Thursday, May 26, 2011

Three Things Thursday ...

1. I'm not quite sure what happened this week, but I made a huge jump in healing. On Sunday, I could barely lift my arm (maybe 3-4 inches from my body). But, over the past two days I have gained a HUGE amount of mobility. I can lift my arm at least to shoulder height and I can almost get dressed like a human being again.

Now don't get me wrong, it still hurts. It hurts to drive. It hurts to change diapers. Sometimes, it just hurts out of no where. But, it's progress. Quick progress, in fact. And I'm lucky to heal so quickly (see, my superhuman powers are kicking in again). On Tuesday, I met someone who had the same injury as me about seven years ago. He had the old style of surgery which was more invasive and was in a sling for three months. When I told him that I had my surgery 13 days before, he nearly fell down.

2. So, yesterday, I sent out a tweet and Facebook post that said, "If you get me to 800 votes today, I'll run a mile." Well, you all came through. I hit 800 (feel free to vote again by clicking HERE) and kept up my side of the deal. Last night, once the girls were in bed, I RAN ONE MILE! In 9:40. And amazingly, I was pain free. But, if we are being honest, I looked like a fool. I chose not to run in my sling, which meant I had to self-stabilize my arm.

Picture this - I'm running. Normal arm swing on the left side. But, on the right, my arm is locked tight to my body with my hand near my shoulder. It was ugly.

But, it worked. I can run. (And I might even be running that 5K I am signed up for on Saturday.) My plan is to work up to 3 miles, 5 days a week. I know that I could probably run more than that, but until my shoulder is strong enough to let me swing my arm normally, I don't want to. I've seen that injuries (even unrelated to the legs) can cause postural changes which mess up form and cause more injuries. That's not going to happen here. I won't have it.

And since I will be running less, I will be riding more. Sleeper, my trainer and I are going to be best friends. In fact, after my run yesterday, I jumped on Sleeper for an hour while I caught up on Glee and chatted via text with Tall Mom. I have to say, this whole riding on the trainer thing can be really good for multitasking ...

3. Injury is tough. Not being able to train sucks. But, injury that causes you to lose your ability to function in your everyday life is even tougher. Fortunately for me, I have some amazing friends who have made meals, watched my kids, even folded my laundry. Earth Momma Mer and G have gone above and beyond to make sure I was completely covered from all angles. SpeeDee set up Sleeper with Aero Bars to make sure I was training safely when I came back.

And so many of you helped too. With your emails and cards (Thanks Marlene, Kim, Bethany and Katye) and gifts (which were completely unnecessary, but much appreciated Lesley and Jen). I am truly grateful for all of the support both virtual and in real life. So, thank you.

22 comments:

Jen said...

I love your attitude!

Null said...

You're a tough cookie! It won't be long until this injury is all just a memory.

fancy nancy said...

I am not surprised that you are healing so quickly! You are a fighter!

Unknown said...

Definition of BADASS = T!

Winks & Smiles,
Wifey

kimert said...

You are so totally awesome!! I loved reading that you ran and texted Tall Mom. So envious and running a mile not so long after that crazy surgery! You are my hero!!

Running Ricig said...

fantastic super human healing abilities! Great job on your run. I'm going to vote again now!

Kittee said...

This post makes me happy. I am glad you are recovering so quickly.

Think you should of posted a video of the run though.

Yea for Superhero Powers!

MCM Mama said...

So glad to hear you are recovering quickly now. Here's to a quick complete recovery!!!

Michelle said...

It's great that you're making so much progress - hope it keeps up!

Unknown said...

That was a pretty fast one armed mile! So glad to hear you are on the mend. I was nervous about SF for you. Looks like you'll be just fine by the end of July...

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

So glad you are healing quickly.

I can't believe you ran the mile. Amazing so soon after surgery!

Marlene said...

YEAHHH Supergirl! It must feel sooo good to know you ca run again, even if you look totally weird doing it. :)

CupCake@ Bigger Girls Can Run Too said...

Glad to see you are feeling better! Keep up the positive attitude! You rock!

Anonymous said...

YAY for the run!! You are amazing!!!!! I hope that shoulder continues to heal quickly!

Rene' said...

Awesome just Awesome!

Alicia said...

Congrats on healing! Must be all that good karma you send out into the world coming back to ya. :)

Anonymous said...

You're going to come out of this even stronger. You're the champion of the "Run Slower" philosophy and we've all seen how well its worked for you.

If you work up to 3 miles on a 12% incline...who cares if you're going slow, you'll be unstoppable with training like that!

track coach and adorable wife said...

Way to heal quickly little wolverine! Glad to hear you can get back on the bike, and can't they win just once on Glee!

Unknown said...

Awesome! You have such a good attitude too. You will get back to where you were, and if anything, this injury will make you stronger in the end.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear you are healing and still have your runner's legs!

Rose @ Eat, Drink, and Be Meiri said...

Yay for healing, and running!

I have voted for you every day that I remember to run.

Amanda@runninghood said...

So happy to hear this! I'm really behind on your blog but I do know what it means to recovery from injury and to be able to take those first big steps toward running again...something so precious and that gives us so much joy! Hoping you continue to heal!