Verdict & Plan

I visited another physiotherapist last night for a second opinion. I saw Jordan last year during my injury then and he was the one who suggested the treatment plan that allowed me to recover, so it made sense for me to reach out to him this time around.

The verdict:
I am more flexible now than I was last year. Yay! Though this may be a product of going to physio three times in the last 10 days.

I didn't do anything "wrong" with my training plan. Double Yay! This is not an overuse injury.

The problem:
The pounding of running causes my nerves to splinter and become irritated. The muscles guard the nerves to protect them. Then my back seizes up and all the joints in my back harden and compress the discs further on the nerves. And it goes around and around in a cycle. The remaining good news is that this is treatable, not just in the short term, but I can "undo" it with hard work over the long term. What that involves, I have no idea.

The plan:
I'm going to run the half marathon on Sunday. I ran a test run today of 5K and there was some discomfort, but no pain. I never stopped running and it didn't change my gait. It went in waves of no discomfort to more discomfort, and each subsequent wave was less uncomfortable than the previous one. The worst that could happen during the race is that I have to bail partway through, but then at least I tried.

I'm switching physiotherapists. Unfortunately my current one isn't the right match for my situation. I have a consult next week with a new physio that has been recommended to me by a couple of different people.

I want to thank everyone for their encouragement and support. This has been one helluva rollercoaster ride and it isn't over yet!

Punishing myself

As I alluded to in my last post, I really overdid it on my long run on Sunday. The sciatic pain that sidelined me for 5 months in 2010 is back, but on the other foot. Great.

I've done this twice before: I ran really hard runs right before the Ottawa 10K in 2009 and the Army Run 5K in 2009. In the first race, I aggravated a nerve on the outside of my knee, but still was able to run the race. In the second one, I got sick and didn't run, as it was 2 weeks before my wedding and I didn't want to end up even more sick.

I've gone to physio twice since last week and I have two appointments this week. I'm diligently doing my exercises and applying heat to loosen up the muscles. The foot seems to feel better each day, so I'm trying to stay positive about the half marathon. I'm treating this as an extreme taper. In a test run on Thursday, it hurt to run. So I have to be honest with myself. Not running the half is a real possibility. If I can't run the race, it's not the end of the world. I'll be disappointed for sure, but there are other races to run.

What I need to figure out is why this keeps happening. I thought I had been doing well: I was going to physio every 6 weeks to get my back/muscles addressed, I was stretching regularly and doing my preventative exercises. But I still ended up here. It's incredibly frustrating that it's the same injury as before, just on the other side.

So this leads me to wonder: what am I doing wrong? I'm fairly sure the sciatic pain is related to cumulative muscle trauma - I'm damaging the muscles repeatedly before they have time to heal, and eventually the muscles and nerves end up in a cycle of swelling/overtightening/shortening. I need to figure out why the muscles are not healing. Is there a medical reason, like say, anemia or poor circulation? Is it my training, like I'm running all my runs too hard? After this is said and done, I'm going to find a running coach to go over my training log and help me design a training plan so I can avoid this in the future.

And I'm going to join the Ottawa Running Club. I've been meaning to do so, as they have track sessions and group runs. Since I don't play Ultimate anymore, I want to make my running more social, as running alone is not conducive to meeting new people!

Finally some good news

I finally had a pain-free run! Hooray!

I suffered my calf strain two weeks ago on that ill-fated long run on my taper week. I can't deny that the run itself was a lot of fun and the hilly terrain was challenging. Too bad my legs didn't agree!

Since then, I've done a lot to try to recover quickly:

- cut out shifted runs and increased rest days,

- cut mileage,

- cut quality runs (hills/tempo/intervals)

- employed a run-walk technique that involved running to increase blood flow, but not to the point of making it ache or hurt,

- gone to physio,

- applied heat,

- self massage and stretching.

I was starting to get nervous about my goals for the half marathon. While I didn't lose any fitness, I certainly lost some progress on my training plan. I didn't hit my 20K run that I'd planned for myself, but I kept telling myself that if I can do 18, I can do 21.1.

I headed out the door this morning not really knowing what I was going to run, though the schedule called for 20K. As I ran, I kept telling myself that I was loose, strong and that I felt good. When I passed the 5K mark, everything felt great and it didn't change the entire run! I'm so happy to report that I felt good the entire 18K. I ran 6.5K, walked 500m, Ran 6.5, walked 500m, Ran 4K at 10 sec. faster than HM pace. My calf felt fantastic and walk breaks were preventative more than anything else, as I didn't want to overdo it today only to suffer a setback so close to the finish.

