After Sunday’s woe-is-me post, I put on my big girl panties and went outside for a walk with Capt. UberHusband.  It was BEAUTIFUL outside…one of those fantastic March days which falls sometime between when the pear trees bloom and when they’re blown down by the first tornado of the season.

The walk was slow. Very slow. We’re talking 30-minute mile slow. I walked 1.31 miles, in honor of the half marathon I wasn’t running.  I felt great.

And then…then I got up Monday morning and it was like my entire left leg locked up in protest and said, “WTF?  You don’t use me for 2 months and then you just expect me to perform? Whatevs.”  As I kind of figured on Sunday…I had overdone it.  But, like I told my orthopedist yesterday, “It was sooooo nice outside!”

Speaking of which…I have been officially cleared to toss the crutches aside and walk. I’m supposed to walk as much as I can in terms of day-to-day activities, but I’m limited to 20-minute “fitness” walks for the first week with 24-48 hours between each walk. I can increase the time by 10% each week, and I go back to see him in 6 weeks.  He gave me a solid “B” in terms of general healing, with an A+ coming when I can actually run again.  He’s thinking 2-3 more months before I can start back up with the running.  I told CU yesterday that I can’t imagine actually being able to run again but in all honestly, a few weeks ago I had trouble believing I’d ever get to the point where I could walk around again like a normal person.  It’s odd…I’d been on the crutches or the cane for seven weeks, but I tend to forget that my walking was seriously compromised for a good two weeks prior to that.

I’ve also been advised to start the usual regimen of lower body stretching (time to crack out the Yoga for Runners DVD again) and lower body strengthening.  He isn’t sending me to physical therapy because really, there’s nothing they’d do there that I can’t do on my own.  His words, not mine.  I mentioned my previous diagnosis of a rotated pelvis by my previous ortho, and he said based on my x-rays, he didn’t see anything abnormal with me.  Really.  Then he said he thinks rotated pelvises are over-diagnosed by doctors who just want to send people to PT.  Reallllllllllly.  Hmm.  That was a bit of an eye-opener for me, only because the guy was being honest. My old ortho did precisely that – sent me to PT for three months two years ago to try and solve my IT band issues which were allegedly caused by my rotated pelvis.

Anyhoo…I’m now officially on the rehabilitation track.  I went to get my hair cut and highlighted yesterday and as I was checking out, my stylist wished me luck on my rehab. The guy at the front desk (who is fabulous and has known me the whole 11 years I’ve gone to the salon) got these BIG EYES and said, “YOU’RE GOING TO REHAB?”  LOL.  Yes sir, Dr. Drew and the folks from Non-Celebrity Rehab are out front in their big, white van.

So, yesterday was a good day.  I’m blonde again, and my doctor gave me an excellent prognosis.  Today’s an even better day so far. My left leg has stopped screaming in pain, so I should be able to lace up the shoes and head back out tomorrow.  Now we start the slow, but steady climb back.  Hooray!

It is a beautiful Spring morning in Dallas…45-ish degrees and clear. The sun’s coming up.

Today’s a big day.  You see, today is the inaugural Dallas Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon…the race I decided back in December to start training for.  The race for which I made it to week 4 of my training program before a tiny papercut-esque stress fracture in my pelvis sidelined me first from running, then from walking.  I gotta tell you…today seemed like a LONG ways away when I started my training.

The original deal was that I wouldn’t register until I successfully made it through an 8-mile long run. I didn’t want to register and then wind up not being able to run because I, ahem, injured myself or something. So I was fairly smart in that regard…but still.  I had no idea if I was going to be able to actually run the race, but I wanted to try and see how far I could go. What pissed me off about this whole stress fracture BS was that I wasn’t the one who got to make the go/no go choice.

So yeah, I’m a little down this morning. It was weird. With the whole “spring forward” thing I figured I’d sleep in until 8 or 9 but no, I was up at 5. Ready to go.  I may not be there in body, but I am in spirit. Next year, right?

On a less melancholy note, I go in to the orthopedist on Tuesday for my 7-week checkup.  I’ve been walking around sans crutches here and there the last couple of days, and am trying to decide if the nagging groin pain is just nagging groin pain (it’s not like I’ve used my left leg much in the last two months) or a signal that I’m not yet healed. I’m going to go with the former, until my doctor tells me differently.

I’m ready to start rehab. I’m ready for this long, miserable Winter to be over. I’m ready to get off the five pounds I’ve gained. I’m ready to get on with the rest of my year!