LSD on January 22nd left me with a giant blister on the inside of my big toe. Yep, between my toes! How the heck do you avoid rub there? My toe looked massive, this blister was like almost half the width of my regular big toe (or the Captain, as they say on Seinfeld). And boy did it HURT! It was weird because during the last hour-ish of our run, I felt just like there was something stuck in between my toes. Once I got my sock off, it became apparent what that was (blech!)
And not only was I left with the blister, I was left with a sore leg and knee from running on the uneven ground (snow and ice). The uneven terrain engaged all these little muscles that aren't trained for the endurance like my regular running muscles. Needless to say, I felt like a bit of a mess.
If I'm remembering correctly, I took Monday off (that's usually a spin day for me) and I skipped my Tuesday run to let my knee get back to normal and have my blister heal up. I didn't want to aggravate either one and have it get worse.
Monday, January 23rd (Happy 3rd birthday, Ashley!)
100% REST
Tuesday, January 24th
As previously stated, I skipped my run.
I had my first Fitness Theory class this night. EXCITING! This is the first step on my journey to helping others meet their health and wellness goals. More on that later though. This is supposed to be a quick post, remember?
After my tutoring session (I'm taking the class one one one...but seriously, Bron, shut up. Quick post! Quick post!), I rushed home, scarfed down dinner, took the dog out to stretch her legs and then met up with Bri at the gym.
We did some pretty heavy strength training. It felt great and was a decent substitution for running I guess...My knee was not feeling right and that combined with Mister Blister told me to take it easy on the impact factor.
Wednesday, January 25th
I hit the 6am spin class. My foot/knee felt fine. It was a good class, as usual.
I went out for a Greek feast with an out of town rep from work. It was a great dinner, and I had too much to drink (and eat!). I love Greek food, and we dined with the restaurant owner, so the wine and food just kept showing up at the table. Then dessert and Spanish coffees...mmmmmm.....I was passed out in bed by 9:30 and slept like a baby!
Thursday, January 26th
Back into my runners tonight for an easy 10KM. I have been wearing bandaids, gauze and medical tape to support Mister Blister all week. Tonight was no exception. He seems to be shrinking so I thought I might as well go for it, plus I start to go through running withdrawal after a few days. Oh and thinking about the endless calories I consumed the night before may have had something to do with my motivation. I needed my fix and the weather was good with no new snow. By the time it was all said and done and I got home to take my sock off, it was a little bit of a mess. It certainly could have been worse, but it definitely could have been better. I didn't think much of it, assuming it would heal up in the next few days in time for the weekend LSD.
At some point during the day, I thought it would be a great idea to go to hot yoga after my run. It didn't turn out to be such a great idea after all. I arrived at Hot Box Yoga studio already hot from running for just over an hour. I guzzled water, but starting a hot yoga class already heated up on the inside is NOT a good idea. Trust me....you think it's hot when you turn up cold? Try starting it already well warmed up. It was brutally hot, I felt like I was melting from the inside out. In retrospect (oh retrospect ...(sigh)... you and I have a love/hate relationship. I love you for the insight you provide, but I hate the unspoken 'I told you so' that always accompanies you), I should have hopped in the shower before class. Anyways, the practice that night was great, but it aggravated the already newly angered Mister Blister.
Friday, January 27th
I actually can't remember what I did this day. Fridays tend to be a bit of a blur because I don't have a set routine.
Saturday, January 28th
Mister blister continues his spiteful tirade, so I opted to move my LSD to Sunday.
Sunday, January 29th
Mister Blister was well packaged in a couple of different bandages. I put moleskin around my 2nd toe to hopefully stop any rubbing from the bandaging/medical tape around my big toe. Earlier in the week, I had spent like $15 or something ridiculous on first aid supplies for this damn thing. After waiting around for my Garmin to charge, because it mysteriously had a low battery (after it had charged ALL DAY on Saturday), I set out for my 12 miles. 9 miles at LSD pace and the last 3 at LSD+ (which is LSD with 30 seconds shaved off each mile pace). My LSD pace is 11:40-12:40 min mile according to McMillan tables, so LSD+ is 11:10-12:10, although I typically keep a pace of about 11:15 on LSD runs. {note to self, re-calc McMillan's at a later date}. This was a long frikkin run. I'm not going to lie. Shannon is out of town for a couple weeks, so I ran this one solo. Just me, my iPod and Mister Blister (that bugger!).
My foot hurt for the whole run, which was a total of 2 1/2 hours. There was ice, slush, snow and mercifully, some bare pavement. I wore my spikes on my shoes and incorporated varied terrain, flats, hills etc.
