Plans have changed slightly in the last week or so running-wise. As it happens, I am no longer even “training.” In fact, I am taking a little break. I have had a pain that I’d been successfully ignoring for the past few weeks, but it finally got to be un-ignorable last week. It’s a weird thing really- it’s not even a running injury!
There is a pain in my ribs-area that ranges from twingey to stabby. The weird thing is that it comes and goes, it only hurts ever few days. I pretty quickly self-diagnosed it as a strained intercostal muscle (the muscles that run between the ribs) and I’m sure it’s from climbing. After one particularly painful day, I decided I needed a break. I took a week off of everything – running, climbing, and yoga, and then when I tried running again it was sore the next day. Finally today I went to see my doctor and she confirmed my thoughts. The good news is it’s nothing serious, the bad news is, it could take a while to heal. She said yoga is good, running is OK as long as it doesn’t bother me, but no climbing. :(
I’ve lost a week and a half of marathon training, during what should be a high-mileage time. I don’t know how soon I’ll be able to ramp back up so my February marathon plans are temporarily on hold. It sucks, but I’m ok with it now. Nothing I can do about it. I was happy to see that the Lost Dutchman Marathon lets you switch to any of the shorter distance races the day before the race, (half marathon, 10k, 8k trail race) so that’s an option. It’s no big deal- this trip to AZ is primarily to visit my bestest bestie Inga, and that is still happening! I just signed up for this race on a whim, and so it’s not a big deal to bag it.
My main goal is to heal up and get back to running and climbing as soon as possible. Injuries always test our patience and our faith but I know I’ll get through it. This is a great time to show how positive I can be in 2011, right??
Thanks for reading, and I hope you are all running healthy and strong! :)
7 comments:
Sounds like you made a smart decision, Jen. The organizers of the Lost Dutchman are great people and I'm sure will take care of you whatever you decide. The most important thing is to get yourself well.
After I ran Hood to Coast last summer I had chest pain. I thought for sure I had come down with pneumonia because that's what it felt like. It hurt to breath or take a deep breath. The doc said I had Costochondritis. It's basically inflammation in the rib cartilage from running a long distance (for me). It lasted about 2 weeks. I used a heating pad and took Advil and it helped.
Wow - what a post! I think you would never have posted this a year ago - your attitude is fabulous. You've worked hard for this marathon but you no longer have that "all or nothing" attitude that means that not getting a PR means it's all a waste - rather you seem to be okay with seeing how things unfold. This is truly impressive - what a sign of personal growth sweet Jen! Good luck with it and I think you just might surprise yourself anyway!
No sweat. There is always another race on the calendar somewhere. Keep the positive attitude!
Ohhh bummer! I had costochondritis a couple years ago and it was not fun. Hope you heal quickly!!
Heal quickly!
Arizona will still be a fun holiday, no matter what event you decide to run. I know how painful rib injuries can be - I did something on my left side 3 weeks back (racing go-karts with my brother) and I can still feel it.
Post a Comment