A Break, an Injury, and a Return

At the time of my second 1/2 marathon (in February) I had been running for 15 months. I thought I knew what I was doing, I thought I was training right, and was able to keep myself free of injuries. Before the Princess 1/2, I started feeling some really bad pains in my lower back and hip. My doctor prescribed steroids as a quick fix for the pain, so I could make it through my days at Disney World,  Royal Family 5k and the Princess 1/2. 

The steroids helped a lot, and I was pain-free for quite awhile after my trip. Once the steroids wore off, I was in lots of pain. It hurt when I sat, when I stood and when I laid down. Pretty much I was in pain every minute of the day. Running was completely out. I did not feel any extra pain when I was running, but afterwards I would be in total agony! 

After many trips to the doctors office, I came away with no real diagnosis, but with the recommendation to rest. Grrrr. At first, I really missed running and the daily sweat. But after a few weeks, I found other ways to take up the time running used to take. Watching tv, reading books, and snacking! Ha! 

The pain did go away, but came back whenever I decided to run. My last run was on St. Patrick's day. After that I hung up my shoes, and thought I may never run again. 

I was depressed, and gained more weight than I thought possible! I had no clue how to get back into running, and the worst thing was that I have a 1/2 marathon coming up on June 3rd. And I was planning on running a 10k on Memorial Day. 

Well, two weeks ago, I had to bite the bullet and head out again for a run. I am being very careful, and I am worried about hurting myself again, so I am taking it slow. I have had a few good 5 milers in the last week, and am feeling more confident. I do not think that I am going to make it to my next 1/2, and I feel awful about it. But I know that I have to take care of myself, I have plans to run many more races, and if I am not healthy that will never happen. 

I am excited to be back training, and it feels great to get out there and stretch my legs. I am only running every other day now, and trying to balance that with 20-30 miles of biking every other day. Hopefully this way I can lose this extra weight and get back into the groove of things before I run my 2nd DU in August. I have a very busy fall race schedule, and want to be in great shape for it. 

Wish me luck and health, I really need it!