Injury Update

A week ago Sunday, I shared I sprained my ankle after my workout. It was not fun or pretty. The past week has been rough in terms of walking and there has been no running. For most of the time it was hard enough just to walk.

It's now been nine days since it happened and while the swelling has diminished, as well as the swelling there is still pain. Ugh. At least this pain is relegated to the area around the bone on the outside of the ankle and a bit up the leg. I think this is probably the area that was actually injured.

I read that a Grade 1 sprain can take 5-14 days to heal and a Grade 2 sprain can take 4-6 weeks to heal. Since I didn't go to a doctor, I'm not sure which of the two it is. It's possible it's a Grade 2, but let's hope it's just a Grade 1 and by this time next week I'm able to run again.

Left side = initial injury; Right side = one week later

Have you had to work around an injury? Have you sprained an ankle? How long we you sidelined?

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Clumsiness

This past Sunday I hit the gym to work on my C25k program. My goal was to run the eight 30 second intervals at a 10 minute mile pace. I was pretty excited when I was able to do that. I finished off my workout with some lower body weights and planks.

I went back to my car for my camera as I wanted to take some pictures for a friend for his birthday. I grabbed the camera and started walking towards the river. As I did, I saw a post-it note on the new parking meters saying it was broken because a quarter was stuck. It made me laugh as they have only been in place a few weeks.

And then it happened. I turned to continue walking down the street when I went down. I walked to close to an unenclosed tree area.

This wasn't the one I tripped in, but this is what it looks like.

I went down hard, hearing some sort of odd noise from my left ankle. I also scraped by right knee, but it wasn't too bad - no blood. I got up and did my photos because I have a deadline and wasn't sure when I would get back.

Now it is two days later and my ankle still hurts. It's better than it was yesterday, but still painful. Not happy with this situation because for the first time in basically a year I'm excited to run. I'm excited I found a way {I think} to help me get faster. And while I missed one run last week {because the two treadmills I tried to use either turned off in the middle of my run or wouldn't turn on at all}, I got two of three done. I was all set this week to get those three runs in for week two of the program.

On the plus side, I was only going into week two. If I have to start over, then only one week to go back over isn't too bad. On the plus side, I was able to run eight intervals at a ten minute mile. I have never done this. Especially as my running times have been exceedingly slow this year. So, even with this {fingers crossed} minor set-back, I hope shortly to be running the C25k again and maybe even running 10 minute mile intervals for 45 seconds!

How have you handled an injury?
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Sunday's long run...sorta

For some reason I've been digging my Sunday run rather than my Saturday run this time around. Last week hubby and I went out on Sunday for our runs and I felt pretty good about it. This week, my hip killed me Thursday and Friday, so when I woke up pain-free Saturday, I decided to let rest it one more day.

Got up today to run. Hip hurt. Ugh. What the heck?? I didn't let it stop me. I did my stretches and added in some new ones. Nothing more that I can do but stretch and hope for the best.

I went out to the same area I ran last Sunday for 4 miles. As soon as I started running I had pain. Pain in the outside of my left calf/ankle. WTF??? I had one tiny little twinge in my hip, but it lasted seconds and then nothing. Instead, ankle/calf pain for 25 minutes.

I lasted 25 minutes (Garmin was dead [though I didn't know that until I got there. Ugh] so I used my Nano run app for time). Yes, 25 minutes out of 60. So disappointing. But, I decided to call it a day because I have never had pain in that area and it didn't go away. I'm still in the early going for The Love Run training and I don't want to make something worse.

Came home and iced the area. I'm hoping it helps and that I can try again tomorrow.

Higgy the cat helping ice my calf/ankle.

What do you do if something starts to hurt during a run? Do you gut it out or call it a day? Does how close to your goal race is make a difference in your approach?

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Equipment fail = exercise fail

Oh this is true. So very true.

Friday night my right calf was hurting. I chalked it down to work. I had a rough day physically and I had a feeling that being on my feet 6 hours either walking or standing may have caused it. I tend to have pain in my legs/feet throughout the week due to work and by the next day it's gone. I figured that would be the case Saturday morning.

Nope. I woke up late, but my right calf was still unhappy. It hurt. I decided to put off the 5 miles until Sunday. Why not? Doesn't matter which day I get it in, right? I did foam roll the thickest part of my calf. It worked well. There was some pain still at the bottom near the ankle, but I wasn't sure if foam rolling was a good idea. I asked my running guru Kim and she said yes. The stick could just be too harsh, go foam roller. So, I did. I used the foam roller towards the bottom of my calf and it did help. Didn't make it go away completely, but it was better.

