Tag: physical therapy

New Year, New Goals 2022!

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

I can’t believe it’s a new year already! 2021 seemed to go by fast. Mostly it was a good year. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but nothing overtly bad happened either. I do wish I wasn’t bringing my runner’s knee into the new year, though. I was hoping I could start this year out strong and ready to tackle things, but that will be a little delayed.

I followed up with my sports medicine doctor two days ago and he wants me to do some more physical therapy, which I pretty much knew he was going to recommend. He told me that he wanted my PT program to be really aggressive and that he wasn’t concerned about making anything worse. He said he was fine with me staying at the clinic I’ve been going to if they can push me hard enough, otherwise he recommended the clinic in his building because they work with a lot of athletes. So, honestly I don’t know what I want to do. I’m going to chat with my usual PT on the phone when he returns to the office Tuesday and see what he might think. I feel like I could have been pushed more in my first round, but I think he was afraid of doing more damage. I think I would be okay with either option. My usual clinic always gets me back running, but at the same time it might not hurt to try something new either. I love that my doctor takes my goals seriously. I got so lucky to have found someone who listens so well.

So what are my goals for this coming year? I have a lot in terms of running, but also some others.

1. Run a 5k race every month this year.

2. Get my 5k time under 40 minutes, and then to under 35.

3. Do one speed session each week to help my running pace.

4. Trail run at least twice a month.

5. Try a 30 day run streak.

6. Sign up for a training group with the local running shop.

7. Consider trying a race longer than 5k if my body is up for it.

8. Incorporate jump rope into my fitness routine.

9. Do several 100 mile bike weeks.

10. Get back to studying Japanese.

I will probably be adding some things on this list eventually, but this is a start. Most of the running ones should be easily attainable when I can resume normal training. I’m still on the 1-1.5 miles twice a week thing until I get more strength built up, so my race times won’t be great for a few months, but it’s better than nothing at all!

I already started this year with a 5k on New Year’s Eve. It started just before midnight, and when midnight hit, fireworks went off, so that was cool to see while running. It was a smaller race with around 200 people, but everyone was really nice! Even though I was fifth from last at finishing, there were still people around to cheer as I ran across the finish line, which usually doesn’t happen at the bigger races. I definitely wouldn’t mind doing that race again every New Year’s!

PT, a 5K, and Life

On By LeraIn Life, runningLeave a comment

It’s hard to believe the year is almost over already! In the month since I’ve updated you guys, I’ve finished physical therapy for the time being, unless my doctor decides I need to do some more. I don’t go back for my follow-up until January 5th, so for the next couple weeks, I will be working on my stretches and strengthening at home and seeing how it goes. If things get worse before my appointment, my PT said I could call and we could figure out what needs to be done. I’m not 100% convinced that I will be okay on my own yet because it’s hard to measure that when I haven’t been doing my usual running and biking. I’m still having some trouble with my knee. It had started to feel better, and then I had a work week that destroyed all of my progress and set me back. I still can’t function well at work unless I’m maxed out on ibuprofen. A physical job and an injury do not go well together. That’s why I have such slow healing times whenever I get injured.

Despite all that, I did do another 5K that was holiday themed two weeks ago. I was already signed up, so my PT knew I was going to try it anyway. I had originally planned to try running half of it, since my doctor told me I could run one to one and a half miles twice a week, but I didn’t even make it much more than a half mile. I felt so much like I failed when I had to walk almost that whole distance. Obviously I was being too hard on myself in that moment, but it was hard to not think that way. There’s nothing wrong with walking if you need to. I shouldn’t have beaten myself up about it while dealing with a known injury and not having been able to train properly. What helped pull me out of that thinking during the race was a group of 4 little kids just past the two mile mark standing in their yard and throwing leaves like confetti at all of us and cheering for us. They didn’t care how anyone was doing. They cheered for everyone going by them anyway.

After that race, I took two weeks off. My PT said I could ease back in to running by starting with a half mile run. That’s less than my doctor had said, but I. Think it’s for the best to take it slower after that abysmal performance I had at that race. When my PT asked me when my next race was, I told him New Year’s Eve at midnight. I don’t think he was expecting that because he just started laughing and called me “one of those crazy runners”. I told him I would be sure to take it easy and just run as much as my body felt comfortable with. I think I’ll be walking a little in the beginning to get my body warmed up some and then try to run about a mile and a half. I’m hoping in two weeks I can be close-ish to that. I did 10 minutes today, which was 0.2 miles more than the half mile I was supposed to do, but I was feeling okay and thought it would be good for me mentally to at least be able to do 10 minutes. It felt so hard after not being able to train much. It’s been at least a month since I ran over 30 minutes. Every other run has been 20 or less, and getting back to it after no running for weeks at a time was a challenge. I was very slow, but in a way that’s good because it will ease my knee back in, hopefully.

