Thursday, February 10, 2011

I'm Broken...Fix Me, Pretty Please!

Most of you know that I have been training to run a marathon with my father-in-law for the past 5 months. He is a hard-core Ultra-marathon runner and it would be awesome to have the chance to run with him.  So even though I wasn't 100% sure my body would be able to take the training, I went forth and gave it my all.  

Big Mistake on my part!  Although most of you wouldn't consider me old yet (32), my body has a different idea.  In my younger days, I spend countless hours training as a gymnast.  These hours didn't come without a price.  Throughout the years I sustained injury to nearly every part of my body.  Broken bones, ripped muscles, torn this, destroyed that, fingers pointing in the wrong direction....you get the picture.  Well, now that I'm at the ripe old age of 32, my body thinks its about 62.  So here is what my knee looked like after running on Monday.
Now it may not look like much to you, but it hurts a whole lot!   On top of that, the arm that I had surgery on a few years back it starting to act up again.   (sniff sniff)   So as of right now, the marathon plans have been put on a hold for a bit.  I know the smart thing to do would to just let it be.  Do I really need to run 26 miles?  But sitting back really isn't my style.  What would you do in this situation?  Would you rest and keep training or just let it go?  Grab a latte, put up your feet, and join the discussion!

6 comments:

AngelEden said...

Honestly.... I'd sit back, have a cup of tea and eat a cupcake. But then I never have been one for running. Oddly enough though I am a perfectionist in other areas of my life, so I understand the pull to compete. But pain and I are not good friends, we try and spend as much time apart as possible. So if running gave me pain, it would be off the list and onto the rubbish pile :)

Abi
www.angeleden.blogspot.com

Cheryl said...

Defintiely rest! I know how you feel, though...I'm a competitive figure skater coming back from a bad ankle injury and I know how it is to not want to sit back and rest but it's the best thing. There's plenty of time to run a marathon, so don't hurt yourself further by pushing it right now. Feel better!!

Social Media Junkie said...

You go girl for trying.. I'm 31 and could never run a Marathon when I was active in the military never mind after 30.
I hope your knee starts to feel better, make sure you have it up and elevated while your online :)

Breathing In Grace said...

Okay...take it from a lady old enough to be your Momma!! ;-)
Your body is trying to tell you that it needs rest...and maybe the good Lord, too! Please take time to rest and re-coup....before you do damage that might even more serious. This is probably not what you wanted to hear...but in my old age, I've learned to listen to my body...and HOPEfully more to that "still small voice", too!!! In His Love...and with mine!!!

Unknown said...

Honey, if your knee looks like that now and you push it, it will look even worse in a month. I have had 2 knee replacements because I ran, did aerobics, treadmill, jumping jacks, whatever it took to keep my body at 110. And now I am paying the price. I have RA, OA, Fibromyalgia, IBS, Hypothroidism and a few other things you would not recognize. And it all stems from the RA & OA. Those are autoimmune disorders and they told me I had a distress in my body that brought forth the Fibromyalgia & IBS. It did not hit me until I was in my 40's so you still have time to avoid all that. My knees swelled 2x worse than that left one if I am looking at the pic right. So, if you continue, it will swell worse and that is when you are likely to sustain an injury. I had 4 torn meniscus surgeries (2 on each knee) before they said they had to be replaced. I had exercised so much the bones rubbed my cartlige away til bone was scraping bone. I am not trying to scare you but to listen to your body. It knows better than our brains! Unless you want to end up with 2 total knee replacements (and then the swelling never goes down. Both knees look like your left one all the time now. They forgot to mention that anytime metal gets cold it hurts. I am also now on pain management for the rest of my life.)! Listen to your body and rest!

Jaccqueline said...

Kelley, honestly, two weeks ago I was on my wii... The next part is going to make me look like an absolute IDIOT. I was doing the skateboarding activity, stepped down and SOMETHING went POP! I went DOWN and couldn't walk. I TORE a calf muscle and I mean grade 3 tear.... My husband thought it was a cramp. It went BLACK. I hate not exercising but a physio friend told me this and I am telling you.... No sense in trying to work through it. PAIN is your body's way of telling you that you need to rest.... So grab a latte yourself and don't train! You will do more damage and need more treatment. You have many more marathons to run and, afterall life is a marathon. Can't run it in pain!