Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Off the Rhode

As of last week, I have a diagnosis of posterior tibial tendonitis and some Achilles tendonitis as well.

Could be better. Could be worse, I suppose.

Where is the posterior tibial tendon? It stretches from your calf, wraps around your ankle near that bone that sticks out (which is the area where I am having the most pain), and attaches to the sole of your foot. That explains some of the plantar fasiitis-like pain on my sole. Add in the Achilles tendon and that explains the sporadic pain on the sides of my ankle and back of my heel. It all fits together.

This started to get worse when I moved to DC. One of the things that can aggravate this injury is running on hilly surfaces. Hmmm.

Yesterday, someone I just met picked me out as a runner and correctly identified my right side as the injured one. Before I said anything. I didn't realize it was that obvious.

Today, I went to my first physical therapy session. Um, ouch. But good ouch. I felt better than I have in a long time. I have at least a few weeks of PT, some exercises to do on my own, some high doses of ibuprofen for the rest of the week, Superfeet insoles, and one of those packs that you can heat up in the microwave. Yeah, I'm getting old.

I have no idea yet about a prognosis, but it seems promising. Plus I have an excuse to buy new shoes and wear my running shoes to work.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Working It

So I didn't get in much exercise last week. And that was a good thing. I think it helped my ankle, which was finally starting to feel better. Kind of.

I finally went to a doc to see what's going on with this pesky ankle. Posterior tibial tendonitis and some Achilles tendonitis thrown in for good measure. Good news and bad news. There will definitely be more about that later.

Sunday - Rest. Travel. No more travel for a long time. Scratch that. I'll be on another roadtrip to New England again. And then it'll be no more travel for a long time?

Monday - Core work, pushups, and lunges.

Tuesday - 35 minutes on the bike. Too bad I am still stuck inside. It was seasonally cool in the morning.

Wednesday - Rest.

Thursday - 35 minutes on the bike.

Friday - 40 minutes on the bike and planks in the AM. Upper body lifting and squats with a 30 lb. kettlebell at lunch.

Saturday - 60 minutes on the bike.

Monday, August 20, 2012

The Fall

Running in the fall is the sweet reward for training through the summer. The temperatures are cooler. The humidity is gone. The air is clear. It is a joy to be outside on days like that.

It isn't quite fall yet, but the last few days have brought hope for fall. Part of that was being in New England. But it's not too bad in DC at the moment either. Cooler, not too humid. Cloudy and gray, but who cares. It sure beats oppressive heat.

One of my favorite runs of all-time was in October in Vermont a couple of years ago. The leaves had already changed colors and fallen. It was still beautiful. Clear. Crisp. Quiet. Blue skies. A relatively flat mountain road. First long run ever without my iPod. It was such a good run.

Here's to hoping I will be back out there soon.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Working It

Vacation plus no running plus no gym access meant less exercise.

And I thoroughly enjoyed.

Sunday - Rest.

Monday - 10.3 mile hike up my first high peak (anything over 4000 feet). I've come close to a high peak before but the peak fell short by 50 feet. 6 hours of hike time, plus about an hour break total for snacks, lunch, and wandering around the top of the peak.

Tuesday - Upper body exercises with a resistance band, plus core work and pushups. No legwork because my legs were toast. Good thing I had my Stick.

Wednesday - Legs were still pretty much toast. So I went for a 45-minute walk and did some planks.

Thursday - Got lost in a corn maze for a little more than an hour. Counts as exercise, yes?

Friday - Upper body lifting with the resistance band, core work, lunges, and pushups on the exercise ball.

Saturday - Rest.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Working It

In case you missed it last week, I was traveling. Usually, I don't let traveling get in the way of exercising. On a 5-night trip, I went to the hotel gym 3 times, swam twice, and walked more miles than I could count. I slept like a rock.

Now I am traveling again. I will exercise when I can, but I am not going to come close to my usual exercise routine. Sure, I brought my yoga gear, my exercise ball, and a resistance band. I'm planning on doing some outdoors activities. Hiking and kayaking anyone? With no gym and no running, though, my options are limited.

Sunday - 35 minutes on the bike, plus upper body lifting and core work. I was going to have one last dip in the pool, but then I realized the women's Olympic marathon was on live. Awesome hotel gym it was.

Monday - 35 minutes on the bike.

Tuesday - Rest.

Wednesday - Planks, pushups, lunges, and core work in the AM. Upper body lifting and squats with weights at lunch. I meant to go to the gym to do some cardio in the AM but ran out of time. Strength training instead it was.

Thursday - 35 minutes on the bike.

Friday - Rest.

Saturday - Rest.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Working It

Yep, I am officially out of Marine Corps. Bib has been  transferred. I resigned to the fact that it is in my best interest to not run. Still sucks, though.

Sunday - Upper body lifting, core work, and squats.

Monday - Rest.

Tuesday - 40 minutes on the bike. Traveling.

Wednesday - 30 minutes on an elliptical. I haven't been on an elliptical in I can't tell you how long. Also did pushups. And walked a lot. And swam for about 20 minutes after dinner.

Thursday - Upper body lifting, core work, and walking lunges with weights (space! plenty of equipment!) And lots more walking.

Friday - Rest. Sorta. You guessed it. More walking.

Saturday - 30 minutes of swimming (badly) and pool running. Who knew you need shoes to run in a pool? Maybe something else later in the day, but probably not.