Working Woman

Life has been so crazy busy ever since I got this job. I love it by the way! It's so busy though, full time Mon-Fri, 8:15 until about 4 each day. At first I underestimated how tiresome it could be, but now that we're in week 4 of working I'm starting to get the hang of it...sort of.

My running agenda is kind of up in the air. I am on my feet all day long which surprisingly makes my achilles really sore. I stretch and try to take care of it after work. I have tried getting up early to jog like I did during nursing school but my body isn't having it. I certainly do not have as many "excuses" as I did during nursing school but my body wakes up and is like, NO. I did a little trail run/walking the other night and I found that I am actually enjoying doing a workout that time of night which is new for me. It works out well because it is during my youngest son's football camp (which will later become football practice-same place and time). I think that is going to be my best bet.

In my "free time" I have been finding ways to chisel out some exercise. Saturday I took the kids to the pool where I swam my 10 laps. At night I like to do some yoga (although I hugely prefer taking an actual class). Of course 4th of July weekend a few weekends back I got great exercise and had a ton of fun battling waves boogie boarding.

So it's all a work in progress. Change always seems to be the word of the season. Change, adjust, enjoy. Change, adjust, enjoy. I'll get there soon!

On the flipside I have been doing great with my intake. Because I have this routine, I pack my lunch and stay too busy all day to do much snacking. I start out the day always eating a good breakfast and in the evening we almost always eat something relatively healthy. There is always sugary treats at my work though-always! Someone is always have a birthday or celebrating something which brings in the cakes and donuts, etc. I haven't been too bad with it, since in reality those types of treats give me a sugar rush headache/nausea most of the time. So I usually just take a very small portion and enjoy it. Life is too short not to eat dessert! But the end to this paragraph was to say I have lost a few pounds just because of the discipline that being so busy had bred. I'm not disappointed at all!

A Sore Two Miles

What a week and a half! Last week was an off week. Not because I didn't want to run, but because I started a new job and was busy! Then our family enjoyed a beach weekend for the 4th of July. While I did not do any running that week, I did go on a great bike ride with my husband on Sunday and spent several hours each day boogie boarding and body surfing. What fun! If only all workouts were as fun while being as challenging as playing in the surf :)

Doesn't this just make you want to go swimming? It does me!

Yesterday I was lazy and slept in but today I refused to do that again! I got up at 5:45, just as the sun was rising, got my cup of coffee and headed out for a run. My muscles were so stiff! I cut my route in half and settled for 2 miles. I am still training for a half marathon but I've backtracked to week 2 to make sure my body is ready to move on. With no physical therapy it is important now more than ever to get the appropriate strength moves in as well as using my stick to keep my tendons loose.

Happy summer!

Recap and Unpleasant Discovery About My Kids

Wow that week went fast! Here is the recap up until today:

Saturday: 3.8 miles, 10:53 pace

Sunday: 4.25 miles, 10:57 pace longest training run so far!

This week has been weird. I had a nice running tally going and planned on taking Monday off. Then my friend and I decided at the last minute to do an awesome hike. It was over 3 miles and 1,200 feet elevation though so it was a tough workout!

Hiking Mt Woodson

Enjoying the incredible view from Potato Chip Rock

I took Tuesday off instead. Wednesday I had a job interview in the morning then took the kids swimming in the afternoon. I only ended up doing 4 laps-lame but my neck was really hurting. Then today I got all geared up to go out for my run this morning...

My husband and I are struggling to make changes in our household. Due to busy-ness or who knows what our kids have gotten lazy and in our opinion unhealthy. They are not bad in comparison to some for sure, and they are not overweight but we have slowly been making shocking discoveries.

• First, the sheer amount of time they will spend in front of a screen (if we let them) is staggering. It is mindless, pointless and ridiculous. So step 1 was to eliminate or unplug all screens. We *gasp* deleted all game apps from our iThings. Our kids need to be kids and stop being zombies.
• Next there are sports to sign them up for but they don't start for a while. So we plan on doing more swimming and adding some jogging. We also need to get some bike flat tires fixed.

