Sidelined...

Well, whatever I did to my back has thrown a wrench into all of my training plans. Last Friday I went to the commissary (like normal), had the baggers help me out to the car (like normal), got the kids in their car seats (like normal), then got into the driver's seat and had a sharp pain on the right, lower side of my back.

I made it through the weekend with motrin, the heating pad, and some light stretching. Monday was much of the same, but I wasn't feeling any better. When I woke up Tuesday, the pain was so bad that I had trouble getting the kids out of bed, bending, and getting up and down from the floor (for diaper changes and Brady's shoes). I called George and begged him to meet me at the ER (not without some tracking down, though - why do men have cell phones if they aren't going to carry them?). My pain level was at an 8/10 (my personal 10 was the pain of childbirth!).

The ER was surprisingly fast - too fast. I was in and out in an hour. I didn't like how rude and abrupt the ER doctor was with me. He wrote the Rx for pain medication and anti-inflammatories and turned me loose. George let me take a nap yesterday afternoon while the kids slept, but I still didn't feel better. I kept rotating the medications and changing positions, tried doing little things (folding laundry, putting things away). I slept with the heating pad on (it turns off after 2 hours as a safety) and was able to take both the percocet and motrin at 5:30 after feeding Lexi. I woke up groggy, glad I'd made a follow up appointment with my PCM.

The ER doctor had nixed the 10K yesterday. After describing my previous training, symptoms, and upcoming training, the doctor today strongly suggested that I not run the half-marathon, too. I'm still allowed to try for the 10-miler, thank God. I am hoping that I will feel good enough to try to run the Clarksville half-marathon the first weekend in November. I'm just bummed that I had to drop out of something I was doing with my sorority sister, Stacy, and George. It's just so frustrating since I still don't really know what I did to my back. The ER doctor thinks I did it putting the kids in the car seats - he said that's the most common reason young moms complain of back pain since the car seats are always at awkward angles and heights.

I suppose the good news is that my pain level is a 6/10 today. Thank goodness for small favors.