Overall, my progress towards running again has essentially halted over the last week and a half. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but that'll be a hard emotion to avoid in this post. Since those few days of running I did about 10 days ago I've found myself almost back at square one. To catch myself (and my faithful readers out there!) up... here's how it's been playing out.
I got a deep tissue massage (the second one I've gotten since this happened) and ran twice the next day. This was...oh.. around the 14th of this month. The first run was horrible, the worst it's felt. It felt like it was going to pop out or something. Am I being dramatic? Perhaps. Anyway, I needed to limp about a half mile home in the rain. Sucked. After getting back, I stretched out and started to feel better. I made it about a quarter mile into my next run when I was forced to walk again due to pain in my hip. That was a rough setback.
After that I took a couple days off. Admittedly, I lost a little bit of rhythm in my day to day attempts at running, walking, or doing strength work during this time. Some days I took off entirely, while others I would attempt to run. Every few days I would do strength work, but I lost the consistency and focus I had back when the injury initially happened. I think the day to day pain wore me down a little bit. And those couple days of forced walking didn't help either. The idea of going outside only to walk back 10-20 minutes later was more than a little disheartening and something that I think I subconsciously wanted to avoid. So I did, until today.
I got over the hump and did a run/walk this morning. Turns out, to no big surprise, I can still only handle a minute or two of very slow running before my limp gets bad enough to force me to walk. For what it's worth, I still felt good about trying it. Going out and walking for 40 minutes is a small thing, but I appreciated being able to breathe fresh air and at least reestablish a base line for potential future improvements. I need to keep taking it a day at a time. Not giving up yet.
AH
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Real-ish running
I'm now able to run, albeit at a feeble pace and with a slight gimp, but overall not too bad. Yesterday in the morning I did a four mile run without stopping to stretch or walk. I saw that as a major improvement and a bit of a breakthrough. In the afternoon I got a super intense deep tissue massage and went for another run (this time about 4.5 miles) a few hours later. Certainly an encouraging development and something I can build on.
This morning I got up and went out for another slow, easy jog. Yesterday and today I was able to get close to my recovery run pace of around 7:00/mile. This morning started slower while I worked through some pains, and by a couple miles things were feeling good. Mind you, even when things are "good," I'm dealing with some fairly moderate pain in my upper hamstring. I'd give it a 4/10. I know that running through injuries isn't good practice, but I feel I'm in a unique position right now with the timing of the Trials coming up. I'm rapidly losing fitness. I feel that I need to squeeze every bit of running out of myself when my body allows. It doesn't do me much good to show up to the Trials healthy but horribly out of shape. I need to find a balance where I'm limiting my fitness lost but also maximizing my ability to heal. Admittedly, a bit of a balancing act.
Towards the end of my run this morning my right hip started to tighten up and I began to lose some sensation in my whole right leg. My hamstring was so tight, and perhaps traumatized from the massage yesterday that I think it was pinching my nerve and causing a sort of dead leg feeling. I walked it in to the house for the last half mile or so but thankfully didn't feel discouraged. 1) I am doing more running now than I have in the past 10 days. 2) The massage yesterday was so intense that my hamstring needs some time to bounce back. In the longer term (tomorrow and several days down the line) hopefully things will spring back to normal a little bit. I've heard multiple times that deep tissue massages (even when you're used to them, as I am) cause your muscles to only temporarily loosen up--they spring back the other way and get tight again--before ultimately relaxing. It's a process and far from an immediate fix.
So here I am getting ready to head out on another 5 mile easy jog. Ali taped up my hamstring with KT tape this morning and I feel better than I did when I woke up. Hopefully this run will end up better than the first. If not, there's always tomorrow.
AH
This morning I got up and went out for another slow, easy jog. Yesterday and today I was able to get close to my recovery run pace of around 7:00/mile. This morning started slower while I worked through some pains, and by a couple miles things were feeling good. Mind you, even when things are "good," I'm dealing with some fairly moderate pain in my upper hamstring. I'd give it a 4/10. I know that running through injuries isn't good practice, but I feel I'm in a unique position right now with the timing of the Trials coming up. I'm rapidly losing fitness. I feel that I need to squeeze every bit of running out of myself when my body allows. It doesn't do me much good to show up to the Trials healthy but horribly out of shape. I need to find a balance where I'm limiting my fitness lost but also maximizing my ability to heal. Admittedly, a bit of a balancing act.
