Sunday, June 04, 2006

Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride

OK, so I have a confession.

My chiropractor put me back on a walking program over a week ago. I haven't blogged about it because I didn't want to get all excited and then have it deflate on me like a big balloon... like before.

The trip to Toronto did put a bit of a monkey wrench in my routine, but I think I got in my fair share of walking across the York U. campus and through airports, so I'm not really concerned.

The good news: I can do it! I can go for at least 20 minutes without pain!

Naturally, I bumped it up to 35 minutes and my knee got puffy. I mean... it was only almost double the original 20 minutes, so I don't get why there would have been a problem. (Duh! Silly Sarah!)

I iced it when I got back to the fitness centre and then went and did my scheduled leg workout. No knee pain at the end of the workout.

Anyway, I'm back to 20 minutes 3 times a week. It's good. It's really, really good.

The deal is: no hills. Not for now. I can handle that. The area around the gym I go to has some fairly flat terrain, so I just go for a walk every other day before I do weights. It's not exactly a cardio workout, so I get on the bike on the off days, just to keep up the cardio.

I have started with some weird pain in the bottom of my right heel. The chiro says to have it checked by a podiatrist.

And my right calf is puffed up again, but I think we've figured what causes that... I overcompensate with my tib anterior for what my quad muscles should be doing. Once we get the quad muscles firing properly on a regular basis, this should subside. Dr. Mike, the chiro, has been helping with this... The lower leg is not nearly as swollen as it used to be.

And squats. I did my three sets of ten (each leg) one-legged assisted squats yesterday and I tell you... all modesty aside... they were damn near a thing of beauty -- at least compared to what they were like before. My knees are tracking much better than they ever have. My butt muscles are not seized up like they used to be, which of course, made the squats almost impossible. My legs are much, much stronger.

They're not perfect, but then again... my idea of "perfect" is rarely met, so I think we are safe to say they were fairly good.

I can't stop thinking about my (ex-)physiotherapists words, "If you can't squat, you can't run."

I can squat now, dammit!

I will take it slow, but I swear on heaven and earth... ain't nothin' gonna break my stride!

9 comments:

Sarah said...

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! Good luck with your rehab. It sounds like you're on your way!

Anonymous said...

Great progress! I know it feels good. Hope things continue to improve.

Backofpack said...

Whoo-hoo! Good for you Sarah! Keep it up and you'll be running in no time.

oshee said...

That sounds so great! I am glad you took a chance with the chiropractor. He seems to finally be offering you some hope.

Legs and Wings said...

You are so determined Sarah! I like that about you.

They used to suggest that a person 'walk' before they 'run'. You should re-write the text book and call it 'Squat Before You Run'.

ipodmomma said...

well done!!! I'm all for flat terrains... :)))

keep going... you don't know where you can go, until you get there...

Amber said...

Sarah,

Glad to hear that you are able to walk ... without pain!!!

I was just reading in my Runner's World magazine that running (and walking I'm sure) backwards helps with the quads. Something like the quads are used mostly for impact absorption in running, but when you run backwards it's the quads that are used and thereby strengthening them. Might be something to look into ... and fun to watch :)

Elliot said...

Cool news. You're a rock.

Walking, by the way, is excellent exercise. What's amazing to me is that I often walk on the same routes that I drive and I notice that the route is completely different when I walk. I notice a zillion more things. That in itself has got to be healthier.

Unknown said...

So you were holding out on us eh? Now you got that song stuck in my head.