Injured Athlete Mojo Thread
Hi Folks. As I was running circles around the deep end of the YMCA Pool this morning, I tried to summon up some EN Mojo by thinking about all of you who are also out there suffering through an injury. It then occurred to me that there are actually quite a few of us who are forced into some sort of "stand down" operation right now, but we are spread all over the place (NOVOS, OCTOS, JANOS, No OS, etc).
Soooo- I thought I'd start a little thread where those of us who are dealing with the agony of not being able to train might help each other keep our recovery Mojo going!
I'll start. I've been dealing with a calf issue for about 9 months now. The muscle never tore (no "complete release) and so instead of just tearing, resting, and healing completely I seem to be just re-aggravating it over and over again. I've taken time off from running completely in the past, but the issue still returns. With IMWI looming, I know I gotta get a real fix going. So I'm gonna take 4 weeks off from running & biking and will re-dedicate myself to yoga/massage/core/ice/compression. To keep from going insane I'm gonna swim and do pool running.
I think the hardest part about this injury is that it is so devilishly tricky. It leads me to believe it's better- and then tempts me back to running (or biking) before I'm really ready. So where I really need YOUR help is in keeping me honest about waiting until the time is really really really is ready to return SLOWLY to activity again!
Oh- and if your a pool runner- my advice is to get an Otterbox (or other mp3 waterproof dealio). Music makes all the difference!
So who else is out there? Common, help a gal out. I need some EN Recovery Mojo!!!
Comments
Ok Nemo, you know I'm with you! So sorry to hear about your calf acting up! You are doing the right thing! The tough part will be when it starts to feel better- , you'll want to go run. But don't! Great idea to start the thread
I have been dealing with my knee since May. Prior to that, Had tendonitis in my foot ( which I was told was not managed properly was never put in a boot) turned into a stress fx ( 7-8 months). Finally got over that. Part of treatment for foot was new custom orthotics. Turns out, overcorrected on r foot, so when I started running again, knee started acting up, Took me a while to realize it was orthotics, had them corrected. things settled down again, started to pick up training again. Then i went to AZ in November, my favorite places to train, and probably overdid it
. So Here I am again. Things have settled down a bit, not great yet but better. Trying to hold back, so i don't go down the path again. I have an Ortho appt 1/27, just cause it has been going on way too long. I have been working with my ART which is great.
When knee started giving me problems in May, kind of gave up, went into a dark place, didn't want to do anything. Gained a bunch of weight.. I have been out of my dark place for a little bit, but have been more focused in last few weeks. Just ready to be over all this.
I'm also going to post something on the medical forum, see if those guys have something to add.
In the meantime, Yoga, stretching, rolling, core, are my focus. I am going to do some bike workouts to see how it does. i'll also be spending lots of time in the pool.
Hang in there
When is your "resume activity" date, that always helped me, a "start" date! the mental
part is the hardest.... I illustrate!
as some of you know, I have been trying to get rid of piriformis: a most annoying, irksome, irritating, debilitating, painful, aching feeling that radiates down my hamstring starting from the glute centered in a small radius of pain that I just want to take a butter knife and dig out myself!!
..... now I am in the Jan OS along with Nemo and we committed to not be "negative in our training" as that right there is such a mental downer....so I will reword that!
I have made great progress with my piriformis, the ol' pain in the butt! fortunately, I only have it on one side which leaves me with a whole right healthy leg!!
Because of this challenge, I have been able to discover so much about myself mentally and physically while scouring the internet and local sources for fixes! Tennis balls, foam rollers, exercises, ultrasounds, ice, massage, prednisone, rest, aleve, and all manner of glute/hip strengthening have enabled me to get to know some more people 
, to be thankful when I don't have any pain and give me a bit more time to do some admin stuff at my house and even clean out some closets! and I rejoice in this ten degree cold snap we are having in the mornings as the cold just numbs both running legs and I can't feel the piriformis anymore! While at PT, I truly am thankful that I don't have X or Y or whatever else ails those people... I haven't had surgery and haven't been in a car wreck, why no, mine is just from training!! one day, very soon.... I am gonna run and not have any pain!!! and with months of hard work and patience. (since IMLP)..... I have had several runs... on the down low and fingers crossed that have been somewhat painfree!! and I hope when the weather warms up, and feeling returns to my legs with the warm air, that I can say "been there, done that!!"
