Coping With A Running Injury

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Coco

I am now starting week three of not running. I know it’s not the end of the world, but it is not how I planned to spend my June! Since running is important to my sanity, I’ve had to come up with a plan for coping with a running injury.

Running Injury
1. Get a diagnosis. I hurt my foot hiking (so maybe it’s not technically a running injury, but it is keeping me from running!) and when it was still swollen and painful a week later, I went to the orthopedist. I needed to know whether it would be OK to push through the pain, or whether that could make things worse. Since I chipped a bone on the top of my foot, pushing through the pain is not what the doctor ordered! 

2. Do what you can. Coping with a running injury is all about doing what you can when you can. Borrowing from some of my favorite chapters of Carla and Ronnie’s book, I am being flexible so I can stay consistent, being determined instead of obsessed about not running, and seizing the opportunity to catch up on my cross-training. 

WYCWYC

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Basically, I can do anything that doesn’t hurt, which means cycling, most low-impact weight training exercises, and yoga. I am still exercising 6 days a week, just not running. Some days, I have to push away thoughts of “why bother?” but I know my body is benefiting from the change of pace. 

3. Maintain your routine. I have my alarm set for 4:40 or 5:00 am so I have time to walk Tiger Lilly and get my run/spin/workout in before work. I don’t need quite as much time for my injury-modified workouts, but I am still getting up early so I don’t get used to a different schedule. Plus, my body expects a workout in the morning, and a shower and coffee just don’t work as well to wake me up if I haven’t gotten some movement in too. 

4. Treat yourself. It was serendipitous that I got new tops for spinning class at the Athleta Sweatpink event the day before I hurt my foot, but having new outfits to wear for the fitness activity I still can enjoy makes it slightly less painful to not be running.    Yes, I do like the strappy peek-a-boo look!

I also treated my toes to a gentle pedicure–if they look better they will feel better, right?

5. Anticipate your recovery. Just like looking forward to a vacation can help me get through those last days of work, anticipating my recovery is keeping my spirits up. I’m not counting on being able to run at Fitbloggin’, but being forced to take June off will have me almost looking forward to running in the heat and humidity of July. 

Do you have any other tips for coping with an injury?

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Ultimate Coffee Date June 2015

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Coco

Welcome to the June 2015 edition of the Ultimate Coffee Date! Make sure you thank my co-hosts Deborah and Lynda, and stop by other blogs in the link up to say “Hi!” If you’re interested in more tips on how to get the most out of a blog link-up like this one, you should check out this post.

The Ultimate Coffee Date Link Up

(Use the code above to grab the Ultimate Coffee Date badge for your blog!)

If we were having coffee, I would ask if you’ve heard that this year we have the longest possible “summer” if you measure summer from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. That’s because Memorial Day fell on the earliest date possible for the last Monday in May, and Labor Day will fall on the latest date possible for the first Monday in September. I can’t help but wonder if my son knew that when he decided not to work this summer ….

If we were having coffee, I’d have to share my pictures from the local Sweat Pink event that Mar organized for us at the Athleta store in Georgetown. It was hectic getting into the city on Memorial Day weekend, but I’m so glad that so many local Sweat Pink bloggers were able to make it.

Sweat Pink Ambassadors at Athleta

Me, Erica @ MCM Mama; Alexis @ Flecks of Lex; Deborah @Confessions of a Mother Runner; Mar @ MarOnTheRun; Jenny @ Run Jenny Run; Kathryn @ From Dancing to Running; Cynthia @ You Signed Up For What?! (and her mini-me!) and Colleen @ Live Free and Run.

We had the store to ourselves for an hour of shopping, and then a full hour long yoga class led by Cathy from Yoga Del Sol. I’ve been slacking on yoga lately, even though it always feels so good when I do it. My arms were shaking during the chaturanga series, but my hips loved that Cathy include happy baby pose in the final sequence.

If we were having coffee, I would ask if you saw my Instagram pictures from my business trip to Hilton Head last week? (Follow me on Instagram here.) This will probably be my only trip to the beach this year, so I made sure to get up in time to catch the sunrise.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Watch the whole slideshow (6 pictures) for the sunrise sequence.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I am trying to stay positive about recovering from my hiking mishap on Memorial Day weekend. It was frustrating not being able to run on National Running Day (did you see the National Running Day survey link up?), but I’ve done my best to stay motivated with indoor cycling and my strength workouts. 

             

This was from last Thursday–but the swelling is still going up and down.

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Are you going to the beach this summer?

What is your favorite yoga pose?

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Hiking The Billy Goat Trail 

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Coco

We are going to the Grand Canyon later this summer, so we have planned some local hikes to break in our hiking gear and make sure our hiking muscles are in shape. Our favorite local hiking trail is the Billy Goat Trail, at Great Falls Maryland National Park.

Billy Goat Trail
The gear I tested out on our hike included my new top and shorts from Athleta, my hiking shoes from REI, and my Nathan hydration pack. Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness | 19 Comments

Celebrating National Running Day

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Coco

Did you know that today is National Running Day? I usually hear about these “special” days too late to celebrate, but this year my fellow Sweat Pink Ambassador Kristin at Jonesin’ For A Run organized a National Running Day interview link up that I am excited to join. 

National Running Day
1. Why do you run? I run because I am a runner. I first realized this when I was in Portland for Fitbloggin’ 13 and was excited to get up early and go for a run before the conference events started, even though I’d arrived after midnight the night before after a long day of work, flight delays, and travelling across the country. When I wake up in the morning, my heart just wants to run! Continue reading →

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Bike for Beer

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Coco

Back in the day before I had any interest in fitness (yes, there was such a time!) my husband and his friends used to “bike for beer” and visit brew pubs off the Washington & Old Dominion trail. Since I started riding with my husband, we noticed a sign for West Ox Brewery near mile marker 25, but never stopped there until last weekend. 

Old Ox Brewery

My husband might be carrying a 6-pack back home …. 

We usually start our ride in Vienna, about 12 miles away, so while stopping for a beer usually sounds good, it doesn’t usually sound like a good idea. But last weekend I wanted a change of scenery, so we ended up starting our ride near mile marker 25, and riding out past Leesburg.

  
It was a lovely route with bucolic scenery.

We stopped to look at Luck Stone Quarry 

This was our turn-around point, somewhere between Leesburg and Purcellville.

When we got back to Old Ox Brewery we were surprised at how nice it was. They welcome cyclists with a bike rack, clean bathrooms, and a self-service water cooler.

We shared a flight of beer–I think we earned it with this elevation profile!
–and then cruised the last mile back to our car.

Dulles-Leesburg Bike For Beer

I really want to make it to the end of the Washington Old Dominion trail, so I’m sure we’ll be doing this ride again.

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Have you found a fun place to stop on a long run or ride?

Time is running out to shop my Stella + Dot trunk show and support the American Heart Association! Learn more here. Click here to shop!  

I hope to see you at the Ultimate Coffee Date Link Up on Saturday! Learn more here.

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , | 25 Comments