Friday, August 13, 2010

Knock on wood....

Apparently, I did not knock long or hard enough this week.  I was tempting fate and teasing the Gods talking about my back to my cousin Sarah.  I have a history of having a bad back, I have degenerative disc disease.  I found that out after my Sarah was born, I had a lot of back trouble then.  I saw specialists, had an MRI and went to physical therapy.  Didn't get much relief until ironically I got pregnant with Emma and magically, the pain went away.  The doctor said that with disc trouble, it can just go away like that.  I was so thankful!! 

I have had a couple episodes since then but they have been relatively short.  When we were in the Outer Banks 2 years ago, I threw my back out, I just bent down to pick up Emma.  That was horrible.  But some Aleve and some Thermacares helped.  By the end of the week, it was better.  I think that was the last time it flared up.

On Tuesday afternoon, my cousin Sarah and her girls were here visiting.  Sarah and I were talking, and I said that I hadn't had any back troubles since the Outer Banks and promptly knocked on wood.  But I knew the possibility was there for it to flare up again.  I didn't think much of it until Wednesday morning, my Sarah and Emma were fighting.  Sarah took a big swing at Emma and I wrestled her away and picked her up and tried to get her to the stairs.  I felt that horrible twinge in my lower back, but she wouldn't stop so I got her all the way to the stairs and the twinge got bigger.  I did some stretches to see if I could get ahead of it.   Didn't seem to help, in fact it might have made it worse.  Seth brought home some Thermacares and I took some Aleve and that helped a lot.  It wasn't as bad as when I had thrown it out in the Outer Banks, I could get some relief, but it was pretty painful at times.  Sleeping is always hard with a painful back.  I did set out my running stuff, in hopes that by some miracle, my back would feel fine in the morning and I could get out for my run. 

When I woke up, my back was still bothering and we were having a ridiculous thunderstorms.  So even if I felt great, there was no way I could go for a run.  I was pretty relieved actually.  I took a wicked hot shower, took some Aleve and my back felt pretty ok for the rest of the day.  Last night I was hopeful again that I could go out running this morning.  I checked my running stuff and left it by the end of the bed, in hopes I could just grab it in the morning.  I slept pretty fair, until around 4:00, I tried to roll over and I felt that awful twinge again.  I was debating with myself about the pros and cons of staying in bed or getting up and running.  I finally decided that it was probably wisest to take it easy for another day.  Why risk further injuring myself?  Plus it's another rainy day.  It's as if Mother Nature is making it easier for me to stay home. 

I never in my wildest dream thought I would miss running so much.  That just seems so strange to me!  But I do miss it.  I haven't run since Tuesday.  I'm already thinking about ways to get out there again.  If my back feels ok, I may try to go out tonight.  And then if that doesn't work, what about tomorrow morning?  And if I run tonight, could I run on Sunday morning before church or would it be better Sunday after church?  If I get off schedule, it seems I start to obsess a bit.  Maybe I am becoming a real runner!! 

So we will see how it goes, I am going to go slow, be gentle and listen to my body when I do go for my run again.  I really don't want to get hurt even more.  I still have more than 2 months to go before the 1/2 marathon.  I don't want to risk not being able to run there.  You can bet, I'm not going to talk about any more potential problems, knocking on wood doesn't seem to really work ;)  

2 comments:

  1. I hope you're feeling better today! I found I miss running too..weird isn't it? I hope this weekend is better weather, both outside and health-wise!

    For some inspiration, read this:
    http://runluaurun.com/2010/07/30/ignoring-pain/

    Alysia
    http://trydefyinggravity.wordpress.com

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  2. Deep breaths, gentle stretches and just take it 1 step at a time. Running in the cool of the evening sounds great.... Be sure to wear white and a reflecting vest or something so people can see you....
    Smile Char you you are doing so well!

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