It will all be okay - take a deep breath.

I can't figure out how to word what I want to say. You can't control what has already happened in your ankle, so trust that you are strong enough to deal with whatever the outcome. Control the things you can - hand off work, do something relaxing with a friend, try to get some sleep, or asst least some "calm".

Almost.

So funny you should say that - I have been treating this as a LC race that isn't going well. I keep hitting bottom. I think I was at the "puking on the bike" phase about a month ago. It's getting more and more frequent as my ankle deteriorates and gets even less functional, but I'm just feeling the whole, "I have 5 miles to go. Suck it up." thing. Push.

What I am forgetting is to not worry about what I can't control. I do know, though, that after my ankle locked up 5x on the walk to work this morning, that there is NO WAY IN HELL this is all not happening. It has to.

I am officially desperate.

I'm going to try and take the day off before and go like...take a bath. Get a massage. I can't keep going like I do when I'm healthy. It's so hard to make everyone around me understand what I'm going through right now.

Thanks for the advice.

Maybe add candles, a bottle of wine and some bubbles to the bath! Hang in there.

---

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

You need to figure out how to slow down and be with your fear. It sounds weird but if you can just take some quiet time, work though everything you are worried about and find resolution, it will really help.

The months after my marriage ended were a fog of heartbreak and stress. I wasn't sleeping, I was barely getting to work every day. I can't believe I didn't get fired.

What helped me, aside from sleeping pills, is getting the worry out of my system. I was seeing a therapist and would go in and cry about "what will I do if I can't pay the mortgage?" "what happens if I have to move and I can't find a place that will let me keep my dog and cats?" "how am I going to get him to accept his financial obligations so I don't become poor?" "what if no one ever wants me again?" etc etc etc. Her response to all of that was: Well? What if? What if you have to deal with all this happening, what would you do? She knew I am a person who kicks into action when I have a plan so she was forcing me to kick myself into action.

I answered all those "what ifs" and I felt much more capable of handling whatever came my way.

So, I ask you, what if? What if it takes longer to recover than you thought? What if you don't get your project done? Does it really matter in the big picture? How will that impact you in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years?

Write it all out. I find that helps it get it out of my system.

Then do something wonderful for yourself. Some people like hot baths, some wine, some a massage. Mostly I think it is about self care. I personally love painting my nails. It is nice to see them every day and they are reminder that I think I'm awesome enough to rock swanky nails. I have yellow, bright blue, brown, hot pink, reds, sparkles, matte, pretty much any color you can think of and more. Right now they are a brown with a bit of a purple sheen. I'm re-doing them tonight and will do a bright pink. The weather looks like Spring!

(oh, I saw my trainer tonight and she kicked my ass as usual)

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I'm in! Where's the sign up page?

Goal: workout every day....run, bike, or strength train

Thanks, Jen. That's a really good idea. Plus it'll keep my husband from killing me since my general MO is to want to talk about all those things. A lot if it is really unnecessary worry (e.g., if I have to be out longer, I extend my leave!) But I also like to have a plan for ALL the things. Clearly this is impossible, but not through lack of effort.

The other part that's hard is waiting to put plans in place. Once I start getting the house ready this weekend and doing the little things to make my life easier in advance, I will feel better about it.

Thanks for sharing your experience - very helpful.

Welcome! Since you just registered yesterday, tell us a bit about yourself. This is a challenge for us womens that have been injured and/or recovering from injury. You log your workouts in the ST training log, and sign up for the challenge on the Challenges page.

---

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Well, the challenge got it done for me today. Hip pain had me up at 4 am, and just when I could get back to sleep at 6 the alarm went off. Long day and I was ready to throw the towel in. But the challenge got me on my bike for 30 minutes (my minimum goal for each day).

---

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

I spent 3 hours walking around the mall with a 5lb bag of sand (don't ask). Had some birthday shopping to do for a friend and also picked up a few things for myself. I'm so frigging tired. I was on my feet the whole damn time.

Can I count that? I'll only put myself down for 20 minutes so I won't skew the results.

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I have to ask. 5 pounds of salt? Count it however you want!

Speaking of skewing the results, have you noticed that we've had someone join the challenge that is clearly not injured? Doing doubles, triples and 21/2 hour bike rides? Think we ought to say anything? I just don't want our other participants to feel discouraged seeing those kind of workouts.

