After the 26.2 - Slow and Steady Wins the Race...

It has been many weeks since I crossed the finished line, but I am just now (finally) starting to feel back at my usual strength.  I did not think it would take this long.  There have been a few false indications of said "usual strength" returning along the way.  This feels different.  I have been worried that maybe I was just lazy and reverting back to my old ways.  I was starting to think that I was never going to feel like a gym rat bad-ass every again.  The good news is...I think I am finally back...not quite at full strength...but I am getting closer each day.

I have been getting Physical Therapy for my right knee and hip for about six weeks now (two days a week)...and the results have been remarkable.  I'm actually glad I got this horrible cold/cough thing (which still lingers), because I think it actually helped me to really rest and focus on the PT with no distractions from my boy gym.  I have been feeling guilty for my lack of time with gym, but as it turns out, it was the best thing I could have done.  I had a re-evaluation last night at PT...and I have improved drastically in terms of balance and range of motion (20 whole degrees!!!).  We are going to start the "weening off PT" process next week.  I am so excited!!  

Truth be told, my therapist just yesterday said I could start to ease back into my regular gym routine. (Whoops...I was already starting to do that!!) I did my first strength training workout in a long time this AM with my trainer/friend Stacy K...it felt awesome...so I know I am on the mend (and not just because I got some cool presents).  I am also allowed to try a short walk/run too.  I am so excited to get outside and get a mile or two or three.  I have not walked or ran in such a long time.  I can't explain how much I have missed it.  My goal is to get back to the point where I can do 10 miles on a Saturday.  I know I will get there...as always...one mile at a time.

Early morning presents at the gym...it really did happen!!!

 

How you know you are not feeling well...

My word count has not grown over the past few days...I'm holding steady at 26K....but I have a really good excuse.  I have been sick and this cold/cough/fever thing has knocked me out.  I haven't been sick like this in a long while.  I have still been at work...which I know is a mistake...but sometimes you just have to put how you are feeling aside.  I may have been quoted as saying the following, "It doesn't matter how I feel, there is work to be done."  I know.  I need to fix this attitude.  I was a train wreck yesterday...it was clear to all those around me.  So, while my novel sits waiting for me to return...I thought I would note a few of my observations over the past few days.   

How you know you are really not feeling well...

• You have insane dreams...for example...buying a $1700 Kate Spade bag to keep your cell phone in...only your cellphone.     

• You leave your diabetes bag (filled with life sustaining stuff like both of your insulin pens and glucose monitor) on your desk at work.  You realize this at 9:30pm at night and then have to drive all the way back to work to get it.

• Your boss refers to you as Typhoid Mary.

• Your partner in crime at work shields their face anytime they walk in your office or anytime you go theirs. 

• Your co-workers wonder if you are okay because your eyes are really "glassy".

• You walk up and down the hallways really slow.

• You can't wait to get home to your Vicks VapoRub.

• You don't even miss Gym or care if he misses you.

• You cancel Physical Therapy for the week, but you feel really, really bad about it.  You can barely carry your purse; you have to be realistic about your energy level.

• You wear a neon green sweatshirt at work over your outfit because you are shivering...all day long. 

• You fall asleep looking at twitter and accidentally favorite things you do not intend too. Upon waking up, you quickly unfavorite them...but does it even matter?

• You are home at 8pm which enables you to go to sleep at 8pm.

Week 22 - After the 26.2

So if the first post race recovery week was sublime, maybe I should have expected that things would go awry in the second.  I thought it would be even better, so I was really surprised when things started falling apart.  I felt like I was getting a cold.  I was exhausted.  My knee was bothering me more than it did after the race. Everything seemed to hit me at once...and work was more hectic then normal...I was slogging through the days.  As a result, it ended up being a bye week. It would have been the week where I would have started run/walking again, but I knew I was not up to it.  I was really disappointed, but I did clock some time with Gym on Saturday...and that made me feel at tad better.  

I did make one big decision about readying myself for whatever new fitness-related goals I set.  I need to go back and finish physical therapy to fix my right knee/hip issue once and for all.  I abandoned PT in early July because it was cutting into my training time.  I decided that getting my 26 miles was more important then fixing the problem.  I accepted the risk knowing that (at worst) I would have to limit myself to just walking because of the pain.  Now, I want to see how well I can do with no pain at all or at least less pain.  I'm ready to take the time.  I need to take the time, because ignoring the issue isn't going to make it go away.  And I still have many more miles ahead of me...

Since I did not get any miles...I don't have a picture for this week.  Instead, I thought I would post about my favorite random happening in Week 22.  A spur of the moment visit to my favorite cupcake shop to pick up a dessert... 

Frostings...my favorite cupcakery...

Always let the Type 1 Diabetic pick out dessert...

I am an Athlete? (The Jury Might Be In...)

My first mathing out of what it was going to take...

Despite my knee not bothering me, I decided to keep my PT appointment scheduled for tonight.  Knowing that the miles are going to continue to increase with my training...it seemed smart to be sure that nothing stands in my way of getting those 26.2 miles.  I am so glad I did.  My right knee problems have nothing to do with my knee...but my right hip.  A problem I have been dealing with for years...and I had grown so used to it...it did not even occur to me that it could be the problem.  It is all connected...repetitive motion with incorrect form...leads to other injuries.  I felt like such an idiot as the light bulb went off over my head.  It was quite the epiphany...and I am thrilled to finally be fixing the real problem.

During the initial evaluation, one of the things I was asked to do were squats.  Upon completely several, my therapist complimented me on my form.  All of the work Stacy K has been giving me the past several years was recognized.  And when you are not holding a kettle bell or Vipr...your form is even better.  It is in moments like those where it hits me how far I have really come in terms of my time with Gym. There was yet another revelation to be made...while scheduling my next few appointments my therapist commented on how fun it was to work with an athlete.  An athlete?  Me?  I smiled and I didn't correct him.  He was right...I am an athlete.