Now I feel a lot better heading into my taper. I know I can do this. It's hard to believe that Race Weekend's only two weeks away!

Feeling like a runner again

Today I ran my longest run of the year: 12K.

It was glorious.

I felt like a runner again as I ran along our picturesque Rideau Canal at 7 a.m. - the only other people I saw were other runners. I exchange hellos and good mornings with almost everyone I passed. It really was wonderful.

I also saw the editor of iRun Magazine, Mark Sutcliffe, as he ran his our personal marathon to celebrate turning 42.2 years old. He was running a 5:00/km pace as he ran the 12K out and back. He and his posse passed me several times... I wish I could've run with them, but that's a little fast for me! haha.

I've been feeling much stronger, fitter and faster as of late. I also popped into see my trusty physiotherapist this week to make sure all was okay with my back... and it was. We spent some time working on it and my flexibility, but it was really encouraging to know that I can continue to up my mileage as long as I keep an eye on my flexibility.

My army run post is coming soon, I promise. I was hoping to steal a few minutes at work to post it, but that didn't happen this week.

Yoga for Runners

My physiotherapist suggested I start crosstraining, specifically with some sort of activity that promotes flexibility. She pretty much said that I need to do this if I want to ever run any races longer than 10K. Certainly I need to maintain my flexibility if I want to avoid injuries over the long-term.

So, today I'm going to try Yoga for Runners. It's offered at a local yoga studio at a really convenient time. I've done bikram yoga before, but I had a lot of difficult with the heat. I often felt sick and faint, often for days after. Hopefully I'll have better results with this new class!

I'll be sure to report back on the class.

Leaving the iPod at Home

I used to be religious when it came to running with my iPod. I swore by it. I rarely ran without it. I loved compiling my playlists and finding new music to run to.

But I've broken my habit.

Since returning to running 3 weeks ago, I haven't run with my iPod once. And to tell you the truth, I don't really miss it. I initially left it at home so that I would listen to my body instead of the tunes. This was especially important in those first few runs, as I needed to pay special attention to any complaints my body was making as I forced it through its rebirth into running.

Running without the iPod is liberating. I don't feel like the bionic woman with a fuelbelt, garmin and iPod strapped to various parts of my body. I feel much more in tune with my muscles and what it's telling me throughout the run. I pay attention to my breathing and get fewer side stitches. I'm also much more aware of my surroundings, whether it's the bikes whizzing by me on the bike path or the crowd of screaming seagulls in the middle of the river.

Best of all, I'm much more absorbed in the act of running itself and enjoying it, instead of zoning out and trying to suffer through it.

I'm hoping that this change will mean that I'll be quicker to notice any nagging injuries early on, instead of when they're so bad that I'm sidelined for months on end.

Back Back Back!

I was finally able to start my return to running plan yesterday. I was supposed to start last week, but I managed to get a horrible cold. Said cold turned into a sinus and throat infection. I still have a cough, but the congestion I have now is likely seasonal allergies.

I started last night with 5 minutes walking, 5 minutes running, for a total of 30 minutes. I run again on Saturday, with 3 minutes walking, 7 minutes running, for a total of 30 minutes. And it slowly increases from there. I hope to run Emilie's Run 5K on June 19th. I have no plans for a personal best or any kind of record... just to run!

In order to motivate myself some more, I bought some new running clothes. Yesterday, I picked up a RunningSkirts.com camo skirt and a couple of new tanks at the Ottawa Race Weekend running expo. I love Runningskirts.com's skirts - they have tons of pockets, a great fit and really creative patterns. One of my new tanks is a Sugoi tank in white and the other is Asics and it's BRIGHT PINK. Both are perfect for summer... and they were 50% off!

It feels so good to run again.

Torture

Nope, not a post about physio today. It's going well, though. The new focus on flexibility, involving ART, back manipulations, and tractioning of my hips and back, seems to be working. We're seeing drastic improvements in my flexibility during sessions... now we just need to get it to stick from session to session.

The torture I speak of is the torture of walking home from work on a 20C degree day. On those days, I'm passed by runner after runner. I start to feel a mix of emotions:
- Self-pity: "Wah, why can't I run???? It's a perfect day for a run. I want a back transplant!"
- Jealousy: "Not fair. I want to run. I'm in better shape than her!"
- Anger: "Stupid *^%$%* back"
- Envy: "Oh, she's obviously prepping for the marathon."
- Upbeat: "She's struggling, maybe I should say something to encourage her! Wait, she won't know I'm a runner."