I probably won’t update this again until January after my next 5K and my appointment since life is pretty boring otherwise. I do have a week off starting December 21st, so I just have two more work days to make it through and then I can let my body and mind rest a little. It’s been so stressful the last couple of weeks. I’ve been stuck staying late every week on my morning days, which would be fine if it was once in a while, but not 3 weeks straight. And then yesterday, someone I work with massively took their anger out on me for a situation I couldn’t control and I had a breakdown. I was shaking and trying not cry while I was still at work, which was unsuccessful. At the point where it started, I only had one more hour to go, so I was able to hold most of it back until I got home. One day I just won’t go back. I can’t take many more days like that. I try not to take it personally, but I got yelled at and accused of “trying to get out of work” because a company we contract with had a weird situation occur and couldn’t deliver our product that day. It was out of their hands, and it was out of mine. There wasn’t anything either of us could have done about it. All we can do is wait for an alternate delivery date. To be yelled at about it was unfair.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great rest of the year, and a great start to 2022!

PT, Round 5

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

It’s been a whirlwind of a month, but I feel like things are looking up. I saw my primary care doctor for my knee, and he wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. He said it could be a few different things based on my exam. When I called to make the appointment my knee was feeling worse than the day I actually had the appointment, so it wasn’t giving me its usual problems. My doctor told me I always make things difficult (jokingly, of course), but I can’t help it my body didn’t read the instruction manuals. It always shows problems in weird ways. Since he wasn’t sure, he told me he wanted someone else to look at my knee. I appreciated his honesty about it. He told me he’d contact someone he knew in sports medicine and see if I could be seen.

The next business day I got a call from a sports medicine office to schedule an appointment, and they got me in within a week and a half. I really like the doctor I saw there. He was great at explaining everything to me, very friendly, and he took my goals into consideration to come up with a plan for me. It turns out I have runner’s knee. The plan was to start physical therapy for 4-6 weeks and cut back on my workouts. So now I can only run two days a week for half my usually time and bike one day. I asked if I could still do the 5Ks I was signed up for and he said it was fine if I took a few days off afterward.

I started physical therapy a few days ago and will be going three times a week. I get to see the PT I’ve always seen, so he knows my weird problems already. My femur is twisted internally, my tibia is twisted externally, and my foot points out on my affected leg. He’s trying to correct that as much as possible while we work to build strength in key areas. Yesterday’s session has my muscles sore, but that means it was an effective workout for me. I’m hoping things calm down soon and I can enjoy some more time running pain free in the new year!

“Back” to Pain

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

Hey y’all! It’s been a few weeks since I posted an update. My running hasn’t been progressing too well since I ran that 5k distance last month. I was talking to a much more experienced runner about it and he said it might be wise to back off the training a bit. Having hit two PRs last month left my body feeling tired, and I began struggling to complete a run. Even a mile left me feeling like I was breathing too hard. I switched back to run/walk intervals for the time being—5 minute run and 2 minute walk. I’m going to do that for a bit and gradually increase the running time back up, first to 8 minutes, then to 10 minutes, and keep my 2 minute walk breaks for those new times and see how my body responds. I’m going to increase my total workout time from 35 minutes to 50 minutes gradually with the help of the run/walk intervals, and reassess after that. In a few weeks, I also want to add a 4th run day where I simply run a mile and try to get progressively better times.

That said, I haven’t run in 8 days, unless you count the 3 minutes that I attempted Tuesday. My left back started hurting near my lower ribs 5 days ago, and I just assumed it was a strain of some sort since it hurt with movement or deep breathing. I was content with just treating it on my own until the pain worsened and I felt like I was being stabbed. I made an appointment with Dr. S and he said it could basically be a dozen different things since there’s no other symptoms (he also told me it was too early in his day to have such a tricky problem 😂). I had a test done to rule out kidney stones and that was normal, so for now I’m trying several days of prednisone to see if that calms the pain down any. If so, I’m good to go, and if not, we discussed potential next steps. Hopefully the next time I have to see him will be at the 5k race we’re both doing in August and not sooner. I want to get back to my training plan!

