Currently {June 2016}

Currently June 2016

Hi there! How are you doing this week? It’s been a while since I’ve done a Currently post, so today I’m going to think out loud so we can catch up!

Currently June 2016

 

Currently… I’m not running

The return from injury is a rocky and windy road, isn’t it? Now that my foot is feeling almost back to normal, my hamstring hurts. I tried to reintroduce strides after an easy 5 mile run on Monday, only to feel a twinge in the bottom of my right hamstring on the fourth and last stride. So I iced, compressed, and rested on Tuesday.

By Wednesday I forgot about the whole thing, since I was walking without any discomfort or limping…but sure enough, my right hamstring still feels tight and sensitive while running. I gave it a mile to loosen up, then quit so not to make it worse, iced it when I got home, and vowed to rest on Thursday (today) and Friday. There’s no pain, bruising, or swelling, but I’m not in the mood to play fast and loose with any potential injury. 

I’m just actually not in the mood for injury. But whoever is? I try to keep a positive attitude, but after years of running with no problems I’m just frustrated and upset to have two issues within a few weeks, even if this one is minor. 

It’s frustrating because I just got back into running after my ankle sprain, and because I focus heavily on hamstring strength with Pilates, hamstring ball curls, bridges, and other exercises. But, injuries can be opportunities for better, stronger running, if you have the right mindset, patience, and a smart approach. 

The good thing is it doesn’t even twinge at rest or while walking, which means whether it’s a strain or a niggle it’s very minor.

So a few days of just walking and Pilates and we’ll see…either back to cross-training or back to easy running. 

Currently…I’m grateful for ergogenic aids for recovery.

Body Glide (not an affiliate link) sent me several samples to try, and their Relief glide feels, well, very relieving on any sore or tight spot. Ryan’s hamstring is bothering him also (apparently we’re injury twins…he sprained his ankle a couple weeks before I sprained my foot, and now we’re both having hamstring issues) and we’ve both found this product helps. 

Currently June 2016

Charlie, however, is both intrigued and disturbed by its menthol/spearmint smell. 

Currently…wining down. 

Something about summer makes me crave a glass of wine, especially a good oaky and dry Chardonnay. Our apartment complex has been hosting Wine Down Wednesdays at least once a month which just fosters my current love of a good wine even more. I take comfort in how sports nutritionists such as Matt Fitzgerald (Racing Weight and The New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Nutritioninclude one drink of beer or wine a day in a high-quality diet. 

Admittedly, some nights it’s two glasses, but that’s part of the fun of not specifically training for a goal race yet, right?

Currently…I’m in Women’s Running Magazine

A couple months ago the web editor at Women’s Running Magazine contacted me to feature me as a Blogger on the Run in their July issue! To say I am excited and honored is an understatement. 

Currently June 2016

Currently…I’m feeling heartbroken for the state of our nation.

The Orlando shootings were horrific. If you haven’t already seen it, Stephen Colbert addressed the tragedy in a thought-provoking speech on his show. To paraphrase what he say, the easy route is to be paralyzed and despair over violence, but despair gives victory to hatred. “So love your country, love your family, love the families and the victims and the people of Orlando. But let’s remember love is a verb. And to love means to do something,” Colbert said, and I could not agree more. 

Currently…I’m enjoying quick and easy cooking methods.

The broiler is my favorite tool in the kitchen right now for quick dinner: just pop some sliced vegetables and potatoes under there and 15-20 minutes later (I stick the food in as the broiler preheats) we have crispy, roasted, delicious food to enjoy. We also started using the broiler while making homemade pizza: 5 minutes at 500 degrees, 5 minutes on broil, and the product is a chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside crust. 

The grill is also a favorite for summer cooking, especially because Ryan and I love a meal of grilled chicken, lots of grilled vegetables, and grilled corn on the cob. I mean, is there a more delicious summer food than grilled vegetables? 

Currently…I’m loving Seattle weather.

I say currently, but this might as well be always. Once that heat wave died down, temperatures settled into the high 40s to low 60s. The weather is almost like perpetual fall – perfect running, hiking, everything outdoor weather! Long sleeves and shorts are my all-time favorite workout wear combination and I’m happy avoiding tank tops as long as I can on runs. Although oftentimes I forget what month it is since the weather is so mild year round. 

