The Midlife Reframe

Category: physical fitness

  • When Overthinking Seeps Into The Run

    Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’

    So for those of you who have been keeping up with me on social media know, I have been plagued with cranky calves.  If you aren’t following me on social media:  I am plagued with crank calves, lol.

    Ever since my knee surgery in 2015, I have been pushing with my calves to run.  I am pretty sure this is because I was afraid that I would break off more dead pieces of femur, would be back in the same spot, and require more surgery.

    I have been at physio getting myself looked after (yay dry needling!) and working on strength training to get my quads, hammies and glutes to activate.  I am also working on my balance and core work.

    Bosu!!

    My last long run was good.  Things are activating.  My butt and upper legs are SORE (not the bad sore, but the “heyyyyy, we are working here” kind of sore that I haven’t felt in a while) and I was happy with what I could pull off after not really pounding out the kms the week prior.

    My problem now:  I am overthinking how I am running.

    Seriously overthinking.

    I ran 4kms in the evening after my lunchtime physio and all I could do was think “Are my glutes activating?”  “My calves are sore, but I had dry needling, so is it that or did I screw them up again?” “Keep using the upper legs.”  “You probably look weird” “You should be in the Fitness Centre doing leg work” “WHY CAN’T I JUST RUN LIKE I USED TO!?”.

    Needless to say, I got the run done, but it was noisy.

    Sometimes I wish I had a switch to turn off my brain.

    My goal is to do the remaining runs this week and not think about it.  Try to enjoy the run, and remember why I love it:  the endorphins, the sweat, the joy.

    It’s a big request for my brain.  Hoping it can step up to the challenge.

    @crazymamaruns

     

  • Crappy Sleep, Training, and Yay Team Nuun!

    It’s been a bit of a go lately

    This week has been a full one of ups and downs, crappy sleep and some high level anxiety with a dose of blech.

    One happy thing that happened to me since we last sat around the bloggy campfire:  I am now a Nuun Ambassador for 2017!!

    nuun

    I used Nuun as my electrolyte drink of choice last year.  There is always a tube (or two) of these electrolyte tablets in my bag.  I have used a lot of alternatives in the past, and this has been the only drink that doesn’t cause GI issues for me.  When the opportunity came up to apply I jumped on it!!  So happy to have been chosen this year for #TeamNuun 🙂  (Also:  Watermelon may be my new favourite flavour.  Stay tuned as I have yet to try my Boost Lemon Lime, hahaha.)

    In other news:

    This week sucked hard when it came to sleep.  It wasn’t until Thursday night that I actually had a full 8 hours.  Wednesday night I was up and down with anxiety, only getting about 4 hours.   Sleep is important for me, especially with mental illness.  When it comes to training, sleep is one of the biggest things I try to keep as steady as I can.  When I do, things are relatively easier to deal with.  Also, I’m happier when I sleep well, lol.

    A tad snowy on my way home from the track today!
    A tad snowy on my way home from the track today!

    I am getting close to the start of half marathon training.  Yesterday and today have been very good days.  I did upper body strength training on Saturday and was able to get 6.9kms in today with my BRF on the track at the Canada Games Centre.

    Look at those sexy compression socks ;)
    Look at those sexy compression socks 😉

    I am hoping to keep this good momentum going this week, but I realize that life will have it’s own ideas and I may need to readjust to make things work.

    As long as I sleep well, things should be okay!

    Here’s to a week of good sleep and good kilometres 🙂

    @crazymamaruns

     

     

  • Races, Brain Melts, and the Return of the FitBit

     

    Began 2017 on the right foot. Let's hope I don't injure anything, lol.
    Began 2017 on the right foot. Let’s hope I don’t injure anything, lol.

    Okay,

    So over the holidays I decided that I seriously needed to keep moving this year.  Not just for my physical health, but for my mental health.  I sat and muddled about a fall half marathon.  I wanted something close to home (because I am without my own vehicle, and would need to acquire one for long distance travel) and fun.

    I ended up choosing the Half at Maritime Race Weekend.

    Here is the elevation for MRW Half :)
    Here is the elevation for MRW Half 🙂

    I did the Tartan Twosome there last year (5ks) and really enjoyed the atmosphere and all the goodies offered post race.  Also, the views in Eastern Passage are amazing!

    Also, I purchased a Believe Journal over the holidays.  SUPER EXCITED.

    Plan Amy, plan.
    Plan Amy, plan.

    I am ramping up to start training for the BlueNose Half Marathon shortly and have been writing in my journal daily.  I should be receiving my plan soon and am looking forward to getting back on the training train 😉

    You said Brain Melts?

