Getting better, getting restless

I'm doing physio about once a week now. Today was the day. For the past two weeks, I've had my SI joint taped by the physio, and it's made my running pain-free. No exaggeration. But today she told me this would be the last week I'd have the joint taped. Starting next week, she wants me to run without it, so that my muscles will start doing the work on their own. I'm probably pretty naive, but I sort of thought this taping thing was going pretty well -- why not just tape forever? Apparently that's not how it works.

She worked me hard today, mostly with glute and core work.

I'm getting so much better that it feels like I should be returning to normal training. No, says my physio. Now is probably the time when I'm most at risk of re-injury, feeling just well enough to go too hard and cause quick regression. I must must must force myself to keep at the strengthening exercises, continue to spin/bike and swim, and run only in moderation. Never more than every other day. And not for much longer than 20 minutes at a time.

The arrival of warmth and sunshine does not help my resolve.

On Sunday I will have to post my first-ever DNF at a race I signed up for immediately after the marathon last fall -- a 30km course in nearby Hamilton. If I let myself think about it, it makes me sad, so I'm not letting myself think about it. Truthfully, these strength exercises are crazy hard and take a ton of discipline to do daily. I look as fit as ever, if not fitter, what with the resistance and core training. But I feel out of shape. I wonder whether -- when I get the go-ahead -- I'll have the discipline to train myself back to marathon-running. It took so much hard work to get there. Will I have the patience and resolve to train myself back again? Or will my interests have shifted in the meantime to some other mildly obsessive cause?

Can't remember when I last posted my daily work-outs, so I'll start with last Sunday:

Sunday: run 8km (fast/medium); strength exercises
Monday: swim (2700m); hot yoga, 90 min
Tuesday: spin (1 hour)
Wednesday: strength exercises (40 minutes)
Thursday: spin/weights; strength exercises
Friday: physio, strength/core work (40 minutes)

I plan to run tonight. I wanted to run another 8km, but my physio said no, that really shouldn't happen again, not yet. When I asked why, if I'm running pain-free, she said that was a tough question to answer, but the idea is that I won't know I've pushed too far until it's too late. If I do start to hurt, I've already gone too far. And I'm still running taped. So I'm running with a crutch, essentially, and until I'm running pain-free and on my own strength, with all the core imbalances resolved ... well, stick to short runs, fast is fine -- as long as it doesn't hurt. But short.

Hard advice to take.