Morella Braces for Summer

[ladymorella]

I haven't been on lately so I am getting a late start on the challenge. After the last challenge I wasn't feeling good and was down for a week, then was behind on everything. My challenge will be a repeat of my last challenge. 

 

Keto: I have been put on a keto diet by a natruopath to try to eliminate some symptoms I have been dealing with. It seemed to be working at first, but now I am not so sure. I think the supposed relief in symptoms might have just coincided with the lack of heat around the same time I started keto. I should know pretty soon I think. 

Mobility: I have been having a lot of issues with tightness so my goal is to do at least 5 minutes mobility. Preferably 10 minutes. I say 5 as usually that is enough to get me started and after that I usually go for 10 as I try to hit anything that is having issues.  

Supplemental Exercises: My knee has been bothering me for a while. I have been trying to figure out what I can do to help it. I found a couple things that seem to help so I want to do those. I am suppose to go to a PT soon so I will just do that once I get my first appointment. Goal is to do these 2 times a week. I have been failing this one terribly. 

To-Do List: I have been really behind on a lot of things for quite a while. So I am trying to get caught up. I have a list of things that need to be done and I have assigned points. In addition, I can get points for meal prepping. This list started the day after the last challenge. 

[Elastigirl]

Welcome back to the challenges. I hope the naturpath and the keto diet helps with your helth issues.

[ladymorella]

Sorry a long post, but I missed over a week of posting. So this is to catch you all up. 

 

As we left off from the last challenge I was feeling good. I completed the bonus goal for the to-do list. (Which I still haven't claimed my prize for btw.) I was so psyched as zero week was a vacation week for me and my sole plan was basically twofold. Make sure I slept enough and make as much headway as possible on my to-do list. One of my tasks to go to Phoenix as they have a few stores we don't and I kind of just enjoy going there occasionally. The plan was to get some new workout shorts (and possibly shoes) since my workout shorts have seen too many summers (and winters who am I kidding? I rarely need pants when working out) and they are a bit big now. They are dreadfully close to that place where jumping activities might require a check that they are staying up. 

 

So I found some workout shorts. Why the frick are women's shorts basically high water pants for me or butt hanging out? I mean I get the high water pants for the capris as I am short, but if I am short shouldn't regular shorts have more coverage for me? I managed to find a couple pairs that were insanely long for the in style, but which are still a tad short for my tastes, but doable. Sorry to rant, but seriously it is dumb. However lucky for me since 5 in inseam isn't the style this year the ones I found were actually on clearance for $10. That should cover my gas money lost. Haha

 

Took a look at new shoes and the Nano 8's are great and the metcons seems good too (though I am quite skeptical about their durability). However I couldn't justify over $100  on shoes. So I will have to wait for the 9's to come out or something. As I left the mall I realized I was starting to feel very fatigued. So I went to eat figuring I just needed some food and water. Finished up the other couple short stops I had then went home. 

 

Tuesday hit and boom no energy at all. No problem, I walked around all day Monday some of it outside. I just need to recover a bit. I took it easy for several hours and then started on going through the paperwork that I had since it could be done sitting in a chair. Long story short my whole vacation week was spent trying to get back to feeling halfway normal. I managed to finish off all my paperwork which has been a huge burr in my saddle for quite some time. So I am really happy to have that finally done with, but I also has hoped to get some other things done and maybe hit a movie or hang out with some friends. What should have taken one day took me three days and then I was too worn out for anything else. To top it off I had a 5K coming up on the 28th that I really wanted to do well on, so I was starting to panic as this can last 2 weeks for me and always has another bad phase afterwards before feeling good again. I decided there was nothing I could do except sleep well, eat well, do the training I had left, and not stress out about it. 

 

Saturday was my last training run before the 5k. Run 40 minutes for distance. I got 3.4 mi.  My goal for the 5K was to beat 37:26 by a lot. I was hoping for a sub 35 minute time. (Well sub 34 originally, but I was not handling the heat well and adjusted my expectations.) So 3.4 mi in 40 minutes isn't a good sign at all.

 

Week 1 of the challenge was a little better, but back at work waking up early again for the second week in a row to try to get my body more use to doing things before 10 am so I could stack the deck as much as possible to get a good go at the 5k at 8 am on Sat. I ate as well as I could. I went to sleep whenever I was tired after 8 pm except 1 time. But I still felt exhausted all the time. Since I wasn't handling adding the extra running I had dropped from 3 times at the gym and 2 running sessions to 2 of each, but for my last week I dropped it to 1 gym session that I knew would be arm core dominant.The rest of the week was just rest. Walking every other day at least.

