Huge Setback!

I have had a remarkable streak of injury free running and numerous PR's over the past couple of years.  That streak has come to an end.  After Monday's recovery run, I was stepping over the gate that keeps our dog Gizmo in his "area" and I felt a little twang in my lower back.  It was okay most of the day, but an evening recovery run didn't seem wise.  Tuesday morning my back was in complete revolt.  I could barely stand up straight and my 10 miler with 5 at HMP was completely out of the question.  I applied lots of ice and took boku Ibuprofen just to get through the day.  The ice was a big help and by Wednesday, my back was almost back to normal.  I had 15 miles scheduled in the morning and a recovery run planned with run club in the evening, both of which I scratched.  Thursday morning was good, but gave myself one extra break in the morning and did an easy 8 in the evening.  What a relief, everything felt normal.  I followed up with 11+ on Friday morning, again with no pain or stiffness; it appears that I dodged a bullet.  Saturday morning I woke up feeling good and better yet, it was October like!  50 degrees and I couldn't wait to hit the trails!  I ran downstairs to the laundry room to get a clean pair of socks and when I reached the bottom of the stairs, the carpet felt wet and I could hear water dripping from the ceiling.  Noooooooooo!  I wasted no time and sprang into action.  I called the plumber, shut off the water and started to move around all the water logged stuff I could move.  Turns out the mess wasn't as bad as I had originally thought, but after all was said and done, I re-injured my back!  Took Saturday off and woke up this morning and it feels pretty normal, but am not sure an 18 mile run would be wise.  Drat!

I am not sure how badly missing an entire week of a 12 week plan will effect my goal.  My biggest problem right now is mental.  I think it will be difficult to race or hit my tempo runs, knowing in the back of mind that my lower back is a little wonky.  My mental state isn't the best right now, so I am probably over-reacting a tad.  Let's break out the ice packs and see what tomorrow holds.

Happy Running!