Fitness Archives - Page 2 of 8

Dec 8, 2014

Thanksgiving Day Race Fail

December 8, 2014 By Christina

I realized I left everyone hanging about the outcome of my foot. My orthopedic doctor suggested an MRI to determine the cause of the pain on the outside edge of my foot, wanting to rule out a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal. The good news is that there was no sign of any fractures. The bones looked healthy and strong. He said there wasn’t a lot of fluid or anything indicating a severe tendonitis, either, but that it’s still possible to have tendonitis without the swelling and fluid.

So the recommendation was that I wear the boot for another 2-3 weeks and do physical therapy twice a week. This meant missing out on the Hot Chocolate 5k that I was registered for, and it put the Flying Feather 4 mile race on Thanksgiving Day in jeopardy.

I just wanted to run again.

I called the physical therapist and set up twice a week appointments. The therapist found that my right foot didn’t have as much dorsiflexion as it should, and my right hip was really weak. He provided me with a list of exercises to complete at home, with a more rigorous set that I was assigned in the office.

I did my exercises without complaint, applied ice to my foot twice a day, and took my anti-inflammatories on schedule, focused on the end goal of running again. Anything that gets me closer to running again is a priority for me.

After a solid week in the boot, I was allowed to go without it for short bouts of walking. So walking around the house was fine. Going out to check the mail was okay. My foot felt better, probably because I wasn’t giving it a chance to flare up again most of the time. When it did start to hurt, I stopped and rested it.

By the second week, I wasn’t feeling any pain. I was given permission to go for longer stretches without the boot, told to keep it nearby and put it on if my foot began to hurt. I managed to walk around IKEA without it hurting, giving me confidence that the end was in sight. IKEA is not a small amount of walking – if I could walk around the store for an hour and a half, I could probably do anything else.

I still wanting to do the Flying Feather 4 mile race, though. Two days before the race, I was given permission by my physical therapist to do the race, but only if I walked it. I asked if I could try a couple of short run intervals (under a minute each), and he said I could try two, but only if I stopped immediately if it hurt to run. I agreed to these terms, since I had been walking without pain for days. I was sure it would be a breeze.

On Thanksgiving Day, I had second thoughts about the race. Not because of my foot, but because it was 28 degrees outside, with a strong wind, and it was starting to snow. I was determined to not let another race I was registered for slip past me, though, so I suited up in layers (finishing with a SparkleSkirt, of course) and stretched and stretched and stretched ahead of time, as ordered.

Notice the gloves. I could have used two pairs, really.

When the race started, I wanted to take off in a run and never look back. But I walked for the first stretch until the crowd thinned out. I didn’t want to waste one run interval stuck in a pack of people shuffling along.

It was a little crowded at first.

Once I found a clearing, I started a slow jog. It was awesome! I was carefully controlling my speed, but it felt like I was gliding gracefully through the air with pixie dust trailing behind me. I’m sure I didn’t look like that – more like plodding along – but in my head I felt like a gazelle. It had been a month since my last attempt at running.

I switched back to a walk in under a minute – no need to force me there, since I was out of shape with cardio. There was no pain, everything felt good, and I continued on.

When I reached the first mile, I was thrilled to still have no pain. At mile two I mentally cheered that my feet weren’t failing me. I was doing this. I beat this tendonitis and could get back to my training.

And then half a mile later, I felt the first little shooting pain.

That little pain soon called in its friends, and by the time I reached mile 3, I couldn’t ignore the sharp stabbing with each step. But I was also way out on the course – with only a mile left, I didn’t want to be THAT person and ask the race staff to find someone to drive me to the end because all this walking had worn me out. I slowed my walking down and focused on the end goal.

During the last mile, I did have moments where it didn’t hurt. I’m guessing my feet were just numb from the cold and the effort. But just when I wondered if the pain was gone, it would come back. I was happy to cross the finish line and get my medal (and wine), but the smile was masking the pain I was experiencing.

smiling thru the agony (and snow in my eyes)

I was utterly defeated realizing how much my foot was hurting again. After a month off, nothing had really changed, it hurt just as much as before, and I was left wondering how long it will take to get better. I spent Thanksgiving dinner limping around my aunt’s house, and applying ice to my foot.