 

Monday I met with my naturopath. The treatment we are doing isn't showing any signs of working. I can do more testing and then try another treatment which will cost more (did I mention it already costs a lot?) So for now there is no treatment options until I can get the test done and the results come in. I left feeling a bit hopeless. I am tired of this.
 

Wednesday my legs start hurting pretty bad. The same way they would sometimes last year. Something that might be heat related somehow. The whole reason I have been feeling better over the past few months might not be that I am getting better, but merely that the weather hadn't triggered it since it hasn't been hot enough. But I got happy. You know why? It was Wednesday and my legs hurt pretty bad. My 5k is on Saturday and when this happens it never lasts more than 2 days. Which meant they should be ok for the 5k. 

 

Thursday and Friday I concentrated on mobilizing the muscles that are really tight that would affect running, glutes, lateral upper legs, feet, ankles, and calves. Still feeling pretty drained, but waking up in the morning wasn't so bad and I wasn't super groggy which is good. Friday night went to bed early-ish, but not early enough to allow 8 hours of sleep. I woke up legs were pretty tight. I ate my breakfast, took electrolytes, and B vitamins (little bit of a cheat.) Went for a walk, warmed up, and stretched mobilized some. I decided earlier in the week my goal was to go out and do the best I could and likely that would be just barely better than my PR, but it would be a PR not feeling well and that is still something extra.

 

I started my run and many were walking it. So I didn't have anyone to really pace off the beginning to give me the competition excitement boost. I ran along for a while and saw a runner up ahead who does marathons and ultras now. I paced off her for a while as she was slowed down by pushing a stroller. I held with her for way longer than I expected only losing a little ground for half the run. At some point I lost sight due to terrain and lost more ground. I pushed just a bit the whole time trying to not burn myself out. The last 3/4 of a mile was tough, the course made it hard to tell where the end was and I am not familiar with it so I had a lot of trouble as I had nothing to pace off of anymore. I got a little lost at the end and turned in at the wrong place after where I was suppose to. Fortunately the course was actually longer than 5k and I had it already programmed on mapmyride as to where the end was and that part was after so it didn't affect my 5k time, just the event time. I finished my 5k in 34:17. 34:17!! I knocked off 3:09 seconds from previous PR!!! I got lucky and it was only 80° by 9 am. I didn't feel very great, my legs and glutes weren't happy at the start, but they were troopers. This run was a memorial run for a friend, so getting a PR on this meant a lot to me. Thanks for the support!

[Elastigirl]

Woot! Way to go on busting that old PR! Sorry that you don't have answers yet to your health issues. Do you take electrolytes on days you don't do the races? That's my two cents on what might be apossible connection with the heat and  leg pain. And apparently Lyme disease is sometimes really hard to diagnose.But Keto is supposed to help that.

 

Glad you found shorts. I struggle with that too. I'm short  too , so capris look weird on me. And I hate how shorts are low waisted and have a gap, so when I bend over they show the plumber's crack so not attractive.

[ladymorella]

5 minutes ago, Elastigirl said:

Woot! Way to go on busting that old PR! Sorry that you don't have answers yet to your health issues. Do you take electrolytes on days you don't do the races? That's my two cents on what might be apossible connection with the heat and  leg pain. And apparently Lyme disease is sometimes really hard to diagnose.But Keto is supposed to help that.

 

Glad you found shorts. I struggle with that too. I'm short  too , so capris look weird on me. And I hate how shorts are low waisted and have a gap, so when I bend over they show the plumber's crack so not attractive.

Yes, I have been taking electrolytes 1-2 times a day for 2 weeks now. It doesn't have much sodium though and I had a bad headache last night and this morning so I think I fell behind on the sodium. I  am going to keep that up for a while and make sure it's not just electrolytes as that seems very possible to me too. I will have to keep up the electrolytes and stay strict on the keto to see if either help. That said there is a decent chance I am going to cheat on keto tonight. My friend is in from out of town and we will be going to a place we love that isn't very keto friendly. 

 

I have that issue with the shorts too. I didn't this time. I actually had a little of the opposite, when I found some long enough the waist was really high. I prefer the mid waist as the high waist rolls over onto itself sometimes which is annoying. I prefer high to the low though. Say not to crack!! The other problem I have with capris is that I get hot so easy. So it is too much material for me. I don't know why, but I can't handle the heat as much anymore. Even in our winter I have trouble wearing pants for workouts as I get way too hot. 

