Back At It Again

I was starting to worry that I was never going to get back to the running.  With the physio, my hip has gotten better, but there is still a lot of pain.  I decided yesterday that I was going to run anyway - I have just missed it so much that I didn't care if it made the pain worse.  I did my stretching before going to the Y and my hip was feeling not too bad.  I tried a new plan of attack - minimize the amount of impact by skipping the walking as much as possible.  I did a four minute warm up while catching up with my partner in crime.  I started running and my hip protested a bit at first.  The pain subsided, I got into a groove, and it was feeling great to run.  After a couple of minutes, I realized that the running wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  After a few more minutes I thought maybe I can get a half a mile in.  Still feeling strong, I thought I might just be able to make it to a mile.  As I approached the mile mark, I was starting to tire and feel a little out of breath.  I pushed through to the end and was really proud of myself for hanging in there.  I probably could have gone farther, but I knew I was already pushing my hip too far.  I went through my physio regime while I waited for my partner to finish her 5k.  We then went on to do a 12 mile cycle together, which was a little more difficult after the run.  I felt really good afterwards, and my hip really didn't seem to hurt any more than before I went.  I think using the heel lift and changing my stride a bit made a big difference.  I plan to go in again this afternoon, but I have no idea if I'm going to run again or not.  My hip is pretty tender in the morning usually, but right now it's not that bad so a run may be in order.  Hopefully I'm back on track and I'll make my June 1st goal :)

Brick Wall??

In my last post I said I was going to pay for my running, and here I am five days later and still paying. I was good on Saturday and I stuck to my plan to only walk for 30 minutes. It was disappointing, but I figured walking a bit was better than feeling sorry for myself. Swimming has not been my favourite activity, but it was a lot more fun going with someone. I found that I pushed myself more, especially after realizing that they were going to do 60 lengths in the time that I might pull off 12 or so! Monday was a true Monday – I needed something to pick me up. I decided to try swimming again as my hip was still protesting. I managed to do my 12 lengths, but this time it was more difficult than any other time I’ve been. My form was better, I inhaled less water, but I was so out of breath after each length! It was then that I started to worry a bit. I’ve had premature heartbeats for as long as I can remember. They usually are the result of me taking new medication (Claritin was one of the worst!) or having way too much caffeine. I’ve been having them constantly since at least Saturday, and the frequency is a bit higher than I’m used to. Normally, this would only annoy me; however, this time things are a little different. I am so tired and I am yawning all the time. I can’t seem to catch my breath even when I’m barely doing anything and it’s a struggle just to get through the day (apparently this is not serious enough to get me an appointment with my doctor any time in the next month :S). Add in the hip pain, and I’m in pretty rough shape. Even with all that going on, I couldn’t bail on going to the Y this morning and let down my friend. I have been avoiding the cycling, so today was the day to try it out. I’m not a fan of stationary bikes, but cycling for me is pretty easy. I did 10.75 miles in 30 minutes, which isn’t anywhere near what I used to be able to pull off, but it was a start. I finally made it in for my running assessment today. It was tough because of my hip, but I learned a lot about myself. The most disturbing thing is that I have one leg longer than the other… the leg I broke when I was only a couple years old. Coincidence? Anyway, I think the physio is really going to help me get back on track. I’m disappointed that I won’t be running for a week or two, but maybe this way I will work on the swimming and cycling more.