RUN Wenatchee

I’ve been injured for the last couple of months.  I pulled my left hamstring and began running too soon.  I then overcompensated and injured the other hamstring.  Genius move, I know.

It’s been such a bummer.  I’ve missed three races I had planned on running this summer.  I’m definitely losing my speed.  Other runners are getting fast while I’m getting slower.  It just sucks.

At least that was my initial attitude.  Come to find out, this injury is completely running specific.  I am able to bike, hike, swim water run and do most other forms of cross training.

During my first road bike ride, I quickly remembered how much I enjoy biking.  I kept thinking, “Wow, this is really, really fun, why don’t I ride more often?”  In addition, I have this great group of friends that get together for a bike ride and dinner every Tuesday.  During my healthy running days, I excelled at the dinner portion of the night usually skipping the biking.  I have recently joined in the fun of the ride with my fellow bike chicks.  It’s nice to be a legitimate bike chick.

While our summer here in Wenatchee has been a bit cool this year, we have had some nice, hot days.  On those hot days, I head to the pool to water run.  I soon realized that water running in the nice cool pool certainly beats a run on the hot pavement.  You may ask, “what about a great morning run?”  The fact is that I have tried for many, many years to be a morning exerciser to no avail.

I’ve spent plenty of time at Black Diamond Sports Therapy and SET Coaching in the last few months.  Some time in front of the camera for a run analysis at SET coaching and some strength testing at Black Diamond Physical Therapy did the trick.  Coach Jason, from SET coaching, has figured out a strength routine so that this (historically reoccurring) injury will no longer be a problem.  Probably the most useful knowledge that I’ve gained is that these injuries are a result of a muscle imbalance in my hips that alter my running form. The pros tell me that I’m going to be that much stronger and faster after this injury than before.

So, it begs the question:  Curse?  Blessing?  I’ll say this:  It’s like most things in life. It’s all about perspective.