Starting Over: How an Injury Brought My Exercise to a Whole New Level

December 23rd, 2010…a date that will be in my memory forever. It was the day I tore my Lis Franc joint in my foot – an almost guaranteed career-ending injury for most professional athletes – and an injury that would forever change my physical activity. If you have ever had a foot, ankle or other injury, you know the pain of being sidelined while your favorite activities continue on without you. I went to a specialist and he told me not only “no running for 6 months,” but that I would have to even limit walking and (GASP!) only wear shoes with no heels. I thought I could never be compliant… there’s no way I would be able to live without running (my stress relief) for 6 months. How much weight would I gain? How fat would my dogs get if I couldn’t take them running? Would I lose all my running skills? What would happen to my timing? And my stride? I started telling myself that I would probably heal faster than my doctor was telling me… that there was no way this pain would endure for 6 months. But, it did. And yet, even though I didn’t think it could be done, I made it through that long recovery period and I even learned something in the process…

I used to start every day with a 5-mile run, and suddenly, that was no longer an option. Well, before you break out the tissues for me – STOP YOURSELF… because out of the dark cloud of not being able to go running, came a renewed interest in other forms of non-impact activities like cycling, weight lifting, body sculpting, and walking. I even dusted off some old exercise DVDs. And although we have a home gym, I joined a gym for more options of the kinds of exercise I could do. After the initial 6 weeks of no weight on my right foot/leg, I was cleared for some exercise – and while nothing replaced running for me – it was fun trying new types of exercise that I never thought I would do.

Something stuck with me that my trainer once told me: Physical activity isn’t about what is comfortable – it is about what is possible. So with that in mind, I decided to look at this as a test – a test of tolerating what I needed to do to manage my stress level and also to manage my weight. In spite of the challenges I had over the first 6 months of 2011, I have lost weight and started to really enjoy physical activity again. Now I look forward to running with my dogs – I have SUCH an appreciation for running now - and to the days I do my long runs, as I am training for a half marathon once again. Through this whole ordeal, I have learned that while we may have limitations at times, anything is truly possible and you CAN conquer an injury.

The next big day for me? December 4th, 2011, when I’ll run in the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon.
 

by AshleyW on 11/03/2011 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, motivation, exercise, mood, strategies