Failed Fit: Too Much of a Good Thing....

By Jess in Minneapolis

(Please note- I am not a doctor or a psychologist. I am sure that I made some mistakes in this post when explaining my injury and diagnosis. I also know that exercise addiction can be a serious issue, but I do not believe that I have a serious problem; however, I do recognize that I have to be smarter about rest and listening to my body.)

Do you read my weekly recaps and think I work out a lot? Have you ever thought that maybe that I work out...too much? Is that possible? Have you ever taken a minute to assess your relationship with working out? Could you possibly be working out too much?

I have always thought that an exercise addiction was the best addiction to have. Its not as bad as being an alcoholic, a drug abuser, a smoker, an over-eater, a shopoholic, right?  It seemed to me that there are a lot worse things to be "addicted to", versus working out. Besides, we're supposed to "sweat every day", right? Several of the bloggers that I read (i.e. Skinny Runner, Run Eat Repeat) are women who are running back to back marathons in one weekend, or running 26.2 several weekends in a row. My weekly recaps pale in comparison to their milage. Even "locally", I know that I am not the only one in my group of friends who does two-a-days, and some of my running friends are pushing 50 miles a week off-season.

But every BODY is different. I need to know what is too much for ME, and I think I was doing too much.

And just a few days ago, two of my really close friends (who know ME) actually reached out to me (unbeknownst to each other) expressing concern that I was overdoing it. They were concerned that I was doing too many two-a-days, not resting enough, and letting exercise rule my life.

These are two friends who are just as active as me. They are accomplished marathoners who run multiple marathons a year, and cross train/strength-train/yoga frequently as well. But their concern was that I am not currently training for a marathon, yet I was running 40 miles a week and doing multiple two-a-days.

It felt a little like an intervention, but I took their concern to heart. Its good to know that these friends are looking out for me, and care about my well-being. Unfortunately, the intervention occurred just a bit too late....My body had already decided I was overdoing it.

Here's the backstory.

I ran hard on Thursday morning- 7 miles at a pretty quick pace for me. Then I did a kettle bells class at Balance Fitness that evening. By the end of that class, my shin was really, really sore. I took Friday as a complete rest day, and then toughed out an 11 mile run on Saturday morning.

My shin really bothered every step of the way on those 11 miles. It was all I could think of- the pain!!!! Eeks!

After icing it throughout the day Saturday and Sunday, it still never felt any better. It hurt just to walk on it, which definitely had me concerned.

After reaching out to friends who have had both shin splints and/or stress fractures, I realized that I probably had a stress fracture. Shin splits are usually painful along the whole shin, whereas my pain was isolated to one spot, and it didn't feel better after rest or ice, (whereas shin splits normally would).

I finally decided to just go to Tria Orthopedic's after-hours for an x-ray. This clinic is open every day from 8 am to 8 pm (even on Sundays!), which was totally convenient and awesome (two thumbs up for Tria!)

The doctor quickly assessed my pain, and agreed that it could be a stress fracture, so he sent me to the x-ray room. The pictures were ready in minutes, and the doctor returned to kindly explain the results to me.

There was no visible fracture on my shin, which could be true even if there was a stress fracture. What we did see was a visible thickening of the bone cortex right at the point of the pain on my lower shin.

The doctor explained to me that every time you run, your bones are "damaged" so to speak. Then you rest and the bones heal. If you don't rest enough between runs, the damage never heals completely, so every time you run again, you are further damaging the bone. Running too far or too hard before you body has adjusted could also do more damage, which means more time to heal. Your body builds more bone to try to compensate for the damage (hence the thicker part of my shin visible on the x-ray), but that only helps for so long. Eventually, the bone gets more and more irritated, until it potentially cracks, or fractures.

It appears that my injury is right at that "really irritated" stage. There was no visible fracture (though an MRI would be necessary to completely rule out a fracture), but clearly my bone is not happy. The doctor prescribed no running for 2-3 weeks and the boot.

Yep, the boot. The good thing is that I only have to wear it for 2-3 weeks, and then I can start running again. During the 2-3 weeks, I can cross train as much as I want (as long as there is no pain).

After 2-3 weeks, I will try running again. If I am still in pain, then I will go back to get the MRI to determine if there really is a stress fracture. If, after 2-3 weeks in the boot I feel better, I can slowly increase mileage again.

For now, I'll be putting my YMCA membership to use starting tomorrow morning, swimming laps again to try to maintain my cardio fitness. I also plan to do yoga (modified if necessary), the elliptical, and spinning as well.

