After Saturday morning’s yoga class, a group of us lingered for a bit in the tea house. The conversation quickly went from yoga, to Vibram fivefingers, to running – and injuries. One guy talked about how each run left him thrashed to the level of days (instead of 24 hours) to recover. I however talked only of how much I miss the release that running used to provide for me. I shared the chronic struggle with my back, hip, leg pain and tried to describe the difficulty I’ve been having with knowing when I can (or should) push through and when a little compassion towards my body (aka backing off) is needed instead. “I’ve become a wimp of sorts,” I explain, “which is so different from the runner self who was used to ‘a little soreness’ as a norm.”
On Sunday, theMAN and I went for a rather hilly hike at a nearby open space. It was a far cry from the 4 day backpacking trip we’d been planning earlier in the year and I already felt guilty for my inability to make it happen. The ascent started right from the start, a nice hard climb which I would have eaten up in years past. Instead, the hill began to eat at me. But I was determined. Knowing that the pain felt during walking tends to take a bit to ease up, I kept at it. Thankfully, it did resolve – returning when we would stay in one place for too long. We kept moving until we were back at the car with approximately 3 hilly miles logged.
Today, I decided to keep up the momentum. Although my morning was fought with pain so intense that it brought me to my knees, I felt determined to get my active self back in the game. Feeling good right from the start was encouragement enough for me to change my short out and back course to a 3 mile loop which included a fair sized ascent and descent. I paid attention to form (namely gluteal muscle firing) as well as my breathing and took the muscle burn as a confirmatory message that I was on the right track.
As I walked, an analogy came to mind. If I liken my recovery path to the one of my BQ (Boston Qualification) chase, with moments of pain and tearful disappointment, those of moving past fear and pushing through the inevitable levels of pain that come with marathoning, then there is no reason why I cannot persevere through this challenge as well. It won’t be easy but… [Read more…]