This morning I woke up and anticipated a quick foam roll and off I would go. Uhhh, no. Didn't work that way. I still have a bit of pain so I decided I would skip the run (ugh) and go for a bike ride. So, I went to the basement and grabbed the bike. Took it to the bike rack and attempted to put it on. I say attempted because the screw holding it together had rusted and I couldn't undo it. Then I took the bike on a quick ride on the driveway...front tire flat. Seriously??????

So, equipment fail to the extreme. Sorta frustrating. No run and no bike. And honestly, the ultimate goal had been a 5 mile run and a 10 mile bike ride. Instead, I turned on the t.v. and did a 20 minute kickboxing routine, a 20 minute yoga/stretching routine, and a 5 minute core routine. Not what I wanted, but better than nothing.

And the positive is I found there are all sorts of fun things on the t.v. for me to do if I can't do my normal stuff. They have cardio, kickboxing, yoga, pilates, walking, etc. At least I learned something...


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One day at a time

Quick update on the knee. Yesterday was awful. Stairs were crazy tough. Sitting wasn't pleasant. We visited friends and had a two hour drive there and two hour drive back. The jeans did not go well with the scrape on my knee. I spent most of the ride home holding my pants away from my knee. Came home and took some Advil. Never once in all my years have I ever taken a pain reliever for a scrape/cut. Who knew?

Woke up this morning and I feel better. Not 100%, but much better than yesterday. There's still stiffness and a  bit or soreness in the knee, but it is way easier to walk today. I'm not in as much pain trying to get up from a seated position. Phew!

So, while I'm not back to normal, I'm getting there! I'll go for a walk or use my little stationary bike again today for my 30 minute 100 Day Challenge. I'm going to my best to keep up with it. Friday is a little iffy, but I'm counting it!

I did kinda miss doing my 7 mile run yesterday...

New physical challenge

Do you remember Double Dare where you could chose the Physical Challenge? LOL!  Sorry, that's what this made me think of.

Anyway...I am now temporarily physically challenged. As I walked into work on Friday, I tripped on the sidewalk and took a fall. Yup. Very graceful and not at all embarrassing. I nailed both knees on concrete, which was not pleasant. When I got to work (which thankfully was only a block away) my right knee survived the impact ok. I have a small scrape, but under the knee. The bigger problem is the left knee. I nailed that one pretty good, along the right side of the knee cap and all across just underneath the knee. I was happy that it really is just scraped and there was no blood.

The issue is it is really hard to move my left knee without pain. I ended up on my feet all day Friday at work. Usually my work is physical, but for some reason Friday was an all-day on my feet kinda day. Which made the knee really swollen. It has not been fun walking since yesterday and sleeping last night wasn't easy.

Sadly, I missed the "intentionally" moving part of the 100 Day Challenge. I did move a great deal at work, more than usual actually. So, I'm torn over whether I missed day 4 or not. I'm leaning towards no due to the busyness of my day. Today, I got up and did my little stationary bike at home for 40 minutes. It was supposed to be a 7 mile run, but I knew my knee could not handle that. I'm not dumb enough to do something I know I can't do. I will work on that 7 mile run later this week. Hopefully the knee will heal quickly. I also texted my trainer that I wanted upper body on Monday. I sure as heck can't do squats, lunges, ect.

What a great way to start out 2013, huh?

October 1 - 20 days

In 20 days, I will (hopefully) stand on the boardwalk in Atlantic City ready to tackle 13.1 miles. Right now, I'm not sure. I have been awful at training this time around. Heat. Injury. Lack of motivation. If it would keep me from training, I did it.

But, the first day of October means the day of reckoning quickly approaches. There are 20 days til the race. I have not run in over a week due to the shin splints. I haven't done to the gym because of them as well. I'm going out this afternoon to see if I can run. I have a training session with my trainer tonight. I'm praying my legs don't die.

So, 20 days to get ready for 13.1 miles. Do I have it in me to cross the finish line? I don't know...

Update (5:10 p.m. October 1, 2012): I went to Shelley Park near the house to run the trail. I got about a mile and a half in before my Achilles hurt. My shin splints seemed to hold up ok, but the Achilles was so tight. I stopped, came home, and am icing both shins and the ankle. Will try again later in the week. Hopefully this was a one-off. 

Owie

I tend to be clumsy.  I bruise easily and find all sorts of little cuts on me, usually without knowing how they happened.  Today, I injured my index finger.  I know how I did it.  I was using a paper cutter to (obviously) cut some paper.  I got my finger a little too close to the blade and there it went.  It was painful.  I am not looking forward to showering or taking the nail polish off that finger. 

Tonight, we have fencing and tomorrow I have a trainer session... I don't think this is going to go well...

