Going the Distance

Last week I started a new walking program.  At least, it is new to me.  I did a little reading and decided to walk Jeff Galloway's 5K training plan.  I looked at his and Hal Higdon's and decided that I like the simplicity of Galloway's.  Neither is overly hard considering it is all walking and the times just get changed up.  However, I plan to workout 3 days a week on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.  I can following the Galloway 5K training plan by simply shifting the whole schedule forward one day.  I would need to add a 4th day to follow the Higdon 5K walking plan and I'm just not ready to commit to a 4th day in the gym yet.

Having already walked three 5K's this year, I've been resisting backing up and trying one of these programs.  The first 5K was completed through force of will.  I was only a few weeks into PT and really should have backed out of the race I'd planned on running.  Completing that walk was painful and exhausting.  And cold!!!  It had snowed that morning.

The second was the MS 5K Walk 2 months later.  That 5K was a slow walk with friends.  We talked and walked and stopped and dawdled.  It was a day I will never forget.  I know I've not written about it here.  Some day I might, but there is one moment from that walk that I will share now.  Hitting the last quarter of a mile my hip started to cramp.  I was wet and cold and ready to be finished.  Rain had pelted us the entire walk.  The approach to the finish line was, of all things, uphill.  As I approached the finish line, I saw my oldest daughter waiting.  She was wearing her Hawaiian rain jacket and matching boots cheering me on.  Even better than that moment are the many moments since then when she's told me that she is going to do a 5K when she grows up and she wants to run it in the rain too.

And most recently I walked a 5K on the treadmill in the gym just to see how I felt.  As with the first two my hips started to cramp in the third mile.  I worked through it and it wasn't nearly as bad as during the first 5K, but still...  I'm not pleased.  I feel like all my time in PT and hard work are simply not paying off.  How long is it going to take?  How many leg lifts in various directions are required to get these muscles in working order?

While my two official 5Ks left me needing a week to recover, each had moments I won't forget.  I begin to understand why people race over and over.  Why they keep moving.  I can see that getting out there and moving will make a difference.  However, my last unofficial attempt left me frustrated and knowing I shouldn't sign up to make a third official.  Exercise is supposed to be about moving and nourishing a healthy body.  My body is getting healthier, but it is not ready to walk 5K.  I'm not sure why this distance means so much to me.  Maybe because running it will always be the first goal I made for myself.

Versus trying again and again with the same painful results, I'm doing a walking program.  A slow progression to walking a 5K.  It's 15 weeks, 3 days per week.  At week 11 I actually walk 3.5 miles.  Which is more than a 5K.  As I approached Couch to 5K, I'm going to keep repeating each week until I can complete the walk without pain.  Maybe this is the answer I need for getting past this hurdle.  At a minimum, I now have a program to follow, a specific online to progress along.  That is something I've wanted and needed lately.  Best case, I might actually whip these stubborn muscles into shape.

For now, I'm mostly working on being thankful to have yet another chance.  And more time to practice patience.  Practice makes perfect right?

Plans for the Weekend

This weekend I will walk my second 5K.  This 5K is truly a walk.  It's a fundraising event for the National MS Society.  I'm participating in the MS Walk for the first time.  I've followed the event for years, but the timing has never worked out.  I'm so happy to be able to join in this year.  We'll be walking around downtown Annapolis, MD as a group in bright Hawaiian shirts.  It's going to be a blast!

And for a wonderful cause.  In the past 10 years, my life has been personally affected by MS.  I do not have it, but two of my family members do.  I can say that watching their struggles provides motivation for me to get my health in order as well as participate in an event like this.  This is something I can do to help them as well as help myself meet my goals.  I love when I'm reaching goals efficiently.  *smile*

Looking at the website, there are other events all around the country.  In Washington DC later this year there is a Challenge MS event.  Challenge Walks are 30 - 50 mile walks over 2 - 3 days.  There are 10 of them going on this year.  Imagine walking 30 miles is 2 days.  What an inspiring way to raise awareness for a disease which robs people of their ability to move.  Maybe I could do something like that.

I'm not signing up today.  Just thinking about it right now.  My focus has to be getting healthy and out of PT before I take on something like a 30 mile walk.  I imagine my physical therapist would have more than a few choice words for me if I presented the idea right now.  But walking 5K is an approved and encouraged event.  One which I am very very excited to do on Sunday!

Please consider supporting me and my team by making a donation today.  Thank you!

Workout 120228: Attitude Adjustment.

