I'm Baaaaack (we'll see for how long)...

I have once again rejoined the running world. I logged three short, slow runs this week (2 miles, 3 miles, 4 miles), and boy am I out of shape! That doesn't bother me. I've been there before and I know the drill. What does bother me is how my left knee is feeling. It's been hurting, quite a lot, for probably 40% of my running time. It usually settles down a bit once I'm well into the run, but even then I feel like I need to baby it a little. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure this knee needs to be scoped. But, of course, I've already gone and signed up for a 10k trail race with my daughter on April 19th. I also bowl in a league (as you know if you've read a recent entry), so if/when I get something done, it'll at least be after bowling season ends in March. I'm hoping the knee pain diminishes on its own and I can run the race. It's been hurting for a long time, though (over a year, even during walks), so it's probably not just a passing thing.

My left hip seems to be pretty tight and sore most of the time, too. Feels almost arthritic. The body is slowly breaking down. Jeesh, I'm not THAT old!

But I am glad — pain or not — to be back out there, running some miles with my dog...who also needs to get back in shape.

My quest to get to 10,000 lifetime running miles (which I thought I was doing last year) is back in action. I'm currently 123 miles shy of the mark.

I'll get there...

Vitamin I

I'm not a big fan of downing ibuprofen on a regular basis (least of all before a run...which I avoid), but the end of this week provided enough pain for me to resort to a few rounds of vitamin I.

Here were this week's totals:

M - 7.0 mile run
T - 4.0 mile run
W - off
T - 6.0 mile run
F - 4.0 mile run + weights (ouch)
S - off (ouch)
S - 17:00 spin on the Airdyne

Miles Run: 21.0

The positive news of the week was starting off with a 7-mile run, which is my longest run since early March.

On the flip side, Friday wasn't a fun day for me. My hamstring had been feeling more or less okay during the week. Friday's run was no different. After the run, however, it was bothering me quite a bit. After that run, since I had been neglecting it, I decided to do a short workout with the weights. I did some pullups, bench presses, then moved on to the deadlift. I haven't been deadlifting a lot of weight for a while due to a cranky lower back, so I figured I could handle this with no problems. Oh, how wrong I was. During the third rep, I felt and heard an audible pop in my lower back. I immediately dropped the weight. I did finish my workout (dumb), and my lower back proceeded to hurt and lock up quite a bit.

Upon waking up the last two mornings, I can barely bend. Putting on my socks is agonizing (and nearly impossible.) Thankfully, my back gradually loosens up a bit as the day wears on, but it's going to take a week or two to mend.

As for the hamstring, I'm not sure what to do. I rode my neglected Schwinn Airdyne today, since I'm able to sit upright on it (as opposed to my racing bike, which would kill my back), so I at least got in a short cardio workout. I'll play it by ear as to whether or not I'll run soon. In the meantime, I'm doing the usual: ice, heat, stretching, for both my back and hamstring.

Getting old is getting old.