Not Better

I am still out of commission - icing and heating my foot multiple times per day and trying to keep up on ibuprofen. I skipped yoga yesterday and Friday. I don't want to be out of the yoga challenge, so once my foot is all set I will extend the challenge into June for the number of days that I am missing.

Not Any Better

My foot is not any better. I am still icing it, but need to increase the number of times per day I do that and start taking ibuprofen regularly each day. I think I have just mashed the tendons in my left foot - by my toes and on the side of my foot. I still don't have a guess as to the bottom, but since it's all linked to tight calves I bet it's another tendon issue. The only thing for that is elevation, rest and ice with an anti-inflammatory.

Tracking my food for you guys is making me think about it more. I believe all the healthy stuff and for the most part I live it, but for some reason I give in to my whims and snacking far too often. Food and emotions are all tied up for me - good times are all about food!

I want to get back to running, but I know I can't right now. I did my yoga today, an hour actually. There were a few poses that made my foot hurt more, but I am glad I did it.

It's time now for another round of ice, heat and ibuprofen. Hope you all are having a better week than me!

Day 2

Yesterday's yoga session was a nice way to start the day, though it will take me a little while to get used to the new routine. I also wish I could merge the different segments together, as they are only actually 20 minutes long.

Today's yoga hasn't happened yet, and Power Pump won't be happening. Last night we saw Counting Crows (my second time seeing them, and they were much less personable and intimate this time, but still a lot of fun!) and I drank too much. The extra drinks would have been one thing, but on our way home we stopped and got Taco Bell. I had a taco and their nachos before bed. The thing is that it wasn't even good. When I think about the food that Hubs cooks and compare it to that food, there is simply no reason to waste money - even if it is something that happens only once or twice a year (we always end up eating fast food at some point when we travel to New England over the holidays). The drinks are taking a toll on my day, which is my own fault. Tonight's yoga will be floor poses and very gentle.

Decisions such as those I made last night usually remind me that those decisions are not worth it the next day. I've been thinking a lot lately about where I want to be and how I would live once I got there. How can I expect to know 'how to live' once I get there if I treat it as something that will just start one day? The trick to the whole thing is that if I live today the way I want to live someday then that makes someday today and today is all we have. Confused? I know I can be convoluted, but I actually think that makes sense!

Bye Bye April

My foot hurt too much for running or Bootcamp today. I usually am not so good with follow through when it comes to medicine, so the fact that I took ibuprofen today, iced my foot twice and soaked it in a hot, Epsom salt bath should tell you something. I guess this is my first real injury, and it's scaring me. I know I will be fine, and based on the response to the hot bath I think it's mostly muscle pain in the toe area. The other pain, on the underside of my foot has me more concerned, as far as long term issues. 

Tomorrow is the start of the Run to the Finish's yoga challenge! 30 minutes of yoga for 30 days! I borrowed an AM yoga video from the library, and am hoping that I will start my day with yoga for the month of May. What better way to usher in my birthday than to put down a path of yoga? (I don't know FitSugar, but she is responsible for the great picture below.)

I ran just over 20 miles this month, and saw my speed increase. In March I ran about 12 miles so I definitely pushed it in April. Biking is going to have to do until my foot is better, which stinks because I had made up my mind that I would commit to 4 miles for Many Miles of May. 

Houston? It's Time for a Bike Ride

We have a small problem. I tried to run last night, but my foot hurt so bad I cut it short and walked home. There is the pain on the underside of my heel that I typically only feel in the morning. There is the newer pain on the outside of my foot. There is the newest pain on the top of my foot, on the fleshy part just below my 2nd and 3rd toes. The newer pain was bugging me, but the newest pain kept me from being able to put my foot all the way down. Walking hurt too. I iced it when I got home and lamented on what it might be and the best way to treat it - ice, ibuprofen and rest.

I'm going to try riding my bike because that motion doesn't cause the same movement in my foot as walking. It's not easy to convert running miles to biking miles. From what I gather there are two ways to think about this equation:

1. Heart rate monitor: A hear rate monitor is always the best way to gauge intensity of a workout. I'll have to take another look for my heart rate monitor strap because that's the best way to make sure I am expending the same effort for a 45 minute bike ride as I would for a 3 mile run.

