Well, because of the race on Sunday and the debacle with my flight, I didn't do a long run this weekend. So, I decided to try one today. I set out for 7 miles, telling myself I would stop if anything started to hurt.
I went very slow and comfortable. Disgustingly so, really -- the 7 miles took me over an hour and 15 minutes, so I was going at about an 11-minute mile. I was ok with that, though, because I felt like I could just keep going forever, even when I got to the 7-mile mark.
Well, maybe that is not the complete truth. While I mostly felt like I could keep going forever, I did have some injury fears throughout the run. What's really strange is that through most of the miles, it was my left hip muscles that worried me. Now that I'm done, it's back to the same old right psoas being sore. So, who knows.
Was it stupid of me to go the whole 7 miles? Maybe. But as of right now, I don't regret it or feel I did any damage that I will feel by tomorrow.
I must say that I am really tired of worrying and I really miss my pre-injury runs, when I spent my running time thinking about other things.
I'm thinking of buying new shoes this weekend. While I recognize that injury recovery takes time, I'm feeling a lot of other aches and pains that I never used to feel, and I wonder if my shoes being worn out is contributing to that. My shoes will be a year old in June, and I was going to wait til then to buy new ones, but I figure why not find out of old shoes are the source of some of my problems.
As I seem to be having a hard time forming coherent sentences, I am going to end this now. 7 miles, yay. Lots of soreness, boo.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Seriously?
Well, it's been quite the 24-hour period leading up to now, but I have good things to report.
I did go running once while I as in DC, and it was great. I did a 5K in about 29:30, though it was with a lot of stopping for lights because I thought it best to stay on main streets. I waved to the Obamas as I ran by the White House. No sightings, though. Not even Bo, who I was secretly hoping would be playing in the front yard.
By noon yesterday, I was well on my way to the airport. My flight took off at about 3:30, a half hour later than scheduled. We we put in an holding pattern when we reached O'Hare because of thunderstorms, and eventually had to land in Indianapolis due to lack of fuel. Then we sat on a runway for THREE AND A HALF HOURS, at which point they canceled the flight. I had to get off, wait through a long line, and rebook. Luckily, I was able to get out on the last flight to Chicago and didn't have to stay overnight in Indy. Unluckily, we didn't land at O'Hare until almost 11pm, and I didn't get home until midnight.
So, when I woke up at 6 this morning on 5 and a half hours of sleep, I didn't have very high hopes for a good race time. But, it wasn't raining, which was a good thing, and I went to the race.
I surprised myself by clocking a 28:20 -- 48 seconds faster than my time at this race last year, and faster than my third 5K last season. Amazing considering my lack of sleep, sporadic training, and recent injury.
Speaking of the psoas, I didn't feel it at all during or after my run in DC, though the long walks sightseeing did bother it a bit. It felt a bit sore this morning, I think just from the extra long periods of sitting in cramped spaces yesterday. But it didn't even occur to me to check on it after the race this morning. I wasn't even thinking about it. So I must not have felt a thing. Now when I do the knee lift, I do feel a tiny something, but nothing I would even notice if I wasn't paying attention.
All in all, a good result out of a crazy week. Time to start focusing on getting my mileage back up for the ten miler in four weeks.
I did go running once while I as in DC, and it was great. I did a 5K in about 29:30, though it was with a lot of stopping for lights because I thought it best to stay on main streets. I waved to the Obamas as I ran by the White House. No sightings, though. Not even Bo, who I was secretly hoping would be playing in the front yard.
By noon yesterday, I was well on my way to the airport. My flight took off at about 3:30, a half hour later than scheduled. We we put in an holding pattern when we reached O'Hare because of thunderstorms, and eventually had to land in Indianapolis due to lack of fuel. Then we sat on a runway for THREE AND A HALF HOURS, at which point they canceled the flight. I had to get off, wait through a long line, and rebook. Luckily, I was able to get out on the last flight to Chicago and didn't have to stay overnight in Indy. Unluckily, we didn't land at O'Hare until almost 11pm, and I didn't get home until midnight.
