Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Sometimes, things just work out...

"So bend to your trouble and meet your care,
For the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair.
Let the rain come down, as it must and will,
But keep on working and hoping still.
For in spite of the grumblers who stand about,
Somehow, it seems, all things work out."

From the poem: Things Work Out
By: Edgar A. Guest

Yesterday, I ran a 10K non-stop...I wanted to see how my knee would hold up. It got pretty hot as I was running and that wasn't easy, but the knee? No problem! It did good and I am thrilled (even my pace was back to pre-injury). When I got home, I decided I would try and go for a massage. I had the day off and the new running shoes and form is finding new calf muscles to torture, so why not take advantage. The first place I called, no answer (oh well, I wasn't crazy about her massage last time, so okay)...the second place I thought of, not opened on Mondays (hmmmm). Oh well, perhaps another day. Then as I was working on reports, my phone rang and it was one of my sister's-in-law, the one who is a massage therapist and who used to work with figure skaters and football players. Duh! I had not thought of her, probably because I rarely get massages and they're often at spas and the like. Well, YES, she had a free spot for me that afternoon at 4:30! When I got there, she asked me to lay on my back to begin because she always does "pressure therapy" on the legs while she works the neck and shoulders...YES, compression on my whole legs for at least 20 minutes...perfect! Then, she worked those leg muscles like they were playdoh and believe me, it felt great (after...not during...ouch). I can't believe I had this ressource right there in my figurative back yard and I never used it before. You can be sure I'll be going back...I mean, pressure therapy...wow! For those of you who don't know what that is, she puts these long boots on my legs, these cover the whole legs, and then air blows into the boot, squeezing my leg, alternating from one leg to the other. Like compression socks, but for the whole leg and warm. Loved it :)

So, sometimes, things just work out don't they...

Last, but certainly not least, today I graduated from physiotherapy. Joseph gave me my walking papers after testing my ability to adapt. That is, maintaining my 180 steps per minute, with varying speed and incline changes (not bad...definitely not perfect). He's happy with my knee and with my transition into the new minimalist shoes...and if he's happy, I'm thrilled! So, although he's reminded me that 42.2K is not like 21.1K...he's given me the go-ahead to keep training for my marathon. I promised to remain cautious and listen to my body...but Yay!! (remaining a little cautious)

Cheers!

27 comments:

P said...

Hooray for massages and graduation from PT! Sounds like you had a wonderful day!

Andrew Opala said...

Tabernacle! Cool news! Great news!

As you know I just joined the 10K club yesterday ... you of course are an ace! Good luck and I know it will be great for you!

180 bpm! How do you do that? I can't get my heart over 151.

ajh said...

Yeah! That is great you can still train for the marathon!

Julie said...

Nice job on running a 10K without stopping! That is great news Anne...marathon training is waiting for you:) I love massages after runs...even if they hurt during. I always feel better after:)

Andrew Opala said...

LOL 180 steps per minute! I get it.

From one badass to another! LOL

Char said...

What a happy blog! I'm so pleased that things are going so well. Keep up the good work.

Teamarcia said...

Yay for the massage and for graduation out of PT!

Anne said...

:) Oops...thanks for pointing that out though Andrew...I'll change it now :)

Beth said...

Awesome! You are doing great. Enjoy your marathon training!

Irene said...

Congrats on getting your walking (uh, running?) papers! Yay! You've made a lot of great progress.

Firefly's Running said...

Congrads! The massage sounded heavenly!

Jamoosh said...

Holy smokes - all that and it's not even the weekend!

Black Knight said...

Congrats, why is my wife a teacher and not a physioterapist? Enjoy your marathon training.
Anyway thanks a lot for the tag.

Jennifer said...

Great news is just flowing from your direction! And yay, for the excellent message!

Laura said...

So glad your knees feeling better, that's great news :-)

Adam said...

NICE!!! 180 steps per min is super fast - but that small stride really helps prevent injury. Nice work on the 10k!!

Emz said...

Sooooooooooooooooo happy you are still training. YAY for happier knees too!

Marlene said...

Glad you were able to enjoy a nice massage afterall!

CONGRATS on graduating from physio. You should be in great shape to continue your training. Yay!!

Suzy said...

Woo hoo!!! Congratulations on graduating. Keep right on running.

Amy said...

that pressure therapy sounds awesome! serendipity is great isn't it?

Love2Mags said...

Congrats on everything!!! Being able to run again pain free and graduating from PT!! I'm so happy to hear your knee is better!! And kudos on the massage!! I'm going to look up pressure therapy...it sounds wonderful!!!

Jill said...

YAY, DOUBLE YAY for everything! Such great news, I'm very happy for you!!! :)

Kelly said...

Congratulations on your "graduation"! That massage therapy sounds lovely... good find.

MomRunningFromCancer said...

Glad you knee is back! Yahoo!!!

How wonderful that your sister-in-law is a massage therapist. It isn't something that I do on a regular basis - but should. It sounds like it was a wonderful massage. Love the compression work on your legs.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

You are lucky to have such a handy sister-in-law. Your massage sounds wonderful!

Congrats on the "graduation".

Iron Mike said...

If it means anything to you, just visualizing your description of that pressure therapy made my legs feel better.

You've been a great patient and deserve the "OK" to pursue the marathon. Such fun training awaits!

Adam said...

That is so awesome about the 10K....and probably quite a bit MORe awesome about the knee cooperating! way to go