What would you do if you couldn't run? A Guest Post from the Outlaw Mama

Thursday morning I woke up at 4am with a horrible pain in my ankle and calf.  The pain refused to subside regardless of the ibuprofen I took or the stretching I tried.  I iced the ankle, elevated it and begged for the mercy of the world.  I pulled on a compression sleeve hoping that it was just a strange occurrence.  It turned out to be just a muscle spasm (probably because I chose hard cider over water for most of Wednesday) but I couldn't help but allow the thoughts of disaster to flow through.  My back is finally feeling better.  My pace is steadily increasing to where it needs to be and my the extra wight is finally falling off.  Thankfully, for me it was just a bad moment and my body reminding me to stay focused and enjoy vacation a tiny bit slower.  For those of you, who like me, have struggled with an injury and finding your way back to a healthy you, I hope you love this post as much as I do!  

Totally unrelated picture of what we spent the rest of the day doing once my body decided to cooperate!!

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Christie Tate blogs at www.outlawmama.com from her home base in Chicago.  She is a recovering lawyer and writer who has two small children she takes to Costco any chance she gets.  She runs when her butt lets her.  You can follow her on twitter at @theOutlawMama

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During the long Chicago winter, I spent hours on the treadmill dreaming of the warmer months when I would be untethered from the machines and running outside.  In preparation for summer running, I bought new running clothes and made an inspirational mix for those long runs I planned to enjoy.  I toyed with signing up for a 10K by the end of September.

This summer, however, I haven’t run a single step, thanks to a weekend in New York where I insisted on wearing zero-support ballet flats.  I walked mile after energizing mile in Manhattan, hoping that the natives would love my shoes and treat me like one of their own.  My body let me have my big city weekend, but then it extracted its revenge in the form of a torn muscle in my glute (also known as my “butt”).

The pain hit the morning I got home—it took my breath away.  At first, I limped around in denial.  “It’s just a little kink! I’m fine!”  By the end of the first week, I begged my physical therapist to see me.  When he saw that I could barely walk, he quickly put me on exercise restriction.  “How long until I can run again?” I asked, holding my breath.  “At least two weeks,” he responded. 

Two weeks?  I thought I would die.  It was early June, and I had some cute purple shorts from Nordstrom Rack just waiting for a 5-miler.  I hated the thought of losing 2 whole weeks to this butt injury.  I moped around, I Googled other blogs about injuries, and I cried.  A lot.  I cried because it hurt to sit and to stand and to move.  I popped Advil every 6 hours.  It actually hurt to sleep at night.  It felt like it would never ever heal. I began to understand why chronically ill people take up heavy narcotic drug use.

At the three-week mark, the pain was still acute.  My physical therapist cleared me to walk and admonished me to use the foam roller every single night, which I did religiously. 

As I realized my injury was more serious than a little strain, I had to confront some deep-seated fears.

My TOP 6 FEARS about going all summer without running:

1.       I will get fat

2.       None of my clothes will fit anymore, because I will get fat

3.       I will go crazy mentally and emotionally without the release of running

4.       I will get depressed

5.       I will lose all my conditioning, and it will SUCK to start over

6.       I will get fat

Over and over, I bargained with God to fix my injury so I wouldn’t have to work through the fears.  God, of course, had other plans. 

Now, it’s been almost 3 months, and I still haven’t run a single step. But I have stayed in shape, and I suspect I might be a little saner.  I have actually learned important lessons from this no-running summer.  And while I would prefer to be injury-free, I have learned some lessons this summer that are treasures to me.

TOP 8 GEMS FROM THE NO-RUNNING SUMMER

1.       I learned that it’s important to trust my body and let it heal, no matter how long it takes

2.       Gentle yoga and walking are healthy ways to move my body when running isn’t an option

3.       I will not die if I can’t do strenuous cardio (but I will have moments when I feel like I will)

4.       I will not get fat if I can’t run

5.       Those great purple shorts? I can wear them walking

6.       Taking walks with my kids is a fun way to combine exercising and parenting

7.       Getting older sucks, I might as well be nice to my body starting TODAY

8.       Never, ever take my body for granted, especially my butt, because I literally can’t make a single move without it. 

I can say it’s been a great summer.  I don’t wish injury on anyone, but if you find you are derailed from your beloved exercise routine, there may be some unexpected treasures on the road to healing!