    Oh yes, brain melts.

    Once I had registered and started to plan out my races, I had a brain melt.

    Then panic.

    What had I done?!?!?

    I am usually a one big race and then all the smaller distances to keep me moving.

    I did not get the kms in that I wanted my first week and by the weekend, it caught up with me:  work, life, running, KERSMASH.

    I had an anxiety moment.  A brain melting, bugs crawling on my skin, flight (not fight), moment.

    I’m good now, but it was yuck.

    And now, let’s talk about the FitBit.

    I Thought You Divorced Your FitBit?

    I did.

    We recently made up, for now.  I put my step goal down to 8,000 and joined a challenge.

    Results from first full week:  I can’t do challenges.  It still ramps up my brain and makes me super anxious.

    But I decided to still wear it.  If anything I can see my sleep patterns and make sure I do get up and move around (she says as she sits and types, lol).

    It gives me some motivation to be active, and see lovely sights such as this on my lunch hour:

    Halifax Waterfront
    Halifax Waterfront

    That is what’s been happening here in the land of Amy so far in 2017.  Come back around soon, as we get ready to document the Odyssey that is my life and how I am going to manage 2 Half Marathons and my brain!

    @crazymamaruns

  • Looking Back….Looking Ahead

    Christmas at Mom and Dad's
    Christmas at Mom and Dad’s

    So here we are.

    2016 is slowly coming to a close.

    2017 is on the doorstep, patiently waiting.

    I decided a year or so ago that I would not do resolutions.  It’s just not me.  It sets me up to self sabotage my well thought out plans.

    This month has been hard mentally.  Deciding what to hold onto and what to let go of was a big thing.  Like taking out my mental garbage.  It’s surprising how much we can hold onto.  Some of it drags us down and some lifts us up.  This week I have been trying to take out my mental garbage.  That has not been an easy task.  I’m doing it.  I. Am. Doing. It.

    I am also thinking about the year ahead and what I want to do when it comes to running.  I won my registration to the BlueNose Marathon this year and I will be gearing up for the half marathon again.  My desire is that I finish it in under 2 hours 10 minutes, as that is my current personal best.

    I’d like to do a fall half marathon as well.  This means I REALLY need to train and run smart in 2017.  It also means I have to take care of myself mentally as well.  Not being on top of my illness and letting it take over my body can throw a big wrench into my plans.  Depression can shut your body down.  If you don’t pay attention it will show up as aches, pains and then injury.  Total body shut down means it hurts to move all the time:   getting out of bed, walking down the stairs, breathing, etc.  Not good.

    I have started weight lifting again (as I type this I have some major DOMS going on in my upper body, and the typing struggle is real, hahaha) and will make an effort to schedule in my yoga daily.  I bought new gloves for weights, a yoga strap (I had been using an old scarf), and a block (again, using something other than a block, read:  my travel foam roller) today to keep me in the groove.

    I am hoping that I can keep this train rolling into 2017 and focus on good food as fuel, proper hydration, and a smart plan when it comes to training.

    I will be thoroughly documenting my ups and downs this year.  My trials and tribulations 😉  Weekly posts will give you an idea where my body and brain are, I promise!

    My train derailed early last year, and I plan to keep it on the rails for 2017.

    I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season so far, and I wish you all the best for the New Year! xo

    @crazymamaruns

     

     

