The Active Recovery Reality Check

Active recovery is my current reality, and I’m good with that.

It’s now been three weeks since the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon. While I have been a good girl, avoiding the running shoes, things are still not feeling fully recovered. This past week, I ventured back out for a couple of short runs, and I didn’t notice any change…for better or worse.

So, how did things play-out? In a word: satisfactory.

Before I dis on the deets, welcome to the Weekly Run Down!

I love hosting this link-up with Deborah (from Confessions of a Mother Runner)! If you write a fitness-based blog, you're invited to join the party. The link-up opens at 8:00AM (EST) on Sundays and remains open through noon on Monday. We love reading about everyone's weekly fitness endeavors, training highlights (or low lights) and race recaps. We ask that you link back to both hosts, and we encourage you to read/comment on the other linked blog as well...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)

Anyways, here’s what went down in my little world of continued recovery:

Sunday Fun Day…

Even with the “extra” hour (from the time change), I don’t think I gained any extra rest, LOL. I’d been up late and still was awake well before daylight. It was chilly outdoors, so I opted for some time on the elliptical (“five” miles) and did some upper-body strength work. The day did warm up, and the sunshine was beautiful. I was able to get out for some walking, on my own and with Max, before we lost daylight.

 Never miss a Monday

Still on sabbatical from running, I started the morning on the bike (five miles). As per usual, I walked over lunch and found the missing beard from a broken bracelet incident (see below), and got out for a post-workday walk under the (almost) full moon.

Tuesday- Taking things easy

Even with two weeks with no miles in the running shoes, I’ve still had some unwelcome stiffness in my hips (which makes me wonder if running was ever the culprit?). I opted for a full-body Barre class (Peloton), which was a fun variation incorporating upper-body resistance with most of the lower-body moves. I also knocked-out another lunchtime walk, then took Max around the block when I got home.

Then, since the moon was already up, and the daylight was already dwindling, I decided to just head back out and do my full moon run. There’s no time like the present, especially when the temps are perfect, right? As mentioned in my Friday post, this full moon run was part of a group effort in support of a friend (from my former town) who has been battling cancer. Tony has been my inspiration for full-moon-running, and he’d been doing them long before I started doing them myself. Obviously, I was a virtual participant, since I ran it a day early (and ran it in my own ‘hood), but the support and participation far exceeded any hopes or expectations. There were countless fellow runners, numerous friends, his students (past and present) as well as many athletes (past and present) that he’d coached from various schools. And, despite a recent major surgery, Tony was able to take part as well (albeit via walking shoes). But, his 7-year streak continues! 

Wednesday (#WhompWhomp)

Tuesday night’s run was a mere 2-miler, and things felt really good…until Wednesday morning arrived. Ugh, there was some stiffness. I hit the elliptical, for 3-ish miles, and felt much better afterwards. I also did my usual 2-mile walk over lunch, two more miles after getting home, and Max joined me for a lap around the block (title pic, above).

Thankful Thursday, indeed!

Deb and I joined forces in the early hours for some spinning, grinning and chatter. After 20 miles, I headed outside for the post-workout selfie (because who wants to see another bike selfie?)…and the full moon was still aglow. 

Pic collage courtesy of Deb

After parting ways, I hit the weights. Have I ever mentioned how much I love upper-body strength? I’ve been doing a lot of the 10-minute “light weights/high reps” workouts…but I use 8-pound weights instead of the recommended 5-pounders. Eight pound dumbbells typically aren't that heavy to me, but doing high reps (with no recovery between sets) really intensifies the burn.

Friday’s feature? More low-impact movement…

Nothing ground-breaking, fitness-wise, but the full moon was looking beautiful in the chilly morning temps. A quick pre-workday walk, and two more miles over the lunch hour. That’s all she wrote.

Long run Saturday? (Not exactly)

The forecast was looking very wet and very cold, but I was able to get out for a 2-mile run before any precipitation hit. I didn’t know how my hip would feel, so I had every intention of walking if things felt iffy…but all went well. I was tempted to run further, but resisted. Instead, I hit the spin bike for 15 miles, afterwards, and also did some strength work for the arms and shoulders. Amazingly, there was ZERO stiffness following, for the remainder of the day. Hmmm…

…and what’s happening on Sunday?

Well, the weather is looking cold and frosty. I might try to get out for a walk in the morning. Then again, maybe the bike will be calling, and I’ll save the outdoor antics until the afternoon. I’m totally not excited for this winter-like nonsense. Stay tuned.

So, it was another interesting week! The hip crankiness has been frustrating, but manageable. As mentioned, I’m wondering if it’s not running-related after all. The lack of running, these past three weeks,  hasn’t seemed to have much impact. That said, I’m not going to dive back in and resume my usual mileage. I’m gonna try to do intermittent short runs, and see how those go. Anyways, this week had two short runs, with a whopping four total miles. Biking saw 40 miles, and walking had 22. I’m going to slowly bring back some lower-body strength work, and try to discipline myself to do more focused mobility work. Maybe blogging about that will keep me accountable.  

In case you missed out, here’s what went down on the blog this week:

Recovery. Recovery. recovery.

There’s a Chill in the Air

In other news: 

Friday Fashion Flair. With a big weekend of college games happening, I simply had to don the Iowa Hawkeye team colors. The men’s basketball team won against Western Illinois Friday night! Despite a great effort, the football guys weren’t as successful against Oregon on Saturday (thanks to a Ducks’ field goal in the final seconds).

As part of my active recovery strategy, I’ve been going against my fashion savvy sense and wearing my running shoes for my lunchtime walks. Even when I was wearing my “street” shoes, I wasn’t walking exceptionally fast, but the extra support is probably a good idea for now. My bum toe will hopefully benefit as well. I just hope the fashion police don’t arrest me for violating the Fashion Before Function stipulation.

Last weekend, I was walking through the skywalk, en route to a hockey game. I was trying to slide off my puffer vest, and noticed my bracelet got caught and the wire snapped. Beads everywhere! I was able to retrieve most of the beads, but noticed one was missing when I laid everything out later. On a whim, I walked the same route on my Monday walk…and the missing bead was still there! Now, I just need to restring all the beads, on a much stronger wire, someday.

So, that’s the latest! The active recovery continues, and I’m keeping busy with plenty of other fitness options for the time being All is well, onward!

How did your first week of November play-out? Did the Arctic Blast hit your area? Any fitness highlights to share? Upcoming races? 

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