Running in circles

I managed to get around the lake twice this morning and felt great. No pain at all in my butt. A slight twinge in my hip but nothing significant. I threw some running in and was surprised that there was no memory of my butt pain, even on a slight incline. Great news, indeed. I iced when I got home and that seems to have relieved any after workout tightness although I do plan on using the therapy balls again today. I really need to keep my butt and hip area from getting too tight.
I'm going to try for 3 loops around the lake tomorrow (or 6 miles) which will be the longest I've run/walked in about a month. Slowly I'll get back to where I ws but I really need to keep reminding myself to not push it too much too soon.
Tomorrow afternoon we're going to a get together with some of the members of the MTC running clubat Marie Lewis's house. That will be fun as they live on a lake and have a boat. I was thinking how much fun it might be to try water skiing but then my sensibility kicked in and I remembered by age and condition. I think I'll watch. We missed the shirt run last week and I'll miss the Sweaty Butt 50K next week so this will give me an opportunity to stay connected to the group. I guess the next group event will be the 24 hour run around the lake. That will be my goal and I figure that my loops around the reservoir will be perfect training for it!
Hope I don't get dizzy!

Miracle Balls

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday I was very discouraged about my recovery from my muscle issue and today I'm encouraged. After doing more research and continuing to read the same recommended treatment of using a tennis ball under the butt and hip. I had been doing this but apparently not often enough. Yesterday I did it 3 times and the relief was almost immediate. I've also seen the chiro and will get a massage on Friday. For the first time in a long time, I am not aware of the constant annoying pain in my butt and feel very hopeful about that. It hurts like he** when I use the balls under my butt and hip and let my weight apply pressure to the tender spots. It's incredibly painful but the relief is worth it for sure. I can actually remove my shoe and get in and out of the car without pain in my hamstring! Yea!!! I'm still going to take it easy until I see the sports doctor on Thursday but am looking forward to getting the go ahead to increase my running as well as stretching and strenghtening.

Did I overdo it again?

I'm a little concerned because the tightness in my butt seems to be back again. I'm not sure if it's because the steroid treatment is winding down or if I overdid it. I ran/walked yesterday for 5 miles. I felt pretty good so I probably "ran" more than I should have. I never made it to the pool which was probably a mistake. I think swimming is probably very good for it. I'm not so sure about spinning and running. I've never had an injury that has side-lined me like this and have always prided myself in running smart. Boy did I blow that reputation by doing too many long hilly races and not enough recovery followed by too much cross-training. I guess I was just too anxious to get back into it as my running and working out had not been all that great leading up to Umstead due to the initial butt problem. Hopefully a little TLC will coax it along into a full recovery!

Not cured yet!

I did manage to get out yesterday and walked/ran 4 miles around the lake. It felt good to try to run a little although I was surprised that I could still feel the ache in my butt. It's not as cured as I thought although I guess it just takes time for the inflamation to go down, even with the help of steroids. It was a little achy after I got home. I did decide to also go to the pool for a swim and a little pool running. That felt great and I did 1/2 hour of each. So although I'm a little disappointed that I can still feel the pain in my butt, I still have to be encouraged that there it is getting better, albeit slow.
This morning I did my upper body weight routine and I'm really getting to love that and actually look forward to it. I keep looking at my arms to see if I can see any definition yet, no not yet but I'm still hopefull that I"m not too old to see nice muscle definition. I also think that swimming will also help develop my arms and my legs. Soon I'll be able to start weight training for the lower body, but not yet.
I also plan on spinning and swimming later today. I was going to go to the noon spin class but Frank asked me to go to lunch at Paneras and after a very tense weekend, it'll be a nice recovery. I'll go to the evening spinning class and follow that with a swim. That will probably be better anyway as I won't end up having to cook or eat a big meal. I'll have my "big" meal at lunch and a light dinner. Maybe cereal, I love cereal for dinner. Sounds like a plan. Frank will be on his own for dinner which I'm sure he'll love.

I started reading a book that Erin loaned to me called Three Weeks with My Brother. What a terrific book. I can hardly put it down. It's a true story of the authors life and I love true stories so I'm really enjoying it. It makes me wonder though, how some people can be so successful and others not. The brothers were from a very poor background and a strange family dynamic but both seemed to have turned out to be very successful. I hope that the book with highlight a little on what they did to attain their success. It also made me think about Tim Russett and his life. I watched the memorial service the other night and he was amazing from a very young age. It's just so interesting how some people just have that gift or whatever it is. Maybe I'll discover the secret!

