Run for your life!!!!

eyrie

Fingers crossed for Wednesday K.

Huzzah!

Good luck today, K.

coogy

Thanks everyone! Will report back with a full update later!!!

Rossi7

I'm going to go all in on weak glutes, best of luck

coogy

Physio session last night.

Within moments of me walking into the treatment room, and before asking me a single question, he told me he could see part of the problem already: posture.

Back to that in a minute.

Feet- quite heavy pronation going on. The knock-on effect this can have on your joints took me a little by surprise, especially the impact it can have on the knees/hips.
He focused first on the pain I had previously been experiencing in my ankle and suggested that the knee trouble more than likely stemmed from that. The issue is all focused on the left knee but thankfully there's no major cause for alarm.
I won't even try to remember the names of the various muscles he was throwing at me but he gave my legs a right good workout, pulling in all sorts of directions - a little painful but in a good way- and recommended a series of rolling and stretching exercises to factor into my weekly schedule.
He also recommended using orthotics which I reckon would make a huge difference.....bloody pricey though!!!

Anyway, for the next three days, I need to just roll and stretch (30-40 minute sessions) and on Sunday I can try out a few miles and see how I get on.

Back to the posture issue. This is something I have been vaguely aware of for a long time but I never considered that it may be having a detrimental effect on my running. Sitting at a desk for about 90% of my working day certainly does not help.
At least I know that there are things I can do to gradually put things right..

Here's hoping.

eyrie

Good to hear there's nothing majorly terrible or unfixable! Hopefully the tester run on Sunday goes well

coogy

Thanks C!

BrownEyes79

Glad to see you got out today... hopefully you’ll be back on plan very soon

coogy

BrownEyes79 wrote: »

Glad to see you got out today... hopefully you’ll be back on plan very soon

Thanks C. Felt good to get out but kind of knew within a few minutes that I need to be a bit more patient. Still managed the few miles in relatively little discomfort.....

coogy

So, after a week of zero running, I fully expected to be climbing the walls in frustration but the longer-than-usual stretching/rolling sessions had me focused on the bigger picture.
Throughout the week, even when walking, I could still 'feel' the knee giving out which didn't exactly fill me with much optimism. Still, I had today marked down as "the day" so I would just have to see how it went.
The run on the plan had '2 hour 15 mins easy' but that was absolutely out of the question. Missing two consecutive 2 hour + runs is a hard pill to swallow but I just had to accept it and figured the alternative (aggravating the injury) was not an option.
Kept it nice and easy today (mostly on grass) and it wasnt too long before that dull ache returned, although nowhere near as bad as last week and I told myself I would stop if I felt it becoming unmanageable.
Three miles was as much as I would allow myself and knew it would be just the right distance for me to gauge the situation.

That said, after mile 2 I was starting to feel good and thought about doing 5 miles instead of 3 but common sense prevailed.
Stretched and rolled for about 30 mins after the run which is now the norm for me, have been neglecting this side of running for way too long.

Now, back to important matters.....the plan.
Have missed the guts of 60 miles of running since last week. There's nothing I can do about that now but if I miss another week, I'm going to have to ask myself some serious questions.
Won't be here for Kilcock 10 so it was my plan to give the Frank Duffy 10 mile a bash, ideally with a view to racing it but will have to see.
As for the ol' marathon itself, what I'm not sure of is (I may need some level of guidance on this) whether missing last week's long run and all of this week will require some sort of re-assesment in terms of goals etc. This conundrum may be easier to answer depending on how the week ahead goes.

Any thoughts/ advice / suggestions welcome!


In more positive news, my little sprinter is keeping the flag flying high by finishing in an impressive 14th place ouf of 183 at this morning's Junior Parkrun. I was on barcode scanning duties and was amazed to look up and see him standing in front of me at the top of the queue with his finishers token showing 14th place.

