Sunday, June 20, 2021

I Can't Have One Without the Other

Running and lifting, running and lifting, go together like birthdays and gifting, this I tell you sister, you can't have one without the other... ~apologies to Frank Sinatra.

After getting my final diagnosis this week of a tear of my flexor carpi radialis tendon--that's at the base of my right thumb--my first thought was, well, at least I can still run. But then it hit me: over the past couple of years, I've become so much more than a runner. As long-time readers of the blog know, I've been strength training and doing CrossFit as a means to supplement running and to prevent injury. Running was always my favorite way to move my body. I identify as a runner, not a CrossFitter. 

Then I hurt my wrist and with that came the realization that while running is still number one, strength training and CrossFit have become essential activities in my fitness regimen. Much like I do with running, with my strength training, I set goals and I train to achieve them. With this injury, I've had to cut back on my training and I miss it. After I got the news this week that confirmed the tendon injury, I felt really sad. That surprised me, because like I said, I can still run. But you know what? Running isn't enough anymore. 

There, I've said it. Now, I know. I promise to behave and let my wrist heal so I can get back to ALL the THINGS. 

The lake is calling...

Weekly Rundown

Monday: run 7 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: trail run 6 miles
Thursday: strength training 
Friday: run 6 miles
Saturday: rest
Sunday: Ice Age Trail run 4 miles (2 segments)

Running

While I let my wrist heal, I've added an extra day of running to my schedule, to replace the CrossFit class I usually do on Mondays. After Sunday's craptastic trail run, on Monday I laced up my road shoes and took myself to the retention pond. This was a nicely paced 7 mile run-probably the farthest I've run since my 20k back in May. I need to get my miles back up again to prepare for my fall half marathons. I'm not a fan of summer running and I reminded myself that I need to get out the door much earlier than I have been. This is a popular park and it was fairly crowded that morning. I also had to run through a large gaggle (more like a gang) of geese and their goslings. The geese were not very welcoming. Neither were the red-winged blackbirds who kept hissing and dive bombing me. Ahh, nature...


On Wednesday, I woke up to 58 degrees and bright sunshine, so I laced up my shoes and went back to the trails early. I had an earlier start for work that morning, so I promised myself I'd stick to the main trail and not wander into the woods on the single track. I did just that, plodding around the preserve. I enjoyed this run immensely.

No flamingo, but I did spy this snowman tucked into a tree along the path!

I woke up to thunder and pouring rain on Friday and prayed that it would stop before it was time to head out for my run. It did and I had the bike path to myself, at least for the first 3 miles. The headwind was strong and I felt the effort. I ran through the tunnel before I turned around to head home and was thrilled to see that the graffiti was gone, replaced with the beginnings of a rainbow mural. I knew this was coming because one of my families from my clinic was excited to tell me during an office visit a few weeks ago that they were doing this. I felt so proud and excited and I can't wait to see the finished project!

The scary tunnel is no longer scary

On Sunday, I got up early to beat the deer flies and drove to a new-to-me segment of the Ice Age Trail. On Saturday, my hubs and I went strawberry picking and on the way back to the cabin, we passed the trailhead for the Fern Glen Segment. Aha! I had heard of it but never knew where it was. While it is a short segment- 2.75 miles round trip, it is definitely worth it. Lush and green with lots of ups and downs (almost 600ft of climbing), I had it to myself. I wanted to run a little more, so I drove to the City of Lodi segment, which was mostly meadow, lined with wildflowers. The flies were starting to bite me, so after about 1 1/3 miles, I called it and headed back to my car. 

I posted some wildflower photos and an interesting tree photo on my IG!

Strength/No CrossFit

In her usual creative way, Sammy Jo had a fun session planned for me. I started off with sissy squats (on the plate) but instead of holding a dumbbell, I held a 30# slam ball. She had me do 2 sets of 15, with a 3 second descent. After that, I pulled the sled 50m, forward and backward 4 times, with increasing weight each time. In between, I did some plyometrics. We wrapped it all up with core, which needs a LOT of work. I felt so much better, mentally, after this session. My biggest worry is losing strength while I'm healing. I'm so grateful to Sammy Jo for her creativity and her sense of humor! 


How was your week? As you read this, I'm celebrating Father's Day with my dad, my father-in-law, and my husband. It's the first time we are all together since the pandemic started. I'm so grateful for the vaccine, which allows this to happen. Have a wonderful day!

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. 





42 comments :

  1. Glad you were able to celebrate with all the dads! And well done for being so sensible with your tendon and well done Sammy Jo for finding things for you to do.

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  2. Glad you were able to celebrate with the 3 dads. Here in Italy Father's Day is march 19th.
    I hope your tendon heals soon. Enjoy you runs. Like you I am not a summer running fan so my workouts are shorter, slower and in early morning.
    For me, after the incident on my shoulder, no more cross training, only running and stretching.

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    1. I need the cross training--but I'm so surprised about this injury. I'll have to take a look at what i will do once it heals.

