suffering from weekend warrior syndrome

I really overdid it Saturday. I can't believe I'm suffering from Weekend Warrior Syndrome. I thought I was in better shape. I don't know if it was a) wearing the wrong shoes and messing my knee up, b) power-walking back home 3 miles (walking may feel wimpy cardio-wise, but it does work different muscles), c) playing basketball for the first time in 10 years for 40 minutes after all this (not just shooting hoops, mind you, dribbling, doing lay-ups, rebounding every missed shot and putting it back up--there were a lot of missed shots...), or d) all of the above.

Whatever the reason, I was a wreck on Sunday. My legs hurt so bad, it hurt to lay on them. You know it's bad when lying down hurts. My quads, calves, hamstrings, glutes, not to mention knees, screamed every time I moved. Oh, and there was a searing pain in my left knee every time I moved my leg sideways, away from me. Jason made the mistake of casually patting me on the leg last night, affectionately. I nearly screamed. "Oops," he said, smiling. He seemed to find the whole situation very amusing. I was too sore for even a massage. A massage!

Walking was challenging. Getting up or down (especially kneeling) was the worst. I relied on my arms and shoulders to help me. Guess I needed crutches. After dragging myself out of bed 10:30 Sunday morning, I lapsed into nap #1 for the day around 1-ish as Jason headed to campus to study (finals week). He came home totally burnt out a few hours later. I hadn't moved from where he'd left me on the sofa. I was able to rise for lunch. Then, I got a little burst of energy and talked about going for a walk, biking, or swimming. Hmmm. I decided to get the mail first. I hobbled out of the apartment and made the mistake of taking the stairs. I somehow made it down the first flight in agony before heading to the elevator to go the rest of the way. I had to take the elevator to go from the 2nd to the 1st floor. Humiliating. I didn't even try going back up. I just headed straight for the elevator. I mentioned swimming to Jason one more time. I rested on the sofa for a moment....then lapsed into deep coma nap #2. I was out for the next 3 hours. The walk to the mailbox had really done me in! Oh, and I had been taking Advil throughout the whole day, just as a side note. By the way, going to bed last night was no problem, despite all the naps. Guess I was tired!

I finally was able to feel a little bit more energetic after dinner but realized I was in no shape for swimming. Instead, I cleaned the apartment. Top to bottom. It helped loosen me up, and I got to take it off my list. Awesome.

Today, walking was still difficult but not as bad as yesterday. My quads still make going downstairs difficult, and my left leg still bugs me more than my right, making me limp, quite noticeably. I had to explain my "gimpiness" to a lot of my coworkers. Especially since I grunted and winced every time I got up from a chair. But, I'm making progress. My knee feels better; I can move my leg sideways! It does ache if I'm on my feet for a long time or walking a lot. Guess I won't be running for now.

I made it to the pool tonight and had an awesome swim! Guess I'm cleared for that! It felt great. I really needed it. Plus, I was able to get grocery shopping done afterwards. Bonus! I feel on-track. Hopefully, I feel good enough for a spin on the trainer tomorrow.

Oh, and as for the poision oak, the jury is still out. I thought I was in the clear, until a giant red hive appeared on my left knee (that damn knee). So itchy! But, it's not unusual for me to break out in weird hives so I'm still waiting to see if it's poison oak. Hopefully not.