The good kind of sore

I was talking recently with a fellow spine sufferer about the differences between good and bad sore. Good sore are muscles fatigued from exercise. Bad sore are angry nerves, torn ligaments, strained soft tissue, basically anything that prevents you from moving the way you would normally move.

All I've experienced for the past seven months has been the bad sore, the limiting sore, the 'when is this gonna end' sore. So you can imagine how good it feels to finally feel my muscles working again! My calves and quads are tingling with delight after another workout on the Santa Monica stairs. Three laps and I had plenty in the tank for more, but I chose to play it safe and live to fight another day. I've come to appreciate the smallest of victories.

View from the top of the stairs

My back is tight, the SI joints are a little en fuego, and I can 'feel' the disc in my back. It's hard to explain what I mean by 'feeling' the disc. My mind knows it's there, and my body can sense it, but I'm not sure if the mind or body is in charge of this particular sensation right now. My legs and glutes are beginning to wake up and remember how to function properly. It's still difficult to sometimes distinguish between a healthy burn in my glutes and a precursor to real pain, but thus far the real pain hasn't reappeared for a couple weeks.

This week I'm back in the pool and will start doing some hikes in the Santa Monica mountains. Get ready to burn!