Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links

 

Another Injury

Just as my back was starting to feel better and I was planning ahead to start back running, I injured my calf. Needless to say my workouts started out strong for the first half of the week, but became practically non-existent by the end of the week… 

 

Overview of the Week

Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…

 

Sunday

Cycling: 10 miles
• Average speed: 16.3 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 9:34 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62°
• What I wore: bike shorts and tank

Walking: 1 mile
• Average pace: 20:00 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 10:51 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 63°
• What I wore: shorts and tank

Because my back had really been bothering me the day before and was still a little stiff, I opted to keep my workouts low-key and shorter than usual. As much as I prefer being outside, I’m always grateful to have indoor options and put both my spin bike and treadmill (affiliate links) to use.

 

Monday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

What a crazy day! I worked from 6:30 AM to 4 PM training 9 clients and with only two 15 minute drive times. I got up at 5 AM to lift before seeing any clients and was too pooped to go for a walk at the end of the day. I ate lunch (a Quest bar and apple) during my drive times.

 

Tuesday

Cycling: 12 miles
• Average speed: 17.6 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:24 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 63°
• What I wore: bike shorts and jog bra

Walking: 5K
• Average pace: 13:54 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 147 feet
• Start time: 11:18 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 50° and sunny, climbing to 53°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, velour jacket, gloves, mittens, and visor (took jacket and mittens off early on)

 

Wednesday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

It was another very busy work day!

 

Thursday

Cycling: 15 miles
• Average speed: 16.4 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:55 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62°
• What I wore: bike shorts and tank

I kept my virtual ride with Kim on the shorter side because I planned to ride outside later in the day. More on the ride that sadly didn’t happen, later…

Kim and I showed up twinning even though we didn’t plan it. And no, that’s not the same tank I wore on Sunday. This one has tiny fluorescent green’ish-yellow dots that don’t show up in the picture and has a Ragnar logo on it. During the ride I got hot and took off my tank leaving me wearing my light mauve colored jog bra that’s pretty much exactly the same color as my skin. I assured Kim that I did indeed have on a top. LOL

Collage courtesy of Kim

Walking: 1 mile
• Average pace: 14:37 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 21 feet
• Start time: 7:34 AM
• Location: neighborhood roads
• Weather: 48° and cloudy
• What I wore: capris, l/s shirt, nylon shell, and gloves

After our ride, I took my SUV to the local Goodyear to get its oil changed and walked home.

A little while later when someone posted to our ladies bike group asking for suggestions for hills to climb as she trains for RAGBRAI, I volunteered to join her for a ride later in the afternoon so I could show her my two favorite local hills. Suddenly, my solo ride was going to be with a new friend and I was super pumped; however, the universe had other plans and I injured myself during a client session (I felt a sharp pop as if someone had kicked me in my left calf while demo’ing an exercise). I hoped it was just an intense cramp, but quickly decided that it was most likely a muscle strain since I couldn’t put weight on that leg. I started icing it immediately after the session and later popped two Advil.

Needless to say, I had to cancel my bike ride and couldn’t even walk back to Goodyear to pick up my vehicle. 😩

 

Friday

Strength training: 45 minutes of upper body and core

Balance and stretching: 45 minutes

I awoke surprised at the pain in my leg when my feet hit the floor. I’d slept so well and with zero pain, that in my groggy state, I’d forgotten all about my calf injury. I rummaged through our various elbow, knee, wrist, and ankle wraps until I found a calf sleeve I’d last used many years ago. A combination of wearing the sleeve and taking two Advil got me through my day with less pain and limping than on the previous day.

I had no problem doing my own strength training, but skipped legs just to play it safe (some would have been impossible to perform). I limped (literally and figuratively) through teaching my balance and stretching class. During many of the balance drills, I was only able to demonstrate the activity by using my right leg.

 

Saturday

It felt weird to not start my day with a walk, a run, or a bike ride, but my calf was still hurting so anything like that was impossible. I hobbled through teaching my 2-hour fitness machine orientation class which I teach twice a month at the 55+ community. I was very cautious while showing how to use the bikes and treadmill, but suprisingly, the only piece of equipment that I couldn’t demonstrate properly was the elliptical.

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…

 

Questions
  • • Any advice for my calf from those who have had a similar injury, like how long did it take for your strain to heal? ~ If it’s not substantially  improved by tomorrow, I plan to see how quickly my PT can fit me in. I’m also torn about using my TheraGun. Some articles I see say to absolutely not use it on a strain and others say it’s a great way to assist the healing process.
  • • What was your favorite workout of the week? ~ It’s always fun catching up with Kim!
  • • Did you run in race this weekend? ~ No

 

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

 

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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.