Towards the end of my run this morning my right hip started to tighten up and I began to lose some sensation in my whole right leg. My hamstring was so tight, and perhaps traumatized from the massage yesterday that I think it was pinching my nerve and causing a sort of dead leg feeling. I walked it in to the house for the last half mile or so but thankfully didn't feel discouraged. 1) I am doing more running now than I have in the past 10 days. 2) The massage yesterday was so intense that my hamstring needs some time to bounce back. In the longer term (tomorrow and several days down the line) hopefully things will spring back to normal a little bit. I've heard multiple times that deep tissue massages (even when you're used to them, as I am) cause your muscles to only temporarily loosen up--they spring back the other way and get tight again--before ultimately relaxing. It's a process and far from an immediate fix.
So here I am getting ready to head out on another 5 mile easy jog. Ali taped up my hamstring with KT tape this morning and I feel better than I did when I woke up. Hopefully this run will end up better than the first. If not, there's always tomorrow.
AH
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Pain and progress
So much has happened since my last post I'm not even sure where to start. There have been some good things and not so good things. Let's get right to it.
Ali and I drove to California (we're currently in Petaluma, will be in Vallejo starting on Thursday for the next few months). The drive was fun and very rarely felt long or boring. We kept ourselves occupied by listening to The Martian on audiobook, talking with each other, or listening to podcasts. We left on Monday 1/4 and got to Santa Barbara on that Friday. We averaged about 10 hours of driving a day and stopped in hotels/air bnbs every night to keep ourselves fresh.
The night before we left Portsmouth I was out on a 90 minute run. Fairly routine minus the fact that I'd run a hard two hours earlier in the day. That week was one of the biggest of my life. I'd run about 125 miles in 6 days. No doubt I was teetering on "the edge," and whether or not I was aware of that, running that afternoon really tightened up my right hamstring. I stopped and stretched and it seemed to get better as I finished up the run. After the run I was a little hobbled and had a slight limp, but hey I had just run 33 high quality miles in a day. Little aches are customary. I got a massage from Shawn and felt better.
I woke up the next morning and was in a lot more pain. Tuesday was even worse. The ache went from being a general ache in my upper hamstring to a sharp, stabbing pain right where it connects up into my sit bones. Not a very comfortable place to have some pain during a drive across the ol' USA.
By the time Wednesday morning came around and I got up with the same severe pain, a huge part of me had already given up on being able to run the Trials. I even told Ali "I think this is it, I don't think I'll be able to run." I had zero indication that things were going to get better. Walking, I was limping noticeably; running was out of the question-- no amount of will power could have allowed me to run at that point. It was more painful, sharp, and far more inhibitive (is that the right word? maybe, hey, it's a blog.. get what you pay for) than my sports hernia. From experience with deep core injuries, I had the feeling that my symptoms weren't going to improve any time soon. I had gone into mental damage control mode. The sooner I could wrap my head around not being able to run the Trials, the better I'll ultimately be able to cope with the disappointment. As sad and angry as I felt for those couple days, there was nothing I could do to alter the past. My body reminded me of the pain whenever I moved around, which quelled any hopes I might have had to get better. There was no question running was simply impossible at that point.
Time passed, we got to California on Friday, settled in a little bit (and stopped driving for 8-12 hours each day). This, we were hoping, would help my cause. On Saturday I tried a short walk/run, hopeful that I'd at least be able to do something. Running, unfortunately, even at a walking pace, was still impossible. The stabbing sensation underneath me was still horrible. I was, however, able to walk without as much of a limp. Hung my hat on that fact for the day. Hey, it was something!
Sunday I went out for another couple long walks. On one of those walks when I was with Ali, I tried running again, painfully slowly, and was able to do it for a couple minutes. This was literally at a walking pace, but I was lifting my legs in sort of a running gait, as pathetic as it might have looked... it was improvement. I probably looked like a gangly old man post double hip replacement.
Monday I drove out to a park near Petaluma and was planning another walk/run scenario. I was able to run for 4-5 minute chunks, then take walking breaks in between to stretch and do lunges and things like that. The park was beautiful and felt like such a new place, which was exciting. I didn't wear a watch but was out there for 1:15, which included seven or so running segments. I was finally getting somewhere! I also got an amazing deep tissue massage from this place in Petaluma. Suddenly I was feeling really good and some hope began to creep into my consciousness. I got out and did another medium length walk with a short running segment later in the afternoon with Ali.