So, when I woke up at 6 this morning on 5 and a half hours of sleep, I didn't have very high hopes for a good race time. But, it wasn't raining, which was a good thing, and I went to the race.
I surprised myself by clocking a 28:20 -- 48 seconds faster than my time at this race last year, and faster than my third 5K last season. Amazing considering my lack of sleep, sporadic training, and recent injury.
Speaking of the psoas, I didn't feel it at all during or after my run in DC, though the long walks sightseeing did bother it a bit. It felt a bit sore this morning, I think just from the extra long periods of sitting in cramped spaces yesterday. But it didn't even occur to me to check on it after the race this morning. I wasn't even thinking about it. So I must not have felt a thing. Now when I do the knee lift, I do feel a tiny something, but nothing I would even notice if I wasn't paying attention.
All in all, a good result out of a crazy week. Time to start focusing on getting my mileage back up for the ten miler in four weeks.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Slight Cheat
Well, I decided that I didn't want to get up at 4:30 tomorrow to run before leaving for the airport, so I went for a 5K tonight instead. That's not cheating, right?
I finished in 29:40, which is not anything to write home about, but satisfactory. And, for the second day in a row, no soreness! That makes me really happy.
I can't say everything feels 100%. I still feel a slight pinch in my hips from time to time, and my knees hurt a little. But some of that is probably the normal aches and pains of running. For my first year of running, I read all these articles that called running a pushing sport, and I didn't really get it. Now that I'm going longer distances and doing some honest-to-goodness training, I understand.
I picked up my race packet today, and the shirts are really nice! Same logo as last year, but in a really nice green color.
I wish there was a race that included running pants or shorts or tights, though. That's what I really need.
I finished in 29:40, which is not anything to write home about, but satisfactory. And, for the second day in a row, no soreness! That makes me really happy.
I can't say everything feels 100%. I still feel a slight pinch in my hips from time to time, and my knees hurt a little. But some of that is probably the normal aches and pains of running. For my first year of running, I read all these articles that called running a pushing sport, and I didn't really get it. Now that I'm going longer distances and doing some honest-to-goodness training, I understand.
I picked up my race packet today, and the shirts are really nice! Same logo as last year, but in a really nice green color.
I wish there was a race that included running pants or shorts or tights, though. That's what I really need.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Self Speed Substitute
In an effort to make up for the speed workout I will miss on Wednesday, today I ran 8K, but with a twist! For the first 5K, I alternated pushing my pace and relaxing it. Fast, slow, fast, slow, fast. Then for the last 3K I just ran at a normal pace.
I finished the first 5K in 28:40ish and the whole 8K in 47:55. Pretty darn good. And I feel good now that I'm cooled down, too. Almost no soreness in the psoas, at least so far, though I may be sore elsewhere!
Overall, I'm feeling much more like myself while I run and not struggling as much. So yay for that.
My training's a little screwy this week due to my trip to DC, but I'm planning to run 5K on Wednesday before I leave for the airport and run 5K on Friday morning while I am in DC (I'm going to run from the hotel to the White House, wave to Barack, and run back!). Then I'll be back Saturday afternoon, and I have a 5K race Sunday morning. If I feel up to it after the race, I might run home to make the total for the day between 6 and 7 miles.
Wish me luck! I don't really have a goal for the race, but breaking 30 minutes is always something to shoot for.
I finished the first 5K in 28:40ish and the whole 8K in 47:55. Pretty darn good. And I feel good now that I'm cooled down, too. Almost no soreness in the psoas, at least so far, though I may be sore elsewhere!
Overall, I'm feeling much more like myself while I run and not struggling as much. So yay for that.
My training's a little screwy this week due to my trip to DC, but I'm planning to run 5K on Wednesday before I leave for the airport and run 5K on Friday morning while I am in DC (I'm going to run from the hotel to the White House, wave to Barack, and run back!). Then I'll be back Saturday afternoon, and I have a 5K race Sunday morning. If I feel up to it after the race, I might run home to make the total for the day between 6 and 7 miles.
