Week 7 is over and done with - whew! This week was the first week of nothing but the longer runs - and I say longer runs since I'm a newbie and running for 25 minutes is a long time to me!
Day 1 - Run 25 minutes. Went OK. Wasn't easy, wasn't hard. Finished my work out on the elliptical and in the weight room.
Day 2 - Run 25 minutes. The most awful run day to date! I have zero motivation so far this week and hit a wall almost as soon as I started. I didn't want to do it. At all. But not wanting to quit trumped the lack of motivation and I finished the most awful run yet. But I felt so good for finishing and not quitting that I did 15 on the elliptical (where I burned soo many calories in 15 minutes than I do sweating my butt off on the treadmill - so not happy about that!) and then I headed into the weight room.
Day 3 - Run 25 minutes. Hannah had a field trip (to the Post Office and Brusters - another blog on that later) on Friday morning so I had to run on Thursday night. I was a bit worried about not getting a full days rest for my legs. My shins don't really bother me, but my hips hurt more and the inside of my calf do as well. I was actually ready for this run, I had been all day. Mentally it was the fastest run ever. It seemed like the time was going by so fast and before I knew it, it was over! I did up my speed just a notch though as I'm trying to work on distance. However, only a few minutes into my run my left hip started hurting really bad. I kept telling myself that it was just all in my head and it would quit hurting in a minute and if it didn't I would get off. I really don't want to injure myself and have to stop running! I didn't have time to do any additional cardio or weights at the gym as I had to rush back home for spirit night for Emma's school at IHOP. After a quick shower I felt like I couldn't walk; I was limping and my lower back hurt. This isn't the first time, usually the transition from shoes to flip flops bothers me for a bit after running here recently so I thought it was no big deal. But as the night wore on, my hip really, really hurt. Then pain started running down my leg. If any of you have experience sciatic nerve pain while pregnant, it was similar to this but in my left leg and it was quick jolts. The pain was brief, but kept occurring. On Friday I was still limping and still in pain so I texted my Pastor who was a serious competitive runner (seriously, if you google him you can find out a lot of his running history). I asked him if I needed to see a doctor or just rest and ice and thankfully he said to rest, alternate heat and ice and stretch. He also suggested new shoes, which I already knew I needed but now feel like I have a good excuse to buy a new pair! So all last night and all this morning I have been alternating heat and ice on my hip as well as under my knee. Hopefully this will help things out along with the stretching (and hopefully a new pair of shoes today?). I know I can't push myself to run on Monday if I'm still in pain but I'm going to be devastated, literally, if I can't run begin week 8 on Monday. :( Once I finish C25K, I'll have 2 or 3 weeks to continue training for the 5K on April 21st, I really don't want to lose that time so I can work on running the full 3.1 miles!
In terms of how much weight I lost, *sigh*, well I think this is why I hit my wall so hard on Wednesday. The scale said I gained 4.5 pounds. Gained. 4.5 pounds. It was like a punch in the face. How in the world does one GAIN 4.5 pounds in one week. If one pound is 3500 calories that would mean that I consumed 15,7500 EXTRA calories last week - WTH??? I know I went a little over board on the thin mints, but not 15,700 calories over!!! I asked Matt how in the world I gained the weight and his instant thought was water retention which made me feel better. I did mention last week was, well, "the week" so that would make sense as I weigh myself on Monday's. So I've been weighing myself almost every day this week and am happy to report as of this morning, those 4.5 pounds are gone!!! But over two weeks that means I really didn't lose any weight, *sigh*. Trying to remind myself that I am gaining a ton of muscle between running and the weight room, but it's frustrating when I'm working out 4-5 days a week and only seeing little to none come off. Matt has noticed some weight loss as has someone else so maybe it is working and that stupid scale is just a number!
So that's it - my week 7 recap. Hopefully I can start week 8 on Monday, but I'd rather delay it a week than have to delay it multiple weeks! Happy running!
I see ablog post in my future...I tried to run on Saturday morning, and stopped about 5 minutes in, nearly in tears. I believe my left shin splint has officially turned into a stress fracture :( My days of running my be seriously over - if I have to stop 6-8 weeks to let this bone heal, I don't know if I have it in me to start over again. Running is so fickle! Just take it easy, nurse your wounds and stop if necessary. You are a true rock star, and I an so proud of you!!
ReplyDeleteOH. No. No bueno. Not good. Go get to the doctor fast!!!! Don't quit on the running though, you are doing amazing!!! Do you ice often? I usually ice multiple times a day and it really seems to help. The alternating of the heat and ice helped too! Keep me updated and heal soon!!!
DeleteYou're doing great! The fact that you can keep running when your mind is trying very hard to talk you out of it is a sign of your dedication! I do hope that the problem with your hip sorts itself out. Let me know if the new shoes make a difference!
ReplyDeleteAnd, as for that scale, it is just a number! I notice a huge swing in "the number" when it is "that week", so chalk it up to water retention and forget about it. You're doing all the right things and they will pay off! :)
Thanks! I did more advice on my hips and my lower back which I was told today is actually the top of my glutes and that it's totally normal - one of the personal trainers at the gym showed me some stretches and told me to warm up first, then stretch and then start my run, so I'm gonna try that from now on. And the shoes definitely helped, they are so comfortable!! So light and airy!!! I'm so inspired by your running 7 extra minutes that it makes me want to run longer, but I may do that on day 3 so I Have the longer break in between - I really need to work on my speed. I haven't figured out the conversions from your timing to see how far behind you I am but I'm running about 14 minute miles which is ridiculously slow!!
DeleteAnd the scale is going to be the death of me. I'm thinking I may not even get on it for awhile and just focus on the cardio and weights and of course my food options and not worry about the scale for awhile. My clothes fit different and better so I shouldn't be so consumed by the scale... but i am :(