Sunday, January 31, 2010

Pain Does Not Equal Gain

I was going to name this post "Oh my aching unmentionable area" or "What a pain in the fill in the blank," but thought better of it.*

Today's Run: Linear Trail: 25 degrees. 5 miles; Splits: 9:59; 9:52; 10:18; 9:58; 9:45 49:52; 9:58 per mile average pace.

Yesterday's Run: Road: 23 degrees. 5 miles; Splits: 9:06, 9:06, 9:29, 8:59, 8:54; 45:34; 9:06 per mile average pace
WARNING: This post is a downer...
Today's run was planned for 7 miles, but I barely made 5 miles. I decided to run on the Farmington Canal Linear Trail today, but on a different part that is in the next town. I needed a change of scenery to help lift my mood and to motivate me. I drove the 5 miles from my house and when I arrived there I was disappointed. It was still covered in frozen snow. Apparently that part of the trail doesn't get plowed. I decided to give it a run, since it was pretty much packed down from people running and snowmobiling on it. Off I went, and it was a slow go. I was having difficulty with my footing, and my toes and fingertips were numb from the cold wind. I knew that it generally took me about 1 1/2 miles to warm up, so I wasn't too concerned. I was resigned to the fact that my time would be slow, and I was alright with that. At about the mile and a half point, my toes and hands did warm up. I kept my gloves on, even though my hands now felt too warm, since the wind chill made it feel as if it was in the teens. Although I was warm, my legs had no power, and it wasn't completely due to the poor footing. I made the decision early on to cut my run back to 5 miles. Ignoring the pain in my groin area (Sorry ladies for this info.) the past 4 months no longer works. Nine hours later, it's still lingering, and actually feels worse. Tylenol doesn't work anymore, and my runs are no longer comfortable, especially afterwards when the real pain begins. Running for two days in a row like I did this weekend is a struggle. My times reflect that. The time has come for me to go see my doctor. My research leads me to believe it's either a sports hernia or a muscle strain. Of the two, the muscle strain would be better. Worse case scenario for a sports hernia is surgery and about 8 weeks of recovery time. To be continued....UPDATE: I'm not feeling as much pain as yesterday. However, I went to my doctor today, Monday. He has referred me to "Bob" the sports medicine dude at a physical therapy/aquatic therapy facility. My appointment is for this Wednesday.
* Not really

7 comments:

Lisa said...

OMG Rick. I hope it's just a pulled muscle but definitely get it checked out. And all of you running in the ice covered roads make me nervous. Stay inside, stay warm, and stay safe.

Speaking of cold weather, thank you for the freezing run yesterday (Sat). I could never have run in those temps!!

Please be careful out there!

Anonymous said...

good luck! It's smart to see the doctor! I hope it's something easily resolved.

Tricia said...

Ouch! Good luck at the doctors!

Unknown said...

Hey, we're runners, we are not as delicate as you might believe! In fact, most of us have seen it all. Literally. I hope your dr. visit goes well and that you can get some help and feel ready to rock again!

Lindsay said...

i definitely thought 'hernia' but that's the only groin-area thingy i know of. hope all went well at the doc?

Rachel said...

I commend you for running in the cold weather period! Ice scares me and so I stay far away from it in the winter.

Hope that the doctors visit goes well!

Anais said...

Oh no, I hope it's nothing too serious!!!

That's why I prefer not running two days in a row... I just don't want to push it, I know my body just doesn't like it.

I hope the appointment went well!