Hang in There in the pool!!!
Top Reasons to run in the POol
1. so other people wonder what you are doing??? why is she not swimming?
2. to avoid the water aerobic class that is calling you!
3. to put your swimsuit back on and stay away from the baked goods.
4. To get that chlorine smell back
5. to finally return to the land of training and be mentally stronger for it
6. so that on Race day you say "LOOK OUT COMING THRU!"
My foot is almost better and what really helped it was completely standing down and not doing anything for a week...and I'm sure the cortisone helped as well :-)
After the week of no activity what really helped me was the push up and pull up challenge. It was only a few minutes a day, but it gave me somethine to focus on while I couldn't swim, bike, run (or walk). I am personally driven by challenges and this made a world of a difference.
My suggestion would be to find a new challenge that you can do to help you get through the month off. I know you are already doing the push-ups but maybe look for something else as well, even no-triathlon related.
Great thread, Nemo!
I injured my knee last year over an epic bike Memorial Day weekend. I changed my bike fit (more aggressive and waaay fast), but failed to stay flexible in my hips (stretching/yoga/foam roller) which led to a tight lateral quad and ITB adhesions. That injury took me out of IMC. Like a petulant child, I said,"Phooey to triathlon!" and spent the rest of the summer riding my mountain bike. I did slowly recover from that injury by Sept, running E pace up to 60', when I fell right on that knee on a mountain bike ride.
So now I'm rehabing a NEW injury: same knee, but now the retinaculum around the patella.
Back to the beginning of recovery again. By the start of NOS, I was running E pace with some strides for up to 60' again. The day before my run test, I tried a 0.5 mile tempo interval and BAM! knee pain. Tracy, I was there in that dark place too! So I proceed with NOS, slowly building back for a THIRD fookin' time. I've done all the run intervals in the pool and trying very, very hard to not get too anxious or frustrated with it. IMMoo isn't for another 9 months. I've refocused some run energy into working on doing ONE chin-up (I'm inspired by watching alot of Ninja Warrior) and learning how to skate ski.
Marianne, love those reasons to run in the pool! Especially the bathing suit part. Ha!
Nemo: Hang in there, sista! You are totally right about the Otterbox---I'd be cuckoo without it.
Aaaah, thank you all! It's so nice to hear I am not alone! Kitma- are you basically doing the workouts in the OS (translating miles into time)? I've been doing a modified version of the schedule I found here:
http://pfitzinger.com/labreports/water.shtml
But now that I think about it- just converting miles to time on the OS plans might work too.
You are not alone! Yes, I've been translating miles into time for the pool intervals...more or less.
For me, I cracked/bruised some ribs a while back that initially kept me from running, and then made it so I could only run very easy. It was definitely frustrating from a mental perspective, so I feel your (and others) pain. Like you said, the biggest problem is fighting the urge to come back too early and, in doing so, setting your progress back even further.
Nemo, as usual great post! of course you are not alone.
I'll save you from all the details and only mention that I suffer from shin splints since last June (Kansas 70.3) and I had to cancel Longhorn 70.3 because of that and now I'm not sure if I can do Singapore 70.3 in March 2010 (everything is already payed for, including wife + kids,,,)
I would like to go bit off topic and talk about the root cause of overuse injury. everyone suffer from it and there is a lot of talking about how to overcome injury but that will not help with preventing the next cycle of injury/recovery. to do that we to look at the root cause and NOT the symptoms.
My thoughts are that as endurance athletes, we do need basic but solid strength training and good stretching routine in order to stay injury free.
I'm well aware of the ROI concept and I defiantly agree within it however, I think that ROI need to be looked at from long term point of view and when you do, you cannot ignore the benefits of strength training to your overall long term health
I recentrly started incorporation weight training into my schedule and I'm really hoping to get out of the injury/recovery cycle for good.
