Injury Update

The fast few weeks I have been dealing with some annoying hip pain, which I briefly mentioned in this post.  Throughout my running career, I have been extremely lucky with injuries (knocks on wood).  So, this injury came as a bit of a surprise, and a lot of frustration.  Thankfully, I didn't have to adjust my plan too much, with the exception of a couple of extra rest days.  I did a lot in between the runs to try to heal as quickly as possible.

#1 ICE!
Icing is an amazing thing.  It's funny because I used to think icing was silly.  Now I love it.  You'll often find me sitting on the couch with bags of ice on my legs even if they don't really hurt.  I am a huge advocate for icing.  I iced my hip/side pain like crazy.  At home I stuck bags of ice in the top of my pants and went along with my business.  At work I did the same with small ice packs.  Scrubs are great for hiding things.

#2 Foam Rolling
I enjoy foam rolling, but I definitely don't do it enough.  I did however make sure to foam roll my hip/side/back/bum area a lot over the past couple of weeks.   I managed to get myself in to some very interesting positions.  I need to be better about foam rolling all the time, not just when something hurts.  

hurts so good

#3 Stretching 

I made sure to stretch my hip/side every chance I got.  I'm sure I got many questionable looks from people.  Don't care.  It felt good, so I did it.

#4 Rest

This was the hardest for me to do.  Don't get me wrong, I love rest days.  I have two every week.  My body needs them, and I do a lot better with two a week.  However, additional rest days on top of those two?  UGH.  But I knew I needed them.  I would rather take a couple of extra rest days, than be forced to take weeks or months off.  I have a marathon to run next month, I certainly don't have time for that.  When the pain was at its worst, I cut a couple of workouts short, and gave myself 2 extra days of rest.  I'm really trying to do that whole listen to your body thing.  

While I am not a doctor, I am happy to report that these 4 things worked for me.  I am even happier to report that after almost 3 weeks of pain that ranged from mild to moderate at times, it seems to be gone completely! 

On Sunday I ran 18 miles.  18 beautiful, pain-free miles.

             

6 weeks

Six weeks baby....SIX WEEKS!! (F.R.I.E.N.D.S anyone?!).  I have 6 little weeks left until I will run my second full marathon in Newport, RI on Oct 13.  I'm starting to freak out a little.  Ok, a lot.

This past week has been full of it's share of ups and downs.  I developed some hip problem that doesn't seem to want to go away.  It started the week before some time, but I can't really pinpoint exactly when.  It's not really my hip either I guess, it's more right above it.  I've been stretching and icing like crazy.  It's been a rather large pain in my ass.

Here's how the past week went.

Monday Rest

Tuesday I was supposed to do 10-12 x 100 on, 100 off 5K pace.  I got through 10, but this was probably the worst day for my hip.  It just didn't want to cooperate, so I threw in the towel.

Wednesday Should have been 35-40 min easy.  My hip was still bothering me, so I decided I should probably listen to my body and take another rest day.

Thursday 5-6 x mile @ MP w/ 1 min rest.  My hip felt a little bit better today.  I did 5 @ MP.  I wanted to do 6 and felt like I could, but since my hip was still a little sore I figured I should stop at 5.

Friday Rest

Saturday I ran the NH 10 miler.  I had 15 miles on the schedule, so I ran 2 before the race and 3 after.  My big goal for this race was to try to run smart.  I've been going out way to fast recently and crashing after only a few miles.  I was determined not to let that happen during this race.  I started out right around MP and felt comfortable throughout the entire race.  It was a super hilly course, and humid as hell, but it was probably the best I have felt during a race in a long time.  My last mile was my fastest one (7:20).  Serious runner's high going on after that race.  My final time was 1:23:01 for 4th in my age group.

NH 10 miler elevation.  Serious butt workout.

The girl who placed 1st in my age group was the 1st place female,
so I'm listed as number 3 for awards.  Fine by me! 

Sunday I was supposed to do 40-45 min easy today.  I thought my hip was feeling better.  It didn't hurt to walk like it had been.  I got ready to go for a run, put on my hokas, and went out the door.  Unfortunately I didn't get very far.  My hip started hurting on the first few steps, so I turned around and went back home.

I am super bummed.  But I'm hoping by giving it another day I'll be ready to go for next week.  Monday is a scheduled rest day for me, so I'll have 2 days off in a row by taking today off, which should help.  I'm thinking a bag of ice will be my bff for the next couple of days.