Usually, I wake up in the morning and I feel great. My knee will be a little stiff and have a little pain, but it is normally the best I feel all day. Today, my knee woke me up. This is the worst pain since I injured it one week ago. I rode the bike trainer last night for 30 minutes, but I kept the resistance low. I worked out with the dumbbells last night, but I have eliminated lunges from my routine and still the pain in my knee gets worse. The doctor didn’t say it when it would start to feel better but did say I could run again, a little bit, in 10 days. My 10 days would be up on Saturday and I don’t see me running then. I have to be at a couple of places today that require walking and I am dreading those. Anyway, injury is inevitable. The question is: How do you cope with injury? How do you keep on your fitness plan? What do you do to keep yourself motivated? Those are the things I am going to have to figure out over the next few weeks.
2 comments:
Hey Tom...I know the pain sucks. I have a chronic throb in my right hip that has only gotten more aggravating as I run more. And I like to run every day...
Do you have a knee brace on it? Like the kind you get at CVS or Target? Those can help, as well as ice. You know the dril: RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Since running is so often painful (but not painful enough to stop many!) I have to force myself to rest when I've overdone a workout. I'd rather rest for a few days/weeks than be hurt and never run again for the rest of my life...
What motivates me right now is the book, "Running for Mortals." One of the authors, John "the Penguin" Bingham, is a formerly overweight chain-smoker who subsisted on junk food and beer. (Not that there's anything wrong with that...) He didn't take his first step on a run until he was in his 40s. He made it to the end of his driveway before nearly collapsing from the strain of acutal aerobic movement. Now he writes a column for Runners World, called "No Need for Speed."
Lay off your knee and give the book a read. Put that leg up on a pillow, throw an ice pack on it for 20 minutes and -- if you must -- drink a light beer. I've learned this makes pain so much more palatable...
Bless you, Melissa.
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