Wish me luck! I don't really have a goal for the race, but breaking 30 minutes is always something to shoot for.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Amazing how that works when you do it right...
Well, I took the day off Friday, but went running today. I was feeling no pain at all when I started, and decided to shoot for 10K. I stayed wary of any pain I felt while running, and had to stop and ask myself a lot whether the small pains were normal or not. It's such a frustrating thing.
The good news is that I felt more like The Energizer Katie today than I have since before my injury. I didn't have that dragging, I-can-barely-make-it feeling I've been having since I started running again. I was able to go the full 10K without feeling tired or drained.
However, despite the fact that a piece of me really wanted to keep going, I did feel it would be unsafe to do so. By the end of the 10K, my psoas was quite sore again. Not enough to cause me pain while I was walking or even running, but the pain was pretty strong when I lifted my knee. Considering I wasn't feeling anything when I started, I saw that as a bad sign and quit at 10K.
When I got home, I iced the psoas for 15 minutes, and happily, that made the pain go away entirely in the space of an hour. Seems that icing thing really works when you do it properly. Imagine that.
So overall, not really a bad day. 10K (6.2 miles) is the farthest I've gone since being injured, and I feel completely recovered from it now.
The discouraging thing about this, though, is that my pace was very slow. I finished the 10K in 1:03:46, which is a 10:16 per mile pace. I'd like to say that I took it slow for safety's sake, but I honestly couldn't have pushed it any faster.
My focus this season is distance, not speed, so I'm trying not to let this get me down, but I haven't had any trouble with keeping up a 10-minute mile in a long time. I'm hoping I just had a tough day, and trying to focus on the positives, of which there are many!
The good news is that I felt more like The Energizer Katie today than I have since before my injury. I didn't have that dragging, I-can-barely-make-it feeling I've been having since I started running again. I was able to go the full 10K without feeling tired or drained.
However, despite the fact that a piece of me really wanted to keep going, I did feel it would be unsafe to do so. By the end of the 10K, my psoas was quite sore again. Not enough to cause me pain while I was walking or even running, but the pain was pretty strong when I lifted my knee. Considering I wasn't feeling anything when I started, I saw that as a bad sign and quit at 10K.
When I got home, I iced the psoas for 15 minutes, and happily, that made the pain go away entirely in the space of an hour. Seems that icing thing really works when you do it properly. Imagine that.
So overall, not really a bad day. 10K (6.2 miles) is the farthest I've gone since being injured, and I feel completely recovered from it now.
The discouraging thing about this, though, is that my pace was very slow. I finished the 10K in 1:03:46, which is a 10:16 per mile pace. I'd like to say that I took it slow for safety's sake, but I honestly couldn't have pushed it any faster.
My focus this season is distance, not speed, so I'm trying not to let this get me down, but I haven't had any trouble with keeping up a 10-minute mile in a long time. I'm hoping I just had a tough day, and trying to focus on the positives, of which there are many!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Satisfied (I think)
Well, it seems that I tend to speak a bit too soon lately. When I left this morning, I was not feeling sore at all. But, as I walked to the train, I had some pain in my right knee. As that faded, a new pain developed in my right hip -- the same one I injured, but in a much different place, on the outside.
The hip pain continued all day, whenever I walked, so I wondered if I should run. But, it seemed that the long strides I take when I walk were causing the pain, and my shorter running strides did not. So, I went for an easy 5K, and I felt pretty good. And when I was done, there was no more pain in my hip. It was almost as if a certain muscle needed to be stretched or something.
Now, about 3 hours later, I'm still not feeling any pain, anywhere, which is great. My muscles are very tired though, so tomorrow I am taking a much desired, well justified day off.
The morning will tell the true tale, but right now I am feeling satisfied with my recovery and progress. Let's hope that this time, I'm not speaking too soon.
The hip pain continued all day, whenever I walked, so I wondered if I should run. But, it seemed that the long strides I take when I walk were causing the pain, and my shorter running strides did not. So, I went for an easy 5K, and I felt pretty good. And when I was done, there was no more pain in my hip. It was almost as if a certain muscle needed to be stretched or something.