Even though it hurts too much to run this week, I can still bike since once I’m in position, my back doesn’t really move. I rode for over an hour today and it felt glorious to get outside and move. The only bad thing is that a bracket on my bike seat broke in a place that can’t really be replaced without major hassle. I have it duct taped in place for now since it isn’t going to be a safety issue when I’m sitting on it, but I did order a new seat tonight. Chances are if one part broke, others are weak. My bike gets a lot of use! I also need to get a new tire for the back at some point, which in hindsight I should have also ordered tonight. Oh well.

Lastly, I baked some cookies for my physical therapy clinic and dropped them off this morning. It’s been six months since I’ve had to go there, which is the longest I’ve stayed away in the last two years! That’s amazing for me! It’s all thanks to them always going above and beyond to help. If they hadn’t suggested Frankenshoe (getting a 1 inch full sole lift built into my everyday shoes and my running shoes to even out my leg lengths), I doubt I would have gone this long without a major issue. I’m so grateful to have been able to work with people who care so much.

Feeling Like Giving Up

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, running1 Comment

I had my followup appointment today for my hip tendinitis and I’ve been crying off and on all day. I’m so beyond frustrated with my orthopedic doctor. It was a huge waste of my time (and money). Both of my hips have been bothering me, but in different places. On the left side it’s my gluteus medius tendon and on the right it’s my hip flexors. My left side has been feeling better; it’s not perfect, but the pain is less most days. My right side has been unchanged. I figured my doctor might want to discuss how some of the things I’ve been trying at physical therapy have been helping, especially the temporary shoe lift on my right foot. I was curious to see what he’d have to say about it and if he thinks it might be a solution to getting all of my trouble areas to heal up and leave me be.

He had no interest in any of that. He seemed almost offended that I went to my PT for help while I waited for my follow-up appointment and questioned how badly I was actually hurting. He told me I can’t just go to PT forever. I wouldn’t call a couple of sessions after 6 weeks working on a home program “forever”. All the doctor told me was that I should get a home program from my PT and work hard at it and everything would go away, never mind the fact that I’ve been doing that exact thing. I do my PT exercises every day, and on days where I’m hurting really badly, I stretch extra. He also told me to join a gym, lose weight, and work on diet and my pain would go away. I had to remind him that I’ve already lost a lot of weight (nearly 70 pounds), and that the hip issues started when I became a runner. The left side has been bothering me for 13 months and the right side for about 5 months. I really wanted to know what my doctor thought about my leg length discrepancy, and I didn’t even get a chance to ask him because he made me cry right there in his office. I agree with my PT about my leg length discrepancy being the cause, but it’s not a simple thing to just fix. Left untreated, my body develops poor compensatory patterns, which is why I have so many other areas that are hurting, which lately has been my right knee. Even treating a leg length discrepancy can cause problems while the body adjusts to its new mechanics if it’s treated too aggressively too quickly. I don’t know why my doctor didn’t want to talk about any of that stuff. Maybe he didn’t even read the chart. He sure didn’t seem to remember I was a runner until I told him I had a 5k this weekend I needed to get through, and his only response to that was that he was glad to hear it because it would help with the weight loss. It was at that point I started to cry. His last piece of brilliant advice was to tell me to call up the office and make an appointment if it didn’t get any better. I don’t understand how much “not better” it needs to be for him to care, but I’m certainly not going back.

I really don’t understand what happened today. My doctor was great about getting my left hip feeling better. Why is it different because it’s the right side that’s still bothering me? In the meantime, there’s not a lot I can do. My PT has been wonderful at helping me look for solutions, so I’m grateful I at least have someone who is interested in helping me. Him not being a physician limits that help, but it’s still been a blessing. He recommended I make the shoe modification permanent and told me of a place that should be able to do that for me in the next city over. The only reservation I have is if it removes the support aspect of my motion control shoes, and my PT wasn’t sure, so I’ll have a few questions I want to ask. In the meantime, the temporary ones are helping for now. I don’t know how much that will cost to modify my shoes, but if it will give me a chance at a pain-free life, I’ll try it if the price is reasonable enough. In the meantime, I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off from running after my 5k. I’ll also be taking a few weeks off from PT to work on a home strengthening program while I’m not running and see where that gets me.

I try incredibly hard to be positive and optimistic, but I’m struggling with that right now. I’ve been doing pretty well with my running considering all these injuries, and now with my asthma and the cold air for the winter season. It’s hard to see success on paper in my training journal and still feel like I’m somehow failing. The numbers may look good, but the way my body feels tells a different story.

