Back in the Groove...a bit

Well, the past week has been spent oh-so-slowly getting back into running. I'm really easing myself into it and babying my shin. I've added a warmup to my runs, stretch more afterwards, and do an ice rub and take Advil after every run.

It seems to be working pretty well. Yesterday was the first day my leg started bothering me again. It's mostly my calf muscle that's the issue right now. It was really starting to tighten up during today's light pre-race jog.

So, extra rest until tomorrow at Freihoffer's.

I will be posting plenty of pics and info on the race.

Till then.

Getting Antsy

Tuesday on the treadmill went really well. I was able to run for 2.5 miles at 6.0 and even upped it to 6.5 briefly. Unfortunately I was paying for it yesterday and still a bit today. My shins are acting up a bit. Luckily yesterday was my rest day anyway. I do want to try again today - we'll see how it goes.

Bicycling is going fairly well. I went on Tuesday and am supposed to go today, but with it rainy and 40 degrees, I'm not too sure that's going to happen.

Thank God it's supposed to clear up tomorrow! This week of cold, rainy weather has SUCKED for getting out there and exercising.

Running again...maybe

Well, Sunday was my first foray back into running since I developed shin splints over two weeks ago. Okay, it was a one mile jog on the treadmill at a 12 minute pace, but I was able to do it and it didn't hurt. Dr. Z forced me off with a crowbar before I did anymore. It felt SO GOOD to be running in any form again. I really miss it!

I didn't get to go out bicycling yesterday because of the weather (37, windy, and raining), but got out there today and went even further than before.

Tonight will be another treadmill test, hopefully this time a bit longer. Dr. Z and I have decided that with Freihofer's coming up it's worth skipping the canoe training we would usually do.

Not Much New

Still out of commission as far as running, hiking and karate go. Sensei is back and from what I saw (I went and watched), he's STILL stuck on bunkai even after his trip to Florida. Dr. Z kept saying he was doing a lot of kobudo training while he was there and that would be his new "phase," but only the black belts got to pick up a bo. And that was only the last fifteen or so minutes of class. I'm going to continue "auditing" through my injury, but if this is what we're going back to, I'm looking for a new school the minute I'm better.

Biking is going fairly well. I'm very comfortable on the bike and am just learning when to shift gears. It's not as cardio-intense as running...yet. I'm sure part of it is I have to build up my puny quads.

Canoeing is going okay. Dr. Z and I did the 'Round the Mountain route on Sunday. It did not go as well as planned. Neither of us were in as good shape as we thought. We did two laps around the lake instead of one last night, so that's a good start in building up our endurance. We were 40 seconds off our PR, unfortunately.

Today is my day off. (Unfortunately - it's absolutely GORGEOUS outside.) I'll watch Karate tonight and see if Sensei actually does something BESIDES bunkai.

Injured. Again. Sigh.

Well, after last week's awesomeness, there has been nothing but heartache in the world of sports.

Saturday's race did not go as planned. We did beat out a good many rec canoes, but came in third (last) in our class. In addition our time was TWO MINUTES OVER last year's, and that's with a lot of upgrades to the boats. Dr. Z and I consoled ourselves with the fact that even the boys college team only had an 11-minute-mile pace. Must have been the conditions.

That was followed by an absolute breakdown of my leg during Monday's run. The weather was perfect and I was in the middle of a breakthrough, so I was on a a PR-busting pace when I noticed that my lower right leg was bothering me even more than usual. I could feel that calf muscle really tightening up, either from the pain or trying to compensate. I was trying to run through it when at mile 3.5 my calf muscle SPASMED and wouldn't unclench. I had to limp the rest of the way home.

Needless to say, I haven't been running or doing Karate since. I have an appointment at Sports Medicine today to see why I have that sore spot on my tibia that caused the muscle spasm to begin with. I'm really afraid it's a stress fracture. In addition, although I was amazingly lucky to get in a mere two days after calling (their usual wait time is 2 MONTHS) it's with a doctor that screwed up Dr. Z's treatment when he injured his back. I'm now afraid this guy isn't going to be any help. We'll see.

Then on Tuesday we had a terrible wind on our canoe route and posted a nearly season-worst time.

Talk about one of those weeks that makes you just want to become a couch potato.

ZOOOOOOOM!

BROKE 25 IN MY 5K TODAY!

I am so, SO happy. I had been banging my head against the wall at an 8:07-8:08 pace no matter whether I ran 3.1 miles or 4. Today the weather was perfect - cool and sunny - and I shattered my previous PR by 33 seconds, with a time of 24:42.

I also registered for The Mountaineer's 3.2 mile fun run today. I'm definitely not ready for the alternate 11 mile up a mountain and back down race that's the main event. It filled up in under two hours anyway.

In other news, we should be getting the Cajun back after she's been in the shop since Sunday getting repaired and upgraded. Hopefully we'll be able to test her out tonight and work out the kinks before Saturday's race.

In Karate, I FINALLY got a stripe on Monday. Took six damn months. AND we sparred. AND last night we WORKED BO FOR AN HOUR. And there's been NO self-defense.

So, happy happy happy in the world of sports.