Shoulder problems... Again?

Today I thought that I would head to 24hr to get a swim in. I have not been in the pool at all the last few months except for once last week and that made me realize I need to get to a pool more often. I usually will do a swim workout before or after a light weight session but when I got to 24hr they had a pool jam going on. You know the kind where all these freaks are splashing around led by the instructor who has had too much coffee. Well that was enough for me to start with the weights workout.

In just the first 5 min of the workout I dislocated my shoulder. Agghhh!!! I haven't done that in years and it has been about five years since I had surgery on it. It use to pop it out all of the time snowboarding and it got so bad that it would come out in my sleep and doing just about anything. I though that I was done with all of that....I almost forgot what it felt like until today. At least it went back in after a little effort and some strange looks. I was pretty bummed at first and starting thinking about how I was just planning my season and things always seem to go wrong when I start getting up to speed. I was going home after beating myself up when I decided to stay and make the best of my time there and I am glad that I did.

I ended up finishing some light leg workouts and then went into the steam room for a mad stretching session. I didn’t realize how much I needed this... I rarely stretch and never more than a few bounces before a run if that. This was wonderful. I was not in a hurry and tried to do the same stretch a few times with more flexibility every time. My shoulder actually still feels good and my legs don’t hurt when I walk. Imagine that! :-)

My swim build was postponed again for a while but I, being optimistic, am glad that I learned some good lessons. I often sprain my ankles or pop my shoulder out at the strangest of times. I guess that God knows when I need it. My first two adventure races I sprained the same ankle and ended up walking through the rest of the race. It has been such a good reminder to me that I am lucky to be able to get out and do the things I like while keeping things in perspective.

Lessons learned
- Keep training and races in perspective (fun)!
- Stretching is a good idea! I am going to try to add it in at least once a week.