I laced up my shoes this morning, and not to get on the elliptical!
After my MRI last night (at 9pm, holy hell. More on that in a minute.) I got home and feeling really beat down by an all-over exhausting day, I decided I was going to try running in the morning. Maybe it wasn't a good idea, but I'm proud of myself, and sticking to my decision.
Yesterday was mentally and physically exhausting. Lots of changes happening at work, aside from the general difficulty of my job, and I really wanted a bit of a mental break. I've been going to the gym every morning (Monday through Friday at 5am, Sunday at 8am) for three weeks (before that it was 5 days a week, not 6), on the elliptical or stationary bike, and I had reached my breaking point. I'm tired, sluggish, bored, and needed a change. I was going to take this morning off, but after yesterday... Well.
It took two weeks from seeing a doctor to get an MRI, and at this point I am 100% pain-free. In fact, I was pain free about three days after seeing the doctor, but had been advised against running. I got to the office at 8:30 last night (in Kenmore Square, in Boston. First time driving myself on Storrow! Got all turned around and honked at!) for a 9:00pm MRI. My first MRI, and I had been warned about how loud it would be. Understatement. The technitian gave me a choice of music, and I went for Abbey Road (that's The Beatles, you youngun.) and could barely hear the lyrics when the machine was doing its thing.
It was remarkably hard to keep still. Being told "Don't do [x]" makes it neigh-impossible for me to think of anything else. Yom Kippur has always been difficult for this reason. So, "Try not to move your foot" made me hyper-aware of my foot, and how badly I wanted to twitch it. (BUT I DIDN'T. Amazing.) It was over by the very beginning of "I Want You (She's so Heavy)," which was faster than I anticipated. Results should come in today, but that didn't stop me from lacing up this morning.
First run back after five (FIVE) weeks off of running was so hard. Hard because my legs felt heavy. Hard because I felt slow. Hard because I could feel that I'm not where I was a month ago. Hard because this Sunday was going to be my first half-marathon.
I ran two miles. They felt great. I have to be okay with taking things slowly.
