Peroneal Tendonitis

Last Friday I went and saw the podiatrist for my foot pain.  After I explained what was happening and he examined my foot,  he came to the conclusion that I had peroneal tendonitis.  According to the doctor, the cause of this is unknown but it is common in athletes. 

via footeducation.com

He taped my foot really well and instructed me to leave it on for 72 hours.  Start taking Aleve or Ibuprofen 3 times a day to reduce inflammation and after removing the tape, ice for 20 minutes daily.

 

 Monday morning I removed the tape and my foot felt great.  He told me that I could try running at any time but to stop if I had any pain and to ease back into it.  Monday afternoon I ran a mile.  It felt great.  Tuesday I went and got fitted for new shoes since my current ones were reaching their mileage limit and I wanted to eliminate anything that may be causing the issue.

This afternoon I went for a run and stopped at a little over 2 miles but felt great.  Hopefully things have cleared up.  I am still taking the Aleve per doctor's orders and have been icing for at least 20 minutes a day.  Today I iced right after my run and will ice again this evening.

I can't say enough good things about Runners Gate.  If you are from the Twin Cities area, I highly recommend you check them out.  They were so helpful and did not rush me in any way. I spend an hour trying on different shoes and running on their treadmill.  And when I realized my keys and cell phone were locked in my car, they let me use their phone to call my insurance company and allowed me to hang out in the store while waiting for the company to come unlock my doors.  Oops! 

I got some new snack bars today......

I can't wait to try them out!  I have heard such great things about them. Definitely going to break into them for my afternoon snack.

And now I leave you with a picture of me with a couple of nasty cold sores :(

 

Baseball season has started for my boy so even though we had 6" of snow a couple of days ago we are off to a tournament this weekend.  Forecast says 70° and sunny!  Sure hope they are right!

~Jessica

 

Down and Out

My thoughts and prayers go out to the runners, spectators and all others affected by the Boston explosions.  It is such a senseless act.  Incredibly sad.  Runners unite!

I wore my Get Lucky! 7k sweatshirt in honor of Boston.....

Last night I ran 3.25 miles in honor of Boston.  I have been having some foot trouble so struggled through it a little.  I have an appointment with a podiatrist on Friday and with a chiropractor on Tuesday.  I am so frustrated.  If you are a runner, you know what I am talking about.  The feeling I get from running is incredible and I'm really struggling with taking time off.  Hopefully I will be able to report back with some good news after my appointments.  Until then I will settle for the bike and elliptical.

~Jessica

Get Lucky!

I am a couple of weeks behind but on March 16th I ran the Get Lucky! 7k in Minneapolis.  I signed up with a friend back in October.  I didn't necessarily train for this race because it isn't much longer of a distance than a 5k and I was running 4 or 5 milers here and there so I knew I just wanted to keep up my running base going in to this.  March in MN can be super cold or it can be super warm.  You just never know what you're going to get.  Well this year it was super cold!

I was scrambling around the morning of the race because my son was playing in a hockey game early that morning.  I went to the game for as long as I could and headed out early for my race.  I got there and oh my goodness, there were people everywhere!  I never found my friend that I signed up with so I ended up running the race solo which is fine.  I'm not one to chat during a race anyway.  I crossed the start line about 30 minutes after the gun went off.  I just tried to keep moving while waiting because it was about 15°.  Once I crossed the start line, I weaved in and out of people the entire race.  It was frustrating but what do you do?!?  It had snowed a bit the night before too so the roads were slick.  But with the poor conditions, I did pretty good.  I ended finishing in 40:40.  With better conditions I could have done quite a bit better but I will take it.  I would definitely sign up for this race again because the atmosphere was so much fun (lots of people and bagpipes playing along the course) but I wouldn't go into it aiming for a PR because I would more than likely get too frustrated.

And now I will leave you with some crappy race pictures....

