Quickie: Two Miles, Wish List, Time On My Back

I've been spending some extra time on my back lately. Yep. My chiropractor told me to. 

Looks like this. Only with a couch. And an iPhone for entertainment. And two cats circling your head for attention.

It helps my lower back issues, surprisingly, a lot. Just, you know, lying on the floor. It's shocking how difficult it is to remember to get low, get low, get low and get on the floor to stretch, though. And then to stay there, being still, for 10-15 minutes. But it works. I'm going to get low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low here shortly.


Oh, and it's the perfect opportunity to pick up my hand weights and do a little work on my arms. Whee multitasking!




NEXT


I have a new wish list item. Shoes and extra "girly supports" are always on the list, but I've decided I want a Garmin GPS watch. 

Garmin Forerunner 405CX. Image from Amazon.

After reading some of my friend Anne's latest blog posts about her half-marathon training and running the Disney Princess Half Marathon this past weekend (GOOD JOB, GIRL!), I've decided I want to be cool like her and get one. The GPS in these is much more accurate than the cell tower GPS of an iPhone or other smart phone.




NEXT


I totz just ran 2 miles tonight without stopping and kept my pace under 13 minutes/mile. Woohoo! Haven't done that in a long time! It felt really good. My legs didn't cramp up. My breathing was A-OK (probably because it was about 65 degrees and breezy...on February 29 in Cincinnati...no complaints). My back and hips felt fabulous (probably because of my fabulous adjustment just before the run...praise be to the chiropractor).


Good run. Fun run. Again, should have kept going. Here are the basic stats from MapMyRun.com:

LASTLY


Hey, go become a fan of my Facebook page, y'all! If you don't have a Facebook account (weirdos), you can still pop on and look at it at your leisure. 

facebook.com/moretoloverunning

Do it! All the cool kids are!


Oh, and in case you didn't know (because I didn't until recently), if you are a "fan" of a page like my More To Love Running page on Facebook, the owner of that page (me, in this case) can't see anything on your profile other than what is already public. 


For example, if you have Fort Knox-style security set up on your personal account (like yours truly), then if you go and "Like," oh, I don't know, New Kids on the Block, Danny, Donny, Joe-Jon-Jordan can't see your pictures from that NSYNC concert you went to.


So what I'm saying is, don't be scared of reverse stalking from More To Love Running's Facebook page.  =)


Cheers!

I'm M-m-melting!

Yes, the amount of sweat that pours off me during and after these boot camp workouts genuinely does make me feel like I'm an ice cube in a hot frying pan. But, it seems as though the weight is melting off me as well. Excluding today's measurements, I've lost about another 4 pounds since Tuesday. I'm averaging a loss of about 1.5 pounds every two days. Whoa.

Today, on the other hand, the scale showed me back at that 4+ weight again. Please tell me how I could gain 4 pounds overnight. Really. I want to know. This is where my distrust of scales comes from. Can I attribute the large weight fluctuations to my extreme mass? I know everyone's weight changes throughout the day, but 4 pounds? Really?

Okay, moving on ...

I'm going into my fourth and final week of Adventure Boot Camp (a.k.a. the reason for my weight loss success over the last month), and I'd like to look back at the last few days.

As I mentioned in my previous posts -- and I'm sure you're sick of hearing about it -- I've been battling a few "ailments" recently. I'm happy to say that the summer yuck/cold is almost entirely gone (just a little coughing here and there), the stiff neck is no more, and my back is at about 80% (I'm still feeling a little twisted). I feel free! Wheee!

I skipped boot camp on Thursday to "recover" a bit, and I'm sure glad I did. I woke up that morning in time to leave for camp, and standing up was no easy feat. Friday morning I was ready to roll, so I did. Unfortunately (for me), we did partner work for the entire workout. I'm not a fan. I think I've mentioned that before. I'm just not comfortable 1) having someone else rely on me to perform, and 2) relying on someone else to perform. It's not like a team sport; that I love. This is different. I wish I could explain it better.