Pre-race Update

On By LeraIn Life, runningLeave a comment

It’s been a week and a half since I’ve been trying those temporary lifts in my right shoe that my physical therapist made me. Overall, I think they’ve been helping. I still have a lot of pain, but it feels easier to walk. I’ve had a leg length discrepancy my whole life, so I’ve always been used to how it feels. Using a heel lift again back in March helped, but it didn’t fully correct it. The new shoe inserts put me up to where my legs feel very close to even. I didn’t even know how good it could feel to walk. The hope is still that it will eventually help my other injuries go away and stay away by removing the extra strain on my muscles and tendons. My only concern is that my right knee has been trying to bother me lately. It does sometimes, so I don’t know if it’s just one of its occasional flare-ups or if it’s because of the lifts. I mentioned it to my PT and he wasn’t too concerned, so I’m just keeping an eye on it for now.

My running has been going pretty well. I’m able to run 25 minutes straight through with no walk breaks now! I’ve never been able to do that much. I’m still very slow, around a 14 minute mile, but it’s a start. Another month or two and that will be improved. I’m hoping to be able to run 30 minutes by my last 2 runs before the 5k in 13 days, and then on race day i’ll be trying my hardest to run all of it straight through. I’m really glad I’m back in PT and working on loosening up my muscles and building some strength. I’ve only been going once a week and doing a lot of stuff at home, but I’m still finding it helpful. If I can get both of my SI joints moving the right way, that should also help. They’re both still stuck, but in different directions, because my body apparently can’t do anything normal xD

Trying Something New

On By LeraIn Life, runningLeave a comment

Last week I reached my limit with my ongoing injuries and pain and called up the physical therapy clinic. I spoke with my PT on the phone about what was going on, and he had me come in so he could do an assessment since it had been about 7 weeks since I was there last. He spent a lot of time looking at everything and started formulating a plan to treat my stuck SI joint and deal with my uneven legs, which he thinks may end up helping. He was careful to say it was his best guess, which I totally understand. I know it isn’t a certainty, but I’m grateful he’s willing to try. I went back a couple days later so we could get to work on treating the problems.

Friday when I was at PT, I was the only patient there because the other one had cancelled. My PT did another assessment and the other therapist that was there was fascinated. The difference between my left and right hip height is very drastic, and he found it really interesting (his exact words were, “WOW! No way!”). The two of them brainstormed together about what might help. Eventually after testing me with different heights under my right foot, my PT made me something temporary to try in my right shoe to make my legs and pelvis even. If my body responds well to it, I’ll have to get my right shoe built up to that height, and if my body doesn’t like it, it’s back to the drawing board. It’s too early to know for sure, but I had a little less pain running this morning. I occasionally have low pain running days, so I don’t know if it was the lifts or just a coincidence. I’m planning to run again Thursday before my appointment so I can at least have two runs worth of info to give my PT.

I’m hoping eventually I can do a lot more trail running. I discussed it at PT and at the moment it’s best not to do it very often because, as my PT put it, my “body would be a mess if I ran trails”. I don’t really mind running on the road because my body likes it more, but my soul likes the forest runs more. Being surrounded by nature on a run is incredibly refreshing.

I also did something new that was fun last week and volunteered for the local Zombie Run. I wanted to run it because there were people dressed like zombies hiding in the woods scaring the runners and it sounded like a lot of fun, but I didn’t want to push myself too much and make anything worse. It was fun seeing race day behind the scenes, though, even though it was freezing that evening. I still felt like I was able to participate in some of the fun. I got to run the registration table and check the runners and volunteer zombies in and out and make sure everyone signed a waiver. We also had 6 extra runners that signed up on race day, so I had to collect payments, too. I enjoyed getting to greet everyone and meet some new people in the process. The next time I’m not running a race that’s being held, I’ll volunteer again. It was a great experience!