Currently June 2016

Currently…hiking has been extra amazing.

I missed hiking so much in the 4 weeks off from hiking after my sprained foot, but at least we missed a time when several of our favorite or to-do hikes were still buried in snow at the top. Now that the snow is melted but the temperatures are still chilly, hiking has been ideal, from the shorts and long sleeve temperatures to the stunning, freshly filled with snow melt alpine lakes. 

Currently June 2016

Currently…pumpkin seeds are the new obsession in our house. 

My love for peanut butter will never die, but over the past several months we’ve shifted from eating nuts to seeds due to allergies (Ryan’s mildly allergic to almonds) and grocery budgets. Chia seeds, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds are staples, and the more I eat them, the more I crave them and contemplate new recipes to include them. I decided to try to make pumpkin seed butter soon, and now I NEED to make these pumpkin seed chocolate cups the next time a sweet craving strikes. 

[Tweet “Fall weather in June, running injuries, and favorite summer foods via @thisrunrecipes #tol #lifelately #sweatpink”]
What’s an exciting thing that’s happened to you recentl?
Do you have hamstring issues? Please tell me how you deal, I just want to get back to running soon. 
What’s recipe or food you’ve been wanting to try?
What’s your favorite workout clothes combination?

Sign Up for My Newsletter for More Running Tips

* indicates required

Share this post

31 Responses

  1. ugh I hope your hamstring is feeling normal soon! try kt tape. it solves everything lol. that glide sounds great too! I had biofreeze a few years ago for my shoulder which was awesome, I think I need to keep a bottle in the house for emergencies. congrats again for being in women’s magazine!

  2. I’m talking about what is going on in today’s world on the blog today, so I will skip over that, and address the others. Sometimes (like with your hammy), stupid things happen. Especially if you are coming off of any sort of injury–you probably compensated in SOME random way, and that tweaked it. Alex pulled him calf muscle on Monday, right after deciding to do his first race! Tis the ballad of the runner, unfortunately!

    1. I think you’re right – I bet I did compensate and tweak it. We talked about it in mastermind yesterday (and we missed you!) and Denny suggested rest and caution when easing back. I’m sorry to hear that Alex pulled a calf muscle, I hope he heals up well!

  3. My favorite workout clothes combo is a short sleeved cotton/poly blend shirt, shorts, and gloves. That’s usually what I wear when it’s about 39 degrees out, the magical number for half marathon success for me. We don’t have that weather often here so I got lucky.

    I’m so sorry to read about your hamstring. Mine was bothering me a bit yesterday so I scratched from tonight’s 5K (I hadn’t registered, lol, but anyway). I’m not mentally there and would rather just do some easy running instead.

    My heart also breaks for Orlando. I guess I should blog or talk about it, but it is on my mind so much. The worst part is thinking about people’s phones going off while the rescue workers were in there and knowing those families and friends were trying to get in touch with people. Ugh… it just makes me so, so, sad.

    1. Short sleeves or tanks are definitely the way to go for racing! I don’t think I could race in a long sleeve or shorts – if it’s super cold, arm warmers are good. An thank you – I hope your hamstring feels better and I’m sorry that it’s bothering you as well.

  4. I know an injury isn’t the end of the world, but I swear, sometimes it feels like it at first. Take care of that hamstring. Congrats on the WR mention!

    My heart breaks for the victims and families of Orlando.

  5. I pulled my hamstring in high school cross country, and it’s one of those muscles that never truly heals. It’s so frustrating! Since it’s such a big muscle group, I’ve heard that heat therapy is the best for it. Once my training ramps up, I make sure to put on a heat wrap or use icy hot before and after each run. It helps so much! Hope yours feels better soon.

    1. Thank you, Gretchen! I’m hoping this pull isn’t bad enough to be recurring, but it’s definitely something to be very cautious about. Right now I’m icing it a lot to fight the inflammation and heal it quicker, since cold therapy is effective for that, but I’ll keep in mind your tip on the icy hot – thanks!

  6. Congrats on the magazine feature! I’ve also been looking at the hiking views on your Instagram feed with total envy, everything looks so beautiful.

