Tag Archives: swimming

Green Positivity

{No, this is not a post about eco-friendly things or sustainability}

Greetings friends. How were your weekends? How was Monday?

My weekend was filled to the brim with fun activities, and while I was jealous of all the people who were racing—I have to say that this was a weekend for the books. St. Patrick’s Day, particularly, was highly enjoyable—mostly due to the effort put forth by my boyfriend who, while not Irish, is a big fan of any day devoted to beer and shenanigans.

We were traditional, we were green, we were festive. Allow me to share with you our dedication to this holiday…

Green pancakes!

In keeping with his new found affection for making pancakes, BF made the decision that Saturday’s batch would celebrate St. Patty’s as well. Unfortunately, the idea only came to him with two pancakes left to make. Thought that counts though!

Green smoothie!

I had to sneak some form of health into at least one part of the day 😉

Green people!

No pinching for us! This was also taken in a bar at 4 pm. We take these holidays seriously…also, BF’s shirt is highly entertaining, if you can read it.

Another St. Patty’s treat for the day…

Spring breakers break-ing for beer.

My sister and her boyfriend Grayson stopped by on their way to California for Spring Break to celebrate some green-filled festivities. It was wonderful to see them both, and I’m excited to see them AGAIN this Thursday for more adventures. More on that later. Thanks for coming, guys!

Green eats! Well, not really...but traditional!

So I’ve never done the whole “corned beef and cabbage” thing for St. Patty’s Day (in fact I never even had heard of it), but BF has and decided to introduce me to the tradition. It was also the first time we got to use our new crock pot, which obviously was an exciting endeavor. And, you can’t eat a traditional Irish meal without…

Guinness!

Survey says? Good choice Irish peeps! I’m not a huge red meat person, but this stuff was definitely good, and even the cabbage was to my liking. BF was quite proud of his work with this meal, and rightfully so!

Needless to say, St. Patty’s Day was a win in this household. Any holiday revolving around beer I can really get behind.

Also, because this post is already super picture-happy, this is how I spent my Friday night:

Hotel room? Robes? Wine? Check, check, and quadruple check!

When it comes to celebrating a birthday, no one does lavish quite like my lovely friend Kawika. Which is why he hosted a wine tasting in a super swanky hotel room in an even swankier downtown Seattle hotel. There were reds, there were whites, there was prosecco, and there was cake. A High School Musical 3 cake. Good times were had by all, although I think it would be hard to find someone who wouldn’t enjoy themselves in such a situation.

So, as you can see, a fun weekend indeed. However, there was one glaring absence from Saturday and Sunday: running.

If you’ve read this blog for more than just this post, you know that my weekend reports are normally overwhelmed with long-run talk. Many of you are probably happy for this new change of pace, and I don’t blame you. The fact is: bad knee=no long run. In fact, no running in general—because this bursitis took over my abilities to train, and condemned my activities to spinning and swimming. Both of which felt fantastic on my inflamed knee, and they are very bonafied cross-training activities.

However, when you are supposed to be peaking in training mileage and can’t run more than a few paces without knee pain, this set-back becomes more than discouraging. Which is why, yesterday, I went to see an orthopedic doc for some answers and solutions.

Truly, I was terrified for this appointment. I was going to post yesterday, but I was too afraid that talking about the upcoming doc visit would only heighten my nerves—so I held off until I had some answers. X-rays, lots of talking(by me), and a cortisone injection later—I am feeling an enormous amount of relief.

This appointment went just about as good as I could have hoped for. X-rays showed that nothing is wrong with my knee besides this bursitis/tendonitis—which was my biggest fear. A lot of the time, bursitis is caused by another injury such as a tendon or ligament tear—which would have sidelined me much longer. Luckily, this was not the case—and the doctor only had to yell at me about stretching more. Noted doc, no problem-o. And when he said, “I see no reason why I shouldn’t give you a cortisone injection to speed up the healing process,” I had to hide my excitement—because this is what I was secretly hoping for.

So, with this fancy medicine deflating the crap out of my knee and a little more rest time—I should be good to run (hopefully!) on Friday. So very relieved, and while I’m still wary, I’m feeling positive that I’ll be able to keep training aggressively until taper time.

Also, when I rolled up my pants to show Doc my knee, he took one look at my calves and said, “Wow, you are a runner, huh?”

I blushed.

So, generally, I’m feeling positive. I know I wasn’t totally expressive about my anxiety about this minor injury, but I was feeling very apprehensive for the fate of my Eugene Marathon dreams (ask BF, he will always vouch for my freak-out modes). The meds and the clear x-rays definitely lifted a weight off my shoulders, and I’m feeling ready to take on the rest of training. The time off also really made me anxious and excited to run, which is always refreshing.

Happy first day of spring! Race season has definitely started, and I’d like to offer a big congrats to everyone who’s either preparing, tapering, or recovering—you are a rock star!