  • Cupping, Christmas, and Weights


    Yes, let’s talk about my back shall we?
    When I arrived at the Saint Mary’s University Lifemark location, my RMT asked me the usual questions:  How are things?  What have you been up to? What are we working on today?  Welllllll…
    December is a hard month.  More so for those of us who suffer from depression and anxiety.  The lack of sun is a mood crusher all on its own.  You add in the social events, the gift purchasing, and the cooking,  some sort of meltdown is inevitable.
    For me, everything needs to be perfect: the tree, the food, and the presents.  My need for everyone else to be happy trumps all.  Everything else goes out the door: the gym, my running, the things that keep me centered.  I know what it feels like to hit the bottom, so my desire to make sure that those around me have a great holiday is strong.
    This year my body got me through various races.  I was 2 minutes off my 1/2 marathon personal best in May (coming back from a knee injury, I was so happy!), I ran a 10km in the hottest weather I’ve ever run in (not my best, lol), I ran a 5km personal best, and I got through 2 calf strains (each leg).
    My RMT is amazing (so is my PT and Chiro) and has gotten me back on my feet more times than I can count.  When I told him my body was shutting down, he knew exactly what I meant.  I was tightly wound AND my right calf was still not 100%.  Also, my desire to sleep forever and eat all the food was starting to become an issue.
    He suggested cupping.  I am game to try new things, and I have had friends who had cupping done, so I said sure!
    Holy Hurt Batman.
    I have a pretty high tolerance for pain.  It was a weird experience at first, but once I got used to the suction ‘zlurp’ noise and the feeling, I focused on my breathing and cursed when required 😉.  I could feel the release in my calf, and as he worked on my back, it was then I realized juuuust how tight I was.  Stress had my upper back all tied up.
    He took the above picture and had me look at it before he left the room.  I had an idea of what it might look like, but that is intense, lol.  Biggest hickies EVER.  Still tender today as write this post, but boy did I ever had a great sleep!
    He left me with post massage/cupping instructions and we discussed what I was going to do to get myself through December and prep for my half training in the new year: Weight training.  I felt great when I worked with a trainer and had a plan.  It will also prep my body for running.  I need this for my mental health as well.
    So until Crazy Mama starts to run, Crazy Mama’s gonna lift!
    For real.  Just watch me 🙂.
    @crazymamaruns
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  • Remembering Who I Am

    img_0986
    Pic courtesy of George Inglis Photography

     

    It’s been a while since I’ve posted.

    I wanted to wait until I was “situated” in my “new home” to do so.

    I’ve moved the blog from one platform to another.  So feel free to let me know what works and what doesn’t work!  Feedback is appreciated while I continue to tweak some things 🙂

    TeenThing has a job and is working.  She is finding her way and I need to find mine again.  I’ve been a mom for so long I forgot who I am, lol.  So now I begin the whole process of “Finding Amy” and remembering what it is that I want to do with my free time (this is outside of running, lol, that I got covered).

    In other news, I have been slowly getting my physical fitness back.  Early morning yoga and HITT workouts have been keeping me going until I rejig my gym schedule and get some classes/swimming/track time figured out.

    Half Marathon training begins full force in January.  I will be running inside and outside this year.  So when it’s full on bitey wind and bitey snow, I will be at the Canada Games Centre busting up the track.  A nice option to have this year, lol.

    I should be back to regular posts this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled, I have LOTS of stuff to share!

     

    @crazymamaruns

     

  • The Things I Struggle With During Injury Recovery

    I’ve Been Absent

    Photo courtesy of Bitmoji 🙂

    I have found it hard to express everything I have been doing/feeling lately.

    It dawned on me that this is what I should right about.

    I haven’t been unable to run for a bit.  I injured my left calf when I attempted to bolt out of the apartment with my daughter’s lunch after she left early one Sunday morning for work and had left it on the floor.  That was before Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving, lol).  I have been in physio ever since, and was just cleared for fast walking.  I had my first DNS because of this injury, and I was not overly upset.

    At 44 I am more concerned about being able to continue my running journey into my retirement years than I am about running a race.  I was more bummed that I had just planned my reboot and was sidelined in an instant, lol.

    After fast walking, leg day!

    Needless to say that since the onset of this injury, the schlump has been around.  I think every injured runner goes through it.  Lethargic, doing other activities hardheartedly (even though you really should suck it up and get at it), and just being absolutely miserable.  I could not get myself out of “that place”.  I tried other things to get me out of the schlumps, but no go.

    It was like I was stuck in molasses.  When I talked about my racing stripes (physio tape) and where I was with this injury, I just wanted others to know I was in “that place”.  We all have been and will be. You’re cranky that you can’t run.  You don’t care about anyone else.  It’s very self centered really.  A selfish pity party.  I share my  pity parties because I think it’s important to let other runners know it’s okay to be in that frame of mind.  It’s human to feel that way.    I am not looking for anything, I just want to share the good and the bad.

    (It also wasn’t helping that we are entering into Fall/Winter darkness.  That makes me want to hibernate.  Arrive home – enter PJs – become one with chair.)

    I didn’t need inspirational quotes (we all know how much I LOVE those – see HERE). I didn’t need a motivational speech.  I didn’t want a “well it could be worse” blurb.

    I needed to figure it out on my own.

    Why On My Own?

    Because unless I am going down the rabbit hole, I am the only person who can kick myself in the ass.  I know what my motivators are.  If I can’t kick myself in the ass, then I know something bigger is looming, and I ask for help.

    Once I was able to start stretching and doing small amounts of activity, I started to feel better.

    Now that I can do full on “Leg Day” (without explosive movements, not there yet) and fast walking, I am more optimistic.

    I struggled with how to write this down without sounding like I was complaining.

