I Like Bike

I took my first bike ride of the season today. The weather this winter has been crazy, and I've been feeling sorry for myself while 50 degree days passed me by (perfect for running) and I couldn't even fit my swollen left foot into my running shoe! Last night I decided that if it were above 40 degrees in the morning, I would get on my bike. I checked Time and Temperature (a local service Syracusans will recognize), and Mr. Computerman said 53 degrees. I looked outside, it said rain. Ugh. But I carried on, and am glad I did.
All my blinking lights on, four layers on top, plus my reflective vest, two on bottom, gloves and headband under my helmet, I headed out.
Now, my left foot is still slightly swollen and I wake up with occasional ankle stiffness. After a few miles, the ankle loosened up, I felt warm (though wet) and I was on my way to Baldwinsville.
The route I chose is 18 miles long, enough, I thought, for the first time out. I came home drenched, covered in grit (me and my bike), but so very happy that I had not let the rain deter me, and that I was able to bike the entire length. My bike computer wasn't working (I bet the layoff killed the battery). But today wasn't about speed, or really about the distance; it was about the fact that on Feb. 1 in Syracuse, New York, it was actually warm enough with hardly a trace of snow to ride a bike. That, and the fact, that I was able to do it. It's a good sign as I build toward my first triathlon, the Cooperstown Tri, May 27.

Training Days

I am happy to report that my podiatrist has cleared me for all activity, as long as it feels comfortable, he said. That happened Jan. 18, and I went out for a run the next day. I went slowly because it had been three months since I had done the physical work of running but also because the roads were spotted with ice. While my time for the 2.2 miles was no big deal, my cardio capacity did allow me to run the entire time. I'm guessing that the swimming I have been doing these last four weeks can be credited for that.
While I was recovering I purchased several Living Social/Groupon deals to local fitness centers, Fitness & Dance of CNY Pilates & Yoga, as well as Champions Fitness Center. The former gave me five classes of my choosing and I selected pilates, since I wanted the core work and yoga is familiar to me. Champions' deal is for 10 classes, and they have impressive offerings--Zumba, group cycle, yoga, core, water fitness. I took a cycle class yesterday, and plan on trying out Zumba.
I thought these would be good transitional fitness opportunities until I could start running again. And they are. But quite honestly, I'm not really loving pilates. I'm not sure why, exactly; yoga is just more my style, I guess. The ab/core work of pilates is impressive, and I enjoy the simplicity of the moves that can be quite challenging physically. But it's just not my thing.
Which leads me to my point--there are so many fitness options out there, that folks really have no excuses. Not everyone has to swim-bike-run-lift-yoga as I do, or get on an elliptical, or do pilates. The important thing is that you look into the options, try out a few classes, and see if they're for you. If not (as in my case with pilates), then you just try something else.
Now that I can run again, I am thinking about which race to tackle first. I'm contemplating the Skunk Cabbage 10K, in Ithaca on April 1. I'll keep you posted as to my progress.

Goals for 2012

Here we go again. Remember, I don't believe in resolutions, which I feel feed on the negative and tend to be vague. Instead I prefer the term "goals," which focuses on positive changes that can set you on the path of your choosing.

Last year, I succeeded in achieving five of my 10 goals. Here are another 10 (some duplicates from 2011) that I will work toward in 2012.

1. Reduce the amount of processed food I eat. This includes: frozen anything (except vegetables and ice cream), boxed items, snack mixes, baked goods not made from scratch. These are full of sodium and sugar and strange chemicals that I can't even begin to pronounce. Not healthy.
2. Remember to take my vitamins--Vitamin D and calcium, that is.
3. Run another marathon--since I'm scheduled for the Empire State Marathon in October, I'm already one step toward meeting that goal!
4. Read more.
5. Just like last year, lose 5-10 pounds. Foot surgery forces you off your feet, so weight gain is hard to avoid. Last year I lost 6 pounds, well within this goal.
6. Try to relax completely every 10 days. So very hard to me to do--I equate sitting on the couch with being lazy. (See #4).
7. Throw out/donate the stuff I don't use or don't need. All that extra stuff takes up space; I want to clear the decks!
8. Balance my weekly workouts, meaning pay attention to frequency of strength training, cardio, stretching/pilates, etc. Don't try to do too much of any one discipline. Getting older means sometimes realizing I can't run 8 miles two days in a row. It's OK to mix it up.
9. Realize I'm getting older.
10. Continue to pay down/pay off credit card debt. Every monthly payment is a minor victory. Keep it going!

