Catching up

I'm still alive!

I have a lot of catching up to do around bloggy land, so here's a quick update on where I've been:

January 29th - Last 2 hour + long run.

February 5th - Ouch!  Hip pain!  Had to cut the long run short after an hour and a half and call for a ride.

Feb 12th and 13th - Tried a long run over two days.  No new pain, but not feeling great either.

Feb 14th - First physio appointment.  Told not to run until the pain is gone.  Despair.

Feb 15th-28th - Cross training.  Biking, elliptical, x-country skiing.  Wallow.

March 1st - Vancouver Marathon is in 2 months!  Eek!  I decided to try running.  My hip wasn't feeling normal, but I wouldn't necessarily call the discomfort "pain."  20 minutes slow and steady and pain free.

March 2nd - 30 minutes slow and steady.  No change to the way my hip was feeling.

March 3rd - Back to physio.  Told not to run for more than 30 minutes at a time.  I felt completely defeated.  During my two runs that week, I'd convinced myself I was back on track.  How was I supposed to run a marathon in two months if I couldn't run more than 5K at a time?  I was pretty well ready to give up.

March 7-11th - Busy week at work.  No time for cross training or running.  Lots of time to think.  What I'm about to say might be considered downright blasphemous to some, so cover your eyes or skip ahead if you're uncomfortable with words that go against your physiotherapist.  I decided to ignore mine.  Yes, he is a physiotherapist and has years of training and schooling behind him, but he specializes in orthotics, not running and didn't seem to understand the need to actually train for a marathon.

I decided that if I run longer than 30 minutes, I might hurt myself again and not be able to run on May 1st.  But if I don't run longer than 30 minutes, I'm definitely not going to be ready to run on May 1st.  And I want to run.

March 12th - 2 hours and 22 minutes of slow and steady running.  I felt pretty good for the first two hours, but my legs were screaming for the last 20 minutes.  Sunday was definitely a rest day, but I was out again today for another 50 minutes.  No pain.  In fact, that discomfort I had been feeling, is gone!  I know that this could still prove to be a disaster, but I'm feeling optimistic for the time being.  The sun has been shining and we're expecting temperatures above 0*C all week for the first time since October!  It's like the universe is telling me to go out and run!