Run-a-holic

It has been 72 days since I had my last fix. No, I’m not talking about drugs or alcohol, I am talking about running. I ran injured for most of last year, trying to train and run in Hood to Coast. Now I am trying to rehab my injuries and I think it might kill me.

I don’t have that traditional runners build and I’m not a speed demon but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been able to run. I go through phases where I’m running more to train for an event and then running less just for exercise, but I’ve always run. This past summer I managed to injure myself to the point that I could hardly walk, much less run.

The body is an amazing thing though. Before my big event this past summer, I was in serious pain and couldn’t run at all the two weeks leading up to it. I was a little worried about competing on an injury plagued body, but figured it was only a short 30 hours of my life. You can do just about anything for only 30 hours. I ran the event fabulously (for me) and met all of my personal goals I had set ahead of time. And I haven’t been able to run since. 72 days later it still hurts to walk.

The main problem is my IT band, this giant tendon thing that attaches at your hip and knee. Apparently it gets pissed off when you try and use it too much. So now I’m done with one month of PT and headed back for more, down an MRI, and my cortisone shot is starting to kick in. Not only is rehabbing my leg driving me crazy because I can’t run, it is damn expensive!

I miss running. When runners pass me on the street I want to tell them to appreciate what they are able to do. I want to tell the runners at the gym, “Hey, I run too! I’m just walking because I don’t have a choice.” I never actually tell them this because it would make me sound crazy to a stranger on the street. Yet I have the impression that anyone who has had to rehab an in jury before would get it.

I didn’t used to categorize myself as a runner because I don’t run marathons and I don’t run 20 races a year. Turns out, that’s not what makes you a runner. It’s that runners high you get so that you can’t wait to go back and do it again. It’s the run that feels so good it doesn’t even matter that you are running through sleet and you can’t feel your fingers. It’s that itchy restlessness you get in your legs when you’re stuck at work and can’t wait to run. And apparently it’s being frustrated to the point of tears because it has been 72 days and it will likely be 72 more. Sigh.