Monday, June 14, 2010

The Post I've been putting off

I like to think that if I don't say something out loud it won't be true and in this case, I've been avoiding my blog because in some weird way, writing down that I am slightly injured will make it real. I say slightly injured because I really don't know how injured I am because I haven't pushed it to the point where I'm incapacitated.
It all started 3 days after the marathon when I woke up feeling pretty darn good. So I decided to go for a walk. That walk turned into a run. I just couldn't help myself. I'd tell myself that I was being stupid and start to walk. That would last for a block and then I'd just start running again. I'd talk myself into walking again and then find myself running. After about 3 miles I could feel my hip again and decided I'd better quit. 4 more days passed by with me itching to run but being a good girl didn't. Finally it was a week after the big day and I headed out for an easy 5 miler. It turned into a painful 7 miler. I tell you that I have a disconnect between my brain and my body. I iced and stretched but didn't really know what exactly was hurting. It didn't feel like my IT band or my piraformis (both previous injuries). The next week I took it "easy" by doing a 4 miler, 5 miler, and another 7 miler all in pain. By that time I knew that I was really injured. I think I was in denial. I took a week off and went to my chiropractor. His diagnosis was my TFL which turns into the IT band. He worked on it twice and sent me off to run and see how it was. 3 miles was too far. I've been in and out of his office 5 times since the start of this ordeal. Part of the problem is that I haven't felt like I could just quit training although that would have been the smartest thing I could have done right after the marathon. I knew I had the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay coming up and wanted to be completely ready for it. However, I am not.
The Wasatch Back is this weekend. I'm runner 6. My legs are not the easiest. I am feeling like I am just not prepared. I am really hoping that the training from the marathon is still in there somewhere and I'll be able to pull it off. I've been biking outside and going to a killer cycling class. But the longest run I've done since being worked on is 6 miles. And it wasn't pain free. But I have been able to do multiple runs in a day without extra pain like 5 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon and 3 at night. I am really watching my stride, keeping it short and quick. I am stretching and icing and rolling. It is all helping and I am getting better. I just wish I had another month or two to prepare. Unfortunately I don't. So I am going to just try to take it easy and get through it. In a way it feels a little like a first marathon. I'm not sure I can do it because I haven't done it before, and I'm not sure that I'm ready. But hopefully in the end I'll have conquered it and will feel some satisfaction. Really, my only goal is to survive and have fun. And after that, maybe I should take a couple weeks off.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I am runner 5 this weekend. I too have been ignoring the pain in my right ankle...like you said if you don't acknowledge it you are not hurt right :) (very wrong but the justification works for me!)

Are you on a really competitive team? If not then don't stress about Ragnar, it is all about the experience and the total craziness of it all. Just remember to have a good time and relax and not stress about it :)

Have a great weekend, I can' wait to read all about your first Ragnar experience -- I am sure I will be posting about my weekend!!!

Mel said...

Ummm... I didn't read this before I called you! I'm not worried about your time or anything like that but I don't like the thoughts of you being in pain the whole time. I'm still up for switching legs if you change your mind.

Unknown said...

We are The Princess Posse. It will be hard to miss us -- we will be wearing tutu's :) We start at 11:30. I will keep my eye out for you!! That would be fun to meet you :)

Wendy said...

Hope this weekend goes well, and you feel ok.
Taking some time off to heal is probably a good idea. I know that's hard though.

Unknown said...

Dr. Mike says... take a few weeks off and read Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. Mike

ihaverun said...

I'm so sorry you are injured. I hope your body cooperates for the race this weekend! I want to do Wasatch Back so bad but turned down two different spots because of my half last weekend. Part of me wishes I had just done it but another part knows it was the smart thing to turn it down. It sounds like you are being smart to focus on having fun and then take a couple of weeks off. Have a great time!!

The un-Zen Runner said...

I injured myself on a 10-mile run only a couple weeks after I ran a marathon. My knee hurt only 3 miles into my run, but I just stubbornly kept going since I thought, "I just ran 26 miles...so I can certainly run 10." I'll just say be careful with your body. It took me about 3-4 months to recover by doing easy workouts during this time. My girlfriend said the smartest thing to me. She said "you want to be able to run the rest of your life, so don't give yourself a chronic injury over some short term goal of yours." Well put.

Lindsay said...

I hope it goes well for you!!! Good luck :)