I know this is a bump in the road, but going through the gamut of emotions like that really doesn't motivate me to walk home from work. If only I could just close my eyes and walk that way...

Racing like a test subject

I have to admit that I don't feel much like a runner these days.

Last week I had medical appointments every day. I saw the second physiotherapist, who believes that my treatment plan needs to focus more on flexibility issues than on building core strength. He felt that a 10K was a reasonable goal for later in the year.

Part of me agrees with his idea to focus on flexibility, but a big part of me doesn't. I agree with it because I am clearly inflexible. I've never been able to touch my toes. Ever! Most people are amazed by how inflexible I am. But it's never been a problem until now. Which is why I don't necessarily agree. I spent 8 years dancing several times a week. It was a high impact sport that had a similar force exerted on my body as running (if not more). In the last few years, I danced for a minimum of an hour 3x a week, if not more. The worst injury I had was shin splints. I was the same weight I am now, so that's not a factor. I would say I am in the same physical shape now as I was then.

I think ultimately it's something wrong with my back. I saw the doctor on Friday and had x-rays done. I will likely need an MRI. My primary PT believes there's scar tissue in my back from my previous back injuries in 1999 and 2008, and that this scar tissue is putting pressure on my nerves.

I've considered just giving up running altogether. But I love running. I really do. I've invested 2 months of time and money into PT... I'm not ready to give up this fight just yet.

News to come

This week has been the insane week. Tons of work to get done and just not enough hours in the day to do it. Long weekends usually create all kinds of headaches at work, as the nature of my field is that the craziness of 5 days gets compressed into 4 days instead!

My personal life schedule has been crammed full of appointments. Tuesday: sports massage. Wednesday: Physio. Thursday: Physio. Friday: follow-up with doctor, physio.

Why so much physio, you ask?

Well, my awesome PT decided it was time to send me for a second opinion. So today I get to go see him. His resume is outstanding and I was impressed by just looking at his website. Hopefully he'll have some ideas. I'm not looking forward to going through a full assessment and history again... but if it'll help, I'll do it.

Tomorrow I go back to the doctor to see what he thinks. I will likely get x-rays of my back and possibly a referral for an MRI as well. I wanted to get the ball rolling on them as the wait times for MRIs can be long, and I didn't want to spend another 2 months in physio only to be sent back for an MRI. That would mean 2 months wasted that I could've spent on a waiting list.

Riding the Pine...

I submitted my request to be put on IR to our Miles Game team captain on Runners World Online. I've run 4K in three months. I didn't think it was fair to keep posting zeros when the team could use a player in my spot to actually post miles. There has been a shortage of players for the Miles Game recently, but I hope the team can get a new player in my place.

I think I'll be going back to the doctor as soon as I can get an appointment. I've read up on my pain and what my symptoms are and I get so totally overwhelmed. Should I see a chiropractor? I'm not a fan of them, but if it'll help, maybe I should see one. Should I see a different sports medicine doctor? Do I need cortisone shots? Do I need surgery? What about a physiatrist? So far I've just booked to massage therapy appointments for my back, at my physiotherapist's request. In other news, the exercises are coming along. The pain isn't really improving or going away. The dry needling appointments are pure torture... I try my best to do as much as I can.

In the meantime, I've started cooking. I made quiche on Saturday from a recipe from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry. It was a pretty good recipe, using brown rice as the crust, and with a head of broccoli, roasted red peppers and swiss cheese. Yum!

On Sunday I roasted a chicken, following another ESBM recipe, the Roastess with the Mostess. I have a hard time doing roast chicken properly. It never cooks through, despite following the directions and using a meat thermometer. I think our chicken was still frozen on the inside, despite the fact it sat in the fridge for two days. The marinade was really tasty - lots of lemon and thyme flavour that carried through the meat.

I decided to stop wasting chicken carcasses, so I promptly cut off the leftover meat and tossed the chicken into water, along with some herbs, onions and carrots. I left the stock to simmer for 4 hours. I'm hoping to transform it into chicken soup tonight!

Same old, same old.

