Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Taking two weeks off of exercise sucks. I hate it. But that’s exactly what I had to do, thanks to the plantar fasciitis in my left foot, and the injury in my right knee. It’s a good thing to let the body heal, so I’m trying to be good, and not rush back into exercise. I don’t want to aggravate anything.

The first week of no exercise was tough, because I missed it, and yearned for it. But then, in the second week, I swung to the far other end of the pendulum and start thinking maybe I’ll never exercise again, and I’m just fine with that thought.

Now three weeks have gone by. Last week, my knee wasn’t bothering me at all, and my plantar fasciitis was to the point where I was barely noticing it. So I decided to slowly wade back into the exercise waters. I did two 30-minute slow rides (on separate days) on my exercise bike, at a lower level of resistance than usual, and afterwards, I still felt fine. I felt pretty good the following mornings, too.

This past weekend, I did a 45-minute actual bike ride on Saturday, through my neighborhood and a few surrounding neighborhoods, going a little under 9 miles. Then, on Sunday, I took JJ for a 2.8 mile walk, which took about 55 minutes.

I’m going to keep playing it by ear, and trying things, and waiting to see how my body responds. Since I exercised both days over the weekend, I’ll probably take Monday off, and do something on Tuesday. Or, I might do some seated weights on Monday evening, because that’s no impact on the legs.

One weekend from today is the Detroit Fight For Air Climb, and it’s a stadium race much like the one I did last month in Cincinnati, except that it’s local. I’m planning on doing it, even if I have to walk it all. Two weeks after that is a similar race in Columbus. At this point I’m planning to do that race, too.

I think having these events on the calendar is ultimately a good thing – they make me pay attention to my body, and force me get moving again as soon as I feel ready. Without them, I may let the hiatus go longer than what’s ultimately needed, and the longer a break from exercise lasts, the harder it is to get back into a routine.

Keep it up, David!

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