July 16th, 2010
Wow. I had an extremely boring post ready to go, then wouldn’t you know, something happened on my run to spice it up. Just not in the good way.
The irony was I woke up feeling like a million bucks, my ankle has been great for the past few days thanks to going back to full-dosing on the Glucosamine and changing brands. Suddenly, that dark cloud hanging over me since April was finally receding for real.
And yesterday I had the pleasure of running with a fellow blogger, MarathonMaiden, who was in Philly for job training. She’s sweet as can be and it’s always a blast meeting someone you’ve come to know online, in the flesh. We happened to run into each other in the park this morning, too, which put a huge smile on my face.
So I was feeling great for today’s tempo workout: 9 miles with 10 min@Half pace, 10min@15k pace, 10 min@10k pace, w/2 min. rec’s. between each. Even though the weather was pure suckage (79 w/dewpoint 75), I felt confident about it and completed the first portion only 5 seconds over my “if the weather wasn’t pure suckage” pace, so 7:15/mi. About halfway into the second portion is when it happened.
In the blink of a hamstring
I’ve heard the injury description “it felt like I’d been shot” , and while I’ve been held up by a gun-wielding man before, he didn’t actually use it, so I can’t say that’s how it felt. And I imagine that if I was shot, I’d start crying and this didn’t make me cry, but damn, it was an instant shock of pain. If we were to compare it to imagined weaponry, I’d say it felt like I got tasered.
That was the end of that tempo. That was the end of that run. It hurt too much to do anything but limp home, 4.25 miles.
I stopped once to feel along the leg and check for swelling, there wasn’t (and still isn’t yet) but while I ran my fingers over the area, I felt the taser again, so now I’m reticent to even touch it. I’m not even familiar enough with where it is on my leg because I don’t want to feel that feeling again, but it’s somewhere above the crook of my knee. Time for a Google injury hunt, woohoo…
So now it remains to be seen what damage has been done. I’m sitting on my huge pillow-sized icepack while I write this. This was a cutback week and tomorrow, thankfully, was a scheduled rest day anyway. I’m just worried that this is a “real” injury. If so, I’m screwed. So I’m not going there mentally yet. Ice and NSAIDS will be my BFFs for the next couple days and we’ll see what Sunday brings. Definitely not a long run, that’s for sure.
Never a dull moment.
11am Edit: OK, feeling way better already. I’m not limping one bit and it doesn’t hurt unless I stretch it by mistake. Consider it a comma, not a full stop!
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yes, ice ice ice ice ice and ice.
Dude, that sucks. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious, maybe just a pull.
And so, do you know what it feels like to be tasered? :P
No honey, which is why it says “imagined weaponry”. :P Thanks sweetie, hope it’s a pull, too.
Ugh.
I’ve been battling hamstring strains and tears for some time. They pretty much suck. My running now, at 43, is mostly centered around keeping my times in a place I think they can while coddling my hamstrings. I’m still nursing a strain from October.
PT/Massage (the hurtful kind) is what works best for me to keep them supple … working out the adhesion spots between the three hamstring muscles. And a foam roller. Marianne has also gotten very good at pushing a strung thumb along those spots, so I don’t seem to need PT as much as I did when I first strained it for the umpteenth time.
Also … I don’t think I’ve ever actually spelled umpteenth until just now.
Lol, umpteenth. That’s my first time writing it, too. I’ve got a roller, so good tip, I’ll be on it. If it is a tear, can it get any worse by rolling? Stretching was not a good idea, that’s all I know so far (ouch).
I was one of the “I’ve been shot” posters in the past. It took about two weeks for me to recover for a violent hamstring pull. Fortunately, it was a strain rather than a tear. Keep icing, roll it out when it’s no longer tender and stay away from fast running for the time being. If your stride’s altered, stay away from any running. It’s times like these that a pool or bike come in handy.
Good luck. You can get over this quickly if you baby it.
Yeah, that’s where I’m screwed, I don’t like biking and I don’t belong to a pool. Thanks for the words of wisdom though, I will baby it for sure. I’m feeling like it’s not toooo serious because right now, it hurts with certain movements but not when walking around the apartment normally.
