Phase 2: The Ross River Triathlon
Tonight I sat on the couch with a sore ankle that still plays up with Ross River Fever symptoms nine months after I was diagnosed. I popped onto this here website and found an old blog I had never posted. Reading it helped me realise just how far I've come and now, I'm feeling grateful that the little sore ankle let me run 6k this morning, and most mornings this week, pain free. Here's the blog that I reminisced upon, written in March of this year.
As the two month mark approaches I'm well and truly sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm sick of complaining. I'm tired of sitting around. I'm sick of trying to get moving and paying for it. I'm tired of the pain.
Last week, after a good few days on anti-inflammatory meds, I attempted a 'run'. And by 'run' I mean a 7:18min/km shuffle. The sun shone. Birds sang. My heart smiled. And, to be honest, my lungs burned because 5 weeks without exercise apparently affects your cardio fitness. Who knew!? The following day I went for a short ride and a swim. My mum called it the Ross River Triathlon. A dip in the bay, 8km on the bike and a 2.5k run! My Ross River Triathlon took place over two days and day three had me feeling like I'd done an olympic distance. Exercise as I knew it was officially off the table, even with the performance enhancing anti-inflammatories I'd been shovelling down my throat.
It was time to focus on what I could do. Physically. Without pain and without regret the following day. And so the experiments began. My kitchen became my gym (lots of benches and handles to steady myself with) and I winced my way through a symphony of moves that were once the norm. What follows is a summary of what I can do. I've done you all the favour of leaving out the myriad of things that made me want to cry or throw something.
Squats: I can't squat. My ankles don't bend that way right now. But if I go onto my tip toes (not too far because, my ankles don't bend that way either), I can squat without pain. Even better, if I do small pulses at the bottom of the squat, rather than straighten my legs each time, my knees don't hurt but my quads do! Winner!
Donkey Kicks: Yes, I thought! Perfect! No pain! Then I tried it on the left and copped some pretty horrendous stabbing pain in my knee. Maybe not. Because nobody wants an uneven booty an adaptation was in order and I found that with straight legs, I can complete this booty burner on both sides. The only problem is getting up and down from the floor. Oh, and the fact that I have to get my balance absolutely perfect so there is zero weight where my shin and ankle touch the floor because again...my ankle doesn't bend that way right now.
Sit-ups: I can't do the sit-up position. When laying on my back with my knees bent, my ankles can't bend enough to point my feet so they're flat on the floor. But, if I shimmy in towards a wall and prop my toes up at precisely the right angle, I can do sit-ups without any pain in any of the wrong places. Washboard abs here I come!
Bicep Curls: On the days my wrist and fingers aren't playing up, I can curl my biceps until my heart is content. Or until my upper body strength runs out. I'm pretty sure we all know it's the latter.
My active wear is on as I type this.
I still come home with swollen ankles. I still sit on the couch with an icepack most evenings. But I also scull magnesium. I shot olive leaf extract like the tequila I wish it was. I sip apple cider vinegar with a face that resembles a cat's butt. And I will get back to moving my body the way it used to.
So there you have it. A journey back in time that tonight leaves me with the practice of gratitude that someday I'll get better at practising more often.
