I have declared this a non-running week and it sucks. I’m already having a really awesome week so this just tops it off. I have a perfectly valid reason for not running this week, but it doesn’t make it any better. My hip flexor is pretty torn up and I need it to heal. I haven’t really run without pain since having the baby but it’s something that is manageable. I thought I was hitting my running stride in December and then this happened.
A couple of weeks ago I ran the Louisiana half marathon and the quarter marathon the day before. I felt fine running the quarter marathon but during the half marathon, things were different. Toward the end, my I could barely lift my right leg up to run. I thought it was due to how cold it was and maybe my hip never reached the warm-up part. When it was done, I was still walking. A couple hours after the race, I couldn’t lift my leg. It was so bad that I took ibuprofen. I know that means nothing to you but medicine is something I usually don’t do.
The pain has been out of control and I know this couldn’t just be from running. It’s never been this BAD before. It only took me a couple of days to realize that during the Louisiana half marathon, I tripped over some phantom crack in the road that really jolted me. I remember thinking, “that is going to hurt later.” This was around mile four but apparently, by the time I reached mile 11, I had forgotten that I tripped and this might have been the cause of my pain.
It makes me upset that my clumsiness caused me to have to stop running for a while. I’m not saying this is my only problem, but it’s my biggest problem right now. Since coming back to running, my form is off. I have some muscle imbalances, and it shows when I’m running. I’m trying to correct it a little bit of time. It’s frustrating because I know I’m capable of producing better results than what I’m producing. But I have to fix the problems first, right?
That’s the long story of why I’m taking the week off.
Most importantly, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to stop wondering and thinking about running a marathon. It’s time to start training for one. In two weeks, I’m going to start marathon training for Rock n Roll San Diego. If I don’t put one on the map, then I’ll keep pushing it off. It’s far enough away for me not to feel so overwhelmed and I know the weather will be decent.
In order to train though, I can’t have this nagging me for 18 weeks. I won’t start if my body isn’t ready but I hope my body doesn’t fail me during this time. This week I’ve been walking on the treadmill, teaching my cycle classes, and focusing on my strength training. I’ve also been icing and stretching throughout the day. If something hurts, I don’t do it. That’s all I can do right now.
I really do hope that it all comes together but this is just another lesson in learning to listen to your body. Rest and recovery are a very important part of any fitness schedule. Please take the time to warm-up, cool down, and stretch after every workout. These things are often overlooked, but don’t make those mistakes.
I’ll keep you posted on the running journey, don’t worry.
Have you ever tripped over what you thought was nothing but was actually something?
