Taking it to the Limit…

I find it ironic that yesterday I posted about the possible tendonitis I have in my left knee. Last night during my stadium workout, I slipped on a stair doing one leg stair jumps. I caught myself, but I knew I landed a little funny. I had a hard time finishing the stairs, and a really tough time completing the walking lunges right after.

I’m lucky because it happened at the end of my workout. My knee has been sore for a while and felt a little more sore after that fall. I walked up to my car, drove to my friend Sasha’s for our workout sesh and iced the crap out of my hip and knee. But the pain just got worse. I foam rolled my entire body for over an hour, took some anti inflammatory meds, and kept icing.

A few hours later, I realized I could barely drive. So I drove to the bf’s. I couldn’t get comfortable. Standing, sitting, laying down. It all hurt. It was getting late and I was getting frustrated. We had a trip planned for this weekend that requires a lot of driving. Could I do it? What is causing all this pain? The bf and his mom tried their absolute best to make me comfortable and help ease the pain. But finally I couldn’t do it anymore. The pain became too much and I broke down.

I should have gone to the doctor’s earlier. I should have called someone earlier. I should have taken care of myself. But I didn’t. I waited. And I waited because I kept thinking it couldn’t be as bad as it felt. And now today I’m paying the price.
Last night I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t find a comfortable position, so today I’m exhausted. Exhausted from crying, exhausted from the pain, and exhausted from all the hard work I’ve put my body through over the last few months.

After seeing my chiropractor and general physician today, I know I’ve severely bruised my hip socket and pelvis and have possible tares in my knee. The hip and pelvis make it very difficult to sit up right in a chair or while driving, and my knee is making it hard to cross my legs or just take a step.  So what did both doctors tell me? Rest. Ice. Anti-inflammatories.

Sometimes things happen for a reason. People miss flights they shouldn’t have been on, meet someone at the right place at the right time, etc. This experience has made me stop to think about the journey I’ve chosen to take to be healthier and more in tune with my body. As much as I’ve shifted the way I look at food and eat, I’ve also shifted the way I train. The obsessive tendencies I have towards food may have shifted to my workouts. And I can honestly say I am addicted to my workouts. Today is the first day in a very long time that I’ve missed a scheduled workout, and I feel ancy. Anxious.  So maybe this injury happened for a reason. To give me the opportunity to look at the way I train. Not just physically, but mentally. I have a tendency to push myself very hard when I want something and have a goal in mind.

When you’re on a journey like I am, with no real end or ultimate goal, the pushing never stops. So sometimes you need to take a breath and pause to look at all that you’ve achieved, appreciate where you are today, and look forward to where your headed. And in my case, ice the crap out of my knee and hip 🙂