I used to be pretty much constantly injured
From 2006 to 2010 I was getting injured all the time. Feet, shins, ankles, knees, hips, quad, hamstrings, I injured it all during that time. In fact, I seemed to only have brief periods of time between injuries where I could play at my full ability. It sucked, I just attributed it to being “old” (read: mid-20s) and that injuries and soreness were just the price of activity past your teenage years.
Transitioning to invulnerability
All of that changed in 2011 when I transitioned from a mostly-processed food vegetarian diet to a whole-food, high-raw vegan diet. For 10 months I pushed myself and pushed myself but just did NOT get injured. My workout schedule naturally ballooned to 6 days/week because I constantly had energy and was rarely sore. I have been running longer distances, lifting heavier weights, shredding longer at footbag practices. It’s like I’ve invulnerable. I just did not get injured. I rarely even got sore.
Likewise, in 2011, I haven’t been sick. Bad colds and bugs have gone around my office, my wife has gotten sick multiple times… and I haven’t gotten much more than a few sniffles. Now I understand why people on really healthy diets get so frustrated with western medicine. When you work to pro-actively cultivate health in your life, it’s like there is no place for disease. That though, is a topic for a whole ‘nother post, maybe a whole book at some point.
At some point the ride had to end
Well, it finally happened, I finally got injured. The worst part is, it was doing something kind of stupid. A few days after my half marathon I decided to try to go for my first run in my vibram five-fingers (you know, those shoes that look like a cross between a sock and a glove?). I read up on the internet about it. Apparently you should only run 1/4 mile or less the first few times. I foolishly thought given my diet, my invulnerability-streak and that I had just ran a half-marathon, I could push the rules a little bit. Nope. I ran about 3/4 mile before my calves started to hurt. The next day, they were incredibly tight and I had difficulty walking around. That cleared up a couple days later so… Yesterday, I went for a run in my regular running shoes. I got about 2 miles when my calves and my ITB started to hurt. Again, I’m struggling to walk today.
Well, now what?
So I guess it will be stretching and foam rolling for the next few days. Luckily it’s not too bad, I’ve been injured much, much worse in the past. But I’ve gotten hurt enough times to learn my lesson on how to bounce back from these injuries. I’ll be laying off the running, and hitting the foam roller really hard the next few days.
