Sidelined
By Linda
At some point during the New Orleans half, my right knee started to hurt. I tried changing up my stride, and did a silly hopping high-knees trot for a bit to try and ease any kinks out. I chalked it up to the sunshine, remembering the one day I did a long run in Seattle when the weather was fairly warm, and the aching stiffness I had in my knees towards the end. I told myself it didn’t really matter how much anything hurt, it was race day.
I was sore later that day, but not horribly so. It wasn’t until later that night that my knees—both of them, if I remember right—started hurting to the point where I got some ice from the machine down the hall and wrapped cold towels around my legs while I sat propped in the hotel desk chair.
They hurt the next day, too, but I took solace in the fact that at least I wasn’t as bad off as the girl I saw wearing a race shirt and limping stiff-legged up the stairs to her own hotel, each step accompanied by a little inward hiss of pain.
The Friday after I got back I ran 15 miles, having made the decision I was going to try for the full marathon. It wasn’t a very strong run. I was slow, and things hurt. My right knee again, and this time, my right hip too. I was so sore and stiff later that night I found myself walking like that girl I’d seen. Like an arthritic robot.
The next Monday I had my gym workout, and the trainer sent us through a punishing series of lunges, uphill treadmill intervals, stepmill sprints, and a bunch of other crap I’ve blocked out. My hamstrings moaned piteously for several days, while I tried to stretch out the discomfort with yoga.
I’ve only done two runs this week, and they hurt like hell. My knee hurts, but the real problem is in my hip. Earlier in the week when it was at its worst I could press my hand into the outside of my hip and feel something—a tendon? the faschia?—sort of kerchunking over the socket when I moved my leg back and forth. I don’t think it’s an IT band injury because the pain in my knee is right under the cap, not on the outside, but something’s clearly inflamed and Not Very Happy.
If I had to guess at what’s going on, I’d say that something caused an overuse injury during the race, maybe inflammation from the all-day plane ride the day before, maybe not being hydrated enough, who knows. The 15 miler probably exacerbated things, along with the tough gym workout.
So here I am with the marathon just weeks away, wondering what’s going to happen. Will this get better? How much pain is okay? Where do I draw the line?
According to my training schedule, I should be running 16 miles this weekend, but after thinking about it (and posing the question to Twitter) I’m going to skip it altogether. I kept hemming and hawing over whether it was wimpy to bow out, but finally asked myself what the worst case scenario was with either choice: don’t run, and be behind in training? Or run, and possibly make this injury a hell of a lot worse?
For now I’m staying off my running shoes altogether. I’m using my foam roller, I’m trying different shoes, I’m icing at night, I’m planning to get a massage ASAP. But if I’m going to run those 26.2 miles, I need to get back out there soon.
The thing that sucks the most about dealing with pain isn’t that I might not make the race—there will be other marathons, after all, this is not a once-in-a-lifetime chance—it’s that I’ve struggled so long with finding the discipline to go out on days when I don’t want to, and put in the miles when all I want to do is stop and walk. I’ve battled against my own brain so many times in order to find the motivation to keep going. And right now it’s really, really hard to figure out what the right thing to do is, and to feel okay about the choice I make. Because there is a big part of me that feels like I’m being weak, that I just need to push through the discomfort and suck it up. I feel like I hate my leg right now, like this body that’s performed so well is now betraying me. I’m angry, is what I am, and I can’t believe how stupid that sounds, but it’s true. I’m pissed, and I’m frustrated and disappointed and in completely unfamiliar territory.
March 13th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Not a runner at all but I am a massage therapist and I have definitely treated some runners with what I think you are describing. Do you have any shooting pains down the leg? To me it sounds like your piriformis is inflamed–very common running injury. It can cause knee pain, hip pain and the same symptoms as sciatica.
A massage will do you a lot of good–just make sure that your therapist does treatment massage. You do not want just a spa massage at this stage.
March 13th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
I, too, have a hip that has that little tendon-moving-over-a-bump thing all the time. I’ve been told (by a chiropractor and a physical therapist) that I have bursitis in that hip. I never know what exactly makes it worse, and I have a variety of hip-related discomforts (thanks, babies!) so I’m not sure if it is a primary symptom or a secondary one. But thankfully all my complaints are mild and don’t affect my life/workouts. If you push fairly hard right on that spot where you can feel the little popping thing, does it hurt? Mine sometimes flares up bad enough that I can’t lay on that side on a hard floor.
