Saturday, September 12, 2015

Swimming & Serenity...

If you follow my Instagram page you probably already know that I have to take another week off from running... (if you don't follow my page (and you want to) you can click HERE). A lot has happened this week and I've kept IG more updated than the blog so I'm just going to do a quick recap to get everybody caught up...                                                                                                                               source
My last post was on Saturday (9/05) when I did my 10 mile long run that wasn't really a long run. Then I ran 1 mile on Monday; 1 mile on Tuesday morning; and 5 miles on Tuesday evening...

Wednesday was a rest day (because of the evening run on Tuesday) and I went back to see my Orthopedic Surgeon (Dr. K) on Thursday morning. I was hoping to be given the "all clear" for longer distances but I was still having some lingering pain. When Dr. K did his assessment of my right hip he expressed some "concern" regarding the amount of pain I had to my greater trochanter area (basically the side of my hip)...
The most concerning part for him (and me) was the degree of pain considering I had only done 10 miles on Saturday and hadn't done more than 5 miles since; and Dr. K expressed general reservations about my ability to complete the 26.2 mile distance without a more invasive intervention.

We discussed physical therapy, which I really believe has been helping, but with 31 days (at the time) until Chicago we both agreed that while PT needed to continue it wasn't going to be enough. So Dr. K gave me a steroid shot in my right hip and recommend the following treatment plan:
1. No running for 1 week (which means I won't be able to run again until next week Wednesday)
2. Start back slowly with no long runs (so I'm going to start off with 3-5 miles and build up slowly from there, adding a few miles at a time with each subsequent run)
3. MRI of right hip if pain persists when I go back for my follow up appointment (on Sept 24th).

So it's not the best news in the world considering my marathon is next month. I already know that my legs won't be conditioned enough but I'm still planning on running/walking (unless the MRI reveals something that prohibits me from doing so). In the meantime I've been cleared to swim and pool run so that's what I'm going to be doing for the next four days until I can run again.

Swimming at my gym gets popular around 5am so I always try to get there before that. This morning it was a struggle to get out of bed, but I made it to the gym and was in the pool by 3:50am. 
I swam for 30 minutes...

And then I did pool running for another 30 minutes...
I wore my wireless headphones during the pool running portion of my early morning workout but since they aren't water-resistant I had to be very careful. I also used the water weights during pool running to help keep myself upright and also to add more of a workout for my arms. 

It's a little hard to do pool running when the pool is as deep as you are tall...

But under the circumstances it wasn't too bad...

When you can't run (or are told to take time off) you have to find a way to stay positive and motivated so that's what I'm doing. I think it might be worthwhile to invest in water-resistant wireless earbuds (do those exist?) because swimming might be the only thing that will save my sanity while I'm out of commission...

I'm hoping the next four days go by very quickly and that when I get back on my running feet I am able to do so pain free. I'm all for the "Runner's prayer" and serenity prayers etc. but really I'm praying & hoping & wishing for healing and a safe marathon journey (with successful completion).

How is your training going? I hope it's been injury free!

Any recommendations for water-resistant wireless headphones?

What other pool workouts can I try? (I'm trying to do a variety of different things so I don't get bored)

2 comments:

  1. Wow, good for you for getting in the pool! I've heard such great things about using that through injuries. I hope you get your hip healed up ASAP!

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    1. Thanks Jan! I hope so too :( Chicago is only 4 weeks away!

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