Drugs are working!

I went to the sports doctor yesterday and it was concluded that my butt pain is caused from overuse (that's a surprise) and is an inflammed bursa at the attachment. So I guess it's not my hamstrings or my periformis although they're all connected and affected. I'm not sure about all that but he did give me a presciption for Cortisone instead of a shot due to the location of the inflamation and I started feeling relief shortly after taking it this morning. Now, several hours later, the pain is only negligible so that is great. I can sit and walk without too much pain or discomfort. It will be tempting to go right back to running and overdoing it but I'm going to follow instructions and start back slowly. I can bike and spin so that is great and I can walk with bursts of running so I'm happy about that. I see him again in two weeks and after that hopefully I'll have the go ahead to get back to training although I'm sure it will be gradual and no hills for awhile. And I thought hills were my friend! He also recommended strengthening as well but not until the inflamation is gone so I can only do upper body weights still which is fine. I will work with a trainer at the club that he recommends for some rehab strengthening work. I'm not thrilled about taking steroids but I guess sometimes it's necessary so hopefully I won't have any adverse reactions.
So my next big goal is the Hinson Lake 24 hour run. It's flat so I won't have to do any hill training to get ready for that. After that, I should be pretty much back in good running shape and can then figure out where to go from there. I'm still not sure about doing another 100 but do think about Rocky and Umstead so we'll see. Way to far away to really think about with any seriousness although it is fun to ponder.

Helping Nola Escape!

 
Looks like Chico is trying to help Nola escape from her prison! Maybe he'll miss her. She goes home today so all will be back to normal???? It's been an adventure.
I'm looking forward to seeing the sports doctor today. I'm pretty bored with swimming and want the go ahead to do something besides just pool running. I think I'm going to go to the reservoir today and walk around the lake and maybe try a little jogging to test the hamstrings. It's pretty flat and it's beautiful here this morning. The heat wave is taking a break so I'd like to take advantage of the cooler temps and lower humidity.
I met with the owner of the salon yesterday and I can use her room to do massage and it looks like it could work out great. My only concern is that the room is very small and is combined with the foot bath and chair used for pedicures. There's not much room for moving around but we'll see. Hopefully it'll work. I plan on going back there today or tomorrow to get a better feel for it. Yesterday someone was in it getting a pedicure so I couldn't really evaluate it. The salon is very busy so I think it would help to generate new clients and the owner also offered to place an add in the local newspaper announcing my arrival which would be very cool. I'll be preparing brochures and flyers to advertise what I do etc so it'll be pretty exciting and fun to work on the details. I'll be able to work my own days and hours and will only go in when I have clients. Pretty cool. The location is really good too as it's only a couple of miles from home and from the club. I'm hoping that it may even lead to other possibilities of meeting women that want to get fit and maybe start running. I'd like to introduce a beginners running group to the local running club and this could be the place to start making that happen.
Time to get the creative juices flowing!

To the sports doctor

I've decided to go see a sports doctor to see if he can speed up the hamstring healing. I went to the chiro again today and he said it should be progressing so recommended I go to a sports doctor. I made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon so that will be interesting. I ran in the pool again today and that feels fine so it is definitely getting better cause I couldn't have done that a week or so ago. I really miss running and realize how much I took it for granted. I could probably run a little but I think that will hinder my recover and am convinced that the only way to get it cleared up is to stop running and continue doing what I'm doing. It's hard to remain patient but I'm trying. It's hard to see Frank continue his training and not to be able to join in. I'll miss the shirt run on Saturday and probably the Sweaty Butt 50K on July 5. :(

I have an interview with another spa/salon tonight. It's a day spa but predominately a hair salon. They do have an estitician but currently don't have a massage therapist so it might work out great. The owner sounded very interested. We'll see what she has to say. Hopefully we'll be able to come to some type of mutual agreement. I would probably be able to work as in independent contractor like I did at Inge's and give her a percentage. It's only about 2 miles from the house too so that would be great. Stay tuned!