Minutes to miles!

I'm officially transitioning from minutes to miles!!! We were in Houston last night, so Jake suggested I take advantage of a nearby 3 mile dirt loop while I could. Since all went well, we're going to make the jump from progressing by 2 minutes every other run to doing mileage runs and progressing every two weeks! I am beyond excited!

Before I get to running, I would like to introduce you to my awesome cousins! I grew up with four cousins that were similar in age to me (plus two younger ones) and it was always so fun to get together. Today we are short two (we lost Jordan in Iraq in the war, and JD in a car accident), but we are closer than ever!

L to R: Jacob, Leah, Madison (JD's little girl), Sarah, Breynna, and myself (missing Katie!)

Sunday, April 27th
3 miles at Herman Park. It's a 3 mile dirt loop around the rice campus, and it is PERFECT! I wish we had something like it near us in Dallas! I started extremely slow, really uncomfortable with jumping by over a mile after only adding 2 minutes at a time, but I slowly built confidence over the run. Halfway through I realized everything was going to be okay and I started to really run. The last mile or so was SO fun! I know I can't run hard on every run, but that last mile was fun!

Monday, April 28th
Bodypump strength class. This KILLED me!! I don't know how I used to do it so often! It will DEFINITELY be good for me to keep going two to three days per week!

Tuesday, April 29th
2 miles at the track. I am SO SORE from yesterday!!! I even brought the foam roller to the track to roll on it a couple minutes before I ran because I was so tight! Even walking hurts, haha! But, since I rolled and went through a set of drills before my run, I actually felt really good! I came through the first mile in 7:55 and then finished the two miles at 15:24. Definitely faster than anything I've done so far. Up until this week, all of my continuous runs were 8:40-8:57 pace and all of my run/walk days consisted of 8:00-8:06 pace for the running parts. I know I can't do this every day because it was by no means easy, but I had ZERO knee pain on the run and I know I can go slower the rest of the week. Crazy how 7:42 pace is a "hard" day now!

Wednesday, April 30th
45' cycle in the morning.
3 miles in the afternoon. Kept it easy today and just ran three of the 1 mile loops in our neighborhood. Didn't even start my watch! I had some knee pain on both legs and some pain in the back side of my left groin, but that's it!

Thursday, May 1st
30' cycle, 30' core in the morning.
2 miles in the afternoon. Went to the track with intentions of running 8:40 pace. Kept coming the thru the laps too fast and came thru at 8:23 for the first mile so I tried to keep it there. On the last two laps I threw in one 100m pick-up (not a stride or sprint). It was really windy today! My left knee hurt pretty bad, but I think it's from jumping funny over a puddle while walking to the track. 16:16 for the day. Definitely to slow down for Saturday's run.

Friday, May 2nd
Rest day!

Saturday, May 3rd
60' bodypump (weights).
2M treadmill run. Set it to 8:46 pace and left it there! Still have that bad pain in my left knee from Thursday though! :(
60' spin class.

Still trucking along!

So, before I get to any thrilling updates about my running shenanigans and my crazy aches and pains, check out this cool little chart I got last week! I had a food sensitivity test done by one of my friends who is a nutritionist, and these were my results! Apparently they are pretty clean compared to most, so I'm pretty pumped! Plus, out of everything in the list, there are only a handful I actually eat regularly. I'm excited to see how I feel at the end of three months with these items eliminated or minimized in my diet! (There is actually a lot more detail behind the "minimized" idea, so if you do ever get a test done, make sure you have a qualified person working with you to develop a plan!)

Vanilla, Cinnamon, & Cane Sugar are going to be hardest since they are in several of my health products, but the rest should be pretty easy to clear out. I'll have to watch for pepper when we go out to eat though! :)

Anyways, onto running! I am continuing to recover from runs in a matter of hours (in terms of knee pain), so I have no intentions of changing the plan yet! I also notice that I am making it farther into the runs before I get pain, so I'm taking that as a good sign! Hopefully I can strengthen up those areas while I'm getting back in shape and not miss any time at all for them!

Sunday, April 20th
Off day! Good timing too! I walked/ran about 20,000 steps yesterday because of the team's track meet! I can't believe my husband does that every weekend!!!

Monday, April 21st
Warm-up drills
12' continuous run. No major problems, though my knees did hurt! I'm really excited to have gotten the full 12 minutes in though... I'll be up to normal daily distances in no time! ;) I had the incline at 1% and the pace at 8:40.
Lots of foam rolling, Core X by Jay Johnson, physical therapy exercises.

