I'm still Sure!

Climbing is a tall person's sport. I was at least 5 inches shorter than anyone I competed against when full grown. Meant I had to take far more risks to keep up with them.

That's some wind. I remember having some interesting winds here a few years ago when I could actually feel myself being blown backward when running. Don't remember the speed of the wind, but mine was drastically reduced. At least I didn't have to be worried about the wind bringing wildfire.
 
Climbing is a tall person's sport. I was at least 5 inches shorter than anyone I competed against when full grown. Meant I had to take far more risks to keep up with them.
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Maybe... depends upon the rock I suppose. I don't think height hurts Tom most of the time, but as someone who is about 9 inches shorter, it doesn't seem to help him that much either. We choose not to do sport climbing for the most part and trad routes around here are typically cracks. I think in an undercling or lie-back situation, height hurts more than it helps.
 
Have I mentioned it is Rainer cherry season and I am in heaven? I adore these cherries and am literally buying a pound of them every couple of days. Last evening the bags at the store were so perfect, I ended up with nearly 3 lbs... not sure if my stash will get me through the weekend or not.

137.4 We are still measuring/evaluating my thumb each morning, but I'm feeling confident that I don't have any infection left, just a slower than I want it to be recovery ahead. The thumb is tender, still half numb, and has limited movement, and I have limited flexibility and strength in my wrist/hand. I'm still holding out hope for July!

Good hike this morning. I was ready a bit earlier than usual, so we went for a FKT on one of our slightly longer hikes from home. An out and back with about 430 feet of elevation gain and 4.6 miles round trip (values subject to random variation in the Garmin and the correction functions on Garmin Connect).
 
I think if climbing just for fun height is less of an issue but for speed on anything with an extreme rating reach becomes valuable.
As I found out a few years back low bodyweight is helpful too. I did some wall climbing and my forearms were screaming at me for days and I could certainly notice they were having to hold far more weight up.

Good to see recover is progressing.
 
137.4 We did a double Snow Cone climb this morning, it felt good to work my legs hard, and Tom is making good gains as far as leg strength when climbing a steep hill. No tech, but based on other days, about 2.7 miles and 900 feet of elevation gain. I told Tom I fear I am turning into one of those 'runner women' who has great legs and skinny arms/upper body. He was kind enough to assure me I still have some visible muscles in my arms, back and shoulders.

Weekend plans are for chores/cooking working around home on Saturday and hiking for me/climbing for Tom on Sunday. He arranged to meet a friend at a local crag that has good hiking nearby. The other fellow had asked about another spot with great routes, but there is no good hiking nearby so Tom deflected John to West Elden for my sake.

Wrist/tendon (under the surgical incision) is rather swollen today and I'm not sure why. As far as I know I haven't bumped it, nor strained it. I have it wrapped with some gentle compression this morning to see how that goes. If swelling continues next week, I'll go see the hand doc.
 
137.6 Excellent weekend!

Saturday we started off with a morning hike, went up a familiar path, then wandered over to a weather station in the woods we come across now and then, and then explored cross-country down a natural wash created by an old lava flow to get back to a known trail, and home. 5.3 miles, 500 ft of elevation gain. Rest of the day was cooking and some chores.



Sunday Tom was rock climbing with a friend, so after hanging around just a little to visit, I set off on our outstanding local trail system. Flagstaff is a hiking and mountain biking mecca and we have wonderful trails. I ran a couple of miles steady and generally ran whenever the trail went downhill, but just hiked the rest of the time. 10.74 miles, 2628 feet of elevation gain, a little over 3 hours. Got back as the guys were setting up for one last route, so got to watch that and visit with some acquaintances who had arrived while I was out hiking.



Slept in this morning so skipped our morning hike. Saw the doc about the swelling in my wrist and the lump at the base of my thumb. Nothing to worry about he says, just normal scar-healing activity. Give it time and apply some pressure. He says wound is doing OK too, keep working the joint to get mobility back.

Making travel plans as I need to go work with a school who has been in denial about student schedules and really must get over it. Not looking forward to spending a couple of days in hideous Phoenix area heat, there may be some treadmill in my immediate future.
 
