Week three of training finished on Sunday.
* Miles run - 39. This includes a long run of 16 miles Monday followed by a full day of work.
* I had an awesome streak - 16, 8, 5 were Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.
* Wednesday was also personal training where I was strong and in good form.
Notice how the above is all early in the week? That's because Thursday things turned around. I went to pull my gym bag out of my car and OW. Lower back spasms straight down into my leg. That led to two days off work/in bed; I couldn't bend down to the floor, and I had a legitimate fear more than once that I would not be able to get out of the tub.
A lot of mental games along with the back pain. Was this going to derail me? Was I ever going to be able to run again? What if I can't - I'll get fat again! The last thought led me to overeat chocolate, which of course is very helpful.
I ended up going to the doctor on Friday afternoon. She took a look at my back and immediately said I was very tight. I ended up being told everything I had been doing - warm baths with epsom salts, IcyHot, painkillers - was exactly right. She told me to take a triple dose of Advil as needed and offered muscle relaxants, which I declined. I asked her about my training and she said this was a very common problem with marathon training and that I could keep going (yay!).
Hearing from the doctor that I wasn't going to die made a huge difference mentally. I ended up doing a walk (with some short running bursts) Friday night, and was back out running on Saturday. All in all I missed one full day of training + cut short my Saturday run since it was my first back.
Right now I have some remaining back aches but it feels better when I run. I'm trying not to take too much of the Advil because 1.) I don't want it to be a habit and 2.) it can be bad for the liver over the long run, especially when taken right before running. I'm also deliberately stretching more post-run and am adding a light walk at night followed by stretches/hot bath.
I'm entering my fourth week of training and am doing my best to keep sane and balanced between not over thinking the back thing but also not ignoring it. I also plan on getting in for a good massage on Thursday to help with the remaining tightness. I have personal training tomorrow and I've warned my trainer in advance so we should be able to work well but safely.
Cross fingers week 4 is better than week 3!~
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