Today I discovered that I hate jogging with my kids. I'm a monster, I know. But hear me out. This morning I was looking forward to an easy jog with my boys. We walked our driveway to warm up then began jogging once we turned the corner. The route was a very easy straight stretch to a stoplight then back. Extremely easy. I think it amounted to maybe 0.8 of a mile. Each one took like 10 jogging steps before he stopped and whined telling me his legs hurt and he was tired-already. Wow.

The rest of the run consisted of me trying to encourage them at all costs, even holding hands. I told them to go slow just keep jogging. All they would do was walk and make excuses. Then it escalated to me barking at them and (perhaps not my finest hour) finally telling them that if they didn't exercise they were going to get fat like grandpa. I admit, there are better ways to motivate. But oh, the laziness, the whininess, and the unwillingness to try!!! My husband took them a couple of nights ago and said his experience was similar. I have not been that frustrated in a very long time. I had no idea this is what would happen. I mean we pride ourselves on being active and keeping them active but when it came to something that resembled a challenge, they gave up right out the gate.

I don't know how I will be able to keep jogging with them but I feel like we need to keep trying. I just need to do my run first, then take them along after I am finished. I thought I could go with them, have it be a really good warm up then I would complete my run. It was literally the worst part of my morning. I didn't get my own run in, and I was so frustrated by my kids' attitudes that I needed a timeout. I am just shocked by their unwillingness to try. Are we just raising a bunch of wimps? Where is the fire? Where is the excitement to do something active? I thought we were doing great, but I'm not so sure anymore. My husband and I are working on it and I will post more as things progress.

That being said our oldest son will run on his own, in addition to his football camp. I guess we experience both ends of the spectrum in our family!

The Importance of the Warm-Up/Cool-Down

3.6 miles today, 40 minutes

Today I re-learned a lesson I seem to have to learn time and time again...the importance of the warm-up. I am kind of an impatient person when it comes to my runs. I begin calculating as soon as my work-out starts, and I sometimes want to get to jogging before I am properly warmed up. In my last post I described the pains that went along with not properly warming up. Today I eased into my work-out with walking, some easy jogging and a bit of stretching between. Once I felt properly warmed up nothing could stop me. I experienced no pain at all! Perhaps that was the fix, perhaps it was just a good day. Whatever it was, I thought a short discussion on warming up and cooling down might be helpful.

Warm-Up:

Properly warming up your muscles dilates your blood vessels, allowing proper oxygenation, which facilitates proper metabolism. In short, your muscles just work better. (http://running.about.com/od/howtorun/ht/warmup.htm)

In addition, properly warming up helps to lubricate your joints by warming up the synovial fluid in them. Joints like knees, ankles and hips really need this because proper lubrication of the joints helps with decreasing possibility of injury and improves longevity. Since runners are notorious for having these joint injuries, anything you can do to improve performance and care is essential!

Lastly, tendons have poor vascularization, meaning they have very few blood vessels (veins and arteries) which supply them. Have you ever had a tendon or ligament injury? Have you noticed how much longer it takes for it to heal versus say, pulling a muscle (which is extremely vascularized). By warming up, you increase blood flow to tendons and ligaments and you simply warm them up. This is kind of like stretching a warm rubber band versus a cold one. It will stretch much better when warm.

Warming up can be simply walking, skipping, doing some high-knees, butt-kicks, stretches and calf-raises.

Cool-Down:

A cool down is a great time to rehydrate, get your heart rate and respirations under control and stretch while you are still warm. In addition, your body has produced waste material during your workout due to aerobic metabolism in the cells. Typically this is lactic acid. By walking about 400M or the equivalent of one lap on the track post-run, you help your muscles work this lactic acid out of the cells where the bloodstream can carry it away. If left to sit in the cells lactic acid increases inflammation in the muscles which causes soreness. So walk that extra lap, stretch and properly cool down and you will be a little less sore the next day!

