I’m finally nearing the end of my recovery and rehab. I think. I hope. Let’s just assume I am and we’ll go from there. I kept up my fitness last week. I felt awesome. And tired. But mostly awesome. My plan was to cross-train all week like I have been, and then slowly ease back into running over the weekend. My doctor told me that with one week of no pain, I was okay to start running again, little by little. I might have derailed my plan just a little…
Tuesday — 30 minutes cycling, strength training
Tuesday was a fairly kickass workout. One of the training videos I follow really kicked my behind this time. I was sweating, my heart was pumping — just an overall awesome ride. Then I nailed all my strength exercises. Tuesday was a good day.
Wednesday — 15 minutes yoga, 1 mile run!
Wednesday’s workout started with the best of intentions. The plan was to do 45 minutes of yoga. 15 minutes into yoga I started to get bored. I was on day 8 of no pain. The treadmill was staring at me from across the room. It was the perfect storm of boredom, excitement, and perceived recovery. I made a break for it! I hopped on the treadmill. “1 mile. Only 1 mile,” I kept reminding myself. “You’re only going 1 mile. We have to test and make sure there truly is no pain.”
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| Wahoo! |
And guess what? I RAN A MILE! THERE WAS NO PAIN!!!!! It was the best run in the entire universe, people. Way better than after my IT band debacles in the spring. And I might even say better than my half marathon PR — but that may be a stretch, so I probably won’t say that. But it was the best run I’ve had in a long time. I didn’t go far. I didn’t go fast. But I went. It was a damn miracle.
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| Who ran a mile? THIS GIRL! |
Thursday — 30 minutes cycling, strength training
I had ants in my pants on Thursday after Wednesday’s awesome workout. And I kept thinking I was going to feel a twinge of pain at some point. It never came. I hopped on the bike and got a really solid workout in, plus my strength training. I felt like a rockstar.
Friday — 2 mile run
Friday was supposed to be a rest day. But when my daughter’s naptime rolled around, I just couldn’t sit still. I really wanted to get another run in, because I wanted to slowly build my mileage. I just couldn’t wait another day. I hopped on the treadmill for 2 more miles. It felt great. I honestly could have kept going but I opted to keep it short and sweet.
Hallelujah!!
Saturday — rest day
Let’s face it. The week totally wore me out. Plus we had some trick-or-treating to do on Saturday night. I took a complete rest day and it felt amazing. Again, I was totally freaked out that I would feel some sort of a niggle in my ankle. But again, nothing. I was beginning to believe I may be in the clear!
Sunday — 3.25 mile run
Baby steps, people. I coached two of my clients on Sunday. I reworked our route about 6 times. They were going 5 miles, and I could only run 3. But I wanted to make sure I stuck with them as long as I could so I worked the mileage over and over again and finally settled on a decent route. I ran with them on the unfamiliar portion, and then they ran together for the section of the route they were already familiar with. I think it worked out well. I was really happy with my mileage. I didn’t hurt at all. Happy day!!
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| Running… |
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| Feeling accomplished! |
Later on Sunday I swear I felt something. It wasn’t pain, per se. But it alarmed me enough to message my doctor. I asked her if it was too much too soon, and she didn’t seem overly concerned. Of course I never felt the feeling again for the rest of the day, so I’m sure I was being hyper vigilant, but I’ll be taking things mighty slow.
My week was amazing, to put it mildly. I’m so grateful that I’m able to run again. It was such an amazing, uplifting, glorious feeling being able lace up my running shoes and go for a run! I still have several weeks of recovery and rehab left, and I will definitely continue to take it easy. But I will never take a run for granted again. Especially after this crazy year of injuries for me. I’m really just hoping I’ve gotten all my running-related injuries out of the way for a year or two!
Thank you so much for sending your healing vibes my way. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’ve wished me well. Your love and goodwill has certainly helped!
xo
How do you stay injury-free?
Any tried-and-true fitness routines or supplement regimens you follow?
This post is linked up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run.
