Slow Return to My Lost Love

While scanning microarrays this afternoon, I have been browsing around running blogs in search of comfort regarding my now 2 month old soleus injury. I am past the point of going crazy - I have mentally resigned myself to the blasted elliptical trainer in the name of healing. While it is far more satisfying than anything else in the gym (I am thoroughly soaked by the end of minute 20), the thing is as near to torture as one can get. The foot numbing is intolerable. Last year when I was recovering from the same injury (only in both legs) I managed to put in an hour and a half on the stupid thing, but this year I can barely deal with an hour. It was tough, to say the least, going from 96+ mile weeks to doing nothing other than bopping up and down on numb feet.

But this week I have allowed myself to run for 30 minutes after the elliptical - about 4 miles, and have have almost no pain (knock on wood). I have been diligently limiting myself to that amount of time, at least for this week, out of deathly fear that my leg will only get worse. I don't even really know what the problem is. Based on the reading I have done, it seems like a mustle strain due to over use. It just seems like a long time to recover from an overuse injury, so I can only hope that it isn't something worse.

The other issue I have been contending with while in recovery is the fact that my periods have resumed in all their normal glory. It's a good thing: I had been getting worried about bone deterioration and low estrogen levels. The drawback is that I now have PMS once again, bloating, cramps - the whole package - which I had had the pleasure of not experiencing at all since about June. So now that I have resumed my position in feminine society, I am intensely cranky and "yucky" feeling today, and unfortunately, r has been bearing the brunt of it since this morning.

I have been resistant to write about my running life here, but after running the Philadelphia Marathon, I have been more ready to talk to other runners and compare notes. And, I have finally realized that no one else gives a damn about how terrible it is not being able to run. Even r, who has copius reserves of love and understanding, has been maxed out on sympathy for my running complaints. I did way better than I thought I was capable of in that race, especially since it was my very first (chip time: 3h 04min-yeah!), and since then have really started to take myself more seriously as a runner. I don't want my body to crumble before I can race again, so I have had some motivation to not push my aching leg too far.