Anyway, Friday's workout didn't leave me totally spent, and since I didn't have to go to work, I decided to go for a little jog at the my beloved Juilfs Park, which I haven't been to in a long time. I popped on my tunes and just started running without Mr. C25K to hold my hand. Ladies and gentlemen, I ran somewhere between 2/3 to 3/4 of the way around the mile track without stopping. WOOHOO! I also only did one lap instead of the normal two, but hey, I had just worked out for an hour. Geesh.

Here's a map of Juilfs, complete with my awesome Paint lines. Red = run. Blue = run/walk.

Borrowed from the Cardinal Soccer website.

This successful run leaves me really anxious to do the final timed mile at ABC on Friday. I can't wait to run this week, period. I'm going to tackle those before-camp laps like I wish I could have over the last week. Watch, it'll pour down rain or something. Faaahhh-bulous!

Rain shmain though. It was raining on Saturday morning when I headed to the "Off the Beaten Path" workout for ABC. I get soaking wet anyway, so what's the big deal?

Oh yeah, about Saturday's workout. Not bad, not bad. It was quite the experience to be there with so many other women. My boot camp is kind of small, I think, compared to the big camp in Oakley, so having that many people together to workout is a new experience for me. It was challenging, too. We did some running in between workouts and did a lot of work on our hips. That really seems to exhaust me quickly.

In fact, I have a picture to share of me in the midst of a strenuous hip workout.

Preface #1: Brian, I snagged this from your Facebook photos and cropped it to just show me in a huge field of people. I'd be happy to take it down if you like.

Preface #2: At this point, everyone else is on hands and knees doing a "fire hydrant" exercise. I guess I needed a break ... or needed to say "hola" to Allah. Maybe a little of both.

Woohoo, back sweat!

We also did a big set of exercises using a band around our ankles. Ooooh, I like those! Talk about working muscles that don't get worked so much. Surprisingly, I'm not sore from those.

I can't wait to tackle this last week of ABC. I'm ready to kick butt with the final timed mile on Friday and I'm almost ready to try this strength training thing on my own, and to get back to C25K (and maybe jump up a week!) I think I'll try following workouts on my Training On-Demand cable station three days a week. I just discovered that Jackie from Work Out has her own stuff on there. I liked that show, so maybe that'll keep me engaged (corporate word ... patooee!).

I'll keep you posted on this week and definitely let you know how the timed mile goes. Unfortunately, I still can't really do a push up, so that number won't be improving at all. Baby steps.

Cryin' and Whinin'

My sixth grade teacher used to tell us that Country Western music (C&W) was actually Cryin' & Whinin' music. I couldn't agree more.

Using that logic, though, I'm practically a superstar country music singer. I feel like I've done nothing but gripe and complain about my ailments over the last two weeks. First the plague (summer cold), then the stiff neck, now a crippling attack of lower back pain. What gives? Why everything at once? And why everything at once while I'm physically challenging myself more than ever before? Plus, I feel like a whining child in--yes, you guessed it--gym class again. Every time I let ABC Linda know that I'm not feeling so hot or my neck hurts or my back hurts, I feel like I'm making excuses. In a way I am, I guess, because I don't want to come across as disrespectful or lazy when I opt out of an exercise, you know? I'd rather have it out there in the open. And I'm grateful for my trainer because she doesn't make a big deal of it. She just suggests lots of stretching and lets me do my thing.

So, these three ailments ... could they all be tied together?

Well, I'm confident that the back issue is from boot camp (I'm almost positive of precisely which exercise did it), but I'm not sure I can tie the other two to that. Nor do I want to. Adventure Boot Camp has been a wonderful experience and I've been pushing myself and achieving awesome results because of it. It's not ABC's fault my body is falling apart; it's my fault for putting it through years of disuse.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting tonight is to let you know that I've made a decision. This is a big deal for a notoriously indecisive (well kind of notorious ... sometimes) person.

Earlier this week, ABC Brian mentioned a Saturday boot camp activity at a local park. I immediately wanted to go, but wasn't thrilled about using another one of my "vacation" days to get up early and sweat. What can I say ... I'm naturally lazy. Anyway, I've been toying with the idea for a few days. Well, after going to boot camp this morning and straining my back even more (attending camp this morning was probably a mistake, in hindsight), I've decided to skip tomorrow and go to Saturday's session. That'll give my back some time to get a little better before pushing it even more.

