Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
Sara
MM #2929
Chicago RnR 1/2 Marathon
Oh no!
Sorry to hear about the hamstring. That sucks. But you have to listen to what your body is telling you. Look at it this way - after some rest you'll probably come back even stronger.
Best of luck
jeff
Good Bad & The Monkey
I'm out. PT said I need to rest my strained hamstring, and I'm actually going to listen. It simply isn't OK to run on it- not even the mile. I'll be back at some point.
I happen to disagree with your PT. Most hammies take forever to heal and active recovery does better than rest. Active recovery can include gentle running or walking.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
He was letting me run. I was running gently and many days it really bothered me and even the gentle runs were miserable. To me, it is stupid to run while hurting that much. What the PT said was that if it stayed the same or got better during the run, I could run. If it got worse, I should not run. It was getting worse. Gentle running that is very uncomfortable isn't doing an injury any favors. I figure I've been through enough injuries over 30+ years of running that I have a feel for when I should be running through something and when I should not.
It started right after Tom King ( perhaps really started during a stupid barefoot mile on the beach during the week before on very uneven, shell-covered sand) and was runable (a little tight but could do normal running pace and workouts) for about 2 weeks. Then as of Running to Beat the Blues (where I stood for 3 hours) it was worse. Then after another week with just gentle, shorter running it was a lot worse. It hurt to walk. At that point you stop. I am not someone who easily gives up a 387 day streak and probably my 2000 mile year and my entire fitness, so if I stopped running you can be pretty certain that it's the only option.
I think so- and so does the PT (Perry Smith). I thought I might have an SI joint rotation, which I have had in the past, but he checked all my alignment and doesn't think the SI joint is out. Pain tends to be mid-hamstring (not butt or ITB) rotating around to inner leg after running. I have a bunch of exercises to do. It also wasn't bad enough/soon enough to be the SI joint stuff I used to have. When I got that I couldn't sit without a tennis ball. Now, the tennis ball helps the hamstring, but I can sit fine without it.
What do you think?
I guess I would describe it as more "tight" than "hurts". When I take Advil it feels a lot better, but I really try to limit that because I don't want to just mask pain. In Las Vegas last week I was taking Advil due to late nights, headaches, lack of sleep etc and the hamstring felt a LOT better! When I take a stride or swing my leg the tightness is pretty much mid-hamstring- right in the back of my thigh. In Las Vegas I had 2 runs (Fri and Sat) where it let me run without having to stop every mile or so (well, in the Friday 5 only the last 2 miles were really OK). When I got home and tried to run Sunday it was tight and miserable. I can actually feel the tightness lying down as much as any other time, which is surprising to me. Uphills or upgrade feels a little better than flat or downgrade. My stride is hampered and my pace is very hampered. I figured it was a low level strain- not even a real pull. It started so gradually. It doesn't seem painful enough for a stress fracture (at least in my experience). I did a 3 mile walk yesterday morning and it was stiff the entire way, but the elliptical (Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer which is more of an arc trainer) didn't seem to bother it- at least no stiffness DURING the workout.
MTA- Doesn't hurt standing, but after standing in the cold for 3 hours at Beat the Blues and THEN going to do my 8 mile run, it was extremely stiff.
Would a stress fracture at early stages show up on an xray? Seems like I always wound up with MRIs except for the 2007 clear tibial plateau fracture.
Thanks for the advice.