Well, it was an interesting week. When we left off last Sunday, I had just run the Treasure Coast Ultra (race recap here.). I was pretty happy with how it went. During my last loop I tripped over a root and fell, but got right back up and was able to keep running. No harm done (I thought…) Cue the ominous music and let’s start this Weekly Rundown!
(As always, I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Rundown, and this month I’m joining San for NaBloPoMo.)
Sunday
It was the day after my race, and I slept in and took it easy. I did a couple errands that involved some walking (returned something to the mall) and my quads and hips were very tight and sore. Pretty much what I expected.
Monday
Still sore, but motion is lotion! I got out for a 2 mile walk. Once I got started, everything loosened up and I felt pretty good. After the walk my Garmin told me I needed 47 hours of recovery, though (ha!) Perhaps sensing some residual fatigue?
Work was a little challenging. My right side and right arm were sore from the fall I took during the race. Nothing I couldn’t handle though, and it can only get better from here on, RIGHT?
Tuesday
GAAAAHHHH! I can’t even explain what happened, but I woke up around 4 am and the pain in my side was TERRIBLE. I guess I slept in a funny position??? It hurt to move and it hurt to breathe. I lay there wondering how I would get through the day.
Finally I got up. UGH. HOW did I make this so much worse BY SLEEPING? I decided to go out for a cautious walk (motion is still lotion, right?) It hurt to move my arm and it hurt to breathe- but I walked 2 miles.
Work was almost impossible. The pain is right below my right breast, just to the right of my sternum. This sucks.
Wednesday
I slept all night on my left side without moving, and it actually went pretty well! I woke up still in pain, but it was a little better. I decided to increase my walk to 3 miles. In lieu of another walking photo (they’re so boring) here’s the sunrise. In all the excitement, I don’t think I’ve raved enough about how happy I was to turn the clocks back!
It was a day off of work, phew. Lots of rest and again sleeping only on my left side.
Thursday
All right. Side still hurts but everything else felt back to normal, so I tried running. 2 slow miles.
The main problem is, it hurts to breathe. But it hurts to breathe whether I run, walk, or lie down, so I might as well run, right?
Work was a little better- I made it through the whole day, but it wasn’t easy. Sigh.
Friday
Let’s see what kind of strength work I can do… deadbugs? Nope. It hurts to lie on my back and it also hurts to raise my arm above my head. I ended up doing my hip stability exercises and some bodyweight squats, and called it a day.
Saturday
3 mile run! Everything feels good other than my broken rib (if that’s what this is) AND it was only 64 degrees! Woohoo!
So…. I’m pretty bummed out. If it weren’t for this side injury I would be good as new. I’m thinking it’s a cracked rib, but I don’t know how it was so mild for three days and then got 100x worse while I slept on Monday. Bodies are mysterious, and mine is even more mysterious than most.
However, I’m happy I don’t have any injuries that are keeping me from running (my injury is just keeping me from breathing, ha ha.). This will heal, just like everything else.
Have you ever had an injury like this? Should I hightail it to the ER and get a body cast?
49 Responses
I would get a xray just in case to have peace of mind. I don’t like how it hurts no matter what you do thus doesn’t sound like a muscle pain. But you know better your body than anyone.
Yes, but… it’s not like they can put a cast on it. I just have to wait till it heals. Sigh.
Oh Jenny, I’m sorry to hear this. Obviously I don’t know whats wrong, but reading this brought back PTSD from when I cracked a rib 20 years ago. What you write sounds like what I felt to a T. It hurt like nobody’s business, and the only thing that made it feel better was walking – motion is lotion for sure. I don’t remember how long the intense pain lasted, but it did ache for some time. I didn’t get an xray, what happened is that I had walking pneumonia and was in pain and miserable generally and then I got a very sharp and intense pain on top of all of that. I chatted with my doc and his opinion was that I had cracked a rib from coughing and he said there was no treatment besides letting it heal. I think it’s worth going to an urgent care place or maybe doing a telehealth call just to hear what a professional has to say. This too shall pass!
The time change and the extra light in the morning is amazing!
I sent you an email on Friday – lemme know what you think!
Oooh! An email- I’ll go check. And I’ve definitely heard of people cracking a rib from coughing. I guess if That’s possible then I could crack a rib while sleeping??? Sheesh.
Oh, Jenny! That sucks. It’s so frustrating when sleeping makes something worse. I’m no doctor, but my guess is that it would be good to see someone and confirm a crack or break just to help guide recovery? It’s already shown it’s tricky in how it showed up late – you wouldn’t want it to pop back in if you think it’s healed.
