Will Run For Ice Cream

Not good.. no other way to put it than not good. I went to the Sports Med doctor today to find out that the pain I started feeling last week is a nerve in my hip that is severely inflamed. I already have partial paralysis in the surrounding muscle tissue. I go Thursday to start PT with some type of cortisone treatment. Also, I have severe muscle imbalance in my lower legs. I never noticed this before. But now I can see that my feet turn in and my legs are sort of bowed where they weren't before. Right now I can't run, bike or use the elliptical. Basically, in a nutshell ... no cardio. I suppose I'll find out more on Thursday when I go to PT. For those of you who aren't runners, maybe you can't identify with the anguish and devastation that I feel at the moment. Being a runner helped define who I am. It is as if a part of myself has been ripped away.

I was barely a half mile into the run and I was wanting to quit. My legs hurt, my lungs hurt and honestly I just wanted to be in bed. Actually, I waited a little later to run this weekend, and the sun was already beating down on me. I was wishing I had forced myself to get an earlier start. After running down the mile long hill, feeling fatigued already, possibly more mentally fatigued than physical, I tried not to think about the 10 more miles ahead of me. After running to the end of town, three miles into the run, I allowed myself to have a water break. At this point, I was three miles from home, and still trying to talk myself into finishing what I had started. It's amazing how I can debate with myself while running. "But if I go back now, it's only 3 more miles. Yes, but 5 miles short of your goal. And 5 more short of ice cream. Ice cream? That's right. Any run over 10 miles and I can have ice cream. Nice cold, creamy chocolate ice cream". I kept running. At m...

I’m sore, and I’m getting more sore as the day goes on. But it’s a good feeling. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do it - the 11 mile run yesterday, I’ve been having stomach issues when running the longer distances. I tried the stomach aid last weekend on my 9 mile run. It helped but didn’t solve the problem. But yesterday, I used the stomach aid and I carried water with me. I’ve been running the long runs without drinking any water. I know I know. So yesterday, I carried water with me. Usually once I take one sip, I’m in trouble. But yesterday I drank probably 8 ounces during a 2 hour run. It was a good ‘start’. I don’t want to use the stomach medicine every time I run a long distance, but I need to use it on my longer runs to decide how much to take and when before I run the half marathon. I believe I’m doing to treat myself to a sports pedi for making the distance yesterday. It was tough, but I did it.