I’m Not Walking On Sunshine
Earlier this week, I detailed how a trip to the zoo was cut short by the “aches, pains, and tweaks” I’ve increasingly been experiencing in my back, and the psychological hit I took as a result. There’s already some need to follow up.
Thursday evening I set out on my walk, choosing the eastern residential loop. The backache started within two blocks of walking somewhere between my exercise and “middling” paces, and just shy of the halfway point threatened to seize up altogether, stopping me outright for a minute or two while I catastrophized a bit over what I would do if it really did give out and I was unable to walk home.
After just narrowly avoiding a sobbing fit over the suddenness of it and over the catastrophizing, I resumed walking but now only at a strolling pace. It took me just under half an hour to walk about one mile. I should note that earlier activity included walking to go sit and read over a latte.
Friday evening, I headed west into downtown St. Johns in order to take advantage of outsourcing cognition to the geography of the streetscape. The backache began almost immediately, and I made it only around one-quarter of the way because having to turn back. It took me about thirteen minutes to walk about half a mile.
Earlier activity included, again, coffee out during which I did experience backache, my back threatening to go out when leaning forward, and a run to the grocery store four block away and back which also featured backache.
Today, then.
I hadn’t been feeling much in the way of backache all day, even with walking to sit and read over coffee and stopping at the store on the way home, so I thought for the evening walk I’d return to heading east. I kept it slow, but a little less than halfway through I had to turn around and come back. In the end, I walked a little over three-quarters of a mile in slightly under twenty minutes.
The backaches themselves are not agonizing. (I hesitate to add “yet”.) The frustration over a cherished mental health respite and then three successive evening walks being cut short by them is very much so.
Recently I had to select a new primary care physician as mine left their practice at my provider. The arrival of now basically routine backaches seeming like a good place to start, I’ve scheduled our first appointment for the second week of November.