Abnormal is the new normal: April 2020 recap

April 2020 in review!

Total running mileage for the month:  0.35, haha!  I did 0.1 on my last day of PT as a trial, and 0.25 before I got my cortisone shot to ensure I was doing the right thing.

Total biking mileage for the month:  1,036.6 - pretty pumped to be over 1,000 here!

• March 30-April 5: 225.8
• April 6-12:  246.7
• April 13-19:  174 (my PT had me take a few days off biking this week)
• April 20-26:  314.6
• April 27-May 3:  258 (with 48 hours off activity post-cortisone injection)

Total podcast interviews for the month: 1

Races:  I had 3 races planned in April, although I wouldn't have been able to run them had they occurred.  Two were rescheduled and one went virtual.  I had only registered for one of them, via an elite comp entry, so haven't lost anything on race fees with this injury.

Albani on Facetime with her cousins, "And there's
Mama laying on the floor after biking."

Workouts:

Biking: 

• I did several Peloton spin classes (most of my indoor rides), but I don't think anyone is interested in the specifics.  I enjoy the workouts for biking though!  
• I did a 20 minute time trial on the bike on a weekend that other athletes my coach works with were doing 5K time trials, and it was SO HARD...it was like 5K suffering but worse, probably because I'm relatively new to biking.  My heart rate was in the 160s the whole time and maxed at 171 (generally biking HR is about 10 bpm slower than running HR, so this would be like me running a 5K with my HR in the 170s and maxing at 181), which showed me I put forth a good effort.  I nearly died but I was really stubborn about averaging 30 mph+ for the 20 minutes, and I made it, barely.  
• I also did several bike doubles, which may not even be a thing for real cyclists, but I pretty much just approached cycling like it was marathon training.  Biking 40-50 miles in a double became easy for me.

Strength Training/PT exercises:  weekly totals of 1:20, 2:12, 2:50, 2:30

Yoga:  weekly totals of 1:45, 1:00, 1:50, 1:00

10.03 miles in 20:00

Long Runs:  0, but I did several 40-50 mile rides, which were long rides for me!

Pretending to by a cyclist!

Running Highlights:

• I was interviewed on the Rambling Runner podcast last month, and the episode was released April 7 - listen here.  I think Matt Chittim has the best podcast voice ever!
• I saw huge improvement in my hip inflammation after only one PT session with manual displacements and nerve glides - I could immediately walk without pain or a limp for the first time since February 12!  I still have a tiny bit of pain and a slight limp when trying to run, and although it feels like something I could push through if I "needed" to, I don't need to and will run when it feels 100% normal.  I had a cortisone injection on April 29 that I hope will be the final bit needed.  You can read more details about my hip issue and progress this month: MRI results, follow up answers, PT effectiveness, PT progress, and an update with a summary of it all.
• This quote, from a Time article by Allison Felix:  "Sometimes, you believe so strongly in that dream that you begin to think that you have already earned it, that it is already yours. Until it is taken away from you. This has been a sobering reminder that we are not owed our dreams, those dreams do not come free and you do not accomplish them alone."

Fun sock Friday lives on!

Life Highlights:

• Another low key month with COVID-19 stay at home orders in place.  I don't at all mind staying at home, and treasured the new experiences it brought me.
• We made a little trip for gardening supplies, to an Amish community.
• I will still be working mostly from home in May.  I am afraid I'm going to forget how to wear real pants and shoes!

Bandit joins me at work in the office/guest room often,
& can even open the door to come in on his own

PPE

Seen on my ride (I used to group run from here!)

The COVID-19 Easter bunny brought one egg
with a $5 bill in it

Albani bought a little succulent at the Amish
discount store

She loved on this same dog last year when
we made this little trek

Books:
I ran out of "real" library books on April 3.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I began reading ebooks and also pilfered some youth reads from my daughter's book stash.

• Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
• A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson
• Wonder by R. J. Palacio
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
• Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
• A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
• Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary
• 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life by Don Piper and Cecil Murphey
• The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters
• A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
• Have a Little Faith: A True Story by Mitch Albom
• All We Knew But Couldn't Say by Joanne Vannicola
• Ungifted by Gordon Korman
• A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
• The Daughter in Law by Nina Manning
• Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson
• Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
• Before You by Amber Hart
• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
• I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
• Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

Biking & an ebook - what is happening to me?!

Theme for the month:
The New Normal - working from home and cycling became normal and routine for me.  I'm starting to forget that I used to work from other locations and run, hah!