On the Move

My summer fitness plans fell apart when I re-injured my hamstring. I had grand visions of competitive fall

Spending time hiking - and appreciating the
beautiful view - has felt good!

 races and instead I’ve watched as others took full advantage of the environment while I winced in pain. I have spent more time road biking and walking, which has helped me appreciate the opportunities I do have in front of me. While I want to do “everything,” I’m thankful for the opportunity to do anything and everything. That’s not a given for everyone, so I truly appreciate what’s still available to me.

After quite a bit of down time, I’ve been able to start integrating some very short runs into my routine. I’ve worked up to 10-20 minutes, which has felt completely amazing! While I’d love to be back at my race pace of a year ago over the course of 10+ miles, I’ll take running down the street without having to stop in pain. While I did find a level of appreciation of having time off, the minute I started running just a bit, I realized how much I missed it. It’s something I can’t fully describe, but I can say it makes me feel strong and gives me a push to really try hard, in every area of my life!

I'm starting to mix in running, hiking and
biking - woo!

I think an important element going forward is ensuring I spend time mixing up my routine. I think running all the time will result almost immediately again in injury. Running, walking, biking and everything else I can safely incorporate has to be on the table. I started getting a few more hikes in too now that I feel like I can climb without a lot of discomfort. Hiking the hills is so beautiful and stopping for even a moment to take in the view feels invigorating and gives me the motivation to keep going.

I’m on the move again and it’s a great thing for my health, my soul and my drive. I’m ready to establish a routine that’s reasonable but pushes me forward on fitness. Tell me about your summer efforts and what you want to or plan to accomplish in the fall!

Miss FitGab

Returning to the Road

I’ve continued to hold off hitting the pavement for a run since I’ve injured my hamstring. While I miss one of my most favorite activities, I've pushed myself to transition to other enjoyable, non-painful activities and of course, they're very fun!  I started out walking once the initial sting went away and now I’ve moved into longer road bike rides. I’m ready to commit to a training plan to do a long ride! And it’s given me direction again :)

Out on the road for a bike ride! It was a hazy day but the
mountains were still awesome to see!

I’ve been pretty frustrated with my leg injury – upset since it initially reared its ugly head a couple years ago. This time around, I had just really started to settle in to my new space, had started thinking about training for some kind of race and had just gotten into a routine again for exercise. Despite the setback, I’m now enjoying my modified plan.

I started doing more road biking, knowing that a low impact exercise routine would help me build back some strength without putting a bunch of stress on my joints. I wanted to be active and feel like I was accomplishing something, getting somewhere (literally in distance and figuratively in achievement). I started to ride a little further and started pushing the pace a little more. I found a race coming up in early fall where I can pick the distance – 50 miles, 70 miles, 100 miles! While I’d love to accomplish a century ride, I’m thinking that since this is my comeback tour, I may want to start with the 50. I think I have time to train for the 70, but not sure if it’s smart to push my leg that far. I’m competitive, so I want to do well in this ride. I might choose to stick with the 50, but I have some time to decide so we’ll see.

A mix of corn fields and mountains - quite the view riding!

It’s been a little frustrating and challenging to not be able to enjoy all the things I’d like to. A physical injury has really weakened my physical and mental stamina and strength. I’m not ready to throw in the towel, so I’m rethinking how I approach my goals. Running has typically been the source of my drive and motivation. Biking has been the route to enjoyment and fun, without having a lot of rules to follow. Maybe the tables are turning slightly – finding a way to push myself, without physically destroying myself is important. I’m pulling into that lane as we speak, so I’m going to embrace and enjoy building drive for a road race!

What goals have you been working towards? What activities do you find most enjoyable?!

Miss FitGab

RICE

I had a wonderful 4th of July weekend filled with fantastic fireworks, hamburgers on the grill, a nice cold beer and lots of RICE. No, I didn’t suddenly acquire an insatiable taste for the food. I’ve been working on recovery with rest, ice, compression and elevation.

I injured my hamstring again. A week or two ago, Jason and I set out for a short morning run. Right away I could feel a twinge in my knee. I went ahead and started out slow, but that nagging ache in my knee started to throb throughout my leg.

Getting quality reading and lap time in while
resting up.

Later that day my hamstring started to hurt. It wasn’t the first time it had hurt recently. I have felt a dull ache a few times the past few weeks. However, I’ve felt dull aches in my hamstring every now and then since I injured it a couple years ago.

Regardless of my initial vague acknowledgement that something wasn’t right, the injury was settling in. We had plans though. A weekly ride to join. Holiday plans to travel to new trails. What an inconvenience. I didn’t have time for this. Apparently my hamstring had little regard for my schedule.

Honestly at this point, I can’t pinpoint specifically what caused this painful flare up. I have a couple of theories but nothing concrete as I had been having success in my workouts, even doing a couple of mild interval workouts. That, I’m certain, wasn’t the cause.

I had considered just taking a day off and moving on to something with less impact. In fact for a day or two I did that. When I realized the soreness wasn’t going away, I knew it was time to be serious. I pulled out previous research to remind myself of the different levels of injury and studied the symptoms list to see where I fit. Thankfully, I believe it’s a minor injury that simply requires some careful attention that should lead to full recovery. The first step is RICE. That means no activity for a week.

I have taken the recovery plan seriously, even if it’s a little disheartening to my outdoor spirit. I’ve had to miss several group activities and alter weekend plans to basically sit on the couch with my leg propped up and a cold bag of frozen corn under my leg. It’s working. I can feel a big difference already. I want to be back outdoors, but I know it’s not worth hurting it any further and that there’s a tried and true recovery method that I need to follow. So no new exciting outdoors adventures to report; instead I’ve worked on several new sewing projects and caught up on a few good books. The change of pace is welcome, as I’ll have a new level of motivation and new goals to work towards!

How do you handle detours in your fitness routine? Are you able to acknowledge a setback (like an injury) and do what’s necessary to move forward in a healthy manner? 

Miss FitGab