Sleeping in general has been really hard, because I can only sleep on my left side now. I’m not sure if I want to go to the doctor… maybe I can just google it (ha, I’m so stubborn.)
Oh no! This sounds so terribly painful. And it must make it so hard to give people massages! I am thinking you maybe bruised a rib? I haven’t had an injury like that before! I did do something to my upper arm area once. I think I increased the weight for flies too much and strained something. It took like 4 months to heal!!
Ugh. That’s my other guess- a severe muscle strain. Either way…. it hurts.
I did get an xray and mine was just bruised. And yes it hurt every time I would breathe.. and yes it hurt to run… I ran minimally and it took about 4 weeks to feel normal…of course I was supposed to be marathon training.
Hope yours feels better soon. Even if it is broken, there’s nothing to do but let it heal in its own time.
Okay…. four weeks. I’ve already gotten through one! i know- there’s nothing they can do for it even if it is broken.
Oh Jenny, that’s so worrisome! I know they can’t really do anything but…could they tape your ribs or something? I know you have brittle-ish bones (at least I think you do? Is that you or someone else?) and so it wouldn’t surprise me if it was a cracked rib, and then maybe sleeping in a certain position exacerbated it. It sounds honestly dreadful. Poor you! Well thank goodness you stopped your run when you did because who knows how much worse it might have been with an extra lap. I hope it heals quickly. Goodness! I have never cracked a rib but I know several people who have when they were really sick and coughing.
I’ve also known people who cracked a rib from coughing. I guess if that’s possible, then it’s definitely possible to do it from falling. Oh, and it MIGHT have been me with brittle bones a while ago, but my bone density has actually improved lately! So, I don’t know. Stupid ribs.
What is your address? I’m going to mail you a huge roll of bubble wrap to wrap yourself in for all future races. LOL Once when I had pneumonia, I coughed so much that I irritated the connective tissue where my ribs attach to my sternum. It felt like a broken rib, but wasn’t. Maybe you’ve done something like that? Whatever the case, I hope it heals quickly and you’re back to 100% soon.
Debbie, that actually sounds like what it could be. It is RIGHT next to my sternum, like where the ribs would attach. Okay, I’m going with this diagnosis! And… I’m laughing at myself showing up at the next race wrapped in bubble wrap. Yes, that’s what I need!
Remember, I’m no doctor and just sharing an experience that sounds similar. 😉
I’m so sorry about your rib, but I’m glad that running doesn’t seem to make it worse! Hurting yourself in your sleep is so annoying though — I hate when I wake up with a sore neck.
And yay for cooler weather for your run on Saturday! I did 16 miles with almost 4,000 feet of elevation gain yesterday (more climbing than I had planned haha) so it took me longer than expected but because temps were only in the low 50s all day, I had no issues eating like I do when it’s hot and I brought a ton of water with me just in case and barely drank half of it, whereas in the summer I would have had to have stopped back at my car to refill. The cooler temps make a huge difference, though I was colder than I thought I’d be most of the run, but better than dying in the heat!
Cooler weather makes such a huge difference. I CANNOT WAIT for temps in the 50s. They rarely last all day for us- like if it starts off in the 50s it’ll climb to the 70s, but that’s okay. It’ll feel amazing for running. You long run sounds really fun!
Oof that’s not good. I would definitely get that checked out just to make sure. Hope you have a better week ahead!
Thank you Deborah! I figure it can only get better from here on out.
I was going to ask if it’s possible it’s a broken rib. When I fell and fractured a rib it took me a few days to get it checked out but the sharp pain with taking a deep breath was a strong clue. It could be worth an x-ray to make sure it’s not displaced?
I hope everything else is feeling good and you don’t need to cue that ominous music for a while!
Displaced? I’m googling this right now.
I was going to suggest it may be a cracked/broken rib since it sounds exactly what happened to me after a bad fall (a few years ago) and after my famous bike crash (last summer). Then I saw you’d had that suspicion (by the end of your post), so it sounds like you’re doing about all you can do (other than the bubble wrap, LOL). Those ribs are SO fragile and tough to heal (it took a good 4+ weeks before I felt like things were almost back to normal), but the first week or so was PAINFUL. I hope you’re feeling better soon!
You’re the second person to give me a four week timeline. Well, good to know it’ll be better by Christmas!
Oh wow, that is odd you didn’t feel pain until a few days later on that rib. I did have a skiing injury when I fell hard and I felt the rib injury right away. It was painful, so I can imagine what you are going through! I remember healing up fast enough to run my scheduled race, so it must not have lasted that long. Hopefully yours is short lived too! Also, I have been reading through your posts this week. Congrats on football win! Our team just lost this week so their journey to states has ended.
