Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

My back isn't at 100%, but it's a lot better than it was a few days ago, thanks in no small part to rysmiel massaging it while I was in Montreal. This does not mean that I'm going to do the lat pulldowns again any time soon, if ever, nor that I won't be using muscle relaxants or anti-inflammatories when needed. It does mean they're needed less.

Today's workout was skewed more toward the lower-body parts of what I do. If I manage not to have another break before Wiscon, I might even be able to increase the weight on the leg press by then.

( more about my workout (numbers) )

I woke up with my back hurting enough that going back to sleep was impossible: I couldn't find a comfortable, or even only mildly uncomfortable, position to lie down in. (I tried the living room couch as well, less because I expected it to work than because I was also trying to let cattitude get that last 45 minutes or so of rest.)

It's the sort of pain that, at least combined with being just up and slightly short of sleep, has me crying intermittently, though I suspect on a scale of bad back stuff, 1-10, this is about a 3 or 4.

The pain is between my shoulderblades. I suspect that the lat pulldowns at the gym yesterday are at least part of the cause of this problem. (That's one of the Xpressline machines, an exercise I hadn't done in ages, and even if the exercise isn't inherently problematic for me, I had a lot of weight on it, and some problems at the beginning with the positioning of the hardware.) I have had 400 mg of ibuprofen and a shower; I may add more painkillers before I leave the house this morning.

At this rate, neither sitting nor reclining will be comfortable this afternoon, and this isn't what's meant by "the bread of our affliction."

ETA, 7:30: It's responding well to the ibuprofen, and Cattitude confirms that the pain is where the lats (latissimus dorsi) are. So, use that machine again carefully if at all, take the anti-inflammatories, and don't fret.

I went to the gym after work today, for the first time in a couple of weeks. One of the trainers who knows me commented that it had been a while, and asked how I was, so I explained that I'd been resting my back. In the course of conversation, he commended my attitude—meaning getting myself back there—whereas I'm feeling vaguely that waiting longer might have been physically healthier, but I need the workouts for mood as much as muscle.

I did less than usual, partly to spare the back some things altogether and partly because it had been a couple of weeks and I'd been tired all afternoon at work. Nonetheless, my back, which had been okay with the daypack earlier, wasn't happy having it on post-workout; adrian_turtle suggests I may have done the crunches slightly wrong. (Or I might have gotten the form on something else wrong, or just pushed things more than I realized at the time.) The daypack stays home tomorrow, I think, which means the library books don't get returned until Friday or Saturday.

( numbers, as usual )

When I got to the gym this evening, I saw a sign that there was a massage therapist available, thought about it for a moment, and booked half an hour from 6:30 to 7. To get an hour I'd have had to start at seven, and was thinking I didn't want to run that late. Then I saw it was already about ten to six, and there'd not be much time for a workout. As it happened, brief was enough weight-lifting, and when I told the therapist I wanted him to focus on my back, because it was hurting, he was surprised that I'd worked out before my massage. (The back pain isn't fun, but it's not horrible, and I like weight-lifting.)

The massage felt very good, but the back started to hurt again as soon as I had my coat and daypack on. I think I'm going to leave the latter behind for a few days.

Other than that, my supervisor came over this morning to pass along a thank-you from the editor in charge of the manuscript I finished on Monday, because I'd done a good job, which was good to hear. He also offered the possibility of extra hours taking stuff home over the weekend over the next few weeks, which I declined on the grounds of my existing freelance commitment.

When adrian_turtle found me on IM this evening, I mentioned the backache, and a moment later the phone rang, so I sat on the couch and we talked for about 40 minutes. Then cattitude fed me fresh asparagus and home-made pickled herring. My loves are good to me.

( workout numbers, as usual )

My back is better, but not well. This is not helping my mood or concentration. Some nethack, some reading, a little productive work, and I made pancakes for lunch (alt.poly is at least partly responsible for that last).

I don't know whether a long walk would have helped; the cold and overcast made it seem unappealing, though cattitude and I did walk around the soccer field earlier this afternoon, and I walked some yesterday (to and from the local Greenmarket, and then to and from the subway station, putting adrian_turtle on the train to the bus station.

My back was doing very badly yesterday, probably from sitting in a wrong chair at work all day.

I'm doing much better at the moment, thanks to methocarbamol (muscle relaxant, the ones I have are big pink pills that also contain aspirin), some massage from my wonderful cattitude, and a different chair.

I did not, however, get much sleep last night. I'm not sure whether I got any: what I remember is lots and lots of shifting position and wondering if I'd manage to fall asleep this time. The nth time I woke up, adrian_turtle was also up, so I took a quick shower, had tea, and headed out with her. We went down to Penn Station, I waited until her train was called, and then went down to Mott Street for a delicious and restorative breakfast. Roast duck congee, soothing and contains protein. Thence to the Union Square Greenmarket, which proved very sparse, but I bought some baked goods, got back on the train, and was at work earlier than usual.

I just went outside and walked semi-randomly up and down a bit of Madison Avenue, mostly for the sunlight and fresh air, before buying some lunch. Fresh air isn't quite a sleep substitute, but it is a help.