I am just recently off the “injured list.” It had been about 6 years since I had a minor muscle issue that forced me to take a couple weeks off and nearly 10 years since I had my stress fracture that took 5 months to heal. There is nothing worse for a runner than being told not to run, except simply being UNABLE to run!
Here’s what happened…
Exactly 2 weeks before the Lincoln Half Marathon I had the stupid idea to run my last long run on the treadmill. It was windy--really windy! One of those days that even running WITH the wind would have been miserable. My running friend reluctantly agreed to run inside and try do 8 instead of our 12 and so we met at the gym and started to run. Other than being really boring as usual, it was going pretty well for me. I was reading on my iPad and Tanya watched a movie. When we got to 8 I hopped off for more water and thought maybe I would try 10 and see how it felt because it was going pretty well so far. Within another 5 minutes I was wishing I had stopped.
I had a horrible pain in my right butt cheek that didn’t go away when I stopped and walked and stretched. I foolishly tried once more and actually thought I had worked it out but found myself forced to stop at about 9 miles. I literally limped home and was in disbelief at the amount of pain I had the rest of the night.
And when I woke up the next morning, it was worse. It hurt to walk. Sitting was ok. Standing not bad. Sleeping fine. But each step was misery. I went to my chiropractor twice that week but it didn’t improve. Toward the end of the week, I thought it was feeling better enough to try running. But when I couldn’t run even a couple blocks I limped home crying. And whatever “improvement” I thought was there went up in flames.
And I was unable to walk without pain for 2 weeks before it started to improve slightly. I was crushed and in disbelief...no Lincoln Half! I wasn’t even at the point that I could be foolish and run/walk it. I thought I would never run again...seriously!
After visiting a sports med doctor and a neurologist I learned that I had a pinched nerve in my butt--the piriformis muscle was compressing the nerve. Dr. Saw called it piriformis syndrome. I eventually started physical therapy with Jen McBride, who I had seen in 2006 with my stress fracture! She is awesome. I only had to see her for about 4 weeks, and with the ultrasound and Graston treatments, along with exercises and stretches, I was able to start to get back on track. I even “ran” the Bolder Boulder and it wasn’t my worst time! (Click here for some great photos!)
Exactly 2 weeks before the Lincoln Half Marathon I had the stupid idea to run my last long run on the treadmill. It was windy--really windy! One of those days that even running WITH the wind would have been miserable. My running friend reluctantly agreed to run inside and try do 8 instead of our 12 and so we met at the gym and started to run. Other than being really boring as usual, it was going pretty well for me. I was reading on my iPad and Tanya watched a movie. When we got to 8 I hopped off for more water and thought maybe I would try 10 and see how it felt because it was going pretty well so far. Within another 5 minutes I was wishing I had stopped.
I had a horrible pain in my right butt cheek that didn’t go away when I stopped and walked and stretched. I foolishly tried once more and actually thought I had worked it out but found myself forced to stop at about 9 miles. I literally limped home and was in disbelief at the amount of pain I had the rest of the night.
And when I woke up the next morning, it was worse. It hurt to walk. Sitting was ok. Standing not bad. Sleeping fine. But each step was misery. I went to my chiropractor twice that week but it didn’t improve. Toward the end of the week, I thought it was feeling better enough to try running. But when I couldn’t run even a couple blocks I limped home crying. And whatever “improvement” I thought was there went up in flames.
And I was unable to walk without pain for 2 weeks before it started to improve slightly. I was crushed and in disbelief...no Lincoln Half! I wasn’t even at the point that I could be foolish and run/walk it. I thought I would never run again...seriously!
After visiting a sports med doctor and a neurologist I learned that I had a pinched nerve in my butt--the piriformis muscle was compressing the nerve. Dr. Saw called it piriformis syndrome. I eventually started physical therapy with Jen McBride, who I had seen in 2006 with my stress fracture! She is awesome. I only had to see her for about 4 weeks, and with the ultrasound and Graston treatments, along with exercises and stretches, I was able to start to get back on track. I even “ran” the Bolder Boulder and it wasn’t my worst time! (Click here for some great photos!)
My last PT visit with Jen was last Friday. She put me on the treadmill to video record my running form. It was very interesting to analyze foot strike, arm swing, hip drop, head and shoulder position and more! As it turns out, I have pretty good and efficient mechanics. I just need to work on my arm swing a little.
Even with all the advice from the doctors and Jen, I still blame the treadmill for my injury! Maybe reaching my arm out to turn the page for 90 minutes wasn’t a good thing.
So what did I learn? I am not invincible. I shouldn’t push the envelope. It’s okay to miss a run--even a long run 2 weeks before my race. It’s not the end of the world to miss a race, even if I trained for 10 weeks. It’s okay to be slower than I was last year. My advice? Enjoy every run you have, because you never know if you will have to take 5 weeks (or more) off!
Even with all the advice from the doctors and Jen, I still blame the treadmill for my injury! Maybe reaching my arm out to turn the page for 90 minutes wasn’t a good thing.
So what did I learn? I am not invincible. I shouldn’t push the envelope. It’s okay to miss a run--even a long run 2 weeks before my race. It’s not the end of the world to miss a race, even if I trained for 10 weeks. It’s okay to be slower than I was last year. My advice? Enjoy every run you have, because you never know if you will have to take 5 weeks (or more) off!