Thanks for reading!

skyblue46

No need to change goals yet. If you have a niggle that loses you a week or so there's no big worry. You're not into a range where you'll lose much, if anything, in terms of fitness.

coogy

skyblue46 wrote: »

No need to change goals yet. If you have a niggle that loses you a week or so there's no big worry. You're not into a range where you'll lose much, if anything, in terms of fitness.

Thanks S.
I know it sounds drastic but I was picturing worst case scenario (missing DCM) and I was surprisingly unmoved at the prospect.
The thought of missing a build-up race (Frank Duffy or Ratoath) was upsetting me more.........


I mustn't be well.....

Murph_D

I’d be a little sceptical about some of the stuff the physio threw at you. For a start there’s no evidence that overpronation leads to injury or affects performance - lots of elite runners have the issue. And as for orthotics - if the idea is to correct the pronation, don’t see how it’s much better than a support shoe.

As for the desk issue - is a standing desk an option?

coogy

Murph_D wrote: »

I’d be a little sceptical about some of the stuff the physio threw at you. For a start there’s no evidence that overpronation leads to injury or affects performance - lots of elite runners have the issue. And as for orthotics - if the idea is to correct the pronation, don’t see how it’s much better than a support shoe.

As for the desk issue - is a standing desk an option?

TBH I probably didn't ask enough questions so did come away scratching my head a little.

After this morning's failed attempt, it looks like this could be more of a long term problem than I feared. Won't be in a position to return to the physio for another couple of weeks, unless I try the College Physio. Have you ever used them?

Kellygirl

coogy wrote: »

TBH I probably didn't ask enough questions so did come away scratching my head a little.

After this morning's failed attempt, it looks like this could be more of a long term problem than I feared. Won't be in a position to return to the physio for another couple of weeks, unless I try the College Physio. Have you ever used them?

If it was me I think I’d try a second opinion to be honest. Is the College Physio a sports physio?

OOnegative

Murph_D wrote: »

And as for orthotics - if the idea is to correct the pronation, don’t see how it’s much better than a support shoe.

Agree 100% with this, I know for a fact some physio’s get few quid commission for orthotics if ordered through them. Like K i’d be seeking a second opinion also.

coogy

Kellygirl wrote: »

If it was me I think I’d try a second opinion to be honest. Is the College Physio a sports physio?

Hi K,


yes they deal with sports-related injuries among other things. Tried them before but didn't really rate them, that was a few years back though. Might get lucky this time. :rolleyes:

Need to nip this in the bud!

Kellygirl

coogy wrote: »

Hi K,


yes they deal with sports-related injuries among other things. Tried them before but didn't really rate them, that was a few years back though. Might get lucky this time. :rolleyes:

Need to nip this in the bud!

Hmmmm - it’s a hard one. I spent a fortune on a quack a few years ago. I thought all physios were useless for a while after seeing a few bad ones. Get a few recommendations I think and see the right person maybe ... unless the college physio is super cheap or something and worth a gamble?

coogy

Kellygirl wrote: »

Hmmmm - it’s a hard one. I spent a fortune on a quack a few years ago. I thought all physios were useless for a while after seeing a few bad ones. Get a few recommendations I think and see the right person maybe ... unless the college physio is super cheap or something and worth a gamble?

Yes, they are slightly cheaper than most and I can arrange for the money to be deducted from my wages too which is kind of handy.

It's can be an expensive business alright!


Edit: appointment made for tomorrow morning!!

coogy

Just back from physio.

Things didn't get off to an ideal start when I realised that I was running late for my appointment and had about three minutes to get changed, sprint across the road, into the main campus of Trinity and down to the Physio. As I ran (reasonably fast), I noticed that my knee was not giving me any problems.....typical!! :rolleyes:

Anyway, was just a couple of minutes late and when I eventually caught my breath I gave her the lowdown followed by a brief background on what I've been doing running-wise for the last couple of years. When I stood, she asked me to balance on each foot and she could see that my left side was noticeably weaker than the right and identified some little habits she could see regarding my posture/stance and suggested specific exercises I can be doing through the day to correct this. After this she went through some specific exercises for me to be doing on a daily basis for the coming weeks and months.

