Not Blogging but Still Running

Last June I competed in a USATF track meet.  Apparently I pushed too hard, and pulled the right “proximal hamstring tendon.”  I have seen my sports doctor at least twice and an excellent therapist many times, and mostly have followed their advice, but the injury persists.  In fact the radiologist examining a PET scan in September found no significant myeloma lesions, but did report the hamstring injury as an “incidental finding.” 

For now I’m walking and jogging, several times per week, trying not to cause pain in that injury.  I had hoped that it would go away within a few weeks, as muscle injuries do, but it’s a tendon injury and it’s taking a LOT longer.  I have no choice but to cool it until the injury is fully healed, and then to ramp up more carefully than I did in June.

We have a new place to do that.  The local high school has recently opened a brand-new indoor walking/running track, priced quite reasonably.  Nine laps per mile (very nice track!).  We three have been there several times now, and lately I have been walking one lap and jogging the next, for a total of three miles, 27 laps.  Next I could increase the distance to 4 or 5 miles, or increase the jogging to two laps, then three, until I can jog the whole three miles.  Maybe I’ll do some of both.  No hurry.  We plan to be there several times a week, more as winter sends us indoors. 

According to  my therapist I should not run two days in a row, but I can walk all I want.  In fact, we do walk from home to the co-op grocery and back every week, a hilly trek of six to ten miles, depending on the chosen route.  We really enjoy those hikes, climbing back up the hills with groceries in our backpacks.  We did one last Monday. It may have been our last for this year because we won’t walk those hills when the trails become icy, but I hope that we get a few more.

Today’s indoor track mile splits: 12:34, 11:58, 12:20, total 36:52, pace 12:17.