This week, I’m going to piggy-back off my blog post from last week when I talked about my exercise routine. Remember when I said I USUALLY stuck to that routine, but there were instances where I had to mix things up? Well, this week was an excellent example of what to do when life and Mother Nature decide to throw ya a curveball – but it’s still possible to get those workouts in!

Tuesday morning was example number one. I usually run with some friends early Tuesday mornings, but we were in a cold snap at the beginning of this week, and not only did it snow Monday evening, but that wind was wild and nasty as well. Even on Monday night it was getting super slippery out, and we decided to play it safe and not run Tuesday morning. My plan was to still get up and walk Dobby before work so it was one less thing to do after work, but when my alarm went off, I could still hear that wind howling and the wind chill was only one degree. I decided it wasn’t worth it and I would just squeeze it in after work. I think Dobby probably thanked me as well.

So, that’s what I did. I went for my five mile run after work – it was MUCH nicer! And then I walked the dog after supper and Dan even joined me which was lovely. I didn’t have as much free time as I usually do on Tuesday evenings, and I do get discombobulated when my routine gets thrown out of whack, but I still got my exercise in and felt much better than I would have if I hadn’t.

Now, if I had made plans on Tuesday evening – like I sometimes do since they are usually free – then I would have still gotten up early to work out before work, I just wouldn’t have gone for a run. I would have either gone to my parent’s to use their equipment, or I would have done a body weight strength workout at my own house, and then possibly gone for a shorter run after work. You don’t have to do your entire workout all at once. There are plenty of times where I will do half of it before work, and the other half after. Whatever it takes to get er done!

Wednesday, was example number two. Wednesdays, I usually run after work with run club, and this week was no different. I met up with everyone and we started running, I felt great, nothing was bothering me. Then, when we were just about halfway done with the run, I felt a painful twinge in my left calf. Holy moly, it hurt so bad. My first thought was: “what if I just tore the muscle??” I’ve never had such an intense pain come on so quickly before. I managed to tough it out until we got back to our starting point, but usually I’ll run up St. Anne’s hill after our run to get a little hill workout in. I couldn’t this week. I didn’t think I should push it so I called it after that. 

Remember last week when I said if I ran less than 5 miles I wasn’t happy? Well, I stopped at four. I probably would have been fine, but I wasn’t happy about it. So I went home and did 20 minutes of yoga as well. It was enough to make me feel better, and it was also good to get loosened up and try to stretch out whatever was going on with my leg. 

I didn’t run Thursday either because my calf still really hurt, but there was no bruising so no tear! I went on the elliptical and rode the bike instead since they are lower impact exercises. Just because you are hurt doesn’t mean you can’t exercise, it just means mixing it up a little bit. I knew running would agitate my leg, and obviously any lower body strength workouts were out of the question, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t do anything. You just have to get creative sometimes. 

Also, happy to say that after almost 48 hours of constant stretching, icing and heating, my calf is feeling MUCH better. I even went for a short, easy jog Friday night and it felt pretty darn good, so I’m hoping I’m in the clear! 

Anyway, it was a jumbled up week, but definitely a good example of how you can get creative with your workouts. Don’t let bad weather stop you from getting your workouts in, and same with injuries – within reason of course. Sometimes it just takes a little extra planning and creativity, but you CAN get it done! So, what are you waiting for!? 

Until next time! 🙂 

Megan Reiffenberger