I hope you get it figured out so you can continue doing what you want. Be careful with yourself and feel good about whatever you choose to do–these are not decisions that will make or break your marathon goal, as you pointed out.
March 14th, 2010 at 1:25 am
That sucks – especially it happening so close after you made the decision to run the marathon. It’s always difficult to figure out whether you should run through something or rest (and fall behind on training) – but it sounds like resting is the right thing to do here.
Hope you feel better soon
March 14th, 2010 at 4:03 am
One of the hardest things about this sport – or any, I would think, but do not actually know — is the mental toughness. That includes BOTH going out and running when you don’t want to, and also being smart about when to train and when to not.
I get chronic ITB pain. It’s an overuse and understretching injury, and there is NOTHING I can do to make it go from “inflamed” to “not inflamed” if I don’t cease running, full stop. Pushing myself through training runs that hurt do not get me to the race.
Which is not to say I stop training. I ride my bike. I swim. I cross train until I can run again. But I’ve skipped races b/c of it, and I’ve been happy I did. There is nothing to prove by hobbling to the end of a race. If you’re going to go race, GO RACE. And you can’t if your legs are non functional.
So, stop. You have an overuse injury, so stop fricken using it. Feel good about being smart. Go back to the pool. If you have a nice morning, go for a bike ride. Make love to your foam roller. Take advil. Forgive yourself. Live to run another day.
(Also: you deserve a rest week after the NOLA half. Seriously. I was surprised your ran long again last week, given the race the week before. Your body needs to rest and recover. But it’s not a permanent state — just because you’re resting this week, doesn’t mean that you’re resting permanently. Take it one week at a time.)
March 14th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Sucky! I’m terrified of blowing a kneee, because I like to walk and run and bike!
I’m not at all an expert in this, but wanted to add that maybe you could train for running by using one of the float belts at the pool, and “running” in the pool? It’s training, and it’s aerobic, but it’s super low-impact.
Good luck!
March 14th, 2010 at 7:52 am
So sorry to hear you’re struggling with this. You have been such an inspiration to so many of us, me included. I’m sure will come out of this strong and ready to go after that marathon, whenever it may be. Good luck!
March 14th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Have you ever injured that foot? If your gait is slightly different, say slightly more to the outside on one foot than the other, it can throw off your alignment and cause overuse injuries. Next, your lower back will join the pain party.
See if you can get a gait analysis – and rest up! No good can come from pounding yourself right in to the ground.
March 14th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
I feel ya. I am SMACK DAB in the middle of training for a half and I came down with a respiratory virus CRUD FROM HELL and have not been able to train for over a week. I am FREAKING OUT because I need to be adding critical mileage to my training schedule.. but I just CAN’T. My body simply cannot do it. I think the best thing we can do in these situations is listen to our bodies until they feel well again- and then get back at it. Annoying, but the alternative is actually really hurting yourself possibly- or me collapsing in a heap a mile from my house and being eaten by wild dogs or something…
ACK! anyway, I feel ya.
March 14th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
It’s like the old song says, the knee bone is connected to the hip bone. Knee injuries commonly lead to hip injuries.
It’s hard missing a long run, especially when the date is looming and there’s not a lot of room for error, but it sounds like you’re making the right decision.
Don’t be too hard on yourself, two weeks rest is recommended after running a half and you haven’t given yourself any. You ran the half faster and harder than your training runs, that’s why it was harder on your body.
I imagine that the last thing you want is permanent injury, and you *have* the motivation to do this, it won’t just disappear (I promise).
And of COURSE you’re angry! This marathon is something you want and to be sidelined by something you didn’t expect and weren’t prepared for, well, it’s really frustrating.
There’s no saying that you won’t be out there next week for 16 miles, though. But if you aren’t? And if you don’t end up doing this right now? Try not to be too hard on yourself.
March 14th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
I think you’re making the right decision in resting your body. I know after my half I wanted to keep running and running, but I realized with my sore right hip that the smarter thing to do for my body was to rest. Good luck! (Unfortunately, my hip has never completely returned to normal and it’s been five months…now though the pain is just there if I push on it.)
