Doing better

After last week's bout of soreness and doubt, I'm happy to report that this week has been much better.  After a couple of days off I did a little walking and a couple of short "sprints".  I followed that the next day with an eight mile hike across country.  Being in SE Kansas means there really wasn't any elevation change but it was all trail-less walking through pasture and woodlands.  I was really tired afterwards and had some soreness but it was minimal.  The next day I did a small amount of running and some walking.  My day was spent with activity  so I was always moving which was good.  I took a day off and then today I went for a light workout with the dogs.  I  didn't get to go as long as I wanted due to the old boy.  I'm thinking of going out later this evening with the young sprout and making the circuit again.


Here's a picture of the big guy and as you can see he's not really built for covering much ground at a quick (not that I'm quick) pace.
Name: Ritz
Breed: Giant Schnauzer
Age: 9 years (?)
Job: Defending the home, keeping tabs on his humans, farting.
Hobbies: Destroying toys, playing keep away, maintaining Alpha male status at home, in the neighborhood and at the dog park.

Here's a pic of the little guy.  As you can see he was built for an active lifestyle.

Name: Winston (aka Winnie)

Breed: Giant Schnauzer-Standard Poodle mix (not related to Ritz)

Age: 1 and a half years

Job: Keeping the big guy company, entertaining his humans, distributing his toys throughout the house

Hobbies: Fetching, engaging humans in play, fetching, gathering sticks, and fetching.

Ups and Downs

I had to slow my C25K program down due to hip/lower back soreness.  This isn't any of the abductors in the the hip/upper leg but rather my sacral region and hips.  It's just really sore and I've been applying liniment and heat as well laying on the miracle balls.  I did some swimming on the days I was suppose to run and made sure to walk of the other days.  I was sort of down in the dumps about this little setback.  People also mention (very politely) that perhaps my choice of footwear (Invisible Shoes) might be the problem.  I am certain that they are not the issue but rather my complete lack of physical conditioning.  After aggressively treating myself with some home PT and taking the day off from any activity yesterday, I went out today not really sure what to expect.  At first I thought I would just walk, which I did for about 40 minutes.  When I got out bed this morning I didn't feel as much tightness in my hips and sacral region so I was happy with that.  After 40 minutes of walking I decided to try some running.  I started my C25K program (I've been repeating some of the runs from week 2) and I felt pretty good so I finished the run.  So far the day has went well and I haven't had any stiffness through out the day.  I'm going to apply a little heat tonight and rub a little liniment on just for good measure.  Tomorrow will be a walk day and I think I'll follow that up with a swim day on Monday.  I'll plan on a run day for Tuesday provided I feel good for the next couple of days.

On the diet front, I'm doing a little better but it tends to come in waves.  I do better when I can stay home and not so well when I'm out of town (which is often). This week  I made some chorizo and poblano pepper egg muffins that turned out really good.  I had my Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook out to show a friend and since it was on the counter I decided to make use of it.  I made the apple and apricot slow cooker pork chops and they are really, really good.  We had some chicken breasts in the fridge that needed to be used and I had a little craving for sweet and sour chicken.  After a quick search online I followed a recipe from Technically Paleo and then added a few little things like red pepper flakes.  The recipe was great and the results are super yummy.  I also made fried chicken thighs that I coated in mexican seasonings.  I have it all the time and it's really good.  I just sort of wing it with the seasonings but it's mainly cumin, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  So as you can see, I let some other paleo chefs show me the way this week and then rounded it out with a few classics that I don't need a recipe for.

All in all it's been a good week and hopefully I'll continue to do well.

One Step at a Time

I started my C25K program this month.  Today marked the end of week two and I'm pleased to say that so far things are going well.  I'm trying to be smart about my exercise and am really paying attention to my body so that I don't overdo it.  The program, if you're unfamiliar, builds you up to running over a course of 9 weeks.  You workout every other day, each day's workout is a mix of walking and running with the walking tapering off and the running increasing over the course of the program.  I did take a extra day off between a couple of workouts when I felt a little more stiffness.  I also went to the pool once to do some swimming when I took an extra day off just to help limber my muscles up.  It may be something I try to work in on the days off.  I'm thinking of repeating some of the week two workouts just to take my time through the program.  My hips seem a little stiff and sore this week with the increase in running and I don't want to hurt myself again.  I was thinking of taking two days between runs and perhaps doing some swimming on the rest days to help loosen the muscles in my hips.

My diet is still suffering and I need to get that under control because I'm just spinning my wheels if I do one without the other.  Last year I had my diet going well but was a total couch potato.  Somehow I've got to get it all together and headed in the right direction.

Motivation

Motivation....that's the word of the week.  It also happens to be what I am currently lacking from a dietary and exercise frame of mind.  I struggle with keeping my motivation (as well as recovering it) when my life is topsy-turvy.  It seems that I am rarely home and I spend most of my time trying to take care of others that I give up on myself.  It's not something that's going to end soon.  I need to try find some energy or will power to push myself along.  I suppose it would help if I could ever think of my lifestyle change as something other than work.  It still time spent for me but the lure of vegetating on the couch is irresistable.  I think at some point today I will crawl off of here, slip on my huaraches, and restart my C25K program.  I was going to do this yesterday but had to spend the day with my Dad at the VA.  If I don't start today then it'll be March 1st before I think about it again.  I have been saying that I was going to start in February because I thought my injury would be healed and now that's it's February I had better get started.  I think my leg is okay, it's been a long time (6 months) since I first hurt it.  Below is text that I imported from the little running blog I started last year.  This will explain what I injured and why it's taken so long.  I suppose if I was in any sort of decent physical shape that it wouldn't have taken so long but I am literally going from the couch to running.  I'm not one of these people who does a little walking or takes a spin class at the gym a couple times a week.  I'm a true blue couch potato.

Speaking of running, here's a little recap of how things are progressing with my little setback.  The foot is still tender and the hip flexor issue turned out to be an adductor issue...and it is still sore.  I got kind of curious about relieving the soreness in my upper leg so I kept looking on the web trying to find an anatomy photo that would help me pinpoint the muscle that was hurting.  I had read that the flexor is used in pulling the leg up.  I had no pain or soreness with this motion but rather when I moved my leg out or in (especially if I rotated the leg a little while moving it in).  After studying some anatomy charts I concluded that it was the hip adductor muscles.  I found a helpful article which explained the symptoms and some treatments/rehab.  But it was good to have a time frame and hopefully this will help me with my rehab and keep me from getting antsy and starting back to soon.

Well, there you have it.  The adductors were my problem and believe me they have been an issue for the entire 6 months.  The last month I have really noticed improvement and any lingering soreness seems to be gone.  I can rotate my leg with out any problem.  My hip does still pop from time to time which it never done prior to my injury but this is greatly reduced within the last month as well.  So I will be off to give it another whirl and hopefully things will hold together.