2. Consider calories burned: Since I haven't been using my heart rate monitor when I run, gauging the amount of calories I am burning is another way to compare. I haven't quire been counting my calories for a run, but I guess I am burning about 250 calories (I always low-ball my estimates for calories burned and highball my estimates for calories consumed). Plugging in different times and speeds on My Food Diary indicates that biking for 'Under 10 mph' for 40 minutes burns 232 calories. I try to keep it between 8-9 mph when I use the 'Under 10 mph' speed range. There must be a difference between calories burned at 2 mph and calories burned at 9 mph because the remaining speeds you can chose only vary by 2 or 3 mph (0-10 mph, 10-11.9 mph, 12-13.9 mph, 14-15.9 mph, 16-19 mph).

My decision? Try a bike ride around the neighborhood to make sure it doesn't hurt and then hit the gym tomorrow morning for a spinning class.

Still Fighting Inside My Head

I knew I was hungry and that I was running out of motivation to run when I headed out right around 7pm tonight. I was angry and frustrated when I left. Anger is my way of showing weakness and vulnerability. I don't like feeling inferior or weak and I have spent my life dealing with it by getting angry. I felt good by the time I was done running, but I still couldn't shake it on my own before I left. It's not just running where this creeps up, but it's not helping with my running either. I wonder how much better I would do if I were able to talk myself out of being mad instead of waiting for the endorphins and the emotions of the run to kick in and scoop me up.

Do any of you get mad at yourself? Can you reason with yourself and relax?

Sneezing

When it hurts to sneeze, I would say I did enough ab work on Monday night. Power Pump is tonight, and I am going to go, but I need to take it easy. I was so sore last night I took 2 ibuprofen and 2 acetaminophen before bed. 3 miles before class might be too much, but I still have time to get in a good snack and drink a lot of water to prepare for it.

The garden is growing good - cucumbers and beans are already ready for harvest. The tomatoes and peppers are doing well, and today I put in okra as well as transplanted more tomatoes and peppers. If I can put my hands on my dill seed I will put in dill and basil before I come in from the sun to prep for my run. I'd have a better chance of finding the seeds if I stopped rambling and went to search. ;)

Just Around the Corner

May is just around the corner. I have been thinking about whether I will be ready to kick up to 4 miles per month or if I should stick around at 3 miles for May. I thought the same thing about March, and am glad I increased to 4 miles. I simply need to accept the fact that walk breaks are OK.

May is looking like the 4 mile month. It's also looking like the yoga challenge, which I really like the idea of! I can do 30 minutes of yoga each day, right? Of course. I found the challenge on Run to the Finish's site, which you can check out and consider joining for your self. I might even do a giveaway at the end of May to celebrate the yoga challenge and usher in my birthday. On the 4th of June I turn 30; watch out world!

Hard to Believe

                                                    

   I was happy with the dress I wore for Thursday night's event - J.C. Penney for $70. 

Sorry folks, not pictures of me in it, just the model.

It's awful, but I can't recall if I worked out at all on Thursday and Friday. I know I didn't do anything on Saturday or Sunday. I've had an event or all day workshop Friday-Saturday, so it's not a big deal, but I just can't recall.

I did my 3 mile loop this afternoon, and will see if tonight is the night I push myself too hard and run from class to puke go to Bootcamp tonight. I did my loop, which is apparently 3.1 miles. When I calculated it last time I thought it was exactly 3 miles, but today it is says 3.1. The fact that it is 3 miles is hard to believe. I guess I have it in my head that the loop is half that since I used to do a portion of it from my old apartment, which would cut out about 1.5 miles worth.

I made a pact with myself before heading out that I would take it easy! I would walk 1 block and then run 1 or 2, depending on how I felt. I started off with shin splints, which dissipated as I warmed up. Knowing the running was going to be shorter actually allowed me to run faster, since I knew it wasn't going to be for long. I tried to get back in under 39 minutes, but ended up with 3.1 miles in 39minutes44seconds. Less than a 13 minute per mile average, I'll take that thank you very much. I need to be sure to fuel properly in the next 30 minutes so that I really am prepared for class tonight.

I had folks comment the other day that I looked as if I had lost weight. Considering I had to buy a dress for this weekend's events, I am quite sure that I am no where near having lost weight. They disagreed and said that maybe the scale hasn't changed, but my body certainly has changed. I know I am stronger, so maybe it is new muscle. I do feel as if my shape is different, and not just the poodge.

Power Pump Breaks are Bad

I finally went to Power Pump last night, though I was not foolish enough to try running before that class. I lightened up my weights, which might be the only reason I can stand and actually touch the back of my neck this morning. I got called out at the end of that class too for not having been there in a while.

Wednesday I got on the treadmill, sped up my pace and knew pretty much instantly that it wasn't going to happen. Instead, I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical and doing a lot of stretching. Once I make sure my outfit is all set for tonight, I am going to do my 3 mile loop, regardless of how long it takes.