Taking care of the body

[mad_m]

Hello fellow Bodies in Motion! Wondering about your stories of healing and recovery. I'm on the road back from a long layoff from running related to overtraining and muscle imbalance, and a major rock fall last September. Without getting into the details of the problems (long, boring, trust me), I finally owned that I'm getting older and simply taking a few months off with stretching just won't cut it anymore. That was a long road of getting past depression of not being able to move the way I wanted, at the speed and with the power I used to.

I hate it when I get the advice from medical professionals or massage therapists to not run, not push it, perhaps take it easier - I found the right mix of body work with an acupuncturist. After a few months of work with her, and on my own (stretching, rolling muscles, and pushing tennis balls into my trigger points at home), I'm now able to do some walk-running, body weight exercises, and the occasional short dyno at the rock gym. I also got outside to lead a few easy sport routes over Easter weekend. I used to be too proud to mix running into my walking, wouldn't climb routes I thought were beneath me, and didn't think strength training had a place in improving my climbing (totally bought into "if you want to climb, then climb!") In short, I was holding myself back with standards that my injured self couldn't meet, standards that were arbitrarily set. After letting them slack a bit, I realized how much I really can do after all, and that I'm on the road back to where I want to be.

What are your stories of breaking and rebuilding? What personal myths did you need to overcome?

Comments

[lunabee34]

I had to get over the idea of the runner's high or the idea that I was going to have this euphoric experience when exercising. I know it happens for some people, but it hasn't happened for me, and I don't think it's going to. I had to stop being disappointed about that.

I also had to get over the idea that I was going to be able to do a lot of running on the ground. I run on the elliptical, but that's so different from running on the ground. Running on the ground really activates my interstitial cystitis, and it hurts my knees. I do it occasionally because it does work different muscles (or when I'm on vacation and have no other exercise options), but I had originally thought I would turn into this person who could run around the neighborhood, and I just can't.

Congratulations on figuring otu what works for you. That's awesome.

[mad_m]

Thanks, I appreciate the congrats! Finding the acupuncturist was a step forward. :)

Regarding runner's high, I'll throw out an idea as good for thought... maybe be more subtle than what you're expecting... if you're not able to run for a few days, how do you feel? It could be that rather than feeling an endorphin rush (think of waves with high amplitude, low frequency) your body releases them at a lower rate (lower amplitude and more in the background), such that if you don't get your exercise (and related endorphin dose) you miss the feeling?

[recessional]

Some of us also really just don't get it. Promise.

[ladybrooke]

As one of the people who does not (and never has) gotten runner's high, I feel better not running. Running is painful, and there's no way to make it not hurt, with my health issues.

If it's subtle, it's not even good enough to make up for the amount of pain it causes.

[lunabee34]

That's a bit closer to what's going on.

I feel much less anxious and angry (which is a huge mood probably with me; I am kinda permanently pissed and it's horrible) if I go consistently. I don't necessarily feel anything on a specific day, but I definitely feel a cumulative effect.

[thistleingrey]

Indeed, contrary to euphoria, if I exercise enough, I stop feeling usefully protective amounts of discomfort, and then I usually reinjure stuff. Heh. Glad it's not just me!

[lunabee34]

Eeeep. That sounds maddening.