Week 1: The Last Comeback

I've been hashtagging #thelastcomeback for a while now, but I think it's official now. This is the first week of my last comeback from all these postpartum injuries and hopefully my last comeback ever. Lower leg injuries have plagued me my entire running career, but nothing like they have these last few years after having Maebel. There have been stretches of decent training in there, but fearful and also painful training that I just accepted as my new "normal" and wrongfully persisted through. My bad. Anyway, I've done everything under the sun to get injuries under control, and if you've followed me at all, you know that. The only thing I haven't done yet is something obvious to most runners is get orthotics. I never saw a podiatrist mostly because the first thing they usually tell you you need are orthotics and I just a. didn't think I should invest almost $600 in something I'm not guaranteed to need and b. my husband works in the footwear indurstry and has seen so many instances of peoples orthotics getting in the way because their foot just needed time to heal and once it did the orthotics actually were limiting. We decided after two visits to the podiatrist that it was necessary for me. I didn't know that feet have more than one arch. My husband knew but the forward arch is really hard to assess based on walking (whereas your other arches cause pronation or supination... anyway, long story short, because I'm sure I'll get all the science stuff wrong, my transverse arch is collapsed and somehow restricting my big toe which is definitely causing heel pain and highly likely it caused all the calf issues. I was scanned for custom carbon fiber orthotics to support my foot under the metatarsals, and hopefully everything will slowly resolve once I get them! Granted, theres still all the strength and maintenance stuff to be done, but I've been doing everything forEVER and feel like I can never even get back to zero, I'm so far in the hole. Hopefully these will get me to that clean slate space and then I know what to do from there.

The past weekor so I let myself wallow for a while and did essentially nothing except eat bad-for-my-health-but-good-for-my-soul food and this week I rallied. I see a light either way. If the Orthotics don't work I've decided to give it up for a bit and find another hobby for a while. I can't deal with the disappointment anymore so I'm relieved to know I've done everything I possibly can. Either result means that the searching for answers is over. Lets hope the answer allows me to keep running! Other wise these weeks of "the last comeback" will be really short!

Monday:
Cardio:5 min warm up on lateral machine, 7.26 Miles biking, 30ish minutes, 5 minute cool down rowing
Since joining the gym I feel human again. I wake up early and go to the gym 1.5 minutes from work and then get to it. I started using this bike that essentially is a video game. You pick a course and pick a pace, and then you try to beat the computer which has a pacer and then a bunch of riders a tiny bit faster or slower than your current pace to keep you motivated. All the courses are Fricken Hilly and I'm riding with some pretty high wattage. I can't remember what I averaged each day, but I can tell you I essentially raced all the time and the pacer is going at 150 watts. I usually fall really far behind in the beginning warming up and then when I reach the 10 minute mark I play catch up and then I see how far ahead I can get. I'm pouring sweat every day like a pig. Not sure the old people appreciate me.
Strength:
I lost a lot since my Peak Fitness days (and much prefer their weight room set up, but they are 20 minutes from work and so it's an extra 40-45 minutes to go there than this gym... plus this gym has a pool and babysitting which is better for our family needs)... I'm starting easy just to get acquainted with the set up etc. but hopefully I can get a dead lift PR or something if I'm not running for a while.
Single Leg RDL 3x6x65lbs
Single Leg over head press 3x6x20lbs
Squat 2x6x96, 1x6x105 (legs trashed from bike!)
RDL 3x6x95 (sad face, I was doing 150 at Peak!)
Single Leg hamstring pull down 3x6x15lb
Single Leg row 3x6x55lb
I'm planning to do a lot more single leg than anything else because running is all single leg, but it's easier to push myself on both feet since I still have a pretty big discrepancy with hip strength.

