The title says it all...
On the first day I thought, Wow, this is awesome! Get a nice massage, play with some toys, meet the nice people, and insurance pays for it - great!! Three treatments in, I am in so much more pain than when I started. I THINK it's because I'm starting to loosen up and that is a painful process...at least I hope so.
Today when the therapist was working on me (and by that I mean digging his thumb into a spot that was already so sore that my pants touching my skin hurt it) and I was biting down on my sweater like I was in labor or something (it's possible I might be a wuss), he joked, "You know, this is only happening because you're running a marathon."
And I batted back (after releasing my sweater from my teeth), "Yeah, if I'd just stayed on my butt like God intended, I'd be fine right now!"
But I got to thinking about it, and realized that, yes, this is all happening because I decided to run a marathon. But I have the choice to do that. And the whole point of choosing was to raise money and awareness to help people who can't choose to run. And who are dealing with pain that makes mine seem like rainbows and unicorns. So I keep reminding myself to be thankful with every pull in my leg, and with the pain in every step, because I am lucky enough to be able to choose to put myself through that. And lucky enough to have the opportunity to help people who didn't choose what they got, yet get up every morning and are braver than I can fathom. Here's to them.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Yup, Still Hurts
Test run....more like test limp! For those of you just tuning in, Wednesday night was my first run after 10 days of rest, and it hurt like a BLEEEEEEEEEP!! The whole rest and anti-inflammatories didn't work, apparently. But when I talked to doc Thursday morning, I told him there was no way I was taking anymore time off. My coach had already dropped the D-word (as in "Drop down to the half") and the W-word (as in "you may have to Walk-run"), and those did not agree with my competitive spirit (I may have thrown a little temper tantrum in my head when she said it), so I decided I have to train like nothing's wrong for the rest of the season. Doc says that we will do some magical ultra-sound therapy on my IT band where it hurts (look at me, I'm like an athlete or something, with my PT [physical therapy, for all of you couch potatoes out there] and my IT and my ultra-sounds and steroid creams!), but I can run while we do it. So, of course, I had to ask the ultimate question.
"Let's say it doesn't get any better and I just train and run the race anyway. What's the WORST thing that could happen?"
"Ummmmm...I guess it could rupture, but I've never even heard of that happening before, so....it'll probably just take longer to heal when you finally let it."
Sounds good to me! I'll gamble that I won't be the first to ever rupture my IT band through overuse. And isn't pain funny? As soon as I knew that the pain didn't mean anything, it had no power over me. I was just able to ignore it and keep on going. Of course, Saturday on the 16 MILE RUN!! I couldn't even feel my knee because my entire body was in revolt, having not run at all for almost a month. I had no idea that one's feet were able to cramp up like that! I do not recommend 0-16 at once, but needs must.
One thing that may actually have lessened the pain is I finally caved and got the dreaded foam roller. If you've never seen one, it's just a hard foam cylinder. Looks innocuous enough. Lay on it on your back and roll back and forth and it seems fairly innocent...like a nice little massage. Put it under your IT band and roll back and forth real slow like, and you feel like someone is sticking a knife up into your heart through your leg....excruciating!! But after, all pain in my knee is relieved...til I run again. I highly recommend this form of torture for anyone having knee pain from a suspected tight IT.
Oh, and here's a time update for those of you wanting to come see me finish...definitely go to brunch first! 4 hrs and 5 min for 14 miles (I couldn't even finish the last 2, and felt bad for the coaches and mentors who weren't allowed to go eat until I was done). I may not even officially finish. They shut the race down at 6 hours...so I can keep running all I want, but I won't technically exist anymore! You may actually be able to go eat lunch before cheering me on.
And, of course, go to my website and donate...cancer still exists, after all.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/houston10/aclack
Love you all for your support, thanks for everything!!
"Let's say it doesn't get any better and I just train and run the race anyway. What's the WORST thing that could happen?"
"Ummmmm...I guess it could rupture, but I've never even heard of that happening before, so....it'll probably just take longer to heal when you finally let it."
Sounds good to me! I'll gamble that I won't be the first to ever rupture my IT band through overuse. And isn't pain funny? As soon as I knew that the pain didn't mean anything, it had no power over me. I was just able to ignore it and keep on going. Of course, Saturday on the 16 MILE RUN!! I couldn't even feel my knee because my entire body was in revolt, having not run at all for almost a month. I had no idea that one's feet were able to cramp up like that! I do not recommend 0-16 at once, but needs must.
