On Thursday, I had a follow-up visit with Dr. Elliott. At this point, I think that Tammy and Izzy have moved back to their respective homes and are following the rules. But my right leg remains slightly tight through the upper hamstrings and that has me on my guard.
I am fairly certain that this tightness is not running-related but parenting-related. Last Saturday, I took some marking with me to my son’s soccer game. As I do at every game, I looked at the hard metal bench and thought “No way am I sitting on that,” so I stood like I usually do. But marking while standing is tough so I entertained the idea of sitting on the turf. “Nope, my pants will get dirty.” So I went into a squat and marked until I heard the whistle.
“Have I really been squatting for twenty minutes?” Slowly, I started to get up and I realized how tight my right adductor had become in that twenty minutes. Part of me was impressed that I was able to hold a squat for that long and another part of me was doing some pretty serious name-calling.
On Tuesday morning, I went out for an easy run and I could feel the tension in my adductors by the end of my first mile, along with a general tightness in what I thought was the top of the IT band. Just after I decided to turn around and head back to school, my Garmin died. “It’s a sign,” I told myself. “This run was just not suppose to happen.”
When I saw my chiropractor, he explained that my glutes are starting to work again so my adductor and tensor fasciae latae, which is next to the IT band and below the pelvis, are working to support them. Saturday’s super squat irritated them; yes, I overstretched. A few days later, when I saw Dr. Elliott, he said the same thing.
“I don’t know what else I can do,” I told him. “I’ve been doing everything right. And, then, something stupid like this happens.”
“You just need more time,” he answered. “Hamstrings take a while. Just be patient.”
Patience. I thought I was but it looks like I have to find some more. I need to take a deep breath, sigh and a step back for a little while longer. I am not willing to take any chances and, at this point, another week or two off will not make a difference. So I am looking for positives:
- I have more time for my family. My oldest came home from school yesterday; my youngest has a birthday this week; Christmas is coming. Even though it means I am not running, I am grateful for the time I have with them.
- I should be back on the road by next week. This is a huge advantage as I will be off work and have time to start slowly, stretch, and re-establish some running routines before I go back to work in January.
- The end is near. I can feel it. In 2019, I can get back to chasing my dreams.
But I won’t just be chasing them. I’ll catch them, find new ones to go after and chase them down too. 2019, I am coming after you.
