Wednesday, July 20, 2011

A New Challenge!

I'm going to make this short...more like an update type entry, not a full-out blog...mostly because I'm REALLY tired!

Tonight my super awesome amazing trainer Casey had me do some of our workout with the weighted vest on. It felt like it doubled the difficulty of what I was doing. It was so nice to finally feel like I have a challenge again that didn't affect my leg at all. As much as I wanted to cry while I was working out, I can't wait to do it again!

There's also a new challenge at the gym that is going on for the next 4 weeks. Most of it is leg-appropriate, except for the bench hops. I'm going to try to figure out something comparable that I can do that will allow me to work towards the challenge. I'm ready to be 100% again, but am not willing to set back all the progress I've made. We'll see what happens!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Some days are better than others

Today has been an especially frustrating day. Not only am I having car issues (again), but right when I found a way to get there, I can't go with friends to the Concert in the Park tonight because the closest we could park would include a total of about a mile-long walk. I'm trying REALLY hard to stick to what my PT said I can and can't do until this muscle heals, but its just frustrating that it is SO limiting. What's even worse is that I agree to do things with friends because I get excited about them, and then suddenly realize that I can't go because of these leg issues and have to bail at the last minute. Anyone that knows me knows how much it bothers me when people bail on me; I feel twice as bad when I do it to someone else.

Luckily, I have friends and family that understand the struggles I'm going through right now and know that I'm not bailing because I'd rather be doing something else. Trust me, I've had enough of sitting at home watching First 48 and counting calories.

I walked on the treadmill today so that I could charge my ipod (of COURSE it was dead when I got to the gym), but quit as soon as I felt a tightness in my leg (usually comes before the pain)...which added up to less than 6 minutes. I'm seeing the PT again on the 26th, so I'm hoping we'll add to what I can do at that point.

Thanks for all the support...this WILL eventually get better!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Update

I thought after my visit with the Physical Therapist today would be a good time to give an update. First, I think I'm really lucky to have a PT whose goal is the same as mine: to eventually get back to running! She told me today that she thinks I have also developed tendonitis in the anterior tibialis muscle (a muscle that runs down the inside of the leg, wraps around the back of the ankle bone, and holds up the arch of the foot). Because of this, the muscle isn't supporting to bone in order for it to heal correctly. The game plan is to rest this muscle enough to get rid of the inflammation, and then start strengthening the muscle so that I can begin doing short runs.

In the meantime, Kaia (my PT) said that I need to be wearing shoes with inserts at all times in order to protect and support the arch of my foot while the AT muscle isn't (goodbye, cute summer sandals.). She also said that I should refrain from doing any extended walking, or walking/standing on uneven surfaces (no hikes, walking on gravel/sand/grass) and no balance exercises that aren't on the floor (BOSU balls, balance platforms, etc.).

Kaia suggested I stick to the bike and the rower for cardio at the gym (no treadmill or elliptical, as they put weight on the leg), and work on upper body and core strengthening exercises. I also have limited strength, flexibility, and movement in my left hip, left side of my lower back, and IT band...so all of my at-home PT exercises are related to fixing that issue, just until the irritation in my AT muscle goes down.

It's time to set some new goals...I'll post them as soon as I've written them out. Thanks for everyone's support. I'll hopefully be back up and running (ha!) by January 2012.