Not sure what all the hiking is doing for my hand, but it is keeping me sane and happy! It is coming up on 1month since the injury and I am a long way from full use, but determined to get there. I didn't have my thumb wrapped today as I usually do and must have said "ouch" about 1000 times- wimpy, wimpy! I am getting more complete range of motion back in my wrist although I haven't done anything to test the strength of it because I was worried about the new lump that showed up last week. Now that I have seen the doc and he says scar tissue, I am more willing to work it/push a little. Who knows, maybe some push-ups are in order for morning in the hotel? I'm in Phoenix for 3 nights and it is stupid hot,, so not looking to do much outside.

Ran with Tom this morning around Shoe Hill. Had to really push myself to run uphill, wanted to walk but wouldn't allow myself to be that weak. A girl must have some standards! Avg HR 152, max of 175.


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Ran 1 day last week and walked another. I do love how being outside and active automatically makes one feel like part of a community. Lots of folks out bicycling, walking or running to say good morning too. Also tried some pushups - did 8 of decent quality (no knees!) but wrist said that was more than enough and did some extra swelling. Also tried a dead hang on a playground - painful enough I won't be attempting anything interesting.

Hiked both days on the weekend with Tom. SHL on Saturday and did the Snow Cone climb on Sunday. Originally Sunday was to have been a longer hike while Tom was rock climbing, but his partner canceled last minute and so we decided to stay home and get more work done. Also managed to get kind of sunburned.

138.6 So today I've been out of the hospital for 1 month. I feel I am making excellent progress at rebuilding my belly bugs to be healthy after bags and bags of IV antibiotics followed by 2 weeks of oral antibiotics. I know I wouldn't have done as well as I have had I not been healthy going into the accident.

I still have to wrap my thumb every day. The nerve damage is such that little bumps, odd pressure, even just petting the cat really hurts, tingles, or zaps me. My wrist is improving in terms of flexibility, but it is weak and still tender. I did do some pushups last week and tried a dead hang, but anything more than that (forget pull-ups, monkey bars, or T2B) for now is out of the question, so no upper body training or rock climbing has happened, nor it is likely to happen for a few weeks yet. Rats!

Hiking has been a life saver, and I've just started running more. Not the summer I had planned, but I'm healthy and my hand will continue to improve with time. Tom had climbing plans so I was on my own today and opted for my Hill Sprint hill. I wanted to be sure to exceed 500 feet of elevation gain and Garmin was reading kind of low, so I added an overland climb up the cone to the west of the trail for an elevation boost. Still made the top (over 600 feet climbed and a smidge over 1 mile) in 22 minutes. Good run back down.
 
Keeping my damaged finger well and truly in perspective there. It will look ugly for a few months but I expect it to only impact training for a week, maybe 2 if I suddenly become realistic.

Good stuff on the recovery!
 
Keeping my damaged finger well and truly in perspective there. It will look ugly for a few months but I expect it to only impact training for a week, maybe 2 if I suddenly become realistic.

Good stuff on the recovery!
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I'm trying to remind myself it is all about the process and maintenance of progress. No, I am not working on what I had planned for the summer, but I'm maintaining a good level of fitness and am able to do something I love with all the hiking. The concept of not pushing too hard and getting re-injured as a result of impatience is a bit of a struggle, but I don't like pain either and right now pushing leads to pain.

I didn't wrap my wrist Sunday or yesterday and it was very swollen today so I'm back to a wrap. Bad enough to have a scar that looks like I attempted suicide, but with it swollen it gets very ugly.

138.4 Did a Shoe Hill Loop with Tom this morning and then when we got to the Snow Cone, we looked at each other and turned together to start climbing. 600 feet of elevation, 3.8 miles for the day, and a very nice send off as I'm headed out of town for a couple of days for work.

Got a bill from the hospital yesterday and I opened it with some trepidation last night - $20,265 and I owe $25. Insurance is an amazing and wonderful thing - everyone should have it! I have yet to see the surgeon's bill and half expect a separate bill from the ER doc - this bill was not detailed at all and I haven't gotten a summary from my insurance company. I am curious how it all breaks down. Total out of pocket so far is about $500 with copays, RX copays, and medical supplies. I can absolutely see why so many people are bankrupted in the US by a medical emergency.
 
Our UK NHS is far from perfect but at least it's paid for in advance from our taxes.

I had to have a blood clot removed from between skull and cranial membrane years ago, the finished result after was a third of my hair shaved away, a large partial circle scar with bruising and swelling over the area that had spread to give me a black eye. I looked like I had been in a bottle fight, and the long haired unshaved ape appearance didn't alter this.
Walking around the hospital was entertaining, even crowded corridors found me a wide space to walk through. Sometimes it's better to let people make up their own minds when you want to be left alone.
 
