I hate to use the term “Reality Bites” but as runners & athletes we want our body to move at 110% all the time. We work hard and give as much as we can manage in the limited amount of time we are able to carve out of work, family, life, and the dreaded commute.
At the point in time when we realize that our body doesn’t have a 110% to give, we must then deal with reality. Not ignore the situation but deal with it so it does not get worse. Hear me? If you are hurting, listen to your body and do something about it.
I’m 2 days away from the race that I ran the very fastest last year, the Devil Dash 5K in Peotone. On May 14, 2011, I ran this race in 22:17, which is smokin’ fast for me! I’d like to run well this year. I have no idea if I can run a 22:17, I’d hazard as guess as to NO, probably not. I’m not particularly fast this year, not particularly slow either but just hanging in the mediocre range. However, my left hip is screaming at me.
Did I mention that I tripped over a raised crack in the sidewalk three days before my last half marathon? Stock photo, not “my” crack. That sounds really bad, doesn’t it?
Yeah, I “probably” forgot to mention it. Well, I jammed up my left hip because I’m clumsy and I tripped. I have been stretching, icing & taking motrin but this hip never properly recovered from Mr. Michael’s birth so it leans toward the damaged side on a good day. I had bad big issues with it last spring, which I attributed to “overuse”. That’s what everyone else wants to blame but I seriously don’t think that is the real cause. Hello, Mr. Michael. Anyhow, I firmly believe that this hip issue is also the root of my Plantar Fasciitis, which still lingers in a muted state most of the time even with the expensive orthotics, the treatments & the 2 cortisone shots I’ve had over the last 6 months.
So reality hit last night when my “tight” hip started burning during our run. Yep, had to cut my favorite run of the week short. I left after 8 miles to go home and cry soak in an ice bath. I’m calling Alexis L for an emergency miracle session as soon as I’m done bitching with this post. I’m not happy but I know it could be far worse, like Lisa E pedaling her axx off on the stationary bike with her broken foot cuz she can’t run. Or a high school alum of mine who won’t be participating in the Olympic Trials (or London) cuz of nagging injuries. As always, reality bites.
How long do you wait before contacting a doc regarding a nagging “tightness” or pain? I always think it will work itself out but I’m still waiting and its been 14 days. The “tightness” keeps getting worse not better. Not the direction I’d like to move. Any chance I can run super fast on SAT after a miracle magic chiro session?
I’m off to call the chiro! Let’s hope I can get in….
Happy PAIN FREE Running ** Amanda – TooTallFritz ** amanda@tootallfritz.com
TooTallFritz 
Just had a reality bites moment myself yesterday. Went to the Chrio for chronic left hamstring/butt pain and my leg falling asleep every other minute and was told that I have Spondylolisthesis, which basically means a bone (vertebra) in the lower part of the spine slips out of the proper position onto the bone below it. And everything is tilted forward and my pelvis tips to the left ( making me longer on my left leg) Oh and I have arthritis starting on my right hip ( I am only 47) WOW now what??
It’s always something, isn’t it? Good luck with your issues. Hopefully you can figure out how best to handle it and are pain free in the future. 🙂
I call Alexis long before the pain starts!!!!
I’m of the “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality and Ms. Alexis has hours that conflict with mine. Hard for me to be there when she is around. I have FT working mom hours, a 3+ hour commute each day, plus I try to squeeze in some sort of workout most days. I NEED MORE HOURS IN MY DAY!
I am also of the “it will be FINE” club, but when it’s NOT getting better, then I make the call. waa waaa waaaah… Good luck Saturday!
Totally agree. I respect the aches & pains, know that I’m aging and things are changing but when it hurts, it hurts & you have to figure it out. I’ve ignored other issues in the past to only cause more problems further down the road.
