persist until you succeed

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to the Runner’s Roundup! So glad you are joining us today.

When the COVID-19 Crisis began to interrupt everyone’s comings and goings, the thing I had to let go was physical therapy. It was a difficult decision, and while I know it was the right thing, I’m still sad about it. What’s done is done, now, so I just have to keep pushing on.

The nice thing is that I have a pretty thorough rundown of workouts designed to help get me back on track. Please note, I am not a physical therapist or medical professional. I am simply sharing an example of the things I do on an everyday basis (mostly) to get back to running form.

Stretches + Flexibility

Stretches with a towel or theraband make up the bulk of my PT. I use the bands to help with strength and flexibility in my arch, ankle and toes. I can do this any time I am sitting on the floor.

I also spend time doing heel raises and toe raises. The pillow is to offer some protection from the hard floor, as well as to make me focus on my stability.

Lunges over my toes help with my dorsiflexion challenges. I am definitely seeing some progress, but there is some catching up to do with my left ankle.

Balance

I have always had excellent balance, so it’s difficult being a bit deficient in that area. Now, I spend as much time as I can trying to balance on my right leg. I feel like a flamingo. If I’m brushing my teeth, cooking, or doing something standing up, I try to balance on my right leg.

Sometimes, I use the pillow for the instability, and sometimes, I just stand on the floor. Additionally, I will add to the balance by trying to tap cones while standing on one leg.

Leg Strength

Bearing weight on my right leg, foot and ankle is another challenge, requiring a whole rotation of moves.

For example, squats with a weighted ball are great for a warm up. I am just about able to do these without the support of a seat.

Lateral step-ups are another great one. This is the lowest step in my house, and I am looking forward to when I can increase the height a little (and move out of my garage).

These sliding lunges with a resistance band are a great all-over move. They feel so awkward, but they are great for strength, balance, and work my hips and glutes.

Right now, my most difficult move is the heel raise on one leg. I grit my teeth a lot through these, and the ball of my foot is usually pretty sore for the rest of the day, but they are a necessary evil.

Lateral side steps are great for my ankles, but also for my hips. I love doing these after my morning walk, and prefer them barefoot on my back patio.

Upper Body Strength

When all the lower body fun is over, I move on to my arms. I have a set of weights on each floor of my house (5 pounders downstairs and 10 upstairs), so there are no excuses. Upper body is my least favorite, but I have a selections of moves through which I can rotate: hammer curls, bicep curls, lateral raises, front raises, shoulder presses, upright rows, and a few more. It doesn’t take a long time to complete a few sets of these, so I try to just suck it up and get it done. It’s helpful for my overall recovery.

Goals

Obviously, the goal for this regimen (time-consuming as it is) is running, but I do have some smaller goals in the meantime.

• One legged deadlift
• One legged heel raise
• Downward dog
• Full plank or pushup

All of these are a struggle with an injured right leg, and I am testing the waters on each of them every day. I have also started doing things like shuffling when I do my banded lateral steps, and I am thisclose to trying to jump. Just to see what happens.

I miss the slant board, bosu ball and shuttle from therapy, but I managed to adjust and adapt my moves with things I have around the house. The plan is to persist until I succeed, and I think I have all the tools to do so.

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What is something at which you had to persist in order to see success?