In September of 2008, I was very excited to be registered for the Air Force Marathon in Dayton. In early August, I joined a few running club friends for a 20 mile training run. It turned out be get quite hot but the run went well and I felt confident that if I could complete those 20, I could do the 26.2 miles in a month.

Later that day, I started having some tightness and pain in my right hip. I stretched, iced it, took some Advil and didn't think much more about it. After all, I was in training and didn't have time to deal with a cranky hip. I took a few days off and later that week I went to Sharon Woods. I parked, got out of the car, walked for a few minutes then started a nice easy run. BAM! Shooting pain in my right hip.

I had to stop running immediately and walk. I turned around and limped back to the car. What the heck! This is not good. I am four weeks away from my event and suddenly my hip doesn't work. A wave of panic swept through me. I had to get this fixed within two weeks so I could complete my marathon. Who could fix this for me...today?

It was in this state of fear that I made a series of bad decisions. I rushed from one health care professional to another, regardless of cost, trying to find the quick fix. The pain got worse and ended up shooting down my right leg to my foot. It started having an impact on my sleep and my ability to work. Each day seemed to get a little worse.

I ended up walking the Air Force Half Marathon, having to downgrade my entry from full to half. How could I skip it? I had trained for it, I had paid for it, I was going to do it. It reminds me of the recent story about the woman who finished the Chicago Marathon then had a baby later that day. She was going to do that marathon no matter what.

Here's what I learned through my injury, besides more than I ever wanted to know about bulging discs, herniated discs, sciatic pain, and SI joints.

1. If you are involved in athletic activities including fitness walking or strength training, at some point there is a good chance you will get an injury. There are several chronic injuries that are very common. Plantar fasciitis, shin splints, IT Band syndrome, tendonitis (knee, elbow, shoulder, Achilles), bulging or herniated disc, and piriformis syndrome.
2. The best thing for these injuries is resting the affected body part. That may mean cross-training or modifying your workout or it may mean taking some time off completely.
3. R-I-C-E is very good wisdom. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation.
4. Not every injury can be diagnosed accurately by every health care professional. If you see someone, choose carefully and try to choose someone who approaches your injury holistically. If they don't listen to you, they are probably the wrong doctor.
5. Working through it is not always the way to go. It is difficult to do, but there is great value in taking time to heal. There are always other ways to get your workout done. Did you see the Biggest Loser episode where the woman with the stress fracture in her leg lost 14 pounds? Everything was done in the pool or from a seated position.

When I got injured, fear was what really drove me at first. I have to get this fixed quickly. I can't miss the marathon. I can't not run. I'll gain weight, get fat again, lose my dream job, lose my house BLAH BLAH BLAH...fear can get quickly out of hand. When I finally realized that it was going to take a lot longer to heal than I hoped, I changed my strategy. I switched to fitness walking and I didn't lose anything by doing so. I may not be able to run at the pace I once could, but my back healed! I can sleep again. I am not in pain at work. And I formed a walking group that has been very rewarding and fun. We've power walked three half-marathons!

I know many of you are dealing with chronic pain right now. Try to stay calm. Take a few deep breaths. Trust me, decisions made from that place of panic are not good ones. You will not lose all the progress you've made. You've learned too much along the way to ever go back. You may have to get creative with your exercise, but it can be done. Rest the injured body part and give it time to heal. Breathe. Focus on some other part of your process. Get educated on how to take care of your back, your knees, and your feet. But have faith that your body will heal and you will be back to your exercise when the time is right.

When I was SCUBA diving earlier this month, when I first jumped into the water with all that gear on and tried to descend to the ocean floor, I could not remember what any of the buttons on my equipment did. I went completely blank. Because I was anxious, I just couldn't think clearly. It was frustrating and made me more anxious. I got out of the water, sat down on the boat and thought about quitting. Then one of the dive instructors encouraged me to relax. So I did some deep breathing, acknowledged my fear (I am afraid!), and tried again. The second time it was wonderful. The fear subsided and I had an amazing dive. What it taught me, though, was my thinking skills are impaired in a major way when I am afraid. And it reminded me of my Air Force Marathon experience and everything I have learned since then.

So for all of you struggling with an injury, I encourage you to relax. Your health and fitness is a long term journey and there is a way to get through these things without doing more harm. Believe in the overall process, find a way to either modify or cross-train, rest and know that your body is an amazing machine that will heal if you give it the opportunity to do so.

Now get moving (in whatever way is best for you).