You really “spoke to me” with this post Too Tall! 🙂 I have had a nagging shin pain for a couple of months and kept thinking stretching etc would help. Finally tried physical therapy, more stretches, took a week off running (big frown….), it felt better, ran a little, it started coming back, went to the Doc and had x-rays, nothing shows, was told to take another week off and take Aleve and report back. Of course the pain is gone, I have reported and am waiting for the call back that says – Run your axx off Cynde! 🙂 It is so hard to sit still or quit doing something that has made a difference in your life – I’m so scared it will take me forever to get back on track by the time they say I can really get moving again. So thanks for helping me feel like I am not the only one in this type of situation (Lisa E is also a friend of mine and has done the same, unbeknownst to her!) I love following you thanks to her!
Welcome, Cynde! So glad Lisa got you on board!! You are totally not alone. I try to think about how my friend feels who competed in the Beijing Olympics and is injured and can’t even make it to the track & field trials this time. I’m sure she is coping just fine but it kinda freaks ME out. I do this for fun, for fitness and I try to keep it in perspective but it becomes a way of life and we all fear sliding back into the abyss of what once was….NOT cool, so keep focused and know you’ll be back at it soon enough. Do what you can do now by focusing on eating fresh, healthy foods, resting, icing, using the motrin & drinking your water. This too shall pass, right? Good luck & keep me posted!
Hope the hip feels better soon. Nothing worse than something that just will not go away. I tend to hate doctors in general and avoid it as much as possible if I think it’s something that just needs rest…of course that is super hard too!
I would like to think that I’m erring on the side of caution. 🙂 I’m sure everything is fine, I just need to be stretched out and loosened up, right? LOL! I do need to work on some flexibility issues…..seems that has flown out the window since Baby #2 entered the picture.
TTF…just be cautious. No…you can’t expect to run your fastest with some recent trauma like that and not recommended you try to run your fastest. Run it by “feel” and whatever that pace that keeps the hip relatively comfortable…stay with it…or if it hurts….give it up and stop and drop!
Mr Michael might qualify as “over-use”….at least in the sense best to factor in not only the running volume, frequency, distance and intensity as factors in over-use, but those other things in non-running life that put stress and load on the body…and that includes mental stress at work and from hectic or stressed family life.
When an acute trauma occurs, whether from running or from activities around home or work, one has to treat that accordingly and adjust the run training or racing to permit adequate healing of the acute injury, or it has all the potential to turn into a chronic injury that results in prolonged time off from running or racing.
You are doing well in recognizing both the incidents that were the initial cause as well as how body feels and responds when you run. Adjust….adjust….adjust! Just like a marathon is run one-foot-in-front-of-the-other, one-mile-at-a-time, so too is the process dealing with hurts and injury. Deal with the acute first (i.e. trip-related injury), then when convinced the initial trauma from that fall has had enough time to heal, then focus on the chronic aspects of that hip that you think goes back to Mr. Michael’s arrival. That’s the more cryptic side of the equation you will need to spend a lot of thought and keep close tabs on to make adjustments as you go along with run training and racing.
I just stopped running after I got Boston run on April 16th and haven’t run since. Probably won’t cure anything, but it sure will go a long way to giving this old body a reprieve and maybe just enough to resume training without so much “dancing-with-the-devil” to contend with. If you don’t know what DWTD is….then it would have to be a separate and lengthy post. But one of the key operatives is….”pay me now, or pay me later”….that’s how the devil works! LOL!
peace,
Thanks. I’ve known it’s been an issue for a while but I keep trying to get one more season out of it. The problem being that I’m always “in” season. I like to move all year round and do so at a decent level of fitness and performance. Not ideal for this aging momma body. Pay me now or pay me later…..H Yeah, that’s how it works. I’m currently moving thru on a few IOUs. 🙂
Ugh! I hope the chiro helps! Did he? I know it’s your hip bugging you now, but man, does PF pain ever go away? My left foot has been bugging me since last summer… and it’s almost summer again?
I fell down the stairs three weeks ago and my knee still hurts where I feel! Damn us klutzes!
I see the chiro tomorrow. I told her I’d bring the fairy dust if she’d bring the wand. I’ve heard from others that she can CURE the PF. Obviously I have doubts since I’ve had it since early last summer too. It stinks. I’ll keep you posted.
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