Setback: Hamstring

This is a first.  I have never injured a hamstring in 8 yrs of masters training.  This was inexplicable.   After racing 3 weekends in a row with no trouble... very unexpected.  This will put me out of the TN Senior Games.  I was really looking forward to it and have fought very hard to get in my present shape.

I don't think it's too bad, it was the type of pull that feels like a 'cramp' not a 'pop,'  I know this injury and what to do.  I had one similar to this in 2012 on the left.   I had a slight tweek last spring, but it only kept me out 2 weeks.   This one is on lower right, lateral side, about 3" above the knee.  No sign of swelling, roughness, or scaring.  Quite sore but again, not as bad as the one I had June 10, 2012, which turned black and blue a week later.  Looking back at that injury, I was able to come back and run a 56.61 400m 5 weeks later at the TN Sr. Games, and 3 weeks after that, win Silver and run 55.46 at Nationals. 

Right now, there are 6 weeks before Nationals which I think is plenty of time for a complete recovery.  I had even thought I would race in 3 weeks but probably safer not, just won't know for a few days. 

I felt really great tonight, super light, wonderful warm weather, after a full warmup, I put the spikes on wanted to do an even split 400 at 57ish.  My plan was to run 14 sec 100s to the 300m mark (42) - 2 seconds slower than race speed, then go all out and try to bring that last 100 in at under 15.  If I could get it under 15, I could run under 57.   I hit the 200 just over 28 but hit the 300 right at pace- 42, I felt like I had a great shot at running under 57, and 30m down the straight, I felt it, took one more stride than shut it down.   Felt really like a cramp.  I have NEVER strained a hamstring like this running a 400m.  Ever.  Once a slight tweek at the start, but not like this.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

3 x 50m strides 

Puma spikes on 

100m stride - 14.5 

300m - 42 even split (injury at 330m)

I rolled it, jogged around a bit, yea it hurt.  Whined on the phone to my parents.  Yes, I injured my ham.

I thought about what kind of workout I should do today.  Tempo, event run, accelerations... etc... If I had done a standard tempo workout this would NOT have happened, but I just wanted to test myself and run fast.  Usually this type of thing happens when sprinting a 100 or coming out of blocks, never before at the end of a 400.  This was crazy.

Even with the brevity of this workout, not many calories burned, I weighed near a season low of 140.6 lbs afterward.  I'm definitely in shape and have no intention of squandering it.  It's back on the bike, running foundation 800s, for a while.  Eccentric prehab/rehab exercises, Graston massage, stretching, I know exactly what to do.

When this happened to me with the hip flexor in '15, I couldn't run fast for 8 weeks.  In that time I got a helluva lot of foundation done and even raced an 800m.  That foundation helped my win my first 400m outdoor title in 55.29... so I'm optimistic.

I think I'll be back on the track in less than a week.  It's not that bad.