Tag Archive | Recovery

Down but NOT Out

Nov26

Patience

I’ve had surgery before.   I was prepared for that.    I know how to recovery from surgery and even though I’ve been told I’m a bad patient I think I’m a pretty good one.   I take my meds when I’m supposed to.   I’ve had more energy after having c-sections than I have after this procedure.   This I wasn’t prepared for.   I figured that I would bounce back to my normal self within a week.   Well it’s been a week and I’m not there yet.

For the most part I feel ok.   I’ve still got some soreness in my neck from the incision.   But there is more than that.   I’ve had some muscle pain in my shoulders and neck maybe from the way I’m holding my head.    Who knows?   Then there is the tingles, muscle spasms in the hand where my pointer finger locked up and I couldn’t bend it.   Didn’t last long but was freaky.   I want to feel like my normal self again.

I haven’t even  been doing much of anything.   To be honest, I’m not really ready to do much anyway.   I woke up today at 10:30 and by 2:30 I was ready for and took a nap.     This is not me and I don’t like it one bit.   Not at all.   Not to say that I haven’t been known to take an afternoon siesta on occasion, but this is different.    When I asked for advice, I was told rightly so that the body needs time to recovery from the trauma of surgery.   To think of how much energy it takes to recover from the flu and that one week really isn’t that much time.   I get this but patience really has never been my strong suit.   You might even say I’m an impatient person.

Add to the fact that this is my favorite time of year and I don’t feel like doing anything.   Although, I was very proactive and decorated my house presurgery so I do have that going for me.   I just thought that I would be back.

Today was the town Turkey Trot and as much as I loved seeing everyone’s photos, it did sting a little.   In my mind, I knew I wouldn’t be up to running it but my heart didn’t know it.   I’m also wondering what it is going to be like when I do finally get those running shoes back on.   Actually, I’m not even thinking of running.  (ok, I am).   I think that I will start with a walk.    That being said, I worry about how far and how fast I will be able to run once I get back out there.   It’s a concern.

A running friend who last year had the same procedure said that it will take time to make sure that I find the right dosage for my hormone levels.   I get that.   I just don’t like it.   Then I remind myself of the following:

  1.   In the whole scheme of things, this is nothing.
  2.  I’m very lucky that I have a supportive family/friends who are taking care of me
  3. That this is temporary
  4. People are dealing with much worse.

So it is all good, but I think I’m allowed and it is good to recognize the truth of how I’m feeling.

I may be down, but I’m not out….

 

 

All In Good Time

Nov23

It’s been a bit since I’ve done any running.    Really it hasn’t been long at all, but it feels like forever.   It will probably be another week or so until I lace up too.   Seeing as I’ve still got sutures and probably wouldn’t make it around the block, I see no rush anyway.   That being said, I think recovery is going pretty well.

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I’m still dealing with what appears to be low calcium levels which does cause me to get tingles in my hands, face, and sometimes feet, but nothing horrible.   This seems to be more so in the morning as night is when I go the longest without calcium supplements.   Hopefully, this is a temporary thing as it’s a little annoying.  Other than that, I would say things are looking pretty good.  Can’t really complain at all.   I’ve probably been getting more sleep than I’ve done in years.   Last night, I slept the entire night through.   Literally 8 hours straight.   I know.   Amazing stuff there!

I will say that although I’m not itching to lace up, I am thinking it.   I’m thinking about how much stamina I’m loosing while not running.   You know what they say, “if you don’t use it, your loose it.”   Seeing I didn’t have tons to loose to begin with I’m wondering how hard it’s going to be to get back out there.   I’ve purposely got nothing on the books to train for as I don’t want to rush back into something.

So as I’m thinking about these things, I sit down and open Facebook and see a memory from 2 years ago today.

Philly Marathon

Philly Marathon

My first Marathon.

 Only 2 short years ago.   I remind myself how far I’ve come.   That the impossible becomes possible.   That with hard work and determination there is nothing that is out of my grasp.    This recovery is just a minor hiccup and there is only more adventures to come.

