This could be one of my toughest challenges ever. This whole week I’m NOT going to run. Doesn’t that sound like pure torture?? Well, if you are a runner like me, you get just how awful that sounds.
Somehow, on our 36 hours of travelling to get back to California from Africa, I tweaked something in my right leg. I haven’t got a clue what happened exactly. All I know is somewhere between Heathrow Airport and LAX the backside of my right knee started aching. Maybe it was the way I was sitting. Or maybe – and much more likely – some evildoer mistook me for a top-ranked secret agent out to get them, and injured me while I was napping.
The aching faded away after we’d been up and walking for a bit so I thought I was all better. Last Tuesday (the day after we arrived home) I went for a nice run (just over 7 miles) to celebrate being back in the States. Somewhere in the second half, that pain started creeping back. It worsened and had me grimacing and limp-running by the time I got home. It hurt to walk that day and the pain woke me up during the night. What a big, fat, hairy bummer that was.
It felt much better the next day so I just had to go test it out. Isn’t that how we are? We just have to poke and prod and test our injured parts instead of just letting them heal. I made it 4 minutes. I had promised myself I wouldn’t aggravate this thing by pushing too hard. So when the pain hit, I just walked. That felt fine. I walked home pain-free, used my foam roller and Stick to roll out the hamstring, calf, and all around my knee.
The next morning I was feeling great. I mean no pain at all. I did some light jogging around my backyard and decided to try running again. Do I sound like I’m hooked on running, or what? I hate the idea of not being able to get out there. I made it 10 minutes before the pain started up.
Okay, I’m not completely stupid. I decided to follow the advice I often give others. As much as I hated it, I knew what I should do. Take a break from running. So I made up my mind – no running for a week. It hurt just to think it. That means no testing it, no trying it out, nothing until Friday. And I’m telling you all about it just to keep myself honest.
I love to run. I mean, I really love it. I don’t just do it because I have to. I don’t do it just because it keeps me a lean, mean, and bikini-ready. I love the actual act of running. I love the sweat, the heavy breathing, the movement of my limbs, the way my heart beats faster, the sound of my feet against the ground, the sights, the smells, all of it. Okay, all you runners, you know what I’m talking about. So not doing it for the week is going to suck.
Instead of pouting about not be able to run, I’m going to focus on what I CAN DO. There’s a ton of things I can do pain-free like weight training, walking, riding my bike, even squats, and plenty of other lower body movements. So I’m tweaking my Weekly Online Workouts this week to fit my “limitations.” That means lots more strength training for me. I’m focusing on the activities in the WOWs that don’t involve running and modifying the running parts to make them work for me.
I’m going to be good. I’m not going to get all anxious and run too soon. I’m going to let this leg rest and heal. And I’m going to cross my fingers and hope I’m able to run on Friday. Send good wishes my way and, all you runners out there go do nice run for me this week.
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