My physical therapist was not happy with me for not stopping when the pain started. No surprise there, and I’ll agree I was a stubborn fool with that. But last Monday I also had a follow-up appointment with my orthopedic doctor. I described the entire experience to him, he looked at my foot again, poked around a little…and then determined that I needed to see someone else.

He’s sending me to the top foot specialist in their practice tomorrow. He knows my running goals, and said he doesn’t want to treat it conservatively again for another 4-6 weeks to then risk the injury coming right back again. The X-rays and MRI didn’t show anything significant, which makes it more of a puzzle, so he wants their top foot doc to have a look and diagnose the old-fashioned way: by physical exam. Apparently for many unusual foot injuries, an extensive physical exam is the best (and only, in some cases) way to get to the source of the problem when it’s done by someone with advanced training.

Then came the next surprise: no more boot, and keep walking on it all I want. In order for the new doctor to have the best chance at determining the problem, I have to still be in pain. Resting it makes it feel better – as evidenced by weeks of it feeling great when I was babying it – so I need to make sure it still hurts when I see him on Tuesday. This made traveling to BlogHerPRO last week much easier without a boot to bring along, but I still didn’t enjoy hobbling down the hallways.

I really just want to run again. The Enchanted 10K at Walt Disney World is two and a half months away, and I want to be ready for it. I even have an amazing running costume being made for me that I want to wear for this race.

I’m hoping for a solid answer and an aggressive treatment plan tomorrow so that I can get back to training as soon as possible.

Filed Under: me me me, ow, running

Nov 7, 2014

Stopped In My Tracks

November 7, 2014 By Christina

At the beginning of October, I had officially caught the running bug. I mean, I had been running for awhile, but had finally reached that point where I looked forward to lacing up my running shoes. I wanted to get out on the road and leave any stress behind for 40-60 minutes.

And then in mid-October, while out for a typical mid-week short run, I noticed a pain on the outside of my right foot. I usually have little aches during a run, and most of the time they go away after a few minutes. It wasn’t super painful, so I continued on for the last half mile or so. When I got home, I took off my shoes and noticed that the outside of my foot and my heel were still hurting, so I stretched as I usually do, and then grabbed an ice pack to ice down the sore spots.

The next morning, my foot still hurt. I decided to play it safe and stick with the RICE protocol until it was feeling better. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) I tried to run a couple of times in the next two weeks, but each time that pain came back.

Late last week, I noticed that I couldn’t even walk around much without my foot hurting more and more. I finally gave in on Saturday and visited an urgent care, where they took x-rays and recommended I see a specialist. In the meantime, I was to wear an oh-so-sexy black and white shoe and stay off my feet as much as possible.

Yesterday, I saw the specialist. Even though the urgent care said the x-rays looked good, this doctor was less convinced. He saw a shadow on my fifth metatarsal that could be hinting at a stress fracture. To complicate matters, the area of my foot that hurts the most is the exact spot for a common type of stress fracture, but also a common spot for peroneal tendonitis. Which is it? We’re not sure.

Say hello to my inner foot!

I explained to the doctor that I wanted to run again as soon as possible. No – I needed to run again as soon as possible. The last three weeks have been torture. I finally settled into an activity that I really enjoy, and now I can’t do it. I can feel my legs tightening up, itching to hit the pavement. I put shoes on and I want to break out into a run.

And my mind is handling this poorly, too. I’m cranky. I’m short tempered. I’m depressed. I had found that running was a fantastic way to get rid of stress, and now that stress is trapped again. When I’m frustrated at the end of a long day, I want to go run to blow off steam. Oh wait, I can’t.

We don’t know for sure if it’s a stress fracture or tendonitis, so the doctor recommended an MRI to get a better look at what’s going on and (hopefully) rule out an existing or imminent stress fracture. Once we have a better look at what’s going on, the doctor said he’ll put together an aggressive treatment plan to get me running again.

If it’s just tendonitis, I’ll likely go to physical therapy for several weeks, and could possibly be running again in a few weeks. Or maybe just walking. I’d even be okay with walking if my foot was strong enough to get me through the 4-mile race I have on Thanksgiving Day. I can keep up the required pace by walking. (Did I mention I’m registered for two races in the next three weeks? All that money may be gone now.)

If it’s a stress fracture…well, we’ll hope it’s not. The options for how to handle that aren’t pleasant, and most guarantee I won’t be running again for months. If that happens, I’m going to need an antidepressant prescription with my treatment plan.