Now, about 3 hours later, I'm still not feeling any pain, anywhere, which is great. My muscles are very tired though, so tomorrow I am taking a much desired, well justified day off.
The morning will tell the true tale, but right now I am feeling satisfied with my recovery and progress. Let's hope that this time, I'm not speaking too soon.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
In and out....
Well, I was feeling fine to go to speed training -- tired, but not sore. The workout was a continuous 3-mile run in 200 m in-outs. Basically, 12 laps around an outdoor track going your 5K pace plus 20 seconds per mile on the first half of each lap, and your 5K pace plus about 10 seconds per mile on the second half.
I was the slowest person there again by a noticable margin, and I must admit it was discouraging to watch the friend I used to keep pace with pull farther and farther ahead (and to see the fasties finish when I had yet to finish mile 2). But, I finished the 3 miles in 27:52 -- under a 9:20 pace, which is right where I was supposed to be. Granted, there's no way I could have gone any faster than that, but still. I really have to remember that even if I'm slow compared to my teammates, I'm going pretty fast for me.
No noticeable pain. I'm tired and sore, but not hurting, really. However, I still don't feel quite right. At random times during the day and night, my hip will start to ache. Running or not running doesn't seem to matter, and it never happens if I am focused on something else, which suggests it might be partly in my head. I find this sort of worrisome, but I'm trying to be patient.
I hope soon, I just start feeling normal again.
I was the slowest person there again by a noticable margin, and I must admit it was discouraging to watch the friend I used to keep pace with pull farther and farther ahead (and to see the fasties finish when I had yet to finish mile 2). But, I finished the 3 miles in 27:52 -- under a 9:20 pace, which is right where I was supposed to be. Granted, there's no way I could have gone any faster than that, but still. I really have to remember that even if I'm slow compared to my teammates, I'm going pretty fast for me.
No noticeable pain. I'm tired and sore, but not hurting, really. However, I still don't feel quite right. At random times during the day and night, my hip will start to ache. Running or not running doesn't seem to matter, and it never happens if I am focused on something else, which suggests it might be partly in my head. I find this sort of worrisome, but I'm trying to be patient.
I hope soon, I just start feeling normal again.
(sigh)
I'm pretty sore this morning. Not sure what to think of that just yet. Hoping to be ok for speed work this evening.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
... really?!
Ok, so... please note the following:
Today, I felt almost nothing in my psoas. Maybe every fifth time I raised my knee, I felt a twinge, but that was it.
So, after work, I went for a run, not sure if I would do 5K or 8K.
When I got to 5K, I was tired, because it was just as hard as yesterday. But I wasn't hurting. So, I said to myself, "Katie, today was hard regardless of if you stop here of keep going. But if you keep going, tomorrow might be a little easier." So, I kept going and finished an 8K.
I forgot my stopwatch, but I did look at the time on my phone when I started and ended. I finished the 8K somewhere between 48 and 49 minutes.
Additionally, I am certain I spent at least a full minute waiting at stop lights, and likely closer to two minutes.
Do you know what this means?
I just finished an 8K in less than 48 minutes -- faster than I ran the Shamrock Shuffle.
Granted, today's weather conditions were stellar and the Shuffle's were horrid. And, finishing the Shuffle was not hard for me, whereas today's 8K kicked my butt.
But still, I am really happy about this. Maybe the climb back to where I was will not be as slow as I thought.
Also, the psoas is a little more sore than before the run -- I feel it every time I lift my knee, but NOTHING anywhere close to worrisome.
I'm so relieved I can barely stand it.
Today, I felt almost nothing in my psoas. Maybe every fifth time I raised my knee, I felt a twinge, but that was it.
So, after work, I went for a run, not sure if I would do 5K or 8K.
When I got to 5K, I was tired, because it was just as hard as yesterday. But I wasn't hurting. So, I said to myself, "Katie, today was hard regardless of if you stop here of keep going. But if you keep going, tomorrow might be a little easier." So, I kept going and finished an 8K.