Tuesday, April 22nd
Foam rolling and warm-up drills
14 x 1' run, 2' walk I covered a total of 3.5 miles today! Woohoo! Running portions were 8:06 pace for the first 7 and 8:00 pace for the last 7. Walking pace was 3.8mph. Knees are still really bothering me... They just feel so clunky and uncoordinated and loose. I can't wait until 8:00 pace doesn't feel like I'm running fast!! :D

Wednesday, April 23rd
45' spin class. I missed these so much!! I really don't know how you sweat and burn so much more by going to one of these classes than you do when you cross train on your own, but it is AWESOME! And I love having a set time and people to meet with! Woohoo!
2 upper body supersets. I chose heavier weights and only did two supersets, so just four exercises. I started with a superset of 15 bent over rows and 15 glute bridge bench press, all of which was done with 15lb dumbbells. I did three rounds of those two exercises. Next was three rounds of 8 bicep curls and 8 shoulder press, both of which were done with 15lb dumbbells as well. I was beat from this quick workout!

Thursday, April 24th
14' run. I did this on the track today right before the team ran! I had a good stretching session last night and have been applying oils religously for the past several days and I think it's helping! My knees were actually okay today, even without warming up or rolling, etc before the run. I literally just got out of the car and started, so I was very pleasantly surprised! Nothing was 100%, but it was definitely better than it has been! I didn't time the whole thing, but my last three laps were just under 8:20 pace, which is good and sad at the same time, haha. Good because I'm making progress and sad because it did NOT feel like 8:20 pace!!! LOL!

Friday, April 25th
16' run. This was supposed to be 16 x 1' run, 2' walk, but I was short on time so I just did 16 minutes continuous on the treadmill! Kept it nice and relaxed. If my knees were okay, I'd be quite happy about everything right now! My left knee hurts on the top and my right knee hurts on the outside and bottom.

Saturday, April 26th
Rest day (family reunion!)

Faith > Stress

I was extremely discouraged after last Saturday morning's run. I started on my first 1' running segment and felt fantastic. Strong, smooth, in control... fast, even. The second one came around and I felt a slight twinge in my knee towards the end. The third, and bam, it was back in full force. I continued the workout because I knew from experience the pain would leave in the next hour and I wanted to get in the little bit of running I was allowed. By the time I got to number 10, it was really getting bad. I had been careful not to make any turns while running, and to stay on gradual slopes or level surfaces as well, so I was really confused. I did number 11 and by that point the pain was up in my hip as well. I decided to stop there.

For the rest of that day, every thought in my mind about my workout and fitness level added an extra penny to my stress bank. I was filling it up quickly. I was so annoyed and frustrated. I even complained to Jake about not being able to break a sweat on my morning run because I couldn't run fast enough to get my HR up without my knee hurting.

So, this week will be different. No more stressing over my return to running. I can only do the things I know how to do; and the rest will come in God's timing. I can use my creams, do physical therapy exercises, and listen to my body. I can eat anti-inflammatory foods and avoid inflammatory ones. I can get good sleep and double my doses of Ionix Supreme and Joint Support. And, most importantly, I can change my attitude. I ran 11 minutes on Saturday after spending four months of not running at all. That should have been celebrated and instead it was a heart-break. This week, every workout will be celebrated and every fitness thought will add a penny to my faith bucket that one day I will be able to return to training hard and competing.

Sunday, April 13th
Rest day!

Monday, April 14th
10' foam rolling
warm-up drills
8' treadmill run. I set it to 1% incline and 8:57 pace again and didn't touch it once! For the first six minutes, I had zero pain anywhere!!! Starting about 6 minutes in, I got some hip and hip flexor pain in my right side and some glute pain in my left side, but still no need pain. During the last 30 seconds, I had some pain in that outer hamstring tendon at the back of my right knee, but still no "knee pain" like I've been having. I was so happy! About 20' before the run I doused my leg in cream and I spent a long time rolling before I went. I think the combination of the cream, the treadmill, and the slow pace is why I didn't have pain!
12' treadmill incline walk

Tuesday, April 15th
10' foam rolling
warm up drills
10 x 1' run, 2' walk on the treadmill. 1% incline again, and I put the running pace at 8:27 (30" quicker than when I do my continuous run) and the walking pace at 3.5mph (which is probably too slow). I followed the same process as yesterday, cream 20 minutes out, foam rolling, drills, etc., but I did get knee pain today. It could be because I went longer, because the pain didn't start until I was about 15 minutes in, or it could be because it was two days in a row. No telling. Tomorrow I will rest, and on Thursday I will attempt 10 consecutive minutes!!

Wednesday, April 16th
Physical therapy and stretching before work.
2 quick circuits during work (pictures of workouts below)! The first workout was actually pretty tiring because I did every rep very slowly and focused on perfect form and using the right muscles. The second workout was a bit longer than 7 minutes for me since I did each exercise for 40" instead of 30", but it was a bit too easy for my liking.

