Very little running = not much blogging
I hate injuries. Don’t we all?
(This is how I feel about winter and injuries.)
After running my marathon on September 29, I thought a week off would be sufficient. I took an entire week off from running with only minimal exercise and cross-training. I started back up the week after but haven’t been feeling on par since.
Since the marathon this is how my mileage has broken down:
Week 2 post-marathon: 27 miles –> Excited to get back to running.
Week 3: 49 miles –> A substantial increase, but it was 50% of my max and follows the rules I often use after running a marathon.
Week 4: 35 miles –> All miles completed during the first half of the week. I was feeling sluggish on every run and knew my body hadn’t recovered from the marathon yet, so I took some more time off.
Week 5: 13 miles –> A few miles at the very end of the week. (I took another full week off between weeks 4 and 5.)
Week 6: 34 miles–>Hamstring still bothering me, but usually feels okay once it warms up.
Week 7: 20 miles –> In Minnesota running with family and friends.
Last week: 19 miles
This week: 3 miles
(Pic from the Kenai River Marathon)
I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty good job of laying low the past few weeks, but my hamstring is still not getting better. I’ve been diligent about icing and foam rolling but those things don’t seem to be helping. When I’ve exhausted all my home remedies, then it is my sign to see the physical therapist so they can do some dry needling. It seems to be the only thing that helps. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get an appointment until next week though, so I will be counting down the days until that time.
In the meantime, I’ve been trying different classes at the gym, going to yoga, and taking walks with Sadie and Craig. Definitely not the same as running, but I want to get back to running as soon as possible. Actually it pains me not to be able to run. I am more irritable, don’t feel as good about myself, feel sluggish and weak, and I miss the adrenaline rush.
But. . . .hopefully I will be able to heal soon because I think Sadie is becoming more of a runner, so I need to be able to run with her. She covered 1.5 miles earlier this week! When we go out in the dark (which is far too many hours already), we make sure to wear headlamps—even Sadie wears one.
Afterwards Sadie finds the most comfortable positions to lay in on the couch with Craig.
What a hoot!
I’ve also been doing a little baking and cooking. I made this for dinner one night: Roasted Harvest Veggie, Curried Avocado + Coconut Rice Bowl. It was amazing! I highlight recommend it!! 
So that’s a quick update on my running right now—non-existent. Hopefully we can turn things around here shortly.
Sorry to hear about your injury! Here’s to a quicker recovery. Take care of yourself.
Thank you!
Sorry to hear you’ve had to take some time off from running. I know how frustrating that can be. Hopefully you’ll be better soon! I just wanted to make a comment about running with dogs. I have two golden retreivers. I tried to get the one interested, but he just doesn’t like running with me. The other one does pretty well. He can pretty much run 2-3 km without any “training” but at one point when I had him running with me consistently, we worked up to 7 km (with some walk breaks). And that’s as far as I’d ever take him. He probably physically could have gone farther, but I could tell he was bored and tired. So, we stick to about 3K, because that’s the distance he’s happiest to run, then I head off on my own to get in the rest of my miles. I guess dogs don’t have the motivation we do. 🙂 But it’s been fun reading a bit about your experience running with your dog.
I can tell my dog is building endurance, but I don’t see her running more than a couple of miles. Now when she is at the dog park running around (off leash), she could run for hours. Funny how that works.
So sorry you can’t run! That must be aweful. I bet if you really wanted a running dog a husky or visla would be great, but then you’d always have to run them! It’s nice that Sadie is so relaxed when she is done.
Your dog is pretty adorable. I mostly never think that anyone else’s dogs are as cute as my own, but Sadie is kind of amazing.
I’m a marathon runner with the same or a similar glute/hip/hamstring pain. I’ve had it for 3 years. I tried everything and exhausted the PT resources at Mass Gen Hospital. Still have the pain. I have no answers. But I hope your injury goes away on its own and soon!
Yours in running, Abby
Where is your pain? How intense is the pain? Does anything help it? (Sorry for all the questions. . .running injuries intrigue me.)