March 14th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
I firmly agree with everyone – take the time you need to let your body heal. I know how frustrating it can be; I came thisclose to tearing my MCL a few months ago, and it was a long recovery period. I was off the ice for almost 5 weeks, and I had to modify all my activities to my abilities. Even now, I still have periodic twinges and a touch of weakness at times. But you won’t gain anything by pushing yourself. Take a rest, see a physiotherapist, and don’t push it! Like you said, there are other marathons out there. You’ve only got one set of knees.
March 14th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Wow, dude, this sucks alot. I won’t tell you what I think is right, because frankly, I don’t know what that is.
I had a similar (yet not identical) type of situation earlier this winter. Like Kristin, I’ve joined Crossfit recently (in November), and, for the first time in a long time, have been achieving some pretty exciting physical goals. Until I injured myself (my back) I hadn’t felt that good (or proud) in awhile.
In my particular situation, I checked with my Dr. and my coach and was advised that active therapy (light lifting and conditionning) was the right way to go. I won’t lie and say it didn’t suck….(it did) and that it was fast (it wasn’t) but after 5 weeks (not exactly awesome news, I Know) I now feel strong and relatively pain-free. My weights and times are almost back to pre-injury (almost).
I guess you’ll figure out soon what direction you’ll take. I hope it feels like a good decision to make at some point. Like so many others, I’ve really enjoyed reading about your recent success and have found myself inspired on a couple of occasions. It’s nice to have someone to chase sometimes.
Take care of yourself.
March 15th, 2010 at 5:57 am
Injuries suck. Unfortunately, I think it is pretty common when you start running long distances. I run with three other women and all of us have dealt with things like knee and hip pain, IT band, achilles, plantar facitis (sp) when we started adding distance. I “ran” through knee pain for about a year and am paying the price now. If the pain persists after a few days off, I wouldn’t wait to get it checked out by a massage therapist, OT or chiropractor. Often, there are stretches and leg muscle exercises you can do to target the problem area. I had to stick to a pretty rigorous quad strengthening plan combined with reduced pace and distance runs for about six weeks but it has really helped my knee pain. Good luck!
March 15th, 2010 at 5:57 am
Sorry to hear about this setback. Just be cautious- you don’t want to injure yourself to the point of not being able to run (or walk) in the future.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:51 am
Oh…this is not good news but, unfortunately, it’s so common in long distance running! Welcome to the world of marathons and injuries. Seriously. Both are mentally difficult in their own ways.
You have GOT to listen to your body. I had a marathon all lined up for May (my 7th but the first one in about a decade), started a good training program, was cruising along nicely and then bam! injured with a totally NEW ailment. I took a month off with drugs and a shot and am now the proud owner of custom orthotics.
So, I begin again….for a fall marathon.
It sucks but it’s the life of a long-distance runner and I’m sticking with it until I simply can’t.
March 15th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Running is a cruel birch mistress. It seduces you and thrills you and makes you think, “yes, I CAN do this, and just about anything else, for that matter!”
And then before you know it you’re hobbling between your bed and the bathroom and wondering if you’ll ever run again.
March 15th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Sorry, I meant to write, “running is a cruel biTch mistress.” Anyway, I’m sure others have recommended her, but Dr. Mama’s website has some excellent (and pretty aggressive) advice about when it’s ok to run injured. For what it’s worth.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Rest and continue cross training. You’d be surprised how well you can keep your fitness level up and not lose too much if you are diligent about it. However, I will say don’t do the elliptical machine. It’s not high impact like running but it uses a lot of the same muscle motion. Injuries suck but as someone said, it’s pretty much part of the whole running thing at some point or another.
March 16th, 2010 at 11:22 am
I just read about pool running as a way to keep up the training through certain injuries – not sure if this is one of them, but the article said that most people who take up pool running end up faster runners as a result of it.
March 20th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Get yourself to a good massage therapist and a good chiropractor (who takes x-rays) PRONTO! Trust me. So worth it.
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:02 am
I can totally relate to how you are feeling. I had a similar hip injury- thought to be bursitis and it took about two weeks of total rest and then mini run/walk combos for another two weeks before it felt normal again. Even now it flares up if I am not stretching properly and I think “Oh no you don’t! I can’t stop now” but the truth is sometimes you have to.
August 25th, 2011 at 9:01 am
valcambi ny guldtacka…
[...]5 I’m enjoying the new design of your website. It’s a very easy on the ey ve[...]…
August 27th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
scott campbell vuitton…
[...]y This design is incredible! You obviously know how to keep a reader amused. bp[...]…