How to NOT run a track meet

Since I started running, way back in November '07, I've been battling one injury after another. Usually something minor, a calf pull or small hamstring tear. Nothing that a day of ice/heat and Advil couldn't cure in 48-72 hours.

And it's not like I was doing anything crazy or hard to get these injuries. Once, I was just skipping and on my second step, something in my left calf gave out! Most recently, while doing straight-legged running drills, after getting the instruction to "paw down hard", on the 5th or 6th step, my left hamstring tweaked (that step was no harder/softer than the ones before it).

About 6 weeks ago, after no particular event, and about 4 hours after a rigorous but not insane hill workout, I stood up from my desk and practically couldn't walk. Every step on my right heel sent a shock wave of pain deep into my hip, kinda.

I say "kinda" because it was hard to localize exactly where the pain was. It seemed to move, shift, change locations.

$1,000 of bodywork later, I had various people diagnose that my right pelvis was slightly tipped forward and this led to all sorts of imbalances that sprinting was exacerbating. Whatever happened on that hill day was the last straw. Yesterday Mark Plaatjes, former LA Marathon winner, co-owner of Boulder Running Company, and AMAZING physical therapist demonstrated with some simple and painful movements that I had bursitis in my right hip.

He did some of the most excruciating and interesting work on my legs (I know this will sound odd, but even though I found myself reflexively popping off his table, and screaming all manner of rude expletives, I wouldn't use "pain" to describe the sensations), and by this morning, I felt sore, but functional.

I showed up at the Martin Luther King meet at the Air Force Academy full of excitement. This was going to be my first meet. I'd run the 60 and 200. I wasn't looking to break any records; just to get through the events without further injury and see what my base times looked like at 80% effort.

The track was PACKED. Tons of kids and a handful of masters runners. Between heats of the mile, our team jumped onto the track to warm up.

Striding down the backstretch and feeling comfortable at about 70%, some kids stepped in front of me. To dodge them, I bounded off my left leg and... TWANG... there went the left hamstring again. Worse than ever. Within a minute, I could barely walk.

I had gotten up at 6:00 am to drive 80 minutes for this meet and it looked like I'd be back home in time for brunch.

Now, for all I know, getting hurt BEFORE the race saved me an injury that could have happened DURING the race. But I'm still waiting for the disappointment/excitement to fade and, more importantly, to get over the idea that all these injuries are suggesting I should drop this idea of becoming a successful aging sprinter.