Thursday, April 17th
Warm-up drills
10' run. I took Jake's place at his team's practice for him this morning and since I was already at the track I decided to just do my run there! I decided to just finish out my fifth lap so I actually ran 10:32, but that's okay! My knee was definitely not normal, but there was never bad enough pain that I wouldn't have run on it. I was so happy I got to do the full 10 minutes and it was even nicer to be able to do it outside instead of on a treadmill! 

Friday, April 18th
Rest day (cleansing!)

Saturday, April 19th
Warm-up drills
12 x 1' run, 2' walk. I set the treadmill to 8:30 pace for the running portions and kept it at 3.5 for the walking parts still. It seemed to go by pretty slowly, but it was not too hard physically. My legs (yes both) were hurting.. right knee and hip flexor and left knee and glute. Trusting in the PT and chiropractor! :) And reminding myself that the pain will leave within an hour or so. :)

IT'S TIME!!!

My knee is nowhere near happy, but I am officially allowed to run again!! I'm hoping a gradual return and continued strengthening and chiropractic work will clear up whatever is going on with my knee so that it doesn't delay anything!

Before I get to this week's training, I want to share two quick pictures from my trip to Palo Alto last week! I took one of DBU's athletes to the Stanford Invite and we ended up in the prettiest hotel with the best trail just walking distance away!

Here's the trail that I did my run/walk on last Saturday! Completely tree lined!

This is the view from our balcony at the hotel! How nice is that?!

PS. In case you're wondering, the girl I was with set a new school record and ran 10:30 in the 3k steeplechase (this equates to about a 10:30 two mile)! I'd call it a successful trip! :)

Sunday, April 6th
Warm-up drills
Lunge Matrix by Jay Johnson
30' run/walk with 10 x 1' running, 2' walking. Started the running at 9:50 pace and did the last half at 8:50 pace, never turning it any faster than that (I was on the treadmill). Patience, patience, patience! Still had knee pain, but it left later in the evening.
Foam rolling

Monday, April 7th
Foam rolling
Core X by Jay Johnson
Myrtl Routine by Jay Johnson
2M walk in the evening

Tuesday, April 8th
Warm-up drills
6' walk to loosen up, 4' continuous run, 2' walk home to complete the mile- Nothing to report on this other than I'm happy it didn't feel bad! Last time I came back, my first "continuous run" felt awful! It's really funny to run 4 minutes and have that be your total for the day. Kind of feels silly. :)
15' HIIT circuit - 3 x 45" pull-ups, bench dips, push-up twists, double leg raise, mountain climbers; 15" rest in between each exercise
10' walk with incline @ 10%, 3mph

Wednesday, April 9th
Core X by Jay Johnson
Lunge Matrix by Jay Johnson
Leg Swings
36' run/walk with 12 x 1' running, 2' walking- Really bad knee pain today, but once again I felt like I could fly out there if I had no pain. It feels like my leg is twisted at each joint and feels very unstable when I turn, run downhill, and even on level ground. Uphill running feels best. 
Myrtl Routine by Jay Johnson

Thursday, April 10th
20' walk to DBU gym
15' HIIT circuit. 3 rounds of 45" squat to press, deadlift to upright row, wall sit with hammer curls, marching glute bridge, plank with leg lifts; 15" rest between each. I used two 10lb dumbbells for the first three exercises.
20' walk home

Friday, April 11th
Myrtl Routine by Jay Johnson
Core X by Jay Johnson
20' walk to DBU gym
Warm-up drills
6' continuous run on treadmill. I put the incline at 1% and set the pace to 8:57... I will NOT be repeating my mistakes from using the Alter-G and assuming I could jump straight back to normal paces! I could have run alllllll day at that pace, so it was probably a little bit too slow, but that's okay! Just re-greasing the joints and ligaments for a couple weeks! ;) I still had my standard knee pain, but I will say that it was better today than on Wednesday. That could be a result of several things though, so there is no telling! I'll get part of my answer tomorrow when I do my "more running" fartlek style day. I
15' HIIT circuit. 3 rounds of 45" pull-ups, bench dips, weighted hip lifts, bench suitcases, weighted running arms; 15" rest between each one!
20' walk home

Saturday, April 12th
Warm-up drills
33' run/walk with 11 x 1' running, 2' walking. Really bad knee pain this time, but I ran outside on concrete and didn't use any of my pain cream before leaving. I had to stop after 11 instead of doing all 14. The walk home was so painful in my knee and even up into the hip on that same leg. Pain was completely gone later in the day while walking around at the track meet.