Monday, February 29, 2016

MIA, I know; down, but not out

No posts since November.  I was healing from an aggressive barefoot run (went further -- on concrete --  than my barefeet could stand), and while waiting to heal, the construction of our new home kicked into high gear.  I was out on site early nearly every day.  I did a lot of schlepping through mud, and I soon discovered that mud and slopes are a bad combination.  I damaged a tendon in the back of the right knee; most likely the gastrocnemius.

The exact identify of what is injured in unknown, but all the sites I have researched concerning posterior knee pain come to this or the popliteal fossa.  Regardless, the therapy is the same: PRICE.  PRICE being Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (many of yo already know the acronym).  I admit, I have not been able to apply PRICE with any consistency since the injury occurred, as the high activity of concluding construction, hosting a family reunion Christmas, moving in, getting set up in the new house, working with the landscaper, doing other landscaping myself, hanging garage pegboard, throwing out lots of moving-related trash (it is 200 feet from our garage to the street), etc. have gotten in the way of "taking time off".

Further, I have had pains throughout my body, as if every fiber was inflamed.  I do not know the cause, but it went on for a few weeks then gradually faded.  Some lingering pain remains, but the intensity of the pain is much less than before.  All of the above are why I have been MIA -- who wants read a blog of someone's aches and pains?

I laid over a ton (2000+ pounds, ~1000 kg) of flagstone yesterday.  Why?  We needed to access a soft portion of our landscaping, and rain is coming tonight.  This area takes days to dry, and due to some work required in the days after the anticipated rains, we would need the flagstone path.  I think the effort yesterday has forced the time-off issue.  Once the tendon got warmed-up, I could go as long as I did not stop.  After I stopped yesterday, the area behind the knee was throbbing -- it is the worst it has been.  It is now the season of taking the time to apply PRICE.  The casual observer will think me as being lazy, sitting in a La-Z-Boy recliner all day, because they will not see the ice packs and heating pad of convalescing a knee injury.  Ironic, sidelined by a knee injury that had nothing to do with running.

I have missed running throughout the whole time period since the injury,  I go barefoot around here, especially on the driveway, to condition my feet for the task when I can run again.  Sometimes, I spend the entire day barefoot, getting in 10-12,000 steps a day.  My feet and ankle strengths are high, but I need the knee to get well.  Yesterday's activities have forced me to the deeper sideline of PRICE.

I am not in this for just a season, but for life, and this is a part of life.