Since Sunday morning's 5 mile run was pretty much pain free, I decided to head out for a slightly longer run Monday evening. I thought a good goal for this run was 8-10 miles. I really wanted to get in one last double digit run before the marathon. Somehow I had convinced myself that 10 pain-free miles on Monday would mean 26.2 pain free miles on Sunday.
Instead of feeling excited for this run I spent most of the day dreading it. What if I fell apart after 5 miles? What if I couldn't even make it 5 miles? Is my marathon completely doomed? This is the exact opposite of the mindset that I need to be in right now. The first mile of my run was brutal. All I could think was "I can't do this." Finally I managed to settle into a comfortable pace and started enjoying the fact that I was running without pain.
When I started the run, my calves were really tight. I was not surprised since every time I take a short break from running, I am met with tight calves when I resume training. I figured once I got warmed up they would feel better. After about 4 miles I could tell they were getting tight again. After about a half mile I started feeling a slightly painful tugging in my right Achilles. I was less than a mile from home, so I decided to give myself a few minutes to see if it got worse. It slowly got worse over the next half mile so I started taking a few walk breaks to see if that helped. Eventually I decided to just walk the rest of the way home. I started icing as soon as I got home.
Part of me was relieved that my back/hip seemed to be holding up just fine (no pain during or after the run!) and the other part of me worried if this was the start of another injury (maybe Achilles tendonitis?). I tried to remind myself that tendonitis is an overuse injury and I have never had any symptoms prior to this run. It was hopefully just my tight calves pulling my tendon tight and creating pain.
The next morning my Achilles still felt very tender. It was not the pain that I felt during my run, but it was clear that it was not fully recovered. My calves were still incredibly tight as well (even though I had been foam rolling them). Fortunately I had an appointment with Chris (the massage therapist) that morning.
Chris started by checking if the alignment corrections he had made last week were still in place (they were). My right hip is still slightly forward, so I will be continuing to do the recommend exercises. Next was massaging and scraping my adductor muscles (the muscles that are likely causing my hip issues). This was a lot more intense than my first appointment, but not terrible.
Finally Chris got to work on my calves. Oh my god, the pain. So much pain. My right calf is just a mess of tightness and knots. The scraping was absolutely miserable. Scraping along tight muscles. Scraping along the Achilles tendon. The left calf was in better shape than the right, just one really painful spot as opposed to the entire back of my lower leg hurting.
The pain seemed worth it in the end since when I left the appointment my Achilles was feeling completely normal. I woke up this morning with my calves feeling bruised, but there isn't a mark on them. I guess this is normal for deep tissue massages and I should be feeling better tomorrow.
Thanks for making it through this boring injury update. My brain is kind of a mess right now. I really just want this week to hurry up so I can stop obsessing over the race. But also if you could slow time down so I could fit in a few more weeks of training, that would be nice too!
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015
Hips don't lie
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been having a lot of pain issues in my right hip. The pain started after a handful of pretty crummy training runs following the half marathon, but really peaked a couple days after my last long run. Basically any time I put any weight on my right foot I was treated to sharp stabbing pains in my lower back/hip.
Even after a week of rest I was still having on and off pain so last week I decided to get my first sports massage. Since that appointment I have had almost no pain (HOORAY!). So let's talk about that massage.
I decided to book an appointment with Chris for a few reasons, the number one reason being that he is a former University of Michigan track athlete. I figured another runner would understand my determination to make it to the starting line. Add to that experience working with Big 10 varsity athletes and physical therapy patients. And two years coaching in the university's Olympic Sports program. Yeah, Chris definitely know athletes. I definitely made the right decision.
The appointment itself was not really what you would expect when you hear massage. There was no laying on the table and relaxing. Chris started my comparing my right and left hips and established that my right hip was rotated forward. Then I was treated to a lot of "Hold your arm/leg like this, I'm going to try to push/pull it away, don't let me." This helped Chris identify which muscles weren't working properly so he knew which trigger points to focus on (or something like...I'm not an expert). He also gave me some homework to do twice every day and before/after every run.
