Physcial Therapy Update Part 2

Since my last Physical Therapy update, things with my hamstring have slowly continued to improve. Although the pain is not as high as it was just a few months ago, it's still slightly there and I'm still having difficulty running outside on hard ground.

However, I have hope!

My two month "medical" break from Orangetheory finished up this month and since I couldn't put it on break for another month, I have returned! Leading up to this return, (and with the help of my physical therapist), we discovered that although I couldn't run outside on hard ground, I COULD run on the treadmill without any additional pain!

So, I've been back to two classes and although they went ok, they were majorly modified to fit my body's capabilities. For example, I got the dates mixed up and assumed that Orange Everest (where you get the treadmill up to an incline of 15) was on Saturday instead of Friday. I ended up at Friday's class and while everyone else was pushing their inclines up to kingdom come, I was in my own little world on a 0.5% incline, just jogging away. I'm working up to a 1% incline, but for now a 0.5% incline is all the hamstring can handle.

On Monday's class, I didn't check the schedule ahead of time and somehow ended up in a class that included 23 minutes of rowing. I can't win for losing! Lots of rowing + hamstring = no go.

Thankfully my coach was super understanding and helped me to modify anything I couldn't do. So, after rowing about 2800 meters, my hamstring was starting to let me know it was bothered by all the rowing. Instead, I jumped on the treadmill to run for the remainder of class and ran an extra mile.

Although I left the class feeling great, my back seriously gave out on me that night (first time that's EVER happened) and it brought me to my knees with pain. I was able to limp through the night with it and sent out an SOS to my physical therapist when I got to work on Tuesday morning. She worked it out and thankfully all was well after that! I seriously feel for people who endure back pain all of the time! That was some of the worst!

Now, I've come down with some kind of cold or sickness and although I've tried to do everything in my power to baby it, I think it's starting to settle into my lungs. This is seriously bringing horrible flashbacks to the lung thing I contracted last year. My work boss so lovingly described it as "the great lung plague". Thanks, bud. I'm thinking an Urgent Care visit might be in order sometime today. *face palm

Anyway, I said all of that to say - my hamstring is on the mend. It's not there yet and I still have a good road of physical therapy ahead of me, but at least it's getting there. Now I just need to get over this sick hump and I think I'll be doing pretty darn good!

If you've followed along on my journey this long, thank you! I'm still planning on running the Two Course Challenge at Disney! Definitely crossing my fingers and hoping to come out on the other side, still standing!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Orangetheory Fitness Mayhem

Last week, Orangetheory's around the country hosted a Mayhem challenge where those who completed the official event received a hat and towel. Having missed out on most of hell week due to the great lung plague sickness, I knew I couldn't miss out on this one!

The basis of the challenge included six incredibly difficult classes over the course of a weeks time. Those who participated in four of those six classes completed the official challenge! The only twist to this challenge adventure is the fact that I'm a twice a week'er and not an unlimited monthly participant - however, since we are leaving for a cruise coming up here shortly, I knew it was my perfect opportunity to take those classes from my cruise week and push them to Mayhem week! With the stars aligning like that, how could I say no?

My first day to attend Mayhem was on Monday with a Bedlam workout and my favorite coach (the official challenge began on Sunday).  Honestly though, who am I kidding....I seriously love all of the coaches at our studio!!

Apparently the word bedlam means "crazy" and yes, this workout was crazy. Since it was my introduction to the Mayhem challenge, I wasn't sure what to expect. I loved this workout though, and it became one of my favorites of the week!

Tuesday's workout was another crazy one for the EPOCalypse! This was a triple partner workout and definitely my least favorite of the entire week. This workout resembled hell week the most (to me) because the only hell week class I attended was a partner workout and this one was very similar.

I decided to take a break on Wednesday to give my body a little rest period. This meme on instagram had me cracking up for sure because that's exactly how I felt!

Thursday's class was also known ans disturbance and this is the class I felt the absolute worst for. I didn't fuel properly during the day and literally had to stop mid-class for a gatorade. My heart rate also kept spiking into the orange/red zones for just the tiniest bit of exertion. This was definitely a warning flag for me and although I completed the class, I took it easier for the remainder of the time.

