Run it Out

So, a couple of months ago I blogged about my new adventures in running. It was all going so well, I was trotting along merrily, experiencing one or two ‘breakthrough runs’, where I could really tell I was improving, and then BAM, I got a little injury. I say ‘little’ because I still have this belief that injuries are for proper runners and I don’t count myself as one of those just yet! I didn’t feel like I’d done enough running to constitute an injury but after Parkrun one Saturday morning, my right leg began cramping up like crazy and after that, I was literally hobbling around, barely able to put any weight on my leg for two weeks, let alone carry on running.

I rationally thought it was just a strain and, well, it turns out it was. But I didn’t realise it would take so long for a strain to heal, or that I’d experience pain in different areas of my leg. So, I invested in a foam roller to stretch my leg out, moaned a lot to my boyfriend that I’d ‘NEVER BE ABLE TO RUN AGAIN!’ (ever the drama queen) and went to the doctors after two weeks of misery to rule out DVT and Compartment Syndrome (thanks, Google).

After a couple of achey, unsuccessful runs, I went on a good four-mile run last night that got me right back into the groove and after a break away from the activity, my word I can tell I’m feeling good today. Since I stopped running regularly, and subsequently stopped doing any physical activity, I could feel myself going into a bit of a low zone and this, coupled with shocking PMT for the last week, has not resulted in a very fun Jenny, I’ll be honest. I was getting sick of myself grumbling about how I wasn’t living the healthy lifestyle that I wanted or that I was tired with low energy all the time, so I set aside last night to get back on the running wagon. To be honest, thanks to said grumbly mood, I didn’t even want to go running but I made myself do it. I hit the road with my pacer boyfriend and we ended up clocking up four miles, all in all. I had to stop a fair few times, where I hadn’t needed to stop previously, but I made a conscious effort to drown out the negative chatter in my mind, telling myself I was s**t at running and that I’d never improve, and I just got on with it. As I persevered, I felt the stress melt away from me and I could feel my mood noticeably improve.

I felt energised when I got home, had a great sleep and – can I be this honest?! – I even felt friskier than I have in a good few weeks 😉 Today, I feel miles better than I have all week. They ain’t lying when they say this exercise stuff is good for you! I must keep it up and run out that funk the next time it sets in, and also make sure I look after myself a little more so I don’t injure myself quite as easily in future.