It’s been 3 weeks since my marathon.  My ITB is not much better, but it isn’t any worse either.  We (my ITB and me) seem to be having a stand-off as to who is going to cave first.  I don’t really know if that is the way to describe it, since technically I’ve already “caved” and have been babying it in a way that I’m sure no one who knows me can believe, even now….three weeks in.  It became clear to me this past week that running after 4 weeks is NOT going to happen, so I decided to adjust to a 6-week recovery program.

Last week I purchased a book which has recovery plans for injuries.  However, the main reason I bought it is because it has a detailed stretching regime, strength and cross-training guidelines, nutrition and, of course, training program for runners.  I want to use this time off to form a solid framework for balanced training going forward, so I’m doing my research!  (Although I’m currently spending A LOT of time in the rehab section.)  I don’t have pain with my ITB (ONLY because I’m not running right now), but I am still so tight and knotty all over, especially my ITB and especially after I sit for periods of time.  The book suggests a 6-week no-run program for the level of pain I was experiencing post-marathon (lucky, for me, I had already decided on a 6-week recovery program).  However, in one section, the author suggests that a rule-of-thumb would be 2 days rest for every day that was run in pain.  For me, that equates to 10 weeks of no-running.

I realize that the old Jen would have begun hyperventilating at the mere suggestion of a 10-week no-run period.  But this is really-hurt Jen and the Jen that wants nothing more than to completely heal this big ‘ole band of fascia so she can run healthy from here on out.  Another thing is…..I don’t even have a desire to run right now.  (I did have difficulty admitting that out loud.)  To me, that screams that my body just isn’t ready and it’s telling me so.  I don’t think mentally I am ready, either.  But, I WAS ready for this, and so excited when it finally arrived last week!

I made another purchase last week…..I bought a Garmin!  I have been wanting to play with heart rate training for quite some time.  My family even purchased a heart rate monitor to pair with my Nike watch for my birthday (last June!!!) but I could never get it to work properly, so I returned it.  Still couldn’t shake the urge to use a watch and ditch the phone app, so I gave my Nike watch to Taylor and got the Garmin (compliments of my friend who offered to use the employee discount at their place of employment.  No names or genders are being divulged to protect the identities of those involved! LOL)!  My plan is to use the data gathered to see what my heart rate ranges are in different types of runs, then gradually use it to plan my training.  I know that I have been running my long runs TOO FAST and my speed work has basically been running hills.  Not sure I want to change that, but I can always feel my heart rate spiking on them and always wonder if I’m too much in the red zone!  I’m looking forward to being able to set a heart zone or pace and have something else (other than the voice in my head – which I NEVER listen to) telling me to slow down!  Now all that needs to happen is my successful rehab and return to running!

Logan, my middle child and only son, plays soccer for his high school.  Last year was the first year of the program and we had NO home games because artificial turf was being installed on the field.  In addition, last year we were 3A classification in UIL, but the only soccer divisions were 4A and 5A.  This meant we were placed in a district with 4A teams (except for one other 3A team that was well established).  We did not win any games.  Not one.  However, watching the growth and development throughout the season was nothing short of inspirational.  The team that ended the season was not the team that started the season in any sense of the word.  We have a top-notch coach, but we also had amazing kids out there working their tails to the bone!!

So soccer started up again this past Friday.  I did not go to the out-of-town scrimmage held in pouring rain with temps in the 30s.   (I am a fair weather fan!  I only brave those conditions if I’m running!)  But I would not have missed the Saturday morning scrimmage for anything!  The game was held in OUR stadium!  This was the first time our boys were able to wear their home jerseys and the first soccer competition ever held on our field!  They lost the first match 0-1, but came back in the second game with a 3-0 win.  And even though it was a scrimmage and it didn’t count, it was a WIN!!!  Logan has been playing defense and midfield….this momma sure does love to watch her boy in the midfield!

Taylor and I were killing time in Academy while Alli practiced on Friday and I noticed that they had a jumbo pack of hand warmers.  I kept thinking there should be some way in which I could put them to use, but could never think of it.  Well, I thought of it Saturday while I was sitting out in the freezing weather watching the soccer game!  On the way to Alli’s tournament Saturday afternoon, I stopped again to buy not one, but two, packages of hand warmers for soccer! Then I got on Amazon and ordered some mittens with hand warmer pockets sewn in.  WHY did this not occur to me last season?  I sat in the stands and literally thought my toes were going to fall off.  Not this year!!!

Alli’s played in her club volleyball opening tournament this weekend.  She plays for Madfrog Volleyball on their 10 National team.  Generally speaking there are only a handful of 10s teams and not many more 11s teams in our region, although the age group is growing quickly.  This means, though, that in most tournaments we play against 12s, because the tournament directors almost always combine 11 & 12 divisions.  This weekend, though, we played in the 11s division.  The team went in as the 2nd seed in our pool and 4th seed overall.  Our team went 3-0 for the day, ending up 1st in our pool with a spot in the Gold bracket on Sunday morning!

Sunday morning we were back at the facility bright and early with hopes of making the championship match. We easily beat the first team we faced and secured our spot in the finals.  The girls struggled in the beginning and fell behind a few points.  Personally, I think they were intimidated by the girls on the other side of the net, because they knew this was the top 11s team from another club.  Our girls never gave up, though, and kept chipping away at the deficit in the score.  When the score was 21-24, Alli re-entered the match to serve.  I would be understating my emotion if I said I was a nervous wreck.  Alli’s serves were inconsistent on Saturday, and she had netted every serve on Sunday morning, up to that point.  She didn’t let the pressure get to her and served 5 points, giving us the 26-24 win.  I expected the other team to rally in the 2nd set, and they did.  We found ourselves in a 6-16 deficit.  I figured we were doomed to go to a deciding 3rd set, but our girls kept chipping away, one point at a time, until we got on a run toward the end.  I remember that we were 18-22 and kept serving away and winning points.  When the score was at 24-22, we lost serve, making the score 24-23.  The server for the other team served the ball into the net, and effectively handed us 1st place!  It was SO EXCITING!

I’m so glad that soccer and volleyball seasons have started, because now I have something to do other than think about all the running I’m NOT doing!

Happy Monday, all!