New shoes

As of today my Asics Gel Blur33s are retired from running, and I'm no longer running in Asics, because ... the local Dick's Sporting Goods didn't have any Blur33s, but they did have Brooks PureConnect 3s--in neon yellow. Any other color would have to be ordered & shipped home; the last time I bought replacement shoes online, they were *not* the same fit & feel as I had been running in, so I only buy shoes I've tried on. Now I'm running solely in Brooks. 

Retired from running. They don't look bad on the outside, but the inside has gotten rather rough. They're also nice and neutral for daily wear.

My new neon yellow Brooks PureConnect 3. So bright!!

My old new shoes.

Nerd Fitness challenge 2

I kinda, sorta finished the first challenge but not really, so I decided to stay a total newbie and do another challenge at Level 1. This time I took the time to set up my goals ("quest") and also joined an accountability group. At the end of the first challenge I discovered that there had been several "mini-quests" set along the way to help us toward our goals. I was a bit disappointed that I'd missed them, so this time I "followed" that page so that I'd get an email when new stuff was posted. I also joined an accountability group, a smaller group where I won't feel so lost among the numbers.

Here's the link to my new thread: Lys: Mulligan  I will be posting my progress here.

Cheers!

Nerd Fitness

I'm doing a 6 week challenge at NerdFitness, so all my updates, such as they are, are over there.
http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/52049-lys-jumping-in-on-this-challege/

Apparently I misspelled "challenge" and only just now noticed.

Not again!

For the past almost 3 weeks I've started my running with 10 minutes of walking and then gone into a run/walk pattern, most often 90 seconds running with 45-60 seconds walking for a total of 3+ miles. I've been doing this 4 days a week, quadrupling my distance compared to before coming up to Colorado. I thought that by walking my first 2 workouts and taking all the walk breaks on the rest that I was easing into the extra distance appropriately (mostly anyway, but my left shin has been hurting again along the inside, basically feels tight, but it's hard to massage.

Yesterday, with minimal warm-up, I ran a whole mile without walking, walked about a tenth, jogged another half, then walked the rest of the way back to my room and stretched. The inside of my left shin still hurts, and I'm starting to get worried about fractures. When I put my left heel on a low wall to stretch my hamstring, I felt strain just inside and alongside my shin bone near the middle. I don't think it is localized as when I did have stress fractures. Additionally, I can't feel any localized pain when I press with my thumb alongside my shin, so that helps me feel better. I was just looking at my numbers and realized that I just quadrupled my (originally short) distance as soon as I got here to this class; I didn't ease into it as much as I thought I did. I started off walking, primarily b/c of gaining 5000' in altitude, but I've been doing 3+ miles 4 days a week for the last 3 weeks and wasn't anywhere close to that (unless I was bicycling) before then.  Yesterday's distance was less but with a solid 12 minutes of running as opposed to all the walk breaks I'd been taking.
I picked up some more fruits and veggies yesterday--and a couple of not so healthy things, but the more and harder I exercise, the lower my tolerance for sugar and junk.

Restarting training...again. Of course!

Well now. I last posted in, what, March? And now it's almost the end of July? It's been a busy 4 months (or year and 4 months if that last post was March 2013). I moved to Tennessee the first week of April, started a hectic new job, and then left on a business trip just 2 day after finally getting into a house. I left on said business trip this past Monday. My husband received our household goods on Monday. The kids start school next week. (!!!)

But for now I'm in sunny Colorado getting back into running much more seriously. See, in 3 weeks I get to do 7 5Ks and a 10K in 8 weeks. Since starting the move to TN I've hardly been running, so now I need to Couch-2-5K (or equivalent), and I get to do it at a higher altitude than I've ever been, at least for more than a week. I hope it works for me! I have been doing 3 mile workouts but that includes 10min walking warm-ups and 5-9min walking at the ends. I went out 4 times this week, and these workouts are taking over 45 minutes. My right hip was feeling better until last night/today. Now it's pretty tight again. During today's run, the outside of below my left knee was hurting for a while. I need to do my physical therapy exercises more often too; they do help.

Thanks to some rainy weather, there have been some fantastic views here.

Here there were dark rain clouds with bright sunlight coming in from the side. It was an awesome contrast between dark and bright.








Here the clouds touched the ground, or maybe it was raining lightly, in just that one spot which appeared bright white.







My husband wants to settle here (closer to the mountains). My biggest challenge these days is getting to bed at a reasonable time--that's nothing new. :-S  And speaking of bedtime, it's that time, so goodnight!

