Pain and Dread

After hurting my hip during last Sunday's long run, I attempted and aborted a 6 K run, skipped a 10 K run, and moved the 8 K run to the treadmill and instead of going away, it is getting increasingly more painful. Where it used to only hurt well into a run, now it aches all the time and I have trouble with stairs and chairs and balancing on one foot. Running is out clearly and I've now moved into Level 2 of worrrying. 

 Level 1 is where you ice it and rest it and take plenty of advil, perhaps also your girlfriend's prescription anti-inflammatory and ignore the pain hoping and expecting that it will go away soon. During that time you also solicit opinions from everyone you know and they tell you to get new shoes, get a trainer, run barefoot, go to the doctor, go to the sports doctor, go to the acupuncturist, go to the chiropractor and to stop whining.

Level 2 is where you bring in the experts. And since my Running Room-supplied trainer is on holidays and I've never had a sports injury before, I started with my family doctor. She made me get an x-ray (in case I have a congenital hip problem) and referred me to physio. On the way back to the office I also made an appointment with the acupuncturist, because I figured it couldn't hurt, and I'm thinking of throwing the chiropractor in there for good measure as well.

Normally this is strange behavior for me. I don't like doctors and their ilk, and usually I put off going until I have exhausted every other option, but with a strict training schedule to keep on top of, I need to get this thing licked RIGHT NOW and I'm willing to go to whatever lengths necessary so I don't fall any further behind.

The worst thing is that I can't even do swimming as cross-training because the pools are all closed!