It was all going so well: I had ran over 100 miles in 3
months, was loving running and it was making a huge difference to my life. I
was full of energy and positivity, was feeling great and was looking forward to
my further running progress. I had thoroughly enjoyed my first Parkrun, had just
taken my 5K time down to 24:37 and felt that I soon would be able to go under
24 minutes. I was feeling so good that I decided to show off my running ability
by challenging my 10 year old nephew to lamppost to lamppost sprint races down
the road. I was giving him about 15 metre head starts and then sprinting after
him to overtake him, having great fun and feeling great.
And then I stopped feeling great. About 10 meters into the third
sprint race I felt my right hamstring ping. The pain was immediate and I had to
slow myself down by running into a hedge. I knew straight away it was a bad
injury because I could hardly walk. This wasn’t something that would be cured
by a bit of stretching and a hot bath. Later back at home and my foot was up
with an ice pack underneath my right hamstring.
For the rest of the first week I followed the RICE principle
– rest, ice, compression and elevation. The only exercise I did was walking
from the car park to my office and even that was a struggle to do for the first
few days. By the end of the week I was massively frustrated and massively fed
up. I had gone from running 4 times a week to not being able to exercise at
all. What’s worse was that the weather was good – perfect for getting outdoors
and enjoying the English summer and there I was stuck indoors with my foot up,
at least I had the World Cup to watch. Driving to work every day I passed
morning runners and looked at them with the jealous envy that a lonely
singleton gives a happy couple.
IMAGE: View of my foot up with compression bandage on my right thigh
By Saturday morning I’d had enough of being inactive so I
rubbed my thigh with Ibulieve gel, put on my compression bandage and headed out
for a 4 mile walk around town, stopping off on the way back at my favourite charity shop
to buy books. The gentle exercise did the trick and I felt better than I had
done all week, which considering I’d been feeling pretty low wasn’t very hard!
The next day I did some swimming which further helped to
maintain my mood and fitness. A week later and I have just come back from a 12mile cycle ride in the rain, which despite getting soaked was good fun. I was
pleased that not only had I seemed to not have lost too much fitness I also
found it easier than when I had last cycled 3 months ago and was able to go faster
in a higher gear, finishing my route 5 minutes quicker than previously. I was
feeling rubbish before the bike ride and as I write this upon my return I’m
feeling much better again – it really is amazing how much a bit of fresh air
and exercise makes to my mood.
I’m not ready to start running yet but I’m slowly seeing the
progress of my recovery. I can walk, swim and cycle without pain and I can
touch my toes again. Just with the tips of my fingers for now but with the
progress I’m making I should soon be able to put the palms of my hands on my
feet again. I know that when I do eventually start running again it will be
hard but I have to give myself time to recover properly and not rush into it. After
reading loads about hamstring injuries and their recovery I have diagnosed
myself with a grade 2 injury (minor tear), for which the recommendation is 6
weeks out.
That seems a long way away – another month to go before I can
even start running again. It’s going to be hard but I will follow the advice strictly
because the most common cause of injury is from a previous injury that hasn’t
healed properly. I’m trying to turn this into a positive experience – getting injured
is common with anyone who does a lot of regular exercise and the frustration
that has come with it has made me realise even more how important running has
become to me.
I need a new challenge and I need something to focus on and
work towards. The Ipswich Half Marathon is in 3 months’ time and I am seriously
considering signing up for that. One more month to fully recover my hamstring
and then 2 months to train for the race. Twice the length of my longest ever run
and I can’t even run at all at the moment – that sounds like just the sort of
challenge I need!
