Roundups
…went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
And this little piggy is broken. š
Here’s to healing quickly? (And concocting a much better story than kicking it on an ottoman while getting up to see if it was raining…) Accepting submissions…
So other things:
I’m pretty sure my son is over his food allergies. I mean, he at least is overtly, but I’m constantly wondering what’s going on inside his little body and if I’m causing damage by the things I’m feeding him.
On a related note, my stomach is now in a constant state of turmoil. Perhaps it’s just not used to eating so many different things, or did I have underlying issues with those foods too?
I donāt know the answer to that, but I sure do know I unleashed a beast when I sampled a cracker with spicy peach perserves and goat cheese at Whole Foods the other day. Mmm goat cheese. How I’ve missed thee. Now I want all the things made with goat cheese.
Anyways. While I’ve been slacking on overrated tasks like cooking decent meals, keeping the house clean, reading things with actual paragraphs (and no pictures), and blogging in this here space, I have been keeping up on Babble.
Here’s what’s up this month so far:
15 Signs You’re a Health Junkie (several of you helped with this, so thanks!)
11 ways to prevent sunburn…with food
Red meat & 9 other foods to stop avoiding
Who’s responsible for obesity?
Healthier school snacks- finally!
Running
I was pleasantly surprised when I hit the pavement a few weeks after my son was born. My knee didnāt hurt and things didnāt feel that different. I took things painfully slow- alternating walking and running, being uber diligent not to overdo things.
While things were ok at first, it quickly became clear that I wasnāt going to be able to give myself the consistency I needed in order to train properly. As we reached the peak of the no-sleep debacle, I just didnāt have it in me to get out there and run on a consistent basis- slowly cutting down the walking intervals and gradually building mileage. I definitely didnāt have the time the dedication to commit to my rehab exercises in the manner I needed to in order to see progress. You donāt build muscle or gain strength by haphazardly doing a few PT exercises every few days. So after awhile I sort of subconsciously through in the towel.
Once the baby started sleeping {halleluiah} I started to get some of my energy back. Before long I was itching to get back out there, but the lack of sleep and breastfeeding had taken itās toll on me. Even with a good warm-up, five steps into a run I was limping in pain. While I was angry and frustrated to still be dealing with this old nagging injury, I knew what the problem was this time- I had {and have} zero muscle.
Forget muscle imbalances ā a leading cause of injury ā I had a serious case of muscle wasting. Lack of sleep destroys you, both mentally and physically. Add to that the physical burden of breastfeeding and I was a lost cause. I love nursing my son and I think itās the best choice for him, but it requires a TON of calories. Even when I stuff my face, I can barely keep up with the demand. There are no extra calories left for me to build muscle, gain weight, or fuel a run.
Even though Iād love to just lace up my neon shoes and dart out for a run, itās a back-to-basics approach for me. Instead of waiting for injury to knock me on my butt, I started where I left off last time around- with my beloved chiropractor. Heās a sports-focused chiropractor specializing in Active Release Technique. Heās an athlete himself and I knew from my past experience with him that he could help get me off on the right foot {pun intended}.
Turns out it may not really be my IT band thatās the culprit. Over the course of the month he gave me a whole boatload of new exercises to target my weaknesses, kneaded out some of the kinks in my leg, and helped me work on my running form and cadence {again}.
Now itās up to me to be a good patient and find the dedication to truly focus on the rehab and rebuilding my strength. Committing to the rebuilding phase is what will get my back on my feet, running like I long to be. I canāt wait for the physical and mental relief a nice long run brings. 
Running
Over the last few years, running has been a complete roller coaster ride for me. I reluctantly quit running 4 years ago when the pain in my feet got in the way, but it wasnāt long before I was once again lacing up my sneakers. Itās still one of my prouder accomplishments. But running through the pain in my feet caused me to change my stride and I ended up injuring my knee a year and a half later. Iāve been struggling with that nagging injury ever since. Iāve been through just about everything: saw an orthopedist, did physical therapy, went through rehab with a sports chiropractor. I rested, I strengthened, I stretched- I never healed.
I stopped focusing on my knee during pregnancy, knowing I could just be asking for more trouble since your tendons and ligaments go through enough changes while pregnant. I stayed active and maintained {maybe even improved?} my strength. But I didnāt run.
Within a few weeks after giving birth {which was a year ago today!!}, I was hitting the pavement once again. Although every muscle fiber in my body wanted to all out sprint for 10 miles, Iām no idiot. I started by walking, then slowly adding in 1 minute intervals of jogging. It wasnāt long before I realized my knee wasnāt ready for running yet.
Fast forward a few {ok, many} sleepless months later and I still wasnāt running. Iād lost my drive for the proper rehab my knee needed in order to be in running shape again. While I desperately missed the relief running provided, I knew I just wasnāt up to the consistency and dedication that was necessary to build back the needed strength to support my knee.
