A SNORKLE?!

I went to the salt water pool today. My PT had said I could run yesterday and today before seeing her again tomorrow, but I knew 3 days in a row of running was enough. Yes, the running was only 10 minutes or so, but it was 3 days in a row. Smarter thing to do is not run today, so I swam instead.

Got to the pool, took the last lane available against the wall, and scoped out who I was sharing the pool with. Two older ladies swimming nice and slow, and an older guy -- also swimming nice and slow.

But wait! What's that? Is he really? Is that? Seriously?!

He's swimming laps with a snorkle?!!!

Hilarious! Intriguing! Brilliant?

I'd never heard of this... someone actually swimming laps with a snorkle. I guess it makes sense -- swimming long, you exert more energy by having to turn to breathe. Fascinating idea.

But not one I think I need to try. As intriguing as it seems, and as efficient as it must be, I'll have to swim my tri's without one (right? Is there a rule about this?) so I'll stick to practicing without one.

***Hold on. I just googled this. Apparently, swim training with a snorkle is akin to altitude training for runners (when used with some cap???). It forces the lungs to work harder and increases lung capacity. Huh. Maybe it really is something to consider!

"I don't want to see you again"

So said the doc at my appointment yesterday.

He asked me a few questions about the PT I've been doing and how my leg's been feeling since I saw him last, and then he felt my left leg.

"This one's the good one, right?" he asked, as both his hand were wrapped around my left calf.

Ha! Nope, I replied. The right one's the good one.

He grabbed my right leg, then my left again. "Huh. Well, it feels good."

Really?! Yay! I'll take it!

He reminded me to take it easy increasing my mileage, and I admitted I realized this past week that my leg wasn't ready to run 3 weeks ago. I'll take it easy, I told him. I wanna keep running.

We decided going to PT a few more times would be good -- that way I can continue to strengthen my leg as I return to regular running. Then he told me to call him in a month to let him know that I'm feeling good. He doesn't expect to see me again.

Sweet.

Today I ran (per my PT's instructions) two separate miles. Walked 10 minutes, ran easy for 10 minutes (just over a mile), walked 2 minutes, ran another 10 minutes, walked 10 minutes. It felt good -- and other than muscle soreness in my quads from the PT work yesterday, my legs didn't bother me at all.

Slowly, easily, after almost 8 weeks off, I'm returning to running.
I'm so ready.

Smoother riding, please

I've been biking a lot over the past few months. I'd rather be running, but since I can't, riding at least gets me active outside so I can enjoy the fresh air after work. This time of year the air is crisp, the colors are vibrant, and the temps vary from comfortable to chilly. I love soaking all that in.

What I don't love are the streets around here. They are terrible. It's actually amazing how poor the road conditions are. Holes, bumps, sandy dirt, rocks, patches. Terrible.

I'm stuck, though, because there really isn't a great place to ride -- most of the riding I do is around town (staying in residential areas as much as possible) and around a 3.6 mile river loop. I could ride long, vacant roads if I headed about 30 minutes toward the beach, but since I ride alone and they are pretty secluded, it's not something I feel comfortable doing most of the time. So I try to enjoy the blue sky and the water I ride by and everything I see.

Except for the roads themselves.

A smooth ride. That's what I want. I want to breathe in the fresh air, soak up the sunshine, enjoy the blue skies, the flowing water of the river, the vibrant colors of the leaves. And I want to have a smooth ride.

Swimming hands

I was determined to do a long, relaxed swim today. After getting to run, as minimal of a time as it was, for the past three days, I knew I should give my left calf a break today. No biking, no walking. Just swim. I didn't have a time limit, so I wanted to do a good, solid, swim.

I slipped into the pool and looked at the clock. 3pm. I started swimming, mostly easy laps, and before I knew it I was at 1000 yards. I threw some faster laps in and decided to alternate some fast and slow laps to get me to 2000 yards. When I hit 2000, I took a break and looked at the clock. 3:39 pm. (I know that's not fast for some of you who read this blog -- but without swimming hard the whole way, it was a pretty solid swim for me.)

And after adjusting my goggles, I took a look at my hands. They were so wrinkly! How do people swim for sooooooooo much longer than this? Do their hands get all wrinkly, too? Or after a while do your hands have a higher tolerance to the water and take longer to wrinkle?

I thought about the wrinkles for the next 500 yards. I vowed to take a picture of my hands when I got out of the pool. I wondered how long it would be until they unwrinkled.