Friday's workout was by far my favorite of the entire week! I felt MUCH better on Friday morning and totally enjoyed this workout! Our coach told us that no one had made it off the rower on the final portion of the tread block in the 5 a.m. class, so I made it my mission to do so. Sadly, I didn't quite make it - I had about 200 m to row but I was definitely proud of the effort!

DONE!

I was so excited to complete my second official Orangetheory Fitness Challenge (the first being Marathon month)!

After class, I stopped by our local coffee shop for a cold brew which was delicious!

In all, I loved this challenge and the fact that I actually had the chance to participate made it so much more sweet! I seriously can't wait for the next one! :)

Have you ever participated in/completed an OTF challenge or challenge at your gym?

Journey To (2) PRs

The weekend before Easter was a signifiant one in my life. No, I didn't accomplish anything great in terms of the world's standards (like finding a cure for cancer or winning a Nobel Peace Prize), but something seemingly small to others yet incredibly significant to me took place. Somehow, someway, I managed to PR in both the 5K and 10K distance in the same weekend.

Why is this so significant, you might be asking? It is just a couple of PR's after all...

Well, it's significant to me for several reasons (hear me out here).

For starters, these PR's were both at least 4 to 5 years old. Those original PR's were obtained back in 2014 and 2015 when I was at the height of my personal running "career". I'd also managed to break 2 hours in the half marathon during that time frame. 

Then, time simply.....happened. I slacked off from running as much. I got pregnant and had a forced break from running. I had a baby. Childbirth took its toll on my body. I had a newborn. I had post-baby weight. You get the picture.

Something I've never shared here are the struggles I faced post-childbirth. I haven't opened up about  them because I was waiting on the right time to do so and I honestly didn't know how to talk about it. Having these recent PR's is a huge part of the "whole" picture and since this blog is a story of the every day struggles and victories in life, I am sharing it with you today. 

Without going into significant detail (as I'm sure you can put the picture together), things didn't just....well, go back into place like they should have after delivering Brayden. He was born in April of 2016.  By fall of 2016, I knew something wasn't right. I spoke with my OB who confirmed that something was indeed wrong but she reassured me that a LOT of women experience the same issues after childbirth. My problem revolved around the fact that my child was born posterior instead of anterior (meaning he was face up instead of face down). Thanks, son. Little known fact - only 4-10% of babies born vaginally are born posterior! Interesting!

Was there much I could do? Well, yes and no. My options to "help" things along (notice I didn't say "fix") were surgery (no thank you) or physical therapy by a specialist trained in pelvic floor issues. 

Also to complicate things is the fact that I'm a runner. Running puts pressure on the pelvic floor and can worsen the issues I was having if not properly treated. I was instructed specifically to not (ever) lift more than 50 pounds at a time or do crossfit. Period. 

Although the options to help these issues along are there, they are not a permanent fix and this is something I will deal with for the rest of my life. I'm also incredibly thankful that mine is not on the severe end of things!

So, in the spring of 2018, off I went to my second bout of physical therapy (the first being for IT Band issues way back in the day). Why did I wait so long? Honestly, I was scared. What did pelvic floor physical therapy entail? I had no clue and was beyond scared to find out. 

Much to my surprise, I had nothing to be scared of. My physical therapist was incredible, y'all. She seriously made me feel SO comfortable and helped correct the "whole" person, not just my one main issue. She taught me so much about proper form, alignment, breathing techniques, and stretching, all while treating my pelvic floor issues. In total, I spent two and a half months with my physical therapist and I know I made a life long friend because of it! 

Side note: If you ever have to go through pelvic floor physical therapy I'm here to tell you there's nothing to be scared of. After attempting to research online (without any luck because there's VERY little out there) and speaking with several PT friends, I was amazed at how easy it all was. Seriously. 

Around this time, our Orangetheory was about to open and I was super scared for that as well. Should I try it? How about the weight floor and lifting? Would I even be able to do it? Prior to joining, I spoke with several OTF friends who encouraged me to try it out and I'm so glad I did! One of the best parts about Orangetheory is the ability to work at your own pace and use weights to your own specifications aka - I can lift as much or as little as I need! 

Over time, I can tell that my post-childbirth issues have gotten better thanks to the information I learned from PT. This past fall, I saw my OB for my annual checkup and she again confirmed the way I was feeling - things had improved significantly. Her words were had she not known of my "issue" before, she wouldn't have even been able to tell that there was a problem at all!

I definitely call that a win-win for sure! 

