Today was supposed to be my 18-miler. Instead I did 1.8 miles and turned around and walked home.
My right thigh/glute has been achey since Thursday, when I did a 5AM run and then sat in the car for 5 hours on the way to school to move in. I've done a lot of stretching, foam rolling, kept my feet up almost all day on Friday, have iced on/off, and today was still a no-go. I decided to test the waters, but at the first sign of actual pain I stopped immediately. I know this is the right decision but it still really stinks! I'm not worried about this being a long-term injury, but I know that if I kept pushing, it could turn into one.
My leg felt fine yesterday, so I did my scheduled 8 miles, but by the tail end of that run it wasn't feeling so hot. There was a lot going on yesterday so I was on my feet a lot walking around campus and at the grocery store which definitely did help.
This approaching week is a cutback week for me, so it gives me some leniency as far as when I do the long run when I make another attempt. If my leg feels better by Tuesday or Thursday, I have time on those days to fit it in. If it feels better by Friday or Sunday, I could do it at that point too.
Quitting in the middle of the run was really hard for me to do. Running - especially these long runs - makes me feel so strong and confident, and for that to suddenly be something I can't do really bums me out.
I spent yesterday preparing for the long run the way I always do on Saturdays; a carb-rich dinner (risotto!), stretching, and going to bed early. I even skipped my friend's birthday party so I could get enough rest for today!
Instead of getting too overwhelmed or upset, I spent the walk home taking pictures of the gorgeous countryside around me and when I got home I put on my swimsuit and dug out my goggles and went straight to the Rec to swim laps (when I got there, it said it was closed until 6PM but that's beside the point right now). I refused to dwell on it. When I got home and was able to sit down at my computer, I looked at my training plan to figure out when it would be best to factor in this run. I stretched and foam rolled some more. I did my glute strengthening exercises and 8-minute abs. Twice.
How did this mini-injury (I hate calling it an "injury" at all - it's just a temporary setback!) occur? I think it is DEFINITELY a result of a physically demanding week and trying to do a 50-mile week this week. Here's what my running looked like this week...
Monday : Off
Tuesday : 6 miles
Wednesday : 10 miles
Thursday : 8 miles
Friday : Off
Saturday : 8 miles
Sunday : Was supposed to be 18 miles but was actually more like 2 miles.
Additionally, I went to Cedar Point with Alex on Tuesday and stood around all day. This was only 2 days out from my fast 16-miler. I spent the week waking up early and doing "long" runs. I did a lot of heavy lifting and moving things around on Thursday. I didn't stretch before I got in the car.
Like I said, I definitely think that this will be dealt with and healed within a week, but it's definitely upsetting/concerning to have to skip a long run! Especially now that we're on the final countdown to the marathon (48 days). But taking a break now will pay off when it allows me to run strong and hard in a few days or a week.
Don't you worry about me - I'll get it together in a few days I'm sure :) In the mean time you can find me watching Netflix and reading my new textbooks.
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