Running?

As I mentioned before, I am training to run the Charlottesville Women's 4 Miler with my friends. I am using a Couch to 5K program and have done really well. So far, I haven't hit a day that I couldn't finish. Only, I am only on week 4 and the race is in less than 4 weeks, meaning I won't hit the end of the training before the race. The reason is my stupid back. I had pretty bad sciatica with both pregnancies, only with my first, it went away after delivery. This time, it's gotten worse and as Lucy is 9 months old, clearly it can't be pregnancy related. I finally saw a spine doctor who said I likely sustained an injury during Lucy's delivery (since it was so fast and not well controlled) and to do ice, Advil and PT. And, no more running. I was really disappointed but it actually doesn't hurt WHEN I am running (only after) so I decided to just continue to train and do the ice and Advil right after running.

Some days, I can't walk by the end of the day, running or no running. I can't sit on the floor with the kids for more than a minute. Giving them baths is excruciating. I haven't made it to PT yet, largely because I have been down this road before and I know it's not going to make a difference and it's really expensive. Now my hip is getting out of whack because of how I compensate to walk when my back is messed up. Did I mention I am only 33???

It's discouraging, it's painful and it makes me mad. Will it always be like this? I can't believe that my activities are limited. Sucks. So, for now, I have resigned that I will not be able to run the whole 4 miles. I hope I can at least run the last half, but we will see. Makes me really sad.

There's always next year, I guess.