For GirlsLove2Run I wrote monthly blogs about training for a half marathon. On the 20th of June 2015, I ran a half marathon. Yes, I will rehash that forever and ever, or at least until the next one.
That half marathon race report concluded my contributions to GirlsLove2Run for 2015 (for the time being: I’m fairly sure Francien will let me come back), but I wasn’t finished running.
For now, I am.
More on that below.
I didn’t stop after the 20th.
After a summer break, I kept running. Fairly consistent at that. I was ‘training’. I made miles, I ran about three times week. I wanted to get back to longer distances for a new half marathon.
In December, it started with a whiny pain in my hip after an 18K on a Saturday and a subsequent 13K on the following Monday. I was planning for a 9K that Monday, but because of a wrong turn in the woods (Great fairytale title) I ended up running 13 kilometres instead. Afterwards I felt my right hip was ‘off’ in a way, but I hoped some rest and a recovery run later that week would fix it.
I don’t mind little aches while running, but I don’t usually have pain after. Now, my hip kept hurting consistently throughout the day. Whether I was walking, sitting or standing? The hip hurt.
When I ran a 3K later that week, it started to hurt more. I decided to take at least a week off from running and see if it would have subsided by then.
Sitting in an airplane seat for 8 hours wasn’t great. Neither was all the walking around and sightseeing. The ache become less over time though, and the Bikram classes I did in Brooklyn helped. Since I had my heart set on a run in Central Park, I decided to go for it anyway and ran 8K.
Afterwards, the ache was back full throttle.
All this time, it was really bumming me out. I had really enjoyed my two long distances in December, especially the 18K, and I wanted to train for long(er) distances, dammit. My stupid body needed to cooperate.
But I believe in listening to your body, so I decided to keep taking it easy in January too, and see my physical therapist. I figured he’d give me a massage, some exercises and I’d be on my way with a half marathon in my near future.
Nope.
He told me I have a syndrome that’s common in runners going for long distances, and that it was good I caught it early, and that we were going to work on it. If I had ever heard of dry needling? No, but from his explanation I just thought “oh cool, accupuncture, bring it on” and laid down on the table with an attitude of ‘whatever, how bad can it be’.
Well…bad.
Admittedly, my pain threshold is that of a melodramatic neurotic Sphinx Cat, so it might not be as bad for other people, but I hated it. HATED IT.
Afterwards I scrambled off the treatment table all dizzy, and I could hardly stand on my feet. My physical therapist told me to take it easy and to come back in two days.
Um, excuse me? Where is my sheet of exercises and the encouraging pat on the back to go run again? This was NOT the plan.
That evening I had a good cry over all the things (see previous point about being a melodramatic neurotic Sphinx Cat).
I’m okay now, but it took me some time to accept I won’t be running like I had envisioned I would in spring 2016. Instead, I have to honour the signal from my body that I need work before I can get back to it. I only have one body, and I am not going to force it into ruins just because I want something.
I will not be running much until my hips stop hurting, just little runs, slowly. There’s no long distances in my near future. Meh.
It still feels like a sour loss, and like I’m regressing instead of advancing, because I was doing really well and now I have build back up from 3Ks to 5Ks. But I need more time, and stronger hips before I want to go back to training for half marathons.
So I see my physical therapist weekly and I cycle a lot more than before, upon his recommendation. I go to yoga, but take it easy because I do NOT need more hip flexibility, it’s the strength I lack. I have found some hip strengthening exercises I do at home, and other than that it’s hope for the best I guess.
Sigh. Can you tell I’m still a little salty about it? Probably.
But you know what cupcakes? It is what it is. Hopefully it will be something else in a while.
Keep you posted.
Ah gadsie, dat is echt vervelend, maar goed dat je naar je lichaam luistert.
Fietsen is ook leuk toch? Gewoon lekker daar op focussen 🙂 (En yoga uiteraard)
Het positieve zien in dingen, dat moet jou wel lukken!
Jaaa, is eerst ff balen en dan daarna gewoon weer okay: Fietsen en yoga it is!
Ah, balen! Ik had je zo gegund dat het snel beter ging. Hardlopen en dan met name de langere afstanden zijn echt als therapie!
Als je het woord heup vervangt door knie en dry-needling met een MRI scan (wel minder pijnlijk) heb je mijn afgelopen 3 maanden. Helaas/gelukkig was de uitslag van de scan perfect, en weten we nu dus nog niets… Voorlopig even niet meer hardlopen, en been- en bilspieren sterker maken met krachttraining was ook het advies dat ik kreeg. Dan zou het met 3-6 maanden over moeten zijn, anders kijken we verder. Vooral die laatste zin wil je echt niet horen..
Maar ja. Ik houd hoop, fietsen is inderdaad ook fijn, en ik leef me maar flink uit op die gewichten.
En gelukkig zijn er in 2017 en 2018 ook halve marathons! 😉
Poehee, dat klinkt ook best heftig. ZO LANG HE, dat je dan uit de running bent (ha ha grap je) – ik hoop dat je idd geniet van fietsen en de gewichten, en we gaan gewoon later weer knallen!
Ah wat vervelend! Maar, alsjeblieft, luister goed naar je lichaam. Het kan kapot. Ik mag op het moment helemaal niet hardlopen of andere duursporten doen en dat is echt niet tof. Soms ben ik bang dat ik mijn lichaam voorgoed naar de vernieling heb geholpen en dat raad ik toch af. 😉
Argh, balen hey! Precies, we moeten rustig aan doen!
<3
Dear Lianne,
Although being almost twice as old as you I’m a fan of you. Your website is so funny and realistic and at the same time not presenting the idea that hapiness and good luck is a goal by itself. Instead, life itself is good as it is. I like reading your blog.
I also still have this foulish idea that my body will serve me forever and offer me the possibility to live my life as I want. But it isn’t. I always could rely on this body, but recently I found out that the sky is limited. Walking in a group in Uganda for a visit to the gorillas, I couldn’t keep up with the others. After hours of struggling I saw the gorillas and guess what? They weren’t even interested in me! (Of course a joke, I knew in advance that the gorillas would not be bothered by human presence)
But it learned me that I only have one body and I only live my life once. I try to do it as good and great as possible but there are limits.
Dear Marja, that is so incredibly lovely to hear – I’m glad you think so. And you made me laugh about the gorillas, and I hope you can listen to your body well and that is serves you well. Keeping our limits in mind is sometimes hard, but important. <3
Hi there, you! That sucks, I’m sorry to hear this.
Keep listening to your physical therapist; I hope you will be back in great shape again soon! Just give it time though – it might take a while but imagine being pain free for 5 years afterwards! 🙂
That’s what happened to me at least. I’ve been running for about 8 or 9 years now, and had a ankle sprain once. It took me four months, I was so sad about it. Now I had it all planned out for 2016 and was doing well just like you, but developed a problem in my knee. Physical therapist once again…! Luckily, I think I found a great guy this time. But for now there’s only been little improvement, and I cannot run the way I would before. Of course, from a rational point of view, you know far worse things could happen. But this is a bad thing for me (& you). So I totally get it. Try not to be too salty about it though – hug!
Hey you! You’re absolutely right, we just gotta be patient and its not the end of the world. Thank you! <3