And now…because who isn’t tired of hearing(reading) me talk…how was your St. Patrick’s Day? Weekend? Are you currently training for a spring race?

Swimming is Magic

5 Replies

I need to come out and say up front that I know I overreact, and I know my momentary hysterics of thinking I had a stress fracture was probably more exaggerated phantom pain than anything else.

BUT, there was pain there…and that’s part of why I need to offer up credit to the cross training gods and say…

Swimming is magic.

Before I was even hindered with the really bad shin splint on Sunday, I had planned on a long, leisurely swim for Monday. You see, swimming is an old favorite of mine—and the two of us have always gotten along well. Unfortunately, I’ve been neglecting the pool recently in favor of running and spinning, and my only excuse I can claim is laziness. It’s so lame really…but my only hesitation toward a pool workout stems from my aversion to getting in a suit and getting wet. It seems like so much more work than putting on regular workout clothes, and thus my poor goggles, cap, and swimsuit have been left alone in my pool bag from nearly a month.

I was very intentional about swimming on Monday for a few reasons, but mainly because I know how beneficial swimming is to my running, and subsequently my training. I think it was Lance Armstrong who said, “If you want to get stronger cardio-wise, go swim a mile in a pool.”

And you know, Lance is a little more credible than me.

A LITTLE.

It’s very true though. Swimming is positively incredible in terms of what it can do for your fitness. The practice of rhythmic breathing can make a substantial impact on your cardio shape in all other activities, and although swimming laps might seem easier than running—I would beg to differ. If you haven’t swam in a while, I challenge you to go and try swimming a mile; I think you’ll realize it’s a lot better of a workout than it’s given credit for. This is in large part due to the fact that swimming works every muscle in your body. No other activity can accomplish the all-around muscle activity that swimming does, and not only that—it’s all non impact. There’s a reason why people who have been injured in just about every sport are instructed to swim; it’s very easy on your body while still being a very quality workout.

Now, as I’ve said before—there was a time in my life when I had a big huge “running is the only decent workout” stick up my rear. And I admit, today I definitely would prefer running to anything else, however I will also vouch very favorably for cross training, particularly swimming.

Let’s back up to my former running life, when I was reckless and obsessive and demolished my hip.

(I know we’ve talked about this a lot recently, sorry about that.)

Because I decided to quite literally run myself into the ground, I had to accept a fate of cross training or no activity at all. Initially, right after I got hurt, even spinning and the elliptical were a bit too much for my bad hip. Enter, swimming.

I was never “a swimmer,” but I was a lifeguard for many years which means you need to at least be able to bust out a few laps. That said, as soon as I tried swimming with my bum hip, I realized something very quickly; not only could I do it, but it actually made my hip feelbetter.You see, I was so gimpy that I could barely walk—and I began to realize that the days I would swim were much easier to get through (in terms of walking around) than those when I didn’t. Also, when I was swimming it was the only time during the day where I couldn’t feel my injury.

Verdict from this experience?

Swimming=magic

Swimming helped me maintain my cardio shape well enough to jump back into running fairly seamlessly once I was recovered, and I credit swimming for mentally keeping me stable throughout my gimp-hood. There’s a very therapeutic element to swimming laps, and while the monotony can get a bit boring…I’ve found that I can do some of my best thinking while swimming: it’s forced silence that we rarely get to experience.

Oh I frankly can’t say enough, obviously.

I never can though, right?

Anyways, I just want to say that after my lovely 2 mile swim yesterday, I have reconfirmed my belief that swimming has real magical powers.

Remember the post where I decided that in my exercise love life, spinning was my mistress, yoga was the best friend, and running was my one true love? Right, well…if I could fit swimming into the mix, swimming would be the Gandalf. Or the Fairy Godmother, if you will. Yes, Fairy Godmother…I like that. While the other three all argue with each other, my Swimming Fairy Godmother is there to offer relief from the storm and quiet recovery.

And relief she offered.

I definitely was still feeling the shin splint all day yesterday, and even getting into the pool I was a little wary of any aggravation. While breast stroke proved to be a little tricky what with all the foot flexing, I found free style (my go-to stoke) to feel quite good and actually helpful. I ended the swim feeling great, and around 8 pm last night I realized…wait a minute, I can’t even feel the shin splint. Literally the entire day flexing my foot was painful, and just like that, all remnants of pain were zapped out of my leg.

Swimming! Magical Powers! I love my Fairy Godmother!

God I’m such a Disney kid. Sorry.

But for real…the proof gets better. This morning, still pain free, I decided to go along with my Tuesday morning run plan. I figured I would start, and if I felt any aggravations I would turn around and quit. And then all of a sudden…it was the end of my run, and I felt nothing. Nothing! And while it may have just been a seized shin splint that relaxed all at once, I’m giving the credit medal to my beautiful swimming friend.

