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. :)