Today workout:

Hip Warmup Stretches
28 min Treadmill (top speed 3.2 mph; total dist 1.3 mi)
Hip Abductors - 20 each leg with a 30 sec hold on the 10th lift
Bridges - 10 reps with a 5 sec hold
Butt Muscle Stretch
IT Band Stretch
Hamstring Stretch
Butterfly Stretch

This morning was about as close to perfect and I could hope for.  I woke up on time at 4:50am.  I packed lunches and made it out the door without any toddler interference.  Arriving at the gym by 5:30am, I walked on the treadmill until 6am.  At 6am I headed downstairs to do my PT exercises and stretch.  At 6:15am, I headed to the showers.  By 6:45am, I was in my car headed to work.  On time!!!  It really does make a difference getting up in the morning on time.  I just need to get better at it.

As I was walking this morning, I thought about my running goal.  I have really been down about not meeting that goal.  REALLY DOWN.  The demotivating kind of down that makes it hard to get out of bed and do anything.  Some might say depressed.  I want my body to be better and I want it to be better now.  But I can't have that.  It's something I have to accept and deal with.  NOW.

So as of today, I am through with that goal.  I completed a 5K.  I know I can do that.  I have independent verification proving that I can do that.  Goal met.  I made that goal while trying to find an intermediate step in my 100 pound journey.  Looking at 100 pounds as a goal is too much.  It's too long and too hard.  I need another goal.  A smaller goal which still gets me in the right direction.

I don't know what that is yet.  I'm going to workout 5 days this week, either in the gym or at PT.  When my brain is idle I'm going to think on what I'm doing and come up with something.  Some motivating goal to get me through the next 2 months or so.  I'm thankful I have this time.  I'm hopeful that I can get better and reach my longer term goals.  I love that I've got this challenge to overcome.  This is something I can do.

My First 5K

February 11th I completed my first 5k.  3.2 miles accomplished on a cold wet winter day.  To give you an idea how cold it was, here is a shot of me with my kids about 15 minutes before the race started.

I arrived at the park with over 500 other runners in 34 degree weather less than an hour after the precipitation stopped.  Thankfully the earth wasn't cold enough to let the snow stick to the trails.  All was clear and the race was on.  My husband and kids set themselves up on the sidelines to cheer me on.

As the start time approached I positioned myself at the back of the pack.  Each runner got a chip to track their exact start time and the moment they cross the finish time.  The chips turn out to be necessary as I wasn't able to cross the start line until 2 minutes after the starting bell.  I can only imagine what starting at the big marathons must be like.

Knowing that I was not going to jog I had already prepared myself for having the crowd thin out quickly.  I can't say I was prepared for HOW quickly it happened.  Within 5 minutes of crossing the starting line, I was the last person with about 10 or 15 people in sight in front of me.  At that point, I took stock of what I was attempting to do, said a prayer of thanks for yet another chance to get healthy, and promised myself that I would cross the finish line.

Starting out slow to warmup was my plan.  Being that it was almost freezing, no amount of warming up before the race seemed to help for long.  That worked for me and at that 5 minute mark I started to feel pretty good.  I was able to speed up a bit, pumping my arms and standing tall.  My pace held with the exception of my very very annoying shoe laces which had to be retied THREE times during the race.  Grr.

During mile 2, I had company for a bit.  The man was also participating in his first 5K.  He'd been training with the Annapolis Striders and shared a little of his motivation with me.  His mother at 67 years of age completed the her first marathon.  Can you imagine?  She definitely inspired her son and gave me hope as well.  And when the time came, he used that motivation to pick up his jog again.

By mile 3, my hip and knee on my right leg were hurting.  However I was striking the ground on that side I had irritated my leg and had to start modifying my stride.  All I could do was tell myself to keep moving and try to change up how I was walking to avoid hurting.  My physical therapist says that pain means you need to stop what you are doing.  After almost 3 miles of walking, I wasn't going to stop walking, but I could definitely adjust and see if I could make it easier.

Towards the end of mile 3, I could hear people cheering at the finish line, but I couldn't see anyone.  There was no longer anyone in my sight and I couldn't tell how close the finish line was.  I was alone.  And I started wondering if I was going to be able to finish.  My hip was throbbing and my heart was beating.  I was getting very tired.

And then this man jogged around the corner.  Up to this point I'd been passed by a lot of joggers who'd turned around and jogged home after completing this race.  This man jogged towards me, turned and jogged along side me.  He'd come back to find me to make sure that I finished.  At that moment, the tears started.  For the next 0.2 miles I wiped tears away and I tried to increase my pace.  Two more joggers came back and joined us.  I was not quitting.  I was going to finish.

And then I saw it.  I saw the finish line.  I saw my husband standing there.  My friend who'd jogged ahead of me came back to jog in with me.  There were complete strangers standing there cheering me in.  I felt supported and inspired and JOGGED the last 10 yards of the race.  I couldn't help it.  Tears streaming down my face I crossed the finish line 56 minutes 24.3 seconds after I started.  I finished the race!

