On Running.

I'm making a conscious effort to blog more regularly, rather than waiting for big events (uh, hello Mallorca and Royal Wedding) to update. I realize that this will make my life seem vastly more boring than it appears in those types of posts...but, it is what it is.

I can't recall if I've posted before about my running goals. Initially, I set up a training schedule a few months ago with hopes of running a half marathon and a full marathon by the time I left Europe. After about 6 weeks of spot-on training, my body was having none of that. I developed an issue in my left leg that I couldn't figure out, for the life of me, what was wrong. I had never experienced that type of pain.

I have rested it for differing lengths of time -- anywhere from a few days to a few weeks -- without running. The pain does go away eventually, with the absence of running. That in itself is pretty depressing. Running even just a few times a week is incredible for my stress levels, and it really helps me feel accomplished about something, when I otherwise might not.

So, the past few weeks have been dedicated to trying to find a way around this problem. I've been inching towards running a little more, which definitely has led to some pain. I think I have the potential causes for the pain narrowed down to two possibilities: an issue with my sciatic nerve, or an issue with the peroneus muscle. I won't get into the specifics for fear of boring you to death, dear reader...but the more likely candidate seems to be the sciatica due to my previous back injuries and resulting herniated discs.

SIGH. It's been a struggle, that's for sure. Right now I'm messing around with a couple of different medication cocktails to combat the problem. Today's choice: 400mg ibuprofen + 400mg acetaminophen. Yesterday I did ibuprofen and a muscle relaxer, which seemed to work like a charm (though I didn't run), but the muscle relaxers are technically here in case I have another emergency headache. For those who aren't historians on my life, I wound up in the hospital and neurologist's office about a week before moving to London with the worst headache imaginable. It was honestly the worst pain I've ever experienced -- black out pain, even. Over the course of going to my regular doctor, the emergency room doctor, and finally a neurologist, I was on fifteen different drugs before we found one that relieved the pain and set my head right again. IT WAS MADDENING. So yes, those relaxers are technically for that, so if they prove to be the elixir I need to combat this leg issue I will have to go plead my case to an NHS doctor in hopes of getting a new prescription, because I am so not okay with gambling those little babies away.

Let it suffice it to say that my European marathon dreams are over, or at least put on the long-term back-burner. That certainly will not happen in the next three and a half months. Perhaps some day down the road...maybe even next year! I did enter the lottery for the London Marathon for next year, so we shall see. I'm not even certain I want to run a marathon at this point, but that could be my injury talking. I think my ideal race length will be the half -- I've run the distance before, though not in a race setting, and it's long without being overly long. Plus, it's still a length that you get a nice sense of accomplishment with.

I'm off to give this leg a try. This is the riskiest I've been in a long time -- I ran the day before yesterday. Lately, the closest runs I've had together have been about three weeks apart! Wish me luck!