IDunno, IDunno, IDunno

A girl I lived with in college always said her IDunno's quickly and in threes. I'll catch myself doing it sometimes and think of her. IDunno, IDunno, IDunno is pretty much how I feel about my running status.

Monday I went for a little jog around the neighborhood. It seemed to be an okay time to attempt baby steps. And I wasn't especially sore after. Maybe I should have iced my hip. Or something.

Tuesday I was all ready to do the same run again. I hadn't taken any Advil this time and...I was too sore to complete the run :( I made it to the end of my street and decided between my right hip and right knee if I pushed it... I would hurt something and went for a walk instead. I felt super cool with my iPod..walking. But whatever.

That night I iced my hip. And knee. (I don't think my knee is actually hurt but somehow with the compensating it's sort of sore. This could be a sign that instead of hip flexor problems its actually my freakin' IT band. I had trouble with that nerd in college. Not since, but it flared up randomly in college too...so whooo knows.



Wednesday, when I woke up my hip was very sore. I took two Advil and went to work. Amazingly I had no pain whatsoever all day... and that evening I did a one mile run outside, again. No real trouble.

(Fyi, I'm not taking Advil around the clock. And I probably should be more diligent in having an
"icing schedule." Same for a non-running workout schedule...I think what happened is that I needed a break from all the training and rest was my main plan of attack. Call it lazy...but it is what it is.)

Today I did a one mile run on the tready in 9:22. I then did a mile on the elliptical. And seven on the stationary bike. I knew if I pushed it for more than a mile it would be a bad idea, since my hip still doesn't feel perfect. But I guess on the positive side of things, the short runs don't seem to be making anything worse. And I've felt good enough for 3 short runs this week. I really want to get to a point where I can just not worry about how my hip is feeling and run for a long time.

I guess I should be glad that I'm at least able to exercise, but I know I'm losing running endurance with each passing day, and it's pretty annoying. Another scary development...is that it's almost getting to the point where it's fun to be lazy. [Sigh.] For the first two to three weeks after the half, I wanted nothing more than to go on a pain free 8 mile run. I still do.

But it's kind of nice having all this extra time that I'm not training. I feel like a "normal person." I think I'll take one additional EASY week...then I'll have to look into a legit non-running workout plan IF my hip is still kind of meh. Which "meh" is pretty much how I feel about non-running workouts so hopefully I can soon start training again!

BABY Steps

Justin Bieber was in DC today for the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn!



One perk to nannying is that I always know what's cool in the world of tweens. And because of this I may or may not have become obsessed with his song Baby ;) JB is the new JTT...or the JTT of their generation. I actually think the two are eerily similar looking. [Scroll down if you dare to compare!] I guess its reassuring that the taste of American teen girls hasn't changed much since 1996.

I say anyone who can get Luda to rap about when he was 13 and had his first love... is beyond legit as a musician. I mean seriously. The same guy who brought us "Move Bitch" getting nostalgic and emotional.

Aaaand then you have CONAN, who can't stop tweeting about Bieber. It will be interesting to see if JB can follow the path of the other Justin. JT.

Or if he falls off the face of this earth like JTT.


CLEARLY, I have WAY too much time on my hands. I blame my granny hip. Or that's what I'm now calling my sore right hip. I've been icing it. Taking Advil. Cutting back the amount of days I workout per week. And I took an entire week off of running. Last week I did the elliptical, cybex, and stationary bike. I'm not really sure what the best form of cardio is when your hip flexor is sore but these didn't seem to make anything hurt worse and there was no pounding. I only worked out TWO days last week. It's been a looooong time since I've said that. I stretched almost everyday though. The pigeon seems to be the most helpful.
This morning I woke up and decided the time had come. To take a deep breath and baby steps and attempt a one mile run around my neighborhood. There are some hills but it was only a mile and if I needed to, I'd abort mission. Cardio-wise I was able to run this easily. I never experienced any sharp pain. And when the run was done I was in no worse pain than before I started.