PT: Day 7

Thursday's workout:

6min Elliptical Warmup on level 3
Warmup Hip Stretches
Side Steps - 60in each direction
Bosu Squats - 20 reps with 5 sec hold
Leg Extension - 30 reps each leg
One Legged Squat and Place - 7 cones now so 14 squats per leg
Swiss Ball Bridges - 20 with 5 sec hold
Cage Stretch

PT was frustrating yesterday.  I guess there has to be a day every once in a while to show you how far you still have to do.  Yesterday was that day.  I went in tired and went home tired.  I didn't cry, but I wanted to.  I kind of wish that I had; it might have felt good to have a little release.  But the moment passed and I'm moving on.

Turns out I've been doing the Leg Extension and Swiss Ball Bridges incorrectly.  And I'm doing something with my right hip to compensate for my weaker left hip when I side stepping.  Grr.  My therapist will be watching me closer next week.  My progress is good, but there is still work to be done.  It's good that I'm in therapy because it is surprisingly hard to tell that you are performing a motion incorrectly.  Isolating specific muscles is also strange.  Sometimes I have to pause and think about the motion I'm trying to perform for a full 10 sec before I can make my body do it.  Very interesting.

But more on the issues.  The Leg Extension is supposed to work the glut.  Using the machine, it is supposed to isolate the glut.  I haven't been performing it correctly so I've been working the quad and hamstring and hip and back... pretty much everything but the glut.  The motion of revised yesterday and for the first time I really felt it work the muscle it's supposed to work.  But I really have a concentrate on what I am doing.  All my other muscles are there ready to compensate if I stop paying attention for a minute.  Now I have to extend my leg back to where it is almost straight and then squeeze in my butt cheek.  Hopefully since I felt it Thursday I can replicate it at Monday's appointment.

The same problem exists for the Swiss Ball Bridges.  I'm working the hamstrings to exhaustion and not the glut.  When I lift my butt up off the table, I don't have to lift as far.  the focus is on getting a squeeze in my butt and not using my hamstrings to complete the motion.  This one is actually harder than expected.  I can see why they started me with the Leg Extension.

And for side steps, my right hip is cramping, but my left hip is the weaker one.  When I do the One Legged Squat and Place I can feel the weakness of the left hip.  In that exercise the right cannot compensate.  But in the side step there is something I'm doing that puts all the work on my right side and my left doesn't even get tired.  I guess it is no wonder the right is stronger if I'm working it that much harder.  At Monday's appointment the therapist is going to watch me more closely during this exercise to determine what is going on.

For the icing on the cake, my tail bone is still hurting.  I'm not sure what to make of that.  I sit all day long and it just isn't getting anymore comfortable.  I think I'm going to have to get that checked on as well.  Might as well get it all fixed while I'm at it, right


As negative as I might sound writing about all this, I am thankful to have the opportunity to get better.  My work, husband and insurance are all contributing heavily to get me healthy.  For that I am grateful.  That grateful feeling just doesn't make PT suck less.  But I'm going to stop complaining now and get on with the day.  Tomorrow is my first 5K and I think to mark the occasion I might just have to put some pictures up here. 

Thoughts on Walking a 5K

I am 3 days from my 5K.  One of the women at work will be running it ahead of me (because I'm not running it) and told me no matter what to enjoy the experience.  "You will never have a first 5K again."

*shudder*

While the statement was meant to be supportive and encouraging, it really brought up a lot of apprehension for me.  I am walking into my first 5K under doctor's orders not to run.  While I set my goal at finishing a 5K and not dying, there is a competitive part of me that wants to do well in completing this goal.  Somewhere in my mind, I am an Olympic class athlete and I'll show up unknown to the 5K only to blow away the competition and take first place.


Not going to happen.


I know this.  It's not news, but it is a little hard to swallow.  My goal is to FINISH A 5K.  I will do that.  I just need to not beat myself up for quite possibly finishing it in last place.  That's the hard pill to swallow.  By not running, jogging or otherwise speeding to the finish, I may be the person to finish LAST.  Everyone will be there standing at the end waiting for the slow poke to finally get across the line.  My husband. My daughters. The other 499 registered runners.



Wow.  Check out my negative thinking.


My hope going into this is that there are a couple of others who will be walking.  That way I will have company at the back of the pack.  Additionally, my coworker has said that she is going to comeback and find me after she finishes and finish the race with me (she runs marathons, so this is completely within her range of ability).  That is very kind of her and not an offer I will refuse at this point.

I must remind myself that 3 months ago when I decided to do this, I couldn't walk a 5K.  I knew I couldn't do it.  My progress is fantastic.  My outlook is improving.  My pride just needs a little adjustment right now.