Constant Struggles

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

I’ve been having a really hard time since the 5k. Somehow, despite everything I try and all the effort I put in to following the advice I’m given to the letter, I can’t catch a break. At my last physical therapy session before the race, I was told that after it was over, I should take a break from my workouts for two weeks and rest. I had already decreased my biking for weeks before the race so I wouldn’t work my trouble spots harder than they were already working, which made sense and I figured the sacrifice would be worth it. I was at least able to keep training and run my race. My PT wanted me to decrease my biking even more, which knocked me down to just 3 days a week of only 20-30 minutes and absolutely no running for the duration of the break. During that time, I missed running and was anxious to get back to training for the next 5k, but I really missed biking. I was riding 6-7 days a week before, and between 45-90 minutes each ride depending on the day. Last year I was able to easily log 15-20 miles a day, and for the last month it’s been 5-6 miles on average. Biking was how I erased my stress, and I am really having a hard time not being able to bike as much as I want.

The two week break felt like it lasted forever, but my pain steadily decreased during that time. My first run back felt amazing, and most importantly, there was no pain. I thought I was finally in the clear. My second run that week went well, too, but my third one was when I knew I was getting my hopes up too high too soon. All of the pain returned near the end of that first week back, which was last week. Fast forward to this week, and it’s still here. I ran twice already and am planning to run again tomorrow. I decided to follow the C25K (couch to 5k) program exactly as laid out unless I need to make modifications. Even though I was able to do more a few weeks ago in terms of endurance, I’m hoping that keeping it easy and steadily increasing my runs with a progressive plan will help keep the pain manageable enough for the next 6 weeks until the race.

So, basically I’m stuck at what to do. I absolutely don’t see the point in taking time off if it isn’t going to help. No, 2 weeks isn’t a long break, but the time before this I took 5 weeks, and the time before that, 16 weeks. What’s the point in taking a break if it doesn’t even provide lasting relief? I could take more time off, but it’s not guaranteed to even work, and I can’t afford to miss any runs leading up to the race. I’m only running 3 days a week, so it’s not like I’m overdoing it. I’m keeping my bike mileage down for now. But what else can I do? I’m doing everything my PT taught me how to do, and the unfortunate thing is that he’s now on medical leave for a while longer and he’s the one that actually knows my case, not to mention that all my PT benefits are used up for the year and having to do self-pay is already going to limit how much I can go because it isn’t cheap. It’s certainly not something I can do more than once a week. I was thinking of calling the clinic and asking if I can do an appointment to come up with a different home plan to try. The rest of the staff at that clinic is awesome and I wouldn’t mind working with any of them, but I have so much going on that I fear whoever it ends up being is going to be overwhelmed with everything I have going on.

As of now, the exhaustive list is:

  1. Left gluteus medius tendonitis and trochanteric bursitis
  2. Left TFL injury of some sort based on the stretches I can feel for that area
  3. Left proximal hamstring strain
  4. Left piriformis tightness, which leads to pain
  5. Left SI joint area pain when I run, and ocassionally with prolonged walking
  6. Right hip flexor tendonitis
  7. Right hamstring strain about two inches above my knee
  8. Right ankle mystery problem (still no official diagnosis after 2.5 years)

It’s really depressing to see everything in a list, but it is what it is. I started having most of these issues after my surgery, but I thought it was related to 10 weeks of crutches, and a few months of wearing the walking boot. I know for sure my body wasn’t moving ideally for a long time after my surgery, so it easily could have been that. I’ve had gluteus medius tendonitis before, about 11 years ago, but it went away pretty quickly and didn’t come back until 11 months ago.

My PT thinks a lot of it has to do with my ankle not letting me walk properly. I’m sure that has something to do with it, but I have another theory. Personally, I think it’s mostly related to me having a short right leg (anatomical origin as measured in special x-rays). I’ve been researching a lot, and the pain pattern I have is common for that issue. I have a 1 centimeter heel lift in my right shoe, but it’s not enough to fully level my pelvis. Running really aggravates everything, but I don’t know what else to do for it. I can’t use any higher of a lift in my shoe without my heel slipping out. There’s only one other nonsurgical option, and that’s getting my right shoe built to the correct height to even my legs out. I don’t know if it would help, but I’ll certainly be asking about it at my next follow-up with my specialist next month. The only problem with messing with the sole of the shoe is that I don’t know if it would render the motion control useless. I really need a motion control shoe to keep my ankle mostly happy when I run. Without it, I had a lot of ankle instability.

Anyway, forgive my ramblings. I guess I just can’t keep it bottled up anymore and needed to complain in a way that wouldn’t annoy anyone too much. I’m hoping I have time for a PT appointment next week to learn some new stretches and exercises I can try and see if that helps. I certainly have nothing to lose.

