The Husband and I took some time out of our work schedules this afternoon to price gyms.
We were members of LA Fitness until August, and then we quit because I was running outside so much. Since it looks like I’m being relegated to the pool (details below) and the Husband misses being able to study on the elliptical, we’re going to re-join. 24 Hours Fitness was nice, but I think it’s too far from our house. We’ll decide tomorrow!
For lunch, I made a bulgur, baked tofu, and roasted vegetables mix.
I drizzled soy sauce on top. In the veggie mix was parsnips, onions, green peppers, and mushrooms.
After our gym shopping, I had a bowl of cereal:
And an orange:
Post-Marathon Body
I can’t believe that marathon training is OVER! I feel like it consumed my life for more than 21 weeks. There was a point when I was running more than 35 miles a week – nearly 6 hours of running! There are three things that I want to talk about:
- My Body
- My Mind
- My Injuries
The big question for marathoners is “Did you gain weight while training?†As I wrote back in November, I did not gain weight through the training process. In the end, I actually lost a pound or two. But I didn’t just want to take about weight – I wanted to talk about SHAPE!
The last time I did “before†and “after†pictures was when I completed the 30 Day Shred Challenge. I’m going to use those “after†pictures as my “before†marathon pictures, since I consider my post-30 Day Shred body to be my best to date.
“Before†Marathon: April 2009
“After†Marathon: January 2010
The statistics:
What do these photographs and statistics mean to me? Honestly, I believe this shows that you cannot run yourself tone. I was tighter and more toned after the 30 Day Shred Challenge (I was also doing about 15 miles a week of running at the time or other cardio).
I am 100% sure that I am in the best cardio shape of my life, but I’ve lost muscle definition everywhere except my legs and butt (which are clearly more toned)! My biceps being smaller is NOT a good thing – it means I lost muscle mass there. The few pounds I did lose while marathon training probably came from muscle, since I rarely did any sort of strength training in the last four months.
I find all of this very interesting (not concerning or anything like that). I’m excited to get back to strength training, though!
The other thing I wanted to talk about was my mental state. Post-marathon, I feel extremely accomplished and proud of myself. I’m a marathoner now, and no one can take that away from me! However, there were DEFINITELY times during marathon training that I thought, “This seemed like a good idea three months ago!†Training for such a long race is time-consuming, physically challenging, and exhausting. I’m not sure how willing I would be do to it again.
And the last thing is….
Injuries!
My knees held up very well through the whole process. Icing my knees truly saved me from having to give up running completely (a discussion on my knee problems is here). I’m really grateful that I could experience a marathon without hurting my knees.
However, I injured myself DURING the race. And when I say “injured,†I mean… I really, really hurt myself.
I didn’t realize it was happening at the time, but I’ve screwed up my right foot pretty badly. There is a tender, swollen bruise anterior to my ankle bone, right were the fourth or fifth metatarsal is located. I stated the morning after the marathon that I felt “better than expected,†and that was true… at the time. However, the bruising and pain began to appear about 30 hours after the marathon was over. It’s so painful that I cannot walk on my foot today at all.
I’m no doctor, but I’m educated enough in the human body and injuries (I got into Physical Therapy grad school!) to know that this is not a minor injury. I’m leaning to a stress fracture, but only time (and maybe a trip to my trusted orthopedic doctor) will tell. There are other less severe things that the injury could be. In the meantime, I’m resting, icing, and keeping pressure off my foot.
Am I gutted? Well, of course I prefer to walk without a limp. 🙂 But I’m not in tears. I actually haven’t cried once. The marathon is over, I accomplished my goal. If this is a fracture, I’m thankful it waited until the end of the race to appear, not a week before. I’m upset, but I’m not freaking out.
My experience with injuries has shown me that:
- I don’t lose endurance overnight. I took two months off running last spring (replaced running with biking) and was fine.
- Running is not the end-all-be-all. I like to ride my bike and can probably engage in this activity safely in a few weeks (maybe sooner).
- I’m not going to gain weight because I’m not running. As long as I stay active, it’s fine.
- I’m not going to go stir-crazy without running. Life goes on.
If an injury can ever come at a “good time,†this is it. I’m looking forward to switching to weight-training (with no weight bearing foot activities, of course), swimming, and biking (when feasible). I really want to learn how to swim well, and if I have to change my entry for March’s triathlon to an AquaBike, so be it!
Even though I’m injured, I’m so glad I did the marathon. I think all endurance athletes know that an injury is a possibility when doing a marathon. I did everything I could’ve to prevent this from happening – I ate well, I ate enough calories, I didn’t overtrain – so I can’t feel bad about it. These things just happen!
Onwards and upwards!
Is that the 24 Hour in SODO? If so, I’m a member there and I’d love to be a workout buddy with ya! 😉