DropKick
Footballguy
Accountability time! 2022 continues to be a very poor year on the health front. Nothing horrible has happened, I’m just in a big rut. At the beginning of the year I mentioned that I was dealing with left knee pain, and a week of rest turned into two which turned into six — the knee feels better at this point but still not 100%, which is a bit concerning.
Diet sorta fell off with my exercise, too. Still eating decent lunches and breakfasts, still avoiding fast food for the most part, but I’m having too much sugar and WAY too much booze. That needs to change ASAP.
I’m currently trying to work, finish a master’s degree, and find a new job all at the same time, so it’s been way too easy to just hit the snooze button and choose an extra hour of sleep over going on a morning run. And as one can imagine, exercising less + eating worse + drinking a ton has not been great for my mental health either — which makes it even tougher to get back into a healthy routine, and has contributed to my absence from the boards. I’m back in here though because it’s time to make my health a priority again. Going to start with a few small, immediate goals:
-Stretch / foam roll tonight
-Stretch / foam roll tomorrow night
-Run 3 miles Monday as slow as I need to
If my knee can hold up, that should be enough to start some positive momentum again. Hope everyone else is doing well — when I have more free time tonight I’ll try to go through and read everything I missed.
This is like looking in a mirror. It seems that every time I get into a good groove, an injury will derail the game plan. I then find myself coddling a joint and playing a waiting game to return to a challenging level of activity.
Hope you can take something useful from these comments...
Why run three miles? I get the goal oriented approach but maybe just walk for a week or two until you feel comfortable?
Obviously, I don't know the root cause of your knee pain but stretching can be huge. I've had a considerable number of (sometimes expensive) tests done and have been told by orthopedics and rheumatologists that my hamstrings, hips and IT band are extremely tight. I have observed less discomfort in lower body joint when I'm actively stretching. Maybe focus on this for a couple weeks before adding the high impact of running. Even then, maybe start with something less than 3 miles?
H2O is your friend. Find a substitute to the booze. I'll dilute cranberry juice with water and maybe lime juice so its not quite so boring. I usually sleep better without the alcohol and that's a win-win.
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