Injured but I can run!

I had my doctor’s visit this week – and there’s good news and bad news!

Bad news first — torn labrum, tendinitis and a few other tears in my hip area. So at least I know what the pain was!

Good news next — NO stress fractures, and as long as I am not in too much pain, I can run with the tears! I confirmed with the doct9r that running with the tears wouldn’t make my recovery take any longer and that I wouldn’t make it worse, and he said that as long as the pain wasn’t too much, running was fine!

So now the question is – after taking off for 6ish weeks, can I train for a half marathon in four weeks?!

Here is what the week looked like:

Sunday: 4.1 miles walking on the treadmill plus 2.61 miles walking outside, shoulder workout

I was up LATE Saturday night – past midnight! We were at the school fundraiser until 11 or so, and by the time we got home and I got ready for bed (OK, I also put some laundry in the dryer again and folded some clothes and put away towels), it was after midnight. So waking up at 6/630 was HARD. Thankfully, I didn’t have too hard of a workout planned. I started with a shoulder workout, then got in a short treadmill walk while B slept and the kiddos played games. When B got up, I got outside for a short walk – it was chilly (mid-40s!) but sunny and I ended up needing to take off the winter coat I had on. Later. I got in a walk with my daughter to the mailbox – any excuse I can get to go outside is perfect!

Monday: 4.33 miles of treadmill walk/running, short core workout, chest/tricep workout

I finally went to bed before 10 p.m. – first time in a while, on Sunday night! I was pooped from the weekend and ended up snoozing for quite some time, so that I didn’t have time for a really long workout. I did get in a walk with a few spurts of slow running after doing some core and weights. GM wanted to take a walk before school/work, but it was 30 degrees and I had an early day, so we had to postpone.

Tuesday: 3.5 miles treadmill walking/running, back and bicep and leg workout, weighted core

I had a long day in the office plus a follow-up dr appointment, so I was glad to get in a short workout before another day of sitting. And that was my only workout! But then I heard the good news (I can run again!) at the doctor, so it was a pretty good day.

Wednesday: 8.13 mile RUN outside, 3 mile treadmill walk while working, 2.83 mile walk outside

After getting the go-ahead to run on Tuesday, I quickly made myself a training plan for the next four weeks. It includes 3-4 days of running a week (different from my usual every-single-day) and a long run of 8-9 miles this week. I wasn’t sure how 8 miles would feel, but my hip felt good most of the time! I was sore during the day later, but proud to have made it 8 SLOW miles before school/work. I had a lot of reading/proofing/etc. work to do so I was also able to get a few treadmill miles in while working and then a walk at lunchtime in the 70 degree temps. The turtles were out at the lake near my house and it was beautiful outside!

Thursday: 3.17 mile treadmill walk, core workout, tricep and chest workout, 2.32 mile walk outside with GM, 2.65 lunchtime walk

I woke up TIRED! 30,000+ steps on Wednesday (Whoops) told me I probably should take it a little easy. So I got in some core, a little chest workout, and then just walking. Boring? Maybe, but after the previous day’s “long” run, my legs were tired! I did also get in 2 outdoor walks – one before work and one at lunch. It was sunny and 70s and I was so grateful to be able to get outside! The turtles were out in full force!

Friday: 9.07 mile outdoor run, .75 treadmill walk on incline. ,75 walk outside

Between sports and my daughter’s first Communion (at 8 a.m.!) we have busy weekend planned so I knew if I wanted to get in a solid long run it would have to be during the week. I wasn’t sure this was going to happen. It was slow, but I ran with minimal pain! I was sore later in the day, but that is a good reminder of WHY I need to not run every day and take it easy after my long runs. I didn’t get in much walking during the day, but I was okay with that – I only had a little time to walk between work and other activities going on (FW’s playdate, GM was home from school because daycare was closed, FM had soccer, and my parents came into town!).

Saturday: 4.64 miles outdoor walking/running

I woke up to 50s, so I got out for a walk. It ended up starting to drizzle/mist while I was out, so I turned my walk into a job and run on and off. I know I should take time off with my hip, so this was unintentional and I kept it slow. But it felt good – my quad was a little sore but hip felt fine!