Covering All the Bases

So it’s been 8 weeks since I have been back to running after my pelvis and hip stress fractures. It’s still not feeling 100% natural and definitely not easy but I guess that is what comebacks are all about. Patience is the key and making sure all the bases are covered so it does not happen again. On that note here are the bases I have covered.

1. Gait check. I saw my physiotherapist, Greg Lehman to check on my gait. Six years ago I went from a heel striking over strider to a basically forefoot quick turnover runner. I stopped getting injured and I felt so much better after runs. It allowed me to build back to 22km long run again after cutting things back to 10-11 km as a long run. So did I think my gait was to blame for my injury? Not really but I wanted to make sure . He said I could slow my cadence of 186! down a bit and even heel strike a bit if I popped off my toes but I could just not do it. That stride is so not on my radar anymore. My goal is to relax my body a bit more ( I look stiff when I run and my arms swing out to the side ) and run more mid foot as this may also halt any further progression of my mid foot collapse I have going on post bunion reconstruction from 2010.

2. Nutrition check. I wanted to make sure I was getting every thing I need nutritionally as I get back to running and more training or exercise hours as I call them . Training as a term is too aggressive for my current stage. Training instills a sense of must vs want for me sometimes so better to call it something else . Being a vegetarian, protein is often the question mark but she said my diet was good and if I wanted to top up the protein just a bit I could do in the form of clean supplement either in a shake or a adding powder to other foods. I have been experimenting and have started to make egg white protein powder plus fruit and PB pancakes. Really good and satisfying. Plus these Martin Apple Slices are so good too. Just dehydrated apples. Nothing more.

3. Strength routine . Keeping up with my gym workouts has been great. My leg still does not have the strength it did but it’s getting better. Between work in the gym and the hot yoga I am getting in some form of strength 3-4x a week. I plan to continue this for maintenance. I used to only use the gym for the pool but I am really enjoying being back. I’m even liking the elliptical and the rotating stair case for a bit of pre weights cross training! Who knew?

4. Loose planning. I came home from my run today and told my husband I wanted to run Tuesdays Thursday’s and one day on the weekend then go back to 4x in Dec or Jan. He said “why do you always have to set days ? Why don’t you just run every other day? It doesn’t always have to be those days .” In some ways he’s right. But he’s not Type A like me and we Type A’s are planners! And that’s how we stick to our routines. He just runs whenever except for his clinic days . If he doesn’t go he doesn’t really care. We are Type A and Type Z! Anyway my point is he has a point. I will keep things loose, continue to do what I feel like when I feel like it but still try to stick to X days a week as long as things stay healthy. I am also working my cycling in there and plan to get back to once a week swims for now . My old shoulder issue has been a bit cranky so I backed off swimming but I’m doing my rehab for it so I should start up again in the next week or two. I am also pretty consistent with my one day off exercise per week to 10 days. As hard as that is mentally for me. Exercise is like brushing my teeth and it starts my day. But rest is also key to the healthy equation.

That’s it for my base covering. This past weekend my daughter and I walk/ran the Toronto Women’s 5km. We have done these for the past 6 yrs. Some together and some just me or just her. She doesn’t train at all and she ends up walking a lot then whining a lot but she claims to like it. I’ve told her she doesn’t have to run and we volunteer anyway, but we will see what happens next year. The one she did on her own in May she ran the whole way solo and had no one to complain to! It was great for me to participate in an event this year. I forgot that feeling of crossing a finish line! It was also fun to hang out with the gang of Mizuno Ambassadors and our fairy Barb!