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Post-Injury Learnings + My Husband’s Viral Tweet

While I was injured for a few months, I learned something: Just because I can do something, doesn’t mean I should.

What I mean is this: When I’m taking Refine classes, I get stronger. And when I get stronger, I’m able to lift heavier kettlebells, use heavier resistance on the pulley system and do the advanced version of any given exercise. And I go from two classes a week, to three, to four. But I don’t think it’s right for me and the way I am built to always do more more more. I already know I can get the benefits of the class without it – my problem is that the class is so much fun I WANT to do more. I crave it. I feel proud when I can use a heavier bell or add an extra resistance cord. But just because I can doesn’t always mean I should.

Don’t get me wrong – for many people, that is the entire point of exercise! You get strong, you move to the next level. But with my injury history I’m only now realizing that that isn’t right for my body. I have a very small frame – maybe that’s why, I don’t know. But I can tell you that I’m already noticing improvements in my strength from just going to Refine once a week (and not using much weight yet). Of course, everyone reaches a point where they have to do more – faster reps or heavier weight – to continue gaining benefits. But I can be more mindful about how I challenge myself.

For example, when I talked to Brynn (founder of Refine) about this, she suggested that when I am ready to pick up a kettlebell again, instead of racking them by my shoulders, I hold them with my hands, hanging down. Or I continuing to avoid exercises that just might not work for my body (like jumpbacks) and keep substituting them with ones that do, even if they’re not quite AS challenging (like med ball wall slams). I’m still boosting my heart rate and moving constantly and gaining strength – that is good in and of itself!

Plus, the benefit of a class like Refine is that I’ll always have an instructor ready to offer me a modification or alternative workout when an exercise doesn’t feel or look right. And one thing my Physical Therapist said that sticks with me – go with my gut. I’ll know when something doesn’t seem OK and that means I should stop right then and there. If I have any doubt about an exercise, don’t do it. Which makes me especially glad to have such great instructors at Refine to offer alternatives.

After the marathons, I’m sure I will go to class more – but I don’t think I will go more than three times a week again. I think I need to recognize my limits and remember that exercise is a personal thing. Just because my friend can take class five times a week and be awesome doesn’t mean I can, and that is OK. Just because I *could* do an overhead press after the last time I came back from my neck injury doesn’t mean I should have – clearly, since that brought on the recurrence of my injury. I need to recognize the limits of my body and remember I am still reaping the benefits of the class.

So much of exercise is learning what works for YOU – and that will always be different than what works for someone else.

I’m so far from type-A it’s laughable, but for some reason when it comes to classes I love, I get into this mindset where I plan my life around going X times a week. So many months off from my injury seem to have freed me from that, and I really value the extra free time to see my dog husband and dog.

Speaking of husband, we were sitting outside on a pier eating my favorite breakfast from my favorite Jersey City cafe Sam A.M. when he came across a funny article about the Kanye + Kim wedding. He wanted to take a photo but neither of us had a pen with us for him to place a little mark (he does this so he can easily identify when other websites steal his photos). We tried to figure out how to get Larry in it, but couldn’t find a good way and so he just snapped the photo and tweeted it. And then went viral:

With over 10,000 retweets and being picked up by multiple other sites (most who credited him, we can identify those who didn’t because his version has that crinkle in the corner). There is no real point to this story other than to express my excitement that a tweet Andy sent while we ate breakfast went viral. The real question is: How can we get rich?

Other news:

(1) Today is National Running Day! Women’s Running has a special offer in celebration of the day – just $1 an issue!

Me, my grandma and my Aunt Dale

Me, my grandma and my Aunt Dale

(2) Last night I went to the kickoff session for the American Cancer Society’s Team DetermiNation NYC Marathon team at the Hope Lodge. The Hope Lodge is a facility that offers lodging at no cost for cancer patients being treated in Manhattan. As part of our team efforts, we will be spending time there with patients, reminding us why we are all working so hard to raise money for ACS. My constant reminder every day is my Aunt Dale, who died almost two years ago from kidney cancer. I’m sharing my fundraising page here again because I appreciate any donation at any amount to help me reach my goal. Thank you! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/dorigray 

 

 

Bellingham Bay Marathon Training: Week 2 – My First Time At The Track

Last week’s marathon training brought two new workouts I’ve never done before: a track workout on an actual track and a progression run.

Before I get into the details, can I just say how excited I am about this particular race? The more I read about it, the more I love it. They just put up a page on their site that links to different blog coverage the race has gotten over the years and it’s been pretty addicting for me. From waiting INDOORS before the race to the gorgeous scenic point-to-point course, I just can’t wait to run this one!

