Ouch!

Today I am hurting!

Shelley was away for the weekend, so I headed out for today's 10 miler on my own. Since I've decided I need more hill work, I planned my run through East Longmeadow to tackle some of the tough hills I used to run when I lived at my mom's house.  My back was stiff, so I made sure to roll it out before leaving, and took off with a goal of beating the rain and thunderstorms. Halfway through, my back was killing me, my right knee was aching, and I wanted to quit. But I kept plugging along, knowing that I had to finish this run so I could get to the rest of my day! I finally finished 10.22 miles in 2:07:28, and couldn't have been happier. 

Now, after a little housework, and a mani/pedi, I am settled in with an ice pack watching Tour da France. I love watching triathlon on TV, but have never watched the Tour.  So far, I'm enjoying watching the team time trials. And I just saw an ad for Kona Ironman. sweet.

Now I'm in the mood to shop. I don't even own a cycling jersey and felt so out of place on wednesday, I think I'll look around. I also picked out some cute dresses from Athleta that I think will be perfect vacation outfits for the beach. 

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend! I'm crossing my fingers for a beach morning before the BBQ at Kevin's cousin's house. How are you celebrating?

On the mend!

Luckily my back is much better. I spent friday night eating heating, reading, and TV watching, making sure to take my muscle relaxers and pain killers when scheduled. Kevin left for Vermont to go snowboarding for the weekend with some friends, which left me to heal, and have a little alone time.

my best friend: brookstone lumbar support

Saturday I even managed a short trip to the gym. I did the elliptical and stair-stepper, then spent a good 20 minutes stretching. I really worked out my back stretching, and successfully managed a short stint on the foam roller. I was feeling great, and even avoided the muscle relaxer (Aleve only)! 

I was feeling pretty confidant for my 10 miler today, but not so confidant in the weather. Below freezing temps made me worried about ice, and my running parter & I decided to hit the treadmills. We pretended she was interested in joining my gym so she could get in for free, then pounded out 10 miles at an amazing speed. Usually we end up around 11:20-12:20 min/mile pace outside, today however I finished with a 10:58 pace. My heart rate was pounding into the 180s near the end, I needed a couple quick pauses to lower it, and stretch the back, but overall I felt great! And the post run starbucks wasn't bad either. This makes me think that maybe I can run a faster half marathon than I previously thought!

Later, I decided to make my strength training plan. I bought Strength Training for Triathletes a while back, but hadn't put the time aside to go through the exercises to develop a program that would work for me. I really think overall the book is great. Lots of pictures and easy to follow instructions. A good background of information for people who aren't familiar with the science behind strength training. I definitely recommend it!

Here's what I came up with....

3 days of strength training split into each sport

Separate core strengthening I can do at home 2-3x/week

Monday (Run strength)

circuit 1: squats, leg press, hamstring curls

circuit 2: hammer curls, upright row, band row

circuit 3: Split squats, lateral raise, toe raise, runners raise

Wednesday (Cycling strength)

circuit 1: Walking lunge, step ups, single calf raise

circuit 2: back extension, captains chair knee lift, shoulder protraction

circuit 3: front raise, DB push up, one leg squats

Friday (Swim strength)

circuit 1: Cable lateral leg lift, cable crossover, cable hip ext

circuit 2: bridging pullover, tubing stroke, tricep push down

circuit 3: inclined superman, slam dunk, DB shoulder press

Core

V-up, combination crunch, modified bridge, russian ball twist, moguls & twisting punch

I picked exercises based on the areas I feel I need the most work on. I tried to group them together into circuits that I can easily work on in one area at my gym. Any input, ideas, or feedback?

Don't forget my Nathan hydration giveaway! enter HERE by 2/3!

I Can't get up!

Seriously. Who throws their back out while sitting on the couch writing a blog post? Me apparently. I've been slightly out of alignment for a couple weeks, nothing major. All the sudden, I got a huge jolt of pain in my low back and I couldn't move. I managed to get myself laying on the couch. I tried to get up and couldn't. It reminded me of the time my back was so bad 6 years ago I spent an hour on the floor waiting for my mom to get home and help me. Kevin & my roomie were both at class, and I dropped my mom at the airport last night. I thought of calling a friend nearby to come help, but the door was locked, they wouldn't even be able to get in.  I called Kevin crying and left him a message to come home. Then, I managed to get semi-upright. I used the furniture to get to an ice pack in the freezer, then even made it upstairs for ibuprofen & muscle relaxers.

Kevin made it home an hour or so after and helped take care of me to get me up to bed. At some point during the night, I made it onto my stomach, big mistake. I got stuck around 5am. I couldn't roll over, I was dying in pain, and sweating it was so hot. I managed to tell Kevin "I'm either gonna throw up for pass out." I'm always a courteous passer-outer. I can usually tell someone before I do it at least. I came to sweating, Kevin was elevating my legs. Needless to say I decided I wouldn't be going to work today, and I convinced Kevin to stay home with me. He took me to the doctors a little while ago to get some new prescriptions since I ran out of my muscle relaxer stash.

So, I never made it to my run yesterday (drained after the funeral), and obviously I didn't make it today. With New Orleans 3 weeks away, I hope I can at least get my long run in on sunday!

Back to TV, napping, and reading!