Yesterday morning I woke up bright and early and was able to see another glorious Colorado sunrise. It's mornings like those that make me realize how blessed I am and how every morning is another chance to shine. How we should never take the little things for granted...how there is such peace in an early morning when most of the world is still sleeping. It's a time for reflection, a time to plan for the day ahead, and a chance to be thankful for the day that has past.
After a lot of travel over the past 6 weeks and being completely out of my workout regimen, I was a little nervous to go to the PT yesterday and hear what he had to say about my hamstring and my road to recovery. I had followed his guidance and had cut way back on running, had been working on my strength training and stretching as often as I remembered. Like everyone, I have goals...some I have vocalized and some I have not. Playing soccer this fall, running the stairs at red rocks...those are goals for sure, but ones that give me a little bit more time to heal. The Manitou Springs Incline closes this weekend for the remainder of the year as they do some much needed trail maintenance. For those that have been reading from the beginning, you know my obsession with this thing and also how I haven't been able to do it in months because of my leg. Secretly, all I wanted was a green light to attempt the incline one more time this calendar year. And this brings me to yesterday's appointment...
First off Marty Levine, my physical therapist at Push Fitness (http://www.pushfitnesscolorado.com) is so amazing! Not only is he super easy to talk to, but he explains everything that's going on with my body. Because of my background he gives me a very scientific explanation as to what's happening and why and what I need to do to try and fix everything. He always makes sure I fully understand what he's said and then walks me through the next set of exercises I'm allowed to put back into my workout routine. Yesterday was no different. After explaining to me that my medial hamstring on my left side is still weak, we went through several exercises to help strengthen that as well as work on my glute strength. Because your glutes act as both a stabilizing muscle and a source of power/strength...working on them has been a key component in my recovery. After some work on the PT table, we then found ourselves on the gym floor working on a few new things.
After our session was over, Marty asked me if I had any questions. After I hesitated for a minute, he knew something was up and I was deciding whether to ask or not...so I bit the bullet knowing that he could possibly say no and then I would be disappointed. Me: "What do you think about me doing the incline?" Marty: "When are we talking?" Me: "This week." Marty: Silence. After a bit of a sly little smile on my part, he knew that this was something I really wanted to do and knew that the trail was closing, so....he agreed, but not before he gave me some tips on how to do it and not lose everything I've worked on for the past 6 weeks.
So...with that being said, the incline it is this week!! Marty couldn't help but smile when I walked out of his office because he for the first time saw my genuine smile...the smile that was brought on by LISTENING to him and others regarding my recovery, by my own perseverance to not let this injury stop me from my goals, and by me finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!
It might not seem like much of an accomplishment by many, but being given the green light to go ahead and do the incline was monumental to me yesterday! Like Martin Luther King Jr once said, "If you can't fly then run. If you can't run then walk. If you can't walk then crawl. But whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." So moving forward is what I'm doing, and later this week...moving up as well...about 2,200 feet up that is!!!
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