Humbled

It was just a 10-minute YouTube video that I found with the ever clever search "arm workout."

Except that it wasn't. It was an eye-opener.

Silas was napping on Tuesday (well, I thought he was napping but that's neither here nor there), and it presented me with a much anticipated opportunity. It was my chance to add in some low intensity resistance training. I didn't want much and I expected even less. The goal was to get in something and regain some of the tone that I had lost over the previous three weeks.

I grabbed a set of 5-pound dumbbells and cued up a quick workout. It began with 10 rep sets of front raises and lateral raises, which target the shoulders. Five pounds would have been my go-to weight for barbell class, which has far more than 10 reps. It was a weight that felt good, sometimes easy.

Well, by rep seven, I realized that 5 pounds was no longer comfortably challenging for muscular endurance training. It was downright hard.

I wanted to cry ... but Silas took care of that for me. I waited a few reps to see whether he was having a moment or actually waking up. Just as the workout moved onto overhead presses, I realized that he was up and I was done. I could have been disappointed ... but I was relieved. I could stop the workout, stop feeling weak and do it without "quitting." I had to take care of Silas, after all.

I might have forgotten the situation or buried it under the Boppy, at least, if it hadn't been for Miles. The little stinker. That night, he saw the weight peaking out from under the couch. He picked it up and with one and, did a shoulder press.

"Look how strong I am, Mom!" he shouted. "Look how strong I am."

Yeah, buddy. You are so strong.

As for momma, she's got some work to do.

And that's OK. Honestly, I'm a bit excited to create a strength training plan and see where it takes me. I think I'm going to focus on muscular endurance, incorporating high reps, low weights and lots of body weight. I might even get crazy and get my hands on PiYo for some ideas and workouts.

Have you ever tried PiYo? What are your thoughts?

Note: I started this post last week but, well, I didn't finish it till today. Whoops.

Back on my feet

The discharge instructions from the hospital in regards to my C-section are fairly standard. No driving for 10 to 14 days. If I have increased pain or swelling at the site of the incision, seek medical attention. Follow up with the doctor in six weeks.

But what struck me as vague, at best, and problematic, at worst, was the plan of care for activity.

"Activity as tolerated. ... Return to regular diet and activity as tolerated."

Well, then, it's time to bust out the running shoes.

Ha! Just kidding.

Even though running has taught me to tolerate a lot of things, including discomfort and reasonable amounts of pain, it has also instilled a valuable lesson: Don't be stupid with your body. I would love to go for a run right now but I wouldn't deem it prudent.

However, I have been feeling the itch to be active again as my pain levels drop each day. I'm 19 days post partum, and I have little discomfort around the incision at rest or during activities of daily life. Any troubles seem to be internal and more than likely related to the uterus shrinking down to size (according to my very non-expert personal opinion).

I decided to test the road on Monday with a short walk to see how everything felt. I got Silas settled in the stroller and headed out for a mile loop that I did a lot during my run streak – also with Silas. Sort of.

It was windier, cloudier and chillier than I had hoped but it felt good to move. So good. I didn't have any pain – dull or jabbing – at the incision site during the walk. The only awareness was muscular in nature. Like, holy hell, woman. Your body was cut open 17 days ago and you want to do this. It quieted down, though, within minutes of arriving home.

Baby neck rolls! Note: I had a hat on him and had his head covered for the walk. It just didn't work for the selfie :)

Feeling confident and a wee bit bored on Tuesday, I strapped Silas into the carrier to see how we would fare on a longer jaunt. And by longer, I mean 1.5 miles total. I didn't want to push my body or him, as we're still establishing a nursing schedule. (*Refer to the part about not being stupid.) It was warmer, sunnier and lovelier. He napped, I listened to a podcast on speaker and enjoyed the day.

Even though I'm out for 30 minutes or less, it's amazing what the walks do for me. I feel bright, alert and enthusiastic. I rang my grandma during another 1.5 miles this morning and she noted that I sounded back to normal.

"Not yet," I replied. "But soon."

Roll With It: Myofascial Release {A Three Things Thursday Post}

Bump. Buh-bump. Buh-bump, buh-bump, BUH-BUMP.

My muscles seemed to ripple over the blue foam roller as I not so gracefully glided over it. It was no surprise to me - I've been feeling tightness in my right quad for at least a week and telling running partner Tami that I was going to roll for two. And it was three weeks ago that I got some pro tips from a strength and conditioning coach while "on assignment" for work.

