Running with Humility

Coming back from a 10 week running injury sucks. It's hard. It's harder than when I started running. 


I became a runner after my first day of Couch to 5k in October 2010. So far, it's been the only form of exercise that I will do. Religiously. Jump forward to November 5, 2011 and I'm standing around waiting for the Golden Fliers race to begin. I'm in the middle of training for my first half marathon in January and I'm nervous because I've never run 10 miles before. I wasn't going to run the race but the coach of my running group said it would be a good way to get my 10 miles in. However, to be perfectly honest, my buddies from the running group were running it and my competitive nature got the best of me. I had to run and I had to beat them. By mile 6 I was dragging. I hurt from my hips down and I had to remind myself to "stand up straight" to keep from slumping.  I suppose I should have walked some but then I wouldn't have beaten the girls. I ran a decent race for my first time. It never dawned on me just to get the miles in and not actually "race."


Monday, 2 days after the race, I head out for my morning 3 mile run. As soon as my left foot strikes the asphalt  (I'm a roadrunner), my whole world stops. Pain. Fire. Pain feels like my thigh is on fire. I try to continue. Not going to happen. More pain. More fire. I turn around and go home. I'm limping. My husband, who is in the Kinesiology Department at LSU, advises that I may have a bruised muscle, to take some Advil and use the R.I.C.E. method when I get home from work. I do this for a week. All the while I'm limping around town. After a week, I'm anxious to run. I go out and as soon as my foot strikes the ground, more pain. More fire. I limp home feeling and thinking that I've set myself back in my recovery. What happened during the race? What's wrong? Will I be able to run again? This scenario continues for a month. I wear spanx type bike shorts to work under a skirt. At the end of the day, my thigh feels great. I try to run. More pain. More fire. But my thinking is, since the the spanx made me feel better, I need to wear a brace. I go to my local sporting department store and buy a thigh/groin brace and proceed to wear it for a couple of weeks. By Christmas day, I can barely walk. I throw the brace away. I make a doctor's appointment. First step in my surrender. No breaks. Doc says it may be IT Band. I Google this and learn about a foam roller. I dash, limply, to my local running store and purchase a 3 ft. tall roller. For two days, I cry in pain but the thigh feels better. I'm still thinking I can run, not the marathon, but the 5k portion. I go out for a run. Less pain. Less fire but still there.


I cancel my plans to run any part of the Louisiana marathon and to not run at all until my thigh is pain free. I'm crushed. Devastated. "How can this be? But, I'm a runner." Step two in my surrendering. It also coincides with my motto, "Listen to you body, not your head." All my running group friends are training, getting fast and aren't injured. I know this from Facebook. I see their status updates and photos. I'm green with envy. To get through this deadly sin, I decide to go out and support my running group friends on race day and I follow through. I yell, clap, cheer them through the finish line and hug their sweaty bodies as soon as I can get to them. Step three in my surrender.


Fast forward to mid February. I'm dying to run again and anxious. How am I going to do this so that I don't get re-injured? I download the Couch to 5k app on my new phone and I start with Week 2. It's been four weeks. I feel good. I'm slowly getting my running groove back. It feels great. I'm relatively pain free. I use the foam roller often, soak in Epson Salt baths and pay close attention to my running form. 


All of this, the injury, self-diagnosis, finally  seeing a doctor, swallowing my pride and ego for the sake of others, has been a huge lesson for me. I do believe because of this, I will become a better runner and better person.