So, I’ve never been much of the disciple type, but I’ve become quite the yogi in the past two weeks. Non-yogies beware!
Not only have I been waking up early each day to do 30 minutes of yoga and coming home for another 60-minute session, I’ve begun selling my friends on it as well. My lower back has really improved in the past couple days. And it’s only mildly ironic that the injury occurred during yoga. But I have meditative forgiveness in my heart (and I’ve stopped forcing myself into poses I cannot do).
My friend Jeff injured the back of his right leg last night when he slipped while running outside during a thunderstorm. After I asked what he was doing running in a thunderstorm, I handed him a yoga mat and told him to have at it (well, it was a little more nuanced and cautious than that).
But while selling yoga to everyone in ear/eyeshot might be something I can be teased about for years to come, at least it’s a healthy thing to push. Like Greens Plus chocolate energy bars.
What has yoga done for me lately? Aside from giving me a great reason to wake up early each morning, I’ve been able to make it through the day with only 1-2 doses of anti-inflammatory meds instead of 4-6. Plus my breathing felt more natural and healthy on Wednesday when I took to the elliptical at the rec. center.
Melissa and I headed to the rec. center yesterday—she had her eyes on the weight circuit and I was set on walking. Slowly. I was almost around lap one on the track when I got bored and spotted an elliptical machine.
Had I not walked away feeling like I finally had the cardiovascular workout I’ve been craving and not feeling an once of soreness, I would have admitted it was a bad idea. But it wasn’t. Granted, it’s not the same workout as running, but some of the same muscles woke up and I was saved the impact for my still-injured state.
I ellipticalized for a little over 1.5 miles and 15 minutes before I met back up with Melissa and walked a mile around the track. During the walk I focused on stretching my legs and using my whole foot (not just the outside) to walk. And perhaps that attention will translate into running with my whole foot like a normal human being.
It was a relief to wake up this morning and still feel peachy. I’ve been stiff each morning, but it just wasn’t that bad today—and that always helps nurture a positive attitude as well. Alongside 30 minutes of yoga this morning, I swam 1,200 yards free at lunch today before spending some time in the hot tub. And I think that was more an indulgence this time. Woe is me.
It’s almost 3 p.m. and I’m happy on only one dose of anti-inflammatory from this morning. Not only do I not have to make an “eek!” or “ouch!” noise every time I step on my left side, I might be getting back at least some of my walking grace (what little there was anyway). And now I’m itching to find out if I’ll be healthy for a 10K race on July 7.
Time will tell. And I think it’s time for more yoga…
Showing posts with label back pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back pain. Show all posts
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Quick Update: On the Mend
Well, I made it to work on Tuesday and crawled around like a 97-year-old woman (no offense to 97-year-old women). I sat and rested for most of Monday and Tuesday antsy with the fear of losing my running shape and my general will to live.
But then Diana gave me Aleve and things started looking up. I'm always reluctant to take any kind of medication, but desperate times, man! Now there's no more shooting pain when I put pressure on my left leg, and I don't have to drag against the wall as I walk down the hall at work! My hope is that by the end of Wednesday the pitied looks (and even more of the 'that's what you get for exercising' glares) will fade away and that I will be able to try swimming over lunch.
What a bummer that every time I get on a running roll some obstacle jumps in the way? Fortunately, that obstacle tends to be me... and that's one thing I can control. (Well, most of the time.) I'm going to give my running self until Friday to rest before I test out a light jog. My fingers are crossed.
But then Diana gave me Aleve and things started looking up. I'm always reluctant to take any kind of medication, but desperate times, man! Now there's no more shooting pain when I put pressure on my left leg, and I don't have to drag against the wall as I walk down the hall at work! My hope is that by the end of Wednesday the pitied looks (and even more of the 'that's what you get for exercising' glares) will fade away and that I will be able to try swimming over lunch.
What a bummer that every time I get on a running roll some obstacle jumps in the way? Fortunately, that obstacle tends to be me... and that's one thing I can control. (Well, most of the time.) I'm going to give my running self until Friday to rest before I test out a light jog. My fingers are crossed.
Monday, June 18, 2007
My First 100-Mile Month: Check!
Good news is that I reached my 100-mile goal, early I might add, with a 3.6-mile run on Friday and 11.05 miles on Sunday. Yeah!
The bad news is that somewhere in the middle of a sage twist during yoga on Sunday morning, I threw out my lower back on the left side (you knew it had been too long since the last time I hurt!). Boo!
