip pain, and I’m in pretty rough shape. Even with all that going on, I couldn’t bail on going to the Y this morning and let down my friend. I have been avoiding the cycling, so today was the day to try it out. I’m not a fan of stationary bikes, but cycling for me is pretty easy. I did 10.75 miles in 30 minutes, which isn’t anywhere near what I used to be able to pull off, but it was a start. I finally made it in for my running assessment today. It was tough because of my hip, but I learned a lot about myself. The most disturbing thing is that I have one leg longer than the other… the leg I broke when I was only a couple years old. Coincidence? Anyway, I think the physio is really going to help me get back on track. I’m disappointed that I won’t be running for a week or two, but maybe this way I will work on the swimming and cycling more.

Busy Busy Busy

I've just gone through a couple of busy weeks with my business, but somehow I've managed to keep up with my training.  In my last post, I was optimistic about the pain I've been having; however, after my workout on Tuesday (1.44 miles in 17 minutes), I found that my hip was pretty sore. My stroke improvement class is coming along - I seem to whine less and less each week.  Yesterday, I got to work on my back crawl, which used to be a nice relaxing stroke; however, I have learned that there is much more to it than I had thought!  I had the pleasure of company for my workout last night.  I think that having someone with me made me push through the pain, but I'm definitely paying for it this morning (1.47 miles in 18).  The other day, I called a physiotherapy centre that was recommended by my doctor, and found out that I can get a whole running package to help get me started.  I hesitated because the cost is fairly substancial, but I think that it will be essential for me actually making it to running a marathon.  So, I suppose later today I will book my first appointment and worry about how I'm going to finance it later.  Add in new shoes, a new swim suit (my old ones are either waaay to big or waaay too old), and maybe some appropriate workout clothes, and I'm going to be eating pb&j for a while lol!  I price I'm willing to pay.  It's been almost 10 years since I met my last big goal, and I'm so glad that I have finally found the next big one :)

One Blah Sunday in January

I haven't been out to the Y as much as I would like lately - I was torn between resting my whining ankle and hip and maintaining my schedule.  I went out this afternoon not knowing what I was going to do when I got there.  As I'm wandering through the machines, I look at the bikes and the elliptical machines and thought ick!  So true to form, I hopped on the treadmill hoping that all would be well.  I was pleasantly surprised when there was only some minor pain - moreso from the walking than from the running.  Now this is where I may have been a little overzealous - I decided that I was going to skip up to running 1.5 min intervals the whole way through.  I really enjoyed the workout and didn't have a problem with the increase - but I again was overzealous and decided to see how long I could run at the very end of my workout.  So, after 50 min of walking and running, I managed 3.5 min (0.26 miles) before I came to my senses and cooled down.  So today I did a total of 1.36 miles in 17 min, and a grand total of almost 4 miles in 58 min.  I must admit that it felt great, but I know I'm going to pay for it later.  As I write this, my cheeks are still rather pink.  The one thing I wish I could change is how red my face goes.  Perhaps that is something that will lessen as I get more in shape.  Hopefully I will get out to the Y for a swim tomorrow - test the waters out in Collingwood.

Speedbump or Roadblock?

I think I was trying to ignore the fact that my ankle was hurting more, and that the pain was beginning to move into my hip as well. Saturday evening I went to the Y and talked myself into continuing with my running schedule... bad move. On Sunday, I had to admit that this problem wasn't going to go away if I didn't change something. So, yesterday I went to the pool to work on my rather lackluster swimming skills. I can't believe how hard it is just to swim two lengths in a row! I guess as a kid I never really swam in a straight line and my objective was more to see how many somersaults I could do consecutively! I managed to do a total of 12 lengths in some fashion or another. This morning I realized just how hard the swimming is on my neck and shoulder. It seems that I am amassing a number of issues to work out. Right now, I’m contemplating what I am going to do tonight – do I test out the ankle? Do I work on the swimming? Or maybe I should try cycling for a change so that I can add a pain in the derriere to my list of annoyances.