I’ve had some ongoing hamstring problems for the past couple of months. Except for the first week or so, I’ve been able to run despite this, after being advised by a therapist that it was okay to do so. Speedwork though? Not so much.
On top of this, last week I went on vacation and didn’t manage to get in any running at all, although we did do a bit of hiking. I thought that the time off might allow my hamstring to heal. However, it almost seems like the combination of not running and spending quite a bit of time in the car had the opposite effect. Monday, when I got in my first post-vacation run, my legs felt incredibly tight and my attempt at doing intervals was incredibly slow. In fact, I can’t remember ever doing 800s quite that slow.
The good news is that today’s run went much better, not as far as the speed (still incredibly slow), but my legs seemed to have loosened up on this 3rd post-vacation run. Now I’d like to work on getting my speed back without re-injuring myself.
One thing I’m going to do is to re-commit myself to doing strength training. I’m fairly sure that weak hamstrings have contributed to the problems that I’m having, and I’m hoping that strengthening my legs and core will help prevent me from re-injuring myself. I’m also going to work on really taking my easy runs easy, which I’m hoping will help me feel stronger when I’m doing tempo runs or intervals.
Anyone have some other ideas on how to get some speed back? I sure could use some help!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!No related posts.
{ 4 comments }
Hi hi!!
All I’d say is that hamstrings are notorious in taking a LOOOONNNNGGG time to heal – and once injured they’re much easier to re-injure…
I pulled my hamstring quite badly and it probably took a good three months until the pain and tightness were completely gone – and that was with quite a bit of rest…
Then again, I am a larger runner (!)
Twitter: marcusgrimm
August 10, 2009 at 7:14 am
I’m not good at icing, and icing hamstrings SUCKS, but it does work for me…
As far as getting speed back, on Saturday it was ten degrees colder with lower humidity here and I automatically ran 15 seconds per mile faster, so I’d say, “Pray for an early autumn.”
M
Twitter: middlepackgirl
August 10, 2009 at 7:27 pm
KCH, the only thing I can think of is to do cross-training on an exercise bike but to keep the rpms up there pretty high, around 95. That will help your legs remember what a fast turnover feels like. And rowing on the elliptical machine is supposed to help with building length strength as well. Those are the two types of cross-training I did last year when I felt myself slowing down more and more as I increased my mileage.
Twitter: kchealy
August 10, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Thanks for the suggestions. I have been icing some, but not nearly enough…I probably should get into the habit of doing it after every run, at least until I’m feeling closer to 100%. High RPM cross-training is an excellent suggestion too. I certainly could do more of that.
Comments on this entry are closed.