It was three weeks of telling myself that, this time, I was going to be diligent about it. Three weeks of thinking and not doing, for which I was paying for it. The evidence? The tears rolling down my face.

For the uninitiated, foam rolling is a form of myofascial release. The fascia is a web-like covering surrounding the muscles, tissue and bones. Exercise can cause the fascia to become tight and lose its pliability, which can cause pain and affect flexibility and stability. Applying external pressure to the fascia (read: release) can smooth it out, reduce pain and restore range of motion.

Through work and personal experience, I've learned a few things about MFR that I wanted to share.

Source

It's not foam rolling! Foam rolling is such a popular term but when you think about it, may forms of MFR don't involve foam at all. I have three tools - a blue foam roller, an Enso roller and a Tiger Tail. I can only use one to truly foam roll.

Am I being nit-picky? Yes but I find it limiting because there are other things you can use. A lacrosse ball, for one. It's popular in the CrossFit crowd. A more conservative option is a softball and then a tennis ball. A softball is bigger, allowing the pressure to be distributed over a greater space. It's great to use in small spots such as the back.

Don't know which to pick? Go for a grid roller. It's not as aggressive as a trigger point or Enso but its dense core makes it sturdier and more likely to stand up to repeated use.

Perfect 10. Once upon a time, I had two methods of rolling. No. 1: Go over the targeted muscle a few times until I felt the sting and then stop before the tears started. No. 2: Roll until I had no more tears left.

In case you were wondering, neither way was good. A good rule of thumb is to give each section of muscle 10 good rolls. If a spot is particularly sensitive, maintain pressure for about 30 seconds and release.

The fascia, in a way is like a knotted up rubber band. MFR undoes the knots and gives it a stretch. If you continue to roll, you continue to stretch the band. Eventually, it will lose elasticity. For athletes, this means a loss of power and force.

Planes of motion. It's easy to think of rolling the front of the leg and the back of the leg. However, the fascia continues around the side so it's important to hit all areas of the muscle group.

Example: You are rolling your calves. Up and down, up and down. The muscle flattens out against the roller, and you hit about 50 percent of it. Take a few rolls to rotate to each side and hit the outer and inner calves. If it's uncomfortable, position-wise, this target area is great for the Tiger tail. Hit the back of the leg, the side and even the front a bit - but gently.

Rotating as you roll also applies to the hips and the glute medius (side of your butt). Runners often target the IT band but make sure to go to the top of the hip and rotate in to target the flexors.

Bonus: Reader feedback. I asked for tips and questions on Facebook, and Kristy asked how to roll without the wee ones and dog thinking it's a game.

Let me tell you this: Rolling your IT band on the Enso while your 3-year-old sits on your hip ... not fun. And, sadly, my Tiger Tail has had more use as a sword than an MFR tool. That said, my advice is to give the kids their own "foam roller" and distract the dog. There are all kinds of foam shapes at the craft store, and they are very inexpensive. Pick up a few and let them decorate with markers. When you roll, you get your (unattractive, more expensive) roller and they have theirs. As for the dog, Denali mostly ignores me now but a Kong with peanut butter does wonders.

Robyn offered this tip: It's an early injury-detection (and prevention) system. FR picks up tight spots before you notice them running. I'm often surprised by what's tight or painful on the FR, and those spots occasionally develop into a running injury if I don't pay attention to them.

Post-workout recovery: Finding a better bar

Here are some things we all {should} know:

• How we recover from a workout can be just as important as the workout itself;
• A carbohydrate:protein ratio of 4:1, consumed within 30 minutes of exercise, helps the body replace tapped out glycogen stores;
• Protein shakes and specially formulated recovery drinks are what people want us to think we need after a workout.

One more thing. Not all of us have time for that kind of follow up.

At least I don't, when you consider that I have negative 15 minutes to get to work from the gym.

So while I'd like to go home, take a hot shower without flip flops and relish a green monster {cue eye roll}, I'll be honest: I don't have time for that shit - at least not until I get my hands on a DeLorean and a sweet puffer vest. So, I do my best and throw in a bar, any bar, that I find in my pantry and manically eat it on my way to work, washing it down with free coffee from the Y.

