Either of those titles just sounds like I have a speech impediment. But I would say today's 41 minutes of exercise is worthy of being called a continued day of training.
Today I got up as planned (well, a half hour later than planned) and went out for a walk. I intended to run and walk alternately, keeping my breathing and jarring on my body controlled, and that's what I did for 3.3 miles. For the most part I walked a quarter mile then ran a quarter mile.
I forgot about sidewalks not being cleared, so I ran in the street on Montgomery. On Columbia, I was at my walk time and had a good time trudging through the snow. As soon as I could, I turned back into a neighborhood. The edges of the streets were slick so I had to be careful. And it wasn't as bright out as I thought it would be, despite the snow and F'Ertle lights.
I continued on through the neighborhood. I cheated some times, running longer than .25 mile. I felt pretty good. For the last half mile in my neighborhood I ran the entire way. I got chased by the dogs of the guy at the end of the street who has all the cars. Wait, that doesn't really narrow things down does it. The guy next to the fire station who collects old cars. Ha.
So far so good. Now it's time for a hot shower. I'll see what my rib tells me throughout the day before I get too excited about this. But it felt very nice.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Update
Today I am sore from walking. Interesting. My lower back muscles hurt and my shins hurt. I suppose it's good and bad. Mostly it makes me worried I have lost more fitness than I hoped. I feel like a big sack of sand.
Tonight I'm skipping the spin cycle class at the Trek store. I'm bummed, but there will hopefully be another class next week and I'm sure it will do me good to rest. My rib definitely hurts more this Monday than it did last Monday. And I do not wish to repeat whatever happened Wednesday. I'm not saying it was because of Monday, but a coworker today thought I did too much too soon. She said I should rest for two weeks, but I know I won't do that. I think it's just that I need to do less. The run/walk thing was fine I think. Maybe later this week I'll get on my bike and ride easy. I'm very very happy that the pain is back to an Advil management this evening. I woke up pretty uncomfortable and took a Darvocet...I think it's sleeping, there really is no comfortable position in the bed. Tomorrow morning I am going to get up at 6 and walk/run in the neighborhoods. If there is still snow on the ground, there is plenty of light out there. I am still planning to run the Heart Mini. I can do it, right?
Tonight I'm skipping the spin cycle class at the Trek store. I'm bummed, but there will hopefully be another class next week and I'm sure it will do me good to rest. My rib definitely hurts more this Monday than it did last Monday. And I do not wish to repeat whatever happened Wednesday. I'm not saying it was because of Monday, but a coworker today thought I did too much too soon. She said I should rest for two weeks, but I know I won't do that. I think it's just that I need to do less. The run/walk thing was fine I think. Maybe later this week I'll get on my bike and ride easy. I'm very very happy that the pain is back to an Advil management this evening. I woke up pretty uncomfortable and took a Darvocet...I think it's sleeping, there really is no comfortable position in the bed. Tomorrow morning I am going to get up at 6 and walk/run in the neighborhoods. If there is still snow on the ground, there is plenty of light out there. I am still planning to run the Heart Mini. I can do it, right?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Patience was never my middle name.
Today I feel like a caged animal. I'm frustrated and sad. I'm out of control, alone and feel left behind.
I went on a 2 mile walk with Harley and it certainly felt good to move and I felt a little better. At the circle turn around, we jogged. Then one more time before approaching the house. There was no rib pain while jogging, but I know I should take it easy. Maybe short run segments during walks is what I should start doing for my sanity.
I went on a 2 mile walk with Harley and it certainly felt good to move and I felt a little better. At the circle turn around, we jogged. Then one more time before approaching the house. There was no rib pain while jogging, but I know I should take it easy. Maybe short run segments during walks is what I should start doing for my sanity.
Friday, January 21, 2011
I want my baby back baby back baby back baby back baby back...RIBS
So the whole rib injury took quite a turn Wednesday. After sitting down and talking for a while, suddenly I could barely get up from the table. Huh. So much for a test run.
