Down and Out

After failed attempts to run on Monday and again last night, it’s pretty clear that what I thought, or at least hoped, was only going to be a minor setback has definitely turned into a major one. Just when I was starting to feel good and make some progress, BAM, the curse strikes. As is usually the case, I’d been back at it exactly 10 weeks. That’s longer than a couple of my other recent “comebacks” but still not past the 10-14 week timeframe that I just can’t seem to get beyond.

The odd thing is I’m not sure what brought this on (I suspect doing lunges had something to do with it), and I also don’t understand the way it’s progressing. The original problem was my hip flexor, and at first it was annoying but manageable. I could tell it was getting worse instead of better though, and after my race/long-run combo a couple weekends ago, it was pretty well done in. I decided to take a few days off, made an appointment for some ART, and started doing all the standard treatments of ice, heat, massage, etc. Within a few days, I went from a point where my hip hurt bad just to lift my leg, to where I could do strengthening exercises with a 5 lb. ankle weight with little to no pain. By the end of last week, I honestly thought I’d be able to run again, since walking felt fine and I was now able to handle some one-legged squats, leg lifts, hip hikes, etc. However, when I tried on Friday and again on Saturday, it was a big-time no go, not so much because of my hip flexor but because of the hamstring on the same leg.

At first I just figured that it was a compensation thing (I knew I’d been walking a little straight-legged to take pressure off my hip) and that it would sort itself out pretty quick now that my hip was better, but, here I am on Thursday and still in about the same shape, so now I’m starting to wonder if there’s not a lot more to it. I guess the problem could still be in my hip and the pain is just being referred down into my hamstring, but I’m actually wondering if the ART last Thursday messed something up. He worked on my hamstring pretty extensively right at the insertion point where it hurts, so that could be the problem. Of course I also have to think about whether it could be something even worse, like a stress fracture of the femoral neck or something.

In any event, I’m pretty well shot, as are all my plans for the fall, which is the most frustrating part of all. My plan was to hit the Salem 10k, CDR 15-miler, Virginia Ten Miler, and Richmond Marathon hard, with a few other less intense races here and there. Obviously those are all out now. Even if I’m able to get going again in a few more days, there’s no way I can get ready for any of those at this point, at least not the way I would want. I wasn’t that fit when I went out, so I’m sure I’ll be starting from ground zero and struggling to run 7 min miles yet again. All I can say is I hope the specific strengthening and retraining exercises I’m doing for my gluteus medius fixes this cycle, because I’m not sure how many more times I can go through it. My running has become nothing more than a joke, and retirement is looking better all the time!