As for the knee itself, she said it's definitely the IT band that's the problem and for the last 10/15 mins she gave my IT band a really deep massage. She used so much pressure, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry but I knew it was working wonders.

Then the burning question, when can I start running again???? She recommended daily stretches and specific exercises for the next few days and on Saturday I should do an easy 5k. If I feel ok, the next day I can increase the distance to a 7 or 8k easy run and again on Monday and see how things are after that. If still feel uncomfortable, I should go back and see her next week.

Have to say, I came away feeling far more upbeat and confident than the previous appointment and it's enabled me to focus more clearly on the months ahead but I know it's still important to take things one day at a time.

OOnegative

coogy wrote: »

Just back from physio.

Things didn't get off to an ideal start when I realised that I was running late for my appointment and had about three minutes to get changed, sprint across the road, into the main campus of Trinity and down to the Physio. As I ran (reasonably fast), I noticed that my knee was not giving me any problems.....typical!! :rolleyes:

Anyway, was just a couple of minutes late and when I eventually caught my breath I gave her the lowdown followed by a brief background on what I've been doing running-wise for the last couple of years. When I stood, she asked me to balance on each foot and she could see that my left side was noticeably weaker than the right and identified some little habits she could see regarding my posture/stance and suggested specific exercises I can be doing through the day to correct this. After this she went through some specific exercises for me to be doing on a daily basis for the coming weeks and months.

As for the knee itself, she said it's definitely the IT band that's the problem and for the last 10/15 mins she gave my IT band a really deep massage. She used so much pressure, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry but I knew it was working wonders.

Then the burning question, when can I start running again???? She recommended daily stretches and specific exercises for the next few days and on Saturday I should do an easy 5k. If I feel ok, the next day I can increase the distance to a 7 or 8k easy run and again on Monday and see how things are after that. If still feel uncomfortable, I should go back and see her next week.

Have to say, I came away feeling far more upbeat and confident than the previous appointment and it's enabled me to focus more clearly on the months ahead but I know it's still important to take things one day at a time.

Any mention of orthotics?

coogy

OOnegative wrote: »

Any mention of orthotics?

None whatsoever.

Dealerz2.0

sounds very positive ken

Damo 2k9

Exact same problem as me in 2017, and very same way of figuring what it was. Did she mention that it was your weak glute pulling on it?

Rossi7 was right!

coogy

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

Exact same problem as me in 2017, and very same way of figuring what it was. Did she mention that it was your weak glute pulling on it?

Rossi7 was right!

Yeah, she sure did! How long were you sidelined as a matter of interest?

ariana`

I'd say you'll be hard pushed to find a runner who hasn't been effected by weak glutes :rolleyes: I had similar before DCM 2017 also. My Physio's favourite quote is "sitting is the new smoking". It's the curse of our generation with our predominantly sedentary jobs.

Best of luck with getting back on the road. I see lots of clams, lateral steps and glute bridges in your future

Damo 2k9

coogy wrote: »

Yeah, she sure did! How long were you sidelined as a matter of interest?

I wasn't sidelined at all, just very easy running if I am remembering correctly, it was a lot closer to the marathon tho, late September into October, and the ITB was in a very bad way when I got to a decent physio.

The difference the exercises and rolling made was unreal, keep them up religiously and you will notice the difference!

Murph_D

coogy wrote: »

TBH I probably didn't ask enough questions so did come away scratching my head a little.

After this morning's failed attempt, it looks like this could be more of a long term problem than I feared. Won't be in a position to return to the physio for another couple of weeks, unless I try the College Physio. Have you ever used them?

No experience with College physio - let me know how s/he is if you go there!

coogy

Murph_D wrote: »

No experience with College physio - let me know how s/he is if you go there!

I went this morning D.

Had been to see her once before, about 7 years ago when I first took up running and experienced similar issues. I wasn't quite as committed back then though.....:o

See post above for the verdict!

Kellygirl

That sounds more like it. Hopefully you get back on track soon.