Don’t Let Me Hear My Body Talk. My Body Talk.
I have to say, I’m feeling more than a little disappointed.
Since I began this process last year, it seems I have come across obstacle after obstacle. Whether they be physical, emotional, universal or Mother Nature….al. I feel like whenever my heart joyfully cheers “Go for it!” and my head cautiously agrees “Yes, go ahead and try it, if you want.” then my body responds with a bothered “What the EFF are you trying to do to me?!” Because I’m only human, my body usually wins the battle between positive thinking and repugnant pain.
I’ve apparently led more of a sedentary adult life than I thought. Maybe it wasn’t my metabolism that all but shut down at a certain age, maybe it was (gasp!) me! I admit, I haven’t been as active as I could have been, what with all the house maintenance, work and paying bills, but I didn’t realize my body had pretty much given up on keeping muscle around just in case it ever needed to call upon its strength. I thought we were a cohesive unit. Now that I’m trying to move about and do something to better my physical self, my body is giving me the “I told you so!” lecture ten-fold.
Sure, there were warning signs. The creaky neck, grinding knees, the muscles that were sore even when nothing was done with them. Those things have been going on for years. In all of my research prior to heading off into this fitness wilderness, I was led to believe I could halt or even reverse some of those ailments. Now, as I sit here with ice on my knees, heat on my back and Biofreeze on my shins, I’m left wondering. “What the EFF am I doing to myself?!”
The coaches in the running class, along with the other students, all provide a wealth of encouragement and sometimes they even laugh at my ill-advised jokes just to make me feel better. It works. I do feel better when they’re laughing. Then the whistle blows, indicating it’s time to run again, and off they go while I traipse along in the dust that is left behind. Dreaming. Calling upon my inner, thinner self to provide me with the fortitude to keep my momentum moving forward.
This week, I’ve had my first session where I felt I needed to walk most of the intervals just to get by and finish the class. I purchased a calf brace that had Velcro so I could adjust it to fit. It is meant to assist with my shin splints. I also purchased some Biofreeze, on the advice of friends. Biofreeze is comparable to Icy Hot and I rub it on my shins before I begin the class. Wednesday was the first day I tried both items out. Not both on the same leg, mind you. That is not advised and without even reading the warnings on the packaging, I knew it would be a very bad and painful idea. Instead, I opted to put Biofreeze on one and the brace on the other.
The session began merrily enough. The usual random chattering could be heard across the collection of groups as we completed our warm-up walk before beginning our first interval. At that point, I didn’t have a shin care in the world. One was feeling breezy and icy while the other was feeling supported and warm.
Then the whistle blew.