I didn’t feel any ill effects while I was doing yoga, but the sage twist on my left side was the only thing I kind of forced (I know, I know: you’re never supposed to force). And that wasn’t very sagacious of me.
I had done some weight training for my legs the day before as well, so when I was running on Sunday morning in Euclid, I felt a little strain on my left side. It only felt like I was a little weary on that side, so I continued to run. Four miles in, I felt the pain creeping up the back of my leg toward my back. And, again, it didn’t feel like a pull or a sharp pain, but more like fatigue than anything else. I walked for a block or two and tried to stretch it out, then continued to run.
It was nice to be back on old stomping grounds in Euclid—I was visiting family this weekend and didn’t get my long run done on Saturday because I went to a bridal shower—where the sidewalks were endless and the largest animals were overfed, aggressive squirrels. I ran about 30 blocks from my mom’s house to East 185th Street, and then winded down a tributary off East 200th all the way to 222nd. Then it was while I was cutting down a street past my old high school that I started feeling a little more pull on the left side and walked a bit.
I picked up running again as I neared Babbitt Road at mile four, which I ran at 8:42 pace. Shortly before I started feeling pain, I ran into an old soccer and track coach of mine whose first words after not seeing me for ten years were, “what’s up with your left side?” At that point, I wasn’t compensating for my pain (yet) and was just running as usual. He had watched me run for about three strides and noticed that I have a semi-lazy left leg. I had always suspected it, but could never actually see my stride because I haven’t run in a hall of mirrors lately (I’ve tried to check out my shadow, but that’s always horribly distorted and unappealing ;-).
My left knee, however, doesn’t lift or bend the way it should, which is something I had felt while running but didn’t pay much attention to because my whole left side has always been kind of stupid. And he pointed out that the extreme wear on the tip of my left toe and the outer left heel on my shoes was damning evidence of my stupid left leg. The funniest thing he said was, “You better be careful or you’ll wipeout pretty hard someday.” Ahh, where was he two weeks ago?
But the self-fulfilling prophecy continued. After he helped me a little more with sagely coach’s advice, I was running down Babbitt Road past my brother’s house when I wiped out again! It was the same type of fall as last time, but I’ve been so mentally prepared since last time that I fell and hopped back up with only a scraped hand. Luckily my brother wasn’t home, so I escaped with some shards of my pride. Can you see why I run alone?
Oddly enough, my left side felt considerably better after the fall. But I took my pace way down: 9:10, 9:16, 9:20 for miles 5, 6 and 7. I ran all the way up Babbitt Road to Lakeshore, and then took Lakeshore almost to the Euclid-Willowick border (it was going to be a cross-Euclid trek, but I passed my old street and took a turn to check out the former hood) before turning back and heading home. And that was when I started feeling a little achy.
I ran mile eight at 9:29, which is the nice, slow pace I’ve been targeting… but I had hoped to achieve that pace from mental training and effort rather than pain and surrender. I ran the next mile at 9:23 before I really focused on running at a moderate pace with an active left leg. Employing my left leg as an active partner in running didn’t feel anymore physically exhausting (my right leg was grateful), but it was something I truly had to think about stride after stride. How difficult can putting one foot in front of the other be?
I finished the last 11 miles of my 100-mile goal with 9:18 and 9:15 tenth and eleventh miles. It wasn’t until after I showered and cooled down, however, that the real back pain set in. Right now if I put weight down on my left leg my lower back screams. Or maybe that’s just me. So, I’m taking the day off my feet to see if it’s something that needs medical attention. I might, however, need some mental medical attention for pulling something in my back and then running 11 miles, but that’s a different story.
Running throughout Euclid, as I mentioned, was awesome despite the wincing end. Not only was it nice to be somewhere I couldn’t get lost (I grew up there and it’s built on a grid) and whose sidewalks didn’t abruptly end in 45-mph roads! The only hazard was running into someone I knew and having them tell me I’m doing something wrong. But sometimes that’s precisely what we need.
Once I’m on my feet again, I’m going to hit the track (perhaps I’ll check out the outdoor track this time) and work on educating the stupid left leg. It’s difficult to communicate the extent of my left leg’s lack of coordination, but let’s just say that when I danced ballet we would do exercises on my graceful right side and then I’d almost knock down the class on my left. By now I think it’s my left side’s inability to move as directed and 27 years’ worth of frustration. But at least now I can focus on something simple. One foot at a time.
