Another rehab video

Because I know lots of people have found this blog by searching for 'high hamstring tendinopathy' I thought it'd be worthwhile posting another one of the rehab/strengthening exercises I'm doing.

Because I'm not too keen on starring in my own video, I found this example on YouTube:

If you're a fellow HHT sufferer and you have any rehab, exercises or treatment you're finding is working, you're welcome to post a comment or send me an email at johp.mail@gmail.com - I'll add it to the stuff I'm doing to try and get over this bastard of an injury and I'll share it with everyone else.

Currently my right side is feeling good but my left side played up in the last few minutes when I went for a 40 minute run yesterday. And I'm unfit. It's not a nice feeling.

Ow, my bum

It's been a week since my second lot of PRP injections, and boy, has it been a long and difficult week.

Apparently I did too much after my injections last time so this time Dr Kuah said, very clearly, that I was not to run or ride for two weeks. I could swim but only if I used a pool buoy. He then wrote it all down and underlined the word 'STRICTLY' on it. He was serious.

The purpose of all this is to give the tendons the best possible chance to repair. It makes sense, but that doesn't mean it's easy.

Do you know that swimming using just your arms is boring? And slow?

To be honest, the main thing that has been hard to deal with isn't being told I can't ride or run - yes, that's not fun but I can see it has a purpose. The biggest hurdle I'm facing is coming to terms with everything I'm going to miss this year.

No Canberra Marathon. No SMH Half. No state road 10k. No SMC. No Woodford to Glenbrook (there goes the chance of winning five years in a row). Highly unlikely I'll be able to do M7 Cities Marathon.

It's a bummer alright and I spent quite a few days feeling really down in the dumps. And frustrated. And I probably wasn't the most fun person to be around. (Public apology to my husband and thanks to family who went on a 'cheer up Joh' campaign on Sunday).

Physically, I think the post-injection pain has been a little worse this time. I didn't bruise as much as the first time, but sitting in a car for more than 15 minutes really hurts it. When I'm working on my computer I move around a lot (the joy of laptops) so I'm constantly changing position. I joked with my husband that I think Dr Kuah must have done something different this time in order to stop me running too soon.

I'm back doing rehab exercises and my right side is responding really well - I actually think the right side might have been OK with only one injection. As for the left side, Dr Kuah said he feels it'll probably need a third injection in four weeks, but Brent (physio) will test things out before that date and we will decide from there.

I'm hoping it doesn't need another one so I can start getting into some proper (if modified) training. Another injection means more time spent doing nothing (OK, pool-buoy swimming). Having said that, I'm obviously going to do whatever Dr Kuah and Brent recommend. They're the experts, they've got a lot of experience with high hamstring tendinopathy and I've got a lot of confidence they're giving me the best treatment and advice.

Oh I miss running. Miss, miss, miss it so much.

Lost: Motivation. Please return if found.

The longer this injury goes on the harder it is to motivate myself to get on with doing what little training I can do.

Every weekend I'm seeing races come and go. I'm seeing other runners progress and I'm feeling myself falling further and further behind. I do try to remain positive, and I can maintain a positive rhetoric and say all the things I know I should be saying, but the truth is that it frigging hurts and it sucks and I'm sick of it.

When the alarm goes off in the mornings, these days there is a great temptation to roll over and go back to sleep rather than get up and ride or go for a pointless (i.e. no specific goal) run. On Friday my massage therapist asked me how my body was feeling in general and I said I didn't know - it doesn't feel like my body. I feel unfit. I feel slow. I feel out of condition. Actually, I AM unfit, I AM slow and I AM out of condition.

There has been a great deal of swearing going on in my house as I try and deal with the frustration I'm feeling. Not only is this injury a physical struggle, it's also taking a pretty big mental toll on me. And unlike when I'm dealing with other things that stress me out, I can't go out and run to relax because the running (or lack thereof) is the cause of it.

I have to keep reminding myself that it isn't all doom and gloom. I know I am improving, it's just that the rate of that improvement is far too slow for me and my goals for this year. With Canberra Marathon off the cards in April it looks like my first chance at a marathon won't be until the end of July this year. That's half the year gone without trying to crack the 2:50 mark.

Of course, I'm also looking at the shorter races I'm missing. I really wanted to give SMH Half a good go this year, but I'm beginning to doubt I'll be in shape for it. If (when) my hamstrings ever come right it's going to be such a tough job getting back into race condition. At least when I started training with Sean last year  I had a strong endurance base and all I was really trying to develop was my speed. Now I'm starting from scratch on both counts. Insert swear word here please. Make it a bad one. 

Forgive this uninspiring post. I do try to remain upbeat and embrace all the positives in my recovery but sometimes a girl's gotta cry a little and a good blog's all about honesty, right? I love to run. I love the sense of achievement it brings when all the hard work comes together. I'm really, really missing that right now. I miss the camaraderie too. It probably sounds cliched but it's true - I love running and racing with other like-minded people. Especially at races like SMC where everyone cheers everyone else along.

Finally, some basic housekeeping:
I have my second lot of PRP injections on Wednesday after work. A week later I'll go and see Brent (physio) and we're going to do a whole lot of strength testing to see how things are progressing.

I used my Garmin for the first time in months yesterday. I've been avoiding it because I knew the figures would just depress me. I ran for 60 minutes at 4:40 pace. Better than nothing I guess and at least I can now start tracking my progress.