Progress log from the Granite State

[djplong]

Well, this definitely lets me know how I feel about running.  I am FURIOUS at myself!

 

I was supposed to run in the Shamrock Shuffle 5K this weekend.  It's the first race of the New Hampshire Grand Prix - 8 races throughout the year.  Finish them all and you get the status of "Granite Runner" and a jacket.  I put the date in my calendar and have been planning my running schedule around it.  Sometime after I put the date in my calendar, I saw a source (that I can no longer find) that implied I'd put down the wrong date.  I had Saturday in my calendar and this said Sunday - so I changed it.  Didn't think anything else of it.

 

Which means I never triple-checked the date.  And it was yesterday as I just found out a few minutes ago.

 

Words can't describe how MAD at myself I am!  It's certainly not about the money in a wasted registration fee - that's no big deal.  It's everything else around it.  It was the first 'other' race I was running since joining the running club a few weeks ago (meaning not the Freeze Your Buns series that the club runs).  I feel like SUCH an IDIOT!  The information was all around me but I thought, because I'd corrected myself once, that I didn't need to again!

The only positive coming out of this is that I never would have thought I'd be MAD at myself for missing a *running* date.  

I'm just absolutely STEAMING right now!!

[Chi Gal]

That really sucks, but I love your positive reasoning

[djplong]

My frustration knows no bounds.

My injury from last year seems to have reared it's ugly head again.  This time, the hip flexor trouble is only on the right side.  One positive is that it's not as bad as it was last July when I couldn't run for 3 months but I'm supposed to run the BAA 5K in Boston on Saturday.

 

It all started when I started stretching myself out a little over 2 weeks ago.  I did my longest run ever - 7 miles - doing 4/1 jog/walk intervals.  I was more sore than I'd like the morning after so I gave myself an extra day of rest before the 'normal' run - about 3.5 miles.  After that I was feeling the horribly familiar twinges.  I took 11 days off trying to let things calm down.  There were times when I wasn't feeling any pain, but then it would come back.  Finally, last Saturday, I decided to take a run (4/2 intervals) and try and finish up a distance challenge I had signed up for with MakeYesHappen (I was about 4.6miles away from finishing a 66-mile challenge).

The last 2 intervals were telling.  I thought I slipped or something when going from a walk to a jog the penultimate time.  But for the last interval, I knew something was wrong.  The pain was back.

 

I've been trying to take it easy and have been taking plenty of Advil during these last few days.  Today I went to the doctor (sports medicine specialist) and it looks like more of the same from last year.  Last time I got it on both sides but the right side cleared up VERY quickly - it was the left side that didn't heal for 3 months.  This time, instead of the cortisone shot, I'm electing for the MRR (an MRI with dye injected into the hip joint).  I'm also heading back to physical therapy starting next Wednesday.

 

In addition to the 5K on Saturday, I'm signed up for a 10K on the 24th that I was really looking forward to.  I had a goal of doing a half marathon by July.

 

This is REALLY ticking me off.

[djplong]

The 10K didn't happen.  A lot of other things DID.

 

I ended up with an MRI on my hip and got the proverbial good news / bad news.

 

The good news is that it's not serious and surgery is an option if things get bad.  The bad news is that I have fraying in my labrum and some degeneration of the cartilage in my hip - all due to the shape of my hip exacerbated by the fact that my femur doesn't come up into my hip at quite the proper angle (due to my birth defect).

 

The good news is that therapy can overcome this.  This will fix itself, if cared for, and after PT, I've had a particular strength and endurance coach recommended to me.  My physical therapist has also recommended yoga in addition to the exercises she's giving me (which appear to be helping).

 

The other good news is that I got the green light to get back on the bike and I've already done so.  I have to keep moving.

 

So it'll be interesting to see when I can get back to running again and what it is that I'm going to need to do to stay on my feet and not have my hip barking at me.

 

The doctor says that the July half marathon might be out of the question, but the ones I have slated in the fall are still possible.

[djplong]

One step at a time.  Literally...

 

So the pain is reducing, over time.  I'm getting all kinds of new stretching exercises to do and I got the green light to power-walk.  (In fact, I was ordered to by my physical therapist)

 

I'm still signed up for the BAA 10K but I don't know if I'll be running anything before then.  The next race I'd wanted to run was a 12K towards the end of this month but I doubt that'll happen.  Now the most frustrating thing is that lousy weather has moved in for a while so there's no biking either.  Showers around every day for the next WEEK!

