What I Learned From Being Injured
By KCY
Every runner has injuries. I’ve certainly been no exception. First it was my iliotibial (IT) band and then it was the front of my ankle. They could never diagnose that one but we all agreed it was most likely from too much running. And then it was my Achilles. Again, from running but this time it was from ramping up my speed too much.
Every runner dreads this injury. Because it can put you out for a long time. I’m talking months. So, when it happened to me, I asked myself what I could do besides the obvious physical therapy exercises to strengthen my ankle and stretch my sore Achilles.
I began to swim.
Full disclosure here. I really dislike swimming. Like, really dislike it. And not only do I dislike swimming, but what’s even worse, the doctor said NO KICKING. No Kicking! So, that meant swimming with a pull buoy. You know, those little blue and white striped foam things you put between your legs. They keep your legs afloat while you swim with just your arms. I hate the pull buoy. I hate it because I have weak arm muscles and I can never really go fast enough to get my heart rate up and stay warm in the water. Consequently, my feet turn blue, so blue they resemble said pull buoy.
Alas, though, I couldn’t really do anything else, so I swam with the pull buoy. And I discovered something: swimming calmed my mind. My right arm coming out of the water then diving back in to push the water with my palm and then my left arm coming up and out of the water. Breathing on the left. Five strokes. Then the right. It was all so methodical and exactly what my busy mind needed to slow down, to become mindful of the moment. I’d been trying to achieve and practice mindfulness and here I was injured, forced to swim, and swimming was helping me to achieve that Zen moment!
Not only, that, even though my heart didn’t pump like it did when I ran, I felt tired after I swam. And, my weight stayed stable. It didn’t go up. So, I must’ve been working my body.
As I swam more, my body stayed lean and my mindfulness practice improved. This spilled into my home life, work life and social life. I was less stressed. More happy. More smiley. I was more willing to live in the moment and worry less about the tomorrows.
When I was cleared from my doctor to start running again, my swim sessions decreased. But I kept them up to at least two times a week because I wanted to exercise my mind still. I wanted to maintain that calm and peace.
So, maybe it was a good thing I injured my Achilles, because what it led me to find was an exercise that helped my psyche as well.
What exercise helps both your body and mind?