I forgot my stopwatch, but I did look at the time on my phone when I started and ended. I finished the 8K somewhere between 48 and 49 minutes.
Additionally, I am certain I spent at least a full minute waiting at stop lights, and likely closer to two minutes.
Do you know what this means?
I just finished an 8K in less than 48 minutes -- faster than I ran the Shamrock Shuffle.
Granted, today's weather conditions were stellar and the Shuffle's were horrid. And, finishing the Shuffle was not hard for me, whereas today's 8K kicked my butt.
But still, I am really happy about this. Maybe the climb back to where I was will not be as slow as I thought.
Also, the psoas is a little more sore than before the run -- I feel it every time I lift my knee, but NOTHING anywhere close to worrisome.
I'm so relieved I can barely stand it.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Uphill Climb Begins
Well, I had a bad day yesterday, physically and emotionally. I took Thursday through Sunday off from running, and Saturday and Sunday off completely (no aerobics or upper body, either). And, inexplicably, I was in more pain yesterday than I have been since the injury happened. I found this really disheartening, and finally all my pent up frustration came out and I cried for a while. I was really worried that I was never going to recover in time to be ready for the 10 miler or the half marathon.
Today, though, is 100 times better. I had very little pain when I woke up this morning, even after I did my stepper exercises. When I got home from work, I felt almost nothing, even when I lifted my knee. So, I went for a 5K run. Now I am back, and happily, I still feel almost nothing when I lift my knee. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, because there have been really good days followed by really bad ones. But this feels like progress.
The bad news is that my 5K run felt WAY harder than a 5K has felt in a long time. I really struggled. It was bound to happen. It was wishful thinking to hope that taking two weeks with almost no running wouldn't make my return to running hard. (But I did wishfully think it, nonetheless.) These two weeks probably set me back four weeks worth of training.
But, if the pain continues to subside in my psoas, I'm starting to regain some confidence that I'll be ready for the half, and maybe even the 10 miler if I'm lucky. I'm not looking forward to the struggle, but I made this uphill climb once, and I can do it again.
Today, though, is 100 times better. I had very little pain when I woke up this morning, even after I did my stepper exercises. When I got home from work, I felt almost nothing, even when I lifted my knee. So, I went for a 5K run. Now I am back, and happily, I still feel almost nothing when I lift my knee. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, because there have been really good days followed by really bad ones. But this feels like progress.
The bad news is that my 5K run felt WAY harder than a 5K has felt in a long time. I really struggled. It was bound to happen. It was wishful thinking to hope that taking two weeks with almost no running wouldn't make my return to running hard. (But I did wishfully think it, nonetheless.) These two weeks probably set me back four weeks worth of training.
But, if the pain continues to subside in my psoas, I'm starting to regain some confidence that I'll be ready for the half, and maybe even the 10 miler if I'm lucky. I'm not looking forward to the struggle, but I made this uphill climb once, and I can do it again.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
So-so psoas
Well, the good news is on two fronts. First, I went to speed training on Wednesday, and had no pain at all while I as running. I know, I know, I wasn't supposed to go, but at the last second, our coach decided that he was going to introduce a new workout, and I really didn't want to miss the instruction. In the end, the run felt great, and I was glad I went. And afterward, my hip didn't really hurt any more than it did before I went. It still hurt to lift my knee, but nothing like when I first got hurt.
The other piece of good news is that I'm pretty convinced at this point that I don't have a stress fracture. For one, running does not seem to make the pain any better or worse. Also, the worst pain is in the morning when I get up, when my muscles are tight. And when I wrote to the injury screener to give her an update, she said it sounded more and more like the psoas. So, muscle problem is better than a stress fracture.
However, the recovery is going much slower than I hoped. I've only run twice this week, and the muscle feels the same as it did a week ago. I think it's going to be a long time before I feel normal again.
I'm going to try to start running semi-regularly again next week, being super conscious of how I feel. If rest isn't helping, I may as well try at least some easy training.
Keep thinking good thoughts for me.
