My Running Journal, 031810

So no running these past couple of days – my next run is slated to be on Sunday, and will be a 3 miler.

Monday morning during the warm-up in Crossfit we were doing walking handstand drills. Now, I have a background in gymnastics, and handstands are an old hat. But at some point during the drill, I started to feel a little twinge in my left side. By the end of class, the twinge was a dull ache, but my whole body was a little achey/feeling worn, so I chalked it up to the post exercise ache. By the end of the day I was acutely aware that I had probably strained an oblique.

By Tuesday evening the ache hadn’t lessened, but I decided that I would see what it felt like after warming up and getting it mobile – which makes since – one of the best ways of reducing pain in a muscle that is aching due to use is to keep using it – the blood flow helps clear the crap out. In Chinese medicine, pain is caused by a stagnation of blood and/or qi, and so movement is essential.

Instead of handstand drills, we did rope climbing drills. I know how to climb a rope from elementary school, gymnastics, and the USMC. The least fatiguing way to do it is wrap the rope partially around one leg, so that the rope lays over the top of the foot, and then step on the rope with the other foot. This locks the rope between the feet, and with the correct tension between your legs, you can basically climb the rope with almost no upper body strength. However, doing this in minimalist shoes like the Vibrams is a new experience, and since the top of my foot is not calloused, I wanted to not give it rope burn. And I wanted to show off a little bit.

Stoopid. So I tried to climb without my feet. I used to do it in gymnastics, and in the Marines. It isn’t very difficult with enough upper body strength and grip strength. But what I didn’t take into account was the use of your abdominal muscles to stabilize. And how much strain it puts on your obliques, evidently. So when I heard and felt and popping sensation in the bottom of my ribcage, followed immediately by a twisting, excruciating pain, I realized that I was an idiot. I dropped off of the rope, clutching my side. I pressed in to make sure that I hadn’t caused a hernia (nope), but the crackling and popping sound along with the feeling of something moving back into place was a little disconcerting. Since the pain had ceased to be excruciating, and I still had full range of motion, I was pretty sure that I hadn’t torn the muscle in half, or from any of its bony connections. That, at least, was comforting.

So yesterday was a rest and recovery day, as is today, and probably tomorrow and Saturday(although the ocean has calmed down enough that it is probably going to be a great day to go fishing and kayaking, which I haven’t done since October).

I’m trying to not let this get me down. I was in a motivated space where I could see the increase in overall tempo of my training. I was excited to do it, and I was reflecting on how much I actually enjoy running and being physically active. This injury sets me back a week or so training wise, but it is also a test of my ability to heal and recover. It also gives me more time to assess my goals and where I am in achieving them.

Next week, on Monday, I hope to be back in the gym. I have decided that I am also going to train for the marathon using the Crossfit Endurance training paradigm. I’m excited to try it.