I'll start December with big news! I "ran" today for the first time in over a year. It has been several months since I restarted from my hip injury with just walking. I have been adding running into the mix in mostly 2 min run/2 min walk. Today I decided it was time and ran my whole 10K with no walk breaks. My overall pace was the same as my last run/walk on the same route, but my effort and heartrate were considerably higher. No aches or pains, just bad cardio. Definitely a step in the right direction.
Heffa - congratulations!!! That is great news. How is the hip feeling after that run?
I went out for a run yesterday - again felt pretty good until just about mile 3. I was already on my way back to my car when I felt that weird pain that ran from my knee down to my shin as I came down a pretty steep hill. Here's the weird part. I was feeling that for about .1 miles when I turned the corner and could see my car (the lone care parked in school lot) and there was someone by my car. I was about 2/10 of a mile away but when I saw them I started to pick up the pace to get back to see why they were at my car. They saw me coming and took off (no damage, but glad my run was ending when it was or there's the possibility of damage or that my car wouldnt have been there).
The weird part was that the pain/weakness in my knee/leg was gone when I ran that faster portion at the end. Maybe it was just some adrenaline because that guy was maybe breaking into my car, but just weird. I'll discuss it with my PT on Wednesday.
Congratulations, Heffa! What a great way to kick off the last month of the year.
JeffD I hope you get some clarification from the PT AND I'm so glad you and your car remained safe!
I'm still trundling along with the Stroller. I ran with a friend last Wednesday. She held onto the stroller for about a mile (running right next to me) and I ran independently which felt good at the time. When I tried to do that with DH the other day, he'd immediately get too far away and I panicked every time - felt like I was going to faceplant on the asphalt. He got irritated and gave it back. Apparently he "can't" run my slow pace. So that was a failed experiment. Now I just try to push it out in front of me a little ways and catch up to it.
As far as the PMR goes, I'm almost 3 weeks out from stopping Prednisone. The worst of the Pred withdrawal is behind me, but my adrenal glands which regulate blood pressure and response to stress have still not normalized. If I'm having a rough patch though, I've found that walking or jogging can resolve it. I have lots of sore muscles, and probably should allow for more recovery time after yard work, running, and weight training.
Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done.
Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.
JeffD - Funny how different strides can change everything. Probably the biggest thing I learned running ultras. Just because you have a pain is no reason to stop. Just run different. On the heels, on the toes, side stride, backwards...mix it up for a mile or two. Then like magic, everything feels fine again....lol.
Happy - As I've mentioned before I am no stranger to the prednisone taper. Keep up the positive attitude.
I've converted most of my mileage to work walks since I have started to work again. I have not bothered to post them as workouts but I'm getting a good 5 miles in throughout the day. Still no aches or pains (knocks wood). Heading to Vegas for a week so that will be many miles of walking. next workout should be on the strip!
Thanks for the support heffa. It's def not easy. I understand it can take quite a while to normalize. For sure, exercise is my best weapon: I was nearly done in today by the awful fatigue and low morale from pred withdrawal and the PMR. I finally got on my treadmill and walked for an hour. Now I feel a LOT better.
5 miles a day of walking is significant! Have fun in Vegas!
I want to transition away from using the Stroller and ran a couple times this week without it. The first felt very steady, The second had some vertigo if I looked away from the ground in front of me. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
12/16/23 update: Apparently I overdid it with running quicker on the treadmill early this week. An intermittent right glute pain has erupted into a bonfire. It hurts to walk around the house even. Hope it heals quickly so I can end the year on a good note.
Heffa - hope Vegas was fun. I love running the strip in the morning when I'm there.
HF - sorry to hear about the glute pain, but can definitely relate. I've dealt with sciatic pain off and on for years and it can really be debilitating. I have some stretches I use when I get that pain if you want them.
So it looks like my total for the year will be just over 1,100 miles. I'm okay with that. I spoke with my PT a couple weeks back and we determined a couple things. One, it might be a good idea to rest up for a few weeks - so I am just doing my one mile and then spending that extra time I used to spend running working on mobility, stretching and strengthening my quads, calves, hamstrings and hips. And Two, I might actually be running my slow runs a bit too slow - running slower means your foot is in contact with the ground longer, which she thinks might be more pounding and more time for the knee to twist (even if ever so slightly).
So for the past two weeks I've focused on that. I've been running mainly on the treadmill, so I bumped up my easy pace from 9:40 to 9:20 pace and honestly I think it might be helping. My knee hasn't hurt (knock on wood) during the runs.
She also recommended a really gradual buildup in the new year so I am looking now to train for a half marathon in late May or early June and have built a plan that is 22 weeks long and will build up to a 14 mile run right before the race. I've changed my usual training plan cycle where I used to use a weekly (7 day) workout plan so I had a long run every 7 days. For next year, I've adjusted it to a 10 day training cycle - so only a a long run every 10 days. And I've adjusted it so I am running every other day - literally starting my runs during my first training cycle at 1.5 miles (offset by one mile on the rest days) and building those up only a 1/2 mile during each training cycle. With the 10 day training cycle there are 15 training cycles before the half marathon which will allow the long run to build to 14 miles and the shorter runs to build up to 7 miles and then I plan to hold them steady at that distance. I won't determine whether I want to throw in any speedwork at all for this training until at least April.
Yes, JeffD, I'd love it if you'd share the stretches you do!
Check out this website. I focus on stretches 2, 4, 5 and 6. I used to like the forward pigeon pose stretch but my knee can't do that one any more. Also, when doing stretch #5 (knee to opposite shoulder) I go a bit further by extending the leg out as I pull towards the other shoulder. I find this gets a deeper stretch in the glute.
https://www.healthline.com/health/back-pain/sciatic-stretches#standing-hamstring-stretch
Terrific group of stretches! I'm on the right track then because for the last couple days I've been doing 3, 4, and 5! I appreciate the link because I see that I haven't been holding the stretch #3 or #6 for long enough AND I'd forgotten about #2.
I like the sound of your new training plan and will be interested to see how it works out for you.
Vegas was a blast, as usual. We saw the Beatles Cirque show and it was excellent (and I'm no Beatles fan). We ate at 4 new restaurants and 2 of them were good. Gambling went about average.
My sole run was with a backpack to the liquor store just off the strip. My goal each Vegas visit is to bring back a bottle of bourbon that I can't get in Virginia (which would be just about anything). This time I found a bottle of Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond.
On the downside, DW and I both came back with Covid. It feels like I am just about over it and I should be able to get out and do a little moving tomorrow.
heffa47 How are you feeling post-Covid?
Three days left to round out 2023. I hope everyone can look back on the year and be proud of how they met their challenges. I know that New Years is a made-up fresh start, but I'll take it. Onward!
Well that's a wrap!
Just finished my last run of 2023 (14.6 miles) for a total of 1568 miles this year. Lowest since 2019 (the year I had the heart attack). Can't ask for much more, though, as I am healthy and uninjured and building mileage back.
I have a 10 mile race coming up at the end of January and have been increasing my long runs to get ready for it. 10, 11, 15, 14, 16, 15 on successive Sunday mornings. Kinda like the old days, cept back then I could knock out successive 22 mile runs! Should be ready to at least not humiliate myself out there! Here's to the New Year! Hope everyone else is on the road to putting those niggles behind.
Congratulations on clearing 1500 miles with a wide margin, kcam! "Healthy and uninjured and building mileage" That's what we all want, isn't it? Thanks for holding the vision aloft for us.
Thanks HappyFeat. Happy New Year to all the 1500 milers!