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Is it just me, or is it actually starting to feel like fall?! I’m here for the cool temperatures, but not appreciating all the rain!
It’s the start of a new week and my recovery from plantar fasciitis continues. I have been in physical therapy since August and doing tons of exercises, hoping that I can get rid of my heel pain for good! Sharing these recaps helps keep me accountable, and it also keeps me motivated to keep blogging! I hope you enjoy following my progress.
I’m linking up with HoHo and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap! I’m also linking up with Marcia, Patty, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run, Debbie, Lora, and Rachel for the Running Coaches Corner and Annmarie and Nicole for Wild Workout Wednesday!
A 5K and tons of PT - my weekly wrap update! #weeklywrap Click To Tweet
I was too busy enjoying some rest and relaxation over Labor Day weekend to provide a proper update last week, so this week I’m sharing highlights from the past 2 weeks! My brother and his three sons came to town to visit and we had a great time! We went for lunch at Bret’s office which has amazing views of the city. My oldest nephew is in his senior year(!) so he was able to tour Temple University. We had cheesesteaks from Delassandro’s for dinner, but they were AWFUL. Apparently, I was the only one who had cheese on my cheesesteak! They were also very rude on the phone…
On Saturday morning, Bret and I made a big breakfast – challah French toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, and lots of fruit. So good!! We were going to go to the Temple vs. Villanova football game but instead we hung out at home and Bret made tons of food on the grill as the kickoff of college football season began. Bret seemed to have a really nice time with the twin boys, playing video games, picking tomatoes, and going for a trail walk.
The family left that evening so Sunday and Monday were extremely chill days! I got a lot of sleep in, which I definitely needed! We also got some wedding errands done – Bret purchased his suit and shoes, and we both purchased wedding bands! The wedding is getting closer, guys!
This past Sunday, Bret and I participated in the Run Now Wine Later 5K. My coworker volunteers at the event and sent me a coupon months ago, so once again…there was no way I was missing this race! Unfortunately, the weather was absolutely miserable – steady rain all day long and temperatures in the 50’s. I knew that I would warm up quickly once I started running, but I still ended up wearing a zip-up jacket over my running clothes.
This is a smaller, local race without all the pomp and circumstance, which is kind of nice…though we ended up starting a few minutes late. I started as far back as possible but it was frustrating once we took off to dodge all of the walkers…ugh! The course took us through downtown New Hope, which is absolutely adorable with all of the little shops. Bret and I love coming up to Bucks County for the wine, and we most recently stayed in New Hope for my birthday last year.
Us running in New Hope last year – sunnier days!
Surprisingly, there were a lot of rolling hills on the course, and I found my breathing to be difficult on top of the chilly, rainy weather. I didn’t look at my watch at all because I didn’t really care about pace. I found a woman in bright orange that I wanted to use as my “rabbit” but eventually, she was way too fast for me to keep up with! A lot of us were huffing and puffing our way along but before reaching the second mile the leader was already making his way back. I knew that Bret couldn’t be too far behind so I did get to see him on his way, but apparently, he had issues on the course and took a wrong turn – with a few others doing the same behind him – so he may have lost a minute from that mistake.
Meanwhile, I was looking forward to being done! We ran on a gravelly road that was surrounded by trees – it was really pretty – and passed some very historic-looking buildings. I was so glad when we passed the water station and started making our way back from whence we came. I definitely slowed down the last mile or so, but I heard people saying that we were almost at the finish so I tried to hold on as best as I could! Before I knew it I was going down a big hill and running through the finish line – done!
I was so out of breath at the end of the race, regretting not doing any “test runs” during the week. Eventually, I found Bret and my boss Ray, who we discovered was also running the race with his wife Jo earlier in the morning. Bret was already “two-deep” when it came to sampling wine, so I had to catch up! There were several tents offering dozens of samples of wine in all different varieties. It was really nice! I wish we could have changed into some dry clothes, but we “powered through” and had a blast! No pictures since I didn’t want to destroy my phone in the rain, but believe me when I say this is a very worthy event!
My finish time was a little over 32 minutes and my splits went down each mile, which is FINE lol. Bret finished in 7th place overall! Of course he would have been much happier if he didn’t make that wrong turn, but I’m still proud of him! Before leaving the area, we went to a winery for lunch and a couple more drinks. It was a great day (with a well-earned nap once we got home)!