Not much is new with me. I'm not running yet. I'm still going to physio, though not much has changed. The pain is no longer in my foot, but in my back, pelvis and hips. She added in ultrasound to dull the back pain, which I absolutely love. Last week she buttered me up with the ultrasound and then did some dry needling... that was a bit of a shock to say the least!

I've been good about doing my McKenzie method exercises, which she calls cobras. It's a set of 10 yoga-like stretches for my lower back that I do lying on the floor. I even brought my yoga mat to work so I can do them in my office. But, I need to get better at doing the other exercises.

So I'm bribing myself: if I do the exercises every day for a week, I can buy myself the stainless steel waterbottle I want at Lululemon!

During my layoff from running I'm working on getting our house in order. I've started shredding old documents and organizing my filing. It's almost a spring cleaning mission! We bought a new cabinet for over the toilet, which has added some much needed storage to our bathroom. I'm looking forward to painting the bathroom in the near future, too! I really hate the colour in there... it kind of looks like pablum. I'm also trying to finish off some projects that I started and never completed... like lining all the shelves in our cupboards.

At this point I'm trying not to think about running.

Core Strength & Running

This blog post from Joe Friel provides convincing evidence on why it's important to have a strong core. The photos he posted of two people running on a treadmill shows the direct effects of a strong core vs. a weak core. Definitely worth a read.

Strengthening your core is something that all semi-serious runners know they have to do, but end up avoiding it for one reason or another. My experience is a pretty good example of why having a strong core is so important. If I'd taken the time to strengthen the muscles through my torso, I likely wouldn't be faced with the problems in my foot. All the wrong muscles were doing the work and the good muscles were paralyzed. Heck, even my diaphragm is doing the work of supporting my back instead of you know, breathing and stuff.

In other news, I went for my run last night. I set my Garmin pace alarm so I wouldn't go under 7 min/k. Boy, it was tough to run slow. I couldn't finish the 5K and had to walk once, but had no pain while running.

But, my foot is really hurting today. I'm pretty discouraged by the level of pain I have in my foot. I've unleashed the ice pack and am quietly working away on my exercises here at my desk.

Really now

Who schedules meetings at 4 o'clock? That's downright mean. I suppose it could be worse, as it could be a 4 o'clock meeting on a Friday. But really now, don't they know that I have things to do and places to be?

I would really like my first run back to be in the awesome sunshine and warm weather we're having right now.

Yes, that's right, I'm going for a run tonight. I'm so excited! I get to do 5K at a 7 minute/km pace. My physiotherapist wants to see how my body handles it. It's been almost exactly 2 months since my last run and it's been far too long.

I'll be sure to report back. :)

Could she be right?

I met my physiotherapist last night. She rocks!

She did a full assessment. She believes that I don't have a stress fracture! Hooray! She thinks my core muscles (glutes, piriformis, back etc.) are weak and not firing properly. I actually felt this in my abdomen. Thus it's putting pressure on my sciatic nerve and increasing the load for all the muscles below them (ankles, feet, knees). Running in the snow makes it worse, because my ankles and feet have to work extra hard to keep me balanced.

She thinks that this is why my foot hurts and it's why I keep getting recurring issues such as achilles tendonitis or plantar fasciitis. And, I believe her. I've known for awhile that I needed to work on my core, but I had no idea it was this bad. I pretty much sucked at all the stuff she did in the assessment, with my left side being worse than the right. Last night was like an epiphany!

The cure? Acupuncture and lots of strengthening exercises.

The best news of all? I should be able to start running in 2-3 weeks. She said I should be back to my old mileage quickly and that I should be able to run the half marathon in May.

Yippee!

Recovery time, excellent

I had my second round of x-rays yesterday. I snuck a peek at them and didn't see anything on them that cried out 'You have a stress fracture!'. I go for another follow-up with the sports medicine doctor on the 18th, so hopefully I'll have a diagnosis then. I've realized what's killing me is the uncertainty... that I can't move forward until I know what's going on and what to expect.

I've also learned that I'm fortunate in that it could be worse. I could have a stress fracture in way worse places, such as my tibia, hip or pelvic bone. Ouch!

I also know what I did wrong to do this to myself. I realized that I've worn my green superfeet insoles since I started running seriously 2 years ago. I was in physio at the time for a back/calf injury and she suggested that I lose weight and try superfeet insoles. That's what I did! So it really was stupid of me to run three times in a row without them, especially a 13K run. Those runs put a lot of stress and contortion on my lower leg muscles, resulting in injury.

