As my two-year old son would say, I've been in a time out for the last six weeks. My chiropractor feels that I re-injured my neck and told me to take time off of training to relax, stretch, ice, heal, massage, rest and recover. Training, even half-as%$d while injured was not helping me and was causing more issues. Minus today's minor setback (a flare up of shoulder blade issues, which I am attributing to an overzealous workout to the Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii), I have had no neck pain for the last 10 days. My weekly visits to my chiropractor for some pro-adjuster work, ultrasound therapy, and electric stimulation therapy has done wonders. I've also been using Myocalm, a supplement designed for muscle repair and relaxation. Overall, minus today's flare up, I feel great.
What have I done since coming off the bench?
-I have been on the treadmill once, for a 1.20 mile run/walk.
-I've had 450 gloriously slow yards in the pool.
-I've had days off to rest and stretch out and ice.
I have been advised to take a day off in-between activities. I am also advised to avoid two/three-a day workouts, for now. This is designed to help me and my chiropractor deduce what motions, activities, schedules, etc. contribute to certain pains, flare-ups, or overall feeling of not so tip-top. That means I get to only run or only bike or only swim one day, take a rest day, and repeat. Take today, for example. I'm pretty sure swinging that Wii remote around while performing my best dance rendition to "Beat it," "Billie Jean," "They Don't Care About Us," and several other hits by the King of Pop, resulted in a sore shoulder/tight shoulder muscles. Duly noted.
I'll be honest, having this much time off has caused a loss of self-confidence in my ability to train properly and kick the upcoming 70.3 miles in the booty in July. I am not a professional triathlete nor do I plan to finish in four hours. Six would be great, but I'm just shooting for the finish. Period. But, there is this nagging sense of self-doubt that I may not even make it to the starting line. I did set up my bike trainer today so maybe that will help. Now that I have the triathlon trifecta of training gear (shoes, pool, and trainer), 70.3 is real. It's a real goal that I really am working towards. Just slowed down the work pace for now.
The limitations I have right now are in place to improve the efficiency of my training and keep me moving forward. Running will be the hardest to step back into as I feel the motion of my arms swinging back and forth could possibly result in additional flare-ups of the shoulder blade annoyance I'm dealing with today. But, this is only another challenge. It's time to get moving, even if it is more slowly than I'd like to. Baby steps back into the training. I still have over six months to make it to the starting line and that whole day to cross the finish line. I can only do what I can, seek assistance with healing/recovery when needed, and pray my training is executed safely, and keep my head up high. With God, all things are possible.
Keep on Movin'
Tyson (Iron Mike in Training)
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