I utilized some better self restraint on Saturday and took a rest day. On Sunday I managed a glorious 5 mile run with only minimal discomfort during the last half mile. I maybe could have pushed it up to 6 miles, but I didn't want to risk causing a setback. I had no pain after the run.
With just a week left before the marathon I know that I can not make up any of fitness that I lost during the past two weeks. It is what it is. What I need to focus on is getting to the starting line as healthy as possible. I booked another two appointments with Chris for the upcoming week, so that should hopefully keep my hip in check. So long as I can keep myself from overdoing it on the running, I should make it to the starting line (fingers crossed on the finish line part of things!)
Even after a week of rest I was still having on and off pain so last week I decided to get my first sports massage. Since that appointment I have had almost no pain (HOORAY!). So let's talk about that massage.
I decided to book an appointment with Chris for a few reasons, the number one reason being that he is a former University of Michigan track athlete. I figured another runner would understand my determination to make it to the starting line. Add to that experience working with Big 10 varsity athletes and physical therapy patients. And two years coaching in the university's Olympic Sports program. Yeah, Chris definitely know athletes. I definitely made the right decision.
The appointment itself was not really what you would expect when you hear massage. There was no laying on the table and relaxing. Chris started my comparing my right and left hips and established that my right hip was rotated forward. Then I was treated to a lot of "Hold your arm/leg like this, I'm going to try to push/pull it away, don't let me." This helped Chris identify which muscles weren't working properly so he knew which trigger points to focus on (or something like...I'm not an expert). He also gave me some homework to do twice every day and before/after every run.
- Lie on the floor with knees bent. Bring my right knee to my chest and clasp my hands behind my thigh. Try to push my leg down but use my hands to resist the movement. This should help rotate my hip back into the correct position.
- Massage the tender area at the bottom point of my right shoulder blade. I don't honestly remember what sort of voodoo magic this is supposed to do but supposedly it will help with my legs/hips.
- Use a lacrosse ball to massage my glutes. As a bonus this hurts on both sides, but kind of in that hurts-so-good sort of way.
- Bonus: Massage and stretch my hip adductors.
I utilized some better self restraint on Saturday and took a rest day. On Sunday I managed a glorious 5 mile run with only minimal discomfort during the last half mile. I maybe could have pushed it up to 6 miles, but I didn't want to risk causing a setback. I had no pain after the run.
With just a week left before the marathon I know that I can not make up any of fitness that I lost during the past two weeks. It is what it is. What I need to focus on is getting to the starting line as healthy as possible. I booked another two appointments with Chris for the upcoming week, so that should hopefully keep my hip in check. So long as I can keep myself from overdoing it on the running, I should make it to the starting line (fingers crossed on the finish line part of things!)
Friday, October 9, 2015
Training lately...
I haven't managed to post a training update for the past two weeks. Unfortunately this is because things have not been so great after the half marathon. I'm sorry for the radio silence and for the excessively long post you are about to read.
In the week following the race (September 21-27) I was pretty worn out. I did my best to listen to my body and took a few extra rest days and, when I did run, I reduced the mileage. My total for the week was 30.48 miles. The worst run was my final 20 mile run. After some moderate discomfort/pain in my glutes for the first 13.5 miles, my right hip flexors cramped up and refused to relax. Feeling defeated and discouraged I walked the rest of the way home (about 2 miles). Weekly total 30.48 miles.
Not an ideal final week by any stretch, but finally I had reached the taper! The next week (September 28-October 4) was complicated by the fact Thursday-Sunday would be spent in Toronto. I was planning on front loading some mileage, but after cutting Sunday short, I thought this sounded stupid. My body definitely agreed because on Monday and Tuesday my lower back/right hip was in complete agony. I needed to rest.
I looked through Advanced Marathoning and was relieved to discover that missing up to 10 days of training within the final 8 weeks of training should not have any negative affects on my goals. Hooray! I took full advantage of that fact by taking almost the entire week off. When I got home Sunday night I went out for an easy 3 mile run. I'd be lying if I said it felt great. It merely felt okay and didn't seem to make my pain any worse. Weekly total 3.1 miles.
Which brings us up to this current week (October 5-11). I tried to run on Tuesday and made it less than a mile. Too much sharp, stabbing pain in my hip. That night I realized that rest alone was not going to get me through the race. That night I booked an appointment for a sports massage for Thursday morning and hoped for the best.