Did an old favorite hotel room pyramid workout (got if from this link: and just wrote it down in a notebook I always have with me. It has saved me so many times. It always takes me longer than 10 minutes as I go overboard and/or lose count, but I like the exercises, it makes me move, and gets my heart rate up which is always super good for my head.

Followed up with planks, glut bridges, and some specific back exercises that really target the multifidous. On my way downstairs to grab breakfast, decided I should go outside and run a little and so took advantage of the pavement (it isn't always awful!) and did sprints. There was a short section of road that was a perfect length to sprint and then walk back. Did 5 and then jogged back to the hotel. I need a well working brain today as I will be helping a high school sort out their mass scheduling woes which is effectively a big logic puzzle.
 
Good, active holiday weekend... always good to come to work on Monday tired, right?

Thursday speed walked about 3.5 miles (nasty hot!) and did 1 dead hang pull-up on rings at the playground I passed. Wasn't sure I could, and my chin only barely cleared my hands, but it is a start! Spent the day visiting with my brother and his wife at nieces home, then headed up the hill and away from that stupid heat. How on earth do so many people manage to live in Phoenix?

Friday Tom was climbing with a friend so I set off on a nearby hiking trail. A little over 9 miles in 2:45 including a cross country trail-less bit for about 2 miles when I decided to take the "Overland Route" - lost the widely spaced markers after about 3, then just went on a general heading in the direction I needed to go... was a little off on my reckoning, but not bad, and rejoined the trail near my starting point.

Saturday we played in the yard - slackline, jump rope, kettlebells (kept it light!), planks, pushups, and started some hanging stuff - mostly just hanging, but did do some chin ups and a couple of pull-ups. I can do the chins without so much of an all out effort so at the moment, that seems the most sensible. I'm staying off the monkey bars for a while longer since that involves my full weight on one hand as I swing. Really happy to be starting this kind of workout again even if it is on the wimpy side for now.

Sunday hiked a favorite trail with Tom, 11 miles, 3000 feet of elevation gain. He challenged me to keep my HR under 145 for the first hour and then under 155 as we got to the steeper climb. He has been reading some zone training stuff again. Was kind of an interesting experiment and a chance to match RPE to HR.
Avg HR 142, max 158 so I did pretty well.

This morning was to have been a 'recovery run' but it about killed me - weekend activities catching up, I suppose. 4.3 miles, avg HR 155, max of 173, and I am beat!
 
Tom was complaining last evening about how hard I made him run in the morning... what? Whose idea was that run anyway? And we were running 10 minute miles or slower, that isn't a hard run, we are just out of practice.

Sooooo, we did a 'yard workout' this morning which was a compromise between his idea of a rest day and my need to do something. I'm still rather restricted in what I can do, but there is a great deal I can do, so I am doing it!

We had the slackline up which is always fun. When I am stiff (and I was today) I am so much worse at slackline - just can't respond quickly enough. Not sure if it's core/back stiffness or some other balance/feedback mechanism. Just means I have to work harder at staying on the line.

Jump rope - mostly worked on speed but did some double unders
Kettle bell swings with 10lb bell - sticking with the lightweight one for now. 100 swings, mix of left, right, both and alternating
Goblet squats with KB - 25
OHP 8x45, 7x45, 8x45 (UGH! I have lost so much ground!)
Lunges - multiple sets of 8/leg
Landmine twisters with 45lb bar - left, right, alternating sets of 8
chin-ups (because these don't require the arm strength/wrist action that pull-ups do) 8 across the workout
negatives and holds - both chin up and pull up positions
fire hydrants - 24/leg (these are in some book Tom is reading)
rebounder throws with 10lb medicine ball - lots because I love these!
planks - front and both sides
glut bridges
 
Could have sworn I posted yesterday, but clearly not...

