I’m a psychologists’ kid, I can’t help it.
Here’s my confession: I tried to back out of competing in the Fittest Games. Veronica made me sign up, and I want to compete because it’s fun and I love a good challenge, but I’m worried. I’m worried because I still can’t do muscleups or handstand pushups. I’m worried because I don’t like not winning. I’m worried because I’m thinking about doing a crazy diet (will let you know what it is if I go for it).
Veronica kept telling me, “It’ll be fun! I just want to have fun!”
And she’s right, it will be fun. But here’s the issue: when I don’t want to do something athletic and won’t admit it, I usually manage to hurt myself.
Senior year of high school, I was running cross country. I’d run cross country since freshman year and placed every year. Senior year, I had a new coach who made me run really hard and I didn’t want to because I was only running to get in shape for basketball. She did not understand this. I also ran a 5 minute mile. But I didn’t WANT to run. I wanted to play basketball.
The day before our district meet, I sprained my ankle in basketball practice. I was on crutches for the district meet. But I played basketball in our season opener a week later. I couldn’t have not run—I was a senior, a captain—but if I literally couldn’t run …
… I recall this story because as I debate not competing in the Fittest Games, I have managed to injure my sacroiliac joint (oddly, at the same time as Erika). How did this happen? Not sure. Possibly snowboarding two weekends ago, and it took me walking around with imbalances in the hips for a week for the inflammation to become painful.
I am in a lot of pain. It’s like there’s a knife in my lower back/butt (sort of the area between there). I can’t bend over. I can’t put on pants. Forget shoes, it’s slipons or nothing. But apparently this is par for the course, and there is almost nothing you can do but rest, relax, and see the chiropractor (so says the chiropractor). Oh, and not sit on soft chairs, because apparently that makes it worse.
No more armchair for a desk chair.
I’d like to think I’ve moved past my days of injuring myself so I don’t have to do athletic things I don’t want to do. I’d like to think this has something to do with something else, like maybe not wanting to snowboard now that I’m getting better at skiing and not fearing I’m going to die every time I ski down the mountain. I’d like to think this just happens when you’re attempting so many new things.
But I am worried.
Maybe I just need to stop worrying?
On the plus side, my ankle is finally healing! Oh, and I hit my max back squat last week (225#). With an injured SI joint … 🙂