What's next?

I just reread my last post. Things were improving. I managed to finish the LiveFit program, but I didn't--and still don't--have a good plan in place. I started running again; Z came up with a plan for me, but I haven't been as committed to it plus my hip has started hurting a lot more-- it even hurts to walk. I keep saying I'm going to do my physical therapy exercises in between the running days, but I have yet to do any. I'm so easily put off. I was supposed to run yesterday, but by the time I finished running errands and taking a kid w/an ear infection to urgent care, I was tired. Today I let a windy cold front keep me in (other than more errands). Why'd it have to be cold and windy on the weekend?

I started a workout calendar for the month, but as I just implied, I haven't finished it yet. Dishes need to be washed. Household goods need to be decluttered (we move next month!), but DH has been having lots of dental issues and just got a root canal done. The dentist wasn't able to fully numb the tooth, so DH's mouth has been in a lot of pain  -> vicodin -> extra sleeping -> no sorting nor packing while I'm at work.

I need to at least find a substitute for running for now, go back to the gym and use the elliptical and "just do it." Riding my bike doesn't hurt my hip b/c the left foot's down stroke allows my right foot to go up w/o using the hip flexors, I expect the elliptical will do the same. I also have to work on my push-ups and sit-ups; sit-ups -> hip flexor pain too. :-(

The below pretty much describes where the pain(s) is/are.

From RunnersWorld http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/my-hip-hurts

Where's the Pain?
Pain in the front of the joint, where the leg attaches to the trunk, is typically caused by hip joint problems. The most common causes include hip flexor tendinitis or strain, stress fracture and osteoarthritis. Less commonly, a labral tear (cartilage) may cause pain.
Hip flexors are a group of muscles that move the thigh forward and up. Strains (pulls) are caused by backwards slippage of the foot. This may occur with one big slip or repetitive small slips while running on a slick surface, such as snow. Stretching the hip flexors is difficult. Lie on your back on the edge of a table or high bed and drop the outside leg off the edge. Lunging with the back leg fully extended will also stretch the hip flexors. An easy way to strengthen the hip flexors is to perform leg lifts. Leg weights or use of a sports cord will add resistance. To maximize strength throughout the hip, work leg raises in each direction — back, forward, in and out.
Tendinitis is usually due to increased training — increased mileage, speed work or hill work. Treatment includes decreasing training, ice, strengthening and stretching. How much decrease is based on the severity of the symptoms. If there is pain with walking, cross-train in a pool. Cycling, rowing machines, stairmasters and elliptical trainers may be used if they do not cause pain. In less severe cases, cut back on mileage by 25-50 percent and eliminate speed and hill work.

Pain on the outside of the hip is most commonly due to greater trochanteric bursitis. The thigh bone juts outward at the base of the neck (connects ball to the femur; site of hip stress fractures); this protrusion is the greater trochanter. A lubricating sac (bursa) overlies the boney protrusion, so that the surrounding muscles do not rub directly on the bone. The top region of the iliotibial (IT) band, known as the tensor fascia lata, is commonly involved in greater trochanteric bursitis.
Treatment includes stretching and strengthening the IT band, hip abductors and gluteal muscles (see exercises for the IT band and piriformis syndrome). Apply ice to the painful area for 15 minutes three to four times per day. Avoid running on banked surfaces. A cortisone injection may be beneficial. Severe or worsening pain should raise suspicion for a stress fracture.

Commitments

I've been working on making and keeping commitments to myself. Last night I barely got in the workout and did it at home. I was tired and my motivation was very low. Today I was sad that I had to get up early on a Saturday, after a nap, however, I felt better and made it to the gym. On the way home I felt good about the workout, not so much physically as mentally, that I had done it, that I had kept that commitment to myself. And maybe even, now that I think about it, that I finally finished week 6, mostly anyway. 5/6 workouts done, and I'm fine with that.

Next week it's back to work as usual, so it should (hopefully) be easier to stick to my workout schedule. Even though I think my gym buddy has another week of vacation. The hardest part for me now is the new exercises. I really don't like doing new things with other people around unless they're showing me how or learning with me like z.

Oh, and I found a 20lb KB today. I used it to do snatches in lieu of standing calf raises and a 3rd set of deadlifts. And my ITB/TFL at my right hip has been so sore lately. I almost cry when using the foam roller. And my clothes are getting looser in the waist. (!)