    I struggled with how to lift myself out of the schlump.

    I struggled with how I was dealing with it.

    I am struggling with how to remained focused on making myself a stronger runner before my half marathon training in January.

    I Won’t Struggle For Long

    Because I know what needs to be done.  I just need to sit down and plan it.

    If I need to, I’ll ask for help.

    I will get over this schlumpy schlump, hopefully better prepared for the next one 😉

    @crazymamaruns

  • October: Time for a Reboot

    A BIG reboot.

    After my last race(s) during Maritime Race Weekend, I took a break.

    There I am!  2nd from the left during the Sunrise 5k 🙂
    I needed this break.  Needed to take a step back.
    There has been a lot going on in “the background”.  TeenThing finally has a job (yay!).  As I sit here writing this post, she is at her first shift (training).  I am just over a full month and a half on low dose hormone for perimenopausal joy. (This is something my doctor and I discussed when I was in to see her for my shingles.)  There was some residual fatigue from shingles as well.  Work has been busy (which is good, because my brain needs that for survival, hahahaha).
    Things are better since I have seen my doc, especially for the perimenopausal joy.  I am not as absent-minded or moody AF (Which, astonishingly, I knew wasn’t my mental illness.  This is a whole other beast.  A weird, WTF kind of beast.)  Can’t get rid of those hot flashes though, lol.  Took some time for me.  Got some new hair (actually this colour is extremely close to my “before gray” hair).

    Who IS that mama??
    I also needed to step back because I was losing my running mojo.  I had two great races but I wasn’t getting that “HELLZ YEAH” feeling on my runs.  I also wasn’t feeling GOOD.  I felt off.  I needed to find my mojo again.  My love of feeling the burn 😉

    I found it today.  Fighting a head cold, on the couch, I found it.

    I watched From Fat to Finish Line on Netflix.  Remembering the way I felt during my last two races:  the people, the atmosphere and the support of everyone who runs.  How much of an accepting family runners are.
    With this new month I am doing a reboot.  I need to really, because I run a 5km race later this month, lol.
    So, nice and easy goes the train.  I signed up for the “new” Bad Yogi 30 day challenge, will head back to the gym on a regular schedule, and start kicking those kms in the butt.  Also, I bought Run Fast Eat Slow to get my cooking mojo back!
    [For anyone who needs to have someone kick their butt to get their mojo back, check out Carey (A PT and Coach) with Running Moms.  She has great programs and is a fantastic motivator.  I was kicking ass before I got sick and hormonally screwed, lol. I am also pretty sure that was how I made it through my two races with great times!]
    What do you do when you lose your mojo?  Take a break?  Work harder?
    What works for you? 
     

  • Race Recap: Maritime Race Weekend Sunset 5k and Sunrise 5k

    Arrrrrgghhh Matey!

     

    This was my first time running Maritime Race Weekend.
    It did NOT disappoint!
    I registered for the “Tartan Twosome” Challenge, which gave you entry into the Sunset 5k on Friday evening and your choice of race on Saturday (I opted for another 5k as the route is relatively flat).  This would give me an extra medal and some sweet swag!

    Sunset 5k

    So, since I worked on Friday, I hopped on the Ferry and took the Public Limo to Fisherman’s Cove in Eastern Passage which is the backdrop for this Pirate themed weekend 🙂  It consists of small “houses” which have local merchants selling their creations and restaurants to quiet your rumbling belly after walking (or running, lol) around the boardwalk.  It is the Start, and Finish Line for each race.
    I arrived early and checked my bag with a couple of the awesome volunteers. There are so many people that gave their time to make sure everything ran like clockwork.  (A HUGE shout out to all the volunteers who make Maritime Race Weekend happen!)
    Corrals were set up so that you could line up according to your finish time with a spot for the 5k walkers as well.
    There were Pirates everywhere (lots of runners ran in costume) and of course, music to match! 
    When we started out there was some congestion.  I ran with my friend Shannon for the first half, but when we got to the turnaround point, I got tied up in a kerfuffle of people and lost her.  I took a walk break to get back to a spot where I could run without running into anyone, lol.
    The views on this race are amazing.  I wish I had taken out my phone to take some photos, but I had forgotten my Garmin and my phone was my GPS (Strava) so I was trying to NOT look at it, lol.
    Once I got back to Fisherman’s Village and hit the corner before the Finish Line I kicked it into high gear.
    I PB’D MY 5K!!!!
    29:25 was my chip time.  Strava had me at 29:30.
    I was able to RING THE BELL 🙂
    Medal #1 – LOVE IT!