[Elastigirl]

It's very easy to get low on sodium when you are low carb. I get leg cramps, and found that adding a bit of salt to my water helps with that. Maybe try that, or drinking chicken broth.

[ladymorella]

2 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

It's very easy to get low on sodium when you are low carb. I get leg cramps, and found that adding a bit of salt to my water helps with that. Maybe try that, or drinking chicken broth.

Yeah, I actually have the problem with low sodium when not low carb. I don't salt my food and if you aren't eating processed food then you have nothing. In the summer I try to do saliditos. I try to remember to salt my food and sometimes just pour some salt in my hand and lick it if I have a headache. It's really dumb that I can't remember to salt my food. I have been trying to add a tad of salt to my water when I remember. But I drank like 4.5 literally yesterday and I think I salted 2 liters. 

[TGP]

Congrats!

I love how hard you prepped for that race and then in the end; when it mattered you made it! woot!

 

[Elastigirl]

9 hours ago, ladymorella said:

Yeah, I actually have the problem with low sodium when not low carb. I don't salt my food and if you aren't eating processed food then you have nothing. In the summer I try to do saliditos. I try to remember to salt my food and sometimes just pour some salt in my hand and lick it if I have a headache. It's really dumb that I can't remember to salt my food. I have been trying to add a tad of salt to my water when I remember. But I drank like 4.5 literally yesterday and I think I salted 2 liters. 

I had borderline hypertension for a long time. They kept saying you need to eat less salt. So, I got so I wasn't adding salt to food while cooking or eating. But too little salt sand be bad for you too. So then I started adding salt, but I hadn't done it for so long, it took me a bit to adjust my tastebuds to actually like salt. Now I love salt.

[ladymorella]

14 hours ago, TGP said:

Congrats!

I love how hard you prepped for that race and then in the end; when it mattered you made it! woot!

 

Thanks! It worked out for me. At the end of it all I knew it would be a crapshoot as to what I could do. I could have ended up with a body that felt really good and ready to go, or I could have had lots of issues and extreme fatigue. I was lucky it was in the middle.

 

13 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

I had borderline hypertension for a long time. They kept saying you need to eat less salt. So, I got so I wasn't adding salt to food while cooking or eating. But too little salt sand be bad for you too. So then I started adding salt, but I hadn't done it for so long, it took me a bit to adjust my tastebuds to actually like salt. Now I love salt.

Oh man, I would have issues if I was told not to eat salt. I don't know why I don't add salt to anything. Just a lazy cook I guess. You would think I would learn. I think part of my problem is I use to not add salt while cooking and just add it at the end after putting the food on my plate. Well a coworker use to always comment on how much salt I used like it was a ton. Funny thing is a couple years later I learned that she had low sodium problems and would get so lightheaded she would almost pass out from a lack of salt. So dumb person to be affected by. 

[ladymorella]

Update: I actually don't feel that great. Been really tired. I am thinking it is mostly due to the lost sleep, but on the other hand my ear has been bothering me. I don't know if I have an ear infection. I can't remember when it started seems like it has been a few days now.

 

Keto: I have given myself a break from the keto right now. I will restart on Monday and it will have to be strict strict. No playing around. 

 

Mobility: I haven't been doing too well on this. I am trying to sort of just do it through the day and I don't know what the time of it has been. I have easily hit half the days this week. 

 

Supplemental Exercises: I still haven't done much with this. 

 

To-Do List: I will have to add things up, but I knocked off a big item worth 25 points and have a few other random ones. I think I am at 27/100. 

[ladymorella]

I haven't been feeling well. I have sort of dropped all my goals other than the keto/calorie goal 2200-2400. And the to-do list. I just feel so exhausted. I got a lot of sleep this weekend so I am hoping that will help, but we shall see. I fee more tired this evening than yesterday. I think it is just a mix of things with the supplements removed, and the heat ramping up. It was only 92 this weekend so that was nice. Thus far I am on like 59/100 on my to-do list. I had a couple things pop up that forced me to do a couple things on my to-do list, that I otherwise probably wouldn't have done so that was nice. 

[ladymorella]

Totally not feeling the Keto thing. I keep trying to get back on, but the motivation is just gone. I really need to get back though. I think I need to plan out my food again and stop winging it. I don't feel good and winging it is just setting me up for failure. 

 

Got a little bit more done on my To-Do list. 74/100

 

Tomorrow I go to a PT for my knee. Hopefully it goes well. I have been putting it off partly due to work and partly due to bad experiences in the past PT felt like a waste of time and I ended up having to figure it out on my own anyway. Thus feeling like I wasted my time and money. 

