Three goals

Hello! It’s been a while…

When I wrote my last post, I had no idea how long of a break I would take. Turns out four months away from blogging flies by!

Three goals
I had three main goals for this year when we decided not to sign up for any big races. I am happy to say I achieved all of them, with a few smaller ones accomplished, too!

Goal #1: Visit the mountains often

This was a smashing success with 17 weekends spent out there, and 11 days for summer vacation!

We hiked a ton, and I trail ran and SUPed to my heart’s content.

I even paddled in my first SUP race in Canmore and hope to make it an annual event!

Goal #2: Heal my injuries/ailments
After taking a break from running, strengthening like crazy, and seeing numerous people, I found a chiropractor who I credit for getting me back to pain-free running!

One day in late July I realized not one thing hurt when I was running, or afterwards. My hamstring, glutes, piriformis, iliac crest, knee, and hip were all quiet.

I’m still working on my weaknesses so I can continue! However, new aches are constantly popping up, which I attribute to goal three.

Goal #3: Get pregnant
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a couple photos. I am excited to say I am now past the halfway mark of my pregnancy and am due on March 6, 2015.

I’m still trying to stay active with trail running, biking on the trainer, and strength training. Hopefully I can continue throughout!

We ran a 12km trail race on our sixth anniversary. I was 17 weeks, and have definitely ‘popped’ since then.

Everything else
Other than that, my sister had a precious baby boy at the end of July so I now have an amazing niece and a nephew!

The first year of my garden box was a blooming success.

And it was our hottest summer I can remember.

What’s new in your world?

Leg update & weekend workouts

Let’s just say my running/racing fever has reached an all-time high with spring weather {hopefully} here to stay, and a lot of major race weekends already behind us.

Despite my race fever, I’m happy I didn’t sign up for any races. I’m still really struggling with my left side. I’d be downright depressed if I had big races on my agenda!

But, I still want to have a summer/fall full of running- be it long or short, in the mountains or on local trails, or even a quick loop around my neighbourhood.

Leg
After a run a few weeks ago, my high hamstring and butt hurt to even sit on the toilet- not normal!

I’ve been back twice in the last two weeks for IMS (Intramuscular Stimulation, using a needle to activate a reflex causing the muscle to release) to ease the pain.

(If you’re curious as to what IMS/dry needling looks like- check out this video and don’t mind her sound effects!)

We think the major problem (right now) is actually an adductor (inner thigh) muscle right near the top attachment and sit bones. When he asks what hurts the most, it’s easiest to describe it as my crotch. Needless to say it’s quite an uncomfortable place to deal with but hopefully it helps! We also take care of my hamstring and muscles running around the top of my hip.

The physiotherapist doesn’t think my muscles are weak. For some reason they’re just really tightening up and not wanting to relax on their own. However, I’m still strengthening my hips and glutes like crazy!

I feel frustrated. Hopefully I can figure out what’s causing my issues since it’s definitely not distance or speed! I’ve been handling it remarkably well and haven’t been {too} moody while not running and figuring out what I can do pain-free. Thankfully biking doesn’t bother it and neither does any strength training.

Weekend
We had a quiet Mother’s Day weekend with my parents in Arizona and Kelly’s mom in Vancouver with his sister.

I attempted a run with Kelly on Saturday morning. I could definitely feel my muscles and didn’t want to push it so cut the run a bit short. Man, did I get out of running shape fast! I forget how hard it is to get back into running when you’ve been off for a while. Thankfully Kelly was patient with my slower pace and heavy breathing!

On Sunday Kelly and I hopped on our mountain bikes and rode to the river valley where we enjoyed the trails! We rode for almost four hours, and I was toast by time we got home.

If I can’t run much this year, I’d love to hit the trails on my bike.

I was lacking a lot of confidence and ran my bike on parts of the singletrack, but that just means I have a lot of room to grow!

How did you celebrate Mother’s Day?

Have you experienced muscles that just don’t want to relax? What did you do to help them?

KT tape winner and yard renos

Thank you to everyone who entered the KT tape giveaway! It’s surprising how many people use it and for such a variety of ailments. I wish there was a cure all for sports-related injuries.

