Yesterday I got knocked down. This morning I got up.
It all started at mile 17 of my marathon on April 1st. We rounded the corner for another uphill and I knew at that moment something wasn't right in my hip. It hurt, a little, but was not a pain. Honestly, it just felt annoying. I took my mind off of it and kept running.
And with the exception of the Monday after my marathon I have kept running. I've kept running and working out on a hip (or in my mind a groin) that was angry. It felt better on my rest days but if I am being honest it still wasn't exactly normal feeling. I was convinced it was nothing more than a little muscle strain or tightness. I kept running and stretching through it. However, on Friday of last week (a rest day) I was in a great deal of pain just sitting in my desk chair at work and as the day grew on I became concerned. I knew that if I was the slightest bit concerned I should call my doctor. I thought long and hard before I finally just dialed the dr's number. They could see me on Wednesday (yesterday).
I stuck with my plan for the weekend. Long run Saturday. My husband and I planned an easy 6 miler on the local greenway that connects with our gym. I had a great run, minimal pain. Just slight annoyance in the hip/groin area. I iced the rest of the weekend. Going into the week I felt really good, confident that my appointment would go well. Monday I had a great run/row workout but again just a little annoying ache in my hip. Tuesday we did a family run/walk and that too felt pretty good. Wednesday all day I thought it was so weird that I had almost no pain. That is until just an hour or so before my appointment.
I tried to convince myself that the "pain" was all in my head and that I'd be going to the dr and he'd tell me I was fine, just take some rest. Sigh. If only that was the news I had gotten....
My doctor was on vacation so I was scheduled with another doctor. Thankfully he too is a marathoner. He at least appreciated my ugly toes and high fived me for that (and my 85 lb weight loss!). Then after I described what has been happening since mile 17 he said, "I'm sending you for an xray, physical therapy and writing a prescription for this anti-inflammatory. I will check on you in a week." Crap. I text my husband that the doctor confirmed that it was not my groin but my hip and that he wasn't overly concerned that it's major but that it's definitely not good.
I went to xray and moved my left leg around in some bizarre ways for the tech then headed over to make my PT appointment. They got me in right away. After spending a few minutes with my PT he confirmed that I indeed do have an injury. Bummer. He moved my leg and twisted, pulled and stretched me in ways that caused me to wince from the pain. Yes, pain. It was not my groin. Instead he said, "Hip labral tear."
Not great. Not totally bad but not great. I was devastated though. I didn't even have to ask what it meant for now because he had already told me. The good news is that I could heal quickly and if I am smart and do as I am told will likely avoid ever needing surgery. What it means for now is that (like my doctor said) there will be NO impact activity for at least 2 weeks, 6 weeks of physical therapy and I could be back to running by mid-summer.
What can I do??
Elliptical, bike and swimming for cardio.
Core and upper body weights for strength.
This is good news because I am not totally side lined.
I did shed my tears over the fact that running is out for a while. I worried about the fact that not running meant fewer calories burned and fewer calories burned means that it will be even harder to keep the weight off. Stress me out! My biggest fear has been injury and weight gain. But ya know what? I gotta suck it up. This is for real. I have to find a way to overcome it. So, I decided right then that it was out with the negative. This won't keep me down! NO way!
I went right out and bought this beauty...
I'll be joining the grannies in the lap pool.
I will also be dusting the cobwebs off my bike and filling the tires with air. If I can't log my miles on the road in my running shoes then I will just have to do it on my bike!
I'm taking this little injury as nothing more than a little bump in my big road to success. I may have been knocked down with the news yesterday but I am choosing not to let it keep me down. I'm back up and moving forward. I hit the gym tonight and logged over 5 miles on the elliptical. Then I came home and got to work on the recovery part of this...
15 minutes of stretching as my at home PT. This part hurts but I know it will strengthen me and get me back on the road and in my running shoes soon.
For me this whole injury thing is just further proof that I am an athlete or as some would say, "one of those crazy over obsessed runners." Call me what you want but don't call me a quitter. I may not reach my May goals but I am going to come back from this stronger!
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