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I had another physical therapy appointment yesterday. I wasn’t subjected to the intense pain of deep tissue massage this week, but my therapist did show me several new exercises she’d like me to focus on.
“The real question is, can I run yet or not?” I asked. It’s been two weeks since my last run.
“No,” she said. “Your leg is too weak. I want that IT band to heal, and I want you to strengthen your quads. The harder you work at that, the sooner you’ll be able to run.”
Point taken. Dana (my physical therapist) knows that I haven’t been able to stretch as much as I’d like. I’m not shy about admitting it. “Until your leg gets stronger,” she told me, “you can walk, bike, or swim. But no running.”
And so I’ve been re-learning the joys of the long walk. Over the past week, I’ve walked four times.
Actually, I’m having trouble finding a route that’s long enough. I keep picking courses that I think will give me a lot of distance, but they end up shorter than I anticipate. Today, for example, I thought I’d go five or six miles. I ended up going 3.66 miles in exactly an hour. (My walking pace has always been about 3.6 miles per hour — what’s yours?)
Walks are nice because they give a fellow time to look at his surroundings, to listen to the birds, to watch the other folks out exercising. I also re-discovered my love for audiobooks. When I commuted half an hour each way to work, I listened to a lot of books on tape. I also listened to them on afternoon walks. I haven’t listened to a book in six months, though, until I began walking again recently.
So for the time being, my plan is to:
- Focus on eating healthy food in sensible amounts.
- Perform a stretching regimen at least twice a day, focusing on my hamstrings, quads, and glutes.
- Incorporate walking into my daily routine.
- Bike regularly once my beloved Bianchi Volpe is back from the shop.
These things should not only help arrest the weight that’s creeping back around my belly, but also help me resume my path to fitness and weight loss.
Mac
13 responses so far ↓
1 Metroknow // Aug 14, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I think you’ve got the right plan J.D. - Adjusting your other circumstances for lack of the permission to run is the right thing to do.
My walking pace is similar - I walk 3 miles in about 45 minutes or so.
2 Amy Jo // Aug 14, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Have you walked down River Forest Loop? I bet you could map a five-mile route, easily. We like to walk down Fairoaks past Oak Grove Blvd, down Dogwood, south on River Forest, around the pond, and then back up Dogwood, then up Yew to Laurie, and then home.
3 Andrew is getting fit // Aug 15, 2008 at 12:38 am
A little patience now will pay off long term.
4 melissa // Aug 15, 2008 at 5:39 am
does your gym offer any yoga or pilates classes (or a combo of both)? you can strengthen your muscles while you’re stretching, and it’s a good way to make sure you actually get some stretching time in.
5 Jaime // Aug 15, 2008 at 5:50 am
Good luck with your recovery! I’ve had wonky tendon issues, and rest and stretching are really magical. And vital.
As for weight loss, though, diet is really, like, 75% of the battle. If you can stay mindful of what and how you’re eating, you will definitely be able to keep yourself on track.
6 Paul // Aug 15, 2008 at 7:27 am
Try using the Google Maps Pedometer (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/) to plot a route of the length you want.
7 Lauren Muney - fitness and wellness coach // Aug 15, 2008 at 10:50 am
JD, I poke in on your blog now and then. I hope you will allow my 2c again, as I sometimes combine hard advice with soft coaching. Here’s the hard advice part, this time:
You can’t run - or at least the doctor says you can’t - for now. So your endurance exercise is walking. Want to raise your caloric burning, work your muscles, and increase your endurance? WALK FAST. And, (and I realize this may not be rocket science), just double the 3-3-1/2-mi route if you want 6 miles or more. I actually recommend that you walk via “time” rather than distance, actually.
Don’t belittle walking. Your butt, legs, and abs should have gotten quite a workout after walking fast (and vertical with your abs tightened). Not enough books on tape? Download podcasts each week: I have a whole waiting list of “This American Life”, “Studio 360″, “Speaking of Faith”, “The Moth”, “RadioLab”, “Harvard Business Review”, and many others. I can power any hard long walk for months on my podcasts.
Here’s another thing to think about: I’d like you to think about solutions, not commentary about your progress. I realize that this is “Get Fit Slowly”, but after a while, I notice that it may be getting far more entertaining for you to see the problems in your “getting fit” than in solutions. This is ‘nice and dramatic’ for the blog readers but this thought pattern gets really addictive! I’d like to challenge you to take 2 weeks and only discuss the highlights and personal lessons from the those weeks. See what happens…
My 2c,
Lauren
8 Chris Wood // Aug 15, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Hey JD, I like your post. One thing I’ve been doing a lot recently is stretching while sat down. It takes so little time & I feel so much better for it. You probably do this already, but if not do try it. For one thing, I find myself feel far more relaxed.
All the best
9 greenman2001 // Aug 16, 2008 at 1:51 pm
JD: do what Lauren says.
I’m curious about something. Prior to your IT band flaring up and your mother’s hospitalization, you were spending hours every day running and exercising. I daresay that if your PT had given the okay, you’d be back out there now spending a couple of hours running. Given that, why is it so difficult for you to find 15 minutes twice a day to stretch? I can’t help but notice the passive construction of this statement: ” I haven’t been able to stretch as much as I’d like,” as though some outside force were preventing you from doing this. What’s up?
10 JD // Aug 17, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Hey JD,
Has your physio introduced you to the joys of the Foam Roller?
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=475832
Or the X-Band Walk?
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1778726
11 Anne // Aug 17, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I use mapmyrun.com to figure out how far I ran.
12 Morquea // Aug 18, 2008 at 7:08 am
Way to go J.D.! Audiobooks are great! I discover them since I do 20 hours car trip in a weekend like 6 times a year. I even drive slowly so I can enjoy the book more. I also listen to radio documentary podcast on those trip and even language learning podcast.
But I lack a mp3 player for the workout.
13 Some Early Week Links (Napa Edition) // Aug 18, 2008 at 8:58 am
[...] is still Getting Fit Slowly, choosing to get some walks in while his leg is healing. I twisted my ankle a few weeks ago and I [...]
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