After years of athletic training and almost a dozen surgeries, I have finally learned to listen to my body. Saturday's first attempt at running was painful. I know the difference between soreness, caused by micro-tears in the muscle fibers that as they repair helps make the muscle stronger, and pain. My knees have been hurting a lot following my run so I decided to back off. I rested for two days taking time to ice my knees and taking Advil. Last night I walked 2 miles and lightly jogged a few staggered minutes. My knees are not as painful and stiff today, so I think I am on the right track. I made an appointment with my surgeon to have her take a look at my "good" knee. I call it my good knee because while it is bad, I haven't had surgery on it yet. I want to make sure I am not doing irreparable damage and what she says will be the difference between trying to run my first 5k in October versus walking the 5k.
My quest to get healthy has been full of ups and downs. I have lost 50 lbs in the last year and a half which is awesome, but I still find myself getting discouraged by set backs like knee pain. Maybe I need to listen harder to what my body is saying. Maybe it isn't really saying, "I am in pain. Slow down." Maybe my body is really saying, "I just can't keep taking the same abuse anymore!" I think during the course of this blog that I have decided walking the 5k isn't such a bad thing. I'm going to have to change the way I look at exercise and realize the philosophies of "No pain, No gain" and "Go hard or go home" just aren't working for me. I saw a sign up the road from where I live advertising a yoga class. Maybe it is time I take a different path to get to where I want to be.
Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah
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