The winner is Lisa! I’ve sent her an email.

For those of you that haven’t tried it, I recommend going out and getting some. In Canada I know Shoppers Drug Mart and Sport Chek sell it. Check out the KT website for store locations in the States.

—

Kelly’s the hardest worker I know, and once he gets an idea he acts on it.

On Friday evening he discussed some yard reno ideas he had. Saturday morning he woke me up to tell me he was going to the hardware store. By the end of the day our deck was gone. And by the end of Sunday I had a garden box! I am beyond excited to try my hand at growing a few vegetables this year.

I’ll post some before and after photos once everything is finished.

For now, I’ll leave you with Harold’s reaction.

He’s not sure about this!

What’s your favourite garden fresh vegetable? Any advice on which ones are easiest to grow?!

KT Tape review & giveaway

At this time last year I was desperate for healthy knees. I had two big races on the horizon and didn’t want injury to get in the way.

I took the usual routes and lowered my mileage, went to physio, did my prescribed exercises, and rolled my legs like crazy. Everything helped a little, but nothing helped a lot.

If you read my blog last year of followed my Instagram (thechangeofpace), you would also notice the bright tape I wore for all my races and any long rides or runs.

IM Coeur d’Alene 2013

Kelly, dealing my frustration, picked up a few rolls of KT tape for me to try. I was instantly a fan.

KT tape is an elastic sports and fitness tape designed for muscle, ligament and tendon pain relief and support. It creates neuromuscular feedback that inhibits or facilitates stronger firing of muscles and tendons (from their website).

In simple language, it provided my knees and quads the additional support they required and took pressure off my kneecaps.

The good

It really does help. I fell in love with the tape instantly. Sometimes I doubted its ability and thought it might be placebo effect. But each time I tried to go long without it, my knees hurt. Each time I used it, I felt great.

You can wear KT tape for virtually any activity. I wore KT tape to bike, run, and even swim. I wore it for a half iron distance triathlon and two Ironmans. The tape stayed on throughout the full 12+ hours!

IM Canada Whistler 2013

It’s user-friendly. The KT tape website has instructional videos for nearly every body part. (Side note- don’t know why I haven’t thought of it before…I’m going to try it on my hamstring!)

It also comes in handy strips and easily tears for application. You can put it on anywhere. (I actually put extra KT tape in my transition bags in case I’d need to reapply during my races, as I knew it would be easy to do.)

Comfort. I wore the tape literally hundreds of times over the summer. It never irritated me, and most of the time I forgot I was even wearing it. KT tape flexes with your movements.

Pops of colour. Call it superficial, but I love the colour selection of KT tape. It’s bright and reflective. I made it my mission to match my KT tape to my outfits!

The bad

Tan lines. Depending on where you need the tape, it can make for bad tan lines!

Cost. KT tape can be expensive if you’re using it often and for multiple body parts. But, it is on par with other tapes out there. To me, you can’t put a price on running/biking/insert your activity here pain free!

Adhesion. The website says you can wear it for up to five days but I found I couldn’t wear it for more than two. With the amount of sweat and water I poured into the strips though, I couldn’t have asked for more.

Truthfully, there aren’t really any negatives to KT tape. I am convinced I wouldn’t have made it to the start line of both races, nonetheless achieved a personal best in one.

Since I started using it, I’ve recommended it to numerous people! If you have a niggle that’s causing you problems, or if you’re trying to recover from an injury and still train, KT tape may be the answer.

Giveaway time

One reader will receive a roll of KT tape to test out! Here’s what you can do to win…

USE THE RAFFLECOPTER LINK to enter! : http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/85a9af0/

Mandatory: Visit the KT tape website and leave me a comment about what colour you’d like or what body part you’d use it on.

Optional extra entries:

• Follow KT Tape on Twitter
• Tweet about the giveaway with a link back here and include @KTTape
• Follow KT Tape on Instagram
• Follow me on Instagram

The giveaway ends Sunday, April 27 at midnight. Open to residents of the US and Canada.

*KT Tape offered to send me a roll to try. Since I know I love the product, they offered to give one to a reader! I wasn’t compensated for the review; I just truly believe in the product.

