So the good news is as of Christmas, I've started to run at least twice a week - mostly four miles at a clip, with a small amount of walking on these severe hills around me. My endurance going up hills is quickly being re-established, which I'm happy with. Furthermore, flats and uphills are proving to be easy for the most part. The downhills are a bit trickier.
My lower outer quad is taking for-ever to wise up, which I knew would be the case since it began acting up just before Halloween. The spasms have about 95% ceased and the IT pain has diminished, but the seizing and stiffening is coming and going when it wants to. Running down hills is the biggest cause for concern, as some descents feel painless and loose while others cause stiffening and seizing up. Slowing down or walking during descents, I feel it more, and also just after I've descended.
The resolution to my issue continues to be foam rolling, ice, and some basic cross-training exercises. My girlfriend is *hopefully* getting me P90X for my birthday, so I'm excited about that. :P The bottom line is I need to ramp up training and dispense with further issues as I need to register for my early races such as the Glacier Ridge 50K and the Pittsburgh Marathon in the very near future!
The overall good news is the rest of my body is good! No significant pains or issues to report. Last week, I battled the stomach bug that's been going around, but luckily it only amounted to moderate acid indigestion and a feeling of fullness and having a knotted stomach. Then it passed.
More good news is today I fixed my treadmill, which had a severed power cord that my ex-wife's dog had chewed through in 2011. I'd let this project go during my divorce, naturally. But with freezing cold temps and snow on the way, and my Emme moving here in Spring, now was the best time to fix it. My challenge was locating a replacement 14/3 power cord and also buy a pack of mini female connectors to connect to the circuit board in the motor / computer housing at the front of the machine. It proved to be an easy task once the parts were assembled. I also found the bolts to put the elevation-changing feet on the back of the machine, which I'd neglected to put on during prior use. I plan to run barefoot on the treadmill to improve my strength and form.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
Injury Update - Progress at last!
So basically I've spent the last three to four weeks resting, walking, foam rolling, keeping loose, and not running more than a mile or so at a time. As the woes in my left quad continued, I'd begun to experience SPASMS in the last few weeks, as a symptom of muscle dysfunction, likely caused by adhesions and/or knots. Anything so much as more than a cup of coffee per day, or the slightest bit of stress, would trigger even more spasms. And when the muscle wasn't twitching randomly, there would often be a dull ache like someone had punched it a few minutes before - chalk that up to a constant state of spasm. Or, if not all that, there would just be stiffness and more odd knee pains from the tendon and IT band being pulled/thrown out of whack (especially following sleep).
On Thanksgiving morning, I did a 2 mile run-walk, where stiffness and a bit of IT pain began to return on the descent of hills. Running either side of crested roads didn't feel right, while both power and shock absorption were lacking. I suppose one thing that wasn't so bad about not running was the fact that the weather's been poor. Cold, rain, wind, and snow. And forget trails - they're already mud pits and will remain so until next summer. I tried walking/jogging a couple "new" gas well trails in the valleys below my house, and only ended up spraining my right foot, which wasn't bad and quickly healed.
Finally, while I was foam rolling my lower left quad area on December 7, I felt a pop DEEP within one of the muscles, followed by a LOT more spring and looseness in the leg there. And of course, less pain. Tonight, I did another 2-mile run-walk, testing the leg on hills. No pain, no stiffness. Strength and shock absorption are very close to that of my right side. I'm still getting very small spasms while typing this, but they no longer seem to be interfering in my movements at the current time.
To make a long story short, I'd had this injury since about October 25 and simply had not been able to shake it, or make any discernible progress for SIX solid weeks. It took a miraculous pas with the foam roller to shake it. But staying disciplined with my diet, staying hydrated, and doing light exercises were likely also key to recovery.
Going forward, I will continue to roll and stretch after every run. Every attempt must be made as to prevent muscle adhesions that could potentially limit my abilities or lead to other injuries. Also, I will not push too hard or too long on any run and give myself adequate rest and recovery time between runs. Although this seems like common sense, there can sometimes be a fine line between not enough and too much. Learning how not to cross that line is the hard part.
On Thanksgiving morning, I did a 2 mile run-walk, where stiffness and a bit of IT pain began to return on the descent of hills. Running either side of crested roads didn't feel right, while both power and shock absorption were lacking. I suppose one thing that wasn't so bad about not running was the fact that the weather's been poor. Cold, rain, wind, and snow. And forget trails - they're already mud pits and will remain so until next summer. I tried walking/jogging a couple "new" gas well trails in the valleys below my house, and only ended up spraining my right foot, which wasn't bad and quickly healed.
Finally, while I was foam rolling my lower left quad area on December 7, I felt a pop DEEP within one of the muscles, followed by a LOT more spring and looseness in the leg there. And of course, less pain. Tonight, I did another 2-mile run-walk, testing the leg on hills. No pain, no stiffness. Strength and shock absorption are very close to that of my right side. I'm still getting very small spasms while typing this, but they no longer seem to be interfering in my movements at the current time.
To make a long story short, I'd had this injury since about October 25 and simply had not been able to shake it, or make any discernible progress for SIX solid weeks. It took a miraculous pas with the foam roller to shake it. But staying disciplined with my diet, staying hydrated, and doing light exercises were likely also key to recovery.
Going forward, I will continue to roll and stretch after every run. Every attempt must be made as to prevent muscle adhesions that could potentially limit my abilities or lead to other injuries. Also, I will not push too hard or too long on any run and give myself adequate rest and recovery time between runs. Although this seems like common sense, there can sometimes be a fine line between not enough and too much. Learning how not to cross that line is the hard part.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)