No Philly Half Marathon & Physical Therapy

I had been contemplating running the Philadelphia Half Marathon in November. I have run a half marathon in the spring and one in the fall for the past two years and it felt weird not training for one. But, with us going on vacation in September, I didn't want to focus on a race that's too far away (Philly is about 1:45 from me). So, Philly again it is.

Then my hip kept hurting. So, I went to the ortho walk-in clinic to see if I had a major issue or something minor. They did a bunch of movements to see my flexibility and took some x-rays. The x-rays showed no breaks or fractures (yea!), but the flexibility tests did not come back as positive. I have limited movement in my hip area so she recommended physical therapy to work on my core, flexibility, and hip flexors.

So, I had my first session with the PT for the assessment on Oct. 7. I apparently have limited range of movement in my hip on the right side (the side effected by my back issues), but also some tightness on my left side that we're not sure why. Maybe compensating for my right side? I also found out that I apparently deal with pain very well. The PT said with my test results, there are few people who would be doing my level activity. Huh. Who knew? Anyway... my PT made up a plan based on the assessment and yesterday I went in for my first real working session.

I spent 30 minutes learning 6 stretching exercises I am to do every day or at least 5-6 days out of 7 so he can get a feel for how they worked for me. It's strange because I anticipated doing more core work, as that's what the ortho stressed at that appointment, but here we're just doing stretching exercises. Hubby said if I feel like I should be working my core more, then I should just do core work on my own. He may have a point.

So, we shall see how this goes. My co-pay is so expensive that I will only do 2 more PT sessions, then transition into another program they offer that's less (like less than one PT session for a whole MONTH of sessions). I'm hoping to get a program that I can use through the PT sessions that will help me on an on-going basis. Something I can do to keep my hips/back/legs flexible over time.

So, that's why I chose not to run the Philadelphia Half Marathon. I want to get my hips less tight and get some flexibility back into my lower body. I am thinking to make up missing the Philadelphia Half Marathon I will try for The Love Run in Philly on March 30. This gives me plenty of time to:

• Work with the PT to get a routine down
• Work with the personal trainer in the other program to get strength back
• Lose weight
• Start running again
• Implement the training program I bought for the Philly Half Marathon
• Get back into the habit of going to the gym after work

I've got plenty of time to get ready for The Love Run. I've got plenty of time to get myself mentally back in the game. And if you have any advice, I'm all ears. I can use all the help I can get right now!

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