The other piece of good news is that I'm pretty convinced at this point that I don't have a stress fracture. For one, running does not seem to make the pain any better or worse. Also, the worst pain is in the morning when I get up, when my muscles are tight. And when I wrote to the injury screener to give her an update, she said it sounded more and more like the psoas. So, muscle problem is better than a stress fracture.
However, the recovery is going much slower than I hoped. I've only run twice this week, and the muscle feels the same as it did a week ago. I think it's going to be a long time before I feel normal again.
I'm going to try to start running semi-regularly again next week, being super conscious of how I feel. If rest isn't helping, I may as well try at least some easy training.
Keep thinking good thoughts for me.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Injury Screening
Well, things are progressing as well as I have a right to hope. I woke up this morning with no pain at all, even when I lifted my knee to a 90-degree angle (what has been hurting the most). As I went throughout the day climbing stairs and whatnot, I felt twinges a couple of times, but nothing that I even would have thought twice about if it weren't for the injury.
So, I decided to jog the couple miles to the store for the injury screening tonight. I was a little afraid of what I would feel, but I figured if it still hurt a lot to run at an easy pace, that I was something I should be able to tell the injury screener.
I went very slow, probably at an 11 minute pace or less. By the time I got there, I was still only feeling tiny twinges, and only when I lifted my knee up.
When I described the pain to the screener, she grimaced and said it sounded like a stress fracture. (Ugh.) But then after she moved me around and put pressure on things and whatnot, she was less convinced, and said it may be a strain of one of my groin muscles (the psoas). It's the muscle responsible for lifting the leg, which would make sense because on my run on Monday, it hurt the most when I was running up curbs.
She gave me some exercises to do to strengthen my glutes, which apparently will make me less dependent on the psoas. She wasn't completely convinced it wasn't a stress fracture, though, so she told me to contact her in a week or two if it didn't stop hurting by then.
She also said I should pay attention to when my foot struck the ground, and try to focus on striking underneath my body and pushing backward with my glutes. Right now, I apparently I focus more on pulling my leg up and tend to strike in front of my body, which is why so my psoas are overworked. More glute, less psoas. Easier said than done, but at least it's something to work on.
(Go ahead and laugh at how many times I've said groin and glutes. I know you're dying to do so.)
I asked if I should rest more from running, and she said that she never tells people not to run. She just tells them to be smart. Translation: you can run as long as it doesn't hurt. She said that basically, the less I run now, the faster it should get better, which is really nothing I didn't already know.
I did the same slow jog on the way back home, and I'm still feeling pretty good. It hurts a little more than it did when I got to the store, but not much, and still only when I lift my knee really high.
I think the smartest plan for me this week would be to take tomorrow off (I'm not really going to have time anyway), and then try another easy run on Wednesday. I hate to skip another speed workout, but those entail a lot of hard running and I think I'd be pushing my luck. I won't have time to run Thursday or Friday, either, so my next chance will be Saturday. Hopefully, I'll be feeling really good by then.
So, everyone root for the psoas and not a stress fracture.
Also, note to self: actually do the prescribed glute exercises. (Again, ugh.)
So, I decided to jog the couple miles to the store for the injury screening tonight. I was a little afraid of what I would feel, but I figured if it still hurt a lot to run at an easy pace, that I was something I should be able to tell the injury screener.
I went very slow, probably at an 11 minute pace or less. By the time I got there, I was still only feeling tiny twinges, and only when I lifted my knee up.
When I described the pain to the screener, she grimaced and said it sounded like a stress fracture. (Ugh.) But then after she moved me around and put pressure on things and whatnot, she was less convinced, and said it may be a strain of one of my groin muscles (the psoas). It's the muscle responsible for lifting the leg, which would make sense because on my run on Monday, it hurt the most when I was running up curbs.
She gave me some exercises to do to strengthen my glutes, which apparently will make me less dependent on the psoas. She wasn't completely convinced it wasn't a stress fracture, though, so she told me to contact her in a week or two if it didn't stop hurting by then.
She also said I should pay attention to when my foot struck the ground, and try to focus on striking underneath my body and pushing backward with my glutes. Right now, I apparently I focus more on pulling my leg up and tend to strike in front of my body, which is why so my psoas are overworked. More glute, less psoas. Easier said than done, but at least it's something to work on.