    It’s the PB/First Race Bell!
    Oh yeah I rang that PB Bell!  Eeeee!

    My friend Andrea gave me a lift home.  I had a hot bath, a quick snack and got ready for bed.  I had to race again the next morning!

    Sunrise 5k

    Saturday started at 5am.

    Good Morning Moon!

    In order to get half decent parking I had to leave at 6am.  Coffee, dry toast, gather gear (and yes, I remembered my Garmin, lol) and get out the door.
    It was chilly.  I wore my Badass Mother Runner shirt with a very light jacket.  (Thank you Another Mother Runner Store!)
    I met up with Andrea in the parking area we scoped out the night before as we sat in traffic on the way home, lol.  We hung out and had a quick snack before joining the throng of runners walking down to Fisherman‘s Cove.
    This is THE morning.  5k, 10k, half and full marathon.  We hit the porta potties right away and it was a good thing we did.  That lineup rivaled the corral lineup, lol.  We met up with another RunAtCan Twitter bud (Catherine) and had a little shake out run.
    We corralled and had a mini warm up (both races they had 3rd Degree Training do the warmup for the runners – thanks guys!) and waited for the race to start.
    And not to worry, the Pirates were out in full force on Saturday as well 🙂
    Did I say how beautiful this run is??
    It was congested getting out of the gate and for the first little bit, but we found a “spot” and kept that as much as we could.  Andrea was running the 10k, so we bid each other farewell as I hit the turn around point.   Now I had room to move 😉  I had an issue with my water (it would not slip back into the belt, lol) so I had to walk to get it rectified.
    I was able to wave at Tim on my way back (that is my first picture above, lol) and enjoyed the view as I came back into Fisherman’s Cove.  I kicked it and came in at 30:33!
    The Pirates gave me my second medal and my super awesome challenge medal!

    Yahooooooooooo!  Medals 2 and 3 🙂
    I met up with my friend Jill at the finish line.  She had her PB that morning!!  We are both running the BLT 5k in October (look out world!)

    Super Happy Jill and Amy!
    I got myself a bagel (from Izzy’s Bagels, soooo gooood), some trail mix, and waited for the rest of my friends to run in.  
    (There were quite a few of my RunAtCan and Twitter peeps running, it was great to see some of you!)
    The weather was amazing.  You could not have asked for a better weekend.
    Once “The Gang” made it in and got some food, we went and took the ticket off of our bibs and a got our post race beer!

    Part of The Gang, having beer, lol.
    All in all, this is one race I would definitely recommend for anyone looking to run here in Nova Scotia.  It was well run, the volunteers were amazing, and the atmosphere is fantastic!

    A girl with her Pirate Booty!

     @crazymamaruns
     
     
     
            

  • When Life Gives You…..Shingles

    Yes, You Are Reading That Correctly

    Pic courtesy of Bitmoji 🙂

    This is NOT an “old people” thing.
    Your risk of complications increases over the age of 70.
    TeenThing had them when she was 10/11 years old.
    They appeared on the right hand side of my stomach, just across from my hip bone, just over a week ago.
    At first, I though something had bitten me in my sleep, as I discovered them within an hour of waking.  I stripped my bed looking for the culprit.  NOTHING.
    They were itchy, and warm.  So I took a picture and sent it off to my mother.  She told me I needed to get to the doctor, because it looked like shingles.  So off I went.
    My doctor (she was on duty at the walk-in clinic, yay!) confirmed that I did indeed have shingles.  She wrote me a prescription, which I filled (and started taking) right away.
    Now, before this happened, I thought I was getting a chest cold.  A day or two before that I had a sty in my eye.
    Those shingle things were itchy and burning.  They also “tingled”, like electric shocks.  I, thankfully, did not have much pain.  I was very, very fatigued.

    Everything came to a grinding halt

     

     

    My training had to stop.
    I had to rest.
    I had to try and bring down the stress levels.
    (I know what you are all thinking: Exercise is supposed to eliminate stress.  It does.  But sometimes you are burning the candle at both ends and you are blind to it.  As a single mom I can sometimes get tunnel vision thinking I can do it all, when I can’t.)
    I am still following the group I was training with on Running Moms.  Still watching the running form videos.  Still downloading my workouts and the meal plans.  Carey’s HIIT workouts and running workouts were really showing me what I was neglecting in my training.  This is going to come in handy for the rest of my running season and when I start my half marathon training in January.
    For now, I am slowly going to work my workouts back into my day.  Being on vacation for two weeks is going to make this easier 😉
    So, anyone else out there had shingles?