50 Bricks & Tennessee Vacation

Alex, Laurie, and Sara. Sibling love!

Last Thursday, I returned from a five day trip to see some of our extended family in Tennessee. My immediate family drove down from Duluth, MN (including my Grandma!) and I flew from New Hampshire to meet them in Knoxville. It was great to catch up, play some cards, and enjoy some warmer weather. The picture above is of my brother, me, and my sister at the nature center in Knoxville.

While in Tennessee, we rented a house in the Tellico Valley area, which was a decent area to try some rehab jog/walks. I did ample stretching, and wore a knee strap to alleviate some of the strain. The first one on Sunday was OK.--pretty slow. I think Alex was bored by my recovery pace, but he stuck with me. I did a longer, 30 minute, session on Monday that felt a little better, but then I had tenderness after the jog. As a result, on Tuesday, I just did a quick 20 minute HIIT workout and skipped jogging. On our last morning there, I did another 30 minute jog/walk and again had the tenderness after. Overall, I am not pleased with where I am at with how my knee feels. During the flight, it was uncomfortable to find a good way to sit that did not irritate it. I'm going to have to find an alternative for awhile as I cannot skip exercise, but running and squatting seem to bug it the most. Cycling, swimming, and yoga seem to be the logical choices, so I anticipate a few changes to my training regimen in June.

In other fitness news, I have been quite active on Pinterest gathering recipes and quick, at-home workouts. I found those workouts to be useful and convenient in Tennessee. I think my family thought I was a bit odd doing jumping jacks, abs, and push ups around the rental house, but it worked for me! Feel free to check those out on my Feel the Burn board. What are your tips to fit in quick workouts on a tight schedule? Also, keep your eyes out for my Vega product review in June.

You'll notice in the title that I mentioned hitting my 50th perfect brick. I hit that benchmark on May 25th (hoping to squeeze in a few more in May), which signals 1/3 of the 150 brick goal I have set for 2014. Preferably, I'd like to hit that before the end of the summer or early fall. For my goal, a perfect brick is morning fasted cardio, frequency pushups and clean eating for the day. June is going to be a big month for bricks as I don't have holidays, travel, special events, etc. weighing me down (literally!). Therefore, I am going to attempt to take full advantage of a month where I have ample opportunity to eat clean and work out consistently. I am ahead of where I was tracking on 2013, so I am optimistic that I can meet my goal.

Workouts for 5/19 - 5/25
Monday- Pinterest workout, 20 minute jog/walk
Tuesday- 20 minute HIIT workout, short walk/sightseeing walk
Wednesday- 30 minute jog/walk and Pinterest workout
Thursday- Rest
Friday- Rest
Saturday- AM xfit
Sunday- AM yoga/pilates and 60 minutes cardio machines

Laura

Listen to Your Body

One of the most difficult tasks for a fitness enthusiast is listening to his/her body. I tend to think getting in the workout is more important than rest, which can be hard on my body. Yesterday, in the spirit of focusing on forward progress, I opted to not participate in the Rock N' Race in Concord, NH. It was disappointing to let down my White Mountain Crossfit team and some of my friends from the gym, but ultimately, my knee was not ready for a 5K. Could I have finished? Sure thing, I've done 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons; however, I think I'd rather recover fully and enjoy a summer of running and working out vs. pushing through one race that I've completed in the past.

Last week, I went to the chiropractor and they completed some ART therapy on the muscles around my knee and used the dry needling technique as well. I go to Performance Health in Concord and I have to say they are friendly, professional, and very effective! I have felt improvements each day, but still get irritations from certain movements (particularly squats). So after my Wednesday crossfit workout, while I was not in excruciating pain, I did have some slight pangs in the knee area. It was not worth it to me to have to sit out my favorite season for that one run.

Tomorrow, I leave for a five day vacation in Tennessee. While I am there, I am going to test some slow, short distance run/walk combos to ease back into the runner mode. Hopefully this gradual training, and a week off from my more intense crossfit workouts, will be just what I need to combat whatever junk is festering in my knee. The good news is that it does not seem to be patellar tendinitis. However, they were a bit concerned it could have something to do with my meniscus--hopefully not!

On another note, I am finding that I like the morning crossfit workouts. I feel like I accomplish quite a bit in those early hours and the group that attends those classes is very fun and friendly. I plan to keep those up as often as possible. I did sleep through my alarm one morning this week, but got to the 6PM which was a fine substitute for the day.

Workouts for Week of 5/12:

Monday- AM Xfit, lunch walk, PM yoga and short Pinterest xfit workout at home
Tuesday- Brief Pinterest xfit workout at home
Wednesday- AM walk/ lunch pilates/ PM xfit
Thursday- AM yoga
Friday- TBD but most likely a rest day
Saturday- TBD, planned morning boot camp video
Sunday- TBD, planned run/walk and Pinterest xfit workout in Tennessee

Frequency Set Push ups = 6 days of 5 sets of 15 = 450 push ups for the week
Perfect Bricks for 2014 so far = 49 (almost a 1/3 of the way to 150!)

Laura