Week in review May 20-26: A couple of out-of-town wogs over the long weekend

Not too shabby for being gone half the week.

Well hello! I’m running a bit behind in pretty much everything in life, still recovering from the long weekend.

We cut out of work early Thursday and headed to Chicago for one night, then to Iowa City for another three nights before coming all the way home tomorrow. It was an eventful weekend full of catching up with friends and eating barbecue, even if I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked.

I did manage to go for very easy run/walks the morning I was in Chicago and one afternoon in Iowa. Hooray for actually using the running clothes I brought with me on vacation! Before we left, I also squeezed in two bike rides and went to physical therapy for what is hopefully my last visit. So yeah, it was quite the busy week.

My workouts shook out to be:

Bike: Twice, both on the trainer, for 30 fake trainer miles in about 2:04. Both were gut-busting, sweat-pouring sessions that I knew completing would help me feel better about skipping town for a couple of days (and eating too much barbecue).

Run: Three times, all very easy run/walk interval wogs, for 7.12 miles in about 1:33. I am still on the 2-minute run, 3-minute walk interval and going about a half hour each time, depending on how long my walk cool down is.

One of these was immediately after PT on Tuesday, and the other two were while I was on the road. I do love exploring new cities while running. I was on a very nice trail in Iowa City and sad I could only got for 4 x 2-minute run intervals. I’ll have to come back another day when I am able to handle long distances again. Overall, I was very happy with my running this week! This was the first week I've run three times in a long, LONG time.

PT: One in-person therapy session for about an hour. We didn’t schedule another one and although I really like the crew there, I really hope I don’t have to go see them ever again!

Total: 6 sessions for about 4:36. Not bad for being on the road for half the week!

I’m already behind because I was traveling home yesterday, Monday, and have to play catchup for a bit. I'm hoping to get into a good schedule of an easy run or a bike ride most days to get the summer off to a good start. 

I hope you had a relaxing weekend and that you are already into a good week!

Week in review May 13-19: A decent showing despite being super busy

Considering how busy last week was, I'll take this as a success.

I can finally, finally, finally breathe a small sigh of relief. Yesterday was the last day of a stretch of nearly two weeks of extreme busy-ness and stress at work. Today I am wrapping up the last of it before moving onto the next round of projects, and I am happy to have it in my rearview mirror.

One thing I am pretty proud of is that my workouts during that stretch were decent. I didn’t do anything incredible, and had to move a couple workouts to zero dark thirty, but I still got a lot done. Most importantly, I was consistent with my 3 x weekly bike trainer schedule, maintaining my streak of three trainer rides every week since our trip to Argentina in early March. I also made food prep and eating mostly healthfully a pretty high priority.

Some things just had to be let go, of course. Weight training was inconsistent these past few weeks. I’ve been going to in-person physical therapy every week, but have been doing the bare minimum of homework. My very easy, very quick run yesterday (Sunday) was the first time I’ve done anything other than one yoga session on a Sunday in nearly two months. I haven’t even thought about going to the pool or doing any other workouts.

Anyway, my totals worked out to be:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 53 fake trainer miles in about 3:37. I didn’t have a chance to take my bike outside on Saturday due to weather and my mom being in town, sadly. But there are plenty more weekends to the summer yet, hopefully.

PT: Twice, one in-person session and one hamstring homework session, for about 1:30. Another week of the bare minimum but at least I’m doing something.

Run/Walk: Well! It’s been a while since I’ve had any running on my weekly roundup. My two very easy, very short run/walk sessions worked out to be 4.3 miles in about 1:04. Both were a half-mile walk, 2 minutes of slow running with 3 minutes walking recovery for 4 run intervals total, and a walk cooldown, either back home or to take the dogs out on a sniff and pee around the block. No huge news here but as the rust shakes off (hopefully) I’ll have more to update on that end.

Total: 7 sessions in about 6:11, reflecting that I had a couple shorter sessions this week. Still, that works out to only one day off and a double (bike + PT homework) on Saturday, so it wasn’t too shabby.

Later this week my husband and I head out of town for a few days over the Memorial Day long weekend. This is just a road trip, so logistics aren’t that complicated, but before we head out there will still be errands to run, a kitchen to clean, laundry to wash and fold, packing to do, etc. I am really hoping I can do some relaxing on this trip because I am long overdue.

I will almost certainly break my three times per week cycling streak this week, but I’m still looking to do two before we head out of town and pick it right back up next week. I also need to get my bike outside, and soon! I am sick of this unending winter keeping me indoors. I will bring some running clothes with me just in case I can fit in a wog, but hanging with friends and relaxing will be the top two priorities.

I hope your week was a great one!

Two very, very easy test runs

I got cleared by my PT to start very easy running this week. Emphasis on the "very" — my "return to running" plan starts out with four repeats of 2 minutes of running.