That night, it was hard to sleep, as I could only be in one position. Any attempts to move made me yell out in pain. Crap! In the wee hours of the morning, I found old Vicodin and took it. It expired in 2004, but I soon was in a blissful happy state, smiling as I laid down in bed to rest some more. I felt like I was wrapped in foam.
I got up a little later and called the Urgent Care I went to, explaining the 600 mg ibuprofen they had prescribed wasn't going to cut it anymore. The woman I talked to said the doctor would call something in. I asked what I'd be getting and tried to request Vicodin. She said she didn't know what I'd be getting. How do you ask for Vicodin without sounding like an addict? I guess maybe you don't.
I waited around for her to call back so I could get the new mystery pain pills, but it was taking too long. So I made my way to the smelly flavor house thinking my expired Vicodin would get me through the day and by the end of the day, the new Rx would be ready. Perhaps that first pill I took was the only one with anything left in it; despite taking pills every 4 hours, I was in a helluvuhlotta pain all day. First, cleaning off my car was awful. Driving hurt. I couldn't turn my wheel in the parking lot. Walking hurt. I couldn't talk very well and the biggest problem was I couldn't take a decent sized breath in without searing pain. Ug. At the end of the day, cleaning off my car again after the snow all day had me in tears. I couldn't reach the scraper in the back seat. I had to sit down (aagh!)...bring my legs in (uggg)...reach over (oh god!!)...and then hoist myself out of the back seat (cue the tears). I really don't know how people live with chronic pain.
I picked up my Tylenol 3 prescription. Looking online, it is a step below Vicodin in pain treatment. Dammit, I wanted to be knocked out! I took it as soon as I got home. Then I painfully fed the dogs, put in No Country for Old Men, and sat up straight on the couch to try to relax and let the medicine work.
More pills around 9 and then bed. PAINFUL. I wish we had a recliner – that is what I needed. It hurt so bad to lay flat.
I keep taking pills every 4 hours and am very very happy to say I think it's getting better! Most importantly, I can breathe!!!! That alone has made this day 200% better than yesterday. What a horrible feeling only being able to take painful shallow breaths. It still hurts driving and parking and walking and moving my arms in general. But I think it's getting better, and the less I move the better I feel.
That being said, damn I'm disappointed I can't move!! I'm already thinking: what about Monday night for biking? I can't, I shouldn't – even if I feel better. I think I should just have a solid week of doing absolutely nothing or I'll make it worse again. This is very very hard. I got on the scale this morning and I've already gained a pound. WTF. I guess I need to cut my calories down to sloth-like amounts. Sloths probably only need 500 calories a day to slllooooowwwly mooovvee arrrouuunnnddd....
So. It's OK. Just a week. Don't worry about it, Steph. It'll be fine in a week...
That night, it was hard to sleep, as I could only be in one position. Any attempts to move made me yell out in pain. Crap! In the wee hours of the morning, I found old Vicodin and took it. It expired in 2004, but I soon was in a blissful happy state, smiling as I laid down in bed to rest some more. I felt like I was wrapped in foam.
I got up a little later and called the Urgent Care I went to, explaining the 600 mg ibuprofen they had prescribed wasn't going to cut it anymore. The woman I talked to said the doctor would call something in. I asked what I'd be getting and tried to request Vicodin. She said she didn't know what I'd be getting. How do you ask for Vicodin without sounding like an addict? I guess maybe you don't.
I waited around for her to call back so I could get the new mystery pain pills, but it was taking too long. So I made my way to the smelly flavor house thinking my expired Vicodin would get me through the day and by the end of the day, the new Rx would be ready. Perhaps that first pill I took was the only one with anything left in it; despite taking pills every 4 hours, I was in a helluvuhlotta pain all day. First, cleaning off my car was awful. Driving hurt. I couldn't turn my wheel in the parking lot. Walking hurt. I couldn't talk very well and the biggest problem was I couldn't take a decent sized breath in without searing pain. Ug. At the end of the day, cleaning off my car again after the snow all day had me in tears. I couldn't reach the scraper in the back seat. I had to sit down (aagh!)...bring my legs in (uggg)...reach over (oh god!!)...and then hoist myself out of the back seat (cue the tears). I really don't know how people live with chronic pain.