Iām ready now though. Iāve already learned I like to have that nice little extra motivation though- a time, a speed, and distance to beat. Thatās not going to jive with my current plan though. I need to focus on building strength in my hips, hamstrings, glutes, and core. I donāt need to go far or be fast, but Iām still itching for a way to gage my intensity. Something to push me a little harder when I donāt necessarily feel like it.
Itās ironic Iām a numbers person when it comes to running, seeing as Iāve never running with a Garmin or GPS or anything electronic aside from an iPod. Since I canāt log miles or pace or speed, I turned to something else: heart rate.
Sounds really boring right? Well itās kind of cool to see my heart rate spike as I pick up the pace during intervals, then watch how fast {or not fast} it drops as I recover. Iām big into strength training anyway, but watching the numbers on the heart rate monitor spike as I go through a circuit helps me keep the intensity up. Goodness knows getting as much bang for my buck any time I can squeeze a workout in is priceless.
Iāve been using the Polar FT40 heart rate monitor that I got from FitFluential to track my progress. This model automatically tells you what āzoneā you are in: fat burning or fitness. Fat burning occurs at a lower intensity, while cranking it up a notch pushes you into fitness improvement territory. Thatās what Iām going for. I really donāt need to be burning fat right now, but improving my fitness is definitely a goal. Itās fun to see how little things like a fast-paced stroller walk or big things like a high intensity bootcamp strength circuit add up.
The FT40 shows how many calories you burn during your workout by using your weight and heart rate, which is much MUCH more accurate than the haphazard guess a treadmill or elliptical will spit out at you. Iām not one for counting calories, but a bonus of this feature is helping you figure out how to properly refuel. Protein is a great tool for muscle recovery, but you also need enough calories post workout to ensure youāre building muscle and not burning it away. On the flip side, sometimes you overestimate how many calories you burn during a workout and you eat away all your hard work.
I usually think of these type of watches and monitors as big and bulky, but I was pleasantly surprised with the size of the FT40 watch when I opened the box. Itās extremely comfortable and perfectly sized for any size wrist. The heart rate monitor also comes with a chest strap that you wear just above your ribcage. Electrodes in the strap are what measure your heart rate. Itās made of a comfortable material, although I get a little chill every time I put it on- the electrodes need to be wet to transmit a current. Although the strap is adjustable, I find it a little big unless I can get it tucked well under my sports bra.
A heart rate monitor is a great tool for beginners as well as avid athletes- by truly ārecoveringā on your rest days and pushing it on high intensity days, you can make your training much more efficient and worthwhile.
Iāve only been using heart rate as a tool for my workouts for a couple weeks, but so far Iām digging it. Iāll give you an update in another couple weeks to see what I think then. 
Have you ever used a heart rate monitor for training?
Note: I received this Polar FT40 heart rate monitor through a campaign with FitFluential. Pretty cool, huh? All opinions are my own of course!
Running
Every once in awhile the stars align. As soon as the baby eats and there’s someone to take over the duties of upright-baby-holder-{reflux}/baby-cry-stopper/baby-putter-to-sleeper, I can get outside for the most glorious event in the world.
A run.
There’s always laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, showers to be taken and work to be done, but when the aforementioned events occur about once every 2 weeks, you take advantage of them.
The year before I got pregnant I injured my knee doing what I loved to do: running. After a year of rehab, I was just starting to be able to get back into running when I found out I was expecting. Although I’d always pictured myself running while pregnant, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t think twice about trading my runs for walks.
Pregnancy is notorious for messing with your joints and ligaments and I’d heard horror stories about what pregnancy can potentially do to your IT band. There was no way I was adding fuel to the fire that was my injury- I’d rather hang up my running shoes for another 9 or so months rather than risk permanent injury.
My entire pregnancy was loaded with statements like “if I can run again” and āweāll see if I can runā. I questioned and wondered and hoped that my knee would make it through and I could pick up running again. I did what I could to keep my knee in good shape while I was on a running hiatus- squats, lunges, foam rolling, and stretching.
And now its time to see what will happen this time around as I lace up my sneakers and hit the pavement for the first time in almost a year.
Training
I was so anxious to get back on a wakeboard after taking a year off for my bum knee that I didnāt stop to think about the consequences of a somewhat dangerous sport. I know, stopping, thinking, consequences- boring stuff.
Iām sure I would have done it anyways, but now, two weeks before my big bike ride, Iām sitting here with a sprained ankle. All because I was a liiiitle reckless wakeboarding in too-rough waters.
Although my ankle is mostly healed now, and I believe it will be fine in time for the ride, itās definitely put a kink in myĀ century training plan. {Walking doesnāt bother it too much, but pointing my foot or turning it sideways is almost always a mistake.}
What started out looking like this:
Now looks a little more like a couple of 8-10 mile rides here and there.
For now Iām doing a some awkward looking one-legged trainer rides, although Iām not sure thatās helping any. As soon as vacationās over, itās back on the trails.
And by the way, Iām not scared of my bike any more. Actually, as soon as I got on and went for a ride or two, I laughed at my own ridiculousness.
Really the only thing that bothers is me is finding a safe place to ride with an appropriate road-bike surface. Still working on that oneā¦
