Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Injured :( Means one month off the road, and in the water

I have an epic post coming, the tale of a fabulous weekend with some wonderful friends and an amazing race. It's halfway written.

I'm posting this first though, because I want that post to be on top. I'm back on the DL. I can't run for a month.

My lower back has been pestering me lately. Not intense, serious, killer pain, but instead a lingering "maybe I should take care of this at some point" discomfort. I had tried two different chiropractors here, didn't like either of them (crack crack crack that'll be $20 goodbye), but with a half marathon Sunday I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to get adjusted. I ended up in a small family chiropractor's office, and the doctor spent more time with me than the other two combined, and after running several tests with that hammer they use to test reflexes and this scary pinwheel torture device, he concluded something was wrong with a disc in my fourth lumbar (medical term over my head).

He told me no running for a month. "But I have a half marathon Sunday." Negotiation ensued. I could run it if I agreed to see him the day after.

Despite this, I wasn't very happy, and wallowed in my own pity Friday night.

Saturday morning, Facebook presented a solution.

This New York Times column perfectly describes why I love swimming. In this smartphone ridden world, there's no chance to get away from screens, from people, from noise—except when you're under water. When I'm swimming I think about nothing except counting laps and my stroke, and I come up relaxed and clear headed.

But I haven't had any swim training since I took lessons at the Y more than a year ago. Since then I've practiced, slowly working my way up to the point where I did the Musselman 1.2 mile swim in less than 50 minutes. But I haven't had any more formal training, I figured I can get by, do the distance in a reasonable amount of time, so I'll focus on the other two sports.

On Facebook that morning, I saw an opportunity to join a master's swim program.

It starts Sunday, and it is four days a week through the month of March. The water will be good for healing my back, and a nice distraction from not being able to run.

Friday I'm going to go swim the 1.2 miles as a benchmark. We'll try it again at the beginning of April, to see how much faster I get! :)

1 comment:

  1. A bit of discomfort can lead to bigger problems if ignored. In any case, seeing your chiropractor as soon as you had the time proved that you are disciplined about your body and are mindful about the discomfort you felt. I'm glad to know that you are taking up swimming again. I hope you're feeling better, Jessica! Take care! :)

    Jacqueline Hodges @ Dr. Koziol

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