Running more..

I had my first trigger point injection today and I'm already noticing some improvement. I'm definitely noticing the expected "ouch" effect, too, now that the numbing agent has worn off. My days are all screwed up - I thought my appointment with the pain management specialist was on Monday. Instead I got an automated reminder call yesterday. I was a bundle of nerves thinking about the possibility of a needle in my muscle. I envisioned lots of needles in lots of muscles! Thankfully, there is a rule: one injection per visit.

The doctor did go on a seeking mission and found many hot spots. When she pressed on my forearm trigger points (which are secondary to the trapezius pont), while it hurt like heck, I felt release in my stiff hand. Amazing. Quite possibly treating the hot points in my trapezius will take care of the rest and they'll release with just the help of the masseuse.

She picked a major trigger point on the right trapezius to be the first to hit. My Type A personality kicked into gear and I asked a million questions, trying to make sure nothing would go out of control. Hmmm, being a control freak helped get me to this place, maybe I need to chill a bit and not dissect every situation? Next time maybe!

My back was sprayed with a cooling spray. The numbing agent was injection in the muscle. I asked for 1/2 the usual dosage. It worked. Whatever poking/probing had to be done was done. The doctor then had directives to give me. I knew it was coming...

I never met a pushup I didn't like, but once again here was a doctor telling me: Lay off pushups for a while. Please don't let anyone come along and tell me to lay off squats! I already had to cut down on deadlifts, lower the weights extremely, etc, etc.

I've come to the point where I'm sitting back and reexamining my whole concept of fitness. Once I was a runner. I worried about running local 5Ks and 10Ks, not even to be fast - just for the personal accomplishment and for the T-shirt. I ran a trail marathon for my 40th birthday with one of my best friends. We took the wrong fork in the trail and our marathon went from 26.2 to around 28.5 miles. After that, I turned to more weight training - which I had been doing to complement my running, not replace it.

Suddenly I was listening to these eBook authors who mock on the "cardio bunnies" at the gym. Heavier weights, negative sets, etc, etc, etc. I found that I was no longer taking Saturday morning long runs and was spending less and less time on cardio, more and more time on muscle.

It's not that I didn't like it - it was different, but still my body was moving and that's what I liked - to be moving.

So here I am in a place where it's "Ouch!" followed by "Don't do that any more!" "Cut out this for a while!" and I'm starting to run more to fill the void. There was a time when I logged more than 1200 miles a year running - and log it I did, at CoolRunning.com. I'm thinking of picking that log up again, but perhaps not being so extreme. I think my days of extremity need to fade a bit....maybe 1000 miles a year instead, lol.

This week's workouts so far:

Sunday - 1 hr race walk with my girls
Monday - 20 minute back workout, 1 hr cardio (cross training)
Tuesday - 1 hr 10 minutes legs/glutes/abs and cardio - 10 minutes elliptical, a compound set, 10 minutes run on treadmill, another compound set, etc, and so forth including the evil Stairmaster
Wednesday - 1 hr cardio split between the elliptical, the stationary bike and a 12 minute treadmill endurance test. (I was a bit peeved to get just "above average" and am now determined to work my way back to excellent).
Later Wednesday I ended up doing a 1 hr 4 min walk/run with my daughters. The first part was walking with my oldest having the jogging stroller along. Little Layla was not happy, so after 30 minutes, Jenna went home and Rhianna and I finished by running for the next 34 minutes.

Throw a good amount of stretching in there after every workout.

I'm not allowed to work out today. Doctor's orders are to call this a rest day.

Plans: I want to do the Potato Stomp 15K in the autumn, but I'll need to train Rhianna to do it with me. :) I like to have someone to chat with; I'm doing it for fun, nothing else. I'm pulling out my running books and I'm going to be working on a sensible plan to increase my speed and endurance once again. I want to cut down on some of this bulky muscle that I've created so while I'm not going to neglect weight training entirely, I'm going to go for lighter weights, greater reps and no more than 3X a week.

I want early Saturday morning to become LSD day again. No, not the hallucenogenic! Long Slow Distance! There is something so special about running on the trails when the sun has barely come up, seeing the wildlife, avoiding the heat of the summer's day...

I also have to get better at biking. I'm an idiot, an absolute spaz, when it comes to changing gears. My husband found me a good bike so that we can go out together. I really need to get over my technical difficulties so that we can do the more challenging rides. (See how i progress from going out for a ride with my husband to the idea of doing more challenging things? Type A, Type A, Type A).