Friday, July 06, 2007

Hobbling & humbling

My lower back has flared up. I worked at home on Tuesday and I think the chair I used is the main culprit. It was a bit stiff on Wednesday, but didn't really hinder my running. Yesterday it was somewhat worse, and due to the discomfort combined with a deadline at work, I didn't run.

So I woke up this morning, got moving and knew immediately it still wasn't the best, but I have run through lower back pain before so thought I'd give it a try. Ended up being a pretty difficult run. Quite painful and slow for the first 4 km or so. Then I stretched my legs and back when I hit Komazawa Park, and it improved a little. I finally got my pace better than 5:00/km, but not much. Still felt like I was hobbling. I did a couple of laps only and then after a toilet break headed home. When I was fully warmed up I was moving OK, but it was a bit of an effort. My heart rate was higher than it should have been for the pace. By the time I finished, my right hip was hurting, probably because of an altered gait. I should have known better. Here's the breakdown.

From a training perspective it wasn't complete write off, but I hope I have not set myself back further by pushing through. I have a tendency to do that, especially when, as now, I am trying to lift the workload. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

8 comments:

Samurai Running said...

You were up pretty early for that one Stephen. Hope your back sorts itself out while you sleep tonight.

Ewen said...

Poor bastard. When you get really old, you'll feel like that on every run ;)

I'll crack another Fat Tire and propose a toast to your rapid recovery.

GKK said...

Sounds like you might have read the article of Jay's blog, but if not - it makes interesting reading:

Back Pain

Tesso said...

Not good about the back Steve :-( Hope the next post brings better news.

Thanks so very much for the encouragement and advice leading up to the GC. You were bang on with your suggestion to me about how to approach the race. How did you get so wise :-)

TD said...

Yep, hope the back rights itself quickly. I have been a long time sufferer of back pain. Some times the running fixes it and other times it makes it worse. I do daily back extensions that help a lot. But sitting for long periods can certainly cause problems for me too.

Clairie said...

When you get pregnant thats when I'll take your claims of back ache seriously :)

Just kidding.

Hope you rested up over the weekend and are over the worst of it. Is there any option to get your chair altered or swapped for one that won't cause such discomfort? Is it OH&S??

Samurai Running said...

Clairie is so kind and thoughtful with her advice about the chair. This is in stark contrast to what one of my ex-bosses said when I once complained about my stool being uncomfortable.

He said: "Turn the f...en thing upside down it will suit you better and you can share it with some of your poofter mates!"

Got to love the Aussies.

Ewen said...

Scott, love it! That's up there with Tesso's best.