Getting ready to go

After the race on Saturday, I decided to take several days off. My hip and low back were starting to hurt again on Sunday, which got me nervous that I'm not quite all healed up. The race definitely took some effort for me. I think I trained pretty well, but I did just enough so that I could pace without a lot of struggle. Still, I have a long way to go to get in really great shape and do the faster miles with ease. My legs were also very stiff Sunday and Monday which I think was mainly due to the hills and cold on Saturday. I spent some time Sunday lightly stretching and doing self-massage on my back and hip. I was quite sore afterwards, but I think I worked out some of the junk.

I still haven't run, but today I had a good swim workout and did some strengthening exercises for my back and hip. This is part of my bigger plan to get in shape and put myself in the best position to qualify.

I think it's time to finally start listing the things I need to do. If you're reading this and following my progress, I expect your feedback if you see I'm not doing what I say I'm going to do. :-)

1. Hip strengthening exercises (3-4x a week)
2. Strength training (core and upper body) and light cross training 2-3x a week on non-running days
3. Lightly stretch after every run/workout
4. Drink lots of water
5. Cut out excess sweets and salty foods
6. No eating after 9:00
7. Go to bed early every night (asleep by 10:30 - 11:00)
8. Go to chiropractor and massage therapist weekly/bimonthly

So far I've mostly been doing 1 through 3 and that's about it. Today I'm drinking a lot of water, but it's easier since both kids are at school. Getting to bed early and not eating after 9:00 are probably going to be my biggest challenges. I'm notoriously a night owl and have been for the majority of my life. I'm not expecting an instant change, but will be gradually working towards this goal.

I hope to run again tomorrow. The forecast is calling for rain and unless it's a downpour, I'll be out there. I'm working on making small, but very important, changes to my stride so that will be my focus tomorrow. I'll share more about that after it's done.

Now, if I can just stay healthy while my daughter is sick. She came home from school this afternoon with a 102 degree temp. Argh! Let's hope it's short-lived! (look for an upcoming post about balance and making adjustments - both are needed when raising two young kids!)