You Never Regret a Workout

Tested that theory today.

 Ugh, I did not want to swim tonight.  I didn't want to do anything but crawl in the biscuit and go to sleep. So tired. But the saying goes, "You never regret a workout..." So I got ready to swim.  And...and had a blowout of my favorite pink swimcap.  

Good thing I have a jillion extras in my bag. 

I don’t want to seem like I’m whining.  So just allow me one more pitiful post and I promise the rest will go back to being somewhat positive. 

So I have this wonky hip.  Official diagnosis?  Weak @ss.  No, really, in 2009 I was diagnosed with Dumb Butt Syndrome.  My right gluteus medius is weak and my other muscles have to compensate for it.  Weak @ss. See why I say wonky hip instead? 

The fix?  Strengthening my weak @ss.  It worked before. And yeah, like a cotton headed ninnymuggins, once I was strong and healthy again…I stopped with my hip strength training. Whoops. 

And I’ve paid the price. 

You see, it doesn’t just hurt when I run, it hurts All. Of. The. Time.  It hurts when I’m standing, it really hurts when I’m sitting, it hurts if I lie on that side too long (unfortunate since it’s my right hip and I like to sleep on my right side, eep) Real talk?  I find myself absentmindedly rubbing my, ahem, hip in public.  Like, at work public.  Oh, yeah, that’s just TPG over there, rubbin on her @ss.  Hurts a lot. 

So, not wanting to hobble forever, I’m back on board. Now, I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on the blog.  I actually see several trained professionals to help me with this hitch in my get a-long. So don’t take this as medical advice – just take it for what it is, me whining about my butt. 

I’m laying off the running and backing it down to just two runs a week.  And NO speedwork.  Not for a few weeks anyway.

I’m committed to my hip exercises provided to me by my magical chiropractor.  Y'all, she is ah-maze-ing.  She really knows what she is going and in addition to ART, she’s good at teaching her patients how to take care of their bodies.  Oh gosh, ART is like foam rolling, hurts so good. The exercises she has me doing are some old school Jane LaFawnduh leg lifts, monster walks, lunges, squats, squats and more squats.  Ugh.  But it cures what ails ya!  (if what ails ya is a weak @ss)

Yoga.  I go to yoga once a week.  I’d love to go every day if I could, but it just doesn’t work with my training schedule.  I went six days out of seven last week and I could really tell a difference. Consistency is key.  I still can’t make it every day, but I’m committed to going 3 times a week for the next month or so.  I’ll make time.  My favorite hip stretching poses are pigeon and cow face.  But it’s the standing/balance poses that work to make my hip stronger.  I need those too even though I wobble like a newborn calf these days.

Foam rolling.  I’ve been ignoring my foam roller.  Well, it’s time to rekindle that relationship.  My best friend and my worst enemy.  Gah.  Poor man’s massage.

Massage. This isn’t the cheapest form of therapy but boy howdy it is worth it. Find you a massage therapist you trust and it will pay off in spades.  It is beneficial in so many ways – stimulates muscle repair AND well, it feels good! 

Rest. This is the hard part.  Resting feels like missing training instead of a reward!  I want to go balls out with my training right now and that just isn’t an option.  I’d like to be on my bike several times a week but it hurts to climb or, you know, pedal fast.  Yoga and swimming will have to satisfy that craving for work right now.  I won’t lose ALL Of my fitness in just two weeks.  I won’t.  Better to arrive on race day slightly undertrained and injured.  Right?  Right.

It’s gonna take time to heal and then to get stronger, but I’m patient.  I can do this, I’ve done it before.  And THIS TIME I’m not going to get lazy once I get there!

How do you deal with forced rest? Does it drive you batty?