[djplong]

It's been a long and extremely frustrating road and I was making progress.  

 

First I was able to do some light jogging in the middle of walk sessions (about a mile)

 

Then a little more jogging (up to 2 miles)

 

Then I thought this week I'd try for a 5K at a slow speed (around 11:00/mile).  Unfortunately, I went out too soon after some lunch and was feeling a bit nauseous so I ended up stopping at 2.8miles.

 

The next morning, the pains were coming back.

 

I'm still signed up for a pair of virtual 5K races (though I only want to finish - not worried AT ALL about my times).  And then there's the BAA 10K in June.  

 

I've been on a whipsaw of hope and disappointment trying to get back from this damn hip injury.

[djplong]

Aaaaaand the whipsaw goes the other way.  I woke up this morning feeling MUCH better than yesterday and decided to go give it a try.

 

I did my first 5K since the injury.  Not a great time, but that wasn't what I was looking for.  I just wanted to log those miles.  I even posted to Facebook with the #runDisneyShorts tag.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do 5K by the deadline - and this even counted for Runkeeper's Global 5K!

 

All in all a VERY good day (but I'm sore again - though it seems to clear up quicker so I'm still hopeful)

[djplong]

The BAA 10K is Sunday.  Since my last post, I've been convinced that I'll never run it and I've been sure that I will.

 

This hip injury lingers but it's healed enough that I can do SOME running but I feel the effects for at least 2 days afterwards.  But this last time (Tuesday) it didn't seem so bad as I've been limiting myself to one 5K distance worth of intervals per week.  Happened to be in Florida and got to try a new trail and it didn't feel bad at all.  
 

In all this, I was able to do my three #runDisneyShorts races with slow times as I was still doing intervals.  

 

So Sunday I'm going to show up at the Boston Common and do my "race" - but certainly not at a race pace even for me.  I've paid for this race and, blast it, I want my medal!

 

I'm supposed to see the orthopedist on 7/1 and they may have to 'scope' my hip to repair the labrum - but we'll see what happens.

[danpincus]

We should all keep in mind that old saying, "Consult your physician before starting an exercise program."  Fear...fear not the doctor.  Fear injury and loss of function.  

[gaby helios]

Time to go home dead battery yep left lights on all day love and hate my old car 

[djplong]

Been a long time since I checked in here...  So, here's what happened...

 

Ran the BAA 10K in a very slow time.  Hip continued to aggravate me - sometimes seeming like it would heal, then coming back and becoming worse.  I kept trying to keep a mild running schedule going and it wasn't easy.  All the races I'd planned to run all summer with the exception of that one 10K were for naught.

 

Finally, a few weeks ago, it was getting to the point where any pain I had would actually fade the more I ran.  I might feel it in the morning, but during the run it wasn't so bad.  While my hip was finally healing - and the orthopedist was no help - my Achilles continued to be in varying amounts of pain.  However, again, when I would run, the pain would fade during the run.

 

Over time I started losing some of the weight I'd put back on.  The strangest part was the frustration I was feeling at not being able to run.

 

Finally, there's no hip pain (though the Achilles is still bugging me) and what happens?  Weather.  

 

I'm getting back to a normal running schedule - trying even to do long runs from time to time (got up to 5 miles a couple of weeks ago).  My 'standard' runs are usually something over 5K.

 

The latest surprise was this past Wednesday when the Gate City Striders (the running club I joined) did their annual Candelight Relay.  Random teams of four do four miles - each member doing four laps of the track at a local high school.  What I didn't know was that you ran one lap, waited for your teammates to run their laps, then ran your next lap, etc.  So it was four 1-lap runs.  I proceeded to set 4 1/4 mile PRs.  During my normal run/walk sessions, I'm averaging about 11 minutes/mile.  Well, when I did the last lap, I decided to leave it all out on the track with a kick on the final straightaway and I ended up doing the 1/4 mile at a 7:01/mile pace (previous laps were around 7:51/mi and practice was at 9:45/mi)!

 

I remembered a time in junior high school when I couldn't run once around the track.  I was so winded from trying, I could barely walk the rest of the way and even my TONGUE hurt...  400 meters was more than I could do.  Granted, being on my feet at all was an accomplishment since I had a doctor tell my mother that I'd never walk again (after major surgery on my feet when I was 6),

 

Now my biggest frustration is the rainy weather keeping me from getting out.

[torus_ot]

Good to hear from you again!

Under 8min pace is very impressive!