RunningAHEAD - Topic: Monday January 5 back-to-work runs and stuff...

Spareribs

King of PhotoShop

posted: 1/5/2009 at 2:38 PM

Regarding the questions that followed my earlier post about focusing on or attacking the injury, let me share another experience. Every time I have been injured, after doing all the useless things, I finally go sheepishly to the sports medicine doctor. Here in the Dallas area I have a great one. He is not only the medical director for the White Rock Marathon, he is also the Dallas Cowboys orthopedic guy. Once he gives me the diagnosis: strained abdominis rectus, piriformis injury, sciatica (these are my last three), he refers me to the PT. Once at the PT, the course of action is invariably the SAME. She strengthens the muscles that surround the affected, strained and weakened muscle to allow it to heal properly. Time after time, when I talk with other runners who are recovering from injury they say the same thing: the PT focuses on strengthening all the support for that muscle. And in my case, this has always worked. The problem is that I generally take too long to get there or I keep trying to run while I am supposed to be focused solely on healing the injury. So now I am doing the entire exercise set my PT gave me when I had this same injury in the past. For you, one of your legs is weaker than the other and one side of your body is tighter than the other. Stretch the tight side and strengthen the weak side. But don't listen to me and don't waste any more time. Go to the sports med guy and then to the PT. (In TX you can't go directly to the PT without a referral from the doc.) That's always going to be your fastest solution. As for expense of going to the doctor, believe me you don't have it worse than I do. I am in the high risk pool and can't get normal insurance, so I pay about $9,000 a year for just my own health insurance (the rest of my family is in a different plan) and then pay out of pocket until I hit a pretty big deductible. But I figure, running is an inexpensive sport, not like golf or skiing and it's important to me. This week it's heal the injury week. I'll run next week. Spareribs

stumpy77

Trails are hard!

posted: 1/5/2009 at 3:14 PM

Spareribs--that sounds like a corollary to "Old age and deceit will overcome youth and skill" Wink

Need a fast half for late fall. Then I need to actually train for it.

Slo

posted: 1/5/2009 at 3:18 PM

You are running well now and may surprise yourself with an even faster pace than planned, but it sounds to me that this is not a goal pace race but rather a tactical race to beat these two juniors. FWIW. Spareribs

Your correct about the overall goal. I really hope your correct about the pace !

fatozzig

posted: 1/5/2009 at 3:53 PM

Ribs - Have you been reading my mind the last day or two? My knee is bothering me again, and I've had to slap myself upside the head and say, "Well, when was the last time you did your PT exercises for it, dumb#$$??" So tonight it's back to the PT and not even thinking about running again until next week, maybe.

Leslie
Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain
-------------

Trail Runner Nation

Sally McCrae-Choose Strong

Bare Performance

perchcreek

i'm lovin' it... MM#1949

posted: 1/5/2009 at 4:23 PM

Quote from Spareribs on 1/5/2009 at 2:38 PM:

....Once at the PT, the course of action is invariably the SAME. She strengthens the muscles that surround the affected, strained and weakened muscle to allow it to heal properly. Time after time, when I talk with other runners who are recovering from injury they say the same thing: the PT focuses on strengthening all the support for that muscle. And in my case, this has always worked. The problem is that I generally take too long to get there or I keep trying to run while I am supposed to be focused solely on healing the injury. So now I am doing the entire exercise set my PT gave me when I had this same injury in the past....

I totally agree. Maybe to save money just do what the PT would ask you to do. After enough injuries you learn the routine. My last injury cost nothing except down time. But, looking back, had I started the rehab routine one week earlier it would have saved a few weeks down time. Recogizing that you actually have an injury vs some minor twinge here or there is the hard part.

Perch's Profile "I don't know if running adds years to your life, but it definitely adds life to your years." - Jim Fixx "The secret is to make in your mind possible what was not possible before. The secret is to make easy what was difficult, instead to make difficult what really is easy." - Coach Renato Canova

wildchild

Carolyn

posted: 1/5/2009 at 4:23 PM

Leslie, when will you get the results from your CT scan? Hope they find something easy to fix that's been causing your problems. I went for a slow 3.2 mile run at lunchtime, in a state park I've been to before but in a new part of the park. Nice to run somewhere different. I didn't have much motivation to go out, but the weather was OK, 42F and overcast, so I had no real reason to wimp out. Legs were kind of leaden, though. My calves are sometimes a bit sore after I've run barefoot on the indoor track, especially when I do speed work barefoot. Tetsujin, is this normal?

