Skip to main content

On the road to a happy leg

Last week I had 5 runs, 51 miles, 8:14 average pace.

20 of those miles were Saturday. After going to the doctor on Friday to try to determine the cause of my shin/calf pain, which has been hanging around for the past month, I was cleared to tackle my long run. However, I am supposed to try several different things to help my leg begin to heal. These include massage, which I have already been getting fairly regularly from the hubs, KT Tape, and a few other things.

Luckily one of these things was not to stop running. I am fortunate to have a doctor who is also a runner and who knows me well enough to not even try to keep me from running unless it really is the only option. However, I am willing to do whatever it takes to run pain free. And the sooner the better, since Boston is only 33 days away.

My 20 on Saturday was incredible. One of my best runs in a long time, and one of my best 20 milers ever. My legs felt strong and never felt tired. I GUed at miles 4, 10 and 15.

As someone who once avoided any kind of fuel other than Powerade, I am quickly beginning to appreciate what proper fueling can do. My stomach didn't bother me at all during and was even happy after my run, which is usually when it totally rebels. I forgot my salt tablets, so I made sure to stay really hydrated. Luckily my awesome crew, Team I Have Run (aka the hubs and my girls), met me about a half dozen times throughout my run with water and lots of cheerleading.

Monday I ran five easy miles. I could really feel the pain in my leg, and it never eased up. Usually it starts to feel better after a mile or two, but not this time. So yesterday I did nine miles on the elliptical and spent some quality time with my massage therapist friend Josse, who gave my leg a deep rub down and good scrape, which is officially known as Gua Sha. I have been hesitant to try something like this, but I have only heard positive things about it and liked the idea of being able to go to someone I know and feel totally comfortable with, so I gave it a try. My calf and shin, other than feeling tender and bruised, seems to be doing better already. I'll let you know how it does on my next run!!

Comments

Post a Comment

I love your comments! They make my day, so be sure to let me know you stopped by. And I always try to respond to your comments, so let me know if you have any questions for me or if there is anything you want to see on here!

Popular posts from this blog

Carpet Burn On My Butt (and a giveaway)

After two lame, pathetic, lackluster weeks of running, I woke up excited to run yesterday. And today, I wore my running clothes all morning in anticipation of my nap time run today. Even in spite of sore glutes and tired quads from getting in some P90X Core Synergistics last night, I couldn't wait to get moving on Millie. I am a planner. Today I had a plan to get my run in while my girls slept, and my day was organized accordingly. I am also a creature of habit. The first thing I do when I roll out of bed every single day is make my bed and my girls' beds. If I do something else first, it throws off the entire morning. I am a creature of habit when it comes to my running routines as well. There are a few things that differ depending on whether I am running on Millie or outside, whether my girls are asleep or not, and whether or not they are joining me in the jogger. Yet, no matter when, where, how far or with whom I run, some things are always the same. My hair goes into a pony

I wasn't sure going in...

Yep, I'm checking in. Why? Because I did something completely out of my comfort zone that I wanted to share with you. Last week I went to a place near Salt Lake called Dexa Body, where I got a DEXA Scan. For those unfamiliar with what that is, I asked Google to help us out:  "Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry  ( DXA , previously  DEXA ) is a means of measuring  bone mineral density  (BMD). Two  X-ray  beams, with different  energy levels , are aimed at the patient's  bones . When  soft tissue   absorption is subtracted out, the  bone mineral density  (BMD) can be determined from the absorption of each beam by bone. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry is the most widely used and most thoroughly studied bone density measurement technology." Since that is pretty medical sounding, here's my take. A DEXA Scan is a tool to measure your total body composition. It specifically breaks down the regional composition of your lean and fat tissue. It gives a fat distribution

Social Media: Some good, a lot of bad, and way too much ugly

There are a lot of good things that come from social media. We can connect with people we have lost touch with. We can unite as a group (runners!!) with a comment interest. We can promote a good cause. Sadly though, what social media does best is makes us feel bad about ourselves and makes us feel negatively towards others. This isn't just my opinion, although I can unquestionably support the truth behind this based on my own experience. I have spent way too much time feeling bad about myself as a result of comparing myself to others based on their Instagram or Facebook versions of themselves. And there are several people I have started feeling negatively about or have become completely annoyed with because of their IG and FB posts. It isn't just me though. There are actual studies that can back me up on the negative impact social media can have. I have read dozens of articles reviewing many different studies that show the overwhelmingly negative (vs. positive) effec