Hello My Fellow Injured Athletes,
Happy to say that I am well on the way to being recovered. I'd say I'm about 97%. I strained my hip/groin area way back in October. It only prevented me from running. I really didn't think it was too serious but then the weeks just ticked away. I attempted a start in November of the OS thinking I would pick up the running any week. When that wasn't happening I decided to back down for a couple weeks from biking too. That was after week 5 of the November OS. So, I got in some good quality biking back then. My runs the last week have been great. No pain or discomfort and I even got down under 8:00 minute miles the other day on an easy run. I'm still going to take it easy and work my way up to some intsensity. In the meantime, my FTP is higher than it's ever been. I'm also going to hit some masters practices starting this week since my running volume is down and I just plain like it.
Jim Hansen has me fired up. We are shooting for the same goal at the Chicago Spring Half Marathon in May. Something to work towards!
I'm also in a nice place not putting any pressure on myself for next season. I was going to go for a Clearwater slot in Kansas but have now decided against it. I think I'm just going to do some fun races. Maybe some spreints and Oly's. I'm also going to do some epic biking too. I want to latch on to some of the Wisconsin folks in the summer and ride with them. My goal is to raise my FTP and VDOT. Period. IMWI 2011 is my main focus right now!
Hang in there everyone.
Great input folks! Many of you hit on the theme of creating another goal to focus on- to help remove that temptation to start back too soon. I think that's exactly what I need! On my drive home from the pool this morning I decided I need to find a good swim coach in the area and see if I can convince them to work with me 1-2 times/week over the next few weeks. Maybe I'll make this my "swim focus" month (taking a key from Beth S) and by doing so I'll feel like I'm still really getting something accomplished while I'm waiting for the calf to heal.
The biggest trick is gonna be finding someone- even when I lived in DC it wasn't easy to find a good coach. Now I'm out in the boonies so it's only going to be harder!
Oh- and Craig- to that point, I'd LOVE to see an ART person. But the closest ones are 2 hours away. That means taking a day off work- which for a one time fix might be OK- but this has to be something that gets regular maintenance/care. So I'm trying out a local massage guy tomorrow night. Crossing my fingers he's as good as his recommendation.
I am in that place of being tempted. Starting to have more days knee feeling better. I will continue to stand down with running. My ART guy gave me a pep talk yesterday, that I am making progress, and he knows how hard it is for me to not run. That was after I asked if I could try run walking 30sec on 30 off. Got a big fat NO. Which is fine for now.
yesterday picked up a H20 audio thing for my ipod to better pool run. Since I am going to be in the pool for running. I am also going to focus on swimming. I have a lesson for swim on Friday. Nemo- what do you have on your pool running play list?
the rest is flexibility and core.
Today I am getting a massage by a guy that works with olympic athletes, for free!
He is supposed to be great! One of the docs I work with is a coach for olympic weight lifters. Dr. Hyder was in the olympics for track and field events ( the field part). She knows what it is like to have injuries, and knows I have been struggling- so she is getting me in with her team. She is great!
Patience..... Sigh......
I'll pull my playlist tonight and post it for you. In general, I find songs with around 130 beats per minute work well. Anything in the 90/180 range (regular running/cycling cadence stuff) is just too fast (at 180) or too slow (at 90) when you are in the water.
Here ya go Tracy, my current water running playlist. The first 5 songs are warmup stuff. I know, YMCA is a bit corny, but sometimes I need to laugh at myself when I get in the pool with that big funny belt around my waist!!
I'll be in the pool listening to this tomorrow morning. I plan on doing a "ladder" workout (1/2/3/4/4/3/2/1 mins hard with a min rest between) I'd love to see whatever playlist you end up with as well!
Eric
"Rupe"
Thanks Nemo! Playlist looks great. I will work on mine and let you know. I need to get the BPM though. I know what you mean when you have to laugh at yourself with the big blue belt
Yes, I will stay strong, Definitely here for you anytime the temptation arises
. Stay strong!!! Rup is right, the mental side of this is harder than the training, but it is the right thing
My massage today was good, but tender in areas. MT said that on my injured leg, the vastus lateralis was very, very tight and that could be contributing to the hamstring tendons tightening up to off set tight L. Good info. Afterwards detered any workout- a little tender
I'm another one of the EN injured - stress reaction in my pelvis (pubic ramus).