Today I ran four miles. Again, this was at a brutally slow pace, but towards the end I was getting up to about an 8:00 pace without debilitating pain. This is certainly the fastest I've run since this happened. I did take breaks: I'd run for .7 miles, then walk for .3 and get some stretches in. Repeat that process until four miles was up. It was painful, no doubt, but it was tolerable in a way it never was before.
So that's where I am. If you read all that, bravo-- I hope it wasn't too boring for you. I wanted to write it out day by day to give myself a sense of how I've improved. (Well will ya look at that...) In a couple days I've gone from a quasi-running-esque-old-man-shuffle for a couple minutes to almost a mile at a time of legit "hey that guy is running and doesn't look like total shit" type speed. Nevermind the fact that I'd been doing the majority of my training at 6:00 pace. WHO THE HELL CARES. I am actually getting healthier-- something I seriously doubted would happen at a reasonable rate before.
This puts me in an admittedly weird position. Given that the Trials are a month away, it's hard to say whether I'll still be able to race. Two months out-- I'd say it's likely I could recover in time. Two weeks? No way. A month? .....maybe. I know I'll still go to LA and at least watch the event. Ali and I still have a hotel room booked and a number for the race and I don't want to give up that whole experience, especially considering all the friends and family that I'll be able to see there. I need to give up the idea that I'll be able to run 2:14 or 2:13-- reasonable goals before this injury that are now seemingly pipe dreams. That's OK though, these things happen to runners and it's not the end of the world. Worst case scenario is that I just can't race. If that happens, I'll find another race and refocus myself. It's a big race to miss out on, but it's just a race and life goes on. No sense in making things worse and getting down about it. There are always more to look forward to.
In the meantime, I won't give up. No chance. I'm doing everything I can do get healthy right now and be able to stand on that starting line with everyone else in February.
AH
Ali and I drove to California (we're currently in Petaluma, will be in Vallejo starting on Thursday for the next few months). The drive was fun and very rarely felt long or boring. We kept ourselves occupied by listening to The Martian on audiobook, talking with each other, or listening to podcasts. We left on Monday 1/4 and got to Santa Barbara on that Friday. We averaged about 10 hours of driving a day and stopped in hotels/air bnbs every night to keep ourselves fresh.
The night before we left Portsmouth I was out on a 90 minute run. Fairly routine minus the fact that I'd run a hard two hours earlier in the day. That week was one of the biggest of my life. I'd run about 125 miles in 6 days. No doubt I was teetering on "the edge," and whether or not I was aware of that, running that afternoon really tightened up my right hamstring. I stopped and stretched and it seemed to get better as I finished up the run. After the run I was a little hobbled and had a slight limp, but hey I had just run 33 high quality miles in a day. Little aches are customary. I got a massage from Shawn and felt better.
I woke up the next morning and was in a lot more pain. Tuesday was even worse. The ache went from being a general ache in my upper hamstring to a sharp, stabbing pain right where it connects up into my sit bones. Not a very comfortable place to have some pain during a drive across the ol' USA.
By the time Wednesday morning came around and I got up with the same severe pain, a huge part of me had already given up on being able to run the Trials. I even told Ali "I think this is it, I don't think I'll be able to run." I had zero indication that things were going to get better. Walking, I was limping noticeably; running was out of the question-- no amount of will power could have allowed me to run at that point. It was more painful, sharp, and far more inhibitive (is that the right word? maybe, hey, it's a blog.. get what you pay for) than my sports hernia. From experience with deep core injuries, I had the feeling that my symptoms weren't going to improve any time soon. I had gone into mental damage control mode. The sooner I could wrap my head around not being able to run the Trials, the better I'll ultimately be able to cope with the disappointment. As sad and angry as I felt for those couple days, there was nothing I could do to alter the past. My body reminded me of the pain whenever I moved around, which quelled any hopes I might have had to get better. There was no question running was simply impossible at that point.
Time passed, we got to California on Friday, settled in a little bit (and stopped driving for 8-12 hours each day). This, we were hoping, would help my cause. On Saturday I tried a short walk/run, hopeful that I'd at least be able to do something. Running, unfortunately, even at a walking pace, was still impossible. The stabbing sensation underneath me was still horrible. I was, however, able to walk without as much of a limp. Hung my hat on that fact for the day. Hey, it was something!
