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.