Been running with groin pain for over a year. Finally, in December it got to the point where I couldn't push through the pain anymore, even at an easy pace. Over the last few months especially, I felt like I was losing the strength to push off and lift my legs. I was talking to several running buddies who coincidently went through similar symptoms so I went to see their orthopaedic surgeon. Got an MRI done and they found a stress reaction in the pubic bone. This is the bone where the adductors attach - hence my groin pain. They also saw significant inflammation in the adductors.
Remedy: no running for 8 weeks (2/8 is highlighted on my calendar) but I can do things that don't cause pain or discomfort (biking, swimming, stretching, strengthening). I'm making a concerted effort to do core strengthening and stretching (Core Performance, Pilates, Yoga, rolling, etc) in the last 4 weeks, something I really wasn't very good about in the past.
After 4 weeks I can feel the pain is significantly less, but I still feel a twinge when I make certain movements which has me a little pissed about my progress. I thought by now the pain would be gone, but I'm confident that the next 4 weeks will take care of it.
Did a couple walks on the 'mill this week at a decent clip (15:00/mile) - really felt good to get a little taste of having the running shoes back on. It was hard to fight off the temptation to take a few strides but I resisted.
Going to start pool running next week. Nemo - thanks for the link to that training plan. Just curious...is this the technique you use www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp ? I guess I pictured running in place.
In 2 weeks I'd like to step on an elliptical and try that out before going right into real running again. Also going to pick up the ART sessions again next week.
Good luck to all you bumped, bruised and battered. Be we get to fix these issues now and not in June!
Eric
I've been pool running the EN intervals since Nov. Besides the forward lean and having the arms like on land running, I've also noticed that I have to make a conscious effort to keep my foot flexed like I was running on land instead of having my ankles/feet flop around (which then makes for a flutter kicking motion).
Hope everyone heals up quickly! We're all building big mental 6-packs of patience and perseverence!!
Ain't that the truth!
Jim- Hang in there! Glad they figured out what it was. That starting to feel good time is tough. I have sabotaged my recovery a few time by going into a run too soon. I am biting a bullet now.
So the massage I had the other day was great, have a perty bruise in the area he did deep work. A little Ultrasound and and E stim yesterday, things haven't felt this good in awhile. I did my whole bike workout last night. Felt a little "achy" last 10 min, but hung on, iced stretched and no problems today
happy recovery everyone!
@ Jim & David- THANK YOU! Those are great videos!
While I was at the pool yesterday I was thinking about the fact that my feet were not flexed like when running (like Kitboo said) and wondered if I should make that adjustment. I then thought "why isn't there a video with the correct form for water running" and you guys found them! Yeah- I look a lot more like the guy in the vid that David posted. I originally thought I'd stay in one place too- but you just naturally move forward if you have the right lean & run just like you would on land.
Tracy- my massage was pretty rough yesterday too. They guy said "I just want to point out that this bruise was here before I started"! Shoulda known I was in for it! I'm a wee bit sore from the work he did, but I'm hopeful it will help move the recovery process along.
Jim- 8 weeks does sound like an eternity, but hand in there! Feb 2 is soooooo close!
Kitboo- you are right about that 6-pack of patience. We should all remember this time when we're at mile 2 of the marathon at our races and remember that we were patient enough to heal so we could get to that point. So we can be a little more patient and wait (run the right pace) for mile 18 to come to us.
On a similar note, my BFF has had strange groin/quad pain when running for almost 2 years now. It progressively got so bad she simply couldn't run more than 2 miles before her legs would bring her to a complete hault. She went through tons of various diagnosis and many different docs but finally discovered her issue was vascular! Apparently the muscles in her legs have grown so strong they have compressed an artery that runs through her groin. She is going to have surgery on Monday and depending on the amount of damage they find, it may turn into bypass surgery! If she hadn't discovered the root of her problem who knows what could have happened. Soooo, I guess the lesson here is that we are all doing the right thing by being persistent in finding out whatever it is that is causing our own injuries!
Hang in there everyone!!! Oh- and I'll be at the pool tomorrow, so if you are there too, think of me!
Nemo-
Here is my play list. I don't do BPM, I just pick songs I like that will get me going. Paradise by the dashboard light really got me going. Also went retro with late 80s dance music.I heard Everybody Dance ( gonna make you sweat) last week , chuckled and had to have it
It is a long playlist since i walked to and from pool. How did you get your Itunes screen in post?
