I Miss Running

I miss running.

This Sunday will mark four weeks since my last run, when I ran (or hobbled) the La Jolla Half Marathon.  I wish I could report that I am feeling better by now, but unfortunately I have had no improvement at all.

As I wrote in my last post, I had been seeing a chiropractor for the intense pains in my glute and leg that I'd been having for a year and a half.  They (it was a husband/wife team) were convinced it was my hamstrings, and that by stretching and chiropractic treatment I would heal.  The truth is, my hamstrings ARE inflamed and sore and hurting, but I always felt it was more. I wrote in numerous blog posts over the the last year and a half,  in most of my race recaps, that my sciatic nerve hurt----because that's what it felt like, more nerve than muscle.

I ended up getting a second opinion by a chiropractor highly recommended to my by several running friends.  This man is a running specialist who has worked magic in every single person I talked to in just a few sessions. He told me he gets 90 new referrals a month; he's very in demand. Of course, I have to be a special case as we are still trying to figure out what's wrong.  I've seen him twice now. He sent me for an x-ray, and while the radiologist report reported "normal" he said he may see something at L5/S1.  After a visit to my primary doctor, I now have a referral for physical therapy (PT), and will start next Friday. My chiropractor wants me to go to PT for two weeks and then see him; he said hopefully the PT will loosen me up enough for him to do the right adjustment.

Unlike my old chiropractor, this running specialist told me NOT to stretch, that it will just aggravate the muscle.  So, I'm not stretching. And still not running or biking.  This means no century ride next week, not even downgrading to the 25-mile ride option.  Oh well...I can do a century another time if I want to tackle it.  I am swimming and running in the pool, using my flotation belt.  The other day I took part of a deep-water aerobics class, and may be back for that again. Just trying to find things to do that will keep up my cardio without hurting my leg.

But my god, I miss running. I miss all my running clothes....I miss my Garmin....I miss planning out what route I will take....I miss filling my fuel belt and bottles....I miss pushing myself......I miss sorting out my problems in my head....I miss grinding out any negative emotions into the pavement....I miss the zen-state I get into....I miss coming home sweaty and exhausted and endorphin-filled and happy.  I miss the old me. 

I know I will run again----seems like it will not be as soon as I'd hoped but I will.  I may miss some fun races I have planned, but that's ok. I need to heal so I can run pain-free in the future. I am looking forward to starting PT so I can get the process underway---and hopefully the right adjustment will fix whatever is wrong with me. Otherwise, I may need a referral to an orthopedist, and have an even longer road ahead of me.

In the meantime, I'm just missing running....