The walk of shame

You know what I’m talking about…
…things didn’t go as planned.
…maybe you feel sheepish or a bit embarrassed.
…sometimes you even have to swallow back tears.

I’m not talking about that walk of shame.

I’m talking about when you go for a run only to find out you’re hurt or sick and have to walk the rest of the way home.

I’m no stranger to it: I’ve walked for long distances, I’ve called family to pick me up, I’ve walked in the middle of winter when my clothes are soaked with sweat and not nearly warm enough (one of the main reasons I always try to run with a phone now!).

It’s happened to Kelly, and I’ve run home to get a vehicle, we’ve called family, and he’s even hopped in a passing cab.

With the exception of one time (gut-wrenching cramps), it’s always due to injury-related pain that stops me from going any further.

I’ve had the walk of shame a few times in as many weeks.

Luckily I haven’t made it more than a block from home, so it’s been a short walk. That doesn’t mean tears of frustration don’t threaten to bubble out. Unluckily, it means I wasn’t able to go more than a block without intense pain.

After my IMS treatment, pain moved into the upper calf muscles of my left side. It was so sharp and severe I had to stop immediately. It felt like something was going to explode.

I talked to a few people about it. One physiotherapist thought it was just really tight calf muscles, so he gave me stretches to work it out. (Unfortunately, those gave me knee pain!) Another person thought it was a bursa sac bothering me.

I stretched the best I could, tried to roll it (so painful), used tiger balm, and wore compression socks.

I’m not out of the woods yet, but it’s been feeling much better. I ran on the treadmill last weekend so I wouldn’t have to walk home dejected (again) if the pain came back. It was a success! I ran again on Wednesday on the treadmill, incorporating six miles into a circuit.

On Saturday I rode long (and at better watts than ever before for 80km/50 miles). I’ve been itching for a good run in our spring weather, so Kelly and I planned a Sunday morning date.  We went for about an hour and 20 minutes and my calf felt awesome!

My left hip and hamstring got pretty tight, but I’m going to baby them for a few days and stick to strength and cycling.

I miss doing all my workouts in the fresh air!

Kelly’s gone mountain biking the last two weekends, but I’m not brave enough to go in freezing temps. Hopefully soon.

Have you experienced the walk of shame? (Either definition…no judgment!)
Tell me about it! 

Wednesday web links – warmups, race transfers, beaches & the office

I haven’t shared any interesting links/reads with you guys in forever! Here are a few sites that caught my eye lately.

Best warmup
I’ve been having serious issues with my left leg (from the top down)! I went and saw another physio therapist last week, and he thinks by strengthening my hips and loosening my calf muscles I should be ok.

He also gave me an awesome warmup to do, which will really help to open my hips and prepare my legs for a workout.

It’s actually from Lesley Paterson, the bad-ass beauty who races (and often wins) XTERRA events. It takes 10 minutes and focuses on dynamic stretching.

Ironman transfer program
One of the scariest things about signing up for an Ironman (in my opinion) is not knowing if you’ll make it to the start line. Will you get injured? Will life events come up preventing you from participating? An Ironman is not a cheap entry fee ($750+), and it would be a hard pill to swallow to lose it.

 

(Thank you KT tape for helping me get to two big finish lines last year!!)

I was so happy to read Ironman has implemented a North American transfer pilot program. It’s not perfect, but I think it’s an awesome step in the right direction, allowing people to transfer Ironman races or move down to a 70.3! Read the fine print for all the details.

(The Challenge Family offers a decent cancellation policy and is growing a ton!)

Best beaches
I’m a beach lover through and through. The tables at our wedding were actually beach names of places we’ve visited together.

We’ve only been to two of Tripadvisor’s best beaches, so it looks like we need to plan a few beach vacations!

Whitehaven Beach, Australia in 2004

Office plants
I’ve had a few different plants at work, all of which die in my care. I want to get another one and remembered an old article I read, The 6 Best Plants for a Healthy Office, from Men’s Health.

I have direct sunlight, so I’m thinking peppermint since they say it’s easy to care for!

Do you do a proper warmup before a workout? What’s your favourite beach?