Another Pesky Injury

After the 2007 Richmond Marathon, my knee continued to hurt and I had issues going up and down stairs. At Thanksgiving we went to the Philadelphia area to visit with Melissa's family. We had started a new tradition the year before. On Thanksgiving day, we would all wake up early and participate in the Gobble Wobble which was a local 5K. I had run the year before and had a great time. We had a sizable group of walkers and runners. I suited up for the race but I would be taking it very easy. I hobbled through the race and managed to finish. Afterwards we went back to the house to enjoy a gourmet breakfast at Melissa's sister's house. I would be remiss if I did not mention the great food cooked by Scott. While we were all out at the Gobble Wobble he was home cooking up all the great food.

I knew that when I got back to Richmond after Thanksgiving, I would be going to the doctor to have my knee checked out. In the meantime, I devoured the copy of Trail Runner magazine that I had brought with me on the trip. I envied the people featured in the stories in the magazine. I so much wanted to be like them. Super endurance athletes who could run mountain trails forever with no injuries. Another thing I did was research. The Internet is a great place to get some preliminary self diagnoses.

I decided that I had something called Iliotibial Band Syndrome or IT Band Syndrome for short. IT Band Syndrome is an overuse injury that affects the knee or in some cases just below the hip. I often had pain in my IT Band up near my hip area. I will provide a link to more information about the injury at the end of this installment.

When I got back to Richmond I decided not only to go to the doctor but to find an actual primary care physician instead of simply going to Patients First. My good friend Chris recommended his doctor at Altius Family and Sports Medicine. I went to see Doctor Law and was very impressed with everyone at the office and I really liked the doctor. He examined me and basically confirmed my self diagnosis. He recommended icing and stretching. The icing and stretching did not work out too well as I continued to have pain. So on a second visit he prescribed physical therapy.

Now it turns out, I have weak hip abductors, weak glutes, and my core is not as strong as it could be also. The combination of these weaknesses and all the miles I put in created my IT Band problem. The physical therapists put me through a routine of exercises to strengthen all my weaknesses and to work on my core. They also tried to identify all the causes of my issues and did ultrasound on my IT Band. I was told that I had very stiff ankles and that could be a contributor. After a few months of therapy, I was able to start running again.

But I was not totally cured. I started wearing an IT Band Strap that some runners wear to help diffuse the pressure and thus reduce pain. I was much better though and was able to run a few miles during the week and do some longer runs on the weekend. In March of 2008, I ran the Shamrock Half Marathon again. I had not really done a lot of training but I still was able to run 1:51:56 which was pretty good all things considered. It was my 4th half Marathon but my 1st Shamrock was still my PR. Someday maybe I will beat it.

After the Shamrock, I started riding my mountain bike a lot more. I decided to try to put in more bike miles to see how that affected my IT Band which still hurt after 7 or 8 miles or running. Shortly after the Shamrock Half, I ran the Monument Avenue 10K again. I wanted to beat 46 minutes and I was just shy with 46:01. So close.

After these races, I saw an ad for a race that sounded like a lot of fun. It was the National Duathlon Championship and it was being held here in Richmond. In a Duo (as they are called), participants do a run, then bike, then run. This particular race had a road and off road category. I signed up for the off-road of course. I had not really trained for this race but I had done a half marathon and 10k so I thought I would be up to the task. And I was-well sort of.

The day of the race it was the the hottest it had been all year. Of course right? The first leg of the race was a 10K. Since this was a National Championship, most of the other participants were pretty serious athletes with training plans, special diets, coaches, and serious determination. For me, I was approaching it as another day in the park. I really had not trained for this kind of race and was probably not really prepared. At the gun, the other racers took off like shots out of canon. They really pushed the pace. The 10K course was 2 laps. When I came around for my first lap, I saw my wife and a friend. I mentioned that it was so hot and they could tell I was hurting already. The heat had really put a zap on me. I knew I was going to be near the end if not totally last in this race so I tried to have as much fun as possible. Here is a picture showing how I try to have fun.

I finished the first run portion and got ready for the bike portion. The bike course is a killer but I was very familiar with it and had been riding portions of it over the last couple of weeks. Knowing the course probably saved me from total failure. I already knew it was going to be a long race because I was struggling at the end of the first run portion. But I was not prepared for what was coming.

On the first little climb on Belle Island, my right calf had a little twinge. I was not sure if it was a cramp, spasm, or what. It was not enough to stop me and I continued with the climb and completed the Belle Island loop. Then as I made my way down the flat gravel path that leads from Belle Island to the Buttermilk trail, I got a shooting pain in my calf. I knew that this was a terrible calf cramp. It was so bad that I ditched the bike and was lying on my back in the mud in serious pain. Other participants who were sharing the back of the pack with me said, "are you ok?" as they passed. I would say my pain level was definitely above 5, maybe 7. But I said, "Yeah, just a cramp." It really did not matter what I said, they were not going to stop anyway.

I stretched my calf as best I could. It would have been better if I had someone there to stretch it for me. I was not very far into the bike portion and I was in bad shape already. I drank a bunch of water and Gatorade and ate two PowerGels. I felt a little better after stretching so I started back down the path on my bike. I had never quit a race up to this point but it was crossing my mind. I imagined calling Melissa on her cell phone and telling her that I was hurting and would be dropping out. But I didn't. I kept going.

The next section I had to ride was very difficult and had a lot of what hikers call "Pointless Up and Downs." Lots of altitude gain and loss but you don't really get anywhere. I knew the course though and that helped. I actually passed a couple of people in Forest Hill Park. So far in the race, I had only passed 1 person who was having mechanical problems. Two guys I passed were pushing their bikes. I too had to push up one or two of the steepest hills.

Without going into too much detail, I finished the 16 mile mountain bike ride through the legendary technical course in the James River Park system and set out on the last 5K run. It was super hot by now. I ran as best I could. My body did not ache like it did at the end of the Marathon. I was simply out of gas. At the water stops, I stopped and drank several cups of water and splashed a few on my head to try to keep cool. Towards the end of the race, I think I may have stopped sweating. Looking back, I had not prepared enough. Not just with my training but with my diet and hydration. In order to stay hydrated during a race, it is important to stay hydrated in the weeks leading up to the race. I had not really paid enough attention.

But I did finish in 2:08:54. And I was not in last place. There were 49 people who finished ahead of me and 11 that finished behind me. Not too bad in my book considering I ride a desk 5 days a week and did not really do race specific training. I was pretty spent after this race but I managed to raise my hands in triumph at the finish. Also there is always next year.

This race would be my last race of 2008. After this race, it was time to gear up for another challenge although very different. So stay tuned for the next installment. Thanks for reading. Here is the link I promised.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/307850-overview