Thursday, February 3, 2011

My first running injury????

Get ready, this is a STRANGE one. This may be a TMI post. Here we go. I ran 9 miles Saturday and felt fine except for the fact that I was exhausted. I was planning on getting up at 3:45, yes, in the middle of the night, to go run with a group of women in Daphne. Well, my lingering bronchitis kicked in and I coughed until after midnight. Well, then I got anxiety like crazy over not getting enough sleep, not being able to wake up, not being able to run, not getting there on time....and so on and so forth. I'm not going to bore you with all that drama, but I finally rested a couple of hours. I was up by 7:00 and made Blake his requested pancakes. I was determined to get this run in. Blake had a playoff basketball game at 10:30, so I had to get going. I finished my 9 miles and felt fine with a pace of 10:12. Perfect for my long run. Just hoping I can add 4.1 more miles to that and stick close to that pace to finish with a new PR in New Orleans on February 13.

On Sunday, we had a very busy day with church, family lunch, and conflicting children's activities which sent us in different directions. I should have run on Monday, but just didn't feel ready. Waited until Tuesday and by then, major humidity had set in with the storms that were on the way. I set out to do a minimum of 4 miles, but ended up doing 3.1 at a 9:53 pace. Great time, but I felt just terrible. I can't even describe it, but all I could think was that there is no way I could do 10 more miles. The rest of the day, the muscles in my lower legs were so tight. Also, I had a STRANGE pain in my groin area on my left side. So, no run on Wednesday. Rest needed. Trying to listen to my body.

This afternoon, I set out to run dressed as if I was going to take on the abominable snowman in the upper 30 temperatures that felt soooo much colder with the wind. Well, the good news is that I set a new PR for the 5K distance, 29:37, 9:34 pace. (I actually think I ran one a tiny bit faster last week, but I continued on to 4 miles, so I don't remember the exact time at 3.1) I digress. The bad news is, I can NOT describe to you the pressure I felt in my groin area in the last half mile. I originally wanted to go 4 miles (again), but the pain was so severe. For those of you that have experienced childbirth, well, it's the worst pain I have had in my lower pelvis in 10 years. I felt like something was going to be delivered right there on that road. CRAZY!!!

I ran while waiting on Bryant at piano lessons, we then rushed home to meet up with Blake and head out the door to baseball tryouts. I was in extreme pain trying to shower, lift my legs to put socks on, and just walking. At tryouts, we decided to go back to the car to get Blake's helmet. Scott told me to "run" because Blake was hitting soon. I took two steps and almost fell to my knees. Not to mention that it was 36 degrees and raining/sleeting at this point. We stood in those conditions for an hour. I pray none of us get sick.

So now, I have naturally come home and diagnosed myself by reading stuff online. Who in the world knew that you could get an overuse injury in your pubic bones? Not me. There are several possible reasons this could be happening: not stretching properly, improper gait, old shoes, or plain old overuse. And guess what the treatment is? Same as most injuries, the RICE method. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

Unfortuately, this has been a random and Debbie Downer post, so I'll leave you with the thought of exactly how I might have to treat this injury. Don't be sickened by it, you can just laugh, visualizing me trying to apply ice and elevate my injured area. Now, that's funny.

10 days until my next half-marathon, my old body is so silly!

Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be!

Leah

2 comments:

  1. Hope you feel better soon! Kind of a funny ailment though!LOL!

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  2. Oh Leah! Isn't getting older fun!!??

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