Training this week:
To cut straight to the point, my hamstring has been affecting me. It’s been about two weeks now, and it’s been a noticeable tightness in my leg. Now that I don’t have the April Fools half marathon looming over me, I feel like I can relax and figure out what’s going. The problem is, I don’t quite know what is going on and I can’t pinpoint an exact location pain. It doesn’t hurt but it’s definitely tight.
I already went to Dr. Kemenosh before the April Fools half marathon, and one of the associates found a few trigger points in my hips. These are similar trigger points that led to my bum butt as well as my hamstring. Dr. Kemenosh and team has made me very aware that my left hip is a weak area for me. On Friday, they worked on my hips and found a few knots in my glutes and hips. I felt much better after I left but I didn’t know how it would affect Sunday’s race.
What I know:
My hamstring never hurts but is noticeably tight after 9+ miles or about an hour and a half. It hasn’t been a sharp pain, but I do know it’s not torn or ripped. It feels tight as if the muscle is very tense. It hasn’t affected my stride and I would have shut running down immediately if it did.
So where to start with last week?
| Monday: | Easy run + deep tissue massage |
| Tuesday: | Easy run |
| Wednesday: | Rest |
| Thursday: | Easy run |
| Friday: | Rest |
| Saturday: | Shakeout run |
| Sunday: | Aril Fools half marathon (1:24.04) |
Thoughts of actual training:
This was the second week I cut out a workout and opted for a Wednesday run. I knew after Wednesday and skipping my speed work; my primary goal was to make it to Atlantic City and then figure out what’s going on. After my visit with Dr. Kemonosh and his team, I do believe my issue is more related to the glutes/hips which are pulling at my hamstring.
April Fools Half Marathon (1:24.04):
I’ll have a full recap soon, but it was the windiest race I’ve ever done. There were many gusts up to 50 MPH. It never felt like there was a headwind or tailwind but wind from all directions. At one point, the wind nearly knocked me over and was blowing me sideways like a pinball machine. It did, however, build a lot of confidence for me. 
My primary goal was to finish injury free, and my secondary goal was to improve upon Shamrock half marathon. While it was windier, there wasn’t rain. I also ran a much smarter race and negative split by almost 2 minutes. It left me feeling a lot better because I finished with no hamstring tightness and had a surprisingly good race.
I do think going to see Dr. Kemonosh and team relieved a lot of tension in my hip. Right now nothing hurts again, but I’m still going to be smart this week. If that means skipping another workout or adding more rest days…it’s better safe than sorry. It’s hard to pinpoint the pain because it’s not a broken bone or a tear. Typing this out, my hamstring doesn’t feel any better or worse after the race. I feel exactly the same as if I didn’t run the race.
Questions for you:
Do you have any weak areas?
How was your workout week?
My hips and glutes are definitely my weak area. It’s something I’ve been working on. I hope you get yours sorted out soon and it isn’t anything too serious! My workout week was pretty sparse. It was nice having a down week but I’m ready to get back to it this week! Have a great day Hollie!
Great job on your half way to finish strong with all the wind, I ran that day here at Cooper and it was windy as heck
My hamstring is my weakest area it worries me to it feels real tight even after I stretch it feels tight. I did wear a ace bandage and tried a leg sleeve,they both work, but I’m still cautious as of this day.
I hope your heels, Becarefull training I always like to see you out there running..Happy running hollie.
injuries are never fun, but at least you’re catching this one early. It’s amazing to me how much different parts of the body effect other areas. When I had IT Band issues in the past, I never put two and two together to realize it was because I had weak glutes, but now that’s always in the back of my mind when it starts to act up.
And about the wind, it was insane! I was just taking my dog out and I was being physically pushed by the gusts. I could only imagine what running a race in it would have felt like, god.
Glad you had a good race and I hope the hamstring issue gets resolved. Way to go to the doc and get it addressed before an injury happens, too. Hope you have a good recovery from the half, congrats on an amazing time in those conditions!
congrats on a great race! it was so crazy windy and I hate wind so I commend you on this big time! hoping your hamstring is on the mend.
My strain was caused by my hips and glutes being weak/out of alignment causing a pulling at my hamstring as well. They’re working with me to realign the hips and that has taken away a lot of the soreness. I’m glad it hasn’t affected your running much yet and hopefully you find a solution soon!
It’s been super windy here, too!! We have our 10K race on Saturday so I’m hoping the wind will calm down a bit, haha. It made a couple of last weeks’ runs a little challenging!
Wow incredible job on your half! My weak spot has always been my shins. No matter what I do I always am battling getting awful shin splints.
More often than not, shin splits actually occur because of a shoe being worn out or not designed for running. Hopefully yours are a simple fix too 🙂
my left hip is the worst for me. i hip drop pretty bad from the on-set (still working on fixing this) so my left hip is constantly tight. luckily i have a great massage therapist who works the crap out of it and right now its doing much better. those hip/glute pains sucks though when being massaged out! glad you were able to address your issue and be pain free for this half. cant wait for the recap!
This weekend everyone was blessed with lovely conditions. I ran a half on Saturday and it started raining right as we started. made for a soggy 2 hours.
I went to PT to check on a nagging achey left hamstring/glute and they told me it was not an injury but due to weak hips/glutes. One would think I would do something about it buuuut I have 100% fallen off the strength and stretch bandwagon. I’m trying to reintigrate to my routine. I’m the same though, if my stride isn’t being effected I am okay running on it (and was told it is fine).
It sounds like we could definitely be having similar issues Gianna. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious and goes away for you.
I’m glad they don’t think it’s torn now! As you know, I’ve been going back and forth with my right hamstring for about 5 weeks. If someone Frankenstein-combined our healthy hamstrings and bad hamstrings, you would have one super athlete and one bum runner.
Hi Lolz! Great time at the a.c.half! Wow I miss it there! I seem to always have problems with the knuckle joint behind the big toe! I had a taper week as I just ran my first ultra on Saturday! My time was a 5:27:10 for a 50k trail run.it was hot n rainy but fun!
Good luck this weekend Chuck! Hope all is well with you down there!
I hope your hamstring feels better! Sounds like you had a great race though. It was super windy here too this weekend. I ran a 5k on Saturday and felt like I was getting blown over a few times too. Sure did feel good when the wind was at my back though haha.
Ahhhh I have the same problem but on my right side. My right SI joint always gets all locked up, and then when that happens my hamstring and my right knee pays the price. Oh, and my right butt cheek. Drives me cuhrazeeee.
we’re twins! Left hip is ALWAYS tight which causes issues down the leg chain. I have to take extra time to foam roll and stretch that side almost daily.
I am having similar hamstring issues – it just seems tight. it doesn’t hurt or anything but it is frustrating! if you don’t mind me asking – how much was it for seeing your doctor to loosen things up? And he was a chiropractor? thanks for any help!
It’s $50 per visit which is not covered by insurance. I would definitely see if you can get a trip in. I have gone in thinking it was one thing and them finding it was more hips and glute instead.
Sheesh, this sounds mysterious, but it sounds like you’re slowly starting to figure out the source of the tightness. Really smart move to opt for extra rest days than push through it.