You're welcome :) 

~Jessica

Didn't See That One Coming

Exactly 2 weeks ago today I was hit like a ton of bricks with a sickness.  I was exhausted, had a fever and a cough.  I stayed home from work for a day and felt better besides my cough.  Once I went back to work I felt good but when I got home at night I was exhausted and the fever would come back. This went on all week that first week.  By the end of the first weekend I thought I was good.  Last Tuesday rolled around and it was like I was back at square one.  I would come home at night, eat a little something and fall asleep in the recliner.  I am hoping that I am at the tail end of it right now.  I still am a little congested and have a terribly nagging cough but feel good otherwise.  The exhaustion seems to be gone.  I did make a trip to the doc the middle of last week but of course he said it was just a virus and all you can do is rest.  Womp womp.  I was hoping for more answers and maybe some antibiotics.  With that doctor visit and all of the different medicines and cough drops I have tried, this sickness has cost me a few hundred big ones.  Can't wait to be over it.

In the last 2 weeks I have gotten in exactly 2 runs.  It has been driving me crazy!  I can definitely tell that I have become a workout junkie.  Which is a good thing I guess.  I did do some weight training in those 2 weeks but when I tried to do some cardio, I wold have a coughing attack and had to stop.  Today I did a very short run to test the waters. I got in about 2.75 miles.  It went okay but my lungs did hurt a little.  Such a strange feeling.  Hopefully I can work my mileage back up.

Now that I am back at it I am hoping to get some new things posted for you here.  I would like to start sharing some meal ideas with you.

Hope all is well with all of you!

~Jessica

Changes

I have been running for over a year.  Things started out pretty slow but I have been running 3 - 3.5 miles consistently for the last 6 months or so.  I love to run.  Once things thaw out here and I can get out and hit the pavement, I plan to increase that mileage.  Right now I run on the treadmill because I am afraid to slip and fall on the all of the ice that has accumulated.  The treadmill is alright but I get bored easily. 

Other than running, I didn't do a whole lot of other training.  A week ago I got some workout plans from efitmama on Instagram.  Follow her.  She is a hard core!  I love her workouts. But oh my goodness gracious have I been sore. It feels great though.  She is running a special on her workouts right now.  I highly recommend them.  I am so excited to see how my body changes from adding in the weight training.  Someday I just might be brave enough to share some pictures. :)

Are you trying anything new? 

MIA

I went MIA and here I am to say I'm sorry.  Life got so busy with the holidays on top of life in general. We had such a great time throughout the holidays but I am happy to be back in the swing of things.

I knew going in to the holidays that losing weight would be hard.  I definitely wanted to lose but in the back of my head I knew that if I could just maintain, I would be doing pretty good.  I am happy to report that not only did I maintain but I have lost.  Such a wonderful feeling to see that number go down each week I stepped on the scale.  Could I have done better?  Of course.  But part of my journey to a healthy life is to know that I can have treats in moderation and not deprive myself.

I didn't stop working out through the holidays but my plan right now is to step things up a bit.  Yesterday I actually went to the gym twice.  I'm not entirely sure why I went early in the day knowing that I would be in town in the evening to bring my son to religion and I always work out while he is at religion.  So, I just went twice.  And I felt awesome.

A new little fitness center opened in my small town.  It is not a gym but a center run by a personal trainer who is offering small classes.  I attended the open house yesterday and was excited to sign up for a class.  I signed up for a total body workout class that uses the Step 360 PRO.  It starts on Monday morning and I can't wait!  I will fill you in on how it goes.

Here is a little video about the Step 360 PRO:




~Jessica

December Challenges

Challenges keep me motivated.  I have decided to partake in a couple of challenges for the month of December.  I missed the first 2 days of the month but I started out yesterday and will continue on.

First of all we have the plank challenge which was started by Fat Chick 2 Fit Chick.  All you have to do is plank every day.  See how long you do it and watch your time increase throughout the month.  Planking is not always fun but will get results.  Can't wait to see what I can do at the end of the month!

Yesterday's plank.....

Share your plank photos on Instagram using the hashtag #merryplanksmas.  Follow me if you would like - jessicads81.

The next challenge is a squat challenge.  It is called a Holiday Squat-a-Thon by Fitspobook.  Follow along on Instagram. Use the hashtag #squatathon.

I did 30 squats yesterday but couldn't take a picture of myself doing them so you are out of luck on that one :)

Join me in these fun challenges that will keep us motivated through the holidays!

~Jessica