I went out Friday before work and it went... OK. I still had a bit of pinching pain in the hamstring. Although, it's hard to tell what is pain from just not using my muscles in more than two months, and what's actually hamstring strain pain.

I went out again this morning and it went a bit better with a bit less pain. My hamstring felt a bit uncomfortable, but loosened up a bit. I'm not sure if it was tight and needed some running movement, or it just generally hurt less. I was concentrating on good form a bit more this time around.

So, for now, the jury's still out. I go back to PT on Thursday for what I hope is my last appointment (this time around), and if I still have pain, I think I need to look into a sports physio or a chiropractor or something else.

In the meantime, I am enjoying my time wogging in the spring blooms. This morning smelled wonderful and I was happy to be out there, even if it was only for 4 x 2 minutes running.

Gorgeous morning for a wog.

Week in review May 6-12: A busy, crabby bee

About as good a week as I was expecting.

Last week was difficult and busy, but I knew it was coming and tried to plan ahead as much as possible. I got solid workouts or PT done Monday through Friday, even if I had to move some stuff around to make it work.

I had another week of consistency on the bike trainer, yay me! I had to move one trainer ride to 5:30 a.m., and I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to make my power numbers, but somehow I did. I also had to move my usual Saturday ride to Friday evening, but I knew that was going to be my last shot for a good workout for the week and was able to rally for a nice, challenging ride. I used the yummy steak dinner I had planned afterward as motivation to make it worth my while.

Saturday and Sunday were complete washes as I had to work all day Saturday and was busy all day Sunday with Mother’s Day and then food prep for the week. I didn’t get to sleep in at all either day and was exhausted and short-tempered (my boss’ boss once called me salty, which… isn’t wrong) by bedtime. I forced myself to be semi-social when I wasn’t working or food prepping this weekend but it took a toll on me. I am getting crabby in my old age, I guess!

Also, I just realized that now I have gone two weekends without opening a bottle of wine – what!!! I don’t think I had a drink all weekend except a mimosa at brunch. I would say being tired caused that healthy silver lining, but I did eat half of a chocolate pumpkin bread I found in the freezer, so that pretty much cancels out any calories saved by my inadvertent teetotaling, haha. I did eat salad for lunch every day and dinner at home every night, so that’s something.

Anyway, my workouts shook out to be:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 53.25 fake trainer miles in about 3:34. My one true success this week. I really want to try to get outside for a ride this weekend if the weather holds.

PT: One in-person therapy session and one homework session for about 1:30. Again, the bare minimum. I’m not going to get any stronger if I only do the bare minimum.

Weights: One 55-minute video. Eh, still a victory, and I made sure to use challenging weights. I felt it the next day.

Total: 6 sessions in a hair less than 6 hours. Not terrible, considering.

I have another busy week this week, but most of the busy-ness should be at the latter half of the week. These first few days should be the eye of the storm and I am going to try to front load workouts, food prep, errands, and anything else I can knock out ahead of time. Thursday, Friday, and Sunday will probably be complete washes. I might try to get up early one of those days for a workout but… we’ll see. I have been skimping on sleep lately and I need that, too.

Some good news is this past week was the first in a long time I didn’t notice any of that pinching pain right where my hamstring meets my pelvis, so I don’t know if it was something my PT did last week or if I am finally starting to get stronger. I do still want to see a running form coach or physio but I’m going to wait until after I get cleared to return to running and probably after this next busy week, so after Memorial Day is looking like a reasonable goal.

Like last week, my goal for this week is to do what I can do, eat healthfully, try to get some sleep, and hope for the best. I can take a break next Monday.

Week in review April 29-May 5: Moderately boring and that's OK

Boring bike, boring weights, boring PT.

It was a moderately boring week last week, although I still ended up with a relatively low training volume. You’d think staying in and being a hermit would result in more training time, but that’s not always the case, I guess.

I did keep up my three-times-per-week on the trainer streak, I made it to barre and PT, AND I even did a weights video and a little bit of PT homework. That felt like a monumental effort to complete after work and around all the errands, cooking, and other mundane stuff that takes up so much of my time. I ended up taking Friday and Sunday off training, as per my usual routine, intentional or not.

I did cook dinner at home most days, had salad for lunch every day, and stayed in for Cinco de Mayo (although we went to Mexicantown for dinner Friday night with my husband’s family). I didn’t even open a bottle of wine all weekend! Who am I?! So, even if training didn’t get an A+, I did pretty well with healthy eating and at least I got SOME movement. I am taking the victories where I can get them, OK?

My hamstring and SI joint are still giving me trouble off and on and I honestly think it gets worse after PT, probably because I am using muscles in a different way after sitting all day. I am doing my stretches and SI joint loosener-uppers when I am feeling especially stiff. One of the stretches I do is to lie longwise on a foam roller and put my feet together so my legs butterfly outward; when I did this the other day and sat back up, my tailbone cracked about 5 times all the way up. There are obviously some mobility issues there.

