Getting Pumped Check In

It's fifteen days into my 'Getting Pumped' challenge and I can't say things have gone as planned. Within hours of my last post I decided on a different core strengthening workout to follow: one I found in a Canadian Running magazine that was within inches of recycling. This workout had me doing a number of exercises standing on one foot (technically referred to as 'single leg stance'). My rationale for the switch was simple: running is, by definition, a repetitive single leg stance activity. I ditched the RW workout for the one-footed wonder without a second thought. The workout was challenging. I could feel all the 'right' muscles kicking and the same were pleasantly sore the next day. It was perfect, or so I thought.
The one thing I didn't take into account was my underlying asymmetry, a state which made itself known on my next long run. Two c-sections and 4 pregnancies take their toll on any woman's pelvic girdle, mine being no exception. I'd had similar issues in the past, but they were long past, so I'd mostly forgotten. Early in to my first long run of the New Year I felt a twinge in my left SI joint.  I could hear it whisper, "Remember me?" Eight miles turned that twinge into a steady throb. It was no longer whispering. I spent the rest of the day correcting my left SI joint rotation and figuratively kicking myself for not sticking with beginner exercises that kept me on two feet for at least a few weeks.
The next day I switched to this program, another from Runner's World. At quick glance you'll be sure to notice that both legs are firmly planted on terra firma, save the last one, which I've chosen to skip for two weeks. If today's 9 miler is any indication, it's doing the trick. Will it amount to my running faster some day? I hope so. I've signed up for a 15K race in March where I'll put it to the test. Wish me luck!

Getting Pumped

I'm injured.

Again.

This week its an abdominal strain from cross-country skiing. Last week --yes, last week-- it was a knee sprain while snowboarding in heavy powder. And then there was the peroneus longus tendonitis last spring, the back strain last winter, and the decades-long hallux valgus which has resulted in countless blisters and a painfully recurrent Morton's neuroma. My body has been telling me to get stronger for years and I've been mostly ignoring it. Only injuries seem to get my attention and then I am the world's best patient, icing, stretching, and strengthening myself back into painless bliss only to regress shortly thereafter in a false sense of invincibility. The pattern is a repeating one with ever-shortening intervals, so I'm on the hunt for a lasting solution. Yoga? Why not! Carefully directed calisthenics? Clearly. The trouble isn't knowing what to do, but actually doing it. Accountability is what is missing and I'm apparently willing to give myself plenty of slack. Hence this blog post. For the next few weeks I plan to share my Getting Pumped resolution journey.

So here's the link for this week's workout courtesy of Runner's World. I like it because it it is working on my core that is woefully weak at the moment. It's also easy on the knees as my sprain is making itself known. I may have to adapt it due to my stage of recovery, bending my knees on the plank and possibly skipping the advanced plank all together. Regardless, I need to get it in at least 4 days this week to make a difference.

So here I go.

Getting off the couch.

Yup.

*sigh*