That is the question I've been struggling with all week. My hip still hurts – my left hip to be more specific. As you know, for the first time my hip really bothered me at the end of and after my 11 mile run last Saturday.
Both my husband and Jenn advised and pleaded with me to rest this week. Take it easy, ice and rest so you don’t further hurt yourself. Makes sense, right? Well, I truly intended to listen to them…honestly I did. However, on Tuesday I was walking without any pain for the first time. I felt GREAT! So I decided I just had to sneak in a 4 mile run. Good idea, right?
WRONG! I was so excited to get out and run…I felt like a kid sneaking out of the house. At exactly .77 miles I had to stop. The pain was excruciating. I know the difference between aches and actual pain, and unfortunately this was pain.
While I tried not to think about it, I knew that this probably meant that I was definitely out for the half marathon this weekend. I’ll admit this made me sad and I was down about it (still am). I really wanted to run this weekend and I was looking forward to participating in the 1st Annual Rock Your Socks Virtual Half Marathon and 10K too!
The smart and safe thing to do is to continue to rest and ice my hip. Despite how badly I want to race this weekend, it would not be in my best interest to try and go out and run the half marathon. While I’m not happy about it, I keep telling myself that I need to keep focused on the real goal: running the SF Marathon on July 25th!
Hopefully, I can recover and get back to training….never thought I’d say this but I really miss running! I just hope my body will allow me to do so.
Anyone else had any running injuries? How did you cope and recover? Please share!
SF Marathon Here I Come,
Suzanne
Sorry about your hip pain, but I'm glad you're sitting this out. No reason to run and make things worse then mess up your training for the marathon that much more.
ReplyDeleteTake it easy this weekend.
Thanks Mike! You are right and I unexpectedly will be taking it easy this weekend and I'm continuing to ice. Have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteSuzanne
Are just applying ice locally? I couple of years ago I was trying to recover from ITB syndrome on both knees, and had some hip pain thrown in as well, and saw a short item in Runner's World discussing post-run ice baths. It's as bad as it sounds - half-fill the tub with cold water and dump in the entire contents of your freezer's ice-maker tray, or a bag of ice from the quickie mart, then get in. Make sure your entire lower body is submerged. It helps if you do this when no one else is home, or at least warn them, because you're likely to swear very very loudly as you get in (at least, that's what I always did). The trick is staying in for 5-10 minutes. It's much more effective than just holding an ice pack on the spot that hurts.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, and you're making the right decision.
I've read that too and I've yet to try it but will. I've done ice baths for my ankles in the past (definitely included swearing) but never half the body. I have heard about the benefits though - reduces pain and soreness after long runs. I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes.
ReplyDeleteTake extra rest now and keep your marathon (real goal) in mind. If you push it too hard right now you might get a short term goal but you'll lose out on your long term one. Play it conservative!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauren. You are absolutely right! I am taking it very slow and cross-training for now. Hopefully I will begin running sometime soon. I need to just keep July 25th in focus!
ReplyDelete