Wheeee! I made a decision!

So, what's up with my back?

I kind of have an existing lower back injury. I use the word "injury" lightly, because in my mind an injury involves a moment when you hurt yourself. And while this back thing probably involved a moment like that, I have no idea when or how long ago.

I do know some things, though. I know that I first saw a chiropractor for it while working at a previous job, so probably somewhere in 2005 or 2006. I dabbled with that briefly, using all my chiropractor points for my insurance and really not seeing any long-term improvements. I kind of have a bad taste for chiropractors, as do many people I know, but I don't hold anything against them personally (sorry Lindsey!) I'd like to not return to one if I can help it. I might look into physical therapy someday, though. I've heard some great things about it.

I also know that my back has "gone out" really, really badly one time. I was in the basement of my last apartment and POW! Locked up while bent over at about 90 degrees. That was the worst pain I've ever experienced and probably the scariest thing I've ever been through. My eyes browned out a few times and I hurt so bad I wanted to puke. I couldn't straighten up or sit down or get on the floor ... nothing. With my mom's help I finally managed to sit on a really high stack of pillows on the couch. Awful, awful, awful. I get chills thinking about it.

I know that I inadvertently caused a back pain episode (might have been the one above, actually), when I gave a toddler a "ride" once by putting her on my feet while sitting and lifting my feet up and down repeatedly. The next day was Hell. This is probably another reason I don't like children all that much. =)

I know that something as simple as trying to move a box (heavy, light, empty, whatever) with my feet will almost surely cause me to hurt the next day. DON'T KICK BOXES, PEOPLE!!!

So, that's my back story (heh heh ... get it?) in a nutshell. It hurts. A lot. It's a huge hassle when it gets flared up, but it goes away. It makes simple things, like walking, getting up, or bending over to wash my hands at the bathroom sink, really ridiculously difficult (I'm tall ... sinks are low). It makes focusing/functioning at work nearly impossible. It makes me want to just lie in bed for days.

But, I have my Biofreeze and plenty of Aleve, and my mom delivered a heating pad and some healthy (or not) Chik-Fil-A tonight. By Friday's boot camp, I should be a bit more ready to roll. Hopefully I can enjoy at least a little of my "vacation" by the pool--you know how comfy pool chairs can be. And hopefully I can go into my final week of boot camp at FULL THROTTLE without any stupid ailments to hold me back.

Three cheers for sleeping in tomorrow! Hip hip ...

Unexpected Developments

Well, friends, I've done it. I was a bit over-ambitious yesterday in my physical activities and now I have the back pain to show for it. Or feel. Whatever.

After my post yesterday morning, I headed out for my second try at Week 2 Day 1 of C25K. The great news is that I found a place to start that keeps me from running up the beastly hill twice. WOOHOO! Oh, and I shaved some more time off the two-mile run. Since I ended my last running interval before Beast Hill (that's it, I've now named it), I was able to jog to the finish line.

New progress milestone: 2 miles in 28 minutes -- a 14-minute mile pace. WOOHOO!

Anyway, I completed my run, doused myself in a cold shower, and moved some crap into my new apartment. Unfortunately, somewhere between my run and leaving the new digs, I did something to rip my lower back to shreds. It's strange because I don't even remember straining it, or kicking any boxes (which usually does me in in a snap). Needless to say, that put a damper on my moving activities for the rest of what was supposed to be a productive Saturday.

Wah waaaaaah!

Kind of messed with my Sunday, too. I could have run this morning. I could have taken two loads of stuff to the new place. But, I settled for one minor load. At least it's something, right?

Why am I telling you this? Because I'm making an excuse, that's why. And what are you supposed to do when I make an excuse? All together now ... "SHOOT HER DOWN!"

[ducks and covers]

I'll let you be the judge of my legitimacy. I will, once again, be spending the night cuddled up with my dream man, Ben Gay. Hopefully he gets rid of this kink so I can get something done this week, whether it be running, moving, or both.