Tales from the IC (#12): Strong knees and cute toes

[CBDB]

Just a short update from my stint on the injury couch.

My metatarsals feel like they are getting better, but there are still the some days where, after some Yoga or rowing, I can feel some small throbbing pain in specific areas, such as the ball of my right foot or my middle toe.

I am imagining the nerve signals from the metatarsal fracture or metatarsal plate fracture sending healing to those specific areas, and this healing being noticeable by the slight throbbing that I feel once in a while. And the pain has changed, from the sharp pin-bursts or micro-electric-shock-like moments, to this more dull throbbing kind of feeling.

It’s not quite pain, and I find it difficult to describe, as it’s intensity is so low that it does not interfere with everyday kind of work, but just high enough to give me a warning to not run and not put weight onto the balls of my feet (like with some poses in Yoga).

I think I’m not far too off from starting to stretch my toes again, start doing down-dogs fully in Yoga and starting some forefoot strengthening exercises. And then after that, maybe in 3-4weeks, start with C25k again.

So it’s not been a short healing journey, but I really can’t complain. My indoor rower has kept me quite excellent company.

So yesterday I finished the 20 day Concept2 Indoor rowing challenge! Yey!! And as of today I rowed 120k in January! 🎉🍾🎊

Indoor rowing has been good to me. There are different intensity workouts that one can do, often labelled as low/mid/high. Like for instance a 30min session of intervals with 2 min low + 1 min all-out sprint, repeated 10 times for a high intensity 30 min session. Yup, if it sounds sweaty, it’s because it is! 🥵

And specifically the high intensity rows give me a substantial runners high 😁, and they also raise my metabolism. I notice the change, as when I only do a low intensity session, my metabolism reverts to needing hot water bottles for my feet in bed. But when I run regularly, or when I do these high intensity rowing sessions, I am cozily warm for the next 24 hours!

My birthday was recently and in the absence of medals in the rowing world (😢) , and to celebrate my January rowing journey of competing in various team challenges (my own sort of quests) I ordered a Concept2 long-sleeved hooded t-shirt, making it my third branded exercise T-shirt (my others being our very own HU COGH Challenge T-Shirt and a Edinburgh Marathon Festival T-shirt for a 10k). But really looking forward to receiving it, as I’m short on long-sleeved t-shirts, an essential element to my upcoming spring running clothes collection.

So I can sense my mind slowly returning to thinking about starting to run again, and it looks like I’ll hit spring with my first outings of my come-back.

I’ll be intrigued to see if rowing has made a difference to my aerobic fitness. My knees are certainly stronger, noticeable when doing any stepping motion or when simply kneeling. And they are also more flexible, with Yoga and post run/row stretches having worked their magic. I can do extended child’s pose with ease, it’s a really relaxing pose now. (It wasn’t when I began my yoga journey 2 years ago). But I am also starting to do normal child’s pose, a position that was also a no-no at the start of my journey.

There are of course still things I cannot do with my knees, like squatting on the floor, but they have improved in flexibility, strength, and painless movements. I have to stop calling them my sensitive knees!

So what is my weak area that I need to next attend to?

Well my metatarsals are obviously a part of the body that has caught my attention! In the first year of my running I never gave them a second thought. But now I am more conscious of all the bones, nerves, muscles and ligaments in my feet than I ever was before. Now I regularly massage them, thanks also to YWA. I cream them, rollerball them, and hubby and I have regular debates on whose toes are the cutest! (Of course, mine!) I am beginning to understand foot fetishes, as feet are such an important element of one’s sense of a moving being! ❤️🦶❤️🦶❤️

So you can expect some plans that pay attention to this so important part of our rowing, running or walking body.

Another thing for me to watch is my lungs. My onset asthma has returned, often only noticeable in the early morning wakening hours, where I hear the tiniest of wheezes as a sound accompanying my breathing out.

My asthma had all but disappeared for many years, and I think also thanks to running, although I never made that connection. So it’s something to watch and monitor to see if my return to running will improve it again.

And my return-to-running plan?

It’s easy. Back to a C25k programme, but this time not with lovely podcast Laura or NHS app Jo Whiley (although they have updated the app with an exciting additional voice and some nice features!) I’ll be helped on my back-to-5k journey (B25k) by a lot of Zombies! (Zombies to 5k app)

And in anticipation of this newest part of my running journey I worked out an answer to the suddenly so important question of where to post my running updates? Here on the calming and steadying B210k forum, where I’ve hung out ever since graduating C25k, or over at the C25k forum with its ever-buzzing community of new runners logging every run, every week! I feel at home (running wise) in B25k, but I might just need to borrow from that buzzing strength in the C25k community to motivate me.

So I decided. And I’m strangely and satisfyingly happy with that decision: I’ll post on C25k these very quick run by run updates, tracking my progress, but reflect every 10 days or so on B210k on how my whole journey is going.

I know I know, I’m overthinking it. 😏 But it’s part of my way of motivating myself, and motivation needs to be nurtured. So this seemingly so unimportant question kept me up one night, and with it kept me thinking about running.

So now I just can’t wait!

Happy running, rowing, walking and working out everyone!

