That's right skiing and running happened in the same week! Who would have thought? Yes I'm sore! This has never happened at the same time! This is going in my Milestones document. I didn't even realize, I guess I have a good explanation to be sore!
RUNNING: I've completed 5 full weeks of running now (since the big toe joint mystery). At the moment I'm up to 1:24 min of running / 2 min walking, repeat 9x. I started at only 30 seconds of running (10x) just 5 weeks ago. Now the tricky part, the part I have not done so well in the past. Increasing my running interval times. My husband suggested Increase like 3-5% each running day, for each interval. So I did the math, I'm going with a 4% increase every run day. In this particular week, that is only 3 extra seconds per interval. Originally I thought I'd increase maybe 15 seconds per interval on a weekly basis, but ultimately either plan still gets me to 5 minute intervals around the same time a few months from now. I'm going to trick my knee to 5 minutes! SKIING: I have done 2 flat ski tours already! The first tour of the season was already longer than any ski tour I did this March. I felt worked, but I wasn't hobbled. I didn't intend to go out that long, but I guess I was really fixated on a certain turn around point. The second tour I did with my husband. He planned a lovely, scenic, no turns tour that was right up my alley. The only problem was that it did have a good bit of climbing which was difficult cardio wise. It was a 4 hour long tour, and at the VERY end of the day to get back to the truck, I had to do some plowing to slow me down, on VERY tired legs, through VERY tight aspens. It was not a good recipe, probably should have scooted on my butt. I think that may have done me in. I have been in a week long flare up since and the run I did on Tuesday (that I majorly contemplated whether running was even a good idea) really added to the knee swelling. Oof. My advice to myself: Stay in the right gear, know when to turn around, don't let the outside fun derail you, time to get the rehab plan moving forward.
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I am getting close to two milestone dates: 1400th recovery day (December) and 4 years post op (February). Snow is already on the ground in my state, and we are getting a big snow storm today. I could be cross country skiing on dirt roads by this weekend! This will be the first yearly anniversary I will be able to ski - barring any more injuries. Same kind of skiing I did earlier this year, not downhill skiing. That big toe joint pain I had in September is still not totally resolved at the time of this post (mid November). My foot did allow me to hike 60 miles in a week during our annual October dessert trip, like just in time literally, the week prior it would not have worked. I didn't intend to hike so many miles, but it just happened and yes, my hip tendon was irritated by the end. So much beautiful desert to see, every bend was different. I had a really hard time making myself turn around! So far, I can do lunges and calf raises with minimal discomfort. It is getting better and I have finally resumed running (only 2 weeks in at the time of this post). It will resolve 100% eventually, whatever it was. I am just happy I have resumed running. Photo from our October trip. It was 80F all week, overnight lows in the 40s. Fantastic last summer hurrah. I had a good Skype session with my physical therapist last weekend. It had been about 5 months since we last Skyped, but there were email updates in there - usually me updating on my newest injury! Ugh. I just hadn't met the goal at hand to discuss the next plan, so I felt we wouldn't have much to talk about honestly. However, this time we discussed how I'm not able to run past 1 minute right now. I shared my month by month "good, bad, ugly" color chart I shared on here previously, which really demonstrates why my tendons are so deconditioned. Mainly my hip tendon is holding me up. I get a lot of residual pain in my lateral hip which really affects my sleep and sleep position. I had been taking a Tylenol PM to help me sleep. From my education, night pain plus pain the next day tells me I'm running too much, so I moved it to 30 seconds of running (8 reps). Not much change.
After Skyping with the PT, he wants to add more! I was a bit surprised! First we're going to add in 10 minutes of skipping 2x a week. This is to be done before my running, which is before my lift sessions. We need to train those tendons to be more spring-like and right now they aren't very springy (foot or hip). I can't skip for 10 min straight right now, so breaks are OK. After 3 weeks of this, we'll add on 5 more minutes. In another 3 weeks, we'll add on another 5, so that by New Year's I'll be up to 20 minutes of skipping 2x a week. After that we may add in a 3rd skipping day. I am running 3x a week. The other change was an external cue. I have been using a lot of internal cues such as land on my forefoot, keep my stance wide, try to keep a quick pace. In reality, it was going about 4.5mph and it was more a shuffle with my feet very low to the ground. Not a lot of knee drive. Instead he wants me to use the analogy "run like you stole something" or "run like you're being chased" which is going to involve a fast pace (over 180 cadence) and a lot more knee drive. This is about 6.6 mph for me right now. Low and behold, my hip pain is a little bit better! I haven't had to take any Tylenol PM at night since we've started this, and I've slept pretty well (but still staying off the hip). The pain has gone down a notch. So perhaps there was something to all of this! This is really a lung workout too, but after 3 weeks that should also improve as well. I definitely have some leg hangover, the good kind. The goal here is still (as has been for like 16 months now), get to 5 minutes of continuous running, 2 minutes of walking, repeat for 30-40 minutes. After that, I can begin agility/plyometrics. This stage is required before sports specific training. After that is real skiing! In reality, I've had TWO instances in the last 16 months where I've actively been trying to increase the time as in weekly time increases. TWO! Once last fall 2019, and once this July 2020. But first things first. Need to get my running capacity up! I am so determined to get over this year long hump! |
AuthorA 45 year old active female who tore her ACL in January 2017 (at the age of 40). Reconstructive surgery in February 2017 with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft. Archives
November 2022
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