Play Within Your Means

Backstory:  My  husband, Tim, and I have both played competitive volleyball throughout our adult years.  We met playing doubles in our twenties and both played beach volleyball competitively; most weeks one, if not both of us, still plays at least one game of volleyball somewhere.  We took a decade off from playing together and recently started playing doubles together again.  Now that we are older, less flexible, more likely to break something, deconditioned, etc., I remind him before every game: “Play within your means…you don’t want to break a hip or something”.   Since my level of fitness has become much better over the past 6 months, I’ve found myself saying “Play within YOUR means” as if I’m now immune to injury.    A little on the cocky side, like that twenty-something I used to be who could play in two volleyball tournaments every weekend throughout the summer and have nothing but a sunburn and a bad hangover each week in terms of lasting effects.

Last weekend:  I was slated to be on a relay team for the Ironman 70.3.  I was going to be the swimmer for the swim/bike/run event – I trained well for the swimming and I had done the 1.2 mile distance in open water several times over the past few months.  Then, I got THE EMAIL….our runner had the flu and was out of commission.  So what do I do?  I offer to do the run in addition to the swim….even though I hadn’t trained for the distance.  I had run 11 miles for the first time a couple of weeks earlier, so I figured how bad could 13.1 be?  I was feeling fit, strong, confident - why not give it a shot?  I immediately set two goals for myself….run the entire distance (never jog/walk) and complete the leg in less than 2 hours.  Really, Brenda?  How about just complete the race, enjoy the day, and run the farthest distance that you’ve ever run in your life?

Long story, short:  The swim was great in spite of the fact that the air temperature was in the 50’s, water temperature in the 60’s, and my feet were numb by the time I exited the water.  I warmed up, hydrated, and stretched while my teammate was on his 56 mile ride.  I started running and felt great.  I was running a ½ marathon!  It was a gorgeous day and I was psyched (adrenaline makes me incredibly ambitious).  I pushed myself very hard, ran the entire distance, and was able to finish the run in 1:56:08 (8:51 pace) with a smile on my face…..the smile was pained and forced, but a smile nonetheless.

Joy and pain:  Within minutes after finishing the race, after enjoying a brief celebration of our team’s success, my legs started cramping.…not just a calf muscle or foot, but my entire leg….if I bent my leg, my hip flexors and hamstrings would cramp; if I straightened my leg, my quads and calf would cramp.  I immediately ate a banana, drank tons of Gatorade, walked, tried to stretch, you name it.  I drank so much that I then had to make my way slowly to a Porta-potty….when I finally reached it and stepped up in, my entire leg cramped and I became stuck kind of half in and half out of the little green shack with the door shut on my leg (I did have a brief moment of panic as I envisioned the possibility that I might get stuck in there and have to call out for assistance.  Newsflash: “Middle aged woman trapped in portable toilet as her body is gripped by spasms”).  Apparently, my fear of embarrassment is much stronger than my fear of pain as I did what I needed to do and quickly forced my way stiff-legged out of the Porta-potty to avoid any prolonged stays or ugly scenes.  It took me 15 minutes after that just to change my socks.  I was finally able to recover well enough to drive home, but the entire cramping experience definitely put a damper on the day.  For days after the race, I hobbled around, unable to go up and down stairs normally, even lowering myself down into a seated position was a sight to behold.  My quadriceps and hamstrings were sore to even the lightest touch.   I missed out on several training days due to pain from overexertion.  I missed competing in the last triathlon of the season because my over-confident “twenty-something” ego didn’t heed the very sound advice of my own “forty-something” common sense……..Play within your means, Brenda, play within your means.

Take away message:  No matter what you decide to do to improve your fitness, be smart and be enthusiastic yet cautious when trying something new or stepping up your efforts  – pain and injury can be two detriments to maintaining an active lifestyle.  It’s hard enough to schedule time for yourself to exercise – you want that time to feel good and be fun – it’s not worth hurting yourself and giving yourself one more reason NOT to exercise – make sure you play, but play within your means.

Walking the (active) Talk:  Today my kids and I had a race day!  The kids completed a fun run which I followed with a 5K race.  They were excited to be in their first race and I was able to share in the experience with them while still taking time to do my own thing.  It took a little planning (thanks to Pappa for helping keep an eye on the kids during the 5K!), but was well worth the effort.