Friday, March 28, 2008

Now We Are Getting Somewhere

I have to admit that I was somewhat... well, largely skeptical when I read about Active Response Technique (ART) therapy on a running forum about a week-and-a-half ago. However, I was desperate, and as the old saying goes, "Desperate times call for desperate measures".

Well, I have to admit that my initial doubt is, thus far, unfounded. After 2 treatments I was able to run close to 5 miles without any discomfort whatsoever. Considering that just over a week ago I couldn't manage more than 2 mile, the bulk of which was painful, I think this represents significant progress. Things are by no means perfect yet, but at least I have hope of recovery on the horizon. One week ago, I would not have thought it was possible.

I am not ready to write about Tempo Runs or Intervals or Long Runs, but I now have hope that I am over the bulk of my injury with real training on my horizon.

Monday, March 24, 2008

The Great Outdoors was Great!!!

Sorry about the long hiatus. Frustration was rearing its ugly head and frankly, I didn't have much to write about as I was unable to run recently. The few times I had tried I had to stop after about 1.5 miles as my running form was way off due to the level of pain I was under.

Since my last report, I have moved on to another treatment approach. I went to see a chiropractor who specializes in Active Response Technique (ART) on Thursday. Without any disclosure from me he was able to detect an abnormality in my right leg that I was aware of but did not think would be implicated in my current problem - he disagreed and who am I to argue. Anyway, I received one treatment from him on Thursday and he seemed confident that I should see marked improvement in 3 weeks. He also gave me the go ahead to continue running - as long as the pain was not too intense.

With the above instruction, I set out for my first run on Friday. I went for 4 miles and it went reasonably well. Yesterday, Sunday, I went for 6 and that too was pretty good. I can still feel pain, but it was not debilitating. Today, Monday, I went again - this time for 7 miles. I feel much as I did yesterday. I have some pain in my knee and my glutes, but nothing I can't handle. This marks the first time that I have run outdoors back to back since early January when this issue began. I am beginning to become a happy camper. Given the duration that this has lasted, while not convinced I am on the road to recovery, I am at least cautiously optimistic. With the way I have felt recently, this is an accomplishment in itself.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The Great Outdoors Wasn't So Great

Last week I ran outside for the first time since the injury started - a period of about 2 months. My physiotherapist and I wanted to put in an outside run as a test of my IT Band as it is generally known that running on unlevel surfaces can irritate the injury. Running on undulating terrain would help us to ascertain whether things were truly getting better. I was also motivated by a desire to run outdoors - frankly running on the treadmill is starting to get old.

Well, things didn't quite go as well as I had hoped. While it was lovely to run outdoors again, at about 2 miles in the IT Band began to flare up and by the time I finished (about 6.5 miles) it was quite painful. Due to travelling for work and my physiotherapist being off for a few days, I have not had any treatment since. I have managed a few runs on a treadmill, but must admit that there is currently more discomfort than prior to my jaunt outdoors. We may need to rethink the treatment strategy and, shudder the thought, I may have to take a prolonged period of time off as I am not seeing the progress I would like. With a Spring marathon out of the question, it may make more sense to focus on getting better and seeing if I can get in a position to start training for a Fall race.

Monday, March 3, 2008

A Little Relief - log

Last week was somewhat promising. While my IT Band is still giving me some grief, it is a whole lot better. I was able to complete without difficulty all 4 runs I scheduled (20 miles in total) and was completely without pain on two of them. Last night, to add a little more stress and further test my recovery, I stepped up the pace a little. Up until now, I had been running at 7 - 7.5 mph on the treadmill and last night I increased it to 8 - 8.5. During the run, everything was quite comfortable and I easily finished the run. This morning, however, I do notice some pain in my knee - it isn't too bad, but it isn't quite fixed yet either.

So, all in all, I am doing a whole lot better and am looking forward to returning to my normal mileage/training in the not-too-distant future.

For those of you looking for an online training log, I would highly recommend the log running2win as it is a great site. The site has a great interface, as well as, forums, motivational quotes, and a variety of calculators. The service is second to none. A few quick emails back and forth to Mike at the site and he had my Runner's World data imported and up on their site.

Halifax Weather