One thing that may actually have lessened the pain is I finally caved and got the dreaded foam roller. If you've never seen one, it's just a hard foam cylinder. Looks innocuous enough. Lay on it on your back and roll back and forth and it seems fairly innocent...like a nice little massage. Put it under your IT band and roll back and forth real slow like, and you feel like someone is sticking a knife up into your heart through your leg....excruciating!! But after, all pain in my knee is relieved...til I run again. I highly recommend this form of torture for anyone having knee pain from a suspected tight IT.
Oh, and here's a time update for those of you wanting to come see me finish...definitely go to brunch first! 4 hrs and 5 min for 14 miles (I couldn't even finish the last 2, and felt bad for the coaches and mentors who weren't allowed to go eat until I was done). I may not even officially finish. They shut the race down at 6 hours...so I can keep running all I want, but I won't technically exist anymore! You may actually be able to go eat lunch before cheering me on.
And, of course, go to my website and donate...cancer still exists, after all.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/houston10/aclack
Love you all for your support, thanks for everything!!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Diagnosed and Resting
Can you call yourself a runner if you aren't running? I feel like all the muscles I created are just turning back into fat day by day, and I sort of have the sensation that I am atrophying all over and turning into a slug with bed sores. So stop complaining and go run! you think. Ah, not that easy, my friends. Went to the doctor last week (and may I say, I LOVE having health insurance!!! X-rays, consultation, etc, for almost NO money! Nothing makes you appreciate it like spending 3 plus years paying $180 for routine visits), mainly because running had become impossible.
I had come to the conclusion that my knee pain must be in my head and that the only way to deal with it was to push through. That was a decidedly poor choice. If you were in need of entertainment, you could have plopped yourself down around Rice loop on Saturday or Sunday in the last few weeks with some popcorn and watched me trying to run. I looked like a cross between Forrest Gump before his metal braces came off and Laura Dern in Jurassic Park after the dinosaurs broke her ankle. My theory was this - whether I gave myself a week off or a day off, the same spot always started hurting again within 10 min and quickly became excruciating, so I didn't appear to be making anything worse or better by running through the pain. My "14 mile" run on Oct 31 was the kicker that got me to make a doctor's appointment. I got a fancy new brace that let me get through 3 miles okay, hobble through 6, and fall apart so that by 9, I couldn't even walk, much less run. And, of course, to make it worse it was a beautiful day on Halloween here in Houston, so there were tons of people out running that day, all passing by me over and over with their dang normal strides and functional joints. I have never been so jealous of runners in my life!
So, like it or not (definitely not, I'm very weird about doctors and generally hate everything about going...it would help if they offered adults lollypops, I think), doctor it was. I couldn't imagine going 26 miles the way I was. I would have been crawling. Which would have been even more uncomfortable. Not to mention humiliating. After endless googling, not having a clue as to who was a genius and who was a quack, my partner had the brilliant suggestion of searching through my insurance website. Huh. Who knew he was so smart. Which is where I found Dr. Fredrick A. Brown. He was listed as being less than 2 miles from my house, but apparently recently moved to the Richmond Bone and Joint Clinic in Sugar Land. NOT convenient. But SOOOOO worth it. I liked his bedside manner, as it were, and I was out with a diagnosis, a plan, and a prescription in 30 minutes.
Just to give you a little insight as to what might happen if you ever visit a doctor for knee pain, here's what went down. I stood in a bunch of weird fashion photo shoot poses to get x-rays which, apparently, showed nothing. Then he came in and started manipulating my knee in every way you can imagine. And, frankly, quite a few ways I had never imagined. Even though I was still sore from my 9 mile hobble, when he asked for each one, "Does that hurt? How does that feel?" I said, "No. Fine..." for every single one. I was starting to think I really was crazy! Then, just like that, he said, "We have a diagnosis. IT disorder." Woo hoo!!!!! (Don't ask me to spell what IT stands for, but it's the tendon [?] that runs between your hip and knee and can get very tight. I stretch it before every run, but...) It's inflamed! Prescription strength Aleve for 10 days and no irritating it while keeping up my cardio. Have I done that? Not the cardio part. I'm apparently very good at resting. Shamefully, I have no exercise machines and no time to drive to my parents' house and use theirs. The elliptical machine irritated it anyway. I haven't even been doing yoga to keep up my strength. I blame it on working too much, but, really, I think it's just laziness. Hence, it's Tuesday Nov 10 and I feel like a fat blob. I get to run tomorrow night, though, to "test" it, and see the doc again Thursday morning.
In summary, October was an amazing month for fundraising. So many people gave so much to this cause, and continue to on a daily basis. I hope everyone knows how incredibly grateful