Recovery Plan

I haven’t run in two weeks. This is probably the hardest thing for any runner to do: take a break so you can heal and run again. There is a plan, though, and it is this plan that makes not running bearable.

After about a week of not running, and my hip and knee were still feeling funky, I decided to go to our athletic trainers at my University. As a staff member, I am able to use their services, and one of the trainers is in my yoga class as well. The first thing I did was describe what I was feeling and what was hurting. Then she looked at my current running shoes and said, “Your left leg is short than your right”. Then we measured. And sure enough my left leg was 1/2″ shorter than my right. She had me do some exercises, and when we measure again, it was only 1/4″ difference this time. Essentially, my hip flexors are so tight, it’s throwing everything off…hence, the knee/ IT band  and hip hurting, plus the outside of my left foot was bruised after the half marathon. Because I’m in the yoga class, she wants to use that space as my therapy. She said she watched me the other day in class, and I am not aligning my hips correctly and overextending. She had me stand in front of a mirror and lined me up correctly in a handful of poses. The ones that I have to work on are warrior I, warrior II, high lunge, triangle, and bridge. I found two great websites that help with proper positioning: yoga journal and bandhayoga.

So here’s my plan: I’ve always wanted to do a home yoga practice, but I could never motivate myself to really do it. Now I have a reason to do so. The plan begins with a home yoga practice with a sequence working on hip openers and aligning myself correctly. Also, the month of March is going to be no running, but I can still swim and walk/hike. For April, I’m going to slowly build up to running 20 to 30 minutes every other day, swim on the other days, and of course more yoga. For the month of May, I will focus on a solid 30 minutes of running, with back-to-back days, along with swimming and yoga. By June, I will begin a new half-marathon training schedule for the High Country Half Marathon at the end of August.

So what does this injury tell me? For one, I’ve over-extended myself, both in a literal sense, but also metaphorically. I over-trained, over-committed, and pushed for something I wasn’t quite ready for (a 1:40 half-marathon time). Another “over” word – I over-compensated for bad form. Aligning myself correctly will allow me to become a stronger person overall. This injury also explains my bizarre running form! Twenty some years of competitive running, which includes running camps, and this trainer was the first one to tell me one leg is short than the other. What I have briefly read on leg length discrepancy is it falls into two categories of anatomic or functional. By the pure fact she was able to move the length by 1/4″ with a couple exercises means this is probably more functional than anatomic, which means there is hope I can run another day.

Make It So

My mantra for 2015 is “Make It So”. For all the non-Trek fans out there, this saying originates with Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The past couple years, I’ve tried the Nike motto, “Just Do It”, but it didn’t always work. In the past three days though, when I feel like I don’t want to do something, I hear Patrick Stewart’s voice saying, “Make it so.” And then I do what needs to be done. Granted, we’re only three days into the new year, but I can tell a difference.

So, what am I making so for 2015?

1. Races. Here are the races I want to run for 2015: Disney Glass Slipper Challenge, New River Half Marathon, High Country Half Marathon, Chasing Snakes 10K, Peachtree 10K, Run with the Cows 10K, Spooky Duke 10K, The Cub 7-Miler, Turkey Trot 5K, Mayview Madness 5K, and Geek Girls Run at Dragon*Con.
2. Reading. I’ve taken the Goodreads 2015 goal, and I have 15 books listed to read. They vary from science-fiction to business to memoir to the required summer reading selection for my first year seminar to classic literature that I missed during my schooling.
3. Writing. My goal is to post at least three times a week here in the blog. I’ve had this blog up for about two and half years, and I really haven’t had good consistency. To succeed in anything (running, blogging, or otherwise), I need consistency. But I also need to be realistic. I can do three times a week.
4. Strength. I mean this in both the literal and figurative ways. I can run forever, but ask me to lift something heavy, and I turn into the damsel in distress. So, I’ve added the Bullworker to my exercise routine.  But I also need my mental strength, so I’m adding in daily meditation and breathing exercises.
5. Healthy Habits. This runs the gamut from better bedtime habits to shorter showers to juicing every day to composting the remnants of the juicing for a butterfly garden to a daily meditation practice.
6. Clean the Clutter. I love a clean and organized space, but finding the time in the midst for work, training, and life in general has been hard. So, this year, I’m re-framing my thoughts on cleaning, and I’m counting it as a second workout, especially vacuuming. I’m hoping this will motivate me to do more. I’m also breaking it down, instead of piling it all up for the weekend. Sunday – laundry; Monday – bathroom; Tuesday – kitchen; Wednesday – grocery store; Thursday – living room; Friday – guest room; and Saturday – my room.

Happy New Year!

Give me a break

During my many years of running, I always make sure I give myself a break. In middle school, high school, and college, I always took about a two week break after cross-country and track season. Now that I’m a bit older, I try to take a week off after each race. So this past week has been my break week…although I did attend my yoga class on Monday and Wednesday because this was the last guided practice class for the summer until the academic year begins in August. I am grateful for these breaks because it reminds me of why I love to run and why I need running in my life. Plus this time allows me to figure out my next races. My next race is September 20th, Run with the Cows.

This break also allows me a chance to review some of my habits and determine what needs improvement, as well as what needs to plain go. Right now, I’m continuing my juicing and efforts of a gluten free/plant-based diet, but I do want to go back to using My Fitness Pal to track what’s coming in. I’ve caught myself doing quite a bit of nervous eating in the past six months. With the break in the guided yoga practice, I’m going to start my own home practice.

Wheel Goes Round

Yesterday in yoga class, we moved into grasshopper, although mine looked like a squashed one at the end of summer. Then the instructor said that we were opened up enough that we could move into wheel. I love wheel. It is so opening and freeing. Plus, like when I’m running and I imagine that I look like an elite runner, when I am in wheel, I imagine that I look like a true yogi. I am always grateful when we end in wheel.

Right now, I practice yoga twice a week, in a guided practice class. This has been the best addition to my running. It gives me strength training both inside and out. My intention is that by August, I can begin a daily practice at home. Partly so my grasshopper (and crow) don’t look so squashed, but also to continue to strengthen my mind and my body.