5K Training

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, runningLeave a comment

Somehow yet another month has slipped by without an update. As predicted, I ended up back at physical therapy for all of my injuries. Better to work on them now before they stop me 100% from doing anything, which was the route I was headed down if I continued to ignore them. My PT knows my goal and how determined I am to meet it, so we’ve been aggressive at the stretching, and I started doing some strengthening this week. I’ve managed to keep running 3 days a week out of sheer stubbornness. Usually it hurts some, but no more than when I’m not running, so I’m going to keep at it. I absolutely refuse to stop again unless I’m told by a medical professional that I should. This is the third time in a year I’ve started trying to run, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep at it.

I decided to sign up for the 5k Dr. S told me about, which is hosted by the running group I joined. I can’t believe it’s only 12 days away. Considering I had to cancel the one in February due to injury, saying I’m looking forward to it is an understatement. I can’t even describe how ridiculously excited I am to finally be this close to that goal. I know I won’t be able to run the whole thing because I won’t be done with my training plan, but if I work in intervals, I should be able to run 80% of the time. I’ll push myself to do what I can, but I’m not going to stress out about it. I’ve also cut my cycling down for now to see if that helps the pain and stiffness in my hips and hamstrings. I think my every day bike habit is hindering my ability to rest well enough, so from now until the race, I’m only riding a few days a week and at a slower pace and less time than I’d prefer. It will hopefully be worth it come race day.

Lastly, I really love being part of a running group. I’ve mostly interacted with the members on Facebook, but I was able to make it to one group run so far, and it was awesome. Having some support out there makes a big difference, and there are a mix of beginners and non beginners, so there are people who understand the struggle to start running and people to look up to for future goals. Everyone has been amazing so far. I plan to do two more group runs this week, and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m learning a little about park runs and trail runs through them, and while I’ve only done one trail run so far, I loved it. Being in the woods surrounded by nature was refreshing. I just have to be careful I don’t roll an ankle on the uneven ground, which is why I haven’t been again yet. I do that enough on flat ground to the right ankle, which, as y’all know, already has problems. I don’t need another injury right before my race. I seem to be a magnet for them this past year, and enough is enough.

That’s all I have for now! I’ll let everyone know how my race goes, and maybe even post some photos!!

Hint of Success?

On By LeraIn Life, runningLeave a comment

Well, it’s been a week and a half since I had my cortisone shot for my hip tendonitis, and I’m happy to say I’ve been feeling pretty good! It’s such a luxury to not have so much pain. I forgot what it felt like to get up in the morning and not immediately hurt. I have some stiffness and it causes very mild pain, but I’ve been trying to be diligent about doing the stretches I learned in PT this past winter so I can prevent anything else from happening. I was able to have a discussion with the PT who treated it last time and get some good advice from him. I’m so grateful that he’s always willing to answer questions even if I’m not actively being treated by him; it’s one of the reasons I will never go to another physical therapy clinic. Anyway, he told me I was good to start running again this week as long as I started with half of what I was doing before and slowly build back up. I asked him about running without my ankle brace and if that contributed to the hip issue since both times I ran without it I had trouble. He said that “things like that are rarely coincidences” (his words), but that he wasn’t sure, which I understand. In any case, I probably won’t try running without my ankle brace for a long time just in case it did contribute to me re-injuring my hip.

Tuesday was the first day I tried running and it went well! I spent a good amount of time considering how to start back up. Cutting the time in half was easy, but I was working an interval program before that, doing a mix of mostly running with a few walk breaks. I decided on doing 5 minutes of walking to warm up, and then the next 12-13 minutes are 1 minute run, followed by 1 minute walk, and alternating those so I’m not running more than 50% of the time. I did that same thing today, and I think I’m going to leave it at just two interval workouts this week. Next week I’ll do the same thing three days and if that goes well, I’ll tweak the intervals. I’m covering just under a mile (excluding the warm up), and I’m okay with leaving it like that for up to four weeks depending on what my body tells me. I have 4 months until the Halloween 5k, so that’s plenty of time to increase distance. I’m going to take things slower than I was last time. Any efforts I can take to prevent another injury will serve me well. I don’t need to be the fastest person at that race; I just want to be injury free so I can try. I’ve had to postpone attempting a race three times this year, and I really don’t want to have to again due to injury. Covid might be another story, but October is still a long way off, so who knows what might come of that. Worst case scenario is that I’ll measure myself a 5k route and sign up for a virtual race that offers all the swag of a real race. I want a bib and finisher’s medal to be able to display after everything I’ve had to deal with the last year and a half.