It’s interesting to note what a difference that the hip flexor injury has made to my burgeoning pursuit of running. Back in August when I finally decided to get fit, I started going to the gym in addition to running and dieting. I have always tried to nuture left-brain as well as right-brain activity, so I noticed the gym (YMCA) had an online facility to track my progress, called FitLinxx. When I use certain strength machines at the Y, it automatically logs my workouts, but you can add cardio sessions separately online, which I have been doing. Their website has a home page where you can compare your current monthly numbers to your previous month. As you can see in the screenshot I took from the site and pasted below, my December cardio is way, way off from last month at this same time, down from almost 16 hours of running last month by this date (the 22nd) to 5.5 hours of running this month. And calories burned is down 16,607 to 6,791.
The good news though is I am still losing weight, just a lot slower. And I still feel a whole lot better than I did in terms of energy capacity. But daggone, getting old has its drawbacks. 
Today I decided to run over at Seneca and Cherokee Parks. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, I would say the hip flexor pain is somewhere around 6.5. It definitely hurt more sitting in the car driving back after the run, but once I move around it gets better. Oh well, just gotta continue treating it. At least I am running. It felt great to be out doing it. Even though the weather was quite warm for this time of year, I probably should have worn some thin gloves. My hands kind of felt like icicles, but they warmed up quickly once I got back to the car.
| Total Time (h:m:s) |
1:24:00 |
10:19 pace |
| Moving Time (h:m:s) |
1:24:01 |
10:19 pace |
| Distance (mi) |
8.14 |
|
| Moving Speed (mph) |
5.8 avg. |
8.7 max. |
| Elevation Gain (ft) |
+599/-599 |
|
| Temperature (F) |
48.2F avg. |
48.2F high |
| Wind Speed (mph) |
SE 6.9 avg. |
SE 8.1 max. |
For the first time since I began running in earnest this year, I felt as if running this morning, while I am still dealing with my hip injury, may have not been wise. From the very beginning of the run, the pain was quite prevalent. But my compulsion to at least “stay in touch” with running led me out the door. The run was almost painfully slow, but despite the hip soreness and pain, and despite the light, misty rain that stuck to my glasses making it almost impossible to see, I gotta take it for what it was, and at least I was mobile, and out there. On with the show, my PT is tonight.
Numbers:
| Total Time (h:m:s) |
0:32:53 |
10:41 pace |
| Moving Time (h:m:s) |
0:32:53 |
10:41 pace |
| Distance (mi) |
3.08 |
|
| Moving Speed (mph) |
5.6 avg. |
7.2 max. |
| Elevation Gain (ft) |
+237 / -227 |
|
| Temperature (F) |
44.6F avg. |
44.6F high |
| Wind Speed (mph) |
NE 3.5 avg. |
NE 3.5 max. |
