Category Archives: injury

Weekend recap on Tuesday

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A belated weekend recap – no running, lots of sitting, TV watching, icing and heating my hip, and lot of food.

I woke up with pain in my left hip on Saturday morning and had to bail on my 20-miler. I could barely walk without strain and decided I needed to go back to bed. I texted long run partner, Julio to let him know I wouldn’t be meeting him, let him tell me I was potentially dumb for going to spin class the night before, and went back to sleep. I woke up with even more pain.

IMG_2667I think Josh was secretly excited that I couldn’t run. We had 9 episodes of Glee on our DVR that I couldn’t watch throughout the season but refused to stop recording because out of principal, I had to see how the series ended. Josh was anxious to make space on the DVR. We ended up watching all of them on Saturday. By the end of the night my brain was mush.

IMG_2668Between our Glee episodes, we ate a lot, you’d think I was recovering from a 20-miler – breakfast foods (omelette for me, by the way, feta cheese will almost always make everything taste better), vermicelli bun with grilled chicken and a bubble tea, and chicken ramen soup, edamame, and a fortune cookie.

IMG_2669I also spent a lot of time trying to help my hip recover. Heating pad followed by icing, and very little movement, just from the couch to the kitchen only when necessary, oh, and the bathroom too.

By the end of our Saturday night, my brain was fried and my hip felt a lot better. I took Sunday off from running as well. It was hard but I had to remind myself that skipping the weekend’s mileage will hopefully pay off in the long run. While it was a constant mental struggle to not lace up this past weekend, I was surprised by how easily I gave in.

IMG_2673Sunday was spent doing everything we didn’t do on Saturday. I was able to move with very little soreness. I made it to my massage appointment and even took an epsom salt bath. Anything to help my muscles recover. Our FreshDirect delivery came in the morning and that meant I was able to play with my new toys.

IMG_2674For dinner, I made Icelandic cod with zoodles and a side of guacamole (I’m a big believer that guacamole goes with almost anything). The zoodles were plain with parmesan cheese and fresh tomatoes on top (yum!). We both really enjoyed them but just disappointed that 4 zucchini only yield 2.5 servings. I also made steel-cut oats for this week’s breakfast and pulled chicken for the rest of the week’s lunches/dinner.

By the time Sunday night rolled around, I was finally ready for more TV and caught up on my guilty pleasure, Revenge. It was a refreshing and relaxing weekend and hopefully one that will lead to a successful week in training (only 33 days left, ahhhh!).

How was your weekend?

Any new recipes to try?

“I get knocked down…”

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“I get knocked down
But I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down…”

–“Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba

Remember this song from 1997? Wouldn’t it be cool if I actually remembered what year the song came out without looking it up? I’m not that good, but regardless these few lines of “Tubthumping” summed up how I felt this week. The rest of the song is not as accurate of a representation… no “pissing the night away” or “a whiskey drink…”

It was a rough week in running. I missed every team practice and my total mileage for the week was just slightly over 18 miles, less than what I ran in my long run the weekend before. All the normal things that could derail a week did for me. From late nights at work to a cold I was battling since Sunday to a bad stomach ache to a big blister on the inside of my big toe, it was a struggle to find time to run let alone run without pain. I managed two workouts during the week on the treadmill, one easy run and the other an attempt of the hill workout I missed with the team. For the weekend run, I opted to skip the team run so I could sleep in a little more to battle the cold but also to save time on Josh’s birthday so we can get our celebration started earlier. I only managed 10 miles through pain in my toe. The following day, I woke up with a huge stomach ache and my day was derailed again.

One positive of the week was the yummy breakfast we treated me to on Josh's birthday! How can you go wrong with Lobster Benedict with avocado and bacon?!?!

One positive of the week was the yummy breakfast we treated me to on Josh’s birthday! How can you go wrong with Lobster Benedict with avocado and bacon?!?!

To be honest, this past week was a glass half empty week. I was in my deepest of lows during any training period, well maybe except for the week that the 2012 NYC Marathon was cancelled. I let all the excuses that came up take over. Even if I wasn’t supposed to be running because of the blister, I was letting that get the best of me as well. Likely the stresses from work and a weakened immune system after the 20-miler drained me. I beat myself up every day and then I would let it affect my self-esteem. I learned this week that running/exercising has way too much control over me and how I feel. I guess you can say I am addicted to endorphins. This is an issue that I will need to find ways to tackle during the off-season but in the meantime, I need remind myself of all the other positives in everyday life and learn not to stress as much.

Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, pepper, mushroom, and avocado

Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, pepper, mushroom, and avocado

On the positive side, I woke up today ready to conquer the start of a new week. To start the week off right, I finally got in an easy run followed by my first spin class at Local Barre’s new Wheelhaus Bikegarten studio. This was my first spin class with the clip-on cycling shoes and it was awesome! The shoes really add a whole new dimension to spinning and stability when you’re jumping between positions. In roughly 35 minutes, I biked over 11 miles. If only I were that efficient for my runs (watch out, Meb)! All this exercise made me quite hungry. We enjoyed a yummy homemade scrambled egg dish with cheddar cheese, pepper, mushroom, and avocado. I highly recommend adding avocado to everything, it makes everything taste better! Even though I had to spend a couple of hours on work this afternoon, I am looking forward to a glass half full week. I am ready to tackle all the positives and negatives that may come my way.

How was your weekend? And how to do you handle bad training weeks?