I start physio tonight, which I'm looking forward to. I want to use this time to work on my muscle strength and imbalances. And of course, to lose those 10 lbs. that I put on over the past few months.

Bummed

I decided to continue the trend of posts starting with B. It made me smile, at least.

I'm bummed. I saw the doctor today. He and the other doctor-in-training were amazing. My foot is still really sore to touch, as I found out as they manipulated it and examined it. That was fun. I'm going for more x-rays, but they're fairly sure it's a stress fracture. I can't run for at least 2 more weeks until they re-evaluate me. Average recovery time is 6-8 weeks.

I also get to start physiotherapy, as my left foot/ankle is weak. I'm not really surprised to hear that, as my left side's been the problem half my entire life. I also wasn't surprised to hear the rest of the diagnosis, as it was pretty much what I'd expected.

I'm bummed because:
1. I was going to run the Winterman 10K on February 21st. I do get to transfer my entry to another race with Somersault... the problem is that I registered for all the races I wanted to run this year already.
2. My women's ultimate season is a wash. I paid $150 to play in the league and they don't do refunds, even for medical reasons.
3. When I get cleared to run again, I have to use a run/walk method to start, then rebuild my base by starting at 30 minutes + 10% a week.

But, the biggest reason why I'm bummed is that because of #3, running the half is in jeopardy. Hopefully the physio helps and I make a full and speedy recovery.

I'm thinking that it might be time to find a running coach... because doing this on my own doesn't seem to be working out too well.

Born to Run

I'm back from Hawaii! It was a wonderful vacation, full of sun, sand, and surf. Actually, I didn't go surfing, but spent plenty of time snorkeling. My foot feels much better and I am starting to test its limits by wearing heels for a bit during the day and walking for 30 minutes. I'm proud to say both were pain-free!

I must admit that the first two weeks of no running were pretty easy to swallow. The pain and extra-strength tylenols drove home the message that I was in no way, shape, or form, was I ready to run again. Now that the pain's gone, I want to run again. I head to the sports medicine clinic tomorrow for a follow-up. Hopefully I'll get some good news.

I spent a good deal of my vacation time reading. One of the books I'm currently polishing off is Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher MacDougall.

The main argument in the book is that modern running inventions and gadgets may have improved running times, but that running shoes cause more injuries than they prevent. Running shoes disconnect our brains from our bodies and that by interrupting this vital communication, runners get injured because they are unaware of their body's limits. Now he's not saying that everyone should throw their shoes out the window and prance down the street in bare feet (though that'd be pretty hilarious). But he does say that trying to follow the Tarahumara (the Hidden Tribe reference in the title) way of running and living can pay off if you can do it. He also debunks the claim that humans weren't mean to run long distances.

It's been a very interesting and informative read. The book does a great job of giving the reader an overview of the history behind ultrarunning (50K+ races) and how the sport has evolved over the past 20 years. The author chronicles his own adventures and his evolution from injured runner to ultrarunner. His journey is convincing evidence that the Tarahumaran lessons can pay dividends if you apply them correctly to your running and way of life.

Busy Bee

This week's been a little crazy on all fronts as we get ready to go away. Hubby and I are both very busy at work, especially as we try to wrap things up before we go away. I really don't enjoy the process of letting people know I'm leaving, prepping documents for my replacement, writing news releases for while I'm away... is it Friday yet?

So far the layoff from running has been palatable. It's easier for me to handle sitting on my butt since my foot starts to hurt if I walk too much. Before this happened I'd considered taking a week off completely in Hawaii. So it's a little bit easier to handle. Plus, I'm distracted because there's last-minute planning of activities on our trip. Like a luau, for instance. Or whale watching expeditions. Or renting snorkeling gear. I've been trying to knock off a few errands every day, high up on that list was treating myself to a new pair of Lululemon pants and some books for the flight.

There's still more to do, but Sunday's flight can't come soon enough!

Look Ma! No Cast!

All three doctors I saw think it's a stress fracture. But nothing showed on the x-ray, thankfully, which means it's not a very significant fracture. No cast or air boot for now! Cast-free Hawaii!

One of the problems with stress fractures is that they don't often appear on x-rays until 2-3 weeks later. So I get another series of x-rays when we get back. I'm going to try to get in with a sports medicine clinic, as they're often better to deal with on these types of injuries.

I need your help though... I need ideas for other types of exercise I can do. I know I can go to the pool and walk around there, or go to city pool and try deep water running. Does anyone have any other ideas?