(Go ahead and laugh at how many times I've said groin and glutes. I know you're dying to do so.)
I asked if I should rest more from running, and she said that she never tells people not to run. She just tells them to be smart. Translation: you can run as long as it doesn't hurt. She said that basically, the less I run now, the faster it should get better, which is really nothing I didn't already know.
I did the same slow jog on the way back home, and I'm still feeling pretty good. It hurts a little more than it did when I got to the store, but not much, and still only when I lift my knee really high.
I think the smartest plan for me this week would be to take tomorrow off (I'm not really going to have time anyway), and then try another easy run on Wednesday. I hate to skip another speed workout, but those entail a lot of hard running and I think I'd be pushing my luck. I won't have time to run Thursday or Friday, either, so my next chance will be Saturday. Hopefully, I'll be feeling really good by then.
So, everyone root for the psoas and not a stress fracture.
Also, note to self: actually do the prescribed glute exercises. (Again, ugh.)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Highs and Lows
Let's start with the positive. On Monday, I went out and ran a whopping 9.3 miles! Looking at my schedule and the weather, it seemed like I wasn't going to have another chance for a long run this week, and I was feeling great on Monday. So I did it. And I didn't really struggle much! Actually, when I got to the end of the 15K, I considered going a bit farther to make it 10 miles. But then I thought, why not save another victory for another day? I was really on a high as I was cooling down.
But, unfortunately, after I made it up to my apartment, I found myself in some major pain. My right groin muscle hurt so bad that I could barely limp from my couch to the refrigerator. I was seriously freaked out. Forget not being able to run -- I am completely dependent on walking to get around, and I climb at least 6 flights of stairs a day. Any limits on my mobility felt really scary.
Thankfully, the next morning the muscles were still sore but I could move. That was yesterday, and today it is even better. I'm hoping that if I take the rest of the week off, I will be ok next week.
I learned my lesson. No need to push too hard too fast. I've got 4 months before the half marathon, and almost 2 before the 10 miler. When I start up again, no need to push as hard as I've been pushing.
I must confess that I hate taking time off. It's killing me to not be at speed training right now. I know I'm doing the smart thing, but some irrational part of me thinks all my hard work is being lost right now. I'm trying to enjoy the break and tell myself that months of dedicated training won't suddenly disappear over the next few days.
I also scheduled a free injury screening for next Monday, so if it still is bothering by then, I'll get some professional advice.
(sigh) This really killed my high, but I'm still proud of the nine miles and still proud of doing the Shamrock Shuffle. To end on a high note, let me just say that I got the link to my Shuffle photos today, and they were awesome. I just dropped $20 on a copy of one because it was just too good to pass up.
But, unfortunately, after I made it up to my apartment, I found myself in some major pain. My right groin muscle hurt so bad that I could barely limp from my couch to the refrigerator. I was seriously freaked out. Forget not being able to run -- I am completely dependent on walking to get around, and I climb at least 6 flights of stairs a day. Any limits on my mobility felt really scary.
Thankfully, the next morning the muscles were still sore but I could move. That was yesterday, and today it is even better. I'm hoping that if I take the rest of the week off, I will be ok next week.
I learned my lesson. No need to push too hard too fast. I've got 4 months before the half marathon, and almost 2 before the 10 miler. When I start up again, no need to push as hard as I've been pushing.
I must confess that I hate taking time off. It's killing me to not be at speed training right now. I know I'm doing the smart thing, but some irrational part of me thinks all my hard work is being lost right now. I'm trying to enjoy the break and tell myself that months of dedicated training won't suddenly disappear over the next few days.
I also scheduled a free injury screening for next Monday, so if it still is bothering by then, I'll get some professional advice.
(sigh) This really killed my high, but I'm still proud of the nine miles and still proud of doing the Shamrock Shuffle. To end on a high note, let me just say that I got the link to my Shuffle photos today, and they were awesome. I just dropped $20 on a copy of one because it was just too good to pass up.
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