Sunday I went out for another couple long walks. On one of those walks when I was with Ali, I tried running again, painfully slowly, and was able to do it for a couple minutes. This was literally at a walking pace, but I was lifting my legs in sort of a running gait, as pathetic as it might have looked... it was improvement. I probably looked like a gangly old man post double hip replacement.
Monday I drove out to a park near Petaluma and was planning another walk/run scenario. I was able to run for 4-5 minute chunks, then take walking breaks in between to stretch and do lunges and things like that. The park was beautiful and felt like such a new place, which was exciting. I didn't wear a watch but was out there for 1:15, which included seven or so running segments. I was finally getting somewhere! I also got an amazing deep tissue massage from this place in Petaluma. Suddenly I was feeling really good and some hope began to creep into my consciousness. I got out and did another medium length walk with a short running segment later in the afternoon with Ali.
Today I ran four miles. Again, this was at a brutally slow pace, but towards the end I was getting up to about an 8:00 pace without debilitating pain. This is certainly the fastest I've run since this happened. I did take breaks: I'd run for .7 miles, then walk for .3 and get some stretches in. Repeat that process until four miles was up. It was painful, no doubt, but it was tolerable in a way it never was before.
So that's where I am. If you read all that, bravo-- I hope it wasn't too boring for you. I wanted to write it out day by day to give myself a sense of how I've improved. (Well will ya look at that...) In a couple days I've gone from a quasi-running-esque-old-man-shuffle for a couple minutes to almost a mile at a time of legit "hey that guy is running and doesn't look like total shit" type speed. Nevermind the fact that I'd been doing the majority of my training at 6:00 pace. WHO THE HELL CARES. I am actually getting healthier-- something I seriously doubted would happen at a reasonable rate before.
This puts me in an admittedly weird position. Given that the Trials are a month away, it's hard to say whether I'll still be able to race. Two months out-- I'd say it's likely I could recover in time. Two weeks? No way. A month? .....maybe. I know I'll still go to LA and at least watch the event. Ali and I still have a hotel room booked and a number for the race and I don't want to give up that whole experience, especially considering all the friends and family that I'll be able to see there. I need to give up the idea that I'll be able to run 2:14 or 2:13-- reasonable goals before this injury that are now seemingly pipe dreams. That's OK though, these things happen to runners and it's not the end of the world. Worst case scenario is that I just can't race. If that happens, I'll find another race and refocus myself. It's a big race to miss out on, but it's just a race and life goes on. No sense in making things worse and getting down about it. There are always more to look forward to.
In the meantime, I won't give up. No chance. I'm doing everything I can do get healthy right now and be able to stand on that starting line with everyone else in February.
AH
Friday, January 1, 2016
Driving to California + Last day at RA
Happy New Year everyone! 2015 was a big comeback year for me. I'll look back on it fondly as the year I got healthy again and rediscovered my running.
Things are still going great. I am cranking out the miles and hitting some more speed workouts as I get a little closer to the Trials. I'm more confident than ever. More details to come on this later.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is my last day at Runner's Alley before Ali and I head west to California. We are leaving on Monday morning first thing and driving out there. Running won't be great for those five days or so, but I'll get through it somehow. We'll be out there for at least a few months, living in Vallejo, which is just north of SF/Oakland/Berkeley. Ali will be working as a traveling OT while I focus for the first time in my adult/post collegiate life solely on running. We're both super excited for it.
Cheers everyone! Good to be back on the blogosphere after a brief hiatus. I'll be checking back in with more details on training in the weeks to come.
AH
Things are still going great. I am cranking out the miles and hitting some more speed workouts as I get a little closer to the Trials. I'm more confident than ever. More details to come on this later.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is my last day at Runner's Alley before Ali and I head west to California. We are leaving on Monday morning first thing and driving out there. Running won't be great for those five days or so, but I'll get through it somehow. We'll be out there for at least a few months, living in Vallejo, which is just north of SF/Oakland/Berkeley. Ali will be working as a traveling OT while I focus for the first time in my adult/post collegiate life solely on running. We're both super excited for it.
Cheers everyone! Good to be back on the blogosphere after a brief hiatus. I'll be checking back in with more details on training in the weeks to come.
AH
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