My MRI was this morning, and we’ll go over the results on Monday. In the meantime, my footwear has received an upgrade:

This really looks like an early Iron Man boot prototype.

It’s too bad this couldn’t have been the left foot. I can’t drive in this boot, so any driving involves getting to the car, taking the boot off (which is a multi-step process), switching to a shoe, driving to my destination, and then putting the boot back on before getting out of the car. Which limits my desire to want to drive anywhere unless it’s absolutely necessary. But we’ll really hope this doesn’t require a cast, or I won’t be able to drive at all for weeks.

So for the first time in my life, I’m cheering for tendonitis. It’s the lesser of the injuries, and would be a welcome diagnosis compared to the hell of a stress fracture.

We’ll know more on Monday. Hope for tendonitis.

Filed Under: me me me, running

Sep 24, 2014

Running Sucks (But I Love It)

September 24, 2014 By Christina

Had you told me years ago that I might actually want to go for a run, I would have laughed. I probably would have snorted from laughing so hard, too.

Even a few years ago, when I started running as a way to lose weight, I did it because it was a cheap form of exercise and it worked. But I didn’t love it. I’d wearily drag myself outside for each scheduled run, knowing I’d be proud of myself once it was over, all while fighting off the small voice inside my head telling me I was too tired, and maybe I should wait until tomorrow to go out when the weather might be cooler/warmer/it might be less windy/fewer people might be outside/I might have more energy/or have more time to think up new excuses.

And I’m not a pretty runner in a matching outfit with a slight glistening of sweat on my face, smiling and chatting as I run by. No, I’m more of the dripping in sweat, violet-red-faced, huffing and puffing, can’t even string two words together, pained grimace, slowly plodding, should-we-call-911? type runner. It’s not a pretty sight.

However, for all that I look like I’m being tortured, I’m finding that I like running more and more. There’s still no doubt for me that running sucks, but I’d probably feel the same about any form of exercise. Pushing your body outside of the comfort zone is not pleasant, no matter what you do. You’re going to ache, you’re going to want to stop, and unless you’re swimming, you’re going to be sweaty and smelly afterward. There’s no escaping the suck involved in challenging your body.

So how could I possibly love to run? Let me share a few of my reasons for lacing up my running shoes.

It really does get results. After only a month of regular running again (3x/week), I was already seeing more definition in my legs. After two months, I’m noticing I don’t get winded as easily when I’m active. I’m not losing a lot of weight, but my legs and butt are definitely starting to change in shape. However, I’ll say it’s not cheap like I originally thought. Good running shoes are a must, which can be pricey and need replaced every 300-500 miles. And if you’re in a northern climate like me, you may need to invest in a treadmill or gym to have an indoor place to run when there’s snow or ice in the winter, as well as cold weather running gear. But the cost is still minimal for the results.

Running is mental sorting time. Had a bad day? Run out your feelings on the pavement. Overwhelmed by too much to do? Use your running time to sort your to-do list in your head. I didn’t believe I could do these things at first – mostly because I was super focused on breathe, breathe, just a little further, don’t pass out – but as I learned to settle in to running, I found it was easier to ignore the panic messages from my body by occupying my brain with other things to think about. This is totally ME time – with my headphones playing music, there’s no one to interrupt me as I travel and think about what I need to do later that day or that week. And on those bad days, visualizing myself running away from any negative feelings, or putting the energy from a bad mood into pounding the pavement, is surprisingly helpful in resetting my emotions.

Signing up for races is like peer pressure with a t-shirt and medal at the end. I do sign up for races, and they serve an enormous role in my motivation to run. Why? Because I know that during the run, there will be a bunch of other people running, many of whom are faster than me. I don’t care that they’re faster, but seeing them motivates me to not be last, and knowing they’ll be there motivates me to keep training ahead of the race, too. It’s totally peer pressure that I put on myself, and I tend to run harder in a race than I do when running solo.

And sometimes there’s a prize at the end. Now, I’m part of the group that doesn’t believe that every kid should get an award for participation in school events. But when I’ve run a 5K or 10K distance? I’ll gladly accept the medal bling. Crossing the finish line is still an accomplishment deserving of a medal, considering the percentage of the general population who would be able or willing to do so.

