Sunday, May 19, 2013

Pity Party

Last post I was feeling pretty positive, right?  The past two weeks has been a bit of a roller coaster both physically and emotionally.  Trying to keep it positive -- really, really trying.

Since the doctor gave the okay to swim, bike and pool run, I did all three the first second week of May.  Great swimming Monday and Wednesday mornings, interval pool running on Tuesday morning, and a nice 18 mile ride outside on Wednesday night.  Thursday I wore ballet flats (ie no support) to work, and by the end of the day I was limping again.  I did some pool running on Friday morning, and by Friday afternoon I had pain just from walking.  I called my doctor, and his PA said that something I did aggravated the injury.  Her advice?  Stop everything until my leg felt good again.  Maybe that would take ten days.  She suggested trying yoga or pilates since most of my cardio options were now off limits.


And the pity party began.  It was Mother's Day weekend and I had planned to do 80 miles on the bike Saturday morning, then take my daughter folk dancing Sunday afternoon.  My body had other plans, and I was not happy with them.


However, I have to admit that it felt nice to sleep in on Saturday morning and cuddle with my kids, who both climbed in the bed with me.  Susanna started watching "The Doc Is In" on the iPad while I drifted in and out of sleep.  I overheard Doc McStuffins sing "Slow down just a little longer. Kick back and rest. You'll see, the more you rest the stronger you'll be."  Susanna looked at me and said "Mom!  It's just like your leg!"  Wow, here i am learning lessons from a Disney cartoon.  "So Susanna, do you think Doc McStuffins can fix me up?"  "No, Mom, of course not.  You're not a toy.  Now go back to sleep so your leg can get better."  



We had a great day, packed with swimming lessons and trip to the Children's Museum and the National Harbor.  My body showed true exhaustion that evening when I collapsed with my kids at 8:30 p.m.  I slept all the way until 8 a.m. the following morning, waking up just in time to get the kids to Sunday School (late, as usual.)  When we returned, I fell asleep AGAIN... I napped two more hours.  Really, I don't think I've slept that much in years.  I decided to go ahead and take Susanna folk dancing at Glen Echo Park (PERFECT way to spend Mother's Day!), though I didn't do any of the sachays or jumps.  I fell asleep at 9:30 pm.  

Since I wasn't limping, I decided to go ahead and try some exercise after resting up for the weekend.  My leg was still incredibly tight, but I didn't have any pain walking.  So Monday I did masters swimming in the morning, Tuesday I did intervals on the stationary bike, and Wednesday I did a swimming stroke clinic and some core/ upper body strength.  Thursday I cycled, and then had a massage to break up scar tissue and muscle adhesions (very painful, but it really seemed to help.)  Friday I swam and was thrilled to see my fastest split times to date -- I managed to hit under 1:40 on the 100 yard repeats.  (Note:  I need to go back to stoke workshop, because I swam again today and my pace was nowhere near that.)  Saturday I spent the day power walking around an amusement park chaperoning a school trip (honestly, that seemed to cause more pain than anything else I did this week) and today I did some upper body/ core strength and swam for 50 minutes.  My leg is still tight, but feels a lot better than it did ten days ago.  So we'll see if I can add outdoor cycling and maybe pool running to the mix this week.  I've been wearing supportive shoes to work, and that seems to make a huge difference.


As far as the pity party, I've had to distance myself from things like Daily Mile and Facebook feeds.  While I should be overjoyed to see my friend's posts about how much they love running, or how they achieved a PR at a certain distance, I find myself getting insanely jealous that I'm not out there too.  Last year I logged everything I did on Daily Mile, and met my goal of running over 2000 miles.  I had a goal this year to run 3000, and I was logging everything religiously.  276 miles in January, 262 in February, 15 (all on the fractured pelvis) in March, 3 (again, on the fracture) in April, 0 (injury diagnosed) in May.  I am done keeping track for awhile.  This week, I didn't log miles.  Aside from Friday's swim, I have no idea how far I biked in place, or how many laps I did.  


And maybe that's a good thing.  Maybe my body and mind need a break from regimented training.  


And maybe I need to remember that the last time I got a stress fracture, I discovered swimming and cycling and became a triathlete.  Maybe I need to remember that when I stopped having a pity party and focused on what I could do, I ended up fitter than when I'd started.  


Pity party concluded.  Let's move on.

2 comments:

  1. Hang in there Gretchen. Totally understandable how you are feeling for sure!!

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  2. I am totally sympathetic to your complaints and had to LOL when you mentioned not wanting to see any more of your friend's workouts on social media. I just got done reading your last several blog posts and am struck by the similarities in our stories. I too am in the process of recovering from a pubic ramus stress fracture. I have similar medical history, including a previous stress fracture in my heal from 2009, and love running. This injury has been a LONG road, and I am so anxious to get out there. Thanks for sharing your story and all the information you have compiled. This is a rare injury and not many people are of much help!

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