On The Road to Recovery and My First Post Hospital Run

First of all, thank you everybody for all of your prayers, crossed fingers, and words of encouragement.  I’m truly blessed to be surrounded in my nonblogging and nonrunning life by so many people who love and care about me, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have so many of you, many of whom I’ve only met virtually, care so much about my well being as well.

Preston and I met with the neurologist yesterday morning.  While we are still left with some unanswered questions, some of our questions were answered.  One of the doctor’s biggest concerns is ensuring that I’m starting to do all I can to relax and destress.  He’s also focused on doing so with as little medicine as possible, which I truly appreciate.  Another one of his concerns is the lack of strength that became apparent in my left hand in the middle of last week.  After about 15 minutes of strength and touch tests this morning, it was quite apparent that I have lost a lot of strength and sense of touch in my left hand.  While he said that my hand is another sign that I could have had a TIA, he’s hesitant to confirm such a diagnosis because of my age.  He does, however, agree with his colleague’s diagnosis of migraine with aura, and believes that I may have also experienced what’s called a complicated, or complex, migraine.

The good news that came out of yesterday’s appointment is that I’m not only cleared to go back to work but to also resume most of my normal exercise regime.  He also said that, if I’m feeling up to it, that he has no problem with me running my half marathon this weekend.  He is actually encouraging me to quickly resume my normal training routine, making accommodations as necessary for my left hand.  The two additions he wants me to make to my routine are incorporating yoga, which is also one of my monthly goals, as well as hand strengthening exercises for my left hand.

After spending nearly 50 minutes with the neurologist yesterday morning, Preston and I both felt quite comfortable moving forward with this particular neurologist, who will be monitoring me in the weeks and months to come, and doing additional testing as needed.

After receiving the go ahead to resume running, I was excited to get a run in yesterday evening.  With the arrival of beautiful weather this past weekend, I knew that I had to complete my first post hospital run outside.  To top off my excitement, my new Mizuno Wave Inspire 10s arrived over the weekend.

I won a free pair of running shoes from Road Runner Sports as part of a contest they had several weeks ago!

After quickly trying on my new shoes, I knew I had to complete my first run in them.  Preston joined me, and we completed a 2.5 mile run around the neighborhood.  Even though it felt great to put my running shoes on and get outside for a run, it was evident during my run that my nearly two weeks off from running, and most exercise altogether, has me unprepared to run Rock ‘n’ Roll USA the way I wanted to when I first registered for the race.  We’ll see how the rest of the week goes, and I’ll make a last minute decision about this race as Saturday approaches.

QOTD: How do you get back into your training routine after being sick or injured?