Run that ye may Obtain

Phew!  I am finally starting to get really excited about Boston again after a couple of weeks of cross training and therapy.  My left leg and foot is feeling much better and my confidence is back.  People keep telling me their personal stories of cross training before big races and still running great.  Coach D. pointed out that Joan Benoit Samuelson had arthroscopic knee surgery 17 days before the 1984 Olympic Trials and cross trained pretty much her entire last three weeks.  She won the trials AND the Olympic Games a few months later.  I have been keeping my body sharp and fit while trying to stay mentally tough even without a lot of running.  I’ve also been trying to evaluate what may have been the cause of my sudden flare up of problems.  I think the main cause is simply training harder than I ever have while having a break-through season (doesn’t come without its set-backs.)  I also think my new orthotics and changing them three different times this season may have confused my legs and feet a bit too much.  In the coming weeks you can be sure I will be doing everything possible to strengthen my feet and step off the plantar faciitis pain train.  But for the next week I’m just going to keep focusing on rest, recovery and positive thoughts going into Boston

My week in review:

Monday A.M. 40 min. pool run, therapy with Dr. Tim. P.M. 30 min. swim

Tuesday A.M. 70 min. elliptical w/8×3 min. hard pushes, massage with Erin P.M. Weights/core plus 30 min. pool run

Wednesday 60 min. pool run, 2 hour nap

Thursday A.M. 45 min. pool run, massage and kinesio tape with Rob. P.M. 4 mile easy run on Kitt Field; felt pretty good!

Friday 80 min. pool run with intervals at Rally Sport with Katie F., Sarah, Bean, and Cheri.  It was nice to have friends to chat with.  I tried to do a lot of the run without a float belt and by the time I finished, my shoulders were PUMPED.  ART with Richey afterwards.  Sarah says I’m a “therapy whore.”  I say I’m just trying to hit this injury from all angles.  After all, each therapist I saw this week offered a slightly different approach. I figure something’s gotta give.

Saturday 6 mile run with Aaron, 6 strides mixed in plus 40 min. pool run right after.  Bumped into Joanna, Kathy, Colleen, and Coach at FAC.  My spirits were lifted by their optimism, encouragement, and smiling faces.  P.M. Cleaned out the garage and it is now miraculously pleasant to walk through!  Took the kids to see Hop. Cute!

Sunday Day of Rest.  Took a 2 hour nap after Church.

7.5 miles equivalent

After my workout last night my right glut was extremely tight so I rolled it out on the foam roller for a while and iced it.  This morning it was still super tight and I didn’t want to make it worse so I decided to cross train today.  Went to the gym and my 18-month old was not feeling well and was super clingy when I left her in child care so I resolved to getting my workout done in one hour.  Jumped on the elliptical and made every minute count.  You can really get that thing whirling if you put some muscle into it.  I bumped the level up to 14 and kept my heart rate around 140-150.  It said I did 7.5 miles in an hour and I’m counting it.  My arms and quads were throbbing when I got off.  It may not have been a true “recovery” effort, but at least it didn’t hurt my glut.

8.25 miles equivalent

Went to the Bountiful Recreation Center to work out since I heard its like smoking a pack of cigarettes if I run for an hour outside in this cruddy inversion air.  Question: if the air is so horribly damaging outside, would it really be THAT much better in a large building with doors opening and letting that air in every 13 seconds?

I did a 2.25 mile warm up on the treadmill and my knee was pretty tight.  Not wanting to make it tighter, I stretched well and jumped on the elliptical.  I pushed it up to level 14 and kept my heart rate over 140 so as to make the workout equitable to running.  I did 4X45 seconds hard, then 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1 minutes hard with one minute rest between pushes and a cool down afterwards.  I got my heart rate up to the 170s for a bit, at least.  Felt great on my knee and worked some weaker inner thigh and outer calf muscles differently from running.