    Exciting things that have happened to me recently… I dyed my hair purple! And I’m still really stoked about the training plan you made me a month ago. 🙂

    By the way – I’m so glad you included that comment by Stephen Colbert. I’m openly lesbian, and while I appreciate every word of support, it bothers me sometimes how so many people post something on Facebook or Twitter with a nice hashtag but don’t actually *do* anything to try to change things. To love and support the LGBT+ community is to take active steps to make our lives safe.

    1. Thank you, Sanna! I saw your purple hair on IG – so pretty! And I’m really glad that you’re enjoying the training plan still! 🙂 I agree – Twitter activism with a social media hashtag accomplishes nothing. Being kind and respectful to others – that does effectively fight against violence. A person is a person, someone with dignity, no matter what they believe or practice.

  7. I hope your hamstring feels better soon! Injuries can be so frustrating and especially since I tend to be a tad impatient, I’m not a fan when things don’t heal overnight (I know that’s not usually realistic at all haha). And congrats on being featured in Women’s Running! I just got the new issue last week so I’ll have to look for you in it:) And can I just say, I am super jealous of all the hiking you have around you! Long sleeves and shorts is my favorite weather too!

    1. Thank you, Amanda! I was impatient on my last injury and paid for it – so I’m forcing patience now. The hiking out here in the Pacific Northwest is pretty amazing!

  8. Oh no you guys!!! I’ve had hamstring issues on and off since the Vancouver marathon in 2012. So, this is a weird suggestion but last year around this time my hamstring was really bugging me so I kept taking it slow and easy. But it wasn’t getting better! So I sped up. And once I ran faster and harder, my biomechanics all changed and I guess it took pressure off my hamstring and it was fine ever since!

    1. Ryan’s is already better, which is good! I really think mine is minor enough to heal with a few days of complete rest from running/cross-training/etc. But it’s making me feel less crazy than resting on my foot was, probably because I had my taste of normal running and am desperate to have that back. That’s interesting about the speed! Thanks for the suggestion. I do notice that my body does better in the middle – higher end of my easy range to moderately hard – than either too slow or too fast.

  9. Hamstring injuries are tricky–I tweaked mine when I was training for my March half marathon and found that Graston helped big time. Favorite workout clothes combo is always shorts and a long sleeve shirt–fall running is my favorite! And big time yes to a glass of wine/beer (or two) in the evenings when we’re not training!

    1. You would love Seattle weather – it’s like fall running year round, even during the rainy season! If my hamstring still aches or feels stiff I’m going to visit a PT and see what they think – thanks for recommending Graston!

  10. I am heartbroken by Orlando too, and frustrated. How many more innocent people need to die before we realize that we actually need to DO something to make it harder for these types of crimes to occur?

    Congrats on your WR feature! That’s so awesome to see yourself and the blog IN PRINT!

    1. It’s really sad – we need our society and culture as a whole just realize that we shouldn’t harm others because of different practices or opinions? Of course that is the cycle of history, as sad as it is, but it doesn’t mean that it’s alright.
      And thank you! It’s weird seeing oneself in print! And exciting! 🙂

  11. That’s so cool about the magazine feature! Congratulations 😀 And my hamstrings are always the muscles that cause me the most problems. I haven’t found a way to get rid of the issues 100% yet, but I find that making sure I stretch and foam roll daily really helps!

  12. Ugh, injuries are so, so tough! Hang in there- I’m glad you can enjoy hiking again. I love the broiling ideas- I haven’t been using that part of the oven very often, but you’re right, so many quick easy delicious meals that can come from it!

  13. When my sister and I were in Seattle last fall, we were surprised that everyone was wearing down jackets and North Face! Here in Chicago, 60 degrees is like a heat wave! I guess it’s all relative.

    So wine is part of my daily diet. I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing, but sometimes (more often than I like to admit) it’s more than one glass. Sigh. Life…. Not training for anything..

    1. Oh that’s me! I’m wearing my Patagonia fleece until it’s in the mid 60s, so pretty much year-round except for maybe July and August. It is all relative – but I’m pretty sure PNWers couldn’t bear either extreme of Midwest weather! Wine as part of your daily diet is a good thing, in my non-nutritionist opinion. Every diet needs a treat, plus wine has antioxidants and less sugar than dessert.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *