Rehab

I have finally worked up to running 4 miles again. Woohoo! It's long and slow, this recovery, but I have learned some important lessons. First and foremost, crosstraining is something I need to do. Secondly, strength training is important. And last, I am in love with KT Tape.

I've posted before that I find it difficult to crosstrain because I don't really like anything else besides running. That's still true, but I've found that when I back off my mileage two days a week and at least attempt to mix in a ride on the bike or a swim or some stair climbing, I'm better able to manage when I do shoot for a longer distance run. It must be working, so I reluctantly keep doing it.

I have been working a lot on core strength and balance, and since my hamstring has been compensating for a messed up hip flexor and misfiring gluteal muscles (turns out I needed to "move my butt" more. LOL!), I've also been doing some strength training and stretching of those muscles. I found a great video that outlines a lot of the exercises I've been doing for the hips and glutes, in case anyone is interested:



Additionally, I've been doing crunches, wall squats, something called a supine march and bridges. I do feel a difference when I'm running, too. My core feels stronger and more stable, my pelvis has less of a forward tilt, and the best part is, my hamstring is feeling less painful because it isn't trying to overload itself compensating for all my weaknesses! Out of strength training and cross training, I definitely prefer strength training. I do it now after almost every run when I can.

Another thing I've added is KT Tape. KT Tape is Kinesiology tape...you tape muscles, ligaments and tendons in certain special ways that help and support injured areas. It looks weird, and when I first started using it, I didn't think it was going to make that much difference. IT DOES. When I'm taped, my hamstring doesn't hurt nearly as much during OR after running. I got taped professionally the first time, but I've since learned to do it myelf. (It ain't easy...I just about have to stand on my head...but it's worth it!) This video instructs you how to apply KT Tape to a hamstring strain, and the application I use is basically the same, just higher up. View the video here.

What do you do for cross training? What's your favorite strength training exercise? Have you ever used KT Tape? Share your thoughts!

I ran with Dean Karnazes!!!

On March 25th, Dean Karnazes launched his bid to run all the way from California to New York. That's almost 3,000 miles. He is crazy!! If you don't know who Dean is, he's an ultra runner who has done some amazing things, written a few books, made a movie and is an incredibly inspirational guy. I've been a fan of his ever since my first TnT coach told me if I wanted to get really inspired, I should read Dean's book, "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner." I did read it and couldn't put it down. Then when I did put it down, I wanted to go run a marathon!!

Dean teamed up with Regis & Kelly from the Regis & Kelly Live show to raise money for Action for Healthy Kids, an organization committed to fighting obesity and undernourishment in kids. He started in Anaheim, CA at Disneyland on Friday, March 25th and is making his way across the United States, running 40-50 miles a day and sleeping only an average of about 4 hours at a time. (See where he's at now here: http://www.dadt.com/live/special/runacrossamerica/map/index.html) 

As part of his run across the country, 5k events are held where people can sign up to run with Dean for a donation to the charity. On Saturday the 26th, he made it to Riverside, and I got a chance to run with him. It was super exciting for me, since I have been inspired by Dean since I first started running. He spoke to the crowd of several hundred before the gun went off, and about 100 or so of us took of on a cross country course. It was a GORGEOUS morning, and we ran up a lovely green hillside and through trails that felt like we were far away from the rush of traffic and city streets. (I really LOVED trail running. More on that another time!) Dean made a visible effort to adjust his pace so he could have a chance to chat with many different people throughout the run. He was friendly, down to earth and fun, making jokes about the mud (it had been raining all night the night before, so the trail was full of puddles and slippery mud) and seeming to enjoy chatting with everyone as we ran along. I was able to keep up with him the entire run, which completely surprised me. Granted, he was going a bit on the slow side because he still had about 40 more miles to go, but I was pleased with myself anyway!

Overall it was a fantastic experience that I won't soon forget. The only bummer of the day was that he had told us he'd be available after the run to hang out and chat with people for a little while, but the TV crew absolutely WHISKED him off soon after we got back. Later, when he was running on to his next stopping point, some friends of mine saw where he was and went out to run along with him and again, the TV crew stepped in ran them off. They wouldn't allow anyone to run with him, even on a public street, which I found very disappointing. I do wish him well on his journey across the country, and I'm really glad I got to run along with him for a bit. And glad I could keep up! Go, Dean, Go!

(that's me in the pink hat on the left!)

Hope, Joy and Beauty in the World

Wow. It's been a long time since I've posted. I got a little lost in some dark times for a bit there. My hamstring did not respond very well to the running intervals as we proceeded on with them, it got more painful and uncomfortable and I got depressed, I lost my inspiration to write...it was not a happy place. Be glad I wasn't posting!!

The GREAT news is, when I found myself one day at the bottom of the well, wallowing in despair and grief over my loss, I realized something. I had been praying for God to heal me. Heal me, please heal me! It finally dawned on me that He wasn't going to do that on my schedule, but His. So I changed my prayer. I asked for God to let me know there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I told Him I understood I was getting a lesson in patience, and that I would try, oh so hard I would try, to be patient with His timing. I prayed for hope. I kid you not, the next day I went for a run on the treadmill for what I thought might be 5-7 minutes. I ended up running for 2 whole miles and there was NO pain. There I was, jogging along by myself, tears streaming down my face. I'm sure everyone there thought I had completely gone over the edge. I didn't care. I was bursting with praise and joy!! My hope was restored!!

Since that day, I have had pain again to be sure, but it is better and it is so much more bearable. I take it one day at a time. Some days are good, others not so good, but there is improvement overall. Today I had one of those runs that I believe  are the reason that runners run. Once in a while you get a run like this: it was beautiful, pain-free, and I felt outside of my body as I just floated along. It felt literally effortless. I could've kept going and going, but I stopped myself at just over 3 miles. It was as if my endorphine production maxed out at full capacity and then somehow found a second wind. It was amazing. Even cooler, the positivity in the music I happened to be listening to today added an even more beautiful, joyful element. Check some of these out if you need a lift: Amazing - One Eskimo, You've Got the Love - Florence + The Machine, Beauty in the World - Macy Gray. Have you had a run like this recently? Call it flow, call it runner's high, whatever it was...I hope to have it again very soon.

It is so nice to be back. To be full of hope and joy again. I am thankful and blessed. And I have SO much to write about...time to get busy and catch up!

Baby steps!!

Today I saw a tiny glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Resting for over 3 weeks has been really hard for me. I miss running so much. Running is my steam valve, my release, my quiet time. Not running has left me feeling more stressed than usual, less patient than usual, and (as my family will probably gladly report) a bit grumpier than usual. There really is an emotional injury added to the physical injury when you can't run. Today, however, I was able to run 3 x 5 minute intervals on the treadmill with NO PAIN! It was blissful. I wanted to keep going and going, but I curbed myself. Baby steps.

In the meantime, while I continue to rein in my enthusiasm to get back to the sport I love, I read a funny the other day that I wanted to share. It was talking about the well-known injury treatment of RICE. R if for Rest to allow the body time to heal, I for Ice to speed recovery and reduce swelling, C for Compression to further limit swelling, and E for Elevation to aid circulation. The article I read by Dr. Kamal Jabbour said that runners have their own version of RICE: R for Run through the pain, I for lots of Ibuprofen, C for Cortisone injections and E for Emergency room trip. I hope I have learned my lesson about THAT kind of RICE treatment.

I will not push it...I will not push it...I will not push it...baby steps!

Still waiting.

I'm still not running and it's been 3 weeks today. I think I have been able to stay marginally sane during this period, but I will start to lose it if things don't progress a little faster soon! The waiting and resting and icing and stretching and waiting some more is so hard! I'm still planning to do a 5-mile trail race in March, and at this point, I don't know if I could even complete 2 miles without falling over. I need to get back to running and soon! The good news is, today I noticed that I didn't have pain while walking on flat surfaces. This is improvement!

