This is Not the Injury I Was Looking For (No STAR WARS spoilers)

You know that you are an injured runner when you're envious watching the STAR WARS Episode 7: The Force Awakens. I won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen the movie by telling you that some of the characters run a bit. As they were dashing around the screen, I stared at them with great longing.

Seriously, who does that?? A runner who can't run. Right now, I can't jog across the theater parking lot without my right leg whimpering. A few weeks ago, my right leg started hurting right where my hamstring inserts into my ischial tuberosity. FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. Proximal Hamstring Tendonitis. As if that wasn't bad enough, I was about 10 days out from a race, the Holiday Half Marathon.

If you're not familiar with proximal hamstring tendonitis, it makes your butt hurt. Every single time my right foot makes contact with the ground, my butt hurts. And, like the STAR WARS craze right now, it is simply impossible to ignore. It got so bad during an easy run that I was relegated to walking, and then trying butt exercises and stretches to relieve the pain. That helped zero, but I'm sure I looked really cool rubbing my butt with my fist on the side of the road. Sadly, I ended up hobbling home the best I could. I took a 4 days off, then tried 3 miles. It felt better but it wasn't fixed. Against my better judgment, I ran the race anyway. It was awful, big surprise. It felt like someone was stabbing my butt with a hot poker every time I took a step.



That's no moon. It's a race medal!

When I hung up my gigantic medal after the race, I thought of Clark's boss, Mr. Shirley, in Christmas Vacation saying, “Put it over there with the others, Greazeball.” There was no satisfaction in finishing a race that I'd limped my way through on the verge of tears.





Look at my running shoes. Patient. Cute. Reflective.

The pain has forced me to keep my running shoes neatly on their rack. I'm not running, but I'm not someone who can just lay on the couch holding my butt and crying. And, my leg doesn't hurt when I'm not running on it. So, that leaves lots of other exercise besides running. Weight training, yoga, stair climbing, plyometrics, cycling.





 

 

 

 



Enter my new exercise buddy. This is Jesse. My trusty steed has been around for a while, but we've now become like besties. Isn't he handsome? I can ride my bike anytime, except that I have to give myself some breaks because the seat isn't all that comfortable day after day. Hamstring tendon feels fine. I'm smiling because I just started riding.

After spending an hour at the gym this morning working out indoors, I know that running outside without pain will be worth waiting for.  Not unlike Episode 7, right?  Maybe when I can run again, I can tell you more about how STAR WARS relates to running, but for now, we'll just have to wait.