A Quick Little Update!

I thought I'm a little overdue for an update on all the walking and shin stuff, so here I am spreading the cheer on this Easter Sunday!

I've been in physical therapy for the last three weeks, and it's been great.  They started with flexibility and range of motion with my muscles and joints along my feet, ankles, and legs.  At the first appointment, they told me I was underdeveloped in just about everything which had surprised me a bit as I always thought I took good care of my legs.  But it's amazing how many muscles you don't really use effectively and how bad your posture can be without knowing it.

Last week they re-measured everything and found I improved in just about all aspects; my ankles' range of motion is now normal and even a little better than that.  They're continuing much of the flexibility exercises but now they've added balance and strength training, particular on my core.  I asked them what my core had to do with my shins, and it pretty much has everything to do with them.  By strengthening my core, I'll have more balance, improved posture, and I should find it's easier to speed walk and perhaps even run.

They've also been doing electro-stimulation of the muscles around my shins, and that's a cool experience.  Somehow it reduces the inflammation and in turn lessens the pain.  Inflammation and pain are cyclical with each other, so the goal is to put a stop to that cycle.

The weather today is terrific - sunny and 72 degrees around noon.  Though I'm really sleepy because of a busy night on duty as the RD on campus, I couldn't resist putting my sneakers on and going outside for a walk.  First I did some of the stretching exercises I learned, then I went out and briskly! walked 2.4 miles at a 14:09 min/mile pace.  That's pretty close to what I was doing at my first half marathon last June.  This was the first time I walked over two miles since February, and it was nice to do a true brisk walk.  The fantastic thing is I had no shin pain, with the exception of a little achiness after the 2 mile mark.  That's perfectly okay.

I felt like I was smiling ear-to-ear on my walk the whole time.  I genuinely feel elated at my progress.  I can sense the endorphins flowing today.  With the amount of stress and roller coaster emotions I've encountered in a variety of personal aspects the last few weeks, I think my return to brisk walking will finally put some balance back into my life.  In a figurative and literal sensitive, I'm working on strengthening my core.  Woot!

Trying A New Work-Out

In an effort to expand my work-out routine from just jogging/walking, I went to a local sporting goods store today on the search for free weights and a kettlebell.  Admittedly, my original plan went astray.  I was a little overwhelmed by the selection there, and I decided that I'd go for something I'd never imagine myself purchasing.  An "As Seen on TV" work-out called KettleWorx.  It features cardio, core, and resistance routines on DVD using a light weight kettlebell.  They vary in weight from five to 20 pounds.  I thought kettlebells are supposed to be heavy, but these are not... well - so I thought until I actually did a work-out this afternoon.  This is designed to be done three times a week for 20 minutes each, over the course of six weeks.  First cardio, second core, and third resistance.  Then you repeat the next week, and supposedly it gets more intense over time.

I went with the ten pound kettlebell, but now I'm thinking a five pound weight probably would have been better for starting out.  The first routine is cardio (though it felt like strength training, too).  It consists of a warm-up, two sets of a variety of exercises, then a cooldown.  I honestly had to press the pause button after every couple of exercises, because I was either completely out of breath or shaking from muscle fatigue.  Yep, I might have to go back tomorrow and get the five pound weight.  I really enjoyed the cooldown period!  Ultimately, it took me about an hour instead of just 20 minutes and for that I'm a little ashamed although I did do the exercises. 

So on Monday, I'll move on to the "core" work-out.

Also, tomorrow - I plan on going for a brisk walk.  Something that has me slightly worried is that despite taking a very long break since my last jog (and sprint) on Monday, my shins are still bothering me.  Sometimes they ache, and sometimes they give me a little jabbing sharp pain.  I think I probably injured myself overdoing things.  But five days of no cardio (aside from the intense KettleWorx work-out) has been a little disheartening.  So a short two-mile brisk walk tomorrow is on the agenda.

Over and out.