Mom in the Mtns

Hi everyone!  It’s been a super busy week for me, and I’ve actually got some exciting news to report!  After a few months of SAD and darkness, the sun is starting to come back and I’m finally starting to get back to feeling like myself again.  And it’s causing all sorts of awesome things to happen!

Awesome thing #1:  I’ve started spin classes again.  For a while I was unable to make any of the after work classes offered at my gym, but they’ve changed the class schedule and now I can get there in time.  Which is perfect, because I’m seriously getting to be so lazy.  I forgot how amazing it is to push myself really hard and end a class feeling sweaty, exhausted, and happy.  I’ve been to two this week and loved both of the teachers, so I plan to permanently fit them into my schedule from now on.

Awesome thing #2:  Because I’m doing spin again, I felt brave enough to tackle the snowy trails with my fat tire bike again!  It’s so difficult going uphill (and downhill) in deep, bumpy snow but it’s also lots of fun.  The woods are gorgeous covered in snow and I swear I’m going to crash one of these days because I’m too busy looking around.  I went out on the trail next to my house for about an hour on Saturday while it was snowing and it was probably the most gorgeous winter workout I’ve ever had.

Awesome thing #3:  Big, huge news – I’m back in physical therapy again!  It has been a while since I saw my last PT, and a big reason is because I didn’t feel that my old PT was listening to me or seriously respecting my goal of getting back to running.  After doing some research, I found another PT office that specializes in sports rehab.  I went for my first appointment on Friday and was so nervous telling them what happened that I almost cried.  I remembered how my old PT had said that my body was so messed up that he couldn’t believe I’d run 7 half marathons, but my new PT was very understanding and never made me feel uncomfortable about the past choices I made with my running.  She confirmed that my pain is related to my SI joint, and also added that my piriformis might be irritated as well.  She prescribed me some daily exercises, and I’ll be seeing her twice a week until my core muscles are stronger.  She was so incredibly kind and supportive, and she’s a runner so she totally understands my past choices and my strong feelings about getting back to running again at some point in my life.  She let me fully enjoy the four pain-free minutes of treadmill running that I was able to do while she took a video of my running gait.  She also said that my particular injury might be tough to fully recover from, but she thinks I should be able to return to running again.  I really hope I’m able to make it work this time!  You better believe that my exercises are written in my daily to-do list.

It’s nice to feel like myself again.  It’s hard to get in a good workout in the winter when there’s so much snow on the ground and the temperatures are so low, so I’m pretty excited to be back at the gym taking classes that push me to my limit.  I’m hoping to add in some lap swimming and even some stair climbing (to prepare myself for all the hiking I’m going to do as soon as the avalanche danger lifts!).  And going to a new PT has made me feel hopeful for my future running ability for the first time in a year.  It’s amazing how one week of workouts can make things feel a million times better!

What’s your favorite way to workout in the winter?  Have you ever dealt with an SI joint injury?