Made my first run of the New Year yesterday. It was cold. It was wet. It was perfect running weather! The only thing that wasn't perfect was me! The goal was a 12 mile run around the Back Bay with the Cal Coast club. But, I was kind of like a football team committing a penalty in the red zone. Whistles. Flags. "Half the distance to the Goal" Yup - I made it out and back six miles.
It was a tough call. I was well within my target heart rate. I was having to slow down all of the time (a good sign on my LSD). But I just didn't feel right. It seemed that I was putting in a lot of effort. About two miles in I started feeling tightness in my right gluteus and thigh. That wasn't a good sign. There wasn't any pain, but just a lingering tightness.
As I was running, I was remembering Coach Sumner's topic of discussion before we took off - coming back from injury. As Coach put it - there is an overriding desire that most have to pick up where they left off prior to their injury. All too true! I am finding myself frustrated that I'm not back at where I left off, even though I've been off for two weeks and have cut back mileage going on four weeks now. So, I hit the three mile point and decided that it would be prudent to turn around and head on back.
I'm sitting here now on Sunday morning with a little overall muscle soreness, but my hip and right leg seem to be fine. I'm also understanding Sumner's point. I'm glad I didn't push too hard yesterday! At least now I can go out and try another four to six miler this afternoon!
good for you for listening to your body and pulling back. hope you were able to head out on a shorter run today and that everything 'held it together'. it can be so hard to cut a run short or skip a run because something is aching. runners are just too hard-headed, myself included. i'm working on it though. glad you aren't trying to overdo it - the most important goal right now is to recover properly and prevent future injuries!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lindsay for the encouragement!
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