Being Smart Is Risky Business

So in case you haven't been paying attention to my blog posts, tweets, or Facebook posts, my glute has been hurting since Ragnar.  For you mathematicians out there, that's a whopping 3 weeks: quite a while.  It's still up in the air whether it's my piriformis or not but it seems likely.  That sneaky piriformis came out of nowhere. 

That piriformis is as sneaky as the evil cat

So on Monday I rested. 

And on Tuesday I ran - 7 miles in 1:06 to be exact.  It was okay.

And on Wednesday I biked but felt pretty blah energy-wise - 12.6 miles in 52 minutes (14.5 mph). 

And then on Thursday I was about to head out for a run, when running suddenly seemed like a terrible idea.  I've been caught in this conflict of being in the middle of training for Hood to Coast / a triathlon / a trail race / possibly CIM and did NOT want to stop training.  After all - I ran nearly 31 miles last week and was on a roll!  I wanted to keep going and get faster to not let my speedy Hood to Coast teammates down!

But then I really thought, and it seemed like a little rest could happen now or never.  And if a few days off could help my glute go away, it would be worth backing off my training now rather than later, and much better now then hurting through all 3 of my Hood to Coast legs.  Resting is risky, and so is not resting.  What a balancing act.  It's so hard to know when to push through it and when to rest. 

I just want to feel good at Hood to Coast just like Ragnar.

So, there's my reasoning.  So on Thursday I VERY smartly did 50 minutes of yoga instead of running.  And people, my hamstrings are TIGHT.  That can't be good for my glute.  Yoga MUST be a priority if I want to keep running healthy.

And on Friday I swam.

And on Saturday I did a ton of yard work.

And on Sunday I rested. 

And there you have it.  5 days solid without running.  At first I felt really positively about my glute.  But now I kind of feel it again.  But I shall run tomorrow and report back.  And until then, I'll just keep hoping that my risky resting paid off. 

Rar.  Cooper's not sneaky like the piriformis / evil cat.

Have you walked the fine line between pushing through little injuries?  What happened to you?  What advice do you have for my glute?