Injury
Way back last year, in anticipation of my Apple Watch and wanting to be more fit, I got back into running. I previously would run, and I had the great opportunity of having a friend who got me into it, but I had never really gotten back into it for almost a year at that point. To get back into I used Runkeeper on my iPhone, and focused on just going farther and farther. Once I got my Apple Watch, it escalated a lot more and I wanted to keep on pushing my calorie goal more and more.
That, relatively speaking, didn't last a long time.
Although I ran more than I had before, and was able to go further and loved the hell out of it, there was a point where because I was so new, I pushed myself a little too hard. I got injured, (in July, my left ankle and right knee), and ended up completely grinding to a halt.
From there I kind of fell into a spot of laziness. Going from running about 5 miles every day (which was me pushing myself too hard), not allowing for a full recovery, and probably getting a little too reliant on a runners high, I ended up getting just really let down and lost some motivation to keep on pushing myself.
Now, this year, I started running (finally) after about 4 complete months of not running at all. And man has it felt a lot better this year. I’ve been making sure to follow a training plan, but, since obviously no training plan can know how you feel, I made sure to not push myself too hard simply because my iPhone or Apple Watch told me too. Sure, missing a day may make me lose a shiny virtual badge, but I needed to make sure that I didn’t fall into that same slump again.
Earlier this month, I ended up doing something, (I’m still not entirely sure what since as much as I would LOVE to get an MRI, they're expensive), to my knee, making it so I can’t really run those 14+ milers I would usually do, or even run about 1/2 of a mile without pain. So instead, I’ve focused on what I can do: I used the elliptical a lot over spring break, and now I'm working on stationary cycling. I visited a doctor and figured out what I should focus on while we wait and see if my meniscus is toast or if maybe (please) it’ll heal on its own, and a stationary cycle and elliptical are what came up as alternatives to running.
This week I’ve started using a stationary cycle at the gym, and I’m making sure to start off slow. I want to push myself, because I have calorie goals and previous bars that I’ve set that I need to reach, like running for long stretches of time, but I’m also making sure that I familiarize myself with how to exercise in new ways so I’m not completely reliant on running.
Hopefully I'll be able to get back into running soon, and once that day comes I’ll probably be running a lot faster than I should at first, but I know to pace myself. I can reach the same goals without suddenly becoming a marathon runner overnight, and I can definitely beat the goals and previous ‘records’ I’ve set for myself.