I picked up my Tylenol 3 prescription. Looking online, it is a step below Vicodin in pain treatment. Dammit, I wanted to be knocked out! I took it as soon as I got home. Then I painfully fed the dogs, put in No Country for Old Men, and sat up straight on the couch to try to relax and let the medicine work.
More pills around 9 and then bed. PAINFUL. I wish we had a recliner – that is what I needed. It hurt so bad to lay flat.
I keep taking pills every 4 hours and am very very happy to say I think it's getting better! Most importantly, I can breathe!!!! That alone has made this day 200% better than yesterday. What a horrible feeling only being able to take painful shallow breaths. It still hurts driving and parking and walking and moving my arms in general. But I think it's getting better, and the less I move the better I feel.
That being said, damn I'm disappointed I can't move!! I'm already thinking: what about Monday night for biking? I can't, I shouldn't – even if I feel better. I think I should just have a solid week of doing absolutely nothing or I'll make it worse again. This is very very hard. I got on the scale this morning and I've already gained a pound. WTF. I guess I need to cut my calories down to sloth-like amounts. Sloths probably only need 500 calories a day to slllooooowwwly mooovvee arrrouuunnnddd....
So. It's OK. Just a week. Don't worry about it, Steph. It'll be fine in a week...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
HMTD8: Lifting
Today I didn't have to be at Givaudan until 10:00, so I thought I might run in the morning. It was warm, and there was a break in the rain. But I ended up deciding against it. I figured giving my rib a little more rest wouldn't be a bad idea. It's going to be warm tomorrow too...maybe I can squeeze it in in the morning. I lifted instead...carefully. It went OK, there were only a few moves that hurt, so I didn't do those.
Walking hurts a little. It's the jarring effect. Last night when I trotted to my car to get stuff out of it for the bike class, I felt my rib. So I'm imagine running might be painful. I will take it slow and see how it goes.
I just emailed my broomball team that I won't be playing Saturday. I don't think it's a good idea because the most pain happens from pressure. So if I was to just get pushed on my chest, which is likely to happen, that would be bad. I'm bummed, but it's not the end of the world. I'm hopeful that it's all getting better, despite what I've read about cartilage fractures. Even if there is a little pain while running, that's ok if it's manageable. We'll see. Perhaps you could call it denial. Running has been very challenging and straight up emotionally painful the past few months. The setbacks are hard, but in some ways make me even more motivated. I'm not sure if that makes sense.
Anyway, here's hoping that a quick run goes well tomorrow.
Walking hurts a little. It's the jarring effect. Last night when I trotted to my car to get stuff out of it for the bike class, I felt my rib. So I'm imagine running might be painful. I will take it slow and see how it goes.
I just emailed my broomball team that I won't be playing Saturday. I don't think it's a good idea because the most pain happens from pressure. So if I was to just get pushed on my chest, which is likely to happen, that would be bad. I'm bummed, but it's not the end of the world. I'm hopeful that it's all getting better, despite what I've read about cartilage fractures. Even if there is a little pain while running, that's ok if it's manageable. We'll see. Perhaps you could call it denial. Running has been very challenging and straight up emotionally painful the past few months. The setbacks are hard, but in some ways make me even more motivated. I'm not sure if that makes sense.
Anyway, here's hoping that a quick run goes well tomorrow.
HMTD7: Spin Cycle Class at the Trek Store
Monday nights at 6:30, the Trek store in Blue Ash offers "Spin Cycle" classes. A couple of weeks ago, I had written a post on the Trek Store facebook page asking if the stores were doing any group trainer rides this winter. To my delight, a couple of weeks later, they said they were! I wasn't sure what to expect - video or instructor. Turns out it will probably be a little bit of both. Last night it was a video.
