Jury-rigging a Training Plan and Searching for Serenity

What do you do when life throws monkey-wrenches into your plan? How about four monkey-wrenches in 2.5 weeks time?

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1About 3 weeks ago, I was rear-ended while driving my kids home from swimming lessons right in down the street from my house. I was still, and the other guy was moving very slowly... he "was just looking in his glove box". Like that's an excuse :P Nonetheless, it was a jolt. It caused back spasms that made my hip hurt in the way it used to hurt. Not good. I couldn't run.

Luckily, I already had an appointment with my way over-booked PT three days later. She worked her ART magic on me and I was able to get in two medium-ish, easy runs before...

2My 9-year old daughter accidentally tripped me while I was walking down a hill carrying my 2-year old. So as to not smash the little one by taking a tumble, I lurched, lunged, twisted... and wrenched my back again :(  It took several days to get another PT appointment.

After 2 PT appointments and a massage all within 4 days, I felt nearly normal. I was 'approved' for running but told to keep 'em short. I got one in Monday and one in Tuesday.  Then...

3My oldest son closed the car door on my foot Wednesday morning. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad... just a little bruising. This was followed by...

4I sliced my baby toe up on the weather-stripping on our front door that evening. A good amount of blood for such a small appendage... and not a single character bandaid in sight. Thank goodness the plain one worked ;-) But it still hurts.

Here I am now, a little worse for the wear, and Hood to Coast just three weeks away! And let's not forget about my half-marathon in the beginning of October... a bit over 9 weeks away. It has been a frustrating and depressing couple of weeks Chez XL.

I need to scrap my original training plan for now. No way could I run 11 miles this weekend.

I was able to get out on the bike several times and not aggravate my back, and the very few runs I was able to do felt pretty darn good... so yay for that :) For now I have instructions to not go over 7-8 miles in a single run before Hood to Coast at the end of this month... but I have been okayed to do more than one run in a single day... provided my hip handles it well.

New goal:

Stay healthy and uninjured.

Find a plastic bubble to live in, 

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surrounded by foam peanuts.

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New jury-rigged training plan:

 For this new jury-rigged program, I will be relying on :

• more frequent, shorter runs (some two-a-days) and a little more speed work
• tossing in several bike rides and 'bricks'
• adding in more of my favorite P90X routines of x-stretch, Core Synergistics and Plyometrics 
• probably tossing in some of Tony's arms, chest and back work also after my embarrassing little flexing video the other day. 

It'll be the One-Day-At-A-Time Plan... who knows what disaster might be lurking around the corner :P


God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I can do this.

I will do this.

With a smile on my face.