"I Don't Walk Wit a Limp"

Alright, so I haven’t posted on this blog in a week….and it’s not because I’ve been so busy running I haven’t had time. Wouldn’t that be great?

It’s because after the Monday that I ran 4 miles I was SORE. Not like the good sore that comes after a tough workout, more like “Whoa, I’m definitely not at the point where I can do this a few times a week.” Bummer. And REALITY check. The good thing is I love Reality TV, so it looks like I’ll have more free time to watch that the next couple months.

What happened was that after last Monday I realized I’m not going to be able to run a half in June. Attempting to train for that is too much, too soon. And my next long race is going to be in September. I might as well rest up and take some time off because I’m sure that’s all I really need. In college my IT band gave me so much trouble I limped around campus for a couple weeks and was NOT running. Being dramatic I questioned if I’d ever run again… after taking some time off…I got back into running, and went on to train for 3 half marathons. Just to reiterate: After sharp pain, I managed to train for 3 halves injury free.

What I’m dealing with now is not excruciating pain. Like 50, “I don’t walk wit a limp” but I’m running wit [a lil'] one. Which means I’m sticking to 2 mile runs until that goes away. (Side Note: Non-censored version of In Da Club is one of my favorite songs to run to!) I’m jogging at a pace that is sub 10 min/mi. What I’ve been doing on the treadmill is a mile and a half in 14:something. A short walk break then half a mile in 4:something. Or 2 miles in under 20 minutes (no break). I'm not sprinting as fast as I can on the last lap or anything fun like that.

I’ve been following the 2 miles on the treadmill up with 6 miles on the bike. And doing lots of stretching/foam rolling before and after the run. I’m stretching my IT band and hip flexor, because I’m starting to think my hip pain may be a result of a tight IT band which I have dealt with before.


And it can’t hurt to increase my IT band flexibility. After runs I’ll ice my right hip and knee (when I have time.)

The amount of running I’m doing doesn’t seem to be making anything worse and is keeping the sport from becoming entirely foreign to my body. I’m not too worried about losing endurance, because I’m not losing speed. I figure if I do the shorter runs at a pace faster than 10 min/mi, the endurance should come back pretty quickly. Mentally, I know what it takes to train for a half marathon. And when I slow down my pace a little I should be able to run at least four miles without stopping.

Four quickly turns into six or seven. And I'm back at the base I want to start increasing my weekly long runs by a mile per week. It's weird to me that this is all just an equation now. There's a lot less anxiety/anticipation/doubt in my mind about ability to complete long runs. Weird, I've now ran 9 miles more times than I can count.

I hope to do two halves in the fall. Until training for that starts I'm focused on full recovery and getting faster at shorter distances. I’m running a 3k this weekend. I'm not going to push myself beyond what's comfortable. But I better run faster than 10 min/mi pace. Sore hip or not. NO EXCUSES.

Also Adam (who comments frequently on this blog) is giving away a $50 Gift Card to Road Runner Sports! If you haven't already checked out his blog, you should, it's hilarious. If you wait until after May 3rd, I'll have a better chance of winning ;) Just sayin'.