And that excitement makes training even better – especially training as tough as this! Coach Abby (who is having a baby TOMORROW) is giving me a run for my money:

Week 2: May 26 – June 1

  • Monday – 2 mi warm up, 1 x 1 mi, 2 x 800, 4 x 400, 2 x 200 (AR), 1 mi cool down
  • Tuesday – Plyos + Hip Exercises
  • Wednesday – 5 mile progression run
  • Thursday - Refine
  • Friday – OFF
  • Saturday – 10 mi
  • Sunday – OFF

Total (running) miles: 21.89

Summary of Week 2 running:

THE TRACK! I went to the track for the first time in my life. It was Memorial Day and I knew the roads would be empty, so I figured I’d take advantage of that and drive to the beautiful waterfront turf track in Weehawken since that workout seemed really difficult to plan out timing wise in the park. Plus, I’d never done a track workout on an actual track, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to be badass.

The workout was: 2  mi warm up, 1 x 1 mi, 2 x 800, 4 x 400, 2 x 200 (AR), 1 mi cool down. This terrified me. I’d also never had a workout that combined different length intervals, plus it was so long! I have a set of goal paces Abby gave me, but as soon as I arrived at the track I knew it would be tough.

The sun was beating down hard, it was already 80 degrees and there was no shade in sight. I brought a handheld water bottle (now I know I can bring a bigger bottle if I ever go back to the track, since I just kept it on the bleacher and came back to it when I needed it) and when my water ran out, I found out the water fountain was not working. So, that sucked. And really, it just was not my day.

If you have to do a track workout, might as well do it with a view

If you have to do a track workout, might as well do it with a view

The 2 mile warm up was fine, but before I even had one full loop around the track I knew this 1×1 mile was not going my way. I could not go any faster than I was, but it wasn’t even close to my goal pace. In fact, it wasn’t even close to the pace I run 5K races in. As the mile progressed I felt worse and worse, and by the last quarter my neck pain kicked in. I finished the mile feeling defeated, but hopeful that the shorter intervals would be better.

And I used my AR (active recovery) time to stretch my neck, which luckily did not give me any more problems. But the two 800s weren’t great either. Really, none of it felt OK. I kept feeling cramps around my ribcage or on the side of my stomach. Breathing was hard. I was nauseous. After one particularly tough interval I had to sit down on the bleachers. I couldn’t get enough water, so I was probably dehydrated. My water was hot from sitting out in the sun. The water fountain wasn’t working. There was no break from the shade.

I don’t even mean to make excuses or sound so whiny. What it really came down to, was that it wasn’t my day. I sent Coach Abby an email with the subject ‘Frustrating’ where I didn’t even give her the excuses. I just listed my paces and told her I could not have pushed any harder, and I am not nearly as fast as I’d like to be. Her email back made me feel a LOT better. She said quite a few things, but the one that stuck with me most was this:

“It’s supposed to be hard. These are goal times that you may not hit every workout. You are where you are that day. They key is to push to your limit THAT DAY, no matter what the click says. If you do that, then you’ve done all you can do.”

And I definitely could not have done more. I need to factor in the heat into my times as well. It’s just hard. I mean, the fastest official recorded mile I’ve ever run was 6:53 during a 5K race (and not even my PR race!), so I should be able to run 7:05-7:10 on a track. But not every day will be my day, some days will be very hot with no shade and it might also be that I do better in a straight line than on a track. There will be many more opportunities before September 28 to figure this out! For those interested, here are my (frustrating to me) splits from that run:

1 mi – 7:52

800 – 3:52
800 – 3:55

400 – 1:51
400 – 1:53
400 – 1:54
400 – 1:53

200 – :57
200 – :52

FIRST EVER PROGRESSION RUN: And speaking of what I am capable of running, the next first I had was my first progression run! For those who never did this, a progression run means each mile is faster than the one before it. For this 5 mile run, Abby wanted my splits to be 10:00, 9:30, 9:00, 8:30 and 8:00.

During my first mile, I kept it nice and easy. But my watch was going a little nuts, showing paces that were insane, so I didn’t know exactly where I was. When I finished the first mile in 9:10, I was like ‘Fuck.’

I ruined the entire progression AND I made it much harder for myself – because now I had to be even faster than planned. And I was already concerned about the last couple of miles before I went ahead and ruined it.

Here’s how I did:

1 – 9:10
2 – 8:52
3 – 9:00
4 – 8:39
5 – 7:53

Mile 3 felt MUCH harder than Mile 1 (I actually wonder if my watch was just totally messed up for mile 1 and I did run it slower…), but I’m pretty proud of the last two miles. I might not have nailed my progression run, but it was my first time and it wasn’t a total bust.

And mile 5 just goes to show I had more in me for 1×1 mile at the track on a better day!

And lastly, I had my first double digit run of the cycle. It was a beautiful morning an I ran with my friend Miranda. The first 5 miles were awesome, then on the way back we were hit with the strongest headwind I have EVER run through. It was miserable. But I finished my 10 feeling strong!

Do you let challenging runs get you down?

Note: I am also running the NYC Marathon for the American Cancer Society’s Team DetermiNation in memory of my Aunt Dale, who died almost two years ago from kidney cancer. I will wear her name on my team shirt as I run 26.2 miles through the boroughs of my home city. I appreciate ANY donation at any amount to help me reach my goal. Thank you! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/dorigray 

dale

Me, my grandma and my Aunt Dale

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