IT bands, achilles, and metatarsals...OH MY!

What does an IT band, an Achilles tendon, and a 4th metatarsal have in common?!

Well...if they are located on my body, specifically on the right side...they've been injured at one time or another during my training. (and...each injury was probably due to me making a stupid training choice/error)

~IT band: in September of 2009 as my training drew to a close for Marathon #1 (Chicago in October of 2009)...I was completing one of my longer training runs with some new friends in the Lake Run Club Marathon Training group...it was 18 miles or so...and for some unknown reason, I decided to really push it for that last mile. I was all full of adrenaline or something, and took off for that final mile. I ended up running that final mile in just over 7 minutes (which, for me, was a feat :)). What do ya know...that week I started having knee problems. UGH!!

~Achilles tendon: Last fall (2010), prior to marathon #3 (Quad Cities)...I was still having some knee issues. Leading up to the marathon, I spent a lot of time in the pool swimming laps and pool jogging thanks to my knee. I ended up finishing the marathon quite strong (for me!) and even PR'ed. The day after, though, my ankle bothered the crap outta me. The next Saturday, pain and all, I ran a 5k...Run the Woods. I was running it with some co-workers and had really talked it up. There was no way, in my mind, that I wasn't going. I even got 2nd in my age group! The following week the ankle hurt even more...so I had it checked out by a sports doctor. Turns out I had some nasty Achilles tendinitis, complete with that really fun crunching sound when ya move (crepitus...a fun word).

~Metatarsal...specifically #4...currently I am dealing with a lovely stress fracture. I am reluctant to admit that it is likely "my own fault". Last Sunday I ran 2 5k's. I ran the first one in 22:52, which boils down to 7:22ish minute miles. Honestly, in the grand scheme...that's nothing all too impressive. However, it was a 5k PR for me...and it happened to be a relatively small, event...and I ended up being the top female finisher! This event was at 1pm in the afternoon...and there was a second 5k across town at 2:30. I am sure you know where this is going. I thought...why not? I ran the second one a bit slower (24ish minutes)....but after just about 1 mile, I started to feel some pain in my right foot. I did slow my pace a bit, but it honestly didn't hurt badly enough to stop (or so I thought). When I finished (I was the 4th female finisher in this event and the 15th finisher overall....this event was quite a bit bigger than the 1st)....I was DEFINITELY "feeling it"! It was pretty miserable walking about a mile to where my car was parked. I went to see a PT this week who ran ultrasound over it...apparently stress fractures do not show up on x-rays until about 3 weeks after the fact when they've begun to heal and you can see the new ossification of the bone. Apparently, though, if you run ultrasound over it...it causes the bones to vibrate, resulting in pain. While I wouldn't classify the ensuing "pain" as "severe", it was definitely uncomfortable....so, I'm in a walking boot right now. Pretty awesome, and pretty hot!

SO....it is looking like, unfortunately, the half marathon at the U of I will not be happening for me next Saturday. I am trying not to think about it too much so as not to be really sad about it. Truth is, I am super bummed. My sister and Jeremy are running...I am definitely still planning to go, and will likely just see if I can volunteer at a water station or something.

I'm hoping to make it to the Lake Run in a week (which would be three weeks after the stress fracture began)...but we'll see. If not, I'll just man a water station there too. Guess I'll just embrace the opportunities as lessons in humility, eh?

My first tri is one month away...precisely four weeks from today. I've been keeping up the swimming and biking ends of things (just got back from a 13 mile bike ride, actually, and am presently icing my foot on the couch :)). I sincerely hope to make it...we'll see.

Well...I plan to keep on keepin' on! Hopefully my body cooperates :)

I GOT TO GO ON A RUN!

Ok, in all actuallity....what I did last night can really barely "count" as "a run" ;). But, hey, after 3 weeks (who can believe it?!) of NOT RUNNING...I will take what I can get!

Yesterday I saw my PT, David, over at the SEC. He did some ultrasound therapy on my achilles and inspected things, etc. He decided by the end of the examination that I should try running that evening.

He said it should be on a treadmill, as it had more "give" than the pavement. So, I made mental plans immediately to go to the gym the second I got off of work. He instructed me to do 5 minutes of running at a 5-6 mile-per-hour pace, followed by 2-3 minutes of walking. He told me to repeat this interval so I completed it a total of 3 times.