You can be creative and run in costume – and people love it. Before this year, my favorite races were those that involved being covered in colored powder by the end of the race. It was fun, aside from having blue earwax for the next week. But then I discovered the joy of running in costume, and I may be hooked. It’s like Halloween year-round, and it’s completely okay to not look exactly like the character, because you have to modify most ideas to fit them into running-appropriate costumes.

There are also Facebook groups and blogs devoted to running in costume. Going along with this idea are the runDisney races – not only are costumes encouraged at these races, but you get to run through the Disney parks!

It’s inspiring to see how many miles you’ve run. There are moments when I feel like I’m not progressing fast enough in running. Or days when I feel fat and out of shape and wonder why I even keep bothering to work out. And then I look at my stats:

I know that’s not a lot for some people. But 26.5 miles in August is HUGE for me! That’s the equivalent of running from downtown Columbus to Delaware, OH. When I see that monthly total, I’m motivated to keep going and challenge myself to go even further the next month. I love seeing my progress quantified in miles, and I am thankful for every mile behind me.

So that’s why I’m going to keep running, and continue pushing myself beyond the boundaries I had established in my head. I never thought I could run a 5K, and I did it. I’m now training to run my first 10K in February, and I intend to do it. Beyond that, I’m considering training for a half marathon – which still feels a little crazy to me, but maybe I need to try something crazy to see if I’m capable of it.

Fellow runners, why do you love running? Do you have reasons that I didn’t list above?

Filed Under: running

Jul 16, 2014

Finding My Motivation with runDisney

July 16, 2014 By Christina

My motivation for staying in shape has been lacking so far this summer. I was hoping that the longer days and relaxed schedule would result in finding more time to work out, but it hasn’t happened so far. Being sick the first part of June didn’t help, but after I’d recovered I still didn’t feel like going for a run or doing any strength training.

Stepping on the scale at the end of June was quite a shock. I’d gained five pounds since May. How had I gained five pounds since May? While I haven’t been writing down everything I’ve been eating, I had a pretty good idea of it, and it definitely wasn’t enough to cause that much weight gain.

“You’re 38 years old now, your metabolism is slowing down,” I was told by more than one person.

What?

No way I’m going to let getting older tear me down. I put a lot of work into losing a lot of weight – 80lbs from my highest weight, 60lbs lost since having kids – and I hit my first goal weight two years ago. I’m not going to see it drift completely out of reach with five pounds gained each year. I was already five pounds over my initial goal weight earlier this year, so an additional five pounds puts this officially into HELL NO territory.

But working out for me is always a challenge. Inertia is strong in me. There has to be a reward in sight or it’s too easy to let it fall to the bottom of my to-do list and never get done. What I need is solid motivation.

So yesterday, I signed up for some solid motivation and registered for the Disney Enchanted 10K.

Earlier this year at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I participated in the runDisney fun run. It was only two miles, but I got a taste of what a runDisney event is like. And OH it was awesome!

running dressed as Anna at Disneyland for the DSMMC fun run

After I got back from Disneyland, I continued thinking about all of the runDisney events and how I’d love to sign up for one of them. Aaron had to listen to me talk about them so much that he started to get excited about the idea of running a race through the Disney parks. Suddenly he was the one saying, “Why don’t we do it?” Which then forced me to stop talking about the idea in the abstract and make a decision. And I decided it’s time to go for it.

The Disney Enchanted 10K is part of the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend in February. Aaron signed up for the half marathon, and even the kids asked to try the kid races. While I’m up for a challenge, a half marathon is a little too optimistic for me at the moment. I’ve done a 5K several times, but I’ve never attempted a 10K. It’s twice as far as I’ve ever forced myself to run, which means it’ll be tough to step out of the zone I’ve become comfortable in and push myself to train further.

I think (hope?) I’m up for the challenge. I’m nervous I won’t be able to do it, but at the same time I’m unwilling to let getting older take control of me. I’d love to be in the best shape of my life when I reach 40 in two years, and this is a good first step toward that goal.

This might just be the biggest motivation to get fit ever for me. There’s a solid end date on this, with a well-defined bar for success. I don’t have to run for the entire 10K – walking parts of it is okay – but I have to keep up an average pace of 16 minutes per mile. If I fall behind, I’ll be out.