 

 

Still Going Strong

Nov20

As I said in my last blog post, I was having surgery.    For those not in the loop, I had to get my thyroid removed as it had 3 nodules.  One they couldn’t determine after a few tests weather it was good or bad.   The consencous then was that the whole thyroid should come out.

I’ll be honest as much as I knew this was the right thing to do, I was not thrilled with the prospect of surgery.   Really, who would be?  For me though it was not just the surgery but because I’m not a fan at all of having my neck touched. So the thought of having someone even a skilled surgeon cutting into my kneck freaked me out as I think it would anyone.

 In life though you do what you have to do  and this was something that I  had to do.   So off I went.

Have to say that everyone could not have been nicer at the hospital and made me feel so comfortable.    Anastisiologist came in and told me how he was going to give me something to take the edge off like the equivalent of a couple margaritas.   I must be a cheap date because literally the next thing I remember after that was waking up in the recovery room

I don’t remember much at first except flailing my arms saying, “I feel like I should be doing something.”   The nurses were probably thinking what a freak, but were so nice and just told me to relax and that I didn’t need to be doing anything.  So I because I really couldn’t do anything anyway passed right back out sleeping off the anasesia.

Then when I was waking up a little more like a normal person, I was chatting with one of the nurses.  Low and behold, she’s in my local chapter of Moms Run This Town!!!  Small world!!  She mentioned her friend who added her and I know by name but have never met.   She was even saying how she runs the local trails and may run the January winter race.   Would love to meet her there to thank her for being so awesome.


So now I’m onto recovery.    Denial has always been my friend.  Ok, maybe not my friend but a great coping mechanism. This is a little more than I wanted to think, But in whole scheme of things it’s not that bad.  It could be so much worse and I’m on road to recovery.  I’ve really got nothing to complain about and am beyond lucky on so many levels.

So now I will say,  look away if you don’t want to see….

Not as bad as it could be and not as pretty as I had hoped.   Either way, it’s all good.  
Road to recovery continues and it actually looks worse than it feels now.   Just have to make sure to remind myself that I don’t need to be doing anything except worry about recovery.

Recovery, Recovery, and Recover Some More

Nov18

Yes, I know that I’ve been off the grid.   I’ll be off for a little longer too.

I have only done two runs post marathon.   I will say that I felt really good on them.   Especially the 6 miles that I got to run on the trails.   Yeah for trails!   My happy place.    It was just what I needed too.

Training for a marathon is tough.   By the end, just about everyone I know is sick of not running but training – needing to run certain miles, needing to hit certain pace, and the time it takes.     Somehow though once the finish line is crossed, you realize not only how worth all that training was but that you would do it all over again!

nycm17

No questions.

Any day.

I, on my runners high, decided to put in for the Chicago marathon lottery just a few short days after running NY.    No not crazy.   Just on a runner’s high.  Besides I think the odd of me actually getting in our slim to non since I used up my lottery luck on Marine Corps Marathon.   That being said, it would be really cool to get in.

Now even on my runner’s high, I am not immune to how hard I pushed my body nor how much it needed a break.

So a break I took.

A break I am getting.

It doesn’t hurt that I’m having surgery today.   So I will be forced to take more of a break than I’ve probably taken in 3 years.

But I’ll be back….

Actually, I’m not going anywhere.   I’ll keep you posted.

Now What?

May19

Months of training, thought, and preparation.   Then in just over 7 hours it’s all over.

DG4

Now What?

Recovery, of course.

Many people and training plans thing that it all ends with the race, but it doesn’t.   There is more to recovery than sitting back and eating some bon bons.   Not that I had those, but I did treat myself to a chocolate fudge waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

waffles

Although, I don’t really think that had anything to do with recovery and was just a yummy celebratory treat.   Although, I can totally justify it as recovery:)  That being said, recovery is an important part of training.