​Tuesday:
Cardio: 10.15 Miles 43:29, 159watts. This was a super hilly course and really hard especially since I'm adjusting to the bike... and the lifting.... and the early morning..... I'm barely sleeping. Normally I don't condone pushing hard with limited sleep but in this case I have to get my body on a different schedule so I'd like to be really tired at night so I can FALL THE FUCK TO SLEEP!
Strength:
Alternating Step Ups 3x10x20lbs each
Bulgarian Split Squat 3x6x30. Really hard on right side post bike. I need to close the gap here.
Push Ups 3x6-8. I suck ballz. I tried to focus on good form and I am just laughing at myself self talk: "you call yourself an athlete?!"... boom. roasted.
Jump, pull-up hold 3x15sec no clue what some of these things are really called... self talk: "is this real life?"
Band Drills: Lateral hip flexors 3x15.
Yeah, so I have done "everything" but not at the same time. Strength training hasn't been a strength lately. I can do shin exercises and toe-ups for days, but some of this stuff probably shouldn't have ever left the rotation.

In the afternoon I had more shockwave treatment. Bleeding money that I barely have right now.... but the most hopeful I’ve been

Wednesday:
7.8 Miles, Hilliest course ever, 34.12, fast track to bike racing burn out.
I am highly motivated by competition, and it makes the time go by way faster... but I literally am racing everyday and I am not efficient at this biking thing and my muscles are all sorts of tired from new or new in the last month type of stuff. I'm on fast track to burn-out so I need to steer this ship in another direction.
Strength:
Gobblet Squat 3x6x40 (trashed quads)
Single leg RDL 3x6x75
Triple Threat Adductor 3x15 each
Push ups 3x8 half on knees- tired AF DOMS DOMS DOMS
Band Drills
Calf Raises on Toe Pro 4x25 with 30 seconds rest.
Tired but feeling good about it. Good kind of tired. Also starving. My body is burning way more since I'm not as efficient as I am at running. My heartrate on the bike has been in the 140's-160's and running it's basically in the 125ish on easy (flat) days

Thusrday:
Today was the Mothers Day Breakfast so I didn't workout until much later at night over 30 hours of recovery. I didn't do straight cardio, instead I lifted with no breaks so that I could make it to yoga on time and use the weights as cardio. I set as much up as I could without being rude (not a lot of people in the gym, mostly classes at this time and there's so many things to choose from)
Strength:
Single Arm off center bench press 3x8x25
Gobblet Squat 3x8x55, 1x4x65
Single leg hamstring curl (3x8x20-25lb)
Single let knee drive 3x8x20-25
Single leg RDL 3x6x75
Bulgarian Split Squat 3x8x25 each
I crammed all this into 35-40 minutes and then did an hour yoga class. Plank pose... ugh... my arms... and sooo many "runners pose" where my quads were like "go to hell"... and I'm just in my happy place like "I missed you, healthy pain"... since I've been so obsessed with all the unhealthy pain for two years. It was nice to feel a painful sensation that was a sign of adaptation not injury.

Friday:
Cardio: 55:55 on the bike, 11.3 miles. NO race bike today. Just chillin. 
Strength: Since I spent more time on the bike and I lifted so quick and pretty hard only 12 hours prior, I just did the glute activation resistence band drills. Still a lot of work! I always try to fit in 6 strength exercises each session even if some of them are just simply monster walks. It all adds up! When I'm short on time I try to do exercises with minimal set up so the bands were perfect! Also I did the calf toe-pro stuff. 

Saturday:
Cardio: 35ish minutes with pick ups 5 warm up, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, minute pick ups with 1 minute in between. I turned resistance up to 10 and tried to keep RPM around 85-90. Killer. Followed up with 5x20 seconds on with RPM at about 125-130 and 20 second cool down. 5 minute backwards pedal and 10 minute walk on treadmill to cool down. 
Strength: More of the same with the glute band stuff. 

Today Matt came to the gym with me. We tried the girls in the Kids Korner for the first time to sort of test it out. So happy! They loved it! and I could see through the window when I walked on the treadmill. They were dancing and playing and it was really cute to see. Neither wanted to come home after so I think the gym membership was a really good idea for all! 

SUNDAY
Day of Rest.
I worked my ass off (literally) this week and don't want to burn myself out by starting off too hard. I'll take tomorrow off to prep for another week of early rising while I'm still adjusting. My Orthotics are going to take almost a month to be made and then I'll need to start training really slow. In the meantime i have three more shockwave treatments. My only running goal is really to be healthy, but I have sights on a BQ in September if all goes well.