Its like, deja vu, all over again.
My first big running race was 2 years ago, March 2008, the Jerusalem Half Marathon. I was running the race to raise money for Sderot victims. At the time I was working in Givat Shaul for Tikva and I would run home from work 2-3 times a week while I was training, thru most of the course. I was also playing flag football for some fun since I wasn't really that busy after 5pm. One day after practice I had to get home pretty quickly so I ran with a messenger bag that I had, on my back. It wasn't the smartest of ideas, I know that now and I am sure that I knew it at the time but there wasn't that much I could do about it. Anyway, the bag kept on swinging and my body kept on compensating for the weight on one side by contracting on the other side and I had a stiff back. I also needed to start practicing squats for school and I decided what better time to do it than that weekend. With no weights on my back, just in a living room, I squatted down, I felt a "pop" in my back and I couldn't really stand up. I was in pain. It wasn't so bad starting off but then I tried to walk. Very awkwardly, I made it to my friend's for lunch. Let's just say the whole day was very painful, standing up, sitting down, walking up and down stairs. I went home, took some painkillers, made an appointment to see the doctor the next day and went to sleep. There is a reason that I have taken up the field of alternative medicine. My experience the next day at the doctor was just a reinforcement. I took a cab, just thinking of walking to the bus gave me a panic attack, to the doctor, sat and waited for him (peeve #1) and after he checked me out, he told me that I tore a muscle in my back and that it would take a long time to heal. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I had a half marathon in a month that I needed to be healthy enough to run and did not need a tear in my back. I was not a happy person and I went to the physical therapist who told me something else entirely. Not that what he told me should have made me happier, I just understood him much better. I had pulled my left posterior sacroiliac joint (yes I'm an anatomy geek) out of place since the muscle was so tight. I didn't tear anything, just dislocated a hip joint. He told me that he could put it back in place and would work on the healing process and that I could run the race in a month. I did end up running the race, not as fast as I had hoped and with lots of walking breaks due to pain and not eating enough throughout the race, lots of rookie mistakes.
I thought that this time would be different. I am older, wiser, more experienced when it comes to fitness and races and preparation. I guess I was wrong and that's not easy to say. What did I do this week, the week before the 2010 Jerusalem Half Marathon? I decided to do some squats with a barbell on my back. Just 20 kilo, nothing my legs couldn't handle. I thought that I was stronger and prepared for such a big step. I haven't touched a barbell to my back in a long time though and I should have known that a week before the race was not the best time to revisit old habits. Yet alas, I did it anyway. Did it feel ok the 1st and 2nd rep? Yes it did. Even the 3rd went well. On the 4th, apparently I went too low and boy, did I feel it. There was no "pop" this time, just a painful stretch in my lower back, the sacral area. I got up, slowly, put the bar back and walked around a bit. It wasn't that bad and I asked one of the massuers to stretch my lower back for me and it helped a bit. As the time went on, it got worse. I went to school the next day and had them work on my lower back in massage class. That didn't really help. I couldn't really sit for long. I was antsy and in pain. Thursday was even worse. I had at least 4 different people massage my lower back in the different techniques they know. In acupuncture class, they used me as a guinea pig to teach us something new in pain management. I went to the clinic that night for another treatment and in every class, I lied down on the side on a mattress with my feet up. Friday I was a bit better, still couldn't sit but I could walk around. I had a massage that afternoon and was pretty much horizontal all shabbat.
I can't stand not being active and lying around. I can walk pretty much pain free and the little jogging I tried didn't hurt at all but I think that I am going to take it easy. Last time I ran because I was running for a cause and made a commitment. This year is dedicated to me and not running would probably be the smart thing to do. I will see what the physical therapist says tomorrow and how I feel on Wednesday. I was going to run this race for a cause, if I end up doing it, you will see pictures. If not, I will just run the distance another time, on my own or in a different race giving me the opportunity to see another city.
Lesson learned? Do not repeat past mistakes, especially not before big races. I hope.
Oh, and a secured entrance to the NYC Marathon is a lot of money... Is it worth it? I haven't decided yet. I will let you know when I do.
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