 

In other news: Today I got my first pull up from a hang ever. I mean not strict obviously as I had a little bicycle kicking to finish it off, but wow. As a kid I could never do that. I had to start over the bar drop to 90 (ish?) then I could pump out a few, but if I dropped below 90 I couldn't do it. I am super happy about it. Since I started CrosFiit my goals were to get push-ups from the toes instead of knees and pull ups. Man if I can hit my goal weight too that would be a hat-trick!

[TGP]

woot!

 

those progressions on the pullup seem huge to me.  that particularly exercise seems so hard that getting to the point of doing a few is a massive accomplishment.  my own advancement towards the pullup is on hold with the big walk... but I've not forgotten it and I occasionally do a little bit on my pullup bar at home.

 

 

so congrats and well done!

 

[ladymorella]

17 hours ago, TGP said:

woot!

 

those progressions on the pullup seem huge to me.  that particularly exercise seems so hard that getting to the point of doing a few is a massive accomplishment.  my own advancement towards the pullup is on hold with the big walk... but I've not forgotten it and I occasionally do a little bit on my pullup bar at home.

 

so congrats and well done!

 

Thanks! I thought I was still pretty far off. I was hoping to have it by the end of the year. A week or so ago I decided to give it a try in my back yard, but I only have this square bar to hang from and I could only get to a 90, but it hurt my hands so much on the corners I wanted to see how it compared to the bar at the gym. I kept forgetting to try it until yesterday. Pull ups are difficult. I have been working on negative pull ups for over two months, mostly just to work a muscle imbalance I have which that helps activate the lats or something I need. Dropping the weight helped a lot of course. 

[ladymorella]

Went to PT for my knee. The initial appointment seemed good. I told him what I knew and he went through the tests. I feel pretty good about the situation. Hopefully it is good, cause my last two times didn't go so well and it felt like a waste of time, money, and hope. He wants me to stop any leg exercises besides the prescribed ones which I am not crazy about, but it is an important troubleshooting step. I get that. I have suspected it is a muscle imbalance anyway and have been trying to scale back on leg things I know I am strong in. So I am trying to figure out what my plan is since I just got a pull-up and push-ups not that long ago and I don't want to lose the progress. I stopped running after my 5k since I felt I had been pushing close to overtraining. I feel pretty well rested now, so I may start up on running again if I can wake up early enough or the night air is cool enough. It won't be soon. 

 

Yesterday we had push-ups in the workout again. It was a set amount for time so I decided to not scale them. It took a while, but I did it. I feel the form wasn't too terrible. They still feel really weird. I think maybe I just need to work on planks as I feel the difficulty is more of holding my body in the position and not so much my arms. IDK maybe it is my imagination. I still don't know what they should feel like so I don't know how to tweak whatever it is I feel that is off. I should set up a video recording. Maybe I could see it. Either way an exciting week. Got a couple pull ups and showed the pushup thing wasn't a fluke a couple months ago. 

 

I have still been feeling a little exhausted. I feel a little off too. I have been trying to mildly push it since I have so much piled on my to-do list both at home and at work. I have 77/100 done on my to-do list. It's an ever constant battle of pushing it, but not over pushing it. I wish I had another week to take off so I could try to recover, but I just don't have it right now. 

[ladymorella]

 

Well the challenge is over and I did terrible. I actually didn't feel very good for most of the challenge and since I wasn't prepping more than a day at a time the food was hard to stick to. Also since I was feeling quite exhausted it was hard to get the mobility and supplemental exercises. However despite the fatigue and sleeping too much I did still manage to get 90/100 of my to-do list points, which is pretty good considering how I felt. I think I might have forgot to track a couple things so I might have made it, but documentation or is didn't happen right?

 

I feel better now. Let's see how long that lasts. Anyone want to take bets? I think the odds are on 6 days total. 

 

I did however clear all the paperwork off my to-do list which is huge. It has been piling up for a couple years. So it is a huge accomplishment. I have started PT which I have also been putting off for a very long time. Which is also good.

 

These challenges are nice to gain some perspective. The paperwork feels so long ago, but it is nice to look at the list and realize that despite not feeling well I actually got a lot accomplished. Also I got my first pull up. I completed two in this challenge from a hang. It's true what they say progress isn't linear. 

 

Also thus far despite going off keto I don't seem to be having worse symptoms. Which is interesting.