Rest Day Thoughts - Rehabbing on the Run

This is a post about rehabbing on the run.

I'm not a physical therapy virgin  Prior to this current stint, I was rehabbing my other calf last November/December.  About 60% of the stuff I'm doing now, I was doing in my last PT jail time.

The difference?

Last time I could take a couple weeks off, gently start running again, and not worry about my pace. I could rehab my injury in prime speed. This time... not so much. I'm exhausted in the process.

Note: Your experience may vary

I asked my physical therapist how long this would take the heal if I rested vs my current training needs to feel "normal" again. 1-1.15 months if I rested and eased back vs 3 - 4 months of doing what I do now. So <20 miles a week to recover vs >60mpw. Mental ouch. I obviously won't be going to therapy that entire time. Likely only a couple more weeks.

Don't take me wrong, I'm happy to be able to push through my runs and be close to my times, but how I feel the rest of the day after my run is completely different.  I normally feel super human all morning and want to run again.  Now my legs are just like NOPE! Sit down mofo, we hurt.

It is sort of like being Yoda in  Attack of the Clones. Hobbling around most of the time, trying to conserve your running force and channeling it for your hard runs.  You know you got the ability to do it, just have to believe in yourself, and maybe take an Ibuprofen the night before..You run it, then hobble again.



Now in my head, I always pretend that injury/rehab/return process is like this:


Except it isn't.  Therapy feels good at the time (painful good) , but they don't tell you that for one to a few days after, that worked on area can be a wonky mess.

It is like Jenga.  You walk in with whatever junk built up in your leg, they break it down, so your body can put it back together properly. During this process, weight bearing and going full tilt on that muscle is a show of stubbornness and a mental battle to decide when you are hurting yourself and when you are running over the hurt to get better.

This blog has helped me remember what pains and aches I have every day to recant to the therapist for her notes and plan for the day.  This at least helps mentally to have more confidence in the professionals hands that torture me.  They also have been upping the intensity of the exercises, as I'm now building up a sweat for the 75 minutes they build me up and tear me down.

Last night, I was spent by the time I got home.  Getting off the couch and dealing with the tot was a challenge.

But always worth it!

Happy Friday Eve!