Not to dwell too much on the old hamstring situation because I’m trying to stay POSITIVE. But a little update in how it’s going.
So I’ve been strengthening it as much as I can at the gym. I would guess I’m in the phase of the injury where it’s more safe to stress it out a bit in order to strengthen it. I’m doing more functional and, well, “weighty” exercises. These include nordic curls, sled pushing, reverse box jumping, glute kickbacks with more weight and lying hamstring curls.
I attempted a mini run last night. I went out aiming for about 1km… it didn’t feel great I won’t lie. It didn’t feel terrible but it certainly didn’t feel like a particularly comfortable run. It niggled the entire way but stayed consistent in its discomfort rather than getting worse. Walking around afterwards and the next day didn’t feel any different either.
I do wonder whether that length of a run isn’t really much of a good test but I’m being super cautious because of Chicago (14.5 weeks away). I want to try another run soon, but longer. If I’m honest I’m not sure I’m doing the right thing at the moment but at the same time, I’m taking a very measured and gentle approach. Any set-back on my hamstring and I’d immediately stop. My thoughts are that I do need to stress the hamstring out a little in this very functional way in order to get stronger.
When I had this issue after Boston a few years ago (where I believe this is where it all started but has been low level hiding since) I ran quite a lot through the issue. I’m very fastidious with tracking my “training”. I have an Excel sheet that I track all my workouts, gym and running, and will write details about them. It helps me track what I’m doing at the gym (weights, sets, reps) and when I’m injured I can refer back and read about how that run workout, what I was doing to manage things etc. This is obviously super helpful now. Each run I did I would say things like “urgh hamstring niggled throughout” or “deadlifts definitely made my hamstring worse” and I can see how many miles I ran and when it started to get better.
From the looks of it, it took about 11 weeks to heal. 11 weeks. I actually feel sick typing that. What I quickly have to remind myself though is that I’m a lot more “educated” now. Like when the issue first cropped up then I continued doing heavy deadlifts and pushing my hamstring when I should have let it calm down before gentle incorporating very specific hamstring exercises back in (like I am at the moment). I was also super reluctant to stop running (I continued to run for 5 weeks).
So my hope is that THIS time around I’ll be back to comfortable running in less time. I’m currently on week 5 of not running and strength training diligently and sensibly. By dealing with my injury in a very controlled way and having this plan and focus I’m helping myself not fall too much into the Well of Darkness that often plagues injured runners. I have my down moments and I’m trying not to panic about Chicago but I’m only human after all.
Anyway, onto happier and more pleasant things…. sausages. I was sent some sausages and burgers again from the lovely people from Wild and Game.
They sent me some Premium Grouse & Wild Boar sausages.
I adore these sausages (to be honest I really really like all Wild & Game sausages).
They are SO fricking tasty. I made a really random meal for Kyle and I one evening – basically emptying the fridge of stuff that needed eating and I threw in the sausages chopped up with a load of vegetables and it was DIVINE.
Kyle was even super impressed – he loved them.
And they also sent some Pheasant & Venison burgers.
Again, these were so tasty. The sausages and burgers do have a rich and gamy taste but not overwhelmingly so. They just taste very flavoursome and meaty.
This is because there is 47% Wild Boar and 25% Grouse in the sausages (for comparison Richmond Thick sausages contain 42% pork). The burgers contain 40% Pheasant and 35% Venison. Good quality ingredients and less “filler”. And the products are low fat because of the meat they’re using (game is less fatty compared to traditional sausage and burger meat like pork and beef).
What’s your favourite kind of sausage?
Do you eat game a lot?
Do you think I’m doing the right thing with my hamstring?
**Full Disclaimer: I was sent the Wild & Game products for free inexchange for a review. All opinions are my own honest ones.**
Hi Anna,
I think a good run test every so often to see how it does is good… In my opinion as a fellow athlete (not a doctor) my inclination would be to not run two days in a row no matter what until the injury clears. Rest is so important, even though it is a mental challenge. Better to take a little time now rather than a longer time later. I do have a thought for you, though: are you absolutely sure it is a hamstring problem? I ask because last year I was positive I had high hamstring tendinitis and my primary care agreed. It didn’t get better, so I thought I actually had piriformis syndrome. It didn’t get better. My PC then sent me to a specialist and it turns out it was actually a herniated disc in my low back. I had NO pain in my low back at all. It was only felt in my high hamstring and hip (constant pain, couldn’t even lift my leg). I was shocked, but it’s this weird thing called referred pain that has to do with pinched nerves. It’s pretty common in runners and cyclists. I’m not saying it is your problem— just that diagnosis is everything. Once I figured out what was *really* wrong, I finally started to get better.
Mikey Clare recently posted…I Chose My Scars, Not My Wounds
Hey, I totally agree that I’d rather take time off running now then keep this going on and potentially get so much worse later on – and closer to Chicago! My nightmare.
I saw my physio and he was sure it was the high hamstring, but I guess I’ll never know unless I have a scan. It doesn’t hurt to pick my leg up at all – just when I sit a lot it sort of has a dull ache in that area. If this problem persists and it gets no better from what I’m doing (all the rehab specific to my ahmstring) I will of course go for a second opinion and take action. At the moment though I just can’t afford to go to someone else and sytart the process again 🙁 Thank you for your help tho!
AnnaTheApple recently posted…Hamstring Update
My favourite sausage is a tomato sausage. My Uncle is a Butcher and growing up he always brought us loads of meat from his shop including my beloved tomato sausages!
I enjoy venison burgers but don’t eat game a lot.
I hope your hamstring is starting to heal.
Rebecca recently posted…5 Races I’d Love To Run…But Probably Never Will!
Ohhh the tomato sausage sounds good!
I hope it is continuing to get better- tracking what you do and seeing what helps is surely the right thing? You need to test it with little runs eventually, but like you say, when to do that is not easy to work out. Fingers crossed for you.