You guys, this week was a huge week for me! Why, you may ask? Well, because I FINALLY made it out of bed to get some (okay, fine . . . two) runs in before work! I didn't mention this--most likely because I was seriously embarrassed by the way my alarm clock had been kicking my ass every morning--but for the past two weeks or so, I had been trying like crazy to get up early and get my runs done with. But . . . I am not so much a morning person. Actually, let me rephrase that: I tend to get very violent whenever anyone or anything wakes me up before I am actually ready to get up. It is for this reason that the alarm clock is situated far out of my reach and all alarm clock duties have been relegated to Wilson. But I digress . . .
Monday, I took a rest-y/stretch-y day in an attempt to get my hammy issue moving in the right direction. Then, Tuesday morning, the alarm clock kicked my ass. Thus, I spent Tuesday night in the gym on the treadmill, trying my best to deal with the boredom that comes with completing an "easy" run on the 'mill (especially on one where the tv was broken--ugh). I made it a mile and decided to mix things up a bit. On came the hill program. In the end, I completed 1 mile easy + 4 hilly miles at a nice, easy 9:49/mile pace.
Wednesday, some sort of miracle happened and I was actually able to drag my sorry butt out of bed for an easy 4-miler. I purposefully didn't wear my garmin nor a watch and focused on just taking it easy and enjoying my morning run. It felt SO good to have it out of the way, and sure, maybe I was a zombie come 3:00 in the afternoon . . . but it was totally worth it. I'm convinced that the only reason I made it out of bed that morning was the fact that I was still experiencing some sort of runner's high from my hilly treadmill run (which had taken place not even 9 hours prior to my wake-up call).
Thursday, I woke up exhausted and was convinced I just couldn't make it out of bed for a run. After laying around for a good 20 minutes, I finally convinced myself that I needed to keep the morning run trend going or else getting my butt up early the previous day would have been a complete waste, and I'd have to start all over. Thus, I was up and at 'em for another 4-miler at some sort of watch-less easy pace. It was SUCH a beautiful morning, I was really happy I made it out. And hey, I may have been late to work as a result of my procrastination, but considering I was forced to work until after midnight last night, I think we're even.
Tonight I have an indoor soccer game (at 10 p.m.--ugh, past my bedtime!!!) for my co-ed work team. Let's pray I don't find a way to injure myself!
And speaking of injuries . . . I think I figured out what's wrong with my "hammy". Thanks to my personal orthopedist (webMD, obvs), I figured out that I have piriformis syndrome, which is putting pressure on the sciatic nerve and therefore, causing pain down the back of my leg. It actually makes sense because a) my left bum cheek has been feeling a little funky, and b) my so-called "hammy" pain isn't actually in one spot--there are a handful of sore spots down the back of my leg. To confirm that this was the case, I performed a test that I found here: http://www.best-running-tips.com/hamstring-injury.html.
When I performed the test, it hurt when I did the foot flexing thing. Thus, I have my diagnosis. I've been working on doing some piriformis stretches lately and it really does seem to be helping. So hopefully this silly booty problem will remain under control so that my legs can be happy and run lots and lots of miles!
Happy Friday, everyone! :)
Friday, April 17, 2009
A Week Full of Miracles
Posted by Irish Cream at 10:42 AM
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11 comments:
Hope that hammy heals soon!!
I can't do those early morning wake up runs either. Unless it is the weekend, then I feel less stressed about making it back in time and such.
I? Am not a morning runner. You get a gold star for even THINKING about running in the morning. :)
running on a weekday morning is not my deal, because I love sleep too much. So anytime someone does it, they deserve mucho props.
keep feeling better.
Yes, congrats on prework runs. Not my cup of tea (morning too crazy over here), but v impressive.
So, I had a case of piriformis as well and what helped a lot was icing and rolling (foam roller). Give those a try, though don't roll to hard - I still have bruises on my butt from that, not v attractive:) Ana-Maria
I've heard that tennis balls work really well for the piriformis too.
awesome job getting those morning runs in! i struggle to get up too but am always so happy when i do make it out there :)
Great job on the a.m. run, Irish!! I've totally been meaning to do the same thing but my bed feels waaay too good in the morning.
I hope you get your piriformis dealio worked out.
I am So jealous about your ability to get up and run early in the morning.
Great job on those runs and the discipline!
All the best on the injury. It is good that you now know what it is so you can start working towards a cure.
Hi. I saw your comment on the Running Laminator's blog and I had to pop over and say that I feel the same way! I can't believe how excited I am about Boston! So ready to cheer for those RBFs!
And I just read this post and I have PS, too. I use a tennis ball whenever it gets tight. It helps more than anything I've tried. Good luck!
Nice work on the morning runs. I am *never* able to do that. But you've inspired me to not give up!
I hope that identifying the piriformis problem is the first step on the road to recovery. Or at least getting better!
Nice job getting your butt out of bed and running! Always make sure the right brain tells the left brain that you're going to get out of bed a run...PERIOD! Isn't it funny how us runners always self diagnose our aches and pains, and then find ways to deal with them?! Keep up the good work!
That's a good link. Thanks! Off to self diagnose now...
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