By the time I got home, I thought I was going to take my runner off to discover a blood soaked sock, that's how badly my foot was hurting. There was no blood, but Mister Blister was now bigger than ever. He has now taken over half of my toe (side and bottom) and was so very painful. Speaking of pain, my legs were also jarred from the hell I had just put myself through. I figure that I was compensating for my sore foot and my gait was off. That combined with trying to run in the snow, hopping puddles and avoiding slush left me a hurtin' unit. I took a hot Epsom's salt bath on Sunday night after I layed around on the couch for the afternoon.
Monday, January 30th
I awoke to a great deal of pain in my left leg. I could barely hobble down the stairs to make coffee. My knee was really hurting and my whole left leg was stiff. So here I am trying to limp to favour my left leg, but Mister Blister will not allow me to forget him. He resides on the right...so trying to limp to take pressure off my left leg on a foot that won't allow any weight to be put on it without excruciating pain proved to be pretty challenging. Now keep in mind, he's so big at this point, it's like I have an extra toe in between the Captain and the First Mate (aka big toe and second toe). Except he's not durable like a toe...he's a big puffy piece of delicate skin filled to the brim with liquid. Yes, I realize I'm not painting a pretty picture and trust me, it's worse than you can mentally envision. I lived it....it was disgusting.
I could not wear normal shoes, I sat in my office barefoot to give him air to hopefully help him to dry out or something (ANYTHING!) that might help. I had to wear UGGs to work with dress pants. I felt like a schmo. I tried to hide in my office most of the day.
Needless to say....100% rest day!
Tuesday, January 31st
I still have a freakshow for a right foot. My left leg is feeling better, but now the right one is messed up. OY! I decide at this point, I'm not running tonight (obviously!) or Thursday. I need to get better...I've never had an injury and I didn't want to start now. Still not in normal shoes.
Wednesday, February 1st
Rest day #3. I'm now feeling a little squirelly. I usually find some sort of fitness activity 6 days a week, so 3 days in a row of nothing (barely even walking, for obvious reasons) is getting to me. Mister Blister is now taking some abuse with a sterilized needle. He needed to be punished. Normal shoes that actually go with my outfit have now become a distant memory.
Thursday, February 2nd
That's it, I'm done with this rest thing. I can't take it anymore! I went to 4X4 spin class in the evening. WOW! What a GREAT class. It was super hard, but it felt so good to push myself and get out of my comfort zone. The instructor was outstanding. My foot did ok...it hurt a little so I just eased it out of the pedal harness (or whatever it's called) a little so it wasn't pressing against my toe.
Friday, February 3rd
I decided to go back to hot yoga. I picked up a girlfriend at 5:30 in the morning and we went to the 6am class at the Hot Box. It was a great class and renewed my sentiments about hot yoga and liking the heat. Not like the last one (never to be spoken of again). Mister Blister held up alright and I was back in normal footwear today for work! WOOT! Shoes are important to me, so this was a major victory for me.
Me: 1 Mister Blister: 0
(that's just today...if you look at a cumulative score, I'm really on the losing end at this point, but the past is the past and we need to look forward people!)
I have now decided that I'm not doing my long run this weekend...this was a very difficult decision to make since the long runs are VERY important. But I have a half marathon next weekend. That takes priority and I need to be able to get that done. It is such a weird feeling not planning for a long run...like I feel a void. Almost like I'm forgetting something really important.
Saturday, February 4th (Happy Birthday, Raina!)
After preparing some delicious cupcakes for game night @ Marci's, I head off to the gym. I picked up Bri and we arrive at the Y. I'm full of energy from 3 days off and not having run all week. Bri is in ass kick mode too. She's in wedding planning mode with only 7 months to go, she's thinking about wearing that dress I'm sure. So we climb aboard the pain train.
We spent 2 hours lifting, crunching, kicking, squatting, lunging etc. We lifted some HEAVY weights. I may blog the workout details later, but time is still a concern as I type this. We left with fatigued muscles and feeling proud of our efforts.
Sunday, February 5th
I'm SORE from yesterday's workout. I made 9am yoga at Lululemon and am so very glad that I did.
Training Summary:
Jan 23rd-29th
1 hour fitness theory (ya, I know this isn't marathon training, but it's HUGE for me and I want to include this in my journey)
1 hour studying for fitness theory (on my lunch hour at work)
Total Mileage: 18.2 miles/29km
Spin: 50 mins
Yoga: 1 hour
Resistance Training: 1 hour
Jan 30th-Feb 5th
1 hour studying for fitness theory (on my lunch hour at work) - next class is February 6th (Happy Birthday Axl!)
Total Mileage: 1 mile on the treadmill to test out my foot :(
Spin: 60 minutes
Yoga: 2 hours
Resistance Training: 2 hours
Tomorrow marks a new week! Buh-bye Mister Blister (I hope!) and hello to fast feet!
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