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  3. Bummer on the wrist situation and way to get creative on the workouts. I really hope you enjoy your day with your dad, father in law and hubs. I am headed over to spend the afternoon w my dad too

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  4. It's a good thing Sammy Jo is so creative! I hope your tendon heals quickly.

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  5. I hope the tendon heals quickly! Enjoy your celebration with the dads today!

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  6. Oh no - hope you are feeling better soon! Enjoy the dads day today!

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  7. Hmmm, interesting revelation about your athletic identity! Sounds like Sammy Jo will keep you strong. What's the plan for fixing up your wrist? Tendons can be stubborn about healing.
    Hope you're enjoying your Father's Day!

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    1. Still waiting to hear from the ortho...but I'm pretty sure this is a watch and wait kinda situation.

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  8. Happy Father's Day to the males in your family!

    Our hike yesterday was relatively short, about 2 miles, with a few steep sections. It would have been better if we'd done it out & back other than coming back by the steeper, very narrow path (well, it was hot, Bandit was really panting, and it was really narrow -- good thing he's a small dog!). Now we know.

    Great job getting back up to higher mileage. I definitely have to try to get out early tomorrow morning -- it's not always easy, right?

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    1. It's going to be a cool morning, so I'm looking forward to a leisurely start to my Monday.

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  9. I am laughing so much because of the cat meme. You know I am a cat lover and love seeing stuff like that. I am glad you can still run.
    :-) Enjoy the day today!

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  10. Sorry the tendon issue is throwing a kink in CrossFit. Props to Sammy Jo for coming up with ways to work around it. Love that they're replacing the graffiti with a pretty mural!

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  11. Happy Father's Day! So nice that you are all together.

    The retention pond looks so beautiful, even though the birds were not amused lol.
    Strawberry picking sounds fun! I keep hearing about the Ice Age Trail but no idea where it actually is..hmm.

    Thus week I run with a running group! I posted a recap to my blog, as it was a good experience. I will try to join them again.

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    1. The Ice Age Trail is a 1200 mile trail through Wisconsin. It follows the movement of the the glaciers during the Ice Age. It's very cool!

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  12. Total bummer on the wrist, but tough times hit all of us from time-to-time...usually by surprise. Hopefully things will heal well!

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    1. Sure Kim, that may be true but it doesn't feel good to be sidelined from the things I love to do!

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  13. I've been working with a personal trainer at We Build 4 Life (specializes in working with people who've had cancer, I swear I've found my people) and wow I love it. Also doing group classes there, it's very similar to CrossFit although not CrossFit so I hear you!

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    1. I'm so glad to hear you've found something that you love! Sounds like a great group.

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  14. The snowman in the tree is just as funny as the flamingo, lol. I love that your coach was able to come up with a creative strength workout for you. She seems like such an awesome person!

    That photo of the cat trying to do a sit up just made me LOL!

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    1. I sent it to SJ and she thought it was hilarious too! Because, yeah, it's me...

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  15. I hope your thumb heals quickly and completely. I can’t believe I am still plagued by tennis elbows weeks after it first flared up. LOL at the snowman. Did he come out the the 58F temperatures?

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  16. I agree, I used to only run, but I was missing out, not only on some other good activities, but also on strengthening other muscles.

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    1. I look forward to healing and getting back to all that stuff.

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  17. Isn't it ironic that you just managed to do the strict unassisted pull-ups and now you can't use the hand for a while?
    I don't think you have to worry about losing strength - not with SJ around!

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    1. She and I talked about that! But the wrist had been bothering me for a couple of months before the pull-up, I guess it was just a matter of time. Glad I got the pullup!

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  18. So Stoke About All The Boys Together Again - What A Fathers Day That Must Have Been - Good On You For Running And Knowing When To Call It A Day - Fly On My Friend And Stay Strong - You Got This

    Cheers

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  19. So nice that you got together with your family for Father's Day. A sense of normalcy has returned.

    So sorry about your wrist. I hope it heals fast. It's hard to adjust your routine when you are used to something.

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    1. I'd just like the orthopedic surgeon to call me with a plan, so I know what to expect.

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  20. Injuries suck no matter what they are. It's hard to not use your body the way you're used to. I imagine I'd feel quite the same if I injured my hand or wrist as I've become so accustomed to OCR classes and lifting that it would feel like I was missing my right arm if I had to stop doing those things! Hopefully it heals up soon and you can get back to doing your normal routine.

    Fun fact: deer flies don't like bugspray. I used some when I went on the trails for the first time this past weekend and I only had one get close to me. The rest stayed away even though I saw them which was nice! I absolutely hate bugs, especially flying ones!

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    1. Thank you for getting me!!! I'm so bummed that i can't do my strength training...ride a bike...waterski... yep, I feel that loss of the right arm!

      The Wisconsin deer flies don't care about bug spray. It's incredible.

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  21. Ugh, biting flies! It's been a long time since I've been on a trail with deer flies, but I do remember how much I disliked it. I'm more concerned about gaining a belly while I'm out for injury right now 😂

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    1. Sorry to hear that you're injured!! Something tells me you'll avoid that belly..

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