Depending upon what app I look at my calorie burn during the ultra was over 4,000.    How many calories I burned the day really is not exact.   Some sources put it as high as 6,000 and others as low as 3,000.    All I know is that I burned a lot even with the eating of the peanut M&M and the guzzling of the soda at the aid stations. (soda is the best on a run like this!)    The funny thing though is that often after even a normal long run, I’m not hungry.   This is one of the reasons that I usually use a recover drink instead.   On the road, my choice is always a large Caramel Latte iced with whole milk.    I try to add a protein bar, banana or something else too.

Once I was done, running. I did do some stretches but really not much.   I did what I could as I needed to get on the road.   One thing that I totally understand but on the day of the race I thought added insult to injury is that once finished, I needed to make the LONG walk to my car carrying my bucket of supplies.   I’m guessing it added at least another mile.   I viewed this as an active cool down.

shower

Once I made it to my car, it was time to shower.   You know your a runner if using shower wipes and putting fresh deodorant on next to your car counts.   Hey, I had to do something because even I didn’t want to be in the car with me until I wiped some of the stench off.  I will say the best feeling was taking off my sneakers and socks and putting on some flip flops.   Then off to find a Dunkin Donuts.

Sitting in a car for over an hour really isn’t the best way to start recovery off, but until a magic carpet is invented that I can stretch out on this will have to do.   Besides, I came home to an empty house as my hubby had taken the boys out to dinner per my request.   I was able to soak in a hot bath and by the time I got out and big beautiful chicken taco salad was waiting for me.

Day one recovery is easy because you really are too sore to do much.   Day two, you feel a little better and think maybe.    I wisely took day two to get a massage.    The problem with recovery is that by day three you feel good and by day four you think I’m good as new.    But I’ve been burned by this feeling more than once.   I’m feeling good because I’m taking it easy.   Very easy.   I did meet a friend yesterday who is doing the Couch to 5K program.   I needed a walk and this was a great way to test the waters.   Felt good, but I was glad when it was time to walk again.   Tomorrow will be day five of recovery and I am set to go for a nice EASY 3 miles run.   My coach is the one who capitalized easy.

I will say that my family is eating very well during my recovery.   Since I’m not running for hours at a time, this does allow for other things and I’m not up for the bags of mulch yet:)

Bottom line is

We train hard.

We Run Hard.

We must respect that and allow ourselves time to recover.

To all things there is a season…

Ecclesiastes-3-1-700x467

What do you do during recovery when your not running?

 

Hitting the Ground with Both Feet Running….NOT!

Mar29

So after recovery from my NYC Half, the plan was to hit the ground with both feet running.  Get  right back to 50K training.  Recover went well and I was just about to get into the swing of things.   I knew what needed to be done and planned on doing it.   To the point that I knew that I wouldn’t be able to run my cut-down on Easter Sunday, so I wisely thought I would do it Saturday night.

I put all my blink on and was ready to go.    If only walking wasn’t so hard.   Before I even got to the end of my street, I twisted my ankle..    I twisted it good.   I thought this was one of those where you land wrong and just need to work it out.   So I went with it.   First mile I could still feel it.   Thought well maybe I just need to work it out a little more.   Second mile I was pushing the pace for my cut-down.   I was on target.    Then I picked it up slightly after the second mile and before I got to mile 3, I was swearing up a storm.   My ankle/foot was killing me.   This is when I realized that I should have turned around and gone back inside before my run even started.  It hurt so bad, I entertained the thought of calling my hubby to come pick me up.  I  didn’t want to get the look though.    You know the look like “well why are you running in the dark anyway?”    So I decided it wasn’t too bad and I slowed the pace down and worked my way home.