The bad news is that somewhere in the middle of a sage twist during yoga on Sunday morning, I threw out my lower back on the left side (you knew it had been too long since the last time I hurt!). Boo!I didn’t feel any ill effects while I was doing yoga, but the sage twist on my left side was the only thing I kind of forced (I know, I know: you’re never supposed to force). And that wasn’t very sagacious of me.
I had done some weight training for my legs the day before as well, so when I was running on Sunday morning in Euclid, I felt a little strain on my left side. It only felt like I was a little weary on that side, so I continued to run. Four miles in, I felt the pain creeping up the back of my leg toward my back. And, again, it didn’t feel like a pull or a sharp pain, but more like fatigue than anything else. I walked for a block or two and tried to stretch it out, then continued to run.
It was nice to be back on old stomping grounds in Euclid—I was visiting family this weekend and didn’t get my long run done on Saturday because I went to a bridal shower—where the sidewalks were endless and the largest animals were overfed, aggressive squirrels. I ran about 30 blocks from my mom’s house to East 185th Street, and then winded down a tributary off East 200th all the way to 222nd. Then it was while I was cutting down a street past my old high school that I started feeling a little more pull on the left side and walked a bit.
I picked up running again as I neared Babbitt Road at mile four, which I ran at 8:42 pace. Shortly before I started feeling pain, I ran into an old soccer and track coach of mine whose first words after not seeing me for ten years were, “what’s up with your left side?” At that point, I wasn’t compensating for my pain (yet) and was just running as usual. He had watched me run for about three strides and noticed that I have a semi-lazy left leg. I had always suspected it, but could never actually see my stride because I haven’t run in a hall of mirrors lately (I’ve tried to check out my shadow, but that’s always horribly distorted and unappealing ;-).
My left knee, however, doesn’t lift or bend the way it should, which is something I had felt while running but didn’t pay much attention to because my whole left side has always been kind of stupid. And he pointed out that the extreme wear on the tip of my left toe and the outer left heel on my shoes was damning evidence of my stupid left leg. The funniest thing he said was, “You better be careful or you’ll wipeout pretty hard someday.” Ahh, where was he two weeks ago?
But the self-fulfilling prophecy continued. After he helped me a little more with sagely coach’s advice, I was running down Babbitt Road past my brother’s house when I wiped out again! It was the same type of fall as last time, but I’ve been so mentally prepared since last time that I fell and hopped back up with only a scraped hand. Luckily my brother wasn’t home, so I escaped with some shards of my pride. Can you see why I run alone?
Oddly enough, my left side felt considerably better after the fall. But I took my pace way down: 9:10, 9:16, 9:20 for miles 5, 6 and 7. I ran all the way up Babbitt Road to Lakeshore, and then took Lakeshore almost to the Euclid-Willowick border (it was going to be a cross-Euclid trek, but I passed my old street and took a turn to check out the former hood) before turning back and heading home. And that was when I started feeling a little achy.
I ran mile eight at 9:29, which is the nice, slow pace I’ve been targeting… but I had hoped to achieve that pace from mental training and effort rather than pain and surrender. I ran the next mile at 9:23 before I really focused on running at a moderate pace with an active left leg. Employing my left leg as an active partner in running didn’t feel anymore physically exhausting (my right leg was grateful), but it was something I truly had to think about stride after stride. How difficult can putting one foot in front of the other be?
I finished the last 11 miles of my 100-mile goal with 9:18 and 9:15 tenth and eleventh miles. It wasn’t until after I showered and cooled down, however, that the real back pain set in. Right now if I put weight down on my left leg my lower back screams. Or maybe that’s just me. So, I’m taking the day off my feet to see if it’s something that needs medical attention. I might, however, need some mental medical attention for pulling something in my back and then running 11 miles, but that’s a different story.
Running throughout Euclid, as I mentioned, was awesome despite the wincing end. Not only was it nice to be somewhere I couldn’t get lost (I grew up there and it’s built on a grid) and whose sidewalks didn’t abruptly end in 45-mph roads! The only hazard was running into someone I knew and having them tell me I’m doing something wrong. But sometimes that’s precisely what we need.
Once I’m on my feet again, I’m going to hit the track (perhaps I’ll check out the outdoor track this time) and work on educating the stupid left leg. It’s difficult to communicate the extent of my left leg’s lack of coordination, but let’s just say that when I danced ballet we would do exercises on my graceful right side and then I’d almost knock down the class on my left. By now I think it’s my left side’s inability to move as directed and 27 years’ worth of frustration. But at least now I can focus on something simple. One foot at a time.
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