Anyway, hamstring pain and SI joint weirdness aside, the week worked out to be:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 51.25 fake trainer miles in about 3:37. I wasn’t able to make an outdoor ride work this week, but at least I did my three trainer rides.

Weights: One barre class and one video, plus chin-ups and pullups afterward, for about 2:15 all together. I was happy to get back to barre for the first time in a month. I usually do my heavy/body routine on Saturdays, but it was getting late and I was running out of mental bandwidth, so I compromised and did a video with some standing chin-ups and pullups afterward. For some reason this was a slog and I needed a brain break 20 minutes in, but I rallied and finished, so go me!

Also, randomly, my muscles in the area of my side back and armpits – lats? – usually hurts for days after I do pullups, but this time around they don’t hurt at all afterward. I only did standing, not hanging, and that can’t be a coincidence.

PT: Twice, one in-person session and one hamstring homework session, for about 1:30. This is the absolute bare minimum I should be doing.

Total: Seven sessions in about 7:22. Eh, I’ve definitely had worse weeks, and it’s still five good days, so I’ll take it.

The next two weeks are going to be busy, busy, busy as it’s the most hectic time of the year for my job. I don’t know how I’m going to get through them except to focus on one day at a time. I’m concentrating on maintaining my three-days-per-week bike trainer streak and making it to my PT appointment. If I can fit a weights video in, I’ll be ecstatic. I'm going to do what I can do, eat healthfully, try to get some sleep, and hope for the best.

April in review: No run, no swim, no problem

Minutes trained in April

Bad news first: I didn’t run at all in April due to hamstring issues. The general pain and inflammation seem to have calmed down, and my orthopedist doesn’t think I have a tear, but I’m still going to PT and haven’t been cleared yet by my physical therapist. So.

Also: I didn’t make it to the pool at all in April. I am still struggling with a mental block that is giving me swimming anxiety, and I am just not making the time to go. I don’t want to wake up at 4:30 a.m. anymore, so I don’t. After work, I am either riding the trainer, going to PT or barre, doing a weights video, or curling up under blankets with a glass of wine before making dinner and going to bed. So, swimming isn’t a priority right now.

Now, the good news: I had what may have been my best cycling month, and what was definitely my best trainer cycling month, ever. I rode three times per week consistently and increased my FTP by a few watts. That was some good news.

I wasn’t happy about going back to physical therapy, but that’s going as well as I can hope. My hamstring feels better and I’m regularly going to in-person sessions and doing homework. Throw in a few weights sessions and some yoga and the month wasn’t half-bad.

By the numbers, it was:

Bike: 13 sessions, all on the trainer, for 216 fake trainer miles in about 15 hours, 18 minutes. This is … a lot more than what I usually do! A successful FTP retest confirms that I am actually building bike fitness and not wasting my time, which makes me happy. Biking in April was all about being consistent.

Nice build of fake trainer mileage.

This is about four more sessions and hours than what I did in March, about what I expected since I was on vacation for part of March. I am looking forward to (hopefully!) doing some outdoor rides in May. The trainer serves a purpose, but I can’t wait to ride in the fresh air, sunshine, and breeze.

PT: 12 sessions, 6 in-person therapy sessions and 6 homework sessions, for about 10 hours, 10 minutes (not exact, a general estimate). I really need to be doing more homework, but I'm going to in-person therapy about once per week (twice the first week I was back) and doing homework about once per week, which has room for improvement but isn't terrible.

I wasn't going to PT yet in March, so April's numbers are a big increase from last month and probably closer to what I should be doing anyway. Oh well, at least I am doing something to help my hamstring heal.

Weights: Four times — two heavy/body sessions, one barre class, and one video — for about 4:25. This is almost exactly what I did last month and averages once per week, so I'll take it.

Yoga: Just twice, two solo sessions for a half hour total, but that was still a half hour more than I did last month, so I'll take that victory.

Total: 31 sessions in about 30:23. Still an average of one per day and about an hour per day, which I am happy with.

As far as my loose goals for the year, rebuilding running is obviously still up in the air. Some days my hamstring feels fine, some days it hurts to sit. My PT gave me a couple stretches and moves to try to get my SI joint back into place, and that helps occasionally. It's so frustrating.

My cycling has been on point these past few weeks and I'm thrilled about that. I haven't made it outside on the bike yet but the weather hasn't quite been good enough. I'm hoping I can get out by the end of the month.

I need to get into a better yoga groove and get back into the pool I say that every month, but it's as true this month as it was last month.

I have a lot of work to do, but it isn't all gloom and doom. If I can work running (and swimming) back into the rotation for May, I'll be ecstatic. If not, I still have a good back of cycling, PT, and weights to fall back on.

I'm looking forward to the rest of May, the good weather it will hopefully bring, and the healing my body will hopefully be doing.