It has officially been more than a week since my half-marathon in Vegas and I still am walking around like a gimp. I’ve mentioned several times how my hip was bothering me before the race and has been ever since.

Thankfully, it was feeling good enough during the race to not slow me down too much. But now that I’m home, I’ve been limping around for the past week. I keep getting smart comments from people about how I’m still walking funny from my race, but it’s starting to get less funny now.

I’m sure it happened because I wasn’t properly stretching in my training. I’m realizing now how important that aspect is. Everyone who runs is always saying how important stretching is, but I don’t think you every quite grasp the concept until you injure yourself.

I tried to go for an easy jog today. I made it about 3 steps jogging and realized it wasn’t going to happen. Instead, I went for a quick 10 minute walk to warm up my muscles, then spent the next half-hour or so stretching and rolling on my foam roller. And I’m not lying, that foam roller is pretty amazing. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but it helps to relax overactive muscles. Already, I’m noticing a difference in my hip. It’s not back to 100%, but it’s definitely better.

I suppose for now I will just plan on focusing on swimming and cycling and slowly move back into running. It’s probably smart to take that part easy. Plus, I’ve neglected the swimming and cycling since I’ve been so focused on the running. I’m having to reign myself in for now so I don’t overdo it. I will definitely not be cutting my stretching short in the future.