Ugh. I'm a complete blog failure - I haven't been one here since MAY. My (somewhat lame) excuse is that I had some personal things going on and I lost my excitement about a lot of things.
However, it's now almost October and I feel like I've got my mojo back. I'm at 100% and then some. Woot!
I've continued my running throughout our record-breaking, hot, dry summer, albeit only short distances. Normally, I set my alarm on weekday mornings for 3:50 a.m. so that I have time for a quick (relatively cool) run and then a walk with the dog before I have to be to work. I've had ZERO injuries (knock on wood and anything else that might help me continue this good run of good health) and have actually decreased my average pace for shorter runs (4 miles and less).
My next "big" race is the PF Changs Rock and Roll half marathon in mid January.
Anyway, I will write more soon and I will NOT let four months past before I do!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Another running induced pain?
Arg.
Just when it seems I am completely recovered from those nasty shin splints I had a couple months ago, something new crops up.
This morning when I was at the track doing my weekly speed work, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my front, upper, right thigh. Strange, I thought, I've never felt any pain previously in my thigh from running. I've certainly felt a lot of other aches, pains, strains and bruises during my running "career" but never in this spot. I continued on my trip around the track but first at a brisk walk, then a slow jog. My thigh was feeling okay so I picked it up and attempted to continue my workout. (I usually do eight trips around the track, sprinting half of the oval and jogging/recovering the other half). As soon as I picked up my pace again though, the pain started again.
Double ARG.
I cut my workout short and headed back home. I am the queen of researching all my running-related issues on the Internet so I figured I would take a few minutes at work to do just that.
What I found was that it is most likely nothing serious. What it probably is is a strength imbalance between my quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups. This is a common muscular imbalance in runners because running tends to use the hamstrings more than the quadriceps. It goes on to suggest a treatment of R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation) until the pain goes away. Then they highly recommend cross-training in the form of cycling, stair climbing and squats to help balance out the muscle groups. (Didn't I just talk about cross-training in my last blog??).
So tonite, if my leg feels okay, I will head to the gym for a session on the stairs and maybe some light weight lifting. I'm not ready to give up on my running yet!
Just when it seems I am completely recovered from those nasty shin splints I had a couple months ago, something new crops up.
This morning when I was at the track doing my weekly speed work, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my front, upper, right thigh. Strange, I thought, I've never felt any pain previously in my thigh from running. I've certainly felt a lot of other aches, pains, strains and bruises during my running "career" but never in this spot. I continued on my trip around the track but first at a brisk walk, then a slow jog. My thigh was feeling okay so I picked it up and attempted to continue my workout. (I usually do eight trips around the track, sprinting half of the oval and jogging/recovering the other half). As soon as I picked up my pace again though, the pain started again.
Double ARG.
I cut my workout short and headed back home. I am the queen of researching all my running-related issues on the Internet so I figured I would take a few minutes at work to do just that.
What I found was that it is most likely nothing serious. What it probably is is a strength imbalance between my quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups. This is a common muscular imbalance in runners because running tends to use the hamstrings more than the quadriceps. It goes on to suggest a treatment of R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation) until the pain goes away. Then they highly recommend cross-training in the form of cycling, stair climbing and squats to help balance out the muscle groups. (Didn't I just talk about cross-training in my last blog??).So tonite, if my leg feels okay, I will head to the gym for a session on the stairs and maybe some light weight lifting. I'm not ready to give up on my running yet!
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