As many endurance athletes know, your recovery is just as important as your actual workouts. That is a fact that I’ve always had a little trouble getting my head around. If some exercise is good, more is always better, right? And if I take that day off, I’m almost surely going to lose fitness, correct? Not necessarily.
Now that I am forced to take some rest, I’m trying to focus on physically and emotionally recovering from this injury so that I can get back to my favorite sport in good shape and ready to hit the ground running (pun intended!). Both are significant challenges in their own right, so both deserve some attention.
Physical:
A big obstacle right now is that neither I nor my doctor is 100% sure what, exactly, my injury is yet. I had an MRI this week, but we haven’t yet reviewed it yet. I’m supposed to be using crutches to aid in staying off of the leg (I use them primarily at work to get around the huge building I work in). Most of the time, I’m pain-free, but if I’m on the leg too much it will ache the next day, and sometimes one wrong move will surprise me with a shockwave of pain. After three weeks, this is getting seriously old.
The two factors that I can control the most in how quickly and well my leg heals are how much time I spend using my leg and my diet. I am making a conscious effort to sit whenever I am able, to lean on my crutches if I need to stand, and to give my body more sleep and even time on the couch. The lack of activity is bothering me, but I’m trying to remember that this is temporary and to gradually introduce activities that my leg can tolerate. I have used the recumbent bike at my gym on low resistance without too much trouble, and I wanted to do some upper body weights but my shoulders, upper back and triceps are almost constantly tired and sore from using my crutches. Next week I hope to up my activity a little and work in some swimming and some strength work.
As for my diet, I’m trying to make sure that I get enough calories and adequate nutrition. I’m eating tons of fruits and veggies, and also more dairy. Now, I have a disclaimer to make: I don’t really like dairy. I don’t mind yogurt or cheese, but I hate milk (strangely, I dislike soy milk, almond milk, or hemp milk even more…something about milk-like products I suppose). However, eating dairy is the easiest and most foolproof way to boost my calcium intake–extremely important when you have a stress fracture. So, let me introduce to you my bone-building smoothie:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 Stonyfield Farms plain yogurt
- 0.5 cup 1% milk
- 1 No Sugar Added Carnation Instant Breakfast packet
This makes a tasty smoothie that is loaded with protein, calcium, and antioxidants. It also happens to be my favorite post long-run recovery drink.
The final product in my panda cup
Second disclaimer of this post: I don’t like how artificial Carnation Instant Breakfasts are. I also don’t like Splenda (or NutraSweet, Sweet and Low, or even Stevia, for that matter). However, like most things, I think almost anything is fine in moderation and under the right circumstances. In a situation where your body needs additional nutrients (e.g. after a long run or when recovering from an injury), Carnation Instant Breakfast is an easy way to add these to your diet.
Mental:
The mental part of my recovery feels like a constant two steps forward one step back cycle. Overall, I think I’m making progress, but I’m having some tough spots.
Right now, my husband and I were supposed to be driving to Boston so that I could run on Monday. This fact is not lost on me. It’s a bit of a relief to know that my qualifying time will be accepted for next year’s race, but it’s still tough to think about the months of training that have now been lost. It’s also tough because the weather in Central New York is finally starting to get nice. It’s race season, and I’m missing it. I’m going to miss my favorite local race this year, the Mountain Goat, and have to watch my husband and friends from the sidelines.
2008 Mountain Goat - My 26th Birthday
Distraction is my drug of choice in this battle. I’m trying to think of other activities to do while still being able to enjoy the improving weather and if possible, get some exercise in while I’m doing it. Some things I’ve been researching:
Ike saw the camera flash and wanted in on the picture…attention hog. 
Hiking is probably still a ways off yet, but biking is probably in the near future. My bike is currently in the bike shop getting fixed and I should have it in a matter of days. I’ve researched a bunch of places to bike and am excited about doing some exploring.
I also may be traveling to West Palm Beach, Florida for work in the coming weeks…a beachfront hotel room would probably help me feel better…
