Weekly Rundown- That Was Weird
Well, this week was…. interesting. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever be able to string together two consecutive weeks where nothing goes wrong. Fingers crossed… maybe someday. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting this weekly rundown! Before we get started… Last week was so great that I went into this one thinking something like this: “I’ve finally figured out the ideal balance between running, strength training and yoga! I have the perfect method to activate my glutes before every run! The yoga is going to cure my plantar fasciitis! I have solved all my problems…. I am INVINCIBLE!!!” Ha ha. Here’s how the week actually went: Invincible Monday I did a 20 minute yoga flow in the morning, and a 20 minute restorative yoga class in the evening. Can’t wait to get this amazing week started! Ahem. Tuesday. Last week I was doing a short Peloton Strength for Runners class before each run. Today I didn’t do an actual class, but some of my favorite moves from the classes I’ve taken in the past. I started with the Matt Wilpers giant hip circles- love those! This felt great and I also did some front and side lunges. I felt strong and ready to run. Then I walked out the door. I was suddenly seized with the strangest pain. It kind of felt like something slipped out of place in my right hip/glute/low back area, and it ached intensely with every step I took. Although I was startled, I didn’t panic right away because it just felt like if I could somehow… adjust… something… back into place, it would be okay. I’m not saying that’s what was actually happening… that’s just what it felt like. I tried stretching it out, but the pain continued. It wasn’t a sharp pain, but a very, very strong ache in my right glutes. Now, I know a lot of people would have canceled that run immediately, but apparently my motto is “better sorry than safe.” I was determined to see if I could somehow run. After trying out a few different things, I found that getting into a very low lunge position seemed to ease the pain somewhat- so I did that for a bit and then started a cautious run. After the first ten steps or so, the pain eased up and I was able to run! I actually had a good run, and when I stopped and walked back to my house afterwards I was pain-free. I thought the problem-whatever it was- was gone. I felt so good that I thought I would carry on with my plan of doing a strength class. I had planned to do Becs Gentry’s Core for Runners (on the Peloton app) since I did that one last week and liked it so much… but just to be on the safe side, I tried a couple of the moves I knew were in that workout. NOPE. As soon as I bent forward I could feel it again. At first I got worried that it was in my SI joint- I’ve had that before, and it’s bad news. But I was able to determine that it was along the top of my glute. Doing a strength class was asking for trouble, so I skipped it. My right glute was achy all day, and when I went to bed I considered taking an Advil to help me sleep. But I wanted to make sure I didn’t sleep in a position that would aggravate it, so I didn’t. Sure enough, I had to experiment to get into a comfortable position, but finally found one (with the help of three pillows) and slept like that all night long. Wednesday Ahhh! Top of the morning! Obviously my glute pain was all cured. Ha ha… we’ll just see about that. It was another running day, so I cautiously, CAUTIOUSLY did some warmups. I did the giant hip circles again, very, very slowly. There was a point where my glute hurt, but I found that if I slowly pushed through the motion, it got better and not worse. Instead of lunges I did some split squats- also very slowly. Everything seemed… okay… so I left the house again. AGAIN, as soon as I started walking, the pain came back. WHAT IN THE WORLD. I pictured the running gods looking down at me, laughing hysterically, saying “we’ll make this happen every time she tries to walk down the street! She’ll never be able to figure out what’s going on!” This time I was undaunted. I did my low lunge stretches and stubbornly began my run. Again, after the first ten-twenty steps, the pain disappeared. I had another great run. Thursday Now I was in a quandary. Thursday is usually my day reserved for strength training. But I didn’t know what was causing my pain (other than walking out the front door.) Honestly, I considered just sleeping in and not doing anything, but it was one of my daughter’s early days at school so I had to be up anyway. So… I did a short Matt Wilper’s Strength for Runner’s class. I had done this one before and knew what to expect. I figured I could handle it, and of course I would have stopped if anything hurt. But all was well, and since that went okay I did a short yoga flow afterwards. I just wanted to see if I could get through all those moves, and I could. Hmm! Friday Another running day. Although my glute was still achy, I could tell it was better. I did a warmup and then, with some trepidation, walked outside… everything felt fine. Yay! I was able to walk normally and had another really nice three mile run. I did a short yoga flow class afterwards. I could feel my glute aching at work later in the day, but… well, what can I do. Nothing I do seems to be hurting it, and yet it hurts.