I swam another 500 yards, and decided that was enough for today. I was getting hungry and, quite frankly, a little bored. And I was starting to get nervous that my hands might be wrinkled until Saturday. 3:59 pm. Not bad for 3000 yards and a (very) short break in the middle.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take the picture of my hands all wrinkly -- by the time I got from the pool to the shower to dressed, the wrinkles weren't as pronounced. And I thought the other women in the locker room might question what I was doing with a camera...

But if you look closely in the pictures above, you can see some swimming hands anyway -- hands that swam farther today than they ever have before.

12 minutes

For the first time since the very first week in September, I ran outside today. My PT wanted me to run on the softer surface of the local high school track to see how my leg felt because tomorrow may be my last appointment with her. I didn't have the butterflies or nervousness that I had when I ran for the first time in PT after 4 weeks off -- I didn't worry if I would forget how to run, I didn't have that adrenaline surge from the thought of getting to run after such a long time off. What I did have was excitement. Hope. Anticipation.

And then I got to the track.

And so did the entire high school football team. And the cross-country team.

And I lost the excitement, hope and anticipation, and became self-conscious.

I've been resigned to the fact that I've gained some weight and my clothes aren't fitting so well. I just turned 39 a few days ago -- so I'm feeling older, too. Great combination. Put me out on a track, running slowly, for all these young kids to see me and I wanted to run out the gate.

But I didn't -- and I got the 3 intervals done. And my leg didn't hurt. And I got to breathe in the fresh air and appreciate the crisp temperatures.

And so, for the 12 minutes of running, while the entire football team and cross-country team watched, I was happy.

I get to run outside tomorrow.

Same interval-type run as what I've been doing in PT the past few sessions, but outside, by myself, on the track.

5 mins walking + 3x (4 mins run, 1 min walk) + 5 mins walking.

Small run.

Big deal.

I can't wait.

Progress! shhh...

Don't say anything out loud. In fact, forget you even read this when you're done.

I don't want to jinx it, but I might finally be seeing some progress with my leg.

SHHH!

Monday, I did 5 minutes of walking, then 3x 3 minutes of running at a 10 minute pace with 1.5 minutes of walking in between, then 5 minutes of walking. Leg felt good -- no pain, no tightness.

SHHH!

Today, at PT, I did 3 minutes walking, then 3x 4 minutes of running at a 10 minute pace with 1 minute of walking in between, then 3 minutes of walking. With NO pain, no tightness, no weak feeling in my leg! WooHoo!

I mean SHHHHHHHHHH!

See, today was the first day I really felt like maybe, just maybe, my leg might be getting better.
But if I say it out loud, I might jinx it. So, shhh...

10.10.10

Great date, huh? I heard today was supposed to be a good day for stuff -- relationships, luck, etc.

Well, it didn't affect me in the relationship realm. Or in the luck area. It was a beautiful day at the beach, though. And that was tough, too, because today was the LBI 18 Mile Run -- the race I PR'd in last year in my solid fall of training.

I didn't run today. I wanted to, and it was difficult to watch/hear everyone out there. But instead of just hopping from mile marker to mile marker with my parents in the car, I decided to make it my workout. On the bike.

I rode the length of the race today, sprinting ahead to cheer on some really fast friends, and then waiting for my sister, and then sprinting ahead, and then getting a breather while waiting for A. It's not that she was really slow -- she was running the race as part of her last long run, though, for MCM -- it was that the guys were really fast. Two of them were 3rd and 4th overall, the others finished in the top 30 I think.

It was tough to be on the sidelines. I cheered hard, though, and supported my people. And then, as I normally do, I took my last dip in the ocean for the season.

Though the air was cool, the ocean was warm. I was the only one in it. :) A good way to end a tough day on a unique date.

3 more weeks.

That's what the sports medicine doctor told me today in the follow-up appointment. Three more weeks of PT and Graston. Three more weeks of no running on my own.

He knows I walked on the TM and then walked/jogged (in short intervals) on the TM at therapy last week, and wants me to continue to progress with that under the PT supervision only. He wasn't mean, and he wasn't overly nice, but he was very matter-of-fact. He thinks I'm dealing with tendinopathy, and said his focus is to get me healthy and then back to running. Too soon, and I'll be dealing with this all over again.

Ok, ok. I get it.

I guess the good thing is that I get to run today (did 2 intervals of 2 minutes!) and Thursday this week, then Monday andThursday next week, then Monday, Wednesday and one more day the following week before I see Dr. Plut again on the 25th.

Yep, I'm counting the days/runs.