In the meantime, I am having fun leading my CCA kids as Head Coach for their 100 Mile Club challenge. This awesome organization promotes running for fun and fitness, awarding kids with cool incentives for running miles throughout the school year. The program culminates with every student that runs 100 miles over the course of the year receiving a gold medal. It's fun for me to watch the kids get excited about how far they've run and how much further they have to go to get their medal. I guess I'm living vicariously through them...and some of them definitely look like they'll continue to have running in their futures. Helping them keeps my mind elsewhere, and off the waiting that I continue to do!

The Surf City race is coming up next weekend, and while I have countless friends participating, I will be sitting this year out. It was a decision I made quite a while back since the race falls on the weekend of my husband's birthday. Turns out I made a good choice skipping it this time since there's no way I would've been able to train with this injury and probably would've ended up DNF'ing if I'd tried to push myself. (DNF is an acronym for Did Not Finish. This is what appears as your "time" if you don't cross the finish line!) Wishing lots of luck to all my pals who are running it on Superbowl Sunday!

Confession

Today marked the official two week mark for me not running. So, of course, I decided to "test the waters" a little. I went to the gym and walked for 15 minutes on the treadmill. Then I SLOWLY ran for 5 minutes. That felt okay. I walked again for 5 minutes, ran again for 5. Worked my way up to running for 10 minutes and started to feel a twinge, so I stopped right away. I switched to the stair climber, then did some strength training. I'm 'fessing up about running a little, but I'm calling it a victory because so many times in the past, I would've felt the twinge and kept going.

Good news: I'm slowly, stubbornly learning to listen to my body. Bad news: it still hurts to run for very long. Back to crosstraining I go. The stair climber and I are becoming friends.

Okay now I have an important question. A bunch of my running pals are into the compression sock thing. I really love my "armies", but I typically just use them to keep my arms warm in cooler weather until I heat up enough to take them off. Do I need compression for my legs when it's too warm for tights? I admit I like running in tights because I actually do feel like my muscles don't get tired as fast, but if I'm running in capris or shorts are compression socks really going to help? What about hot weather? Don't they get too hot? Obviously, unlike arm warmers, you can't strip these off while you're still moving if they do get too warm. Weigh in, people! I want to know.

Compression socks. Hot or not?

XGames

Tomorrow it will officially be two weeks since I've run. TWO WEEKS!! As difficult as it has been for me to abstain from my favorite form of stress relief/endorphine high/exercise, I have been doing pretty well. (Although my family might say otherwise, as I've been a bit snippy and snarky without my steam release valve!) Crosstraining has always been a very weak spot for me, and I'm having to learn the hard way that it truly is beneficial. Running every single day can definitely contribute to overuse injuries, and alternating with another activity can only make you stronger and more well-rounded.  I've tried to make this search for something else to enjoy into a game; I call it my "XGame." The object?  Try as many new crosstraining things in a week as I can.

So far I have spent my two weeks off doing elliptical, stair climber (the actual stair tread one!), stair master (the not actual stairs one!), stationary bike, swimming laps, water aerobics, Zumba, yoga, walking, and strength training. I have to say, I did not find myself terribly enamored with any of it. I spent my 45 minutes on the elliptical staring at people running on the treadmills. I tried to imagine I was running, too. It didn't work. I was bummed out for the whole workout. It would take way too long for me to recount what I disliked about each and every other workout I tried, but suffice it to say that NOTHING seemed to feed my need for endorphines the way that running does. However, out of everything I tried, I think I liked the stair climber best. This is the machine with actual stairs that go around on a tread, so it really is like climbing stairs. It's the one and only workout that had me dripping in sweat like I do when I run. I just don't feel like I'm getting a good workout if I'm not drenched when it's over! Strength training is something else I didn't totally hate. I find it boring and not nearly as intensely gratifying as a good run, but when I do a lower body workout I imagine my leg muscles getting stronger and making me faster when I am able to run again.

Between laying off the running, trying out new workouts and physical therapy,  I hope that my hamstring is resting and healing and becoming stronger. It better. I'm not going to be able to hold back the running monster much longer...although now I might be willing to swap in some days of climbing the stairs and strength training. Maybe. In the meantime, I still might need to buy this shirt: CAUTION: Injured Runner. May Bite.

What do YOU do for Crosstraining? Have a suggestion for something I should try? Let me know!