A strain IS a tear. It’s not a complete tear, but there are still torn fibers. And you do not want to be stretching it, as you’ve already figured out.
Ah, thanks for the clarification, Jeff. Nope, no stretching anymore! TLC only.
Ahhhh I’m so glad I got to run with you and then seeing you this morning definitely put some pep in my step
Take care!
You take care, too, cutie!! And good luck with the job.
Major suckage is right. For such stuff, you have to impose a strict no-running for X days on yourself. I don’t know what X is but I’d pass on anything over the week-end. Enjoy being lazy for a couple of days.
Yeah, you’re right. Sunday should probably be out, too. I put “probably” because I’m a runner and we’re all idiots like that.
This is my point. We’re all runners and stupid so for a hamstring you have to say nothing until Monday.
Lol, ok, you’re on. Yeah, I’ve been sitting here thinking Sunday would be dumb, even if it was a 5-miler, what would be the point? Thanks, Joe.
Yeah … stretching is usually not the route to take. My PT explained it by saying it would be like stretching a knotted rubber band to try and get the knot out. You have to push and massage it out before you can stretch again.
I think you’d know if you tore something. You wouldn’t feel like doing much of anything with it.
Yeah, it does seem like I’d know if it was torn (I’m new at this type of injury). It really doesn’t seem to be a killer thing right now, though maybe that’s the ibuprofen masking it. Good analogy on the rubber band.
A whole new twist on the “walk of shame”. Would’ve preferred the boring post instead. Hope it’s basically nothing.
Lol, totally a walk of shame. The only thing going for me was that I was soaked to the bone, so I hoped that signified to all I passed that yes, I had indeed been running at one point that day.
I hope you heal quickly and that it is nothing serious!
Thanks, Christi!
Ughhhhhhhhh. Ow. ow ow ow.
The same thing happened to me a few years ago. I had a twinge in the hamstring while warming up for a race, but it went away. Then 50 meters from the finish JUST like you described it. I could feel it again just based on your description.
I limped for a week, took another week off then was able to run. A bit. That bum left hamstring haunted me for MONTHS since the stiffness and pain would flare up from sitting too long. But the good news was I could still run, I just had to be careful. (This, for the record, is the worst injury I’ve had in 15+ years so…I’ll take it.)
Ice and ibuprofen, and if you can find one of those compression bandage sleeve deals, that helps too. Be careful with it and hopefully you won’t be out for too long.
EEK! Well, I’m not limping right now and it feels normal unless I do anything that stretches it (like pick up something off the floor) so I think I dodged a bullet with this one. ::knocks wood::
I’m knocking on wood for you too (yes, really, I just did). Hamstring injuries suck (though mine’s more of a chronic overuse thing that flares up, and located in a different place). Take extra care, even though you are a dopey runner like the rest of us. Conservative healing now can pay off 100x in the future.
And a 4-mile walk home? I always carry some cash, ID/credit card and a phone, partly so I can call (and pay for) a cab ride home or to work if I need to.
Hugs.
Thanks Barb, I love you for knockin’ on that wood! Love you anyway, but all more the more for the knocking.
Ugh. Sorry to read this. I wouldn’t call it a walk of shame, though. Walk of smarts, maybe? Better to walk then to force it.
I really recommend Ben Benjamin’s “Listen to your pain” — the book has a cheesy title, but it’s a great reference for “OK — what have I done to myself now”.
Oooh, that sounds like a great book! I could use it, for sure. Will look for it now. And thanks for the walk of smarts comment, I’m not shy about shutting it down, though I wish I’d been closer to home today, lol.
Hey, Flo. Nothing to add the the wise advice here. That walk home must have been unpleasant, not knowing what was in store. Take care and get well!
Thanks Jim, will do, feeling much better already. And yeah, I looked like the ultimate sourpuss the whole way home. :-)
Crap. I have no advice. well, time to start the pushup challenge again huh? Hang in there – you might only need a little time off. (crossing fingers) ((()))
Thanks Mary, I should be good to go on Monday, it’s not hurting at all right now and from what I read, it appears to be a light strain, so at least nothing’s seriously ripped up. :-)
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