More than a feeling 4:47 Boston
Good Things 4:12 The BoDeans Black And White Alternative & Punk
Get the party Started 3:14 Pink Mizunderstood
Get JiggY with It 3:51 Will smith
One Thing 4:40 Finger Eleven Finger Eleven Rock
All My Life 4:24 Foo Fighters Foo Fighters: Greatest Hits (Deluxe Edition) Rock
Feel Good 3:43 Gorillaz Demon days
Better Tomorrow 4:32 The Freddy Jones Band A Mile High Live Alternative & Punk
Hurt So Good 3:46 John Cougar Mellencamp
SexyBack (feat. Timbaland) 4:03 Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveSounds (Deluxe Edition) Pop
Somebody Told Me 3:17 The Killers Hot Fuss Alternative
Whatever It Takes 3:27 Lifehouse Who We Are Pop
Got to be Real 3:34 Mary J Blige with Will Smith Shark Tale Soundtrack
Paradise By the Dashboard Light 8:28 Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell Pop
Life is a Highway 4:39 Rascal Flatts Cars soundtrack
Fake It 3:14 Seether Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces Alternative
Life Is Beautiful 3:35 Sixx:A.M. Heroin Diaries (Original Soundtrack) Soundtrack
Save Me 3:34 Shinedown Us and Them
I Like it Like That 3:49 Tito Nieves
Only 4:23 Nine Inch Nails
If Today Was Your Last Day 4:08 Nickelback Dark Horse Rock
It's My Life 3:46 No Doubt The Singles 1992-2003 Alternative & Punk
Wonderful 4:44 Everclear Best of Everclear
I will Survive 4:50 Dianna Ross The Mowtown anthrology
September 3:37 Earth, Wind & Fire The Eternal Dance (Box Set) R&B/Soul
Fascinated 4:31 Company B
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) 4:04 C+C Music Factory C+C Music Factory: Super Hits R&B/Soul
Lose Yourself 5:20 Eminem 8 Mile (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) Soundtrack
Born to Run 4:30 Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Greatest Hits Rock 1
Lets Get it Started 3:41 Black Eyed Peas
Everybody Everybody 4:07 Black Box Dreamland Dance
You're The First, The Last, My Everything 4:35 Barry White Barry White's Greatest Hits R&B
Before He Cheats 3:20 Carrie Underwood Some Hearts Country 1
It's Not Over 3:35 Daughtry Daughtry (Bonus Track) Pop 1
The Pretender 4:27 Foo Fighters Foo Fighters: Greatest Hits (Deluxe Edition) Rock
Sweet Home Alabama 4:47 Lynard Skynard
Livin' la Vida Loca 4:03 Ricky Martin Ricky Martin Pop Latino
Somewhere Over the Rainbow 3:31 Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Alone in IZ World World
Sunshine on My shoulders 3:21 John Denver
@Jim: Sounds like Nemo's friend had compression of her femoral artery where it exits the abdomen at the adductor canal (at the groin) from her muscles (I'm thinking her quadriceps). It's more common (though not commonly seen at all) to see the popliteal artery (it's behind the knee) become compressed by a hypertrophied gastrocnemius muscle. Typically, compression of either artery is usually due to some kind of growth or tumor in the area. To answer your question: yes, an MRI can diagnose this problem. So can an ultrasound of the blood vessel. Angiograms (visualization of blood vessels) can also be accomplished by MRI too.
Belinda Granger's problem was Iliac artery endofibrosis which is apparently from stress on that artery from hip flexion and psoas muscle irritation. It leads to inflammation of the artery and eventual narrowing of it. Here's a link to more info about it: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/...opathy.htm
I just got in my first full week of doing everything on the plan! Felt good and helped me reinforce that I did the right thing not pushing through it like i might have in the past. im a pretty thick headed invincible young person..... haha. Hope to see you all back ASAP!
Nemo, uhh, yeh, the docs tried to send me home the day of my heart attack, no way someone in my shape could be having one, luckily, my dad is a cardiologist and it got caught. Statistically i was off the chart, but ignoring the signs would have had a much different outcome, thats not a statistic i wanted to be part of..
Oh, did i say how excited i am to start training again