Wednesday 138.8
Good run around Shoe Hill with Tom. Run/walk actually. Made me think of that thread I saw on another forum while back about strength training applying to hiking and how it isn't working for the OP. My position was that strength training (squats and deadlifts in her case) won't cause one to be a better hiker, although I do think it improves one's 'climbing up a steep hill' abilities assuming one has the cardio to support it. Anyway, back to what triggered these thoughts - I've been doing oodles of hiking since I got hurt at the end of May, but little running. Now, as I am starting to resume a more typical running schedule for me in the summer, I am finding that running is far more challenging (HARD!) than I would have expected given the mileages I've been doing. Hiking and running really do use different muscles (at least when trying to run faster than 10 minute miles) but I think the bigger issue is my internal governor - my heart rate goes up to around 160 and he says "Whoa!! We aren't used to this, slow down!!!!" Clearly, I need to smack him into submission. I've done it before, but he is a tough customer and it takes some doing.
3.3 miles

Thursday 137.8
First Saddle Mountain run of the summer - run/walk actually, and a serious attempt at starting to beat the governor into submission. Saddle Mt from start to the gate at the end is 2.75 miles and climbs about 830 feet. Dirt road, pretty smooth. Tom settled into a 2 minute run/walk interval pattern, and I loosely followed, although I adjusted mine a little to the steepness in the road. First few intervals HR got into the low 160's which initially felt awful (gov saying "slow down!"), but as I got used to it, and focused on breathing, subsequent intervals got up into the 170's. Didn't feel great, but not so bad. Made the top in 35:23 which is waaaay off my best, but not bad for the first time on this track this summer. Max HR of 175.

Took a breather, then turned and ran back down. Tom's HR drops down into the 130-140's range while mine spikes right back up to 165 even though I'm running down a big hill! 5.5 miles for the day.
 
Running and walking are incredibly different, the impact of a series of small jumps is far more intense than walking even if at the same speed. All independent tests have shown that running is the form of exercise that works the cardiovascular system hardest, which surprises many until you point out it's the only one our bodies have spent millions of years adapting to be able to do.
If you have been doing a lot of hiking you will have dropped a bit of running technique and that will be the issue at the moment, inefficiency basically. You will get this back soon enough.
Your pace is average anyway, 6mph is the most common running pace for regular non-competitive runners. 6.5 is classed as good above that is classed as showing off when you don't even bother competing. My old 10mph plod pace was great but it was all I focussed on and weighed as much as a dry leaf.
 
137.6
Yard workout this morning:
Slackline - a few passes, and we added a new balance challenge with a thick plastic pipe on the ground to walk on. Feels very weird after the slackline because there is no movement.
Jump rope - Speed work, plus some work on double unders
KB swings - 100
Rebounder throws - 100
Heavy ball squat/swings - really should weigh that beast sometime - 20
Heavy ball tosses over the high tricky bar - 10
Landmine twisters with 45lb bar
Chin-ups - few for real, most assisted
Pull-ups - 1 real, several assisted or else did negatives
1 pass on the monkey bars - felt OK, did not attempt to turn around, but thrilled that I can start adding this back in
Dips - 5 fairly wimpy but no assist
Fire hydrants
Front and side planks, glut bridges, backbend attempt (really have a long way to go!)
Tom hung the gymnastic rings late in the process (I had to leave to go to work), but did do some inverted rows and attempted some assisted dips

Best news of the day - the trampoline mat arrived and Tom put in on - it fits and looks wonderful. He said I should wait a while to jump, let it stretch a bit. He thinks this mat is a bit tighter than the old one so should result in higher bouncing, better amplitude for tricks! Tomorrow for sure!

Planning a longer hike for Sunday. I think this one is around 14-15 miles. Chances are good that we won't get to go to the peak (12,466) because we are having an excellent, desperately needed, monsoon - but the rain comes with dramatic thunderheads and lots of lightning. Treeline around here is at about 11,600 and I'd prefer not to be the tallest thing around once the ground starts to crackle.
 
Saturday morning 'fasted cardio' (I really hate it!!!) had us doing a run/hike south from the house toward the mountains. With some rain, our wildflowers are getting better and better. 4.3 miles round trip, about 500 feet of elevation gain.

New trampoline mat is terrific! Slippery though... came as close as I ever have to flying off after an iffy landing from doing a helicopter. Took my socks off before attempting any flips. So pleased to have my trampoline back!

Beautiful hike on Sunday - 16 miles round trip, 4200 feet of elevation gain.

Feeling a tad creaky today... nothing in particular hurts, just overall a little tired and low energy. Might have something to do with the 10 sleep interruptions -cat, Tom, propane went out, cat, toilet, coyotes, thunderstorm, cat, and so on... cat was stuck in the house all day and wanted to be sure we got the message he was not pleased about that.
 
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