Today is one year exactly of the move to Portland. It's been fun to see Artisan Physical Therapy expand. What a year it's been! We won't get into all that here, but what better way to celebrate the stability and energy that comes with living somewhere a year than to do a daily challenge? Think of it like New Year's resolution, even though we don't do those at APT.
Are you fit to run?
Or do you run to get fit?
This month - National Physical Therapy month - I (Liz) have challenged myself to run everyday. I am quite an active person and disciplined in that way. I know that movement is important - strength, flexibility, endurance, etc, but I allow myself a lot of freedom to follow my whims in terms of what movement activity I do and for how long and where I do. it Sometimes I bike, sometimes yoga, sometimes a bootcamp class, sometimes hiking, sometimes a trail run - you get the point. But to say that I'm going to do something E.V.E.R.Y. day, now, that's something else!
Before deciding to run everyday, I concluded that I think I'm fit enough to do that without getting injury. Now there are different ways to think about running. Some think - "I'm going to start running and regularly, in order to get in shape." Others (Liz raises hand) believe that you need to be fit to run without getting injury.
So how do you get fit enough?? Strength is important! Hip strength, core strength, and lower leg strength. We recommend strength training for a few months before beginning to run, if that hasn't been a part of your routine recently. Flexibility is also important. Particularly the ankles/calves and hips. Not sure how to do those things? A PT can help show you the way to reach your goals!
October has 31 days. 31 days of running in a row, plus other activities on top of it!
It's October 4th, so we are 4 days into October, so 4 runs down (well, 5 days actually because I ran the last day of September too). What else did I do today? Biked to the downtown office, did a personal training/strengthening session, strong vinyasa yoga for an hour - all before my 1.5 mile run. So that's a full day!
But 1.5 miles isn't a long run. So far 3 out of the last 4 days have been 1 to 1.5 miles runs. (I want to stay healthy, so I'm building into it).
Where am I finding all the time to pound the pavement and hit the trail, well, I'm also staying off personal social media for the month. Voila - the time appears.
Why do this? I think it's important to have goals and periodic fitness goals can push you a bit further than when just being directed by your daily exercise whims. I'm hoping to get a nice base of strength in my gluteal and foot/ankle muscles under me and help myself to recover faster. I'm curious to see if I'll be running faster by the end of the month. I'm hoping this daily discipline with spill over into other areas to help with focus on goals and under things important.
The totals so far for these 5 days are: 2 hours of running, 12.25 miles, 9.64 average mph and 1202 kcal spent. (I'm also tracking heart rate and how I feel, among other things). And I'm finding extra time in the day and getting to bed earlier than usual and sleeping well.
Have you ever done a daily personal physical challenge? What did you do? How long did you do it for? What was the end result?
If there's enough interest, we will post updates.
Let's Get to the Source, and TOGETHER, Let's Get Moving
Liz