First week since Christmas Break that I could exercise on a Monday
Gym
Monday I went to the gym after work.
Focus on triceps, biceps, legs, hips and core
Had planned to warm up with indoor rowing but all were occupied.
So continued with hip stabilizing exercises, triceps, lunges, biceps.
Then it was time for hip tabata and core, still am not doing all hip exercises that will put force on my right knee and not the rolling wheel which is a core exercise. Calves exercises and the balance trainer for 90s
Was foamrolling my calves before I stretched.
Gym
Wednesday it was time for gym after work again.
Focus was on back, shoulders, legs, hips and core
Did not do any warmup.
Continued with hip stabilizing exercises, for back rowing, torsorotation and chinups and then it was shoulders where I take a low weight because during the summer I did something with my left shoulder and could not lift too heavy and getting slowly back. Will try to increase the weigh end of January or beginning of February. Then it was squats with a bar.
Different hip exercises where I today tried the fire hydrant (=kissande hunden) which was not a problem and then core. Calves exercises. The balance board was not avaiable
No foamroller available
Yoga
Ended Friday after work with PowerYoga 2 and my favorite Yoga instructor.
Some really tough poses. Interesting how the body works, on one side I could reach both my arms but on the other side I could not. Some balancing problems 🙂
So glad I have my own Yoga mat now that I just can roll out.
When I woke up this morning it was raining and the weaker me spoke to me about not do any running but my stronger me won this time 🙂
Took the train to Höör’s train station and waited for the bus which would take me to Frostavallen.
Christmas Eve I fell on a ice spot, scratched my knee badly, my compression tights got destroyed so I ordered new winter compression tights that I could wear on my trail run and then I decided to test my new Altra Lonepeak 4.0.
I decided that I would get up to Höör and if the weather would be worse I had to come up with a B plan but it was only some drizzle so I got on the bus and then started my trail run.
It has been a while since I had been up around Frostavallen and it was nice being back. I wanted to take it easy, did not want to fall on my right knee which now has a big scab.
Expected it to be gooey and wet, wanted to take it easy so I did not fall on my right knee that has a scab since the fall Christmas Eve.
Decided also to stand still when I would take a picture, much safer that way 🙂
Felt very good to run up most of the hills, that was not the case this Spring when I got back with my running after my pneumonia.
Also remembered the down hill part where I fell earlier so I took it easy on that place
Started on the green marker, ran up on all those hills and then got on the white marker where I couldn’t run up all the way on one hill.
Thought that I would be fine but then it happened, fell on a flat part but lucky me I ended up in a not so gracious Dog pose (Yoga pose), did not fall on the knee 🙂
Decided to walk on all footbridges, I have the experience that they can be slippery when they are wet
I almost fell several times but I am quite good at fend off most falls.
I fell a second time when I had just said that walk over those places where there are a lot of stones, wet stones are slippery and then I was there again in a Dog pose 🙂
And then they showed up
I took charge, directed them to the left so I could pass. These cows are definately more afraid of me than I am of them.
Most of this route is on ”Tjörnarparen”, the ultra race I run in December and it is always special to get to the place where the third fuel station is. First year I ran, when this started, a guy stood further upp and pepped us. And u feel that you are getting closer to the finish line.
Finally I got to Djuralidsbacken (the toughest hill on this race, short and very steep. One time I have run up all the way, some years ago in August but now it is wet and it was as tough as expected but then I ran up the hill after that and that felt good.
In the woods I met a lady with two dogs who wanted to be patted, they had orange vests on them and asked her if they were hunter dogs, they were but she did not use them as that. I wondered about those vests, she was smart, on these was on mobile number if they would disappear.
Continued my run.
I hoped that I could finish this route around 2h and 30 minutes. Today I had to walk up on some hills, walk to catch my breath but not walk due to a knee issue, it feels that I am getting there -> run pain free
And so this incident with my right knee on Christmas Eve.
Of course it wouldn’t stop me from getting to the gym this week.
I couldn’t find any Yoga class that fitted my schedule but I needed to get back to the gym. Was not there last week.
Gym
Couldn’t do all exercises because I cannot put down my right knee on the ground.
Started with 1K rowing
Then it was some hip exercises, biceps, triceps, lunges with a bar.
For the first time I did this good hip exercise that I hadn’t done in a while. I step on a ”bench” from the front, side and combination front and side. The goal is to do this exercise once a week at the gym from now on.
Then hip exercises I could do was laying on the side and lift the top leg, bridges, plank leg raise, squat to the side, side lunge, single leg crab, wide squat, lung to heel raise.
Stood on a balance board counting to 90, foamrolled my calves
Then for core it was rolling toe plank, plank, boat with a ball
Then of course stretching.
Gym
TIme for the second time at the gym this week.
Decided to do indoor biking as warm up. Strange bikes. Realized that I have not been biking for a while. Could set that my distance goal was 3K and then found out when I have done that 🙂 Thought that I would also know how long it took but not.
Continued with back exercises. Realized when I got back home that I forgot to do shoulders.
Ended with core: Rolling toe plank, plank, boat with weight, pilates and then halvmoon (balance trainer) for 90s, suppose to be good for my inner core muscles.
Then hip exercises: top leg, Squat to side, Side lunge, Wide squat, Plank leg raise, Single leg crab, Lung to heel raise 20s (10s+10s)
No foamroller was available so ended with stretching.
See how it will go tomorrow when I plan to run my first trail run since Kullamannen in November.
The London trip has made my weight go up and down a lot this week. Great to be back with training again.
I have decided that working over time is not stopping me from exercising even if I am beat after extra hours, being at work earlier than normal. It will be soon over which is going to be great, want to have my normal life back again.
Gym early this week.
Treadmill was free so I ran 3K as warmup, stretched, felt a pain in my right knee in the beginning but it disappeared. Fan on.
Then it was time for biceps, triceps, legs, hips strengthening and stabilizing exercises. Noticed for the first time that when I was doing leg kick backwards and were getting down on my right knee I did not have any pain 🙂
Hip tabata and my mobile died during the tabata, forgot to charge it enough at work so had to count instead of going to 20 seconds on each exercises. Then I tried a new balance exercise using a Bosu ball balance trainer balancing for 90 s, doing the yoga position the tree and some other balance exercises, calf exercise and core.
The next day I felt that the ball balance trainer got my muscles sore. Will keep using it, have read that it will strengthen my inner core muscles which runners need.
Gym
Warm up was rowing 1500 m, faster then last week.
Then it was back, shoulders, legs, hips strengthening and stabilizing exercises and core, balance board, calf exercises
Yoga
PowerYoga 2
Got to the class, everyone was sitting on the yoga mat but no instructor. Have started to like this yoga instructor that have this class on Fridays. All of a sudden a girl moves fast forward and tells us that it will be a Yoga class, she find out very sudden after her YinYoga class that she would be the instructor for this Yoga class, she informed us that she had not done this in a while. Ok this would be interesting. It was a bit different Yoga class but focusing a lot on legs and back. Good for me as a runner. To have to step in with such a short notice she did a good job.
I am going to London with the my consulting company leaving Thursday getting back Sunday.
So only pain free activity this week was massage 30 minutes.
Once again my calves were stiff all the way up to my hollow of the knee.
Thinking more and more that not only poor stretching, not enough gym and yoga. Stiff calves might also be a reason why I have had issues with my right knee.
Thinking about having 60 minutes massage every time now to loosen up my calves.
Will run at least one time in London during my stay there.