The problem with this scenario, though, is that not all bars are created equal. Far from it. Some bars are loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Others have lots of chemicals and a list of ingredients that are harder to pronounce than "refrigerator" with a mouth full of peanut butter. The good ones are pricey, though, and sometimes a calorie BOMB.

Currently in my house {not including Mark's cereal bars and Miles' granola bars} are Clif Mojo Sweet and Salty, found on clearance at Kroger; Fiber One meal bars, sent to me for free through Bzz Agent; and Kind bars - lots of them as I won two giveaways.

Let's talk about how they stack up:

Clif Mojo 

Nutrition: The bar has 200 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrates and 8 grams of protein, making the carb:protein ratio nearly 5:2 and a bit protein-heavy for recovery. The sugar content is manageable at 8 grams, coming from brown rice syrup and, I'm guessing, oat syrup solids. Those are organic, by the way.

Ingredients: The list is good, not great, as there's a lot of recognizable things - almonds, cashews, pecans - but some creepy things such as vegetable glycerin and gum arabic.

Taste: Good but not craveworthy.

Fiber One Meal Bars

Nutrition: 170 calories, 22 grams of carbohydrates and 10 grams of protein. Again, this is not a good ratio for recovery - almost 2:1. The sugars ate at 9 grams as is the dietary fiber.

Ingredients: The list is what you would expect out of a mass produced snack found in a traditional aisle at the grocery store. Among them: Sugar, fructose, soy protein isolate, yogurt powder, dipotassium phosphate and  propylene giycol.

Taste: Nasty. So, so nasty. I used to eat Fiber One bars by the truck full during my Weight Watchers days, as the high fiber content kept the points value low. Either my tastes have changed or the ingredients used to make this bar a "meal" have taken away the flavor. It is chalky, hard to chew and has an unpalatable after taste.

Kind bars {Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt}

Nutrition: 200 calories, 16 grams carbohydrates and 6 grams of protein. It needs a few more carbs to be better for recovery but it's not too bad. It also has 5 grams of sugar - lowest of the bunch - and 7 grams of fiber.

Ingredients. Kind gets real - mixed nuts, chicory root fiber, honey, cocoa powder and sea salt. There is some crisp rice, soy lecithin and palm kernel oil, which might be not as good but it's far from being offensive.

Taste. Between the two giveaways, I've tried a good number of flavors and styles of kind - from the Healthy Grains line to the lower in sugar bars. There has not been a single one that I've tried that I didn't like, and the Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt is downright addicting.

Other bars that make it in my rotation: Clif, especially the seasonal flavors; Lara ALT - not the uber; Bonk Breakers; Picky Bars; and Luna Protein bars. I am not sure I have a favorite. Wait. I do. It's the one that is on sale.

If you are curious what to look for in a bar, think whole grains, dried fruit and nuts and seeds. A bar with fewer than 300 calories is best, especially if you are looking at it as a snack, and be sure that the sugar content isn't crazy as some can have as much as a candy bar.

Do you have a favorite protein/energy bar? Or, do you get sassy and make your own?

Veterans Marathon. The end.

The pain of the marathon has all but disappeared.

But the pictures will last forever!

I am walking like a normal person, my legs are free from soreness. The chafe marks from my fuel belt that once resembled tummy tuck incisions no longer sting in the shower. The days of 3,000 calories have been replaced with more moderate, mindful eating.

And, the dark cloud hanging over the day, seems to be blowing over. Or, at least I'm no longer acting like a complete and utter sassy pants when I think about how the day played out. (Reading all of your comments on my recap post is a big part of that - THANK YOU! I may or may not have cried while reading them. See above comment about a sassy pants.)

I've even stopped researching spring marathons for a redemption race. Rather, I'm focusing my energy on recovering like a boss.

Sunday: Mostly rest save for raking leaves
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 45-minute walk on the treadmill while watching "The Walking Dead"
Wednesday: 30 minutes on the elliptical + Bodypump tonight (at the new gym)
Thursday (plan): Short run + teach class at the YMCA
Friday (plan): Heated yoga
Saturday (plan): Bodypump + short run
Sunday (plan): Try to rally troops for easy run in the afternoon

I'm loosely following Hal Higdon's zero week plan, coupled with the constraints of Miles' new 5:30 a.m. wakeup and the cold front. I might have picked a crap day to run a marathon but I picked the right week to take off from running!

How do you recover from a race?