Fitness Fanatic: Throwing a "fit" without fitness

By Jessie

I was able to fit fitness in today with an early morning yoga sculpt class. I'm used to getting up early on Saturdays for a long run, so the 7:30 am start was no big deal. The teacher was "Austin", who I had never been to before, but she was good. Very structured and motivating. I was still a little sore from the barre class, but I enjoyed the workout.

It was a nice surprise to run into one of my run club girlfriends, who has been sidelined from running for a few weeks due to an injury. She voiced some of the frustration that runners encounter when injured, and I completely understood how she felt.  It's sometimes hard to talk to other runners when you're injured- you envy their runner's high, and inevitably feel worse about your situation. But luckily for this friend, her injury is only temporary, and in the interim, she is still working out hard, and maintaining her enviable level of fitness. In fact, she was heading straight to a spin class AFTER the yoga sculpt class! Impressive!

In March of 2008, I slipped on some black ice on a morning run, and broke my tibia and fibula. Luckily, I didn't need surgery, but I was on crutches for 8 weeks. About 4 weeks into this period, I was allowed to hobble out to the pool, take off my hard-sided boot-cast, and swim laps, as long as I only kicked with the good leg and was really careful with the broken one. Now, you can only imagine how ridiculous I looked, and how dangerous it probably was for me to crutch out to the pool on those slippery surfaces, but I was desperate for the endorphins.  My husband was still running, and it was really hard for me when he'd come in from a nice run, all sweaty and happy...It only deepened my self-pity, and made me feel worse about my situation.

What is an athlete to do, when sidelined by an injury?
I do believe that any activity will help. If you can hobble out to the pool on your crutches, do it. If you can still do your yoga sculpt and your spin, even if you'd rather be running, DO IT.  And, as hard as it is, the time away from your favorite activity will make you appreciate it more, and as cheesy as it is, the experience will make you stronger. Any injury will seem "unfair" to anyone who has been physically active and otherwise healthy, but it's important to move beyond the negative, and find more positive strategies to cope with this setback.  In many cases, dealing gracefully with an injury helps an athlete become a more focused, flexible, and resilient athlete.

Keep your head up, runner friend! I promise you will be back to running soon!

I was able to dig up an old picture, during my "dark days". (Speaking of dark days, my hair sure was short and dark, wasn't it? Now that is NOT a fabulous look for me....)