The last time I was blogging, I was limping around my living room. I was giving out advice on how to deal with an injury, especially the mental aspects. When I wrote that blog, I think I was really writing notes to myself.
I’ve been jumping through the managed care hoops that I was hoping to avoid. I visited the orthopedic surgeons office in fear I tore something but after some strength test and some other analysis it was determined that I could have just the common IT band injury or runner’s knee. An IT injury can be painful enough to sideline any runner and it doesn’t go away in a couple of days.
Sitting and doing nothing for 3 months is a hard thing to do but that’s essentially what I did. Injuries can be depressing but I guess if you’ve run as much as I have, injuries can be a chance to rejuvenate your body and your mind. One of the biggest fears anyone would have is gaining weight. I feel like I’ve put on at least 5 or 10 pounds but I know that I’m lucky because it could be a lot worse. I will admit that I have decided to test out my knee regardless of the injury with a couple of short 4 and 6 mile runs and I quickly remembered what it is like to be a new runner. Your legs ache, you’re winded, and you are just flat out of shape or maybe I am just talking about me. Now I know what people are talking about when they say they can barely run a block or two before they have to stop. In some ways I welcome this period because it brings back the memories of when I first started running and it reminds me of why I continue to run and how much respect I have for the sport.
Returning from an injury or running with an injury is a tricky thing because the last thing you want to do is make the injury worse. Less is always better. If you can get ten minutes then that is all you can get. When you are healthy, you can push through those sluggish days and push yourself to go longer and further but that actually is one of the reasons why I am in this position now. Injuries are a chance to just learn from your previous mistakes and that is what I am doing. Two weeks ago, I started physical therapy which is a huge step for me because I always believed I could rehab on my own but what I called rehab was just a short break until I could get back up and run. My physical therapist has me doing a series of strengthening exercises and other fundamental activities that I have neglected over the years. I’m hoping PT can help me get back on my feet and back on the road sometime soon. As my status updates, so will my blogs.
Stay tuned..
