The State of My Leg

Hello, Welcome, and Good Evening my Fellow Americans.  Tonight we gather to discuss the State of our Union.  J/K.  I'm here to discuss the state of my currently gimpy leg.

Addressing Congress...

As you may or may not have noticed, there has not been much mention of RUNNING on this here running blog the past few weeks.  In fact, it has indeed been nearly 4 weeks now that I've abstained from running in the hopes that whatever this twinge/strain/inflammation on the back of my leg was would make a hasty retreat.  I'm sorry to report that has not happened :(

Truth be told, I have not really been resting my leg.  I've maintained my normal workouts, save for running.  My weekly workouts have generally looked like this the past month:

Monday:  Strength or HIIT workout (Bodyweight only, at home)
Tuesday: Strength workout (Weight lifting at the gym)
Wednesday:  BodyCombat (Les Mills kickboxing class)
Thursday: 4 mile walk (outside)
Friday: Bicycling + Rowing workout (gym)
Saturday: REST or Hike outdoors
Sunday:  4 mile walk (outside)

Throughout all of this my leg has not been in pain, but it didn't really feel like it was getting much better.  To be clear, this is not a knee injury.  It is an inflammation/pain of the tendons, ligaments or muscles in the fleshy part of the back of my leg behind my knee.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and let me tell you, I have been dying for a run.  So, last Thursday I turned that 4 mile walk up there into a 3 mile run.  Bad news bears.  1 mile in I felt GREAT!  I was RUNNING for heaven's sake.  The wind in my hair, finally breaking into a real sweat, endorphins starting to kick in, and then I felt it.  An ache.  A twinge.  A pinch in my leg behind my knee.  MOTHER F#$*(&^@!!!!

I convinced myself it wasn't that bad and continued to run.  Another mile.  It was definitely there.  Pain.  Mile 3.  Ok time to stop.  And I definitely paid for that drug-induced endorphin-induced relapse right there, because my leg has been sore ever since.  I've been getting some strange numbness up and down that leg now and into my foot/arch as well.  It comes and goes.  Very strange.

I still don't know where this mystery injury came from.  Is it because I'm wearing running shoes that are far past their prime?  Could be.  My shoes are 9 months old.  Way beyond their lifetime at this point.  Is it because I've been doing 2+ mile walks daily in flip flops with my charges at work?  Probably a contributor.  Did I strain something in my new kickboxing class and continue to aggravate it each week?  Also a possibility!

I had planned to run this trail half marathon with my friend November 1st, but now it seems that may not be a possibility.  Even with the very abbreviated training cycles I do, I still need a minimum of 8 weeks to adequately up my mileage for a half.  That means I would have to start training Sept 1st and that just doesn't seem a possibility right now.  I guess as a last ditch effort I could try to abstain COMPLETELY from all physical activity for the rest of August and attempt a run come September 1.  But who are we kidding.  If you got me to sit still for 2 1/2 weeks you should buy a lottery ticket because you're definitely a miracle worker.  I think at the very least, I will cut out as much walking as possible, as that seems to aggravate it the most. 

[PSA:  I'm somewhat making light of this but if I was in extreme pain, if I felt something may be broken, or if my daily activities were being hindered in any way, I'd obviously abstain from physical activity and possibly see a Dr.  I'm not advising anyone take my advice regarding overuse injuries right now!]

Any suggestions, commiserations, pity parties are welcome!  If you are running right now, LUCKY LUCKY you.  I want to be you.

You haunt my dreams

The State of our Union is strong my fellow Americans (mmm, debatable), but the state of my leg is not.  Send good vibes.  And I'll send some your way :)


When was the last time you suffered a running injury?

What was it and how long did it last?

And HOW DID YOU DEAL!?!?