_{I hammered down the trail, passing rocks and trees like they were standing still.}

dg.

posted: 1/5/2009 at 4:28 PM

Ribs...

For you

who is "you"? thank you. direct & thought provoking. Perch,

Recogizing that you actually have an injury vs some minor twinge here or there is the hard part.

I think so too. I think most of us have learned to ignore pain by this point.

Twocat

posted: 1/5/2009 at 4:37 PM

I decided to work from home today so that I could catch up on some more work (getting close!) and see if my blood work results were back. They told me to call after 1pm today as they expected the results to be in by then or perhaps not till tomorrow (darned New Years! Smile

). I got their answering machine and left a message to call me back. No return call. I feel like Sweeney Todd. At one point in the play and movie he complains that the judge was supposed to show up by Thursday. His accomplice/friend/unrequited girl friend tells him not to be so impatient, and anyway it was only Tuesday. Yea, I know they said the results would not be in until tomorrow. In other news . . . Mariposai has been just wonderful! While I wait for the blood work report she has been busy trying to help me figure out what is wrong and what to do about it. I cannot thank her enough. Oh yes, there was running today as well. I looked at the week's weather report and figured I better get my long run in today so off I went for 17 miles. This is a violation of International Long Run day but I typically cannot run long on Sunday. As to the leg, same old, I can run long and pain free. My endurance is fine. Speed? No so good. Today was just a tad under a 10 minute mile. I looked at my log from last year and my long runs were near or sometimes even well under 9 minute miles. Sigh. If the blood work comes back negative (please no) then I am going to try a new doctor near where I work. He came recommended by a guy in charge of track and field so I am hoping he will help me get fixed up. Sorry about not replying to today's posts but I have to get some stuff finished first. P.S. Spareribs is right it is easy to run a minor injury into something serious. It pays to be careful. I am guessing he thinks I may be the antithesis of careful, but actually quite a few people I run with are surprised at how fast I back off of running when injured and for how long! Still, if you goal is to push your personal envelope expect to get hurt and sidelined on occasion. The more you want to push the more often you can expect to end up hurt. It is just the way it is. P.P.S. Erika I doubt you will ever see this but just in case you do I hope you enjoy Florida and the warm weather!

Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.

Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way --> http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/

jdmom3

posted: 1/5/2009 at 4:40 PM

SLO and Maine, good luck in your 4 mile races. I have never run a race at that distance. I don't think they are too common, but the strategy must be similar to an 8K.

jdmom, I am also a believer in the 20+ mile LR all through a training cycle. I am working with someone now whose marathon is not until spring and this athlete is doing 20 milers every other week right now.

Thanks for the input Ribs. If I get my long run up to 19 or so, I guess I will take the plunge and run a 20 miler or two before I begin any kind of formal marathon plan. I am guessing that whatever physiological adaptations take place during those long runs are beneficial for all marathoners, regardless of what training cycle they are in. When my LR gets up that high, though, I do like to limit it to every other week and do shorter progression runs on the alternate weeks.

Once a runner . . .

Walt.RB

posted: 1/5/2009 at 4:45 PM

FINALLY.....a chance to run. I was busy all weekend with kids and work, and while reading the daily (when I wasn't updating the electric in my garage) I was very jealous of all the long runs and hill workouts people were getting in, (Perch, Tramps, etc.) It's really great to see so many long runs in the middle of winter. Actually, it makes me feel like a slacker. But I got a restorative, rolling and sproinky 7 mile progression in today, 8:29-8:23-8:17-8:09-7:57-7:55-7:34....it felt so good to be on the road, during daylight.....Yay. It's hard for me to do a consistent progression run around here, what with the rolling foothills of the Berkshires and Taconics nearby.....but it just felt so good to be out.....I actually wore shorts (it was around 31F) with WD, it was 7.6 miles, 1:02:16, 145-167 Walt Tramps: I'd post pictures of the new shop, but right now it would constitute a considerable OSHA liablity. Wink

