Monday, January 26, 2009

just a quick one.

So, I am getting ready to leave town for the clinic and marathon. I am really excited, nervous, frantic, crazy.

My mom and I plan to have a real nice visit with her sister (my aunt). I will be real busy Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but family is very important to me.

My sciatica is still acting up, but I won't let that stop me. I didn't get a whole lot of relief from the chiropractor. Maybe he was just the wrong guy for me. His idea was to see me every other day for two weeks. I really don't think that is necessary, I can't afford it, and if my back is in that bad of shape, maybe I should just hang up the ol' walking shoes. Like that will ever happen.

I will be away from computer access while I am gone, but I am taking along a journal so that I can write my thoughts down. I will also keep a food log.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Taper of 2 Races

I need some help to keep me from really going off the deep end this week. I just realized there are only 9 days to the Desert Classic and 16 days to count down to 50 miles at Rocky Raccoon. The racewalking clinic is the filling... oh my goodness I am thinking about cake for some strange reason. A friend suggested Double Stuff Oreos…

I think Dave's clinic is weighing heavier on my mind than the two races. Last night I dreamed my 5k best dropped to 28 minutes flat. Now that is hilarious...

I was talking to my mom on the phone this evening about our driving trip to Phoenix next week. For some reason I had it in my head that we were leaving on Wednesday. I was getting my bills together so that I could pay them before I leave. I found the paperwork for the hotel reservations in El Paso. Turns out we are leaving on Tuesday. OOPS… Taper madness, anyone???

At least I kept my promise to self today. I did my strength training again, working upper body, lower body and core! I am so proud of myself... That makes twice this week. Patting self on back right now, while eating yogurt with slightly thawed frozen berries....

January 20 - Training Walk

I didn't get started until about 5:30 pm, and the wind was really blowing. I decided I was going to the school track near my house to walk around in circles so that I could work on speed a little. Turns out there was a high school soccer game going on (new sport for our school - does that mean there is hope for a racewalking team???).

I had my flashlight along, just in case, so I headed away from the school and around the neighborhood again. I was dressed in layers, so not too cold. It ended up being a good tempo walk, 6.04 miles in 1:16:16 for an average pace of about 12:37mpm, average HR 77%, max HR 84%. Once I was home, I stretched really well. The right side is finally starting to loosen up.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Strength Training

So, strength training has been basically absent from my routine since November. I guess today was as good a day as any to start back up again.

2 sets of 15 reps of 11 different upper body, lower body, and core exercises + stretching afterwards.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Recovery

Recovery walks are just as important as speed workouts, long distance workouts and all other types of workouts. I have kind of been neglecting to get these done lately. So, having walked around in circles for 4 hours and 5o minutes yesterday, I was in desperate need of a recovery walk today.

4.48 miles in 1 hour. Average HR 70%, max HR 77%. Oh, by the way, I didn't walk at the track today. I thought about it, then I thought it better to go around the neighborhood.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Walking around in Circles.

So, the Chiropractor told me I should do my long distance walk at the high school track today. I looked at www.philsport.com to check the distance of each lane on the track, and how many laps I would have to walk in order to get 20 miles. I chose to walk in lane 8 because that was ONLY 72.019 laps. I put on the Garmin, because I wanted to keep track of my HR during the workout. I used the Timex Chronograph to keep track of the number of laps walked. Funny, everyone says that a Garmin doesn’t work real well on a track because of the turns, or maybe it is just too small an area to be accurate. When I uploaded the workout to my computer, the map looked really screwed up, but the total distance covered was accurate. I don’t know how, but it was.

Everything was aching a little when I started out, since my last walk was last Saturday, and that was a hilly 12 miler. So, I walked 4 miles, and then stopped to stretch and get some flexibility drills done. The stretching took about 7m30s. After that I just got to work. I didn’t have to carry my water of electrolyte drink, because I passed it every .278 miles. I carried my GU, Clif Bar, Clif Shot Blocks, and sectioned Clementines a small fanny pack that I carry behind me. I slide it around when I need to get something out of it.

When I first arrived, there were a few people walking, jogging, etc. They left after I had walked about 10 laps. Then a few others showed up, but they only stayed a short time. So, I just kept going and going and going. At 36 laps, or half way, I changed directions. When I was at around 17 miles, my head started messing with me. Come on, just go home. This is too difficult, just walking around in circles. Then someone else showed up and gave me renewed strength to finish. He was jogging in the opposite direction as I was walking, so I actually had human contact twice each lap. I thanked him for showing up when he did. When he asked me if I had been about to pack it in, I said yes because I needed to finish 20 miles and it was getting tough. When we met up a half a lap later, he asked me if I had said 20 laps. When I assured him I said 20 miles and I only had 3 laps to go to finish, he said I was the craziest person he had ever met. I told him thanks because I had accomplished what I set out to do today. I didn’t bother to tell him there are folks who walk a whole lot farther than 20 miles at a time!

Time for 20 miles today was 4:50:10 for an average pace of 14:30 (this includes time spent stretching because I did not stop the timer). Not fast enough but at least I got it done!

Friday, January 16, 2009

My First Trip to the Chiropractor

So, I finally made it to the Chiropractor to have my back looked at. He did a physical exam after asking me lots of questions. Then his associate took x-rays of my spine. I had a heat treatment and electrical stimulation of the lumbar spinal muscles. He didn’t want to do an adjustment until after he had a chance to look at the x-rays, so I went back this afternoon for another consultation.

I had more heat and electrical muscle stimulation, then an adjustment. The right side that is giving me all the problems wouldn’t release at all. The left side went easily. After the adjustment, we looked at the x-rays together. He showed me where everything was wrong. I already knew about the lumbar spine, I have degenerative disc disease and the space between L4 and L5 is almost nonexistent, causing the sciatica in my right leg. My pelvis is out of position from walking on the cambered surface and he recommended I find a more flat surface to walk on, such as the park trail or high school track. He said that the reason I don’t experience more pain is the amount of exercise I do; the result being that I do more damage than someone who does little or no exercise and experiences the pain sooner. Nevertheless, he didn’t suggest that I cut back on my long distance walking, just that I get my spine back in order and keep it that way.

I can’t afford massage therapy once a month, and the chiropractic treatment costs less anyway. I will decide whether or not to continue on Monday, after I go in for another treatment. There is a possibility he will work something out for me since I am a cash customer, not filing insurance claims.