Bored kids and Running Through the Discomfort

"I'm bored."

Those have got to be the two worst words in the English language to a mother of young children.  Hearing it from your four-year-old at 7 o'clock in the morning a full two minutes after he gets out of bed is even better - just peachy.

A different day, a different boredom, but you see what I am facing here?

Bored?  I am so rarely what I would consider bored anymore that I cannot even fathom what that feels like.  Between child-rearing, house caretaking, yard cleaning, errand running, meal prepping, running, exercising to support my running, and blogging, I am pretty darn busy.  On those rare occasions I actually do have a minute to breathe, I read.  Currently, I am plowing my way through Scott Jurek's new book Eat & Run, which I am sure I'll have a lot to say about in a few days.  (I am really devouring it! Pun intended.  Seriously, though, it's good.)

Source

Okay, so granted, LG can't read yet, and that is to his disadvantage. He is only four, though, so that time will come.  In the meantime, I am starting to understand why so many moms I know who have older kids so look forward to the end of summer vacation and back-to-school time.

Anyway, even if I had time to be bored, I couldn't be right now.  I am spending WAY too much time trying to figure out why my hip/hamstring aren't getting better faster.  I wish I could figure out the whens and hows of recovery.  Since my deep tissue massage on my left hamstring and hip, I have felt seriously bruised and beat up.  Read about it here if you missed it.  That's not so bad, but I feel like I need to get past the bruised feeling to be able to assess if things are getting better.

On today's run, which I managed to do after rolling out of bed at 5:30 a.m. (very proud of myself), I managed a decent three miles before I had to head home for Hubby's departure for work.  I was hoping to try the barefoot thing again, but time wouldn't allow it.  The run itself wasn't too bad - more difficult due to the humidity in the air than anything.  However, I did notice the injured areas flaring a bit towards the end.  Again, though, I am not sure yet how much of that can be attributed to the injury or just feeling beat up from the massage.  When I got back home, I thought I would try to stretch my mileage and get some time in on the treadmill.  I decided instead of just running like I had outside I would do a 3-1 run-walk.  In the best of worlds I would have gotten an additional three miles. As it turns out, I got about 7/10 of a mile before calling it quits.  I felt a bit of spasming discomfort deep around the sit bone a couple of times and I thought I just had better not go there.  Quit while I am ahead, right?  I am still open to the possibility of a longer run on Sunday.  I fully intend to head out and try for three hours.  With any luck, I can do it.  If not, c'est la vie.  It's about the joy, right?  A friend of mine will be joining me for the run, so I am looking forward to that change of pace.

I suppose I could view today's run in either a positive or negative light.  It didn't go exactly how I wanted; I wish I had covered more miles.  However, it wasn't miserable either and I feel I managed to get in some good miles before the real discomfort started.  And, I think I made the right move in stopping when I did - so props to me for actually listening to my body for once.  My most fervent hope - and with any luck it will happen - is that I can just keep running through this discomfort.  I am going to take some time though and just listen to my body - do what I can.  I have a half marathon in two weeks, and I really want to finish that comfortably.

Giveaways, Giveaways, Giveaways

So, have you signed up for my BODYGLIDE WarmFX Giveaway yet?  You only have until Sunday, July 15, to do so!  Enter for a chance to win a .45 oz. sample of WarmFX from BODYGLIDE.  They will even send it to you directly, so you don't have to wait for me to get to a mailbox!  Then, stay tuned for three more giveaways coming your way, including:

• A Marathon/Half Marathon Race Entry
• Compression gear
• Awesome running clothing

I'll have more details coming soon.

Happy Running!

Do you get bored?  What do you do when you are bored?  How do you distract/entertain your kids (if you have any) when they are bored?

Asking for Pain

* Don't forget to sign up for my BODYGLIDE WarmFX Giveaway HERE!  You have until July 15!

I have to remind myself that I asked her to beat me with a sledgehammer.  And, not only that, I paid for the privilege.  Am I some sort of masochist?  No, not at all.  Was it really a sledgehammer?  Nope, not that either.  But being hammered away at by a deep tissue massage therapist leaves you feeling about the same, I imagine.

So going into yesterday's half-hour massage, which actually stretched to about 40 minutes, I was hopeful that this might do the trick on my tight hamstring.  If you think DTM is generally uncomfortable, try having someone work at ONE problem spot for that length of time.  It was seriously torture.  I won't go into the details.  If you have gotten a deep tissue massage yourself, then you know what it feels like.  If you haven't, then you can read about it here.

So, before you start thinking that I am some fancy rich person who can afford massages whenever I like really like this form of torture, know that I was desperate.  Here I am, EIGHT weeks away from my grand Jungfrau adventure, which will have me running a full marathon up the side of an Alp - not just a mountain, one of the infamous Alps.  (See? Follow the red squiggly line; theoretically, that's going to be me!)

I WANT to do this.  I NEED to do this.  However, my hamstring/glute/hip have been wonky the past few weeks, and that has derailed my training a bit.  I needed all the help I could get to get back on track.  DTM may not feel good at first, but a couple days after there is generally a great feeling of ahhhhh and I am hoping that this time is no exception.

As I suspected, my left hamstring and piriformis are both extremely tight right now.  Why?  Probably for all the reasons stated here.  I also suspect it has something to do with my lack of regular yoga as well.  During the school year I had gotten into the habit of yoga twice a week, and I think that went a long way towards keeping me stretched out and flexible.  However, with summer came a serious upheaval in my schedule - what, with the kidlets home and all.  I try to fit a class in here or there, but there is no rhyme or reason to my going right now.  And the DVD I bought turned out to be kind of useless.  Beyond that, I am starting to wonder if I am somehow not running efficiently. I think I am going to sign up for a run gait analysis soon and see if maybe there is something there that I could improve.

For now, though, I am going to ice my bruised leg and continue on my stretching and rolling regimen - but take it to a new level.  I am also going to try to go in for a follow-up massage next week.  (See?  Desperate.  There goes my birthday money.)

I have to wonder if I will ever go in to get a nice, relaxing spa-type massage again. And, if I do, what will the therapist think when she or he sees me cringing on the table in anticipation of being hurt?

Happy Running!

What do you think of massage?  Just for relaxation or therapy?
Have you ever had a gait analysis done?  Was it worth it?