Happy Tuesday! Last week was a kickass week in terms of injury recovery. I’ve been feeling good. I haven’t pushed it but I have become more diligent on the bike. I’m focusing on cadence and keeping my heart rate up. I think it’s working, too.
Tuesday — Bike
On Tuesday I rode for 45 minutes. I followed the YouTube video but I did something different this time. Instead of changing gears and making my quads work harder, I decided I would just increase my cadence when it was time to step it up. I think it worked, too.
Wednesday — Bike+Strength
I repeated Tuesday’s goal of keeping up cadence instead of worrying about harder gears. I also spent 30 minutes on my strength training, which was fabulous.
Thursday — Bike
Okay, so increasing cadence plus my strength training is definitely working. My glutes were sore on Thursday! A first for me! All those times of working on lunges and squats, I could never achieve the sore-glute goal. But this time I prevailed! I spent 45 minutes on the bike and that was enough.
Friday — Yoga
I took a much needed yoga break on Friday. It was nice to sleep in a bit, and nicer to stretch my legs and my booty in the afternoon. I did try to change it up from the usual video I follow but I was so confused and every time I looked over at the video I got out of the pose and it was just kind of a mess. That lasted about 8 minutes until I decided to go back to the ol’ standby. Ahhhh, much better.
Saturday — Run!!
The weather was amazing over the weekend. Nice and warm, and very mild. I decided I was going to go out for a mile or two to see how my ankle felt. I laced up my Newtons and was off. I didn’t think about anything except enjoying my run, and I’m so happy to report that nothing hurt! It was an amazing run. I ended up running a total of 3.26 miles. I totally could have kept going but I also knew how stupid that would be, so I called it.
On Saturday afternoon my girl Julie and I had a friend-date and headed to a local running store. She was looking for new shoes and who am I to say no to a trip to the running store? I had zero plans to buy anything because I’m still awaiting my gait analysis. I didn’t want to spend money only to find out I bought the wrong shoe. As it turns out, there was a spread of about 15 shoes on the floor. As Julie was trying on, I spied a pair in my size. I asked why they were on the floor and the owner said, “all the shoes on the floor are $20.” I couldn’t believe it! Of course I had to try them on. And of course they were minimalist shoes, which I’ve been wanting to try for awhile now. I’m now the proud owner of a pair of Altra One. And a replacement 13.1 magnet for my car. (So much for not spending money.)
Sunday — Run!!
Two runs in a row?! How is that possible?! Well, after my purchase on Saturday, I really had no choice. I had to try out my new shoes and since I knew I could only go out for a mile or so anyway with them, it seemed like a good idea. I’m also training my husband now (Can we talk about how awesome that is? Yaaaaaaaaay!) so we put Boo on his bike, Little Bee in her stroller, and we ran up and down the road as a family. WHO DOES THAT?! Apparently we do! It was simultaneously hilarious and awesome.
Back to the shoes — they were awesome! I’m so glad I got them. It’s gonna take a hot minute to ease into them because by the end of Sunday evening I could already feel my calves getting a little tight, but I’m really hoping minimalist shoes will help with the plethora of issues I’ve been having. Only time will tell, I ‘spose.
We ended up running/riding a total of 2 miles on Sunday. Yay!
My plank streak is going strong. I’m not holding it nearly as long as I had been at this time last year, and I’m totally okay with that. I’m really focusing on form this time around. Last time I just wanted to see how long I could hold it and sometimes I ended up sore in all the wrong places. This time I haven’t really been sore and I’m definitely increasing strength where it should be increased.
I would say last week was a huge step in the right direction. I talked it over with my coach and we’re still going to play it really safe this week but I’m going to add a couple runs in along with cycling and yoga, and hopefully there’s nothing but improvement along the way. What a relief!
xo
TALK TO ME!
If you’re injured, what do you do to stay fit?
Have you been experiencing unseasonably warm weather?
This post is linked up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run, and HoHo Runs and MissSippi Piddlin’ for the Weekly Wrap!
