Hi everyone! As you can tell from the title, I’ve got good news and bad news. I’ll start with the good news:
MY SHOES CAME!!!!! Right on time! And oh man, are they gloriously bright. I haven’t had shoes this bright since my first pair of Nike shoes that I ran in before I’d been analyzed and fully fitted for shoes. I honestly feel like Lisa Frank must have been on the design team for this one.
Anyways, I was so pumped to try them out! My initial test run up and down the hallway revealed that they felt so much better on my feet than my evil non-stability shoes. After taking both Sunday and Monday off and doing absolutely no workouts either day, I had high hopes for the short treadmill run that was on my schedule (10 minutes easy, 10 minutes steady, 10 minutes easy).
After about 10 seconds, I could tell something terrible was happening. While my feet didn’t have their usual pain, my legs immediately began aching again. And every once in a while there was a shooting pain up my legs to my groin. I had absolutely no pain during the steady run part, but when I turned the treadmill down to easy again I was in some serious pain. I cut my run short to 25 minutes and did a cool down walk, and then cried in my car. Back at my apartment, the pain only intensified. In some cruel twist, my feet feel fine but my legs and hips are sore and my left hip/groin has shooting pain whenever I put weight on it.
I’m injured. This is really happening.
Just typing those words makes me want to puke. I’m so upset. I’ve never really been injured. I’ve always half-assed my way through training (or in the case of Disney Princess, I stuck to a plan and got lucky) and been find, but now when I’m actually putting in the time and doing everything I can to stay on track this happens. Right now there are two parts of my brain that are trying to process this:
Irrational Part:
- FUCK. (Yep, that’s all I can think. #sorrynotsorry for swearing)
- I’m going to have to go to a doctor. I don’t have a doctor.
- How am I going to walk around at work tomorrow?
- HOW AM I GOING TO RUN 13.1 MILES IN 6 WEEKS?!?
- My longest run so far was 5 miles. 5. MILES. I have to get at least 5 more added on to my long run before I feel comfortable running a half. And I’m going to miss yet another long run.
- I have non-refundable plane tickets. I’m going to Utah. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO IN UTAH NOW.
- I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how long to rest or how to get out of this.
Rational Part:
- Breathe.
- I have 6 weeks. I’m going to be able to catch up.
- I’m on pace to do 10 miles total by the end of this.
- No matter what happens, I’ll have fun in Utah. I can hike and do whatever I want! And I can always walk the half, right?
- I can always defer Zion and run a 5k in Vegas or something so that I can at least cross 1 race off my list during the trip.
- At least my shoe problem is fixed…right?
Irrational part wins.
I don’t know what to do. I don’t have a doctor so I have no idea who I would need to call or if I even need to do it. For now, I’m taking a week off. I clearly need some serious time for my legs to get it together and stop hurting. And then maybe things will be okay. In the mean time, I’m going to do some yoga, stretch, foam roll like crazy (I already do it at least once a day but I need more help!), and try to figure out what’s wrong. If you have any advice I’d love to hear it!
Have you ever been injured? What did you do? How would you recommend I get back on track? How do you stop from totally freaking out?
Mom in the Mtns 
So sorry! I would see a doctor…hip/groin pain could be stress fracture…but could also be pulled muscle. Better safe than sorry! A week off is definitely a good idea!
Oh no 😦 What kind of doctor should I see? I have no idea what to do!
Sorry to hear! A week off is a good start, but would see a doctor if it continues to hurt. Sounds painful!
I think I will. It still hurts a bit today but I’ll take it slow and see if it goes away completely if I rest.
Oh wow I’m so sorry. That does not sound good. I’d definitely get that checked out. Sounds like an MRI is in order. Big hugs.
Nooooooooo 😦 I don’t want a big issue! Would you schedule the doctor’s appointment now or after the week off if things don’t get better?
Not sure how much I can help all the way in NY but my hubby is a Chiro and helped me tremendously when I got injured 6 weeks before my first half. It did involve some rest but he okay’ed certain cross training exercises that didn’t involve impact. If you wanna chat email me! I’ll help the best I can 🙂
I might email you later! I’m so scared and I’m really bummed that it might affect my half marathon. I’m thinking the old shoes are what caused the issues, and my new shoes caused my legs to freak out because they were getting support in a different way and that’s why it hurts 😦
Oh man, I can SO relate. I have had three injuries since July and it sucks. My training was seriously diminished and my half the other day was really tough.
The first thing I thought of was something about the shoes? Could your gait be different with the change, and your hips are feeling the overcompensation? And second, I’m going to recommend a therapist who does Active Release. My sports doctor is a chiropractor who does a lot of specialized sports treatment as well. Active Release is what has fixed me multiple times. I don’t know if there are at of those hear you, but I recommend that treatment over an orthopedist, at least at first.
Oh man, that sucks! I hope your injuries get better! And yeah, it’s definitely the shoes. I’m thinking the old shoes are what caused the issues, and my new shoes caused my legs to freak out because they were getting support in a different way and that’s why it hurts so bad right now. I’m going to check that out! It’s so scary for me because I don’t know what’s wrong or even what exactly started the pain (feet? hips? legs?) so I have no idea what to tell a doctor. So overwhelmed!
