My last run was on December 30th. I can't believe it has been so long. Eight and a half weeks to be exact. I wish I had really great news to report and could tell you that all this rest has me feeling so great. The truth is, my legs (BOTH) still hurt. They have definitely improved (they no longer hurt at rest, and the intense pain in my butt has gone away), but they are nowhere near 100%.
I am beyond frustrated. I don't really understand what I could have done to myself to cause me to require so much healing time. My doctor talked of microscopic tears in the muscle and I guess the damage is pretty extensive. I mean that's the only thing I can guess because why else would my legs still hurt after 8 weeks of rest.
Now you have to realize that we aren't talking bed rest and obviously I still use my legs every day, and that's when I'll notice that I'm still in pain. I'll bend over to pick up a laundry basket or I'll be mopping the floor. When I worked for 10 hours the other day, my legs were throbbing by the end of my shift. So to say that I've COMPLETELY rested for 8 weeks isn't exactly the entire picture.
I promised myself that I would not attempt a regular workout until my legs feel 100%. I know that, no matter how badly I want to be able to workout, it wouldn't be worth it to try too soon. It will only set me back and what good is that going to do me in the long run.
The thing is, I thought that I'd be feeling so much better by now. I'd say I'm about 50% better now. If it's taken 8 weeks to get to 50%, is it going to take 16 weeks to feel 100%? I sure as heck hope not! I can't imagine it being April and just getting back to running.
My pain is so puzzling to me and I keep looking for a bigger reason for my muscle soreness. Then I remind myself that I had an MRI and obviously it is what it is. I've strained my left hamstring and have microscopic tears in my muscle. That's it. No more. No less. It's hard to deal with, but it's the facts.
I WILL continue to rest, but I can no longer stay out of the gym. My doctor originally told me that I could swim if I swam with a float between my legs and, quite frankly, I thought he was nuts. But it's not him that's nuts, it's me. I'm going nuts sitting around my house and doing nothing. I've got way too much time on my hands and I'm becoming something I don't want to be.
I wore my Austin Half Marathon shirt today and I felt like a fraud. I didn't run 13.1 miles in Austin. Do I even deserve to wear it? When I posted my pic on Instagram (momswimbikerun... follow me) my friends reminded me that I do deserve to wear it. I'm still an athlete and I need to act like one (even if it's with a float between my legs).
Wednesday 27 February 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment