Mission Control, We Have Another Breakdown

In pursuit of that Last 10 Pounds, is injury inevitable or is it just a higher probability? As of last week I’m beginning to think ‘inevitable’. On June 4, I broke the 2^nd metatarsal bone on my right foot. This was not a stress fracture, it was a clean break. I would like to tell you that I broke my foot jumping my Harley through a ring of fire but it actually happened on a treadmill in the USA during a recent visit home. I won’t bore you with the details other than it is another overuse injury; one too many miles and probably originated by picking up the load with that foot during my runs recovering from a left leg calf sprain. The x-ray shows the break pretty clearly. And yes; got me a boot to wear for the next several weeks.

So I have been pretty much off of the foot over the last 4 weeks; of course there are exceptions. I haven’t missed any of my lifting routines. Smith rack squats and deadlifts don’t seem to be too painful and as long as I am careful, hopefully I can continue progress in that area. And an injured foot has nothing to do with upper body work.

For morning cardio (to replace my running habit), I have been completing low impact circuit routines as presented by Fitnessblender. If you have never visited this website it is pretty amazing, no advertisement and literally hundreds of home workout videos. The couple that creates these videos (Daniel and Kelli) has put forth a tremendous effort and I think they have done a really good job. If you get the opportunity, you should visit their site, you won’t regret it.

http://www.fitnessblender.com/

Again, it looks like another couple of months working around a lower body injury. So between sprains and breaks it looks like I’ve lost close to 6 months of my favorite cardio, my morning runs.

Lamenting……….

So on mornings when I have a great run, why is it that two hours down the road, and for the most part, the rest of the day, my whole body feels soooooo relaxed? Soooooo satisfied? What is turning on the endorphins and does it do anything as far as overall health? Or is it just a latent O₂ recovery; e.g. filling an O₂ deficit. Whatever it is, I surely miss that feeling and can’t wait to get back at it.

And when I say great runs I mean those where I set a new PR or at least catch up to one previous attained. For example; on my split 20’s it is when I really push it during the 1 minute sprints. On tempo runs it’s where I push it pretty hard for 20 minute steady run.

And then there is the Widow Maker;

• 10 minute slow jog warm up,
• followed by 5 to 7 - 20 second all out sprints with 45 second slow jogs between each bout,
• followed by a 4 minute walking rest,
• followed by a 25 minute quick pace jog,
• followed by 5 - 1 minute runs with a 1 minute slow jogs between each bout,
• ending with a 5 minute slow jog cool down

I actually completed one of these on the Sunday, June 1^st just prior to getting on a plane and heading to the US. I wonder if this run had anything to do with the broken……………..

Anyway, this is what I will be missing over the next several weeks. I don’t think I can shortcut the fracture. So as long as I can keep active and hopefully continue making progress, the goal will always be that Last 10 Pounds.

MMJennings