Cross Training Day

Today I needed a break from running, and thankfully my plan gave me one! But instead of doing the Strength/Stretch routine, I did Wednesday's workout and did some cross training. I needed to run a few errands so I did so on bike amounting to 30 minutes. I also did 1 hour of much-needed weeding in our yard after. In the afternoon I took my boys for a swim and spent some time with a kick board doing laps (then playing). I am not a strong swimmer but when I add it as part of my routine, I improve. I did 20 lengths today.

My Achilles is feeling pretty tight with all of this activity. I stretch a lot and use The Stick to release tension. It is not the worst though. Most of all I am thrilled to be feeling so active again...feeling more like myself!

Monday, Monday! Week 2 of Half Marathon Training

...and 5 months, 1 week post-op!

Today I set out to start Week 2 of my Half Marathon training plan. I like how this plan starts out very gradually. It is perfect for a beginner or someone who is coming back from an injury like me!

Last week went really well. I did all of the workouts except for Saturday because I quickly fall out of routine on the weekends. Saturday we went to Aquatica, the waterpark in S. San Diego. It was fun!

So this week starts Week 2. Today was 2 miles/20 minutes strength and stretching. I set out for my 5K loop, with intentions for a walk/jog like usual. Up to 1 mile, I walked and jogged and my heel was bothering me. After that it seemed to be warmed up and didn't hurt anymore but my calf was burning like crazy and I seem to be getting some sciatica on my L side. I have had it before but it usually traveled from buttcheek to the back of my knee and stopped, and wasn't too intense. This time it is much more intense and makes it's way all the way down my calf. *sigh* It was rough but I made it 2.75 miles. I kept thinking...Kobe Bryant...Kobe Bryant...(see news link for explanation). Thus, I have no problem doing a lot of walking in my workouts. It's all about getting it done!

When I finished, I did a cool-down walk, drank some water then set my timer for 20 minutes of S/S which felt really good. I'm glad it is all worked out in a plan because when it is on a schedule, I'm more likely to do it!

I have just resolved to the fact that I will continue to need a lot of stretching on my L side (and my R wouldn't hurt either!). I even think that as long as forever, I will need extra stretching. I'm ok with that, as long as it allows me to stay active. I was thinking today, if I am not active, I die. My body just wants to work! I was also realizing that a few extra pounds are also probably contributing to sciatica like usual. It is usually the key to getting it to go away, since I carry weight on my hips and butt. It makes sense. It's science ;)

Last but not least, I got some new kicks! We visited the Nike Outlet because my oldest son is starting football camp today and I needed a new pair. I never realize how badly I need a new pair until I try the new pair on. Being Nike Frees, there isn't always a dramatic difference in insole padding, but I noticed that the same shoe, same size is more snug with the new shoes. I have really stretched the old ones out...and my left foot is a bit more swollen.

You're Welcome for the close-up of my sweet ankle veins ;)

Milestone and such

Sometime late last week or early this week I was working on some of my PT exercises at home and I discovered that I can do a single-leg calf raise on my L side! This was an amazing accomplishment and quite a milestone showing the strength of my calf coming back!

Not so much a milestone, but this week I also learned that you can cut your incision scar pretty good shaving, thanks to the lack of feeling in that area. I never thought about it too much before but was always careful. I had pulled out a brand new razor though and oops!

Lastly today's run was a killer! I set out for my 5K loop and did shorter run/walk intervals because my left lower leg was just burning like crazy. It reminded me of the time I tried wearing CEP compression socks on a run. That being said, I fought through the run. As I was headed down the home stretch, I checked my app and I had only made about 2.5 miles. Bummer! I had forgotten the very first 1/2-mile loop in the route. Oh well it was a tough run and I accomplished a 10:39 pace!