By the time I got home and showered, my ankle/foot was swollen.   A friend who saw my picture said it looked angry.   It certainly was behaving that way.    I had only hoped that running 5 miles on it didn’t make it worse.    And knowing how good veggies are for the body, I thought it prudent to put some on my foot before bed.

foot

Easter Morning comes and although less angry, it hurts more to walk on it.   Luckily I have an ace bandage that I put on it and plan on taking it as easy as possible.  Rest.  Ice. Heat.  I was also very thankful that I wasn’t hosting Easter dinner.   At my Mom’s I was questioned more than once about my running and my ankle.  It was pointed out that if I had a problem walking maybe I shouldn’t be running.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Anyway I am nearing the end of day two.   The ankle is still tender, but when I woke up this morning it felt so much better.   I was able to walk normally.   I still put the bandage on and rested it as much as I could which wasn’t a lot.  By the end of the day, I was ready to put my feet up as it was painful.   I tried jogging a few feet in my living room to test it out.   That was an emphatic NO GO.

So more rest.   Per my coach I am going to try to get some swimming in but no pushing off the walls and just dragging my feet.   More for the aerobic factor of it.  Maybe a little mental too.

All I know is this is NOT how I envisioned hitting the ground with both feet for my 50K training.   Although I know that I’ve already been in training doing several looong runs.   Today was supposed to be my second 18 miler which obviously didn’t happen.   I just know though that I need to go slow because the last thing I want to do is make it worse especially as I get further into my training.

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I’m thinking by the end of the week, I will be ok to run.   One day at a time.  I just don’t like this at all.   Not one bit.

Dawn of a New Era

Nov2

keep-calm-its-the-dawn-of-a-new-era

This is a strange time for me.   It’s something that I knew was coming, but I was in in too deep to think about it.    What is this big thing that I’ve got to learn to deal with now???

It is going to sound strange to many, but resonate with many too.

I’ve got to learn to readjust to having…..

nothing to train for.

I know, the horrors!

I’ve got nothing on the books for the next few months.    Part of me is happy to be able to relax a little, but a bigger part of me is like go register for some races!

What to do?

What to do?

This is a new one for me.

For now though, I really am going to enjoy the recovery time which is going surprisingly well.   Went for my second run today since the marathon.   Felt like a normal run which I think is amazing.   I don’t think I ran for 3 weeks after Philly.

I do think that I am going to go back and review my goals for this year.   I did not reach them all and I honestly don’t think that I will have time this year.

So I will step back.

Refocus

and

Just Keep moving forward

because that’s all you can do in life.

What are your plans?

Friday Five – 5 Ways to Recover

Oct30

Friday Five Link-up with

Eat, Pray, Run DC,   Mar on the Run, and You Signed Up for What?

For today’s theme,

5 Ways to recover from your Marathon

MCM5

Running a marathon is tough.

Obviously.

We spend literally months preparing for something that we hope we can finish in just a few hours with the fewer being the better.   Then the race is over and we are left wondering what to do now.   Well before we can decide on that, we need to recover from said marathon.    This really is an area most of us need to work on some.    So here is what I did this time and I think it’s been working out pretty goo.

  1.  Make sure to stretch afterwards.    Yes, we all want our metal and the festivities that go with it; but take some time to stretch too.   I, honestly, don’t stretch enough but do it throughout the festivities.  For example when I was waiting in line to purchase my Brooks finisher t-shirt, I stretched my calves.
  2. Go for a nice leisure walk the next day.  Take the dog.   Take a friend.  Walk for coffee, but just keep moving.   I know that you think you just want to sit, but I believe it’s better to move.
  3. Rest!   Yes, I know that I said to move, but you move some and then you rest some.  And I mean really rest.    You just put your body through a lot, so give it a break.   It needs time to recover, so take it easy.   Get extra sleep.  Curl up on the couch with that magazine you never had time to read during all your training.
  4. Get a massage and a good one!   I got the best and I do mean the best Sports massage which also included gentle stretching.  I’ve honestly never had one that incorporated the stretching into it, but I liked it.   I really, really liked it even if she had to tell me to relax in the beginning.  I really credit this with taking away so much of what was knotted up.
  5.   After a few days, go for a slow JOG.   I don’t mean run.   I mean jog!   No watch.   No pace.   Just move a little for a few miles.   Go with friends if possible and just enjoy the company.   If possible end said run with Dunkin Donuts coffee too!

