In awe

Maybe it is a pattern that after a big race, there is a big let down immediately after. I have been in a slump the last two weeks.

My ability to run shouldn’t be a limiting factor, but my life has been hectic and what not. It got so bad that I haven’t run for two weeks.

The only times I stopped running were for quarantine back in 2020. I took two weeks off then. Another time I stopped running was due to caring for my mom – that was right before the 100 mile race in West Virginia.

This time I really messed up with my training for the next hundred miler. I should have been in my peak condition right now, but I am not. I think I am at maybe 10%. The race is maybe in 6 weeks. It is a bit late. I really bombed my February and March, the two crucial months.

Not only that but a few days ago, it started on Wednesday, I had lower back pain. I had back pain in the past. It comes and goes. The pain was enough for me to keep me from running.

The next morning though the pain shifted to my lower left thigh. It was as if someone stabbed me during the night in the back of my leg. I was hobbling around during the next day. Friday, it got a bit better. The pain went down to numbness. Still walking was difficult. Saturday I stayed home. The pain reduced a bit further. There were certain positions I could sit or lay down where I could be painfree now. Then came Sunday. I had a 10K race.

A wise person would listen to their body but I am not one of them. I went to the course anyway. I paid for the race months ago and there is no way I would be giving up on it. Even if I couldn’t run it, I might be able to walk it. It might take me two hours but I will get it done.

Before the race, I googled what was wrong with me with my conditions. I think I have an idea now. Of course I am not a doctor and the web and self diagnosis is not the most accurate thing. I think I had a high hamstring pulled. The conditions seem to match. They have a term for this. I realized I had this pain before. Some say it wouldn’t go away by resting and ice.

Would I still going to run it or not? I could barely walk. I thought it was funny I was limping down the street while everyone was doing their warm up runs. I tried to stretch my hamstring, boy was that hurt. No worry. We would go slow.

I chose to run. The first mile was like a 13 min pace and I was with all the slow people. Gradually I could go a bit faster and faster. The pain let up. I could go into a full sprint. Glory for now and pain later I said to myself. I could move at a 9 min pace (near my top speed) by mile 4. Mile 5 I started to get tired and my pace dropped back down to 9:30. I cruised to the finish passing a few other people on the way in.

Now what? Don’t do what I did. Listen to your body. I don’t know if I will be able to move tomorrow. We will see.

Fyi, I am not sure if I had covid or was it the side effect from the booster shot, but I had all of these:

“Post-COVID-19 fatigue is more than just tiredness and can make you feel completely drained, exhausted, and generally unwell, which is common when your body is fighting a viral infection. You may also experience other symptoms such as: Weakness, Muscle and joint pain, Poor concentration, Sore throat, Headache,
Disorientation.”

Why did I not get tested? I forgot; it didn’t occur to me that it could have been covid. Only now as I am writing up this post, the light turned on. I could have the omicron. I should have gotten tested. Now it is too late, I already felt much better this week.

I don’t know what will happen to me now in the weeks ahead. My conditions might take 6 more weeks to fix, but I definitely will make it worse with my running. There are exercises (stretches) I could do to strengthen my hamstring. Six weeks from now though would be my 100 mile race.