Here we go again

 Remember a few weeks ago when I had that weird ankle injury?  Well, thankfully it went away by my next run.  Phew!  I'm really not able to handle a serious injury right now, not as I'm getting closer to the Philly Half Marathon (10 weeks!).

Yea, wouldn't life be nice if injuries didn't occur while training?  I woke up Saturday morning with the backs of both of my thighs sore, which would be the hamstrings (see above).  They just did not feel good.  It seemed odd that it was both, but at least there's consistency.  I headed out for my run anyway.  I parked the car, stretched, and started running.  It was not pleasant.  I had an 8 mile run scheduled and did my legs hurt. Just hurt.  It sucked.  All I could think about was how painful the next 2 hours were going to be.  And let me tell you, they were.

The bigger issue?  By the time I hit mile 3.5, my left hip started hurting.  Apparently, in order to keep my thighs from hurting, some part of my brain/body decided to compensate for the pain.  I don't know what it did, but whatever it was involved my left hip.  And it hurt.  I stopped and tried to stretch it out.  I thought maybe if I stop and stretch with the muscles warmed up it might work out the kinks.  It worked...sorta.  For the next mile or so it wasn't too bad.  The thighs weren't thrilled with me, but the hip stopped hurting.  I thought I might make it through.

I was wrong.  By the time I got to mile 5, the hip pain was back.  It really did not like me.  I stopped again to stretch.  This time it really didn't help.  I (sadly) thought, it's only 3 more miles, I could gut them out.  I hit 5.5 miles and realized that was a really dumb idea.  See, I have a history of quitting when the going gets tough and to me, this was tough.  I didn't want to be a quitter.  But, I thought about it and realized, this may not just be me quitting.  This is me injured, in pain.  Do what's best for your body.  So, at 5.65 miles I decided to quit. 

Of course, I was far from my car at that point.  I would have to walk back.  And I did.  With a little running mixed in.  I know. I know. Why?  Because while I knew my run ended up having WAY more walking in it than I wanted, I didn't want the last mile to be all walking.  So, I would run until my hip hurt and then stop.  I did two stints of running mixed with walking.  And in the end, I run/walk 6.5 miles. 

And today?  The hamstrings still hurt.  The left hip still hurts.  It's not pleasant.  I'm not happy about it.  It hurts to walk.  And right now, as I sit here typing, I can feel a slight pain in the hamstrings.  Walking isn't fun.  Hoping that it's nothing serious.  The positive is this week's long run is 4 miles.  I debated trying to make up the 8 miles, but decided against it.  I'm going to stick with the plan and go for 4 miles this coming Saturday...if the hamstrings are up to it.

(Thursday pre-emted) On the road again

Since the knee debacle on Saturday, I've basically sat my butt on the sofa and done nothing.  For several days, the knee wouldn't stop doing disgusting things and it wasn't until Tuesday night, when I let it air out for a few hours, that it started to heal.  It is in much better shape today than Monday and my overly optimistic view of being able to continue working out on it Monday?  Mwahahahahaha!  What was I thinking? 

So, on Thursday (which would have been posted ON Thursday if Blogger hadn't decided to go down for two days) I hit the road again to see what the knee could take.  My idea was a simple walk.  Just get out there and do something to see how the knee would hold up.  Of course, I wore my running shoes rather than my walking/biking shoes.  I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to do a walk/run, with more walking than running, just to see how it goes.

Turns out I ran more than I walked.  And the knee held up pretty good.  I ran some up hills, I ran some down hills, I ran some straight aways.  I did walk more than I normally would, but eh.  I had planned on walking the whole thing so I can't really complain.  I got it in under 30 minutes, which is ok.  I was proud of running even if my knee isn't in the best of shape.

Which (hopefully) means I'll be good for Saturday's Preakness 5k. *fingers crossed*  I have really been looking forward to it and running around the track (which I'm a little nervous about now, but eh.  It is what it is.).  If I walk more than I usually do (which would be any) of it, that's ok.  I know that my knee may not be 100% up to a 5k and that's fine.  I'm not worried about time or what not.  I'm just happy that my knee will be in good enough shape that I can even go to the race.  And I get a kick-a** t-shirt!

Overly Optimistic

So, Saturday I thought I would rest up on Sunday and be out on the bike today after my little fall.  Yea, ummm...no.  I totally forgot how stiff and sore one gets after falling and tearing skin off one's body.  My elbow seems to be ok, other than my tending to knock it into things on a regular basis (who knew your elbow takes such abuse day in and day out?).  The issue is my knee.  It's not happy.  I think it's doing better.  I've been keeping it bandaged so I can walk around and wear pants (I've been told this is what one does in polite society).  I've been airing it out and putting Band-Aid Hurt-Free Antiseptic Wash (because I'm a big baby and don't want to have the antiseptic sting!) on it periodically.  I've even been icing it down over the last two days.  And while it's much better than it was Saturday, it's not letting me forget that I caused it harm. 

