Finding the positives in the negative

 

 

My mother is good at telling it like it is.  Actually I guess I could rephrase that to being most mothers are good at saying it how it is.

 

I have been a little off kilter lately with a back injury that has left me sidelined from most things upper body, including breathing.  Some say it's an inter-coastal muscle strain others say it's a stress fracture on my ribs from overdoing my training.  Whatever it is I'm ready for it to be gone, magically evaporated from my body.

 

Anyways back to my mum, she likes to bring up things that I like to forget about like the time I had a stress fracture in my foot.  Well after 6 weeks of rest and pool running (which I have to say is the most boring thing in the world), she remembers going to the shop and coming home to find me hobbling around again.  Yes, I had been for a run to test my foot, got a little carried away, ending up running further than I should have and re injured the fracture.  12 weeks later it was finally healed and yes I'm an idiot!

 

I don't have tolerance nor patience when it comes to anything stopping me from getting my daily endorphin fix. So it's all about getting creative and finding other ways to work different muscle groups... as frustrating as it is. As I get older I like to think I have learnt my lessons from the past and realise the importance of of rest and letting the body heal.

 

I have a strong belief that everything happens for a reason so these are the positives that I've tapped into over the last couple of weeks

 

+ Leg strength - I have been on a 3 week lower body blast, so heaps of hill walking, running, spinning and bike riding mixed with small muscle integration exercises to help recruit the good and turn off the wrong muscles being used. My legs haven't feel this strong in a long time.

 

+ Seeing new scenery - rediscovering new tracks and trails and parts of the neighbourhood I haven't seen in a while.

 

+ Getting creative - not just with my workouts but around the house and with ideas and projects. Just refreshing my body has woken up my mind as well.

 

+ Grateful - I know that word is overused these days but really grateful to have my health and not have to live with an painful injury all the time.  I really don't understand how anyone could not incorporate fitness into their lifestyle, our bodies are one thing that we should not take for granted

 

+ Perspective - It is very humbling to realise how silly it is to worry about missing a workout.  It's only a small aspect of your life (really how fast has that last couple of weeks gone) and it really hasn't changed my outcome at all. This is my eldests last week at home before she starts school so it has been nice to enjoy this time.

Have you had an injury lately? How did you cope or work around it?

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