Pain? No Gain

I'm super bummed out.  11 weeks of running and I finally get through my first 5K and I'm sidelined with an injury.  I've fought through the pain to get me to the race, lots of hip pain and back pain and shin splints that I thought I left behind WEEKS ago.  But it's important to remember that you can't always fight through the pain or you really won't get far!

See, after I finished my 5K race I was determined to keep up with the running.  I wasn't hurting after the race too badly, just my right hip.  I felt fine on Sunday and headed to the gym Monday!  I knew I wasn't going to be able to run a regular workout so I thought I would run/walk a mile or so and then hit the elliptical.  BAD. IDEA.  My shins have never hurt so bad in my life.  I could barely walk.  Another bad idea was continuing through the run/walk (I think I ran for 7 minutes and walked 15-20).   Both legs hurt but the pain is super bad in my left leg.

Tuesday came and I iced as much as I could.  We had a softball scrimmage for the church league that we play in and running to first base 3 times almost left me in tears.  I could barely walk again.  I told the coach I couldn't do anymore.  Wednesday the trainer at the gym said to stick with the stationary bike and not to even do the elliptical, let alone the treadmill.  Thankfully that didn't bother my legs and allowed me to get in workout (even if my fitbit didn't pick up on it) and keep up a routine.  I know that if I don't make it to the gym, injury or not, it will be easier to not go again the next time.

On Friday I was still in pain.  The trainer freaked me out at the gym telling me to be careful of a blood clot - I went to bed panicked that night :) If it wasn't better this weekend then I would go to the doctors on Monday.  Saturday was awful, and Sunday was just as bad.  I'm icing as much as I can and as soon as the motrin wears off the pain returns.

Monday I woke up and felt good.  My leg didn't hurt and I debated on actually going to the doctors.  But since it's Monday morning I figured I better call and make an appointment just in case my leg starts hurting later in the day.  It hurt some, but I could tell the ice, motrin and lack of running was finally paying off.  The doctor offered to x-ray my leg but since it was feeling better, she suggested that I continue the regimen of ice, motrin and rest. She never really said what the problem was.  It could have been just serious shin splints, a soft tissue injury, a bruise from the pounding (I developed a blood vessel in my calf that had never been there before - which is why I panicked even more about the blood clot), but I was confident I wasn't dealing with a stress fracture anymore.  PRAISE. GOD.  I couldn't' have given up running for weeks on end.  I wasn't allowed to run until the following week but I could walk if it didn't cause pain.  YIPPEE!! 

Tuesday I sat out our first softball game which was a bummer but I did get to take pictures!  Wednesday I walked and "ellipitcaled" and it felt soo good to be semi-back to normal.  I didn't have pain in my legs which was awesome.  Thursday I felt great and on Friday I walked at a faster pace.  I will say that I did run but not much.  My next goal is to work on my speed so I did two 2 minute intervals at 5.5 mph.  It wasn't hurting which was great, but I did have a little bit of pain that night but nothing major. 

This week I'll work on doing some running but I know it's important to be fully recovered or I'll be out even longer.  As hard as it is to just stop after working so hard to get here, I know I have to. I'll be able to go even further and even longer if I remain patient and let my body recover.  And lesson learned, I have to fully recover after a road race - it was definitely harder on my body and than any day in the gym!