Oh, and some credit should probably also be given to the fact that yesterday I worked FROM MY BED all day. I was horizontal for the vast majority of my work day (don’t judge…I was freezing and needed to be under my covers), and although I sort of felt like a slug when BF came home and I was literally in the same place he left me…it was worth it.

No more pain! And while I really super hope that this post hasn’t horribly jinxed me and my healthy body, I think it’s safe to end this with a resounding praise for swimming and its magical powers. And lying in bed all day.

Question: What activity do you think has magical powers? Anything goes! Frankly, I think that making chocolate cookies has a fairy-like effect as well.

My Yoga Secret and Friday Favorites

Leave a reply

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

Yes, a bit excessive, but isn’t that what the season’s about? Excessive spending, excessive cookies, excessive light displays? Whatever, I love it all. Well, not so much the spending, but giving gifts is wonderful and if that means a measly bank account then so be it.

If you haven’t gathered yet, I’m a nut about Christmas—and although I get sad when the actual day comes (indicating that the season is, sigh, over)—THIS year my Christmas celebrations are spread out all the way to December 30. So as far as I’m concerned, we’re just getting started!

This morning I paid some much needed attention to my arms in my leisurely, long workout. I feel like I pay so much exercise-related attention to my legs most of the time—because, you know, I’m a runner—therefore my arms get sad that they are merely used as banisters for my watch and iPod. Poor arms—fear not, I will give you some love!

Okay, done with the personification. But seriously, I did some serious arm work today—and I know I’ll be feeling it on my morning airport excursion tomorrow when I get to haul two heavy bags around with me because I refuse to pay to check a bag.

After a nice sweaty spin class, I did a weight circuit for my major arm muscles, including biceps, triceps, pectorals, and shoulders. I also threw in some ab work, because obviously:

1 sit-up=1 cookie.

Did you know that? It’s science.

Afterward, I made my way into the crowded pool for some quality lap swimming. I haven’t swam in a while, and a Spin’n’Swim day was necessary. Again, the arms were given proper attention, and I doubt that they will feel unacknowledged come tomorrow.

I’ve also managed to get my butt to yoga for the past THREE days in a row, which has been fantastic. I’ll let you in on a little secret about yoga and me—I really only go to the Level 1/Beginner classes. I’m decent at yoga thanks to some natural flexibility, however whenever I go to a more advanced class I find myself way too focused on being competitive and getting down on myself for not being able to do certain poses well.

I realize this negates the entire intention of yoga, but I know my crazy competitive self well enough to know that an hour of yoga, at least for me, is better spent when I can focus on staying present, breathing deeply, and getting the most out of the poses/stretches.

I love the peace and calm yoga gives me, which is my primary intention in going, however my secondary intention is to relieve my running muscles as much as possible with simpler poses that require less frustration and more “Ahhh.” Therefore, I stick to the more beginner classes, and luckily I have two instructors at my gym who I LOVE and they both teach classes that are technically beginner but still result in a meditative yet strengthening session.

Okay, enough about chaturangas and weight lifting. Let’s get to Friday Favorites!

1) Pintrest

I love pretty things.

If you have a Pintrest account, I really don’t need to say anything more—because I know you understand.

If you don’t have an account, I don’t know if I should encourage you to join or vehemently warn you against it.

This site is SO ADDICTING.

In a nutshell, it’s a collection of nicely categorized pictures from all around the internet— all of which are totally gorgeous. You can easily spend an hour gawking at all the lovely images of nature, home decor, craft ideas, food, and literally everything in life you can think of that’s wonderful. It’s almost a better time waster than TV, and seriously you can get hooked easily. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

2) Love Actually

I can watch this movie year round, but I make it a point to watch it as close to Christmas as possible. No matter the circumstances going on in my life, no matter my mood, this movie will always brighten me up.

Also, Colin Firth.

3) Soy Mistos

Runner's World + misto= good day

{Disclaimer: a misto is the Starbucks way of saying “cafe au lait”}

Thanks to my coworker Leanne, this has been my Starbucks drink of choice for nearly a year now, and I am still never sick of them.

I needed to pay some tribute to this lovely combination of brewed coffee, steamed milk, and cheaper-than-other-specialty-drinks cup of love that gets me through my days.

4) A Very Special Christmas

This classic Christmas CD is the holiday tune-age that I’ve been listening to before I even knew what Christmas was.

Wait, that never existed!

You get the point—this special CD has been heard in my home during the holidays for as long as I can remember. It has currently been saturating my need for Christmas music this past week, and whenever I hear that first familiar sound of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” I get all warm and tingly as I’m transported back to my eight-year-old self, hoping only for a pair of sparkly shoes and a Jasmine Barbie doll under the tree.

Actually, I really don’t feel like I’ve grown up much since then—sparkly shoes would still be awesome.