I arrived early because I had to buy a mat and I wasn't sure what traffic would be like. After paying way too much money for a mat, I started to set everything up: mat, trainer, block and bike. It took a couple of trips from the car. No one else was showing up and that made me a little nervous. I really wanted there to be multiple people for distraction. I wasn't sure how I was going to do. Cyclists in general are pretty intense. I haven't been working out that much...and there's that whole fractured rib thing...
It ended up being just me. There were 3 guys working in the store: Matt, Nick and the guy that was going to run the class. I think it might have been Keith or Kyle or something with a K, so I'll just call him K for now. K set up and we got started a little early.
We watched a DVD called Downward Spiral. It was an interval training video that had a little bit of humor to it. The structure was a warm-up, the set of intervals, a 5 minute recovery, another set of the intervals, then a cool-down–all totaling an hour. The DVD had words on the screen for instructions. Every time you heard a horse whinny, that meant you better look up at the screen for instruction. There was also a lot of banter about how hard it was going to be and you were going to feel like you were going to die. Kind of funny.
The warmup was a video of a single track extreme mountain bike course. It basically looked like a twist on a BMX track. We just spinned and watched. All of the video was from the perspective of a rider, with an on-head/helmet camera. The next part was pack racing. Here we had to sprint a few times to "catch up" to the pack thanks to the ass-hole that left a big gap. This was all the verbiage on screen. K mentioned he hated being that guy on the end of a pack that just kept getting yo-yo'd off. I can imagine...but I had no idea what he was talking about really.
That was the warm up. I was happy to notice that K was sweating just as much as me. I figured I would at least look like I was holding my own OK.
The intervals were the following with equal amounts of recovery after each: 2:00, 1:45, 1:30, 1:15, 1:00, :45, :30, :15. Each time the horse whinnied, "3-2-1-go!" would come up on the screen and K and I would change up a few gears and start working. I only went up two gears in the first set of intervals, thinking I was probably going to die. The video was part of the Tour de France, from Paris to Roubaix...which is on cobblestone! Nutso. On the recoveries, I wiped away sweat and drank.
I chatted with K a bunch about various cycling topics which was fun. He is a really nice guy, more granola than roadie. He is a mechanic and has been for 7 years I think he said, but leaves for Portland today to go to mechanic school for 3 weeks. He started out road biking and racing, but now does more mountain biking, specifically endurance racing. He does 24 hour races that are hundreds of miles long, on trails. Between each you can't do anything for a few weeks, so he has to carefully plan out the season and only gets to do about 3 races. Kind of comparable to marathons (for mortals, anyway). He ran in high school and college but now has too many issues from running, so bikes full time.
Towards the last interval of the first set, I tried to push harder. 45 seconds means sprint, right?! The 5 minute recovery was nice and allowed for my legs to stop burning and more chatting with K. Then it was time for set 2. Same stuff, but they thankfully changed up the scenery. The 7th interval flashed "uphill!!" on the screen. K was out of his saddle and I thought I might as well push it as well. He was encouraging and said nice job. Same happened for the 8th...towards the finish line 15 second sprint out of the saddle. Then the screen said something like "we don't think you pushed hard enough," and the countdown for 15 seconds began again. K laughed at my shock–he knew it was coming. Then... again...some smart ass comment appeared on the screen and we had to do it again...and again...and a fifth time before we were finally done. Whew! I made it though.
The cool-down part of the video showed guys on fixies doing all of their tricks, which made us talk about Danny MacAskill - the amazing street rider that does anything and everything with his bike. K used to ride a fixie and remembers building one for a guy before they were actually sold. Now you can actually buy a fixie in a bike shop, which is really funny. It is a new type of bike that is sold and marketed now. K is planning to sell his because he doesn't use it and has a hard time switching back and forth. It reminded me of the first time I went spinning and nearly ripped my legs off when I tried to coast.
