Monday, May 23, 2011

things I learned ...

After three full weeks of sitting around being lazy, I mean, healing, I finally got my sweat on yesterday. I had planned to get back in the saddle immediately after I got the "all clear" from my doctor on Thursday, but I didn't feel good and slept for 12 hours instead.

Then Friday rolled around and it was Dizzle's birthday, so I chose a cupcake over Sleeper.

And when Saturday came, I was just plain scared to try.

Scared that working out was REALLY going to hurt and I would end up discouraged.

Scared that it wouldn't hurt at all and I wasted three weeks being lazy.

Scared that I had lost ALL my fitness.

Scared that my trainer would somehow release Sleeper and I would go crashing to the ground again.

I know. All RIDICULOUS reasons to be scared. But, EVERY SINGLE ONE of them crossed my mind.

But then Sunday morning arrived and I knew I had to start my day right. That I had to workout the second I got out of bed, so that I couldn't give myself a reason not to. So, that's what I did. I got dressed. Put my sling BACK ON. And jumped on the treadmill.

I pushed the incline to 10% and the pace to 3.5 (which equates to the effort of an 11:39 mile), and walked for 30 minutes. When I was done, I grabbed some water and hopped on Sleeper. And I sat there. Thinking. Trying to figure out how to get comfortable. Questioning if I was really going to ride or just sit there and catch my breath. After five minutes, I started. And pedaled and pedaled for 30 minutes.

And when I was done, I realized that I had learned a few things on my first day back ...
  • Slings are not made of wicking material.
  • Walking a 10% incline at 3.5 mph may equal the effort of an 11:39 mile, but it feels a lot harder than that.
  • I am by no means PAIN FREE when I walk and ride. But, the pain is tolerable and much less than it could have been.
  • I sweat. A lot.
  • I have to sit straight up when I ride. This means that the pretty new Aero Bars that SpeeDee gifted to and installed for me are rendered useless. I tried the whole one arm thing and it sucked. Both uncomfortable for my upper body and detrimental to my cadence.
  • My butt hurts a lot more when I sit straight up that when I am in aero position.
  • If yesterday's workout was any indication of when I will be able to swim, the answer is MONTHS not WEEKS like my doctor suggested. And if we are being honest, I can't imagine running anytime soon either.
So, I guess you'd say the first workout back was kind of a mixed bag ...

19 comments:

Jen said...

mixed bag is better than no bag at all. You are a LOT braver than me. Not sure I could have let go of my fears and make it to the mill or sleeper!

One day at a time... or in our world, one workout at a time. Trust your endurance (I mean you did just have GBA marathon, right?)

It will all come back... in time (which sucks, I KNOW...)

gba_gf said...

Congrats... and... bummer on the ride.

Carly said...

Well, it seems to me that it's better to be safe than sorry. Healing from an injury is just one of those things that you need to take one day at a time. You never really know how it's going to go.

MCM Mama said...

Woohoo for getting your sweat on again, but boo that it didn't go as well as you hoped. Fingers crossed that your shoulder heals faster than you expect.

Marlene said...

Kudos for getting back on the workout wagon. Do what you can in the coming days and weeks. Your fitness will come back and that shoulder will continue to heal - here's hoping you are running (and swimming) sooner than you think.

Running Ricig said...

a non wicking sling sounds really uncomfortable! Maybe you can jerryrig something out of a tech shirt.

Glad you're back at it, but it definitely stinks that things aren't back to normal.

MotherRunner said...

So sorry to hear you're not 100%, but you're making a lot of progress. Way to go facing the demons - you'll be back in no time!

Allison said...

I guess you have to start somewhere and it seems like the first workout back is always the hardest one (regardless of the reason you took off). Hopefully you'll make significant progress faster than you think!

S Club Mama said...

well you had to try. great job!!

Unknown said...

Good for you doing it! My girls will all sick last week and with the hubbys schedule I just couldn't get anything in the morning, and than when I could have gotten up early I just didn't. A week of no cardio at all and 1 day of a little exercise at home and I'm worried too. Will be at the gym this afternoon, if I don't get sick as I feel something coming on!

Kerrie said...

I think "just doing it" was the important thing to help you get over the fear. Glad you got your sweat on!

Runners Fuel said...

The important part is that you got your sweat on. Good job for that!!

Jennifer Spadafora said...

Awesome job on breaking a sweat. Hopefully it gets easier and easier. Bummer on the non-wicking sling though.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Sounds like you are making great forward progress.

Rachel said...

I think you are doing an amazing job!

RunToTheFinish said...

welcome back and way to go on finding ways to make it work for now... I think every time we have to change our running routine it makes us stronger and better once we can stop fighting it :)

ajh said...

It sounds hard but you are out there going for it.

Julie D. said...

congrats on getting out there!! you conquered the mental battle for sure!! I was going to say, 3.5 at 10 incline IS WAY HARDER than a 11:39 mile. :) Hang in there. Keep it up, T. you are a fighter.

Nicole Orriƫns said...

It's great that you're back! I'm always worried too that I've lost all my fitness power after not having running for about a day….

I have some serious trust issues concerning my body.

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