I suppose these are modest goals, I don't know. Still, they're goals. Like last year, I will check in from time to time to see how I am progressing. Putting this in writing, posting it where my friends can see, keeps me moving forward.
Happy New Year!

Trying to Stay Positive

Saw the podiatrist yesterday, and while he is happy with my progress I must say I am not. Nine weeks after surgery, I still have not received clearance to do anything of high impact. This bothers me, because I had thought when he said "eight weeks" it meant I could run again after eight weeks; turns out, it's that I can walk again. Running is still out of the question.
He says the x-rays look great, that when he used to perform the same surgery and didn't connect the bones with a plate, it was four months in a cast. I was out of a cast at four weeks. Yeah, yeah; yada, yada. Not what I wanted to hear regardless.
Now, I have great faith in this doctor. He knows exactly what I want to do with my feet, and he respects that. So I know he is only telling me the right thing, but that doesn't mean I have to like it (insert whine here).
Naturally, upon hearing the news, I did what every triathlete does--I cried a little and then looked at the calendar, working backwards from my A race (in this case Ironman 70.3 Steelhead on Aug. 19) to make sure I would have enough time to train. The training plans I have perused say it takes 20 weeks to train sufficiently for that distance--1.2-mile swim; 56-mile bike; 13.1-mile run. So that puts me at April 1 to really get down to work.
So, with the doctor saying the normal recovery time from this type of surgery is 4-6 months, that means in February, at the earliest, I can start running again. I know I can do the training; that's not the part I'm bummed about.
It's that I can't take a run for another six weeks, and that I feel my quads turning to flab with every run missed. Until I can start with the 2-mile walk/runs, I will work on my swimming (and that should put me ahead when training really starts). I've gotten in four 500-meter swims in the last two weeks, and I intend to ramp that up after Christmas.
I continue with physical therapy, and that's going well--he has me biking for 12 minutes (recumbent bike) and working on calf strength. What's lacking still is flexibility in the big toe, and I have a feeling that will return when I'm cleared to run!

Let's Get Physical

I had my first physical therapy session yesterday afternoon, and while it felt uncomfortable at times, it was wonderful watching the blood rush to my foot; it meant progress was being made!
Eric at Carey & Daley measured the flexion angle of my big toe, which is not even near where it needs to be for effective running. But, hey, I was there, which means I'm yet another day closer to getting back doing what my body is craving.
I have to admit I haven't been a very nice patient lately--my days consist of sitting in the shower, driving to work, sitting at work, driving home or to the store (where I sit on a scooter), standing for 30 minutes or so while preparing and/or cleaning up after dinner), sitting some more and then lying down for 8 hours. Not exactly a prescription for good health.
The incredibly warm November we had didn't help my mood either. No cyclist wants to let 60-degree days pass them by when the late-year temperature usually hovers around 40. I go to the garage and gaze at my bike and then go back inside, only to sit some more.
I have been doing upper body weight work and trying to maintain my core strong, and that's something, though I'm sure the kids think I look ridiculous with my Herman Munster boot on one foot, a workout shoe on the other.
I found the date for next year's Mid-Winter Blues Run at Beaver Lake (Feb. 5). Believe me, if I can even walk that 3.1 miles I won't be feeling the blues at all! Until then, I'm looking at twice-weekly PT sessions, when I will work on flexibility and strength in the toes and ankle, Eric will massage out the edema and then he'll hook my foot up to an electro-charge machine (or whatever it's called), to send stimuli directly to the tissue to hasten healing.
I must admit the foot is sore today, but it's a "good" sore, similar to what you feel after a race run hard. And that's the best I can do right now.