So, all in all, it was a great experience. The best part is I was able to breathe hard without discomfort during the video. Afterwords, my rib was sore. But I took 800 mg of Advil when I got home and it was fine. I'm very happy about that! It was a big pain in the butt to load all of the gear into the car. But I think once a week is really worth it. I rode soooooooooooo much better and feel like I got a really great workout in! And, I can make it harder as I get better, simply by changing into bigger gears. For the next weeks, Matt is going to lead the classes and it might be video or he might lead it like a spinning class with music. That should be pretty awesome! I'm looking forward to the next classes and getting in better riding shape. I do hope more people start coming though.
I arrived early because I had to buy a mat and I wasn't sure what traffic would be like. After paying way too much money for a mat, I started to set everything up: mat, trainer, block and bike. It took a couple of trips from the car. No one else was showing up and that made me a little nervous. I really wanted there to be multiple people for distraction. I wasn't sure how I was going to do. Cyclists in general are pretty intense. I haven't been working out that much...and there's that whole fractured rib thing...
It ended up being just me. There were 3 guys working in the store: Matt, Nick and the guy that was going to run the class. I think it might have been Keith or Kyle or something with a K, so I'll just call him K for now. K set up and we got started a little early.
We watched a DVD called Downward Spiral. It was an interval training video that had a little bit of humor to it. The structure was a warm-up, the set of intervals, a 5 minute recovery, another set of the intervals, then a cool-down–all totaling an hour. The DVD had words on the screen for instructions. Every time you heard a horse whinny, that meant you better look up at the screen for instruction. There was also a lot of banter about how hard it was going to be and you were going to feel like you were going to die. Kind of funny.
The warmup was a video of a single track extreme mountain bike course. It basically looked like a twist on a BMX track. We just spinned and watched. All of the video was from the perspective of a rider, with an on-head/helmet camera. The next part was pack racing. Here we had to sprint a few times to "catch up" to the pack thanks to the ass-hole that left a big gap. This was all the verbiage on screen. K mentioned he hated being that guy on the end of a pack that just kept getting yo-yo'd off. I can imagine...but I had no idea what he was talking about really.
That was the warm up. I was happy to notice that K was sweating just as much as me. I figured I would at least look like I was holding my own OK.
The intervals were the following with equal amounts of recovery after each: 2:00, 1:45, 1:30, 1:15, 1:00, :45, :30, :15. Each time the horse whinnied, "3-2-1-go!" would come up on the screen and K and I would change up a few gears and start working. I only went up two gears in the first set of intervals, thinking I was probably going to die. The video was part of the Tour de France, from Paris to Roubaix...which is on cobblestone! Nutso. On the recoveries, I wiped away sweat and drank.
I chatted with K a bunch about various cycling topics which was fun. He is a really nice guy, more granola than roadie. He is a mechanic and has been for 7 years I think he said, but leaves for Portland today to go to mechanic school for 3 weeks. He started out road biking and racing, but now does more mountain biking, specifically endurance racing. He does 24 hour races that are hundreds of miles long, on trails. Between each you can't do anything for a few weeks, so he has to carefully plan out the season and only gets to do about 3 races. Kind of comparable to marathons (for mortals, anyway). He ran in high school and college but now has too many issues from running, so bikes full time.
Towards the last interval of the first set, I tried to push harder. 45 seconds means sprint, right?! The 5 minute recovery was nice and allowed for my legs to stop burning and more chatting with K. Then it was time for set 2. Same stuff, but they thankfully changed up the scenery. The 7th interval flashed "uphill!!" on the screen. K was out of his saddle and I thought I might as well push it as well. He was encouraging and said nice job. Same happened for the 8th...towards the finish line 15 second sprint out of the saddle. Then the screen said something like "we don't think you pushed hard enough," and the countdown for 15 seconds began again. K laughed at my shock–he knew it was coming. Then... again...some smart ass comment appeared on the screen and we had to do it again...and again...and a fifth time before we were finally done. Whew! I made it though.