I think I'm going to attempt this same run tomorrow and a few other times this week. The weather is gorgeous and for my mental sanity... I think I need to.

I'm just going to throw this out there and see if anyone else can relate:
I'm NOT a crier....but I've decided the reason why is I run when I'm upset. Or because I run all the time things don't upset me to the point where I'll burst into tears. I have too many endorphins. And I just hate crying in general.

The CRAZY thing is... I think I turn into a crier when I can't run :-(

I've cried over petty things the past two nights. Last night I even did the "look at myself in the mirror as I was crying." Dane Cook would be proud. Patience is not something I'm gifted with. And not knowing how long I won't be able to run long distances starts to wear at me. If I stay busy I'm okay. But yesterday I missed my family on Easter...and I cried. Tonight my plans got canceled. And I...cried? Those weren't really the only things I was upset about...but even if I listed everything...if I was able to go on a long run I doubt I would have shed so many tears.

Anyway, hopefully by next week I can attempt at least a 3 mile run. I'm ITCHING to start training for another half. Or 10k. I'm so bored I've resorted to... watching myself cry?! Which is about as lame as an injury. What changes in emotions do you all notice when you can't run?

My Hip Don't Lie :(

So I've been reading running blogs for a while. And I'm a pretty faithful commenter if the writer complains about an injury preventing them from running. Reason being: I've been THERE. I had to stop jogging my senior year of college when I had a sharp pain in my right knee. This was never officially diagnosed... I had a PT at my church look at it... and she said it was either due to a slight tear in my meniscus or a tight IT band. RICE [Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation] thankfully healed it. But that doesn't mean I wasn't dramatic about it as I sat around icing and propping up my knee. I may or may not have secretly cried that "I'd never run again." Um it's not like I was wounded in battle. Or was in a debilitating accident. I just needed to rest. Luckily it healed before I got to the "Do You Wanna See What My Life Is?" point ;)

I guess I've been pretty fortunate up until now. I've read about other runners' injuries and I only had the minor soreness, aches, and pains that come with training for a half marathon. I left encouraging comments and trained away. Probably two weeks before the half my right hip started getting kind of sore but it wasn't bad enough to prevent me from running or something I noticed once I had warmed up. I felt SO GOOD on race day. And although it wasn't a PR for me... the 2010 Shamrock Half is the best race I've had so far. In terms of not running out of steam and level of fun. I want to get back to that point. Where I'm drinking a Yuengling on the beach feeling like I've come so far.

I'd say my "overall soreness" was probably less for my 3rd half...BUT...for the first time I had pain in specific areas after the race. My left foot and right hip were sore. I vaguely remember twisting my foot weirdly when we had to run onto the grass to let an ambulance through. I almost bumped into someone...so I'm pretty sure that was what was up with that. And luckily that pain is gone. My hip was sore for the 10k... I took some Advil before the race.. and really it was the least of my worries if you read THAT race report. Initially I thought maybe the 6.2 mile run helped get out the kinks...

but I tried running yesterday on the treadmill and I realized...I need to take a break from running :(

I did one mile in 9:55 and my hip was sore the entire time. I could feel myself limping/altering my stride. I then did a mile and half on the elliptical. (I HATE the elliptical. I know most people love it. They should be glad I'd never fight them for it.) And then I did 7.5 miles on the bike. This didn't really seem to irritate my hip, thankfully.

But... I think I need to take an entire week off from running. I'm currently Googling treatment for a sore hip flexor. I don't think this is anything that a break from running won't cure. But if anyone has any insight...or preventative exercises I can do... I'd appreciate it.

Realistically, I'm probably due for a running break. I was diligent about training since the end of December. I'm "listening to my body" so things don't get worse. And waiting until I feel better to sign up for my next half. This might be the Marine Corp Half. Or might be a race in June. We'll see. And if any one "isn't feeling it" about going running this week...just think I'd kill be to able to cover those miles!