Like riding a bike

The past two weeks at the gym, I've been able to do something I haven't done in an entire year: run.  And it really is like riding a bike - you don't forget how to do it, your body remembers.  And even though I was a bit apprehensive, it went well.  I did two short interval runs.  Last week was a first try, just 15 minutes, and very slow running broken up with equal amounts of fast walking.  Yesterday, I did 20 minutes, 3 minutes of running, faster than last week, alternated with 2 minutes of fast walking.  And no hip pain so far.

Last year, I was in excruciating leg and hip pain, and on the advice of my osteopath, I stopped running.  She said I could walk, swim, bike, use the elliptical, stretch, do upper body weights, and even do yoga if I was careful not to do any extreme stretches with my lower body.  I just needed to give my body a break from running.

So I did all these things but I really missed running.  I missed the stress relief, the feeling of exhilaration during a good run on a warm day, and the way it kept my weight stable.  I struggled to replace running with other activities, which just didn't seem to give me the same kick (or calorie burn).  It was depressing but I kept trying to focus on what I could do and I kept going to the gym, getting long walks in on the weekend which used to be reserved for long runs.

I kept listening to my osteopath and my body.  After a few months of no running, I suddenly realized the chronic hip pain I had been dealing with for years, was much better, almost non-existent.  That was such a great feeling.  But I knew I had to be careful.   So I waited.

There won't be any more half marathons in my future, that I know.  The training required for long distances is not healthy for my body (and I make no judgement on anyone else's exercise routine here - if there is one thing I'm sure of, it's that we all have to figure out what exercise works best for our own body, and because we are all different, that varies hugely from person to person).  But what I hope for right now is that I can incorporate a bit of enjoyable running into the rest of the things I do each week to keep my body healthy.

If there's one thing I've learned this past year, it's been to expand my repertoire of enjoyable exercise.  I don't think I would have ever signed up for the long distance walking event I did with my friend last spring had it not been for all of this.  But I'm happy I can carefully add in a bit of running again now.  I'll start with the interval run once a week and listen for what my hip tells me about it.