Except for a small ‘is this okay’ run about three weeks ago, I haven’t run for a month.

I cannot wait. I’m feeling pretty good, so I think I’m going to try a easy, slow, 10 minute run this weekend. I’m going to do my physical therapy stretches before and after, as a college buddy says that kept her okay when she was recovering from her foray into piriformis syndrome.

Among any given group of runners, it’s more likely than not that most of them despise the treadmill. A number of them will view it as something ‘real’ runners don’t do. Very few will say they like the treadmill. I don’t know if there are more than one in any group of 1000 that would say they love the treadmill. That one is me. I love the treadmill. I love the way I can force myself to run at a steady pace, I know how far I’m going, I know how fast. I love the way it keeps me running at a pace that I can’t back away from without making a conscious effort at changing it.  Don’t get me wrong – I find looking at the same place for my entire run completely boring. I still love the treadmill.

But it’s not the treadmill I’m looking forward to in this first 10 minute run in a month. It’s being outside. It’s looking forward and feeling the cold air and the hard ground beneath my yet-to-be-run-in new, free shoes. And it’s hoping that after my 10 minute run, I’ll feel okay, and be able to do 15 early next week, and maybe 20 by the end of the week. I’d like to feel like myself again, and I know Chris would like me to stop being, well, mad at the world.

I, of course, fought injury while I was in high school. After graduation and the Europe trip, I had what’s called a bi-lateral release done on both of my knees. I recovered, but barely ran in college. Maybe 3 or 4 times during college at all? I had been schedule to run cross-country my freshman year but surgery obviously put a hold on that. I doubt I would have done it anyway – I was not a ‘runner’ at that point. My mentality was all gone.

But this is all beside the point. Since I started running again 5 or 6 years ago, I’ve had aches and pains. I’ve known when a new shoe is doing more harm than help (and hurt!). I’ve suffered through post-half-marathon and post-marathon soreness. But I haven’t been injured.

That changed January 10. Yes, I know the date. Because I did a great hill workout the day before, then I was just sitting there watching football and my hip hurt – very deep in the muscle. I took it easy for the next two weeks – 30 minute runs 3 times a week with cross-training on the other days. I took ibuprofen, I iced it. But it still hurt. It hurt all day long while I was sitting at my desk. Hurt is the wrong word for it – there was this pressure on my hip and butt that wasn’t comfortable. It only hurt occasionally. It just feels wrong.

So I stopped running. I didn’t run or workout at all for a week. And then I tried to run again. It was okay. I took a day off and then did another easy 30 minutes. During that run my leg tightened up all the way down my leg. The next day I went to the doctor who of course ordered me to physical therapy. I haven’t run since.

Before I made my first physical therapy appointment, I had to make about six calls to the pt office and my ‘insurance’ to see what would be covered and how much I was looking at if it wasn’t. That’s pretty scary, but I’m happy to say that if my ‘insurance’ decides not to cover it, it’s much less expensive than I was preparing myself for.

I had my appointment yesterday, which confirmed both what I had expected and what my doctor hinted at: piriformis syndrome. Basically the piriformis muscle and tendon, which are deep in your butt, put pressure on your sciatic nerve. To heal this, you do a lot of stretching, some strengthening exercises, deep tissue work, and other fancy pt things. I’ve only got one strengthening exercise at this point, but I’ve taken to calling it torture. The stretching is already doing great things. I felt much more comfortable sitting at my desk this morning.

My next pt appointment is Thursday morning. I’m quite looking forward to the deep tissue work, even though it’s likely going to cause some bruising. I told my therapist that I don’t expect my insurance to cover very many appointments, so I think she’s going to try and get me to doing the recovery on my own as fast as possible.

But my point in this? This sucks! I know a lot of runners, and I always feel bad for them when they’re sidelined with injuries. But now that I’m there again, with a new mature view of running (meaning, not my high school view of running and injuries), I really feel like I have a deeper appreciation for people who are continually plagued by injuries and keep coming back to running. I’m so disappointed every morning I wake up and think ‘I can’t go for a run’.

Just for the record, I made no resolutions for 2010.

However, late last week I decided I should plan a race schedule for the year. First of all because it gives me something to look forward to during tax season. Second of all because it’s fun to make schedules and lists.

I have a couple of ‘definitely’ races, and a bunch of ‘maybe’ races.

Unfortunately what’s not on here that I would someday love to do is the Salt Lake City Track Club’s winter running series. It’s a 5K at the end of January, a 10K two weeks later, and a 15K two weeks after that – all for $40! Unfortunately I just can’t commit to that 10K and 15K in February with tax season. But maybe someday…

Okay:

January 30 (maybe): Hale Theater 10K in Orem, UT. We’ll see if I have time and how I’m feeling.

April 17 (maybe): SLC Half-Marathon. If I have time to get in some long runs right at the end of tax season, this shouldn’t be too big of a deal.

April 24 (maybe): A friend has invited me to come do the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville with her. We’ll see if I can find cheap flights or anything.

June 18 – 19 (definitely): The Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. This is my third year in a row, and I just got confirmation my team is still willing to let me run with them

July 4 (definitely): Park City 4th of July Mountain 5K…or whatever it’s called. It’s the same race and course it’s been for as long as I can remember. It’s my favorite run.

July 17 (maybe): Bryce Canyon Half-Marathon. I’ve wanted to do this for a couple of years now. It starts super early so you finish before it gets super hot, but it’s a fast and largely downhill course. Plus going down to Southern Utah, Chris and I could probably bag a peak or two – check out chickensox.org/utsummits for more info.

September 6 (more than likely): Miner’s Day Funky 5K. Why the heck not? Doesn’t everybody want to get up early and run UP Park Avenue?

September 11: Mid-Mountain Marathon. I’ve volunteered at the finish line for a couple of years, and the truth is – this course scares the crap out of me. It starts at Deer Valley Resort, follows the mid-mountain trail through Park City Mountain Resort, over into the Canyons Resort, and ends at the bottom of the Canyons. I’ve asked a good friend to run it with me so it won’t be as scary for me mentally.  Plus I’ll have this goal of trying to keep up with him, which should keep me at a good pace.

November 25 (definitely): some sort of Turkey Trot. Wherever I am, wherever it is.

“In this great auditorium under the sky, all of us are free.”
- Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior under FDR

I’m tired today. Just tired. I even took a nap before I was intending to do my long run this afternoon.

I really started getting ready with the intention of 13 miles. I filled up two water bottles with electrolyte drink, grabbed some gels… But it didn’t feel right. In fact, it just felt wrong. After a ‘will I or won’t I’ discussion with myself, I decided to go out for a six mile run. This would allow me to stop upon returning home or keep going.

It was a battle…the first four miles. I had to keep telling myself ‘if you ever want to be good, you do it no matter what’. I felt sluggish, torn, and jumped at every little unexpected noise…but only emotionally. My body felt pretty good, considering my mental battle.

All in all, I felt really good having pushed through 6.2 miles. And I held a pretty decent pace – just under 10:30 minutes per mile. It really was a beautiful afternoon. I just hope next week I feel like doing more mileage.