---

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

To be fair, your challenge never said it was targeting or only for those who are dealing injury or motivation issues.... jus sayin... we've typically invited all with no limitations...

AP

---

------------------------
"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Yeah, silly me, I never anticipated that folks who weren't part of the discussion that led to the creation of the challenge would join it. Who knew, public forum and all..... ;-)

Honestly, I'm all in for the all inclusive. Like I said, I know what it's like to look at "healthy" results, and just wanted to be sensitive to the feelings of those of us who are not.

---

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

I went for a 45 min dog walk with a friend & was more sore than was warranted for the level of exertion. I don't begrudge anyone their workout - bigger or smaller than mine.

I think I need to look at some new treatment options. I don't feel like my improvement is enough to say that what I'm doing is working.

Ugh, that's so frustrating.

I missed yesterday, everything stacked up and before I knew it I was home at 10 and really tired.

Today I'm planning on taking a walk. I might break out into a short jog here and there to see how the knee feels.

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I didn't realize that this was for ladies recovering from injury. I'm so sorry! I should have read a little more thoroughly.

No problem. That's how it got started, but we're an inclusive bunch so feel free to participate!

---

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

better late than never. I am in. I ran my first marathon in quite a few years, then got a nasty upper respiratory infection. 6 weeks of nearly nothing! I will start logging after today's workout. Thanks : )

An update. I finally resumed the regular training schedule for my marathon a few days ago, after twisting my right ankle AGAIN. To get an endurance cardio workout without damaging my ankle further, I replaced a 16K run with a 100K bike ride, because that's the distance the club was doing. The next day I ran/walked 26K.

While doing the 100K bike ride, my hamstrings started seizing up. By 80K I could not keep up and puttered my way home at 20 kph.

The next day I needed to see if I should still try to do the marathon, or whether I should switch to the half or not run at all. Throughout the run my right ankle was sore, but I could run through it. And at the 3/4 mark, I started having sharp right hip pain, the same pain I have been having on and off since I first started marathon training in earnest in January.

Today I did not want to run at all but I pushed myself and ran 9.5K but I had hip pain, a sore right ankle, and I was tired. The weird thing is, the longer I ran, the less pain I felt. I hope that it was not endorphins covering up the pain and that I am making my injuries worse.

There is no pain at all in the left stress fracture foot. Strange.

I will try to keep to the training plan and see how it goes.

Thank you so much. I do enjoy reading the about your days, so I'll keep up with that.

I'm giving up on the challenge. I'm slumping into a bit of a depression & I'm just going to ride it out for a bit. My back is sore & not really getting better (although not getting worse either), I miss my dog & I am tired ALL THE TIME. Plus we're going on a little road trip for a few days, so there's that.

I'm still rooting for everyone, and I'll get back at it eventually. I'd rather not have to feel like I'm not measuring up for one more thing - I'm hoping letting it go helps me get back into "doing" mode.

Count me as another one who didn't realize it was supposed to be for those who have been injured. The real goal is just to be active 100 days in a row which is what I'm aiming for. Hopefully that's how everyone will look at it and not worry if others are doing more.

:-(

You can't even get in a walk? That's what I've been doing on days where I feel too busy to do anything else. I don't even change out of my work clothes, typically jeans, and keep a pair of sneakers at my desk.

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I get outside with my son everyday - we walk/"bike"/play ball hockey. It just doesn't feel like "enough" somehow. And logging it seems like a lot of work. :( Like I said, I'm not exactly in a happy place right now.

And going for a real walk (faster/longer than 2 year old legs can go) really, really sucks without a dog. Even dog walking with my friend & her dog kind of sucked.

The whole point of the challenge - to get moving in whatever way works for you - just feels kind of pointless. I'm too busy mourning the things I can't do to enjoy the things I can.

I'm too busy mourning the things I can't do to enjoy the things I can.


That is exactly where I am at and that is what I am doing this challenge. Last year at this time I was running 30+ mpw. Now I get to run a total of 5 minutes every other day. It's hard to find enjoyment in what I'm doing right now but just moving is helping me feel better.

I encourage you to stick with us.

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

You got, so go for it!

Wow, I guess I'm not the only one that's been in a dark place. Just last week I was in tears thinking about the fact that now my "fast" walk is a 15 minute mile, and this time two years ago I was running 9:44 marathon miles.

Let's all hang in there together, and keep moving forward!

---

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball