Every since mid last week I’ve had a giant knot in my right hamstring. After practice on Tuesday it felt a little tight, but I didn’t think too much of it. We had Wednesday off, so I thought this would be a good chance for my hamstring to loosen up. By Thursday the knot had grown and so had the pain. I warmed up as usual in hopes that it would loosen up as I got warm. The workout for the day was 4x4x200, so sixteen 200s all together. I had three minutes between the reps and five minutes between the sets, so I knew this was going to be hard, even without the bum hamstring. Putting together how I felt about my leg, with how I felt about the workout, I was very angry going into the workout. I didn’t like being hurt, and sixteen 200s seemed like a lot to me! I was able to get through the first set fairly easily, and all in 29 seconds as well. My hamstring did not get any better though, as the workout went on, the ball seemed to get bigger and more painful with each rep. The second set started off well, with a 28 and a 29, but the last two ended up as 30, which just made more angry. I was getting tired, and my leg was just getting worse. I had two sets left and I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. My coach could sense my anger, and discomfort, so we agreed to just do one more set. My legs felt drained, and the sun was in my eyes for every rep, it just seemed like nothing was going right for me. The first three reps were slow, and I felt like I had nothing left. My coach told me just to stay strong on the last one and not to worry about the time. I had to worry about the time though, I needed to redeem myself. So far the whole workout had felt horrible and I needed to finish off good. I hit the last 200 with everything I had and more. I felt like I was floating, and I couldn’t feel anything in my legs, not pain, no tiredness, no energy either! I cross the finish line and clicked down on my watch. I looked down, all I wanted was a decent time, 29.66! Not bad for being so down, so tired, and a knot the size of a baseball in my hamstring.
On Friday my training partners competed in long jump at a meet at Mesa Community College. I warmed up with them to get the blood flowing and feel out how my hamstring was feeling. It didn’t feel too bad in the morning, and during the warm up jog it was alright too. I did drills like I normally would, and that’s when the tightness came out again. I did a couple starts on the corner and that’s when I knew my hamstring still wasn’t ok. I was worried after my warm up because I had planned on running the next day at a meet at Arizona State University. This was going to be my season opener and I was super excited to run. As I warmed up though, my excitement turned to fear. As I finished my warm up I saw my coach had shown up so I immediately told her what was up. She felt my hamstring and knew that something wasn’t right with it. She made the call I hoped she wasn’t going to. ‘Don’t run tomorrow’, the three words I didn’t want to hear. It was especially hard to hear that from her, while standing at a track meet. Being at a meet just made me want to run more, and being told not to was a hard pill to swallow. I knew it was for the best though, hurting it seriously now would just mean I wouldn’t be able to run more later. I enjoyed watching the boys long jump, but longed to compete myself for most of the night.
On Saturday I woke up kind of down knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to run. As I got out of bed though, the tightness in my hamstring emphasized that not running in the race was for the best. Me and my partners ended up going later in the evening to watch the meet at the university. The atmosphere at the university reminded me of that in Trinidad and Tobago during their meets. The stands were packed, people were cheering, and music was playing. Being there definitely made me want to run more then ever. I quickly got caught up in the meet though, and just enjoyed being there.
Today I was back to training. My leg still hurts a big, but I had an appointment with physio tomorrow, and I’m really hoping it will help. I’m set to run in LA on Friday. I feel ready to run, I just have to figure out what’s wrong with my hamstring then I’ll be set to go!
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