Krav was rewarding but brutal today. I think my attempts to improve my running have only fatigued me and tightened my legs up so far. In addition to fighting and yoga, I spent some time on the elliptical twice last week. I guess I need to slow down or do something else for cardio. I’m also going to add more rigorous stretching no matter what I do. I always stretch before activity. Apparently I’m not doing enough.

As always, if anyone out there knows good stretches for the quadriceps, I’m open to suggestions. My calves could probably use some love too.

Yesterday I hit the gym with Nik and worked the left arm more than the right as much as possible. I figure if I’ve overdeveloped the muscles on the right side without trying over the course of 30 years, if I make a concerted effort to catch up the left side, then it should take less than 30 years. Wish me luck.

After our gym time, we did a demo with the UWF fencing club. The event itself was poorly organized but well-attended. Our students were awesome, as always. They were where they were supposed to be and doing what they were supposed to do regardless of how hectic everything got.

Even though I didn’t do my usual regimen of ibuprofen before and muscle relaxers after, I wasn’t in pain after the gym and the demo (which was short, I admit), so I feel like that’s a step in the right direction.

Day 21

Today I did my lunges after doing 30 minutes on the elliptical and 5 minutes on the punching bag at the gym. My punches are getting better. The big knuckles are the ones with the chafing from my gloves!

I don’t know how much lowering the target for my lunges helped me because I’m still sore around the edges from Krav last night (it wasn’t nonstop like Monday, but it was a challenging class, and we did go over our time). I hit the target more often than not. When the movement gets robotic, I get sloppy.

I’m taking ibuprofen before combat activities and a muscle relaxer after (like as soon as I get home so I’m not a zombie the next day). Shoulders are stiff but starting to get back to where they were, flex wise. Now my calves are angry with me. Fortunately, what I’m experiencing now is soreness, not pain.

Yesterday I did yoga and felt pretty good. The tingling on the right side hasn’t gone away, but it does seem to be lessening. The left side is super tight and almost hurts. I noticed the difference when I was threading the needle in reverse prayer. I could extend my right arm forward, but I had to keep my left arm flexed.

Since I felt pretty good, I considered trying to work in some lunges, but Nik told me to hold off for another day. His shoulder bothers him sometimes too, so I’m taking his word for it. Tonight I’ll go to Krav and spend an hour fighting my way out of bear hugs (surprisingly not too bad on the shoulders). Maybe I’ll try to lunge tomorrow or over the weekend. I definitely want to go to fencing on Friday.

I hate being laid up, but I know that if I don’t rest now, I’ll just be injured longer and more severely in the future. I’m really hoping my doctor will be able to help me with a minimally invasive option (home rehab routine, cortisone shot, etc.).

Also, for those precious few of you following me, I hope you don’t mind that this blog is shifting away from its focus on fencing. I want my injury to be visible so that people know there is a reasonable alternative to playing through the pain. With luck, I’ll be back to my regularly-scheduled ass kicking in no time.