As soon as I got off of work, I headed over to Four Seasons 2. I hopped on a treadmill and walked 5 minutes to warm up (at a 3 mph pace). I then upped the mph to 6 (so a 10 minute/mile pace. Painfully slow ;) ). Almost immediately I felt some mild-moderate pain in my right Achilles.

Darn it all.

I pushed through it...it truly wasn't severe, just a nagging mild-moderate pain.

5 minutes walking ("warm up")
5 minutes running.
2 minutes walking.
5 minutes running.
2 minutes walking.
5 minutes running.
2 minutes walking.

...for a grand total of 26 minutes. I ended up going for 2.05 miles.

It wasn't pretty.

It wasn't comfortable.

My mind screamed "faster! faster! faster!"

But...

That little taste of my much-loved friend running brought a bit of joy to my day.

(I should add that I got up at 4:30am to go to a 5:15am "hour of power" spinning class at the gym yesterday, too :). So, I did get a "real" workout in on top of the baby-running-adventure :) ).

I popped some ibuprofin to hopefully bring down some swelling last night.

The Achilles is "creaking" again today.

Ugh.

We'll see....

Praying for healing...and doing my best to follow the doctors' and PT's instructions and work hard to work through this.

Oh, Marathon 4...I want to register for you...but I must have patience...

Little hiatus

Well...my doctor's appointment on Wednesday afternoon went well. The doctor I saw was very nice...and I think was a little amused by me/my apparent craziness. After hearing me rattle on and on about my history/symptoms/what I've been doing about things lately...he says, "So you are a runner." I responded, "Well I try." He replied, "You run when it hurts. That means you're a real runner." Well, pin a rose on my nose ;). The fact that that statement gave me a little delight probably means I have some sort of issues ;).

So, the worst pain lately has been the suspected Achilles tendinitis. Turns out, my PT friends Jamie and Jillian were correct and I am indeed presenting with Achilles tendinitis (which, if you've never experienced this, is SUPER painful. We're talking...I was wearing flip flops even in the cold because I couldn't stand to have anything pressing on the back of my ankle/heel). The doctor prescribed methylprednisolone, a steroid. I took six pills Wednesday night after filling the script with my good friend Lynden at CVS in Normal :), five pills yesterday, and will take four today (have taken one so far). Boy oh boy. Yesterday I had an awful headache that I am "blaming" on the drugs, but who knows. Of course "headache" is a potential side effect of the drugs...but headaches are side effects of pretty much EVERY drug I feel like! So, who knows if it's related at all or not ;). However....the pain in my Achilles is extremely diminished. So, that's awesome! It was hurting just to take a step!

I have to wait to run until I am completely pain-free...and then wait two days past the feeling of being pain-free. So, could be over a week. So far, I'm surviving ;).

I went out for a run on Tuesday night...I received a text from my good friend Ashley who told me she had just gone out and run five miles for the first time EVER in her life! I was SUPER proud of her...but it also made me really jealous (ok, that is an awful, awful thing to admit...but it is true!) and I thought to myself, "Why CAN'T I just go out for a nice little five-mile jog?" SO, I hurried home from work, quickly changed into running gear and hit the road. It felt great (mentally)...but my body felt awful. My form had to be completely heinous-looking. I truly hope that no one I knew saw me out there running! Not pretty at all. But, it got the job done :). It had been NINE days since the previous run....

Here's my running performance in the past few weeks:
1. Sunday, September 26--Quad Cities Marathon: 3:53:51 finishing time...8:56 pace....227/695 finishers....58/256 women......12/49 in my division...and a PR!!! :) :)
2. Saturday, October 2--Run the Woods: 25:46.1 finishing time....8:19 pace.....51/184 runners and 2nd in my age group (I would like to point out that this was 26 seconds faster than my Run the Woods time last year...which is impressive in my mind because last year I ran the race the weekend before the Chicago Marathon...and this year I ran it the weekend AFTER the Quad Cities Marathon, following knee issues and in the midst of some pretty painful Achilles tendinitis! Woot!)
3. Tuesday, October 12--I ran five miles at a 10 min/mile pace (UGH!) just to keep my sanity and to "say goodbye" to running for a while until my body is fixed.

So, just 34.3 miles in the past 3 weeks...when I am used to doing that many miles (give or take a few here or there) in one week!

So...goodbye for a few days (hopefully not WEEKS), dear running! Hope to see you SOON! :)

Maybe I'll have to figure out some sort of other hobby/vice to keep myself occupied ;).