Yay, more of these goggle eyes....

This does mean I have to miss the Turkey Trot with my family on Thanksgiving, as well as the Santa Hustle 5k that I was registered for in Chicago when we go there for my friend's 30th birthday celebration.

Fortunately, however, I caught this early enough, and I should still be able to run the Securian Winter half marathon, as well as the Flying Pig Marathon May 4 in Cincinnati.

Lesson Learned? Going forward, I plan to only run 4, maybe 5 days a week but NEVER 6, and NEVER twice in one day (like I did this day). I also plan to really, really cross train- either the elliptical, a spin class, or swimming. Too often I decide just to do another run, instead of these other exercises....I just love running too much. But I want to be able to continue to run in the years to come, so I will have to be smarter about rest.

And a THANK YOU again to my concerned friends. Within my group of girlfriends, there are a lot of really dedicated athletes, but it can be difficult to really know when too much is too much, particularly when comparing myself to these other athletes. But I should not be comparing myself to anyone else.

Unfortunately, my body told me I had done too much, before my mind knew it in this case. Its unfortunate, yet I am  so glad to know I have friends in my life who are looking out for me. I'm just a girl, trying to find the "RIGHT FIT" in terms of fitness, and I obviously make mistakes. Sometimes I do too much of one thing (i.e. running) rather than giving my body the rest and recovery that it needs to stay healthy and strong.

I'm learning as I go, and hopefully sharing my experience with all of you might help you as well on your fitness journey.

REST!

Fits on the Road: Up North

By Jess in Minneapolis

Yesterday, I shared a post about Fits on the Road in Hayward, Wisconsin. That post focused on things to do in Hayward, but there were plenty of fits to be found at the cabin itself.

Like previous years, there was some stand-up paddleboarding, though not as much as normal. It was very windy up there this weekend, so it wasn't quite as appealing as normal. However, we still managed to spend an hour or two on the boards, and it was definitely a challenge.

Average calories burned while paddle-boarding:
Recreational paddle boarding burns 225 calories an hour. On a windy day going at a fast pace, maybe you can burn up to 500 calories/hour.
 Here's a full post dedicated to Stand Up Paddle Boarding- Click HERE.  

My brother in law on the board

There was sailing for Dustin for some unique cross-training action. I am actually too chicken to learn to sail the Lasers.  Dustin said they are a lot of work on a windy day, and he definitely got a workout in there.

Average calories burned while sailing a similar type of boat:

Around 200 calories an hour on an easy day, up to 500 calories an hour on a very windy day.

There was also plenty of swimming and canoeing- both good forms of cross-training!

Average calories burned while canoeing:

Canoeing can burn up to 600 calories at hour, if you're going 4 mph...I have no idea what pace we went, but it was definitely more leisurely than that. Most sources said you burn about 220 calories/hour.

I'm not sure if fishing counts as a "fit" but we definitely spent some time doing that. My nieces were surprisingly patient, even though the catches were few and far between.

And of course, there was running. Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, I did my long run Thursday morning. Friday morning, Cresta and I headed out together for seven hilly miles for her long run.

We didn't quite get our fill of those country roads on Friday, so we went out again on Saturday morning for a few more. Running provided us with a nice "break" from the kids and an opportunity for us to really catch up and chat. I loved it!

What does one do after all those Fits on the Road?
Well, you need to foam roll, right?

Take it from this girl, she knows the importance of foam rolling!

We grilled corn on the cob, made fresh guacamole, and had our fill of locally picked fresh strawberries. Sure, there were a few beers consumed, and maybe an ice cream cone, but overall, it was a wonderful long weekend, full of Fits on the Road at the Cabin!


Last week's weekly recap:
Run: 42 miles, 1 barre class, lots of random "cross-training" at the cabin. No yoga :-(

Fresh New Fit: Swimming Laps...

by Cool J in Minneapolis

All these snowboarding pics...what about the RUNNING, Cool J?

It's true. I barely ran in Big Sky! It was all snowboard, snowboard, snowboard, all day, every day. We would head to the mountain right away every morning, and be there until the lifts closed. The long days on the mountain, combined with a few late nights, meant that I just wasn't feeling an early wakeup. I mean, it was vacation, right?

I did finally made it out of bed once early enough to head out for a run. I was rewarded by a gorgeous snow-covered view.

 The run was hilly and challenging- slick and uneven, but oh so refreshing.