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

ALL LINKS TO RECOVERY POSTS:

So just to keep my links to my recovery couch available, here the links to the posts during the weeks on the injury couch. I’ve added a few terms to each link, as a means of reference:

Tales from the IC: Getting to know my Metatarsals (# 1) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (Metatarsalgia, fracture vs Morton’s Neuroma, shoes, barefoot and zero-drop shoes, exercises to strengthening toes)

Tales from the IC: zero-drop shoe quandaries (# 2) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (more about barefoot running, yoga for toes)

Tales from the IC: Reader, I ran today. (#3) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (trying out a short hill run, IPhone issues)

Tales from the IC : Stop Go Stop Go … (#4) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (back on the IC, waiting for last medals)

Tales from the IC : Baby (running) steps … (#5) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (trying out another mini run, ordering zero drop shoes)

Tales from the IC : Row Row Row your Run (#6) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (starting to row a runner on Zwift)

Tales from the IC : Festive Rowing-Run (#7) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (XMas, finished Zwift Running 101)

Tales from the IC : More Virtual Running Fun (#8) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (update on my rowing in all virtual races, also start of RowAlong 30x30)

Tales from the IC : Rowed runner intervals and hot lava! (#9) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (third week of daily rowing and missing running)

Tales from the IC (#10): Running vs Rowing. My experience of two different worlds healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (differences between rowing and running, differences between different running vs rowing online communities, differences in stats)

Tales from the IC (#11): I dreamt I was running healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (update on all virtual rowing challenges)

Tales from the IC (#12): Strong knees and cute toes healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (finished Jan rowing challenges, starting to think how to get back to running)

Tales from the IC (#13): Running vs Rowing, muscley toes, and recovery plans

healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (recovery plans rowing and running, year goals)

[dijep Graduate10]

You've certainly kept yourself busy and motivated during your spell on the IC. I'm sure all that rowing must link into running and leg strength 💪I'm going to have visions of you both pampering your feet 👣and comparing toes now .

Most of us take our bodies for granted and don't think about them until they don't behave as we want them to. Often it's only then do we start to look after them.

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to dijep]

So true! 🙏🦶👍🏽

[Couchpotato2]

Glad to see you have a plan!! Sounds good 😌

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Couchpotato2]

Thank you! Yes, I am always up for a good plan, often having to create or adapt my own!

[grumpyoldgirl]

Good plan cbdb! You've reminded me that I haven't posted on b210k for a while - I also wandered back to c25k when I started back (and restarted again, I keep ending up back at the beginning!)Very interesting point on metabolism - and on the improvement in your knees - I've noticed something similar with the physio I've been doing.

I've also realised that when I stop the exercises (unintentionally - things knocked me off course for a few weeks), I quickly lose condition again, so I'm back with the squats, clamshells and heelraises and can already feel the improvement.

Oh, and I might start massaging my feet, that sounds worth doing (my toes are also very cute😂)

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to grumpyoldgirl]

Squats, clamshells and heel raises! Well done!

Yes, it is actually amazing how a few minutes every day can change the way your body feels. With rowing I started to do hand stretches every day (since now 2 months) and suddenly some yoga poses that I’ve been doing for a year are much easier on my hands, simply because of these daily 2min hand stretches! Amazing!

And welcome to our cute-toe club! I’m pretty sure our running community has quite a few of them! 🤣😂

[grumpyoldgirl in reply to CBDB]

👣

[DylanTheRabbit Graduate10]

You really are taking a positive and nurturing approach to your injury. Let's hope your return is smooth x

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to DylanTheRabbit]

🙏👍🏽❤️🦶🏃🏼‍♀️

[Hidden]

Too bad you are still feeling some niggles in the feet, hopefully it will soon clear up fully. Going back to a sorts of C25K plan (with zombies for you) is a good plan. I am going to do that myself if I get to running this weekend. With me it is an app of Start to Run in Flemish. Slowly building up again is a good idea! Good luck with it!

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Fab! Is it your first time you are using that App? I find I really look forward to reconnecting with a C25k journey that is the same but different simultaneously .

I did the Magic plan at least three times with different routes, and I really liked doing it again and again. It sort of felt like my distance was naturally waxing and waning over longer periods throughout the week.

So I’m just thinking of another C25k journey as part of that forward movement with waxing and waning of elements of fitness, if that makes sense.

[Hidden in reply to CBDB]

It is indeed the first time I use that app. It is paying, but apparently loads of people use that app here. There are also a bunch of different plans on it, eg. to 10K, HM, marathon, faster 5K, etc. I am now planning to use it just to get back into the game. Don't know if I will keep it afterwards though. Time will tell!

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Intriguing! Let us know how it compares!

[Beatlesforever Graduate10]

Great news, time to start planning the planning 👍😉 so good to hear about your progress and of course, all the rowing and yoga etc will have made you fitter and stronger and will no doubt help you run away from those zombies when the time comes 🧟🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️ It can seem like an eternity but like George Harrison wisely put it, all things must pass 😊

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Beatlesforever]

👍🏽😍🦶🏃🏼‍♀️👍🏽Definitely! 🎶