Crystal City 5K: the race that wasn't
It all started Thursday morning, when I got back in the pool for my first pool run in a few weeks. Everything felt fine, and I had an amazing swim afterwards. Later in the afternoon I noticed that my hip flexor and psoas on the bad side were tight, and my back was hurting. I measured myself and my SI joint was out of alignment. It took two tries to get it back in alignment, and it ached the rest of the day. I stretched and released my psoas, but it still felt tight.
Friday morning I took it very easy - just a short ride - but my back was still aching. I measured myself again after the ride, and I was out of alignment again. Over the past 5 weeks, I've been measuring myself often. At first I was out every day. Then every other day, then every few days, and I've gotten down to only having to adjust myself every week or so as my body has gotten better at holding things in place. So to be out 3 times in 24 hours was perplexing. I adjusted myself back in and went about my day, still planning to lightly jog the 5K that night. But as the day went on, I started to have pain right in the SI joint, and it wasn't getting better. About an hour before the race, I measured and I was WAY out of alignment, again. I adjusted myself back in, but that plus the torrential downpour made me nix the race. Jogging a 5K isn't a huge goal of mine right now, but being able to complete my 70.3 is, and it was an easy decision.
On Saturday, I did a long easy ride and then a short run afterwards. I still have the ache in my back when I run, but my SI wasn't hurting, and when I got home and measured, I was still in alignment. My theory (I have a lot of theories) is that pool running irritated my hip flexors, and in turn, my TFL/glute got tight and pulled everything out of whack (this is a very scientific theory). So despite the fact that I actually love pool running as a supplement to land running, I think I'm going to leave it out for a few more weeks. Right now it feels like I have no idea how to run. I'm pretty sure my body is both trying to run the "old" way (glutes not working, hip flexors doing twice as much work) and the "new" way (things working properly) at the same time, which is why things feel so weird, and trying to teach it how to pool run properly on top of this isn't what my body needs right now. If I didn't have a 70.3 in a few weeks, I'd actually lay off the running entirely until my glutes were stronger and my muscle memory had improved, but I don't think I'm hurting anything with my 2-3 mile easy runs right now (and they are officially sanctioned by my PT). It's just going to take a while for my body to learn new muscle patterns and how to use the right muscles at the right time.
And speaking of a long ride...
You know the feeling you get, when you get new shoes and go run in them, and you realize how crappy and worn out your old shoes were because your feet feel so happy and bouncy and amazing? That happened to my crotch this weekend. I've been wearing (and washing!) one pair of bike shorts over and over this month, and I finally bought a second pair last week. I wore them for the first time on Saturday, and holy happy crotchtown!
And finally, a 30 days of biking update. It's been a while! I missed two days while in Boston, but I've had lots of double days this month and even a few triple days, so it doesn't count, according to me.
Day 15: 5.3 miles to the local bike shop and back.
Day 18: 3.5 miles on a pretty junky stationary bike.
Day 19: 22.1 awesome tempo miles on a flooded Haines Point.
Day 20: 13 bike commute miles to & from work, the "from" miles particularly hot.
Day 21: 5.3 recovery miles on tired brick'd legs.
Day 22: 7.7 more recovery miles on still wiped-out legs, but a beautiful sunrise.
Day 23: 45 miles with the happiest of hooters!
Day 24: 10 easy recovery miles on a gorgeous DC morning.
How was your weekend? Is your crotch fat and happy like mine? Are you excited for 30 days of biking to be over so I stop talking about my crotch (unlikely)?
Don't forget to enter my Road ID giveaway this week!
Friday morning I took it very easy - just a short ride - but my back was still aching. I measured myself again after the ride, and I was out of alignment again. Over the past 5 weeks, I've been measuring myself often. At first I was out every day. Then every other day, then every few days, and I've gotten down to only having to adjust myself every week or so as my body has gotten better at holding things in place. So to be out 3 times in 24 hours was perplexing. I adjusted myself back in and went about my day, still planning to lightly jog the 5K that night. But as the day went on, I started to have pain right in the SI joint, and it wasn't getting better. About an hour before the race, I measured and I was WAY out of alignment, again. I adjusted myself back in, but that plus the torrential downpour made me nix the race. Jogging a 5K isn't a huge goal of mine right now, but being able to complete my 70.3 is, and it was an easy decision.
On Saturday, I did a long easy ride and then a short run afterwards. I still have the ache in my back when I run, but my SI wasn't hurting, and when I got home and measured, I was still in alignment. My theory (I have a lot of theories) is that pool running irritated my hip flexors, and in turn, my TFL/glute got tight and pulled everything out of whack (this is a very scientific theory). So despite the fact that I actually love pool running as a supplement to land running, I think I'm going to leave it out for a few more weeks. Right now it feels like I have no idea how to run. I'm pretty sure my body is both trying to run the "old" way (glutes not working, hip flexors doing twice as much work) and the "new" way (things working properly) at the same time, which is why things feel so weird, and trying to teach it how to pool run properly on top of this isn't what my body needs right now. If I didn't have a 70.3 in a few weeks, I'd actually lay off the running entirely until my glutes were stronger and my muscle memory had improved, but I don't think I'm hurting anything with my 2-3 mile easy runs right now (and they are officially sanctioned by my PT). It's just going to take a while for my body to learn new muscle patterns and how to use the right muscles at the right time.
And speaking of a long ride...
You know the feeling you get, when you get new shoes and go run in them, and you realize how crappy and worn out your old shoes were because your feet feel so happy and bouncy and amazing? That happened to my crotch this weekend. I've been wearing (and washing!) one pair of bike shorts over and over this month, and I finally bought a second pair last week. I wore them for the first time on Saturday, and holy happy crotchtown!
And finally, a 30 days of biking update. It's been a while! I missed two days while in Boston, but I've had lots of double days this month and even a few triple days, so it doesn't count, according to me.
Day 15: 5.3 miles to the local bike shop and back.
Don't forget to enter my Road ID giveaway this week!