Feeling Good (and Sore) from Mixing It Up!

Last week, I got in the pool.
On Wednesday, I hopped on a spin bike.
On Thursday, I swam a really great swim.

And it has felt so good to sweat and be tired from a workout, not just sore as I have been lately on my walks. At the same time, my back is sore from swimming and my sit bones are bruised from the spin bike. Hurt so good, right?

At my doctor's appointment, my blood pressure was 105/65---wow, crazy low. Probably the lowest it has been measured at, and it usually have pretty low blood pressure. I slowed my weight gain down, too. Of course, this isn't from the week I have had a membership and started mixing things up. I have been working on my diet for the past month. I was happy with my health at my appointment.

If you are in a workout rut, try mixing things up. You may be surprised at how good it makes you feel.

Home Again, Bowling, Yoga, and Wishing

I am home and recovering from a quick trip to Utah, mostly the flights. It was fun to ride in a redesigned Boeing 737. I loved the comfy seats and blue lights and sleek interior. Style sells and I would love to fly on one again soon! Since we were not gone for too long, the recovery from the trip hasn't been too bad. I am mostly exhausted from something fun I did after I got home.

Bowling! I have not been bowling for a long time. I went for a late-night birthday party on Monday night. I had a lot of fun and did not do too horribly for me. I played three games, got four strikes total (at least one in each game!), and scored 90, 99, 95. Not awesome scores but not bad for me and not bad for a pregnant lady! I really would have liked to bowl with a heavier ball, but played it safe by alternating between 11 pounds and 10 pounds. By the last game, I was ready to be done. My back was very tired and sore. I had a great time...

BUT----

Since then, I have really struggled to get back on my feet. I stayed up late bowling, didn't sleep well on our trip, and have been sleeping like the dead each night since. Unfortunately I have not gotten up at 5:30 to workout because I have been so tired. And, my pelvic floor has been really tired, like muscle soreness tired. It is crazy. My back is tired, but nothing is new there. My final complaint since bowling is that my right hip pain has gotten worse. I have really tried to take it easy, but it doesn't seem to help. Sometimes I can barely walk. This is a problem because I love to walk and I spend much of my day chasing an excited toddler. I guess I'll have to do some searching about hip pain on the internet (the source of all wisdom) and see what I can come up with. So far, I have only thought of yoga, rolling my butt and thighs, and hip strengthening exercises. I will share what else I come up with in a later post.

This morning, I was able to start off with some yoga. I began with a 15 minute warmup of light stretches, cat/cow, hip rolls, and some sun salutations. That felt nice but then I joined Drew for breakfast. After El woke up, I wanted to get in a little more yoga and actually practiced for a half hour. The cutest moment was when I was in chair with my arms overhead and El mimicked me. Beyond that, she was very interested in touching my feet, kissing my legs, climbing under me, and knocking over the foam roller. Pretty much everything but playing with her toys. But at least I got in some good yoga time. I focused on leg strength and stretching, so a lot of chair, balances, and warrior type things. I felt really good, but my hip still hurt.

I am trying to stay positive. I am growing a baby and chasing a toddler. That is enough to wear anyone out. I try's to do the things I enjoy. The problem is that sometimes our body and our minds have different abilities at the time. If I could have my wishes come true right now, I would be...

• Running several times a week. I am really craving that tired, strong feeling in my legs. I would be training for a race and working on getting faster.
• At Disneyland. It seems everyone is going right now except for me.
• Swimming three items a week and learning about open water swimming at a local lake. I still haven't gotten a gym membership (blah) and therefore haven't swam yet. I know this would probably be the best thing for me to do for my hip.
• Feeling proud of my veggie garden. Right now it is pretty darn pathetic.
• On top of laundry and housework. I wish it would get done and stay done.

So I am feeling a bit down right now. This hip thing is lame and makes me want to be out running or swimming even more than I wanted to be out there last week. It also makes me want to just lay on my bed all day, but it doesn't even feel fully well when I do that. Only three more months! I can make it! The finish line is in sight!

So Glad

I am so glad that I decided to stop running last week. Today I attempted a 3-mile walk and it was a slow one. The round ligament pain has been pretty bad on my walks lately. Then, my whole abdomen and back get tired and sore. And then I limp along at a slower walking pace (22:00 per mile) and push the stroller along. I probably look really pathetic. But that is why I am happy I am done with running for now. I would be dead on the side of the road if I tried.

I am praying that swimming will help with this problem, not only for relief during the swim, but also for a wider variety of activities such as walking. If I have to spend May, June, July, and half of August limping around on walks, I will probably give up. If I give up on walking, El will drive me crazy. She loves being outside. I will also go crazy, cuz I love being outside too.

But I'm already planning my comeback. One of my good friends is having a baby two months after I am. We ran our half marathon together and I think we will set some running goals together. It will be great to have a buddy in the same situation and whom I can be accountable to.

Until my glorious or not comeback, I will limp around pushing El in the stroller, cheering Drew on as he races through the summer.

Friday Randoms

Foam rolling is amazing. I already knew this, especially during my half marathon training, but I just had it reaffirmed. Drew said his ankle was bothering him, I kept telling him to roll his calves out. He didn't think it would help his ankle. Finally, I got it out while we were watching tv and rolled my own legs (just normal tightness from daily life). And then he grudgingly rolled his. When I asked him how it felt in the morning, he said he couldn't feel anything. So it worked, but he doesn't like to admit that I was right.

Most runners who have been running for any length of time sing the praises of foam rollers. If you are new to running, like we are, then it can be confusing. Why roll yourself out? It hurts. How do I do it? What kind should I get? We are by no means pros at running or foam rolling, but here are some resources to get you started.

Which one?

 
This is the one we have, which came recommended by a good friend, and is available on amazon.com here. I hear this high-density roller one is better than the standard one, which is low density. It makes sense because it is pretty hard, which is great for rolling out your sore muscles. There are also a lot of ones with grooves and ridges which make for a more intense massage. There are also hand held ones for more focused work and you could use in the car or at work and not look like a fool. I haven't used any other ones yet, but I am sure we will as we keep running.

Here is a great infographic showing how to use your foam roller. We have mostly just done legs, but I think I'll be using it on my back as this pregnancy progresses. For you pregnant people, here is a video with some suggestions for rolling your low back pain away.

I'm not really providing any information that is new. There is so much information online with suggestions for exercises. It really will help your muscles release better than simply stretching. And remember not to roll over your bones, just muscle! The foam roller is not, however, a cure-all for injuries. There is a difference between rolling an injury and rolling muscles soreness or tightness. Hopefully you will have good experience with the foam roller.

Happy foam rolling!

Tired Legs

Today I got to go running without the stroller! That was nice to just worry about pushing myself and not me and El. My legs were so tired from yesterday's intervals and Monday's row. Mostly the row, and my core was still tired and sore. Who knew rowing would kick my butt so much.

I pushed hard and I am so pleased with my pace. It was a short 2.25 mile run. Mile 1, I got 10:34 minutes per mile, and mile 2 reached 10:07! I was really pleased to hit that time. I felt like I was flying without that jogging stroller. I do, however, think pushing it makes me a stronger runner, as seen by my significant pace increase today.

So even on tired legs, I did better. But I think I need to ice then later. I feel kind of lightly shin splinty.

Today's workout
Core
2.25 mile run, 23:09, 10:21 avg pace
Yoga 10 minutes

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have you ever done something that significantly changed your running?