Five for Friday

Nani, practicing for our midnight run

It's Friday! It's Halloween weekend! Let's hope for lots treats and not too many tricks, unless they are funny. I figured it's about time I write a Friday Five.  

1. Running! I'm easing back into running. Slowly increasing mileage. I'm not 100% and still have some pain. It's getting better AND I'm feeling my butt more during my runs. Which leads to...

2. PT and BANDS OF HELL exercises. I'm still doing these everyday. They still suck...but, butt! I'm feeling my glutes more in everyday activities. The exercises are hard but they are working. 

3. Spooky Halloween Midnight Run tonight! Nani and I are joining a group of local runners for a 6 mile run starting exactly at midnight tonight. Also, joining are some of my Lab Rats Ragnar teammates...

Do you Yeti? Right out the box, over my
work clothes. 

4. Next weekend I'm running Ragnar Las Vegas for the third time. I can't wait for the van stories and highjinks! And I'm excited to wear my...

5. YETI. I finally ordered and received Oiselle's Yeti. So comfy, so warm. Living in Southern California, I haven't felt the need to buy one the last couple years. We're going to England for most of December and I felt our vacation is the perfect excuse. Plus it does get a bit cold here.;) This year's version is not available yet, but I was able to buy one during a pre-holiday Friends and Family sale. It was the ONE item I was hoping they would have available for the sale and they did! Score!

Hitting Reset

After asking my physical therapist for the eleventhy millionest time yesterday for reassurances that I'm not a lost cause, that people with glutes as weak as mine do comeback and do comeback stronger, I'm starting to believe. 

When I can't run, my ever-present but usually latent trolls of self-doubt emerge in full-force. It doesn't help that the stuff I'm not good or natural at--the things I ignored, are the things I'm now starting to forced to address (in a good way!). I sit way too much at work. I have a long commute. Butt and hip strengthening band exercises suck and are hard (but seem to be working!-->I've progressed to the next set of prescribed exercises). Pilates is torture, but great for injury prevention. I never had time for it before injury and now I realize that "not having time" is just an excuse. I always I have time. It's all about priorities. I had that light bulb moment walking into work this morning.

With all this jumble in my head and not having the ability to run loooooong (miss my long runs) to clear my mind, it is perfect timing that this week in my Believe Training Journal I reached the Hit Reset section. The Believe In Rest & Rejuvenation section. 

This section is really about allowing yourself proper recovery from daily and weekly training with proper nutrition, rest and developing a prehab habit and a stretch routine. But it also speaks to me as I recover from injury and helps me focus my efforts. As I mentioned above, I've started taking Pilates. Jill, Movement Coach and owner at The Energy Lab (the fitness studio I attend), has always said that Pilates is great prehab and is her number 1 secret for injury prevention. I finally subscribed to Jasyoga. It rocks. It's a great way to reset and my body feels awesome after finishing a video. 

I'm not a lost cause, because as my PT told me, "You're motivated and you do the work." And that's always been me. I'm consistent and I learn from my mistakes. I was ignorant and/or maybe overly-confident but I've learned my lesson and am working towards a stronger, more well-rounded me. 

Weak-a$$ Glutes!

I thought I had a femoral stress reaction/fracture.
Lazy ass is a better diagnosis. Glad my funny
bone is intact. :)

One week without running, one visit to the doctor, one assessment with a movement coach, one visit to a sports-specialized physical therapist and the verdict for my right leg is severe IT band syndrome caused by weak glutes. To quote my physical therapist, "You have no butt!" or in my interpretation, I have weak-ass glutes. 

I've been prescribed painkillers, a regimen of daily glute-strengthening and targeting exercises (with bands of hell), weekly physical therapy appointments and no running for a bit. And I'm good with that (or I've come to terms with that)...because in spite of my weak-ass glutes I've been getting stronger and faster. I've won races, I've PR'd consistently. My other muscle groups have been picking up the slack of my lazy-ass glutes for years! Slackers! Now,  Imagine the Possibilities--how much stronger and faster I can be--when I have kick-ass glutes (the kind that take names and you don't want to meet in a dark alley)! 

This is me making lemonade out of lemons, rolling with punches and reframing some bad news--but I have to admit that this weak-glutes thing threw me for a loop. I've read dozens of articles over the years that the number one reason for injuries in runners is weak glutes. I always assumed that it didn't apply to me because I TRX and circuit train and do lots of squats and lunges. I have a strong core (HA! It's not strong if my glutes are weak!). What I didn't know was that I'm literally a  lazy-butt and let my quads and hamstrings and abs do all the work. A 40+hour a week desk job with a commute doesn't help my lazy ass.  

An awesome thing about running is that it teaches me humility. I get a little cocky (it's how I build myself up!) and something knocks me down--but I do come back stronger and use it to improve. When I'm knocked down, I regain focus and determination. What's life without challenge?

So what does this all mean for my training plan and goals?

1. I'm going to DNS for what was my planned tune-up race for my goal marathon, the Long Beach 1/2 Marathon (I'll still be heading to LBC to cheer on the runners and my brother who is running the full marathon).

2. Although my PT and I agree I will be back to running and capable of running the California International Marathon in December, I won't be able to run it at the level and speed I've been training for and want to run it in. I plan to defer my registration when the deferral window opens up in November and run in 2016. (This also makes sense logistically because we leave for England a couple of days after the race this year and I had been stressing out a bit about travelling up north to Sacramento for the race and then leaving for almost a month and what to do with Nani.)

3. Ease back into running when I've been pain-free for 3 days.

4. Start training for the special-edition Valentine's Day LA Marathon (already registered, pre-injury) in November (12 week training plan).

5. Cross-train with indoor cycling. Strength-train with focus on my glutes (while not forgetting other muscle groups). 

6. With no long runs for awhile and lots of free time, organize and declutter our house. Write a novel. Put away the laundry. Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it. 

Rehab: Week 1 (Everyday: prescribed glute band-exercises)

Goal-Mileage: 0 miles

Monday: Tabata + Cycle class 
Tuesday: Cycle class
Wednesday: Cycle class
Thursday: Cycle class + TRX
Friday: Tabata + Pilates + TRX
Saturday: Walk
Sunday: Walk