Since that appointment, I've been able to dial the intensity up a bit in both running and Orangetheory while still being careful to not overdo it. I've noticed that my speed has also increased with better weight training at Orangetheory and weight loss thanks to the FASTer Way (more on that in another post). 

Prior to running the 5K two weekends ago, I didn't even check my previous PR. I just knew it wasn't a goal I could ever obtain again and honestly, I didn't even realize I achieved a PR until after we were leaving the race venue!

On the morning of the 10K, I did check my previous 10K PR and told Jason in the car that there was no way I could accomplish that one again. 

Imagine my complete and utter surprise that both PR's were obtained in one weekend, the 5K PR by 14 seconds and the 10K PR by 1 minute and 16 seconds! 

It's been a long and tough road getting back to this place again. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Our lives would not be what they are without the peaks and the valleys. Those tough patches we face are what make us stronger and those peaks all the more sweet!

If you've made it all the way through this, thank you for sticking with me. I love the running community and sharing in the struggles and accomplishments this journey can bring!

What's been the biggest struggle you've had to overcome as a runner?

Today, I'm also linking up with KookyRunner and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics!

Fitness Friday - 10/26

Happy Friday, friends! It's been a while since I've posted a dedicated "Fitness Friday" post, so here we go!

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K (Cancelled)
• Spooky Trail 10 Miler
  
• Cowboy Gallop 10K
  
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

This week has not been the best in terms of workouts for me, but I'm ok with that because I signed up to run a 10 mile trail run this weekend! More on that in a few...

Last week, I began coming down with some kind of sinus gunk. I never felt like I had a cold and I never ran fever, so I just assumed it was my sinuses. By the weekend, it had settled into my chest and I was coughing pretty bad. I made the decision to forgo my Saturday morning long run. We were also planning a trip to visit a couple of Louisiana plantation homes, so I figured a long day on my feet wouldn't help the situation.

On Monday morning, I needed to get in a workout, so I got up early and headed to Orangetheory for a Strength Day. It was a good workout and I felt great after I left.

By Wednesday, my cough wasn't getting any better and I already had an ENT appointment scheduled. After seeing my ENT, she confirmed that I had an upper respiratory infection and gave me a shot of steroids as well as an antibiotic. Great. Although I was planning a run that afternoon, I decided it would be in my body's best effort to sit that one out, too.

Since I can't sit still long (like at all), I decided to partake in my very first hell week workout on Thursday morning. It was a pretty intense but doable workout where you literally had zero downtime or rest time at all. It was also supposed to be a partner workout, but since I arrived a few minutes late and was the odd man out, I just kind of followed the group next to me and it all worked out!

Our coaches are all dressed up for the fun week, too! Mine was an inmate yesterday! 

Now it's Friday and I'm feeling a little bit better this morning, but I'm not sure what I'll do in terms of a workout today. Since I signed up for a trail run that is going to be held on Saturday morning, I might just take a short walk to get some fresh air today after work. I've never run trails before (except one time), so I'm nervous about what to expect. We were also informed that there will be no water stations along the trails, so I purchased a couple of flipbelt water bottles to use. Hopefully it will all work out ok. Yes, I'm incredibly unprepared for this, but it was a last minute decision and instead of running circles around my house for my scheduled 10 miles, I thought it would be nice to have a change of scenery!

This weekend is also our local university's homecoming, so I met up with my friend Jane for our traditional visit to the homecoming parade! We had so much fun and I loved that Brayden was old enough this year to understand what was going on! He loved it when I would pick him up so he could wave at the floats for candy! Picking the beads and candy up off of the ground was also another fun new discovery. It was just too cute!

Well, that's my week in a nutshell! I you have any trail run advice for me, I would appreciate it!

Friday Five

Happy Friday! It's so great to see another weekend, especially since most of last weekend was spent in bed for me, but more on that later.

We've had some fun things happening around here this week, so I thought I would share them in a Friday Five format!

#1-The Weather

Have you seen those memes going around about fall in the south? They say things like "oh yay it's fall - let's get out the pumpkin spice and scarves and boots...just kidding we live in the south, it's basically like summer but with lots of orange." Yeah, that's 100% life for real. Well, it began yesterday, but we've officially had our first cool snap of the season! When I walked outside yesterday morning, I was shocked to feel the cool breeze - the temps were in the 60's and it was glorious. Of course it warmed up to the mid 80's by the time the sun came out, but we won't discuss that.

