#HolidaySweat Challenge Week 3 Update

I don't know why it's taken me this long to do a Holiday Sweat Challenge post, but here we go!

Week 3 started as I was 4 days post-op from my meniscus surgery. I stayed home from school an extra day to give my knee one more day of rest in the hopes of reducing the still significant swelling.

I tried to ice my knee and get some work done, but after a wellness call from Dr. O's office I spent three hours getting an ultra sound and waiting for the results. The good news was I had no clots, the bad news was I had to limit my weight bearing by using one crutch until the end of the week.

My week of workouts suffered as a result of my recovery. On one hand I couldn't do much because of my knee and on the other I was exhausted. Maybe my body was working overtime for the healing process and maybe maneuvering myself around with one crutch is just tiresome.

In addition to tracking workouts during the challenge, we also track our servings of fruit, vegetables, and water. This part of the challenge has been eye-opening.

Monday - Arm strength workout (you can check it out here) and leg exercises. Water and 3 freggie servings.

Tuesday - Another arm workout, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8:15 PM

Wednesday - Water and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8 PM

Thursday - Leg exercises, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 7:30 PM!!

Friday - Leg exercises, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8 PM

Saturday - Spent 2 hours walking around the mall Christmas shopping. Normally this would not feel like a workout, but it was the most walking I've done (crutch-free) in over a week! 2 serving freggies and tons of water.

Sunday - Arm strength workout and leg exercises. 4 freggie servings and tons of water.

This challenge has shown me how much I am lacking in my water intake. Add to that some medicine that can cause constipation, and well…not so good for my tummy. At the end of the week I saw an article on Facebook about a woman who drank 3 liters of water a day and changed her life (read it here). I knew I had to make some changes myself.

I started using the Plant Nanny app after my friend Dani told me about it. It's an easy way to keep track of how much water I'm drinking and reach my daily goal. The app also gives me my own "plant" and every time I drink water, I water the plant and watch it grow. I named my plant Water Baby.

What do you track?
Do you use an app?

Workout Wednesday: Arms on Fire

PT for my knee will not start until I'm two weeks post-op, YIKES! That's a long time.

It didn't take long for me to remember that there is nothing wrong with my arms or abs and the wise words of Christine from TI Fitness, "You'll be a better runner with a strong upper body."

She's right. In "Run Better By Working Your Upper Body" from Runner's World, Nikki Kimball explains the importance of upper body strength.

"The best distance athletes don't just have impressive quads and glutes. They have muscular arms and shoulders that help them maintain speed throughout their races. When you run, your arms counterbalance the motion of your legs, resulting in saved energy. The swing of the arms helps propel the body forward so the lower body isn't doing all the work. And a strong upper body bolsters a runner's form when fatigue sets in."

Since I only own a pair of light hand weights, I thought about the arm workouts that had me near tears at Booty Barre. Those 10 minute strength sessions were about repetitions, not weight.

You may be looking at that set of exercises and thinking, serving tray? bowling? 

They really are exercises (I promise) and they look like this:

At then end of the first circuit, my arms were already feeling the burn. Each exercise got harder and harder to do.

Using my 2 pound weights, the whole workout took me about 15 minutes

and

my arms were on fire.



Do you prefer reps or weight?

This post is part of the Workout Wednesday link up hosted by 

Diatta, Sheila, Amanda and Heather

#DishtheFit: What's Next? Goals for 2015

Today I'm linking up with Jill Conyers and Jessica for Tuesdays #DishtheFit and today's topic is:

What's next? Goals for 2015.

Honestly, it is hard to think about 2015 while I'm sitting here with ice on my knee and crutches by my side.

It seemed best to start by looking back at my Bucket List for 2014 for a little recap of my year. My goal to hit 1000 miles was curtailed by all of my injuries. I ran at least 2 new races during 2014: the TI Disco Fever 10K and the Ragnar Relay Cape Cod. Although I did not add another state to my places I have raced list, I did run a lot of miles in Vermont! Two new activities that I tried were Stand Up Paddle Boarding and Zip Lining. Sadly I was closed out of the coaching certification class, but I continued to make healthy food choices and fell in love with smoothies!

It didn't take long for the little walk down memory lane to get me thinking. What is next for me?

Rehab my knee - My first priority is to get back into my running shoes. My goal is to be logging miles by the end of January.

Build my overall strength - I want to take at least one cross training class every week and focus on my upper body strength so I'll be a better runner.

Volunteer at another race - I did this with MRTT at the GOTR Fall 5K and it was so amazing to be part of such a big day for so many runners. I'd love to volunteer at the Boston Marathon (fingers crossed).

Just run - That's it. No worries about distance, pace, or PRs. More group runs, more fun runs, more family runs.

Be the BEST Ambassador - It will be my mission to spread my love of running wherever I can: the high school Run Club, a National Running Day event,  ZOOMA Cape Cod in September. (see discount on my sidebar!)

What's next for you? 
Any big plans in 2015?

I've also added this post to the Tuesdays on the Run link up!

Meniscus Surgery

Thursday I had my third and hopefully last knee surgery.

Trying to wake up in recovery

It all began in February of this year, when I started having knee problems. After visits to the high school trainer, chiropractor and my PT, I was sent to see an orthopedic.

X-rays showed the remnants of my old knee injuries, screws, staples, and some arthritis, but it wasn't enough to explain the painful clicking and clacking that I was experiencing.

Eventually a MRI confirmed that I had a longitudinal tear in my meniscus. Since then I have been getting cortisone shots every couple of months and running/working out relatively knee pain free.

Sadly, the instability and weakness in the left knee caused me to have a lot of other problems: in my calf and some tendinitis in my TFL. All three of the doctors felt that the torn meniscus was the root of my other injuries and the only solution was to get in there and clean it up.

My surgery was over in about 45 minutes. Dr. O performed a partial meniscectomy, chondroplasty of the femoral trochlea, and removed loose bodies. Sounds bad, but compared to my previous ACL surgeries it feels very minor.

I have been restricted to some simple leg exercises:

quadriceps contractions
straight leg raises
ankle pumps
heel slides

Starting on Monday and for the next few weeks, I will be rehabbing with Dr. Bri to get my full range of motion and strength back.

Have you had an injury that required surgery?
How did it go?

Flock Workout

With the arrival of winter at Thanksgiving, I've had to take my workouts inside.

The Oiselle Pros are doing the same and recently shared some of their favorite workouts. I don't have all the fitness equipment that they do, so I made some modifications to create my own no-equipment needed Flock Workout.

This workout combines exercises that focus on the abs and legs, but it doesn't leave out the cardio.

Tadas: Otherwise known as "plank with twist" or "plank and rotate." Dynamic planks are reported to be more effective and mimic the natural movements of our core during running.

Jumps: Squeezed in between the core work, the three jump exercises seriously get the heart rate up. By the time I got to the jump overs, I was very winded.

Spiderman Planks: Planking while being out of breath is much harder, but I like that challenge.

My warmup and cool down was a brisk 5 minute walk on the treadmill. In the near future (hopefully), I will run.

This workout is good for anytime of year, but it's especially good to use during the #HolidaySweat challenge!

It's time for another #FitnFashionable share! One thing I love about fitness gear is when it is easy to transition from exercise to everyday function. For this workout I chose Oiselle flyte shorts and a stripey scoop neck with the flyte shimmel racerback underneath. After a workout I can throw on a pair of jeans or casual pants and I'm ready to relax or run errands with some #flystyle.

Do you wear your fitness gear outside of your workouts?

 This post is also part of the #FitnessFriday link up hosted by Jill.