HomeA bump in the road
I've not written about my running in a while.
There have been a few issues. I've been waiting to see how they panned out before posting more.
My first 30km run came soon after my first half marathon (HM) distance run. And was just as unexpected.
It took a lot out of me, and I clearly wasn't ready for it. It would be 6 months before I would do this distance again.
I did keep posting HM distance runs pretty regularly.
Not speedy (2hr 15min+), but I shuffled my way through them ok.
I could not get my cadence above 160 steps per minute, which was frustrating. No stress, I'd revisit after I had built more fitness.
My runs from October through February had all been solo affairs (except for over Xmas when BIL Phil had been up from South Australia, and had indulged me a few times).
TRR
I had seen groups of runners in Toowoomba, some regaled in what was clearly club branding.
I knew it would be good to talk to more experienced runners.
One Parkrun, I sidled up alongside a fellow wearing a club shirt. He (it turned out to be Mark G) was happy to talk. He spent the rest of the run telling me about the club (Toowoomba Road Runners), and suggested I should come for the Sunday Social Run the next day.
He seemed like a good bloke. So I did.
17km later I was hooked. I signed up as a club member within another day or two.
This was a new world for me. Real running enthusiasts. All sorts. Most of whom had been running for years. Some noobs. Some maybe even greener than me. Most at, or above, my level. Some clearly way above.
Welcoming. Friendly. Inclusive. Zero judgment.
Me with some of the TRR crew after a Friday morning run
Oddly, my long runs suffered a bit. Most club runs are in the 7-15km range. I enjoyed the club runs so much, and they were so often, that I struggled to fit a longer run between them.
Injury
The more runners I meet, the more I hear about injuries. It seems to be an accepted occupational hazard.
I'd been warned. Take it easy. Take it slow. Build over time.
I knew I wasn't bulletproof. Far from it.
The problem with this kind of advice, however, is that "easy" and "slow" are qualitative metrics. They mean different things to different people.
I felt great. I was improving. My confidence was off the charts. I knew there was a wall out there somewhere waiting for me, I just didn't know where it was.
I found out. Rudely, and without any real warning.
The Peak2Park 10k run was my first organized "race".
Standard story. Felt good. Ran hard. PB.
About 20 minutes after finishing, as the heat left my body, I started to feel something in my groin.
Oh crap. That really doesn't feel good.
In another 20 minutes I was having trouble walking.
What followed was the slowest and most painful 3km walk home I have ever had the misfortune to endure. Gamely trying to look normal so that I didn't suffer the indignity of being asked if I needed a ride.
Deep heat, Voltaren, ice, rest. None of which produced meaningful results.
You know it's not good when you struggle to pull on a pair of trousers. Or when you can't fit shoes without sitting down, or propping against a wall. Or when you can't roll over in bed without grimacing.
For the next week I couldn't walk to work. For the first time in about 18 months I was back to driving.
I didn't know what I'd done, nor how bad it was.
I needed help.
Never having been to a physiotherapist before, I had some trepidation in picking up the phone. I did it anyway.
Soon I was on a table having my groin battered in ways that were new, and not terribly fun.
It was the right move.
My new found physio friend (Allan K at The Fit Lab) was a godsend.
Massage. Exercises. Diagnosis.
Adductor and hamstring tendinopathy. I reckon that was what he called it.
He probably told me lots of things, over this and subsequent sessions. The thing I remembered was "It's ok. You haven't done permanent damage. You'll get through this."
Honestly. I could have hugged the bloke.
Pain I could handle. The idea of having to shelve my fledgling passion for running? Not so much.
Allan wasn't advising rest. Along with various exercises he wanted me to start doing hour long "walk/run" sessions. 1min run and then 4min walk. After a week move to 2min/3min, and so on.
There was nothing fun about the subsequent walk/runs. Not only did the tendons hurt, but after a short while, the compensating I was doing caused hip and lower back pain. Sucked really.
After a week I moved to 2min/3min. I only did one of those. Stuff it. I was impatient. If I was careful, and stayed conservative, I figured I could run the whole time.
After a couple more lopsided runs like this, and a parkrun, it was time to get back with the club runners.
Another Friday morning run, aftermath
And so began the long, slow climb out of injury. My confidence was completely shot. I don't enjoy pain. It didn't make for enjoyable runs.
They say that a large component of running is mental toughness. Prior to injury I had had enough of a sniff of what's good about running to know I didn't want to quit. I had things to accomplish.
Being around experienced runners with their own tales of injury and rehab made things a lot easier.
400mg of ibuprofen didn't go astray either...
As of today, over 3 months since injury, I am still a fair way from 100% recovery. But I improve with each passing day. I find myself spending less time each run focused on the injury, and more time thinking about my running. I lack confidence, and am gun-shy about pushing too hard. But I know things are heading in the right direction.
Along with my neighbor, Chase, I recently completed a 31km run. Not quick, but it felt so much better than my first 30km run. A week after that I smashed my HM PB by a whopping 15 minutes.
And cadence? It appears I'm even starting to get that figured out.
My cadence chart from my HM PB. 178spm average.
I'm 1400km into my running life. I'll never be elite. It's not the point. Every run is its own reward. Long. Short. Fast. Slow. Doesn't matter.
I can't compete with the guys with the fancy shoes. That's ok. It's enough to be out in the same paddock with them.
Standing around recovering after a Sunday Social Run
Foggy, cold Wednesday morning run
Doing the Carnarvon Great Walk while recovering was a challenge. But that's a story for another blog post.
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