First off, let me start off by saying it’s my birthday today. I wasn’t going to make a big deal but since y’all have been asking where to send gifts and all…
Bahaha! I’m pretty funny. I have no plans except not to cook dinner. But that probably won’t happen. As long as my husband comes home with some sort of cake type dessert, I’ll be a happy camper. Pie, cake, flourless chocolate cake, ice cream… ya know… something completely unhealthy and delicious.
Anyway, before I get off topic too much, let’s talk about my recovery! Last week was a pretty good week overall. I did have a couple setbacks, though. One was in a completely unexpected way. Whomp, whomp… Here’s how my week shook out:
Tuesday — 3.1 miles
Tuesday was amazing. I ran 3.1 miles. With no pain. I felt free as a bird! It was quiet and peaceful, and there was a beautiful sunrise to boot. Love.
Thursday — 3.56 miles
My coach had me scheduled to run 4 miles on Thursday. I’m still paranoid about my ankle so I’m somewhat hyper-vigilant at this point. I’m not entirely sure what mileage I was at but at one point or another during the run I thought I felt a bit of a twinge, but I couldn’t be sure if I was imagining things or not. I decided I would run a little longer and see if I felt it again. If I did, I would stop and go home. And if I didn’t, I would keep on. Well, I didn’t feel it again but I also didn’t want to press my luck. I cut my run short by about a half of a mile. Overall the run was great. I did go out a little too fast but I felt good and it was nice to be outside again.
Fast forward several hours later and my ankle was hurting. I discussed it with my coach and decided I wouldn’t run for the next two days. I was going to do some yoga and focus on strength work. I also messaged my doctor to let her know what was going on. I was wearing a pair of retired running shoes. Strangely enough, as soon as I took them off my ankle didn’t hurt anymore. #hmmm
Sunday — 6 miles
I ran with one of my athletes on Sunday. She’s also on the road to recovery and this was going to be one of her longest runs since the spring. We decided to run the trail and met up for a nice mid-30s sunny run. Brrrr! I forgot how cold 30˚ weather can feel…
We started off and fell into pace together. We were both running this as a “listen to your body” run and if one of us felt bad or had to turn back, no harm, no foul. I was very dialed in to my ankle/lower tibia, and I’m sure she was very dialed in to her injury as well. I’m fairly certain I was favoring my leg and not putting too much pressure on it. This backfired, unfortunately. And guess who fell victim to another bought of ITBS? Yeah. Me. At 4.5 miles I could feel my right knee sticking. I hadn’t felt that sensation in months but I knew what was coming. After a few more tenths of a mile, I finally told her I had to walk. I was so broken. I couldn’t believe it. Finally on the road to recovery with my stress reaction and now this… for realz?! I only walked a few feet before I decided to suck it up and keep running. I was almost back to my car anyhow. What was another mile and a half?
Well let me just tell you something. I made it to my car and I was fine. But a) I’m never running that trail again. It was the same trail that I was on when I first had ITB issues during marathon training. Never. Again. And b) IT band pain hurts like a b*tch. I couldn’t go down stairs for the rest of the day. I rolled four times on Sunday, and spent about 45 minutes doing strength and ITB rehab work on Monday. I’m not taking this lightly this time around. I refuse to let my IT band ruin the rest of my racing this season.
I guess overall my week went well, but the two setbacks really messed with my head. Not only do I think my leg is going to snap in half at any given moment, but now I’m hobbling around like a gimp again. Okay fine, that may be an exaggeration. But still! I know a lot of injured runners right now, actually. What the heck is going on with us, guys?! We’ll talk more about that later this week. ‘Tis the season. Fa-la-la-la-la, La-la-la-la!
Hope you have a great day today. If you’re injured like me, hang in there. We will pull through! And if you’re not injured, make sure you stay that way.
xo
How have you dealt with recurring IT band pain?
Unrelated fun question: What’s your favorite holiday? (Doesn’t have to be a winter holiday!)
This post is linked up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run.
