To Run Free

by Jane Victoria King in Illustrator

Treadmills are no fun. But in a pinch they’ll do better then nothing.

Especially if you’re not sure how long you’ll last and whether or not cement (closest option) is the best thing.

Today I got to sweat. I got to sweat! I got to sweat!

First run in four months since my accident where I really got to run. The fear of one foot in front of the other was gone.

As the salt beaded up and my headband moistened I put on the grin. Full of gratitude. Enormous amounts of gratitude.

This body can heal!

I felt for those who couldn’t do what I was doing today.

Not that I went longer than 20 minutes. But the feeling of freedom, from pain, from all inhibitions sent my heart souring with super large amounts of appreciation for my ability to run.

To RUN!

To run free.

Boned Up

Thought rest and easy workouts would heal me up. Turns out I was wrong.

Recent x-ray results reveal I’m not done yet. Typically bones heal in four to six weeks. So I was told. Given my pelvic fractures are in the lower moving part of the body - one physiotherapist said eight.

So I’m creeping up to 13 weeks now and I’m still working on it.

But here’s an interesting tidbit. A recent visit to my Osteopath taught me more about the process then anything else.

Aside from the obvious nutrition factor, there’s something called the Wolff's Law. It illustrates the need for stress on the bones to heal.

In my case, this would be walking or running and weight training.

For years I’ve run. I can recall the fierce feeling of strength in my nails after a workout. I didn’t realize at the time, the impact pounding has on calcium in bones.

Since my Achilles flare up last year I turned to cycling as the primary sweat factor. Lately it’s been swimming, yoga and some cycling.

Today I tackled the treadmill for the first time. I jogged for 15 minutes. Amazingly my day fluttered along with NO back pain. I also incorporated weights and stretches into the visit.

Thinking this kind of regime is what everyone needs to age healthily in their bones.

Maybe now I’ll get boned up!