Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Runner Shelley v9.0 - Part 2

Sorry to have left you hanging on Monday, but Part 1 was getting really long.

Where were we?  Oh, the other option that opened up.  Longtime readers will recognize the person I'm standing with:
It's Brad!

I've thought off and on about rejoining BCS Fitness, which is where I got my start with, uh, fitness.  And running.  And confidence to do crazy things like flip a gigantic tire and jump onto a box.  I stopped going when I was training for my first half marathon, and then I never ended up going back.  Hey, the kids were in college and there just wasn't a lot of extra money for everything I wanted to do.  But as I wrote at the beginning of the year, 2018 is our year of change, including some changes I wasn't expecting, like returning to BCS Fitness.  Having our mortgage paid off allows for some extras, and when Karen, who has been working out with Brad for three years now, asked if I wanted to come workout with her during their "bring your friends" week, I went for it and said yes.

I spoke with Brad for a few minutes before the workout began and told him that I was worried because I knew I would not be able to keep up with everyone else, but he reassured me that it would be fine, and it was.  I mean, I was a dripping sweaty mess at the end, and it was really hard, but I had fun.  The group did a Dirty 30 workout but I did a Dirty 15 - and believe me, that was enough!  Along with having moved the gym to a bigger location, the workouts are now only 30 minutes long...30 very intense minutes.  The groups are very small and I liked Karen's group, so I made plans to return on Thursday, sign up for real, and begin my routine of T/Th workouts.

I am really excited about making changes so I will become a stronger runner.  I'm willing and determined to do this - within reason, of course.  Box jumps are not an option anymore because jumping jars my wonky ankle with a stabby pain.  But there are a lot of other things I can do, so it's all good.

There's only one slight little hitch.  During the workout on Thursday, I was on my second set of mountain climbers when I felt something in my left calf pop as I landed on that foot.  I've never felt anything like that before, and that's the only way I can describe what happened - my calf muscle popped.  Intense pain came with the pop and I sat down; Brad came over and when he heard what happened, got ice on it and I sat in the office, hoping that I hadn't done something serious to my leg.  I did make him bring me some dumbbells so I could at least work my arms while I was sitting there.  But seriously??  Sigh.

After the group workout was done, Karen helped me hobble to my car - luckily the injury was on my left leg so I could still drive home.  I iced and elevated it for the next 24 hours, and it feels better but there's a bruise on my calf and it's still really painful if I take too long of a stride when I walk, or lead off with that foot, or step off a curb with that foot (ask me how I know).  Dr. Google (and Brad) said that it's most likely a calf muscle strain, which could take a few weeks to heal.  Dang it!  So I didn't run on Saturday (really there's no way I could have run), and I'm doing my best to stay off of it as much as I can in order to minimize accidentally hurting myself more and also to get it healed up.

There are some positives to this:  It's still super hot so I'm not bereft that I can't run.  If this had happened during our few cool months of the year, I'd be really upset.  And I can still workout with Brad - yesterday I worked on my abs and arms, with a few modifications to not put any stress on my calf.  I'm sad I can't run with Diane, but I got to go to McDonald's with Jimmymeow to get some coffee while everyone was running on Saturday, and that was fun.  Jeff is worried that I've seen the dark side and won't want to run anymore, but that's not the case, LOL.

I am really glad I don't have a half marathon looming in my future - I'm not worried about taking some time off to heal and having to jump back into getting my mileage up; it's a relief to not have that fear for a change.  And as long as I don't end up looking like SpongeBob SquarePants:
Don't skip leg day, kids!

I'll be all right.

14 comments:

  1. Woohoo!!! The gym sounds like a good change/revisit for you....well without the injury!!!

    As for the injury, hopefully it heals fast!! And....maybe you needed to give your legs a wee little break!!! I like to believe that things happen for a reason!

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  2. When I opened the blog and saw that photo in my mind I said, "Hi Brad!" haha

    I'm so happy that you're complimenting your running with these workouts. Isn't it wonderful to have people who know what they are doing telling you how to move and swap things out and work around that stupid calf? I've strained my bad enough to bruise and seriously it heals a lot faster than a lot of other injuries, including say the hamstring pull you had. You'll feel great in no time!

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    1. I knew my longtime readers would recognize him! :)

      And yes, it's been great to get such specific coaching and workouts that I can do, even with the calf injury. I'm really glad I rejoined.

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  3. I'm so glad to see you crosstraining with Brad! You know how much I love my sessions with Sammy Jo and the bootcamp has added a whole new dimension into my quest to find some endurance. It's a heck of a lot of fun. Hopefully that calf with heal quickly. There's still a lot you can do. And btw, no box jumps for me either. My knees do not like them.

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    1. I am really hoping that some running endurance comes back along with my muscles! :)

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  4. How fun to return to workouts with Brad - especially knowing there won't be box jumps! I'm sure he'll find something new and different for you to hate :-) Take care of that calf and you'll be back to running by the time the temps cool off...hey, see how your body took care of you like that?? LOL

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    1. I know, along with not having to run in this stupid hot weather, I'm actually catching up on sleep - yes I still wake up at 5:00 am because my body is used to doing that, but now I turn over and go back to sleep. :)

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  5. BCS - I remember you doing box jumps and succeeding :) I hope you didn't rupture your Achilles tendon. If you aren't feeling better, make sure you get that checked out.

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  6. Ouch - I've been there with the calf muscle strain. From your description of the bruising it sounds like a tear. If so then it should hopefully heal quite quickly. The trick is to do lots of stretching and then strengthening - the strengthening so you don't end up with scar tissue that shortens the muscle, and the strengthening to get it ready to run again. A good physio should be able to advise. Good luck!

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    1. Good advice - I am hoping it will heal quickly because it's been a week with no running and I'm itching to get back out there.

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  7. Oops - the stretching so that you don't end up with scar tissue ....

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    1. I've started gently using my BFF Buffer on the calf to massage the knot/scar tissue. It's still pretty tender so I can't do much but maybe that is helping?

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