PT and my AFC

Four days past the AFC 1/2 marathon and I'm happy to report that I'm walking like a normal person again, and in fact, I feel better than I have in several months.

Well...that's not entirely true. I've had this enormous knot in my neck and shoulder that has made it nearly impossible to look to the left without turning my entire body to the left, but I'm pretty sure that the knot is stress-related and as soon as school starts, and as soon as this remodel is done, I will have time to run again (since I'm now whole) and the knot will go away.

So, other than the stress-knot, my physical health is entirely due to my physical therapist, Brett. I credit him and his team 100% with not only newly tightened ass (and as Elsie has told me before, it is ALL ABOUT THE TIGHT ASS) but also with getting me to a place where I could run the AFC 1/2 at all...and that four days later, I feel pretty darn good and ready to run again.

Lunges and squats...who knew?

Also who knew that PT could be such a freakin' workout?

So, here was my PT/Workout this morning at Rehab United. I got there and warmed up for 15 minutes on the elliptical. Then I stretched for about 15 minutes using this crazy contraption...

Then did walking lunges across with an 8 lb. medicine ball, four times across the room twisting over my front knee, two times across the room while lifting the ball over my head, and two times across the room twisting away from my front knew.

BTW...it's a big room.

THEN I did some more single-leg squats standing on a wooden box (Another woman who was there told one of the PTs to "get your hand off my box" the other morning and I nearly fell off of my box)... Anyway, I did two sets of 10 squats on each leg...but I should add that each "squat" is actually four squats...with my free leg going to the front, side, back, and behind.

Tricky bastards...

OH and THEN, I did some thing where I stepped up onto this 18" platform and did a knee lift...while raising a 5 lb medicine ball over my head...ok...two sets of 10 of those puppies.

Then I did some more lunging stretches with twists holding a bar. 10 to each side (on each leg).

Then I did something called a BAPs. It helps to strengthen my previously floppy ankle.

This is a BAPs Board. I'm really good at it now. But when I started, I really had no ability to work my ankle around to move the board.

Then I think I finished off with a crazy new set of lunges where I held on to some ropes which are tethered to the wall and do some MORE single leg squats...as many as I could do in 60 seconds, without stopping. (OUCH!). Oh yeah...two sets of those.

Oh...and today was a "light workout" (so said Brett, who says he now reads my blog. We'll see...)

I leave PT pretty much a sweaty mess.

Honestly, it's a wonder I can sit right now...or rather that I can stand from a sitting position.

But here's the crazy part. I can do both.

And it is working. Clearly it worked in helping me to run the half marathon, especially considering the minimal amount of miles I actually ran before the race.

So, what's ahead? This weekend, I think the herd is going for a bike ride on Saturday and then on Sunday, a few of us are talking about doing the four mile End of Summer Fire Run. It's become somewhat of a tradition that some of us run the AFC 1/2, swear off running for awhile, then a week later do the flat and fun End of Summer Run which starts at La Jolla and ends in Pacific Beach.

Then we try to convince a cab driver to load all of us into a single cab and take us back to La Jolla because for the last two years the bus/shuttle service has been downright lousy.

It's a tradition, so I gotta do it. Right?

Finally, speaking of traditions...Three years ago, Betty convinced me to run a half marathon with her. I thought it was the craziest damn idea I'd ever heard in my life. But Betty can be persistent, so I ended up doing it...and a runner was born. For each of the AFC 1/2s Betty and I have run through the 10K mark together.

So here are Betty and I at the 10K mark for the last three years. (oh yes...pilfered race photos...).

2007 - we really had no idea what we were doing...

Damn it was hot last year. We don't look so happy do we?

This year... Just happy to be here!

Hey...wanna read more of me waxing poetic about...well...me and the herd? I'm being featured on the Runner's Lounge Open Mic Friday this week. You can check it out for the real story of how I became a runner, and Tom also made me send lots of previously un-blogged photos.

Seriously, thanks to those of you who suggested to Tom and Amy that I be featured. What an honor!