Thursday, December 15, 2011

All I want for Christmas is Endorphins.

Hey there. Remember me? I know, I barely remember me either.

After the marathon I took a month off —my physical therapist suggested 8 weeks, my orthopedic surgeon suggested no time at all, so I split the difference—and OHMYGOODNESS was it a tough month.

I was still going to the gym but this is problematic for two reasons:
1. I never work as hard as when I'm running. Who's that girl slogging on the elliptical or half-hartedly lifting that dumbell? Oh, that would be me. My heart is just not in it like when I'm pounding pavement.
2. My gym is being "refreshed," which is a nice way to say "we are going to do major construction, make things super inconvenient and then jack up your membership fees." Right now the ENTIRE cardio area is gone. No ellipticals, no treadmills and a only smattering of bikes spread throughout the rest of the cramped space. It wont be done until the end of the month...just in time for all the New Years Resolution-makers to have a brand spanking new gym to crowd up.

I'm cranky. Have I mentioned I haven't been running so much lately?

After the rest month was up I had a week to get in gear for the Jingle Bell Jog. Could I have played this smart? Yes. Did I instead run a 5k way faster than I should have? You betcha.

The shinjury that is the bane of my existence has returned. So far it's only been mildly painful, but really annoying. Did the Jingle Bell Jog anyway, because you can't NOT run around with bells on your feet and antlers on your head:

Charlie: Nice rack, Dana!  Dana: Thanks, it could've been bigger but I ran out of doe.






So...I just went for another MRI and I go to see my Sports Medicine doc tomorrow, and I hope this time we can just figure out what the heck is wrong and how to fix it for good. This also means I will (in all reasonable likelihood) NOT be running the Paris Marathon in April. Sad face.

(This is actually last year's sad face, when I had to work on Xmas Eve, but I think it still applies.)

I'm actually less bummed about that than I thought I'd be. I bought cancellation insurance just in case this exact situation arose, so at least I'll be refunded most of my entry fee. I'd also prefer not to train for and run 2 marathons back-to-back with injuries. If I'm gonna go all out, international and whatnot, then I want to be 100% healthy. So 2013 it will be. Who am I kidding, I'm still pretty bummed. Taste my sad.



Anyway, because the ache is back, I probably should not have gone for a run this evening but here is my dilemma: If I do not run, I go freaking crazy. No run, crazy. My job has been especially awful lately, and it's hard to tell if it's because things are actually worse, OR if it's because I haven't been running much/at all and am going out of my mind from lack of endorphins. (I'm gonna guess it's 70/30). Still, running is how get a grip, so it's been tough.

On the bright side, I have taken off tomorrow and am working through my issues with the wildy successful chocolate chip cookie solution. It's simple: Go for a run, bake some cookies. Then eat 'em.


This might call for two solutions.


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