Monday 8/27: The day after the Philly 10K…my quads and hamstrings were sore. I did use my Tiger Tail to roll my muscles while at work in addition to some toe yoga. In physical therapy, I did my usual calf stretches, some foot strengthening with a band working all angles, single leg squats using TRX (3 sets of 10), golf ball on the bottom of my feet (3 mins each), a weird kneeling stretch while holding a PVC pipe (20 seconds, 5 times), hamstring stretch, clamshells with blue band, and single leg bridges. Phew! I wore my night splint on the left side only.
Tuesday 8/28: I was still a little sore from the race but now had glute soreness from all the PT exercises on Monday. Physical therapy was pretty much the same except I also had to pick up marbles with my feet. It was easy on the right, a little harder on the left. I wore compression socks to bed.
Wednesday 8/29: My feet felt pretty achy but I did a little work – heel drops on the steps at home (5 sets of 20 secs), some toe yoga before bed and tried to stretch my feet as much as possible. I wore both night splints to bed.
Thursday 8/30: It was my sister’s birthday so I was looking forward to our celebrations! I didn’t do any workouts but wore both night splints to bed.
Friday 8/31: Fun times hanging with the family! No workouts, no night splints.
Saturday 9/1: A lazy day around the house, no workouts – wore one night splint on the left side.
Sunday 9/2: Didn’t do much but some stretches on the steps, no night splints.
It was a pretty tough week and my feet seemed pretty happy all week long. These highs and lows are tough. While I felt good preparing for and running the Philly 10K, I’m hoping that doing the event didn’t do more harm than good. I had a ton of new exercises incorporated in my PT routine and it was pretty tiring. I will give Week 4 a B- grade. I definitely should have been doing more exercises later in the week.
Monday 9/3: Labor Day laziness continues! I did some calf stretches on the steps and wore my night splints.
Tuesday 9/4: I wanted to shake out of my “laziness” so I joined my coworkers for an indoor walking class. I ended up doing 3 miles and it was a lot of fun! I’ll definitely be back. I had physical therapy in the evening: the usual 10-minute warmup on the elliptical followed by all those calf exercises, foot stretches – now adding a stretch that works my calves, marbles pickup on the left side, clamshells, hamstring stretch, single leg bridges. I wore both night splints.
Wednesday 9/5: Did a few exercises – toe yoga, toe stretch (20 secs, 5 times). My calves felt tight from that new exercise in PT, so I took it easy. Wore both night splints.
Thursday 9/6: PT after work: Same workouts as Tuesday but added in the single leg squats on the TRX since I didn’t get to do it on Tuesday due to it being so crowded after the holiday. I didn’t do single leg bridges this time (which I hate) but did single leg deadlifts. They were really HARD (I’ve always sucked at balance) and I struggled t keep my hips square. I didn’t wear the night splints.
Friday 9/7: Day off work but a bright and early morning for PT, this time with Pat. He used heat, then did soft tissue work again. Every time he does it, my feet feel better. It’s the only thing that seems to actually make a difference, but I guess Kim’s work is more part of the “long game”. He taped my feet to see if stabilizing the midfoot would make a difference, and I was instructed to keep the tape on for 2 days. I also learned a new foot stretch where I pull my toes up to lift my arch, then gently put my toes down while keeping that arch up, then finally relaxing. I did 4 sets of 5.
Saturday 9/8: Yoga class for the first time in ages! It was a vinyasa class and ended up being pretty challenging when it came to doing chaturanga and any single leg balance. My hips definitely reacted to doing these poses for the first time in over a month! I hope to make the Saturday morning class part of my routine!
Sunday 9/9: The Run Now Wine Later 5K! In the evening I did a few foot strengthening exercises, including the one I learned on Friday.
It was another busy week but I really wanted to work hard and to make sure that I wasn’t slacking on my exercises. I think I did a pretty good job at working my feet and I really enjoyed the indoor walking class – if I wasn’t so busy at work I would have joined them again. The 5K was fun but I really don’t think I’m ready to get back into running just yet. I should have done at least one treadmill run to get prepared, but it’s all good. I will give week 5 an A-. I’m really trying to do all those little things that will hopefully cumulatively make a difference!
How was your week of working out? Did you have a rainy weekend too? Any good races?
