That Mark Ripptoe's a smart dude......
This afternoon my son's cub scout den was at a local park working on their athletic badge. They were running 50 meter dashes, doing sit ups, push ups, etc.....Then we all walked over to the pull up bars. All three boys hoisted themselves up to the bar and not a one of them could get their chins above it. I was aching to try.
Let me back up a bit. I've had a secret little goal in the back of my head ever since I started Crossfit. I haven't mentioned it to anyone. I wanted to be 'that mom'. You know, the one that's fit enough that while the kids are all running around the park and the moms are all eating salad, can get up and just do a random pull up on the play ground equipment. Yep....I wanna be her.
Ok, back to this afternoon. I recently got my first pull ups at the gym. I knew I wasn't warmed up and I knew my hands were so cold they were numb, but I wanted to see how close I could get. I jumped up on the bar and immediately noticed it was a lot bigger around than the one I'm used to. I started my kip. One Kip. Two Kip. Three Kip and Puuuu.........UH OH. Suddenly I was free falling. My hands were no longer in contact with the bar and them BAM. I landed on the hard, cold ground. Tail bone first, followed immediately by the rest of my back and my head.
My son and the leader's son (another Crossfit family) immediately ran to my side and started screaming and asking if I was ok. They were pulling at my arms; they were trying to pull me to my feet. I yelled for them to let go and then I quickly took inventory. I could feel my legs, my back was in one piece, and my head seemed to land on a pillow(?).
Apparently the knot I had my hair tied in took the brunt of my head trauma. Phew. I've already had one Traumatic Brain Injury. I certainly don't need another one!
I got myself upright again and the boys moved on and finished their test. We all went out for coffee and to discuss a few of their other badges and then my boys and I went to run some errands. After sitting at the coffee house and then the 20 minute drive to Trader Joe's, I was in tears getting out of my car. My oldest son became convinced I was dying and that we should go immediately to the ER. Dr Google confirmed what I already knew ~ a bruised tail bone caused by acute injury. Yup.
Hauling firewood into the house actually helped loosen me up. I've taken some ibuprofen and now it's just a wait and see game. I have to admit, I was a little nervous when I went to pee. It crossed my mind for a brief second that maybe I decimated one of my kidneys and I'd pee nothing but blood. Nope. Phew. Dodged a bullet there.
The fact is, I made a stupid mistake and I'm paying for it now.....but it occurred to me tonight that if I hadn't spent the last year Crossfitting, today's fall could have gone very differently. This is not to say it would have killed me, but in that split second that I felt myself free falling, instinctively I activated all of my muscles, and they responded. They did their job. The muscles of my back protected my spine. Later in the evening, when I was hauling firewood and tucking the boys into bed, I was able to bend down using my legs, instead of my back, and move around relatively pain free.
This last year has been about so much more than losing weight and learning how to do pull ups and push ups. It's taught me how to move my body. It's taught me how to let my body function as it's supposed to. It's given me the confidence needed to realize that even though I'm in excruciating pain, I can handle it. It's also given me the knowledge to know that taking some time to let your body heal can be just as beneficial as pushing yourself through that last, miserable rep.
And with that.....I'm going to bed. And I may have to miss tomorrow's WOD.
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