Maybe once it only resembles a bread-and-butter fire hazard I'll take a picture.

xor

posted: 1/5/2009 at 4:54 PM

So it snowed 6 inches last night... the sticky kind that weighs down all the trees. Then the rain came and now it is 45 degrees. Huh. Of course, only the neighborhoods up on the hills got the big snow. Down in the city (Seattle), it's all clear. Which leads to the interesting phenomenon when some folks show up late (or don't show) because of snow-related snafu, but everyone else doesn't believe those folks because everyone else's down-low neighborhoods were clear and the city is clear. ANYHOO. I went to day one of jury duty, got called immediately with the first group sent to a courtroom, got just as immediately kicked out (because I looked funny. Seriously, each side is allowed x number of challenges where they can boot x prospective jurors for no real reason whatsoever, and I was in that x), then got sent home and told to come back again tomorrow. Woohoo, I can take care of my doggie properly today. Managed 3 miles of slushy walking, but I probably won't run. Another Wii Fit kind of day.

fatozzig

posted: 1/5/2009 at 4:55 PM

Quote from wildchild on 1/5/2009 at 4:23 PM:

Leslie, when will you get the results from your CT scan? Hope they find something easy to fix that's been causing your problems.

Hopefully within the next couple of days. And although this is going to sound weird, I hope they find that it's the gall bladder, take the darn thing out, and all my "stomach issues" are resolved. After literally years of dealing with this, it'd be nice to have an end to it once and for all.

Leslie
Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain
-------------

Trail Runner Nation

Sally McCrae-Choose Strong

Bare Performance

Twocat

posted: 1/5/2009 at 6:18 PM

If I can root for having Lyme disease I do not see why you cannot root for a bad gall bladder! Cool

Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.

Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way --> http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/

evanflein

posted: 1/5/2009 at 6:28 PM

Quote from Twocat on 1/5/2009 at 6:18 PM:

If I can root for having Lyme disease I do not see why you cannot root for a bad gall bladder!

I agree! And yes, Twocat, I did see that and thanks. Looking forward to soaking up some sunshine...

Tramps

posted: 1/5/2009 at 7:24 PM
modified: 1/5/2009 at 7:28 PM

Wow! Some interesting issues raised today. Ribs' comments about focusing on the injury are good ones. I'd argue it's even more valuable to focus on injury prevention, namely: 1) don't push yourself to do things you're not ready to do and 2) do push yourself to do the preparation you need to do (e.g. core work and stretching). I'm very good about the first point and have been terrible about the second. As a matter of fact this whole discussion finally got me off the fence to go ahead and buy McMillan's core training DVD to hopefully nudge me to step up my tepid core work. I'll give y'all a review when it arrives. Twocat also raises a key point:

Quote from Twocat on 1/5/2009 at 4:37 PM:

Still, if you goal is to push your personal envelope expect to get hurt and sidelined on occasion. The more you want to push the more often you can expect to end up hurt. It is just the way it is.

I've been fortunate to avoid major injuries (knock on wood!). I'm sure there's a certain amount of luck and genetics involved (and I run 75% of my miles on dirt) but I also think a large part of it involves being conservative in my running. I ease up quickly when something feels odd and I take a long time building up to a new level of fitness. The price to pay for this is mediocrity. I probably don't push my personal envelope much and as a result don't have the race performances that I'm probably capable of. Part of it is personality; I'm just not that competitive. Part of it--frankly--is seeing the misery injured runners are in. I started this for the fitness and fun; being injured gets you neither. Mari--do an extra loop for me next time you're out doing x-country! Erika--enjoy the weather Walt--I understand; hope the TS made it okay. Only you will appreciate this: my miter gauge from my old Jet contractor's saw died (long story) and my big holiday gift this year was a fancy Osborne EB-3 replacement. Smile

I'm so not worthy! DW and I are finalizing kitchen cab plans. I've already started prep on some of the lumber for face frames. Should be fun. jdmom--I know what you can run. I'm way too awed to ever give you advice. Wink

I like the new avatar.

Be safe. Be kind.

Masters Running

Monday January 5 back-to-work runs and stuff... (Read 481 times)