I Crashed The Web

The headline of the blog post gives the prognosis of my toe injury away, huh?

That’s right, I found out this week that my toe is indeed broken. I’m to not run at all, and also have to wear a special shoe to protect my toe. All of this from stupidly walking (well practically running) into a door!

Knowing this, I still tried to keep active, just in a different way this week. I even got in one run before I confirmed that it was broken (whoops!). My sister-in-law started a weight-lifting regime several months ago, and she graciously shared her workout spreadsheet with me in the middle of the week. So, knowing I couldn’t run, I decided to start weight lifting instead. Who knows, maybe this not running thing won’t ruin my fitness completely?

Here’s what the week looked like – my workouts with a broken toe:

Sunday: 45 minutes indoor cycling, planking, push ups, core workout/pilates –  I was hoping to get in a long run, so when I woke up at 6:30 I decided against going back to sleep, and instead, got ready and snuck out the door. My phone said it was due to rain in about an hour, so I tried to keep my pace fast to get in at least 7 miles before the storm. Luckily, it ended up raining only a little during my run and no thunder or other storms – and I made it 10 miles! It poured and stormed later on, but I was safely home. I felt SO good on this run, and ran it fast (for me) for a long run – just around 10 minute miles!

Monday: 45 minutes indoor cycling, short arm workout, planks and push ups, 2 miles walking –  I was feeling pretty good during my indoor cycling workout and decided to get in my first walk since I hurt my toe. I wore sandals because they hurt theleast when walking (because nothing was pushing on my toe) and was so glad to be outside!

Tuesday: 16 minutes indoor bike, 13 minutes indoor rowing, planks and push ups, shoulder and leg workout, 4 mile run/walk, 2 miles walking – It had been one week since I ran into the door with my toe, and it was starting to feel a little better. I started the day on the exercise bike and this time also added in a short rowing exercise (about 1 mile) and some weights. My sister-in-law has a daily weight-lifting plan, and she sent it to me so I decided to start while I’m not running. Tuesday is shoulder and leg day, so I got in some of those exercises with kettlebells. Then, because my foot was feeling a little better, I opted for a ~4 mile run/walk, and then 2 mile walk as well.

I had already scheduled a dr appt to get my toe checked out and nearly cancelled it because it was only hurting somewhat – not awful. So how could it be broken if I wasn’t in unbearable pain and could still run/walk on it? I was so sure that it was not broken and the dr appointment would confirm this.

But then this happened:

Yes, I got a message from my doctor AFTER my walk and run/walk that it was broken and I was not allowed to run. And I was to wear a special shoe. Ugh!

Wednesday: 0 miles running, doctor’s orders! I did a bicep and back workout, some core workout, 20 minutes on the indoor bike and that was it.  I am so bummed about my toe. A pinky toe at that! With the confirmation that it was broken, I did not run – instead I attempted to do an exercise bike with the special shoe on, but have a message into my dr to confirm that this is okay. I also did the next day of my sister in law’s weight-lifting workout, which included some back and biceps. I never lift weights so this was not easy!

My daughter said to me before I left for work, “Momma, I don’t like your style.” I don’t like it either!

Thursday: Leg workout, some abs, planks and push ups, 20 minutes indoor cycling, 2 mile walk.  Another day, another day of not running. I especially missed not running when I took my daughter to her x-country practice. Last year, I ran with her each time. This practice, I just sat with the other parents who didn’t run and watched.

Friday: triceps and core workout, side planks and pushups, 20 minutes indoor cycling, 2 mile walk – My SIL’s workout regime is 4 days of weights, each day targeting different body parts. Because I had skipped Monday (she gave me the spreadsheet on Tuesday), I did Monday’s tricep workout on Friday. I’m starting to get into the habit of weight training in the morning, but still miss my daily runs. I’ll be interested to see when I start to feel stronger now that I’m just one week in.

Saturday: 0 miles running again. Instead, 20ish minutes on the bike, 17 minutes on the rower, 20 minutes of a HIIT pilates-for-broken-feet workout, push ups and planks – I am not going to lie – I woke up angry. It was Saturday, so why was I angry? I was angry that I couldn’t run. I couldn’t get out any energy or stress in my usual way. I did a pilates exercise video that I found that claimed it was a HIIT workout for people with a broken foot/toes/in a boot, and while it was a challenging workout (my glutes and hips are NOT strong), it wasn’t the same as my usual endorphin bursting cardio. I then did some biking and rowing, but it wasn’t the same. I was proud of myself for rowing for 17 minutes though, that’s my longest workout on the rower since we got it!

 Total: 4 miles running (before broken toe was confirmed); but then mostly core work, planking, push ups and weight lifting!  

Questions for you:

• Have you ever broken a toe? What was your recovery like?
• Do you lift weights? If so, how do long do you weightlift for at a time?

I am linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.