Recent not-so-hip happenings

So.  I’m injured.  If you follow me on Twitter, my incessant whining and bitching would make it hard for you to not know this already.  

Last week, I had the most painful run of my life.

I stepped out of the door and was immediately overwhelmed by how gorgeous it was outside.  I soaked in some beautiful, autumn air. (Yes, it’s been cold enough to be autumn here for nearly a month now, but it’s now just getting to the nice transitionary phase between seasons that I love.  It’s the time of year where you can smell that the leaves are about to change; when most afternoons play with your senses to send you back to excited memories of Halloween evenings of your childhood.  At least, that’s what they do for me.)  The sun was laying down the perfect amount of warmth to counteract the crisp air, and the wind was blowing so slightly.  It was absolutely perfect running weather.

I have had an ache and occasional stabbing feeling in my hip for a while now.  I’ve rested it on and off and have gotten no relief, so I had been running through the pain for a while.  Running seemed to loosen it up and make it feel better, so I saw no reason to stop and was running on an injured leg for a few weeks.  Even though it was more painful than usual on this day, the weather was beautiful and I had a lot of energy.  I had a desire to run that pain couldn’t kill, so I trudged along anyway.  A half mile later, my hip did not warm up like it had been doing for the past few weeks. I felt like I was dragging my entire right leg along behind me.  The effort I was putting forward felt like a full-blown race pace, but my Garmin was reporting to me the slowest mile splits that I have run in years.  

Eventually I just couldn’t do it anymore.  I ended up in a park, laying on the grass trying to stretch out my hip and wake it the hell up.  I got no relief out of my funky stretches and looked up to see a dozen runners of all shapes and sizes exploring the park around me.  I wanted nothing more than to be one of them, running painlessly and carefree.  It felt like it had been months since I had experienced the blissful freedom of a run.  I was shackled by this hip stiffness and pain. I won’t lie to you: I cried.  There is no worse feeling than ending a run when you have so much left in you.  There is no worse pain than losing the joy of running.

(Dramatic anecdote over with) 

I made my first ever visit to a sports injury clinic the next day.  The physical therapist there did a quick analysis and said that I had either torn my hip flexor or have a case of bursitis.  She said that it would be best to try out treatment for the flexor before going for an expensive MRI to find out it if was bursitis, which would require a steroid injection to the hip joint (a much bigger deal than PT).

So she has been massaging my upper leg and giving me exercises to do while I give my hip a chance to heal.  I can do absolutely no running.  Yes, those words sounded like a death sentence.  I can, however, swim laps in the pool, which I have been doing religiously to maintain some sort of fitness.  It feels like I have been banned from running for a lifetime now, but it has only been a week.  Longest week of my LIFE.

Bad news: I haven’t felt any improvement in my hip so far.  Walking is very painful and if I ever have to pick up my pace to a light jog to catch a bus or something, it’s hell.  I will probably have to go for an MRI next week and find out if it’s bursitis or something more serious.  I have no idea when I’ll be able to run again.

Good news:  In a way, this break from running is kind of a good thing.  Kind of.  Maybe I’m grasping at straws to find a silver lining so that I can slow my spiraling runningless depression, but I am encountering a few positives to this situation.  

1. I have a lot more time to spend in the weight room.  I have been working on full body fitness and toning and I feel pretty good.  I’ve also been doing core work like it’s my job and I am starting to see the beginnings of a reemerged six pack :)
2. The PT exercises that I have to do to strengthen my hip were hell at first, but I’ve gotten a lot stronger in my hips, butt, and lower back.  Two benefits here: firstly, this will keep my hips more stable while I am running, which will prevent a re-injury.  Secondly, my nothing-to-write-home-about butt has turned into something I wouldn’t mind showing off in a pair of spandex shorts ;)
3. I am broadening my cardio horizons!  I kind of hate swimming sometimes, but since it is all that I am allowed, I am really learning how to get a good workout out of it.  For example, I did what I’ll call a tempo swim today. Translating running workouts to the pool makes the time spent there a lot more tolerable.
4. Most significantly, I am learning, yet again, how much running means to me.  I appreciate that I have been graced with a body that can bring me so much joy through my chosen sport, and I will be so thrilled when it is healthy enough to run again.  I won’t have any shortage of motivation to get out there every day once I am allowed back on the roads.

So there’s my current dilemma and the good things that are coming from the bad.  Hopefully I will be running again sooner rather than later and I will be able to run a few shorter races towards the end of the fall season.  I have been doing a lot of thinking about my future in terms of college and in running.  I would really like to work on my 5 and 10k times now so that I might be able to worm my way onto a cross country team back in the states next year.  I have my eye set on one school in particular, but that’s for a later post.

Sidenote:  I think that I should take this moment to put out a big thank you to my boyfriend Shay.  

When I started running, my mom was always the one supporting me, listening to me babble about my workouts, driving with me to races, waiting for me at the finish line, getting the food in me that I needed to succeed in my little conquests. She sure let me know how hard it is to be the pit crew of a distance runner, and I will always be grateful for the hours that she spent supporting me and for the patience that she had in enduring my mood swings throughout a training season and individual race days.  (love you, mom!) 

But poor Shay has more of a choice in sticking around throughout my insanity than my mom has had, and, he's still here!  I have been somewhat of a nightmare during this injured period, and he has been a serious trooper.  So, thank you, Shay.  For the swimsuit and goggles, and for your patience as I try very hard not to be a bloodsucking demon in my endorphin-deprived state.

So that’s that.  Another self-centered post.  I promise I won’t make this a habit.