I feel it again. The same sharp, burning pain. The cramping sensation. Please, God, don’t let this be happening.
Last week I was given the green light to try running again. Keep it EASY and no longer than 25- 30 minutes was the rule. I was ecstatic. The pace didn’t matter. The distance didn’t matter. I was running again. But then, my ego caught up to me.
I was on a run this Wednesday with my brother who has recently caught the ‘running bug’ and is improving at an exponential rate. I was so happy to be running with him and he seemed to be so relaxed running his 7 minute mile tempo pace that I decided he was going to have the best tempo of his life. WARNING SIREN ADRIANA: DON’T BE AN IDIOT! Unfortunately, I didn’t hear the alarm.
We cruised along at sub 7 minute pace for the middle portion and then we ran our last mile in low 6:20s. Was this easy pace? No! Was this me being an idiot? 100% yes! In my mind, I was so comforted by the fact that I could still rip a 6:20 if I so desired, but my legs, they weren’t so thrilled with the idea. We started our cool down and in less than 3 steps I felt the sharp, burning pain that I have become oh so familiar with. NOOOO THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!
The next 24 hours I was in complete despair. I was icing, I was lightly stretching, I was texting my physical therapist every hour asking him if he thought I had re-injured myself. It is now four days later and I am still unsure of the answer. I feel better, but I still feel it. I am holding off on trying to run until I see my physical therapist and he can give me his expert opinion.
Throughout this whole process of rehab and recovery, I have been trying to stay positive and see every experience as a lesson. Here is lesson number 873,930,272.
Rehab, recovery, and rebuilding is a fine dance of pushing the boundaries, testing the limits, and then learning when to pull back. It is going to be a maddeningly frustrating process of two steps forward, one step back. There is no straight line to recovery. Instead, it is a messy, twisted, muddled path that we are all trying to figure out. There will be unplanned rest days and short breaks that you didn’t expect. There will be days where you think you’re back, and then there will be days where you think you’re going to be that “injured girl” forever and that all your fitness you worked so hard to build is wasted away. There will come a day when you take a risk and push yourself a little over the edge. Don’t freak out, it is all part of the journey. Just make sure to listen to your body and and know when to reign it back in. It is how we respond to what our bodies are telling us that determines the next step in our dance. Be patient. Remove egos from the equation. Choose to embrace the process, celebrate the small victories, and appreciate the rest days.
For now, I am doing my best to stay positive, stay smiling, and stay sane! 🙂
Here’s to health, happiness, and the constant pursuit of learning the steps to our new little dance.
“We can’t always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it.”