Also, we might have made our first pot of gumbo last night! It was delicious!! Gumbo and cool weather are synonymous down here in southwest Louisiana!

#2-Superhero Commercial

On Monday afternoon, I met up with a group from our church to shoot a commercial for our church news segment. At the end of the month on the Sunday before Halloween, we always throw a big "Superhero Sunday" shindig where kids dress up as their favorite superhero (which could be anyone that you "look up" to) and it's always a fun time.

To promote this event, we made a commercial for our Sunday church news. They had me dress as Wonder Woman and I had to run all over the place which was lots of fun of course.

I can't wait to see how it turned out!

#3-Workouts

Sadly, I spent the entire weekend in bed due to a stomach virus and fever. I seriously felt the same way I did back in January when I was diagnosed with the flu...and the fatigue lingered for days. Yuck. Needless to say, I did not have a long run on Saturday and didn't really return to Orangetheory until Tuesday. Running around on Monday for the commercial was as much as I could stand, so I decided to wait until Tuesday to resume my workouts. Both Tuesday and Thursday workouts this week were great! I also plan on running a long run tomorrow morning in the (hopefully) cooler weather!

#4-Police

This week, the local PD visited Brayden's Mother's Day Out program where they had the chance to see an officer in uniform, check out their motorcycle with the lights on, and crawl through the backseat of their unit. I had my brother (who is also in law enforcement) send a picture of himself in uniform to me so I could show it to Brayden and make that "personal" connection to what these guys do. Brayden was a little hesitant with the officer presentation at first but once the MDO director told Brayden that this officer wears a uniform just like his Uncle Brian, he was ok!

He was so very proud of his little badge and hat! I love opportunities like this where they get to see professionals and hear what they do.

#5-Pumpkin Patch

It's that time of year again! Pumpkin patches are popping up everywhere and we've already visited one! Brayden had so much fun calling out the different colors of the pumpkins he saw and running throughout the patch! We even came home with a little pumpkin as a memory! :) Sadly, the memory card inside of my DSLR camera decided to corrupt and won't allow me to even see any of the pictures I took there (which just means we will have to go back for more). Thankfully, I have the pictures I took on my phone!

I'd say it's been a pretty great week so far! :) Have a great weekend!!

It's FRIDAY!

Link up with Running on Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup!

Fitness Friday - 9/28

What a week! After Friday night's Gleaux Run, I was worn smack out. My fitbit calculated about 8 miles for the evening and Saturday was spent catching up on rest. Let's see how the rest of the week went...

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K (Cancelled)
• Cowboy Gallop 10K
  
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

Sunday - Rest day
Monday - 4 mile run
Tuesday - Rest Day
Wednesday - Orangetheory ESP workout
Thursday - 3 mile walk with a friend
Friday - Orangetheory

Remember that cool front I was talking about that was supposed to hit this weekend? Yeah, well...it disappeared. Another front was coming through and pushed it out of the way. Sad times. It's like the groundhog in February, except it's as if we're going to have 8 more weeks of summer. Whomp whomp.

Anyway, I decided to hit the road on Monday for a 4 mile run after taking the weekend off to recuperate from Friday night's event. That time off was just what I needed and the run felt great!

See what I mean about the weather? UGH.

I felt great during this run and even managed to achieve negative splits! The first mile was a 9:20, the second was a 9:11, the third was 9:02, and the last was 8:49 - all of this was the result of a solo run (minus the Bob...and the 30 pound toddler)!

Wednesday's workout was a super difficult but great one as well! We had an ESP workout at Orangetheory and it seriously encompassed all areas of endurance, strength, and power.  For the last all out, I even managed a 30 second sprint that was a little higher from my norm. We also used power bands which killed my legs, but it was an overall amazing workout! I just love those!

I also got off of work early which means I arrived early and was the first one there. I thought it was hilarious to see my name by itself on the screen...naturally, I had to snap a picture! Nerd...yep.

Not fitness related at all, but super fun...our DVC kit arrived in the mail this week! Talk about magic mail at its finest! :)

Today, I'm headed back to Orangetheory for another session. I absolutely love working out first thing in the morning. Having a shower at the gym also helps, because I can go directly to work after the workout!

We don't have many plans this weekend and I'm 100% ok with that! I hope you all have a great one!