Spending all of the time and money to go to Walt Disney World for this race, and then not get the medal at the end, would be devastating. So I have to take this training seriously to make sure there won’t be any chance for that. I want to cross that finish line and add 10K to the list of accomplishments I never thought I could do. The location of the race, my love of Disney, and the costumed characters that will be cheering me on are all additional motivation to make sure this will be a success.

And I can make a running costume for it, too! Now I just need to decide what my costume will be!

Filed Under: Disney, healthy living, running

May 19, 2014

Family Fitness Tracking with ibitz and Best Buy

May 19, 2014 By Christina

Thanks to Best Buy for providing the devices for this review!

I’ve shared in a few posts that I like using activity trackers to keep an eye on how many steps I take each day. I’ve tried several different trackers, and still go back and forth on which ones I use in a given week. This has left my collection open to a very curious Mira, of course, who has more than once asked me if she could wear one of them.

But my trackers aren’t really designed for a six year old. The bracelet style falls right off of her wrist. And the apps aren’t exactly all that exciting for her to look at.

Enter the ibitz by GeoPalz kid and adult wireless pedometers. These small clip-on devices track activity for adults and kids, and come with apps that help the device wirelessly sync to your iOS Bluetooth 4.0 phone or tablet. Different apps for adults and children gives each age group their own unique experience with a personalized approach.

The ibitz Unity for adults tracks steps, distance, weight (added manually), height, overall physical activity, and allows you to incorporate your family and friends. It also lets you form groups and post your progress on social media.

The ibitz for kids wireless pedometer syncs to a rewards platform app. Parents can set goals and rewards such as play time, screen time, or an adventure with a parent. You can earn coins and content on Disney’s Club Penguin, and they’ll soon be introducing Minecraft rewards. The app is a little space alien trying to power her rocket, with your child’s steps counting as fuel for the rocket. The more steps, the further the rocket goes.

Mira couldn’t wait to give hers a try. After I helped her create an account on the app, she picked out her spaceship and was ready to go. I’m pretty sure that first day she was more active than normal just to earn as many steps as possible to fuel her rocketship.

syncing the device, powering the spaceship

There’s a password protected parent area in the app that lets you set goals for your child’s activity. Each goal is shown as a planet that the rocket is trying to get to. So you could set a goal of 3500 steps, for example, and then add on a reward for reaching that goal. When the child meets the goal, the alien jumps around in celebration. (Mira loves to watch that part.)

goal-setting and reward screens

Over the weekend, we set a goal with a reward of going to see a movie. She easily cleared that goal and was thrilled to go see a movie on Saturday night. I think we’ll need to set smaller rewards or higher goals for this determined kid.

So far she loves her ibitz and has had it clipped on before I even noticed each morning. It’s motivating her to be more active, as she checks the app frequently to see how far her spaceship has traveled. I consider this product an absolute success for her.

The adult Unity ibitz works like many of the other activity trackers out there. It’s app isn’t nearly as exciting as the kid version, which after seeing the kid version myself, is a little disappointing.

view of the app

I almost wish it had fun graphics and goal setting like the kid version – I wouldn’t mind using my steps to power an animated character in a game! It does have the ability for you to create groups to support each other, but if your friends have different activity trackers, that isn’t as helpful.

I do like the ability to connect wirelessly. And the devices are powered with a 3V lithium battery, meaning no disappointment from forgetting to charge the device like other types of trackers.

Some features of the ibitz pedometer:

· available in 7 kid-friendly colors

· free iOS app* syncs device wirelessly

· syncs via Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE)

· tracks activity

· set goals and rewards

· water-resistant

· durable clip for hip and shoe

· stores 30 days of activity

· earn parent directed rewards

· earn coins and content on Disney’s Club Penguin

I’m not sure if the ibitz Unity will be the activity tracker I continue to use, but the ibitz for kids is definitely a hit in our house. Cordy is now asking when she can get one of her own, and starting to plan goals she wants to set for herself. If the ibitz can make exercise a little more fun for the kids, the hope is that they’ll form good habits to remain active, even after the novelty of powering alien spaceships has worn off.

You can find the ibitz adult and kid pedometers at Best Buy.

Disclosure: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. In this case, I received only the pedometers to review. All opinions expressed here are my own, including my idea of an activity-tracker-based game for adults. No really, it would be a big hit.

Filed Under: Fitness, healthy living, reviews