A good sports doc will understand the shoe-leg connection. Good luck!
I’m so sorry to hear this. My only recommendation is to see a doctor. If you don’t know what’s actually wrong, you can’t fix it, and you might continue to make things worse. Good luck!
Ugh I don’t want to! But yeah, you’re right. I think I’m going to call some places today to see what they say.
Oh no!!! I would definitely try to find a doctor. Just ask around for a primary care physician and make an appointment as soon as you can. I hope you’re able to recover and feel better. Icing might also help with some of the initial pain.
I don’t even know where to ice – everything below my waist hurts in some capacity! My left groin area is the worst and I’m definitely not icing that at work 😛 Ugh I think I’m going to call some doctors today to see what they say.
Oh no!! Isn’t that just the way it always works?! You finally fix one thing and something else goes wrong. Definitely make sure it’s not the shoes. Also if it was the other shoes, they may have caused something else but your feet to hurt. Find a dr asap! Don’t wait and don’t run anymore on that kind of pain. It will only make it worse. I ignored pain several years ago and it ended up being a stress fracture.
I’m thinking the old shoes are what caused the issues, and my new shoes caused my legs to freak out because they were getting support in a different way and that’s why it hurts 😦 I guess I’ll call a doctor today. I’m definitely not going to run on it anymore for a while, that was a mistake even trying it out yesterday!
Ugh, I’m so sorry. Def seek medical help. I had a shitty time of it when I accidentally buying a minimalist shoe … hopefully you are just a little out of balance… I found a few sessions of PT and a lot of time on the heating pad helped me – and I ran my fastest 10mi race just a few weeks later. Have faith.
Thanks for sharing your story! That makes me feel so much better! I really am thinking my alignment is just off. I made an appointment for Friday morning so I’ll know what’s going on soon!
Omg 😦 I don’t know what to say
But I am sending every healthy healing vibe you way right now! You can get through this and race! I know it!
(P.S. I love the pink shoes….. 🙂 Positive!)
Haha thanks! Yeah I’m trying to focus on the crazy cute shoes too 🙂
Sorry you are joining me on the injured list, it’s really not fun. Seriously, if you can get into a clinic to see a Dr., that would be my recommendation. I pulled my hamstring Dec 10th and didn’t got see my Dr. until middle of January – bad decision. My full marathon training is on hold and I can only run every other day in short distances (2k, 3k at the most). I started PT and that’s helping a lot.
Rest, ice, heat..REST! Good luck!
Thanks! I’ve got an appointment for Friday so hopefully I’ll know what’s going on soon! I’m hoping that plus a little rest will be all I need!
Don’t panic! I would find a doctor who specializes in sports medicine. The sooner you figure out what is wrong the quicker you can get to rehabbing. Don’t run if hurts in anyway. I would also recommend going to see a physiotherapist and having them check your running form and look out for any muscle imbalances. I did this last year and it totally changed my running.
I made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine for Friday so that’s a start! The physiotherapist – was that covered under insurance? Did you have to get recommended to go there by a doctor or did you do it on your own? I really think that would solve my problems!
That sounds like a great start. My insurance covered my physiotherapist appointments – I just had a $25 copay but it was money well spent. I think my family doctor called the orthopedic center so that had my information and then I picked the lady who ran the running clinic. Lucky for me my regular doctor is a runner too (everyone in Utah is so sporty!) so she understood the runners injury panic mode.
Haha the doctor I found mentioned he’s a runner on his website and that he understands wanting to get back to normal! I was sold when I saw that! I’ll ask him if he has physiotherapist recommendations too.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this! I hope by now you are feeling a little better and have been able to rest. I’m feeling some odd aches and pains coming on right now too. Best thing to do is rest and take it easy, even if it’s super difficult for our sanity/brains. Get to the doctor and feel better!
I’ve got an appointment tomorrow and hopefully I’ll know what’s going on soon! But yeah, I’ve been resting and trying to keep my mind off of it!
Oh no!! I’m sorry, injuries suck so much!! I was going to chime in to say see an orthopedist if you can, but sounds like you’re already on the right track that way 🙂 I know it’s super frustrating, but take it easy (don’t run at all if you can stand it) until you see the doctor and then do what he/she says. Don’t rush back as much as you may want to, because that usually only makes it worse! (Take it from me… oof.) You can definitely run/walk or walk the half and still have the experience, so don’t fret too much and feel better soon!
I know 😦 It’s hard though. I think if a doctor tells me not to run I’ll listen for sure. I’ll do whatever it takes to feel better because it hurt a lot! I’m hoping that no matter what, I can get through this half marathon and just focus on getting better for my summer half marathon!
Ah so sorry to hear! The biggest thing I’ve learned from being injured… stop running! It’s a sign your body is mad about something so running on it will only make it worse. Taking a few days off won’t derail you too much!