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.