What do you do to recover?

You Do What You Have to Do

Jun14

Running doesn’t come easy to me.   I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again as it’s the truth.   I, honestly, don’t know anyone that it comes easy to.   Yes, there are those athletes who are blessed with natural ability; but they still need to work for it.    Yesterday, I ran the Oakley Mini 10K which I will recap tomorrow.    Today is about Recovery.

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As I just said, running doesn’t come easy to me but for some crazy reason I really have developed a passion for it.   I could not imagine not running anymore.   It brings calmness to my life while at the same time giving me killer leg muscles.   Win. Win.  There is just something about putting on my running shoes and getting out the door that just makes things better.    So I take the good with the bad as the good out weighs the bad by a long shot.

Today I am recovering from yesterday’s hard run.   It’s not that I was running a crazy distance.   It was only a 10K and my training runs of late have been longer by miles.    The difference was that yesterday, I was pushing it.   Not as much as I would have liked, but there is a difference in running a training run and running a race.

Recovery began once the race was over with some stretches although I find that I do not stretch as much as I should after a race.   Then once home a nice shower with some foot scrub to ease the pains.   Followed by my water bottle massage and foam roller.   For some that is enough but due to my Plantar Fasciitis, I need to do a little more.   I tried to sleep in my foot splint to stretch out my foot, but half way through the night I had to take it off.   Then there was the morning stretching, ball rolling, and anti-inflammation cream.    This will be followed by more stretching, ball rolling, and foam rolling through out the day.   To be honest my foot is not as bad as it has been and I truly believe part of that is due to my new regime of taping my foot before each run.   So today I will do all these things, so that tomorrow I can go out for a nice long, slow training run.

It may seem like a lot.   It may seem stupid to some as I could really avoid this all if I stopped running.   To me though, this is the price that I pay for the ability to put on a pair of good running shoes and the joy that it brings me.

What do you do to keep running?

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Apr22

Tom Petty said it best.

Waiting is the Hardest Part.

 Patience

Patience has never been my strong suit.   Never.   Even as a child.   I was the kid who would find her Christmas presents.  Then carefully open them.   Peak inside and then even more carefully wrap them back up again.   My Mother didn’t know until I was an adult that I did such things.    What could she expect though when she just kept them in a corner of her room?  But as often, I digress.

I am trying to become a more patient  person.   Having Children does help a little.  Although, admittedly, they try it more than I would like.   As an adult though, you can no longer open things before they are ready.   There are times when there is no choice but to be patient.   Gardening is teaching me that.   It’s hard, but I’m learning that I need to have vision.   I planted what hopefully will be a beautiful flowering and full perennial garden.

Garden3 Garden

Patience.

But I want it now.

I must develop the

Vision to see what is not there.

Yet.

Garden2

Just because I planted in on Monday does not mean that it will be flowering by Tuesday.

I want it to, but that just isn’t the way life works.

Patience.

Life will teach it to you whether you want it to or not.   There really is no other choice.   Everything happens in it’s own time and as much as we want we can’t make some things happen any faster.

Patience.

My Plantar Fascitiis will teach me patience weather I want it to or not.   I would like to think that the Cortisone shot would make it all better and believe me it did make it better.   That being said it really is only a bandage.   Yes, I have been able to get out of bed the last two mornings without pain (yeah!).    Yes, I have been able to stand up without a shooting pain in my heel (yeah!).   But it’s not really over, I was reminded of that by mid afternoon when I felt some discomfort in my heel.

  Patience.

I must remember that just as it took a while for the pain to become part of my day, it is going to take some time for it to no longer be a part of it.

Patience.

Just like planting flowers requires consistent watering and weeding to grow, recovery will require consistent stretching and mindfulness of it.

Patience.

I will learn it.

I will master it.

I won’t like it, but what choice do I have.

As they say, the best things in life are worth waiting for.

Are you a patient person?

Patience.