The Bad Hurt...

Last night I rejoined my old trail running group for 16.5km in the hills, my legs felt great! I’m obviously I need of some good hill sessions though as most of the hills slowed me to a hike. The night finish was spectacular and otherworldly as my headlight found the path through a narrow cut between trees. Running with a group has always pushed me well beyond my limits and tonight was no exception…

We finished in the dark and sat around chatting for awhile, eating fresh oranges. A twinge in my back told me it was time to head home before me body seized from the shock of not running, to running hard in the hills.

I made it home, had some dinner with my wife and then went for a hot soak in the bath. It felt great to slide into the warm water and let my muscles relax…then out of the blue my lower back had a spasm and I felt like I’d been shot.

I tried to call my wife to help me, but the pain was so intense I couldn’t speak.

I clawed my way out of the bath for fear the pain would cause me to pass out and drown.

Eventually making it to the hallway on hands and knees, my wife came to my aid…by laughing hysterically at me.

Once she’d satisfied her need to laugh at my plight, she gave me some hot rub and an anti –inflammatory.  I lied on the couch for a long while in the fetal position hoping it would go away, but every time I’d move it felt like I had a knife stuck in my spine.

Bed time approached and I thought I could make it to bed on my own, I forced myself upright, the pain was so intense that I collapsed on the floor and cried like a baby. I have never experienced pain like this. I got to my hands and knees and crawled to my bed, passing out from exhaustion.

Waking up this morning, the pain is still there; luckily it’s subsided and is now more of an annoyance then a crippling condition.

So while I might be able to run 16.5km in the hills, the recovery of these runs as going to be the issue. It’s a hard pill to swallow, the mind is totally willing and the body is not up to it, probably due to Ross River…

I guess it’s back to walking for recovery, and we try again next week.




pics by Bernadette.