Hamstring problems

Well, I started with a hamstring problem around the middle of March.  It came after a couple of weeks of pushing the intensity of training, with the intention of producing a faster time at the Madrid marathon scheduled for 25 April. 

Running had been going well up to this point that - a good steady plod of around 6 minutes per km. But I noticed that trying to move to a faster tempo was not going to be a simple task. The whole running style would have to be different. But I tried. I started running at intervals of about 5 minutes, then down to 4 minutes 30, at the same time trying to keep the weekly distance Of 50 Km +, running three days or four days a week. After about a week of this, and 10 km into a fairly pacey run, suddenly ping!  My right hamstring had had enough.  I can't remember the last time my hamstrings ever gave me any problems – never in fact.  So this was new and not very nice.  Actually it's funny I chose the word " ping" – it's exactly the term used in this wiki to describe a grade two hamstring injury.  Thank goodness it wasn't a grade three – take a look at that picture, yuk!

I gave it a few days to recover, thinking it would be liked the regular calf injury that I have had a lot of.  But each time I went out it played up almost immediately, or maybe after two or three km. 

I managed a cautious 14 km in Antalya Turkey when working there at the end of March.  Then 22 km on Easter Sunday 4th of April when Katerina and Kjell were with the us in Alicante – quite a strain.  But I had to put some miles in if I was to have any chance of entering Madrid.

One month into the injury and I was able to run about 5 km before it became tighter and potentially run-stopping.  So I was worried how I was going to get on at the Madrid marathon, 25 April.  As it happened, I was stopped in my tracks after six km of a very gentle pace.  But by doing some vigorous stretching and then enduring the pain for another 5 km it finally subsided and I was able to carry on to complete the distance, albeit in a snail's pace, in 5 hours.

Two weeks later, having done very little serious training in between, I was in Stockholm for the Lidingo Ultra, 26 km, 8 May.  Again, after 5 or 6 km I knew my hamstring was with me :-( but with stretches and rather cautious running I managed to get around the course.  And so it continued, niggling and frustrating after every 3 or 4 kilometres.  So then I decided to give running a wide berth and did almost none for the next three weeks.  Finally, on 8 and 10 June I managed to do 10 km and 12.5 km at a slow to steady pace without feeling any twinges at all.  So that should be it I hope.  Lesson learned!  It can take three months, not one week, to get over a minor hamstring problem…

I still don't know how to get the pace up in my running.  Perhaps I will have to look to increase the pace over several months rather than a few weeks.  And how to avoid injury again?  Maybe I should put much more emphasis on stretching, ice baths, nooooo thank you.  Time to get some advice I think.