At this point, I'm hoping for a ride or some such on Wednesday.  Give the knee a couple more days of rest and maybe it will start to forgive me.  Of course, I have the uber fabulous Preakness 5k coming up this Sat.  Guess it will not be a PR for me.  :-(  (Really, I had no illusions of it being one, but now I can pretend to be upset when it isn't.  Shhh...)

What a fun week this will be...

Run/Bike Recap

Outside the last 1.5 miles of workout this week, I had a kick-a** week of exercise!  I think it may have been the best one week of exercise I've EVER had.  Yes, I say this after having trained for a half marathon.

Bike: 5.5 miles ~ 30 minutes ~ 386 calories*

Run: 2 miles ~ 29 minutes ~ 442 calories

Bike: 12.5 miles ~ 1 hour 13 minutes ~ 959 calories

Walk: 3 miles ~ 49 minutes ~ 252 calories

Bike: 11 miles ~ 57 minutes ~ 746 calories

Run: 3 miles ~ 41 minutes ~ 609 calories

* All information entered into Daily Mile, which calculated calories burned

Had a great week out on the roads between running, walking, and biking.  Very happy with it.  Would have been more happy had I not fallen on my run Saturday.  Knee is still sore and more swollen than I would have thought.  I'm currently icing it.  Elbow isn't that bad, but I tend it bang it into things which causes some pain. And for some reason the muscle in the arm that's scraped up is sore. I feel like I'm an 8 years old again.  LOL!

So, I have a feeling this week isn't going to be a banner one for running, walking, or biking.  I will probably skip Monday's 12.5 mile training ride.  Hope to get out Tuesday for a run or walk.  Hoping Wednesday will permit a bike, though probably not the 14 mile ride that's scheduled.  I need to keep some in reserve since I have a 5k race scheduled on Saturday and I'm really excited about doing this one.  I want to run on the race course with the horses!

First

Sometimes firsts are great - first steps, first kiss, first car.  You name it, there's a first for just about everything.  And today was a first for me.  I hit the road for my last workout of the week, a three mile run.  I haven't done a three mile run in....um....well...maybe two months?  It's been a long time.  Probably a little too long.  But, next Saturday, hubby and I are hitting Pimilco and running the Preakness 5k.  I had to get out there and get a 3 mile run in.

So, off I went into my neighborhood with the side walks (my street and surrounding streets do not have sidewalks.  We barely had shoulders on the roads where I live).  I got started and had a much better half mile and one mile time than my last two runs.  I was thrilled! 

But, as I was trying to add some mileage in (because I messed up where I needed to go to get in 3 miles and had to make it up on the fly), I turned up a side street.  It's not the best side street because it's got a lovely hill.  Bah!  The bane of my running/biking existence.  Anyway...as I have been trying to run upright rather than always looking down, I was concentrating on that (oh and maybe Garmin...) when my foot hit a bump in the sidewalk and down I went.  Oh so fun.  Scraped up the palms of bath hands, tiny little scrape on the left knee, but the right hand side didn't make out as well.  Nice gash on the right elbow (which did bleed) and a much more major scrape on the right knee and scratches down the right calf.  It was disconcerting. 

Don't get me wrong, I've fallen tons of times.  I have no sense of real balance and I'm a bit of a klutz.  If I don't have a scrape or bruise on me somewhere, it would be odd.  And oddly enough, I have a tendency not to notice them.  At one point, it took blood before I noticed being injured.  Now, I don't even notice that.  But, I'll tell you.  I noticed this.  LOL!  I'll be fine.  It's nothing major.  My post-run shower isn't going to be fun (I'm kinda dreading it), but in the end, I'll get myself together and go for a training run on Monday. 

I just wanted to share my first.  ;-)

Injury Update

So, after about three and a half weeks of not knowing what was going on with my knee, I decided to go to the doctor.  I was lucky in that I called this morning and they got me in this afternoon.  I was a tad surprised.

I described to the doctor my symptoms, she checked out my knee, and it sounds better than I was anticipating.  No swelling, no bruising, and no cyst.  She does think I pulled something (a ligament or the hamstring, I don't remember which).  So, course of action:

1. No running - I can walk and do the Wii, no running.
2. Stretching
3. Ibuprofin twice a day

All this for two weeks.  At that time, reassess.  Then determine if I can get moving again.  If not, go to an orthopedic and probably get PT.  But, I think I'm in good shape.  My thoughts are, as long as I can get moving again by December, the half marathon training will be fine.  So fingers crossed!