My biggest concern is that once the pain reaches a level that I can not run through, even walking becomes excruciating. My I'm-not-a-doctor conclusion is that something in my right hip is messed up/out of place. It seems to have varying levels of messed up. When it reaches too far out of place, it starts pinching my sciatic nerve. The only thing that will relieve the pain is keeping weight off of my right leg. I don't know what I will do if this happens during the marathon.
That said, the sports massage really, really helped. I feel like I could write an entire post about the massage. I'm planning to book another couple appointments before the marathon. So hopefully I will have some time to talk more about the treatment! Chris, my massage therapist, said that my right hip was rotated forward (anterior pelvic tilt). He worked on fixing that and gave me a list of exercises/self massage things to do twice a day as well as before and after each run. He also suggested that I try running again that very day, which I guess is what happens when you see a guy with a background in running.
I was able to run 2 miles last night. The first mile felt completely normal! The second mile slowly slid downhill, but I stopped before the pain got too high. Once I did my new post run routine, things were feeling better, but still tender. A couple hours after the run I felt completely fine!
I was originally thinking that I would take today as a rest day; no reason to push myself right back into the pain. However I woke up this morning with absolutely zero pain (for the first time in over a week!). So now I kind of want to run! I've hardly run at all in the past two weeks and I miss it!
In the week following the race (September 21-27) I was pretty worn out. I did my best to listen to my body and took a few extra rest days and, when I did run, I reduced the mileage. My total for the week was 30.48 miles. The worst run was my final 20 mile run. After some moderate discomfort/pain in my glutes for the first 13.5 miles, my right hip flexors cramped up and refused to relax. Feeling defeated and discouraged I walked the rest of the way home (about 2 miles). Weekly total 30.48 miles.
Not an ideal final week by any stretch, but finally I had reached the taper! The next week (September 28-October 4) was complicated by the fact Thursday-Sunday would be spent in Toronto. I was planning on front loading some mileage, but after cutting Sunday short, I thought this sounded stupid. My body definitely agreed because on Monday and Tuesday my lower back/right hip was in complete agony. I needed to rest.
I looked through Advanced Marathoning and was relieved to discover that missing up to 10 days of training within the final 8 weeks of training should not have any negative affects on my goals. Hooray! I took full advantage of that fact by taking almost the entire week off. When I got home Sunday night I went out for an easy 3 mile run. I'd be lying if I said it felt great. It merely felt okay and didn't seem to make my pain any worse. Weekly total 3.1 miles.
Which brings us up to this current week (October 5-11). I tried to run on Tuesday and made it less than a mile. Too much sharp, stabbing pain in my hip. That night I realized that rest alone was not going to get me through the race. That night I booked an appointment for a sports massage for Thursday morning and hoped for the best.
My biggest concern is that once the pain reaches a level that I can not run through, even walking becomes excruciating. My I'm-not-a-doctor conclusion is that something in my right hip is messed up/out of place. It seems to have varying levels of messed up. When it reaches too far out of place, it starts pinching my sciatic nerve. The only thing that will relieve the pain is keeping weight off of my right leg. I don't know what I will do if this happens during the marathon.
That said, the sports massage really, really helped. I feel like I could write an entire post about the massage. I'm planning to book another couple appointments before the marathon. So hopefully I will have some time to talk more about the treatment! Chris, my massage therapist, said that my right hip was rotated forward (anterior pelvic tilt). He worked on fixing that and gave me a list of exercises/self massage things to do twice a day as well as before and after each run. He also suggested that I try running again that very day, which I guess is what happens when you see a guy with a background in running.
I was able to run 2 miles last night. The first mile felt completely normal! The second mile slowly slid downhill, but I stopped before the pain got too high. Once I did my new post run routine, things were feeling better, but still tender. A couple hours after the run I felt completely fine!
I was originally thinking that I would take today as a rest day; no reason to push myself right back into the pain. However I woke up this morning with absolutely zero pain (for the first time in over a week!). So now I kind of want to run! I've hardly run at all in the past two weeks and I miss it!
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