It won’t hurt if you don’t move

The day after I wrote my last entry I went to see the surgeon for a check-up.  He was pleased with the way my bone was healing but was cautious about my ligaments. He advised me to wait another four weeks (August 1st) before I resume running.  Four weeks was two weeks longer than I was hoping to hear but given how my shoulder felt at the time it made sense. Last week I went in for another check-up and I was given the go ahead to test my range of motion.  Since the last check-up I’ve been recovering at a fast rate as I’ve been able to move my arm a lot more.  My bruises have pretty much disappeared now.

It’s been seven weeks to the day since I broke my clavicle which translates to too many hours on a stationary bike than I care for.  I started pool running and doing a little bit of easy running yesterday. Pool running is a nice way to mix up my cross-training routine and a good way to help build back strength in my shoulder. After being in a sling for five weeks my shoulder was much smaller due to atrophy.  It will be a little longer until I’m able to lift weights so the resistance from the water running will help build back some strength in the meantime.

I haven’t made any decisions about my race schedule yet.  Instead of thinking about it too much I will wait until I have a couple of solid running weeks under my belt to evaluate my fitness and go from there.  Seven weeks off running is substantial so it’s not as if I can just jump right back into full mileage once my shoulder feels good enough.  There will have to be some build-up where I still do my harder sessions in the pool or on the bike.  At least I can clearly see the light now and even running up and down a soccer field a few times feels liberating.