The cool-down part of the video showed guys on fixies doing all of their tricks, which made us talk about Danny MacAskill - the amazing street rider that does anything and everything with his bike. K used to ride a fixie and remembers building one for a guy before they were actually sold. Now you can actually buy a fixie in a bike shop, which is really funny. It is a new type of bike that is sold and marketed now. K is planning to sell his because he doesn't use it and has a hard time switching back and forth. It reminded me of the first time I went spinning and nearly ripped my legs off when I tried to coast.
So, all in all, it was a great experience. The best part is I was able to breathe hard without discomfort during the video. Afterwords, my rib was sore. But I took 800 mg of Advil when I got home and it was fine. I'm very happy about that! It was a big pain in the butt to load all of the gear into the car. But I think once a week is really worth it. I rode soooooooooooo much better and feel like I got a really great workout in! And, I can make it harder as I get better, simply by changing into bigger gears. For the next weeks, Matt is going to lead the classes and it might be video or he might lead it like a spinning class with music. That should be pretty awesome! I'm looking forward to the next classes and getting in better riding shape. I do hope more people start coming though.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
HMTD6: Broomball Does Count
Last week was really horrible in terms of working out :( I only biked once and never ran. Boo.
Today we had our second broomball game and it was a pretty good game overall. We lost 1 to 0. We played a team that has jerseys and full equipment...all supposedly paid for by the company they work at. Fine fine, that doesn't make you a great team, fancy-pants.
Physically, it was a brutal game–they were really rough. And they cheated. For a few face-offs, they'd start a person on our side. Really? That small of a rink and you think that's necessary...and not obvious? When confronted about it, the girl just giggled. Dumb. Aside from that, the girls on the team were pretty physical. Ada got creamed in the beginning. Sarah was tangled up with a girl and after the girl fell, she grabbed Sarah's foot. ?! I got checked into the wall so hard I had to come off the ice. Really, people, this isn't hockey. We aren't in full gear. Checking wasn't allowed in CBA so I'm sure it isn't allowed in this league. My chest/rib pain was so bad by the time I got home, I decided I should go to the doctor to make sure I can still run, etc. I know that if you break a rib, there's really nothing to do about it except wait, but I just wanted to make sure I could still do things. After being poked and prodded, the doc found the painful spots and determined I have fractured the cartilage where the ribs connect to the sternum. It's cartilage there, while the ends of your ribs are calcium. Soooo... the loosey-goosey diagnosis is take a lot of Advil and don't do anything until I feel better.
Poop.
Today we had our second broomball game and it was a pretty good game overall. We lost 1 to 0. We played a team that has jerseys and full equipment...all supposedly paid for by the company they work at. Fine fine, that doesn't make you a great team, fancy-pants.
Physically, it was a brutal game–they were really rough. And they cheated. For a few face-offs, they'd start a person on our side. Really? That small of a rink and you think that's necessary...and not obvious? When confronted about it, the girl just giggled. Dumb. Aside from that, the girls on the team were pretty physical. Ada got creamed in the beginning. Sarah was tangled up with a girl and after the girl fell, she grabbed Sarah's foot. ?! I got checked into the wall so hard I had to come off the ice. Really, people, this isn't hockey. We aren't in full gear. Checking wasn't allowed in CBA so I'm sure it isn't allowed in this league. My chest/rib pain was so bad by the time I got home, I decided I should go to the doctor to make sure I can still run, etc. I know that if you break a rib, there's really nothing to do about it except wait, but I just wanted to make sure I could still do things. After being poked and prodded, the doc found the painful spots and determined I have fractured the cartilage where the ribs connect to the sternum. It's cartilage there, while the ends of your ribs are calcium. Soooo... the loosey-goosey diagnosis is take a lot of Advil and don't do anything until I feel better.
Poop.
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