Oh, bummer. Our journey to states is still alive for now- we’ll see what happens this week.
I like your rib injury that healed up quickly- I’ll take that option : )
Oh Jenny, I’m so sorry. Could you go to your PCP to get an x-ray? Then at least you’d know.
Thanks Wendy- I probably won’t do that, since they can’t do anything even if it is broken.
This doesn’t sound great.
I probably would have it checked too but you know your body best.
Get better soon.
Thank you Tobia!
So, Jenny, many years ago, when my husband and I were first dating, I had pneumonia and I cracked THREE of my right ribs and tore all my intercostal muscles and basically was a mess. So, yeah. I get it.
I also have some pain under my left breastbone RIGHT NOW that I think is a pulled something from COVID. I am grumpy about this because any twisting motion is painful. *sigh* Why are human bodies so fragile?
ACK! That sounds like a nightmare. And, the thing you have now sounds a little like what I have (but mine is on the right side.) Sounds like mine is worse than yours though- at least I hope so, for your sake.
I fell off a horse years ago and got a tiny hairline fracture in my rib, and it hurt SO MUCH. The doctor said that there was nothing for it but time, so I just lived with it until the pain went away. I was sad that I had to put my riding lessons on hold, but the doctor said that if I fell off again the rib might break more and could puncture a lung, which does NOT sound fun. I would listen to your body and be very delicate with it. Maybe get an x-ray and see how bad it is? My doctor said to be careful until it didn’t hurt at all anymore.
Thanks Julie! I’m definitely being careful with it. Well, except that I am running. But I don’t think that’s making it any worse. I definitely don’t want to puncture a lung!!!
Oh no! I am so sad to hear this! You just cannot catch a break and I hate that! What are your options? I just hate how this keeps happening to you!
Secondly… you know you’re a Floridian when someone posts a body of water and you find yourself looking for the gator.
Ha Jenn- my husband said the same thing about my race recap. “Are you sure there weren’t alligators in there?”
Sorry you are in pain, but you seem to handle it well and hopefully it will heal soon. Having pain inside the body where you can’t know exactly what’s going on is the worst!
Heal up soon.
THank you Hanna!
Oh nuts. It does sound like a broken rib. Coach broke his ribs a few weeks after the girls moved in. He was spinning them on a thing at the park, hopped on, and hopped off . . . But he rolled his ankle and kept going. He was in so much pain. I had to help him out of bed. I cannot believe you were able to run right afterwards. Wow! As the wife of a PT, I have heard motion is lotion SO many times. Coach did not get an xray. He could feel it and knew what happened. He got a little nervous about whether or not he had punctured a long, but ruled that out. I think the first 3 weeks were the worst.
This seems to be a common thing! How are lungs so fragile???
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear about your sore side. My dad had a fall this week and cracked a rib (along with some abrasions that have now become infected). Not fun. I hope you heal quickly.
Thank you Melissa! I hope your dad heals quickly as well.
It certainly sounds like a bruised or broken rib, but so odd it didn’t start hurting earlier!
Most of my injuries have shown up after sleeping. It’s so annoying! If I do too much of something I want to know it before it’s too late! Sleeping is apparently dangerous, lol.
I hope it heals for you asap, and I like your idea that you can just as well run. Staying active should help.
I wouldn’t see a dr for that either unless I really wanted to have confirmed with an x-ray, there isn’t much they can do to help!
YEs, who knew sleeping wa actually bad for you. And I like your advice- keeping running and don’t go to the doctor. Sounds perfect, since that’s what I’m doing : )
I wonder if you were so high off of endorphins, you didn’t register the pain soon after your fall. I can’t believe how casually you’re referring to your cracked rib, Jenny… Still, it did make me chuckle when you said, “But it hurts to breathe whether I run, walk, or lie down, so I might as well run, right?” You LOVE RUNNING SO MUCH!
The photos in this post are beautiful, BTW <3
Thank you Maya! And yes- I’m sure that was part of it. Somehow you don’t notice the pain in the middle of a run- it’s when you stop that it gets really bad.
I have also cracked a rib coughing, and I guess if they can’t do anything then there’s no point in going through the hassle of an x-ray, but ouch! And it DOES seem screwed up that sleeping makes things worse – it’s supposed to be healing! I really hope you get some relief soon.
Thank you Allison! How can SO MANY people crack a rib coughing??? Can’t our ribs be more resilient?
Dang it, Jenny… how about you don’t get any more injuries or random pain for a while, ok?
Hope you feel better!
Jenny, Sleeping only on one side is a challenge, hoping you can continue doing all the things you love while your body heals. What a beautiful Florida sunrise!