I made up my long run on Monday when we returned to Minneapolis. Tuesday was a hard workout at the Metrodome (that makes three times we went to the Dome this year- read about the other times HERE and HERE). Then Wednesday was more running.

By Thursday, I started to wonder if I was setting myself up for injury. I took a rest day, and then ran easy on Friday. My IT band didn't seem to be bothering me though, so I wasn't too worried. I figured the cross-training in Big Sky must have been good for it! I was ready for my 16 miler on Saturday.

Unfortunately, my IT band was not ready for a 16 miler. Around mile 12, I started to get that knee-buckling pain (Erin and Abby, I know you know what I'm talking about!) I tried pushing through, but it was hurting so, so bad. I told the other girls to go ahead and let Dusters know the deal, (they are all the best- thanks ladies!), and then I managed a run/walk for the last 4 miles. It was ugly and disheartening.

I spent Sunday icing, foam rolling, and then a 90 minute Moksha yoga class. Today, I went to see Dr. Jenna Boren at Uptown Natural Care (She's the best. And she just ran a 2:42 marathon last weekend- check it out HERE!) Jenna did soft tissue massage on my IT band, and then did an ultrasound. We went over some exercises that I should do at home, and discussed my injury. She seemed to think it was actually the snowboarding that may have triggered the pain. She said it could have been all that torque on my hip from constantly turning. She also thought it could have been the weight of the board when riding on the lift. When on the lift with a snowboard, your back foot is unstrapped, and the weight of the board is all hanging from your left foot, pulling on your knee- lots of strain on the ol' IT band!

She did think that I should be fine to run today, but I decided to be cautious. Instead, I headed to the gym to swim instead.

SWIM? Yes. Swim. I'm not sure if I have swam laps since I broke my ankle in 2008! Back then, I would hobble out to the pool on my crutches, take off my velcro boot, and get in the pool. It was all I could do, and it kept me sane.

But it had been awhile. Clearly, my gear left a little to be desired.

I'm pretty sure that is the same one piece suit I wore as a lifeguard in high school. Yikes! And I am not the same size as I was in high school. I may have been pushing the line with the family appropriate  rule...time to buy a new suit!

Do you want to see a true Failed Fit?

Yes?

Here it is.

AHHH!!!

Scary! Failed Fit!

Despite the failing gear, and the failing look, I was able to swim hard for a good forty-five minutes (with some breaks). I definitely could tell that it had been awhile when I got out of the pool- I felt a little light headed! But according to "Fitness For Weight Loss" I burned about 400 calories. Swimming was a zero impact cardio full body workout. I felt it in my core, my back/shoulders, and my legs. I'd say swimming is definitely a Fantastic Fit!

I was happy to be able to get in a workout, even if it wasn't running. I hope Jenna is right, and that this IT band issue is a temporary one, and fingers crossed that it soon will pass.

Fundamental Fit: Swimming Laps

By: LL
Summertime brings with it the perfect opportunity get back into a fundamental fit, which is swimming. I can still remember as a kid ... weeklong trips "up north" with my extended family, where we stayed at my aunt and uncle's cabin on a lake. We spent our days paddling around the lake in a canoe, having wood splitting contests, and swimming ... oh the swimming! It was almost like the turn of teenage-hood once you were able to swim out to the buoy in the middle of the lake, then turn around and come back - without stopping. All those winters at the high school pool learning to freestyle, backstroke, sidestroke ("pick the apple and put it in the basket"), and finally, butterfly! The summertime was ideal to perfect and show off technique. Exercise while having fun ... it doesn't get more fundamental than that!

I've realized as I've gotten older that when I'm at the pool or the beach, I spend less time in the water swimming and more time in a lounge chair, reading magazines and relaxing in the sun. What happened?

In an attempt to regain some of that fun and challenge my rusty skills, I ditched the chair and sunglasses and hopped into the pool this weekend. I was a little out of practice and struggled to get down and back the 30 meter length of the pool. But, I forced my way through it, switching up the strokes and taking it nice and slow. I'm not going to lie, it was tough. I was very sore after only 40 minutes in the pool, but I felt invigorated and young again.

Out of curiosity, I logged into my computer to see about how many calories I might have burned. And, even at my slow pace, I burned around 400 calories! I used my health insurance activity tracker to calculate my calories burned, but here is a decent one.

So I say, the next time that you are laying around at the pool, worrying about your uniform tan, pop into the pool and test out your swimming skills! You might just find a great way to mix up your summer workout routine.