Struggling

Yesterday I got a great relaxing four miles in. The pace was slower than usual but it was mostly pain free, which has been unusual with the hip flexor problem I've been having. I thought there was a chance I was past it. 

Unfortunately today I struggled through three miles barely able to get into a stride. Anytime I can't get into a run I force intervals so that I'll keep going. I know it sounds crazy because I hate intervals more than anything, but they keep me moving longer than an easy paced run would on a bad day. So today sucked. 

I'm sitting here debating my next race now. I had lofty goals of running another half next week down in Jamestown. I know everyone thinks I've been pushing too many races into too short of a time. My only problem is I love to race and if I don't do it now there won't be any races for months. Buffalo isn't very condusive to winter races, although I was loving the Winter Warrior Half in Rochester the first week of January. 

So here I am sitting on the fence. One part of my brain is saying that my hip hurt through the last two races and I did fine because it loosened up after a few miles. The other part is saying back off and rest. Here's the thing: I did rest. I took a little over a week off. Not a long time to most people but it is for me. Running= happiness to me. It's what calms me down and relaxes me after spending all day at my ridiculous job mid-flu season. I get antsy and irritable without running. I actually just read an article in a running magazine about a woman that couldn't sleep the night after a long run. There's no scientific reason for it but they assume the "runner's high" lasts much longer in some people and that's why they're restless at night. I have the same problem and that leads me to believe that's why I get so irritable when I can't run 😁

So I'm going to run light this weekend as I'm working all weekend and try to make the decision on Monday about the race next Sunday. Anyone else doing it?

Patiently waiting....

Well. Maybe not quite so patiently. I may not be the most patient person. This is the first day that I don't feel a strong pull on my hip when walking. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up cured of this hip flexor pain? It's horrible timing because my favorite time to run is the fall and here we are rushing into it while I'm sidelined waiting for my cute limp to go away. 

What do you guys do when you can't run? This is usually when I go to workout dvd's because I prefer to exercise at home versus going to a gym. I'm a solo workout kind of person, although I don't mind running with large packs of people during a race :) I've been doing the 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels. I don't love to ever repeat the same workouts over and over, though, so I get bored easily. I know it sounds crazy since running is constantly doing the same thing but it never feels that way. 

We've had a ridiculous week at work since our computer systems have been down nationwide. I could use a great long run to provide some stress relief!

I'm looking ahead at races and there are two halves I would love to do over the next month but I'm afraid to sign up for them until I'm feeling at least 75% on normal runs. Thoughts?