5) MY BUMPER STICKERS!

photo repeat...shameless

As I wrote in yesterday’s post, BF won the super duper boyfriend award by getting me these custom blog bumper stickers.

Kidding, he always gets that award! But does he…? 😉

Seriously though, I’m giddy about these.

Will they make my blog the most popular site since Lolcats? No, but it doesn’t matter.

Because although these will more than likely only adorn my own possessions and the cars of family members who ~~I will beg and plead to promote me~~ will lovingly slap them on their bumpers, they symbolize a great deal of support and encouragement from BF.

And I love that. In all honesty, this blog offers me an opportunity the write about the things that I love. If tons of people read it, awesome! But if no one does, it doesn’t really matter because I have this space for some solitary reflection and me-time. Sure, I’d love to have a lot of readers—but for now, I’m loving the daily chances to develop myself as a writer.

These bumper stickers can be daily reminders to me of the importance of support and encouragement, from the people I love and for myself—because truly, you are your most influential and important cheerleader.

I hope everyone has had a great end of their week, and you’re getting nestled into a sweets-and-liquor-filled holiday celebration! Have any favorites you’d like to share? Let’s hear ’em!

Friday Favorites II

Some Thoughts on Cross Training

4 Replies

Hi! How’re you? If the answer isn’t,”Hey! I’m awesome!” just remember…it’s Friday, there will soon be pie and green bean casserole in your belly, and Christmas music is socially acceptable in less than a week.

Don't even mess. This is Christmas music GOLD.

Can you tell where my brain is right now?

This morning was one of my favorite weekly workouts, Spin ‘n’ Swim. Really creative name I gave it there, huh? The combination is pretty self explanatory: It starts with a spin class with my favorite instructor Jeoff and then finishes with a steady pool workout. I like this combo for a few reasons, but mainly because it combines two different types of cardio and it offers some active relief from the pounding my muscles endure during running. Also, swimming is magical. In all aspects of the word. I didn’t always feel this way though…

I’m currently in my third running life. Running has lives similar to the way cats have lives, by the way. No, not really, but I do believe that our perspective, habits, and overall mentality about running can really change depending on where we are in our lives. With this said, I’ve currently be re-born into running three times, and I have to say I’m loving this third time around. I enjoy my runs more, I became a MARATHONER, and I feel like my relationship with running is at its best. Honeymoon style, nothing but love.

"Never mind the fact that I can no longer walk, I'm a marathoner!" Sorry PDX Marathon, obviously this is not my photo.

Part of the reason I feel so centered as a runner at this point in time is due, in large part, to cross training. I have been very conscious about keeping other activities interspersed in my running routine, and as a result, I don’t get burned out, I haven’t gotten injured(knock on your table please for me), and I’m much more balanced in terms of my physical fitness mentality. I used to be the kind of runner who stuck her nose up to any other kind of “exercise.” Seriously, I was a running brat who thought that the elliptical was for rehab patients and any workout less than a hard 9 miler wasn’t even worth it. Who was I?! A crazed running addict is what, and although I would still say I have the same affinity for a hard running workout, I drove myself into the ground with that mentality. Literally… I got hurt and was excommunicated from the running world for three months.

Lesson learned, something had to change.

I realize I’m rambling a bit, but I do have a point.

Cross training is not only beneficial, fun, and different, but it is necessary for maintaining a healthy and enjoyable running career. I credit the cross training I did alongside my marathon training for my finish time almost more so than my weekly long runs. Yes, I said it. Spinning helps develop speed, and it strengthens the muscles around your running muscles which ultimately improves runs. Spinning is also a great way to strengthen your cardio and get really sweaty (especially if you work with Jeoff) without the heavy impact of running. I could go on and on about spin—for anyone who loves to challenge themselves, listen to loud pump up tunes, and work out with a group, spin is awesome. I’m a lone wolf when it comes to exercise, and even I get a jolt of enthusiasm when I’m on a stationary bike with a bunch of other people. Jeoff also sings along to Lady Gaga and changes lyrics to encourage us even more: “YOU’RE on the edge of GLORY” C’mon, who doesn’t love that??

I’ll save some commentary on swimming for another time, however I want to highly encourage all runners to treat running like any other relationship. Without some TLC (cross training, yoga, and off-time) running can turn on you and your relationship becomes mundane, draining, and ultimately abusive. It sounds cheeky, however I speak from very personal experience when I say that running should not be taken for granted, and one of the keys to a lifelong relationship with this sport is to treat it and your body with respect.

That got serious there, isn’t it supposed to be Friday?

Clearly, this is a topic I care a lot about.

Another long post…what am I a new blogger or something? More pictures to come soon, I promise!

Now I’d love to know…what’s your favorite way to cross train??

Run Birdie Run

…because it's the only way to fly.