Working Around Shin Splints

Well damn. I had this week's workout schedule all ready to go, and wouldn't you know it: shin splints. My right shin started feeling sore yesterday afternoon, and by the time I got home, it was full blown ouchy. In a vain fog of denial, I even put on my running clothes and laced up my tennis shoes, but only made it as far as Florida Ave. Ouch! Redford was pretty disappointed when we turned around and limped home. I skipped yoga (mostly because I felt so deflated from missing my run), and instead taped up my shin and went to bed.
My best guess is that my 4 mile jog (well, 3 mi run+ 1 mile walk) on Saturday was too big a leap. I've been doing 2-2.5 mile runs around Ruby Hill Park, some of which is on soft trails. So jumping up to 3-4 on pavement probably aggravated my shin. Lesson learned.
Today the shin splint is still there, although much improved. But I still think Orange Theory is a bad idea this afternoon.
Hmmm. There aren't any good yoga options between 4-7pm, so what to do instead...I know! Barre! I've always meant to try it. And it seems like a great, low-impact workout for my tender shin. Right? RIGHT?! Oh God, what have I done? Pray for me.

While I'm trying to work around these shin splints, I've also been working on my eating. Last night I tried a new recipe from PBS's Kitchen Vignettes. Shakshouka is basically eggs poached in a flavorful middle-eastern tomato sauce, and I served it with slices of ciabatta. It was surprisingly tasty and filling, with the added bonus of healthy protein from the eggs (I have a hard time getting the protein I need). Plus it came together in under 20 min and required very few dishes - perfect for a weeknight!

Week 1. Sort of.

Huzzah! Happy Monday! Seize the day, etc!
Based on the highs and lows of the last 3 weeks, these are my goals for this week (Feb 27-Mar 5):

WORKOUTS:
- 2 outdoor runs
- 1 Orange Theory
- 1 yoga
- Ski 3 days (Fri, Sat, Sun)

NUTRITION:
- No eating after 8pm, except on Wed (I have cycle/yoga from 7-8pm and will need to eat after)
This is my attempt to subvert my late night Munchies
- Eat <1600 calories per day from Mon-Thur
We're going skiing in SLC on Fri, Sat, and Sun, and I'll need plenty of food to function. However, this is not free license to binge. 
- Log meals in MFP every day

The most exciting part about this week is that we're going to Salt Lake City on Friday for 3 awesome days of skiing. We'll be going to Alta, Solitude, and Brighton, and I cannot wait.
We are staying at a Residence Inn, so we'll have a little kitchen to make our own meals. I'm sure we'll eat out for dinner a few nights, but at least we can prepare healthy breakfasts and lunches for ourselves. I need to remind myself that this ski vacation does not give me free reign to eat whatever I want. I'll still strive to eat healthy, but <1600 cal per day is probably unreasonable for the amount of physical activity we'll be doing.

Summary of the Last 3 Weeks

So I've technically been tracking my calories and activity for 3 weeks, which makes this Week 4.
But let's call this Week 1, and treat the last 3 weeks as practice.
Here are the highs and lows of the last 3 weeks:

THE GOOD

• I've done a great job of scheduling and then sticking to my workouts.
• Using my ClassPass membership, I've tried some different things! I tried a spin class, and have even gone to a few yoga classes (besides the usual Restorative yoga). Yoga was particularly intimidating, because I've lost so much flexibility in the last few years. But I sucked it up and went to a Corepower C1 class - I'm proud of that!
• I've been really good about eating smaller and healthier portions for breakfast and lunch
• I picked up a book about binging, which contained some useful (if somewhat silly) tips.
• I've kept a positive attitude by celebrating my wins and not getting derailed by a singular failure.
• I've taken advantage of good weather to get outside for my workouts, and was even able to fit in a good hike with Redford. 
• I've been cooking more healthy meals at home. 

THE BAD

• Dinner and evening binging remain a problem. My will power seems to shut down toward the end of the day. It's especially bad if I need to take a sleep aid, which gives me an acute case of the Munchies. 
• I've had some health setbacks - a brief bout with the flu, a minor sinus infection, and the Great Staph Debacle of 2017. I missed some workouts because of this nonsense.
• I've set goals to eat <1600 cal per day, but that's been really hard to stick to. Again, dinner and snacks seem to give me the most trouble.

Definitely some lessons learned from the last 3 weeks!

159 and Not So Fine

Last week I weighed in at 159 lb. I'm a size 10.
I wish I could say I was surprised. I wish there had been shock. But the reality is that I knew 160 lb was looming close, and I knew why. Oof.

How did I get here?
Last May, I was in killer shape. I was 145 lb, with a lot of muscle. I was crushing Orange Theory workouts and running up Mt. Falcon every weekend. On June 4th, I ran the Snowmass Ragnar trail relay, and felt great. And boy howdy, when you feel great running up mountainsides at 11PM and again at 4AM, then you know you're in good shape. I had abs!
But after that race, everything fell apart. First, I developed metatarsalgia in my feet (presumably from wearing stiff trail-running shoes for 2 days straight at Ragnar), which feels like the balls of your feet are painfully bruised. I couldn't run for weeks, and it occasionally flared up for months afterward. There went all that running stamina I'd built.
In August, I fell off West Spanish Peak. That's a story for another day, but the little tumble left me with pain in my right shoulder. It's probably a small rotator cuff injury, but it limits what weightlifting exercises I can do.
Fall brought new business travel, and I found myself bouncing back and forth between 3 time zones. My schedule was a wreck. Nonetheless, I was able to surge back a little bit, and put down some decent 5k and 1-mile times.
But then came December, which brought a sinus infection and a month of upper respiratory crud. Any kind of physical exertion would send me into a coughing fit and my energy tank was totally empty. It took me 6 weeks to kick that mess. Unfortunately, the holidays are the worst possible time to find yourself immobilized, and the damage was done.
And then there was the staph infection debacle on my face. That's yet another story for another day.
Anyway, the end result was: hello, weight gain!

So here I am. Like I've told Will, "I'm fat and slow". We both deserve better.

But there's good news:

1. We have zero setback-inducing commitments in the future. No holidays, no birthdays, no distractions, no reasons to over-indulge.
2. It's ski season. I always lose weight on the slopes. Shredding all day with only a PB&J in your pocket will do that. And I earn that après ski beer!
3. I have wedding to slim down for. September 24th, 2017! If that isn't motivation, then I don't know what is. 

So my first step is to formalize my goals. I'll tackle that in my next post, but the gist is that I'll create some clearly stated weekly goals. 

Of course, the ultimate goal is to stop being fat and slow. Because I want to look and feel good. I want to be in great shape so I can tear up the ski slopes. I want to put down good 5k times. I want to fit in all my clothes. I want to look great at our wedding. 

And there's now nothing standing in my way. Well, except for my love of cookies. Everybody has their weakness.