Workouts Week of May 4

First and foremost, Happy Mother’s Day to all you mommas out there. I’m typing this up as my own little man naps, but so far we’ve had an awesome day, and I really hope you all get to spend some time with your little ones!

Anyway, here are my workouts for last week, my first week of trying to self-rehab my knee. Here’s how it’s going and how my knee is behaving.

Monday: I intended to go to the park we went to yesterday but I couldn’t find it on my own! I got lost, but found my way to a different and even more beautiful state park, James State Park. 1.94 miles, run and walk combo for 38 minutes. (I am using the free C25K app from the Google Store in addition on Map my Run for distance.) Completed 2 rounds of Runner’s World’s Knee Strengthening exercises.

Tuesday: Arm workout from FitnessBlender.com

Wednesday: This time I kept it simple and went to a closer recreation park near my house since I knew I had to be up early and out the door with Ryan fed quick so I could get my run in as well as a Ryan nap before we left for my dad’s. Success! Ran/walked on a soccer field for 1.76 miles for 30 minutes. Did not complete strength exercises since I was running around during nap time and then at my dad’s all day. Life happens and I’m okay with that.

Thursday: Arm work out from FitnessBlender.com, Runner’s World’s Knee Strengthening exercises.

Friday: Run/walk at same park as Wednesday, 3.61 miles over 1:10. Turns out the stroll puts Ryan to sleep (it wasn’t very near nap time, but I guess too close for him to not be lulled to sleep.) so instead of waking him up, I just walked after my favorite path after I ran.

Saturday: Ryan was up super early so we went for a foggy walk while Alex slept in. We got in a gentle 1.7 miles in 28 minutes before I realized he was starting to fall asleep again, so we headed home quick to take a nap.

Sunday: Nothing structured, but a lot of walking around Space Farms with Alex and the baby as a little Mother’s Day outing!

Knee update: So far, my knee feels good. *knockonwood* It definitely felt tight a few times, but after stretching or walking out the tightness went away. I also felt sore a bit for the first half of my workout on Friday which I attribute to doing the knee strengthening workout the day before. I think I need to stick to doing the knee workout AFTER my run the same day.

I’m thinking about buying one of the challenge packs from BeachBody to add into my workouts and/or supplement them. I’ve heard so much about Shakeology and even though I’m definitely not a shake for a meal person, this week I’ve been loving smoothies but they don’t keep me full, so I’m looking to add something to make it last a longer. Plus I’ve read a few articles of personal experience with Shakeology helping with eczema, which mine had been OUT.OF.CONTROL. So, I’m thinking about it. I’m thinking of maybe trying PIYO for the stretching/strength./flexibility aspects as well as the ease on my knees, but I’d like to hear your opinions!

Getting Back to Basics

When I first met my husband, I was a lot bigger. Like, 45 pounds bigger. Living with my then-boyfriend who doesn’t snack and eats pretty healthy made me lose weight. Just being around someone who led a healthy lifestyle made me unconsciously adopt one. I began to lose weight without trying, then started to try by consciously changing how I ate and saw food, and lost even more weight. Finally, I started running, which felt amazing and I kept losing weight until I was at my ideal weight. I was between 117 and 120 and felt amazing and confident. I ate pretty strict Monday through Friday and indulged with Alex on the weekends. I counted my calories on myfitnesspal, worked out, and made good choices.

I was at my ideal weight in July of 2012. In September of 2012 I over did it and I screwed up my knee. I have no idea what happened but it’s a pain that is inside my knee when I over work it, usually a throbbing dull pain, but if I keep going it can get sharp. I tried to recover, but between full-time school and almost full-time work, I barely had time for sleep much less doctor’s visits to figure out my issue. So I supplemented with a LOT of incline walking at the gym (I got a bit obsessive and would go for two hours before I went to work. Who was I?) and classes. I made it work. I graduated in May and started working full time. In July, one of the best things ever happened – we got Cooper!

Cooper was like having a newborn, but with energy. I was up all night with him, letting him out, taking him for a walk, dealing with teething, and playing with him. Alex works as a diesel mechanic and at the time had INSANE hours, so  when we got Cooper, we knew the late nights would be my job since running on no sleep could put his life at risk, literally. I stopped going to the gym. I needed that extra hour or two of sleep in order to safely drive to work and get my job done. I couldn’t go after work, because I had a 3 month old puppy waiting for me to let him out and we lived in the second floor of an apartment building, so no doggy door.

I gained 7 pounds by the end of September.

And then I found out I was pregnant. I started my pregnancy at around 127. I weighed about 170 when I gave birth to Ryan. (I’m a little embarrassed to even type that. Hello, ice cream, bagels and pasta.)

December after I gave birth, I weighed about 130, and currently hover around 125. Those last five pounds, man. They’re no joke. I’ve tried a few different things (30 Day Shred, which I like but can get super monotonous, Blogilates which I ADORE but her calendars are 60 minutes a day and momma ain’t got time for that, and Fitness Blender, which I’m really liking.) but nothing has made me feel the way I first felt when I started losing weight and running. I miss it. A lot. Running was one of the only things I have ever found where I can shut off my brain and just go. So I need to get back to it.

I plan on documenting my knee journey here, but here is a quick glimpse at my plan:

Couch to 5k: C25K is how I got into running in the first place and I think it’s a good way for me to get back into it. I have a real problem with going all in on things and then burning out, so this will (hopefully) stop me from charging through without thinking about overworking myself. The plan calls for 3 days of running/walking combos a week, so while I would love to be running 5 or 6 days a week again, this will keep me at a reasonable amount of run time.

Strength: The key to rehabbing most knee problems is to strengthen the muscles that support the knee, so this time around I’m making sure to get it in.

Monday: Day 1 Couch 2 5k, Runner’s World Knee Strength Workout
Tuesday: Arms and Abs. (I’ll be using either a Fitness Blender video or a combo of Blogilates videos)
Wednesday: Day 1 Couch 2 5k, Runner’s World Knee Strength Workout
Thursday: Arms and Abs.
Friday: Day 1 Couch 2 5k, Runner’s World Knee Strength Workout
Saturday: Some kind of yoga/stretch routine in the morning while Alex sleeps
Sunday: Off/active recovery with Alex

I need running back in my life and I’m more determined than ever to make this work. If I start feeling pain again, I will probably look into going to the doctor to get it looked at and maybe work with a PT, but all of that is hard with Ryan, so I’d like to work it out myself first.

Stay tuned for updates on how it’s going! On Sundays I plan on posting the previous weeks workouts and I’ll put a bit more about how the knee is holding up and how I’m feeling.

Have you ever had to over come an injury? What kept you motivated? Any tips for knee pain?