Painful post...

Author's note:  This post is not seeking medical advice or pity party invitations, it's a space to vent, share, and help me process.  

Well, tomorrow is a weigh in day and I'll get there sometime tomorrow, but in the meantime, there is a shift in exercising.  I've had some pain in my shin lately...and it doesn't seem to be going away.   I was hopeful that it was shin splints, but it may be a stress fracture.  Ugh.  (This is a self-diagnosis, by the way.)  

My first step (no pun intended) is to rest.  I went to the gym today and tried to go easy, just a little bit of stationary biking and some elliptical, but I need a full break.  I will hit the gym in a few days for upper body strength training, but no cardio.  

I will be shifting my focus for the end of this month on rest and recovery.  I will still be tracking my food and watching what I eat.  I will be getting 8+ hours a sleep a night to help with healing and recovery.  

I will refocus how I would have spent my working out time with other restful activities, such as reading, playing ukulele and maybe learning how to crochet?  Who knows.  I do know that they will be activities that bring me joy and allow me to sit (and perhaps allow a purring cat to sit on my lap, as well.)

I need to remember a few things.  

1) I stopped running for three months when I hurt my achilles tendon.  (If need be....I know that I could do that again.  I don't want to think about not running for that long, but I have the ability to rest and heal, even if it bums be out.) 

2) Rest is really the only way to heal.  I can't run through this nor should I.  I know I can work some cardio back in at some point, but no need to in the immediate future.  

3) In the past I was able to watch my weight while not exercising and while it's not my go to method, I can continue to watch what I eat and keep track of what I eat. 

4) I will give myself some time to be upset about this setback...which may or may not include a glass of wine paired with some peanut butter Oreos, but then I will refocus and move on.  I can't change the fact that I have some sort of injury, but I can do the best for my body and spirit as a new day begins tomorrow.  

Thanks for listening, friends.