“Too Fast

 

            Lesson learned over the past few days: Knee recovery just took a major hit.

 

            For three consecutive days, I pedaled on the recumbent bike or danced around the house with uninhibited glee. I completed thirty minutes of exercise nirvana that set my heartrate high and left my skin glistening with satisfactory perspiration. My bebopper body boogied from room-to-room with abandon. And although the bike’s resistance level stayed on ONE, I cycled for thirty minutes without pause.

            Three days of triumph plummeted to dismay yesterday when I attempted to walk into the backyard to start my gardening goals. My pesky right knee shot a brief stab of pain just under the cap. I looked down, noticed puffiness, and altered my yardwork plans immediately.

            A return to a reclining repose, elevation with pillows, and ice packs administered hourly means this morning my leg looks normal. I’m tempted to resume yesterday’s plans of hours spent raking leaves, trimming dead limbs, and fertilizing the gardens. Then I remember that my knee’s warning needs to shift my focus to slowing down for another day.

            I still have a difficult time realizing that altering my daily schedule impacts no one but me! Being fully retired means gardening really can wait for tomorrow. Wednesday wrestling with wash? I can shift the chore to any weekday without causing a rift in Time.

            Instead of pushing my knee into action today, I plan on watching old episodes of Monk as I participate in another round of rest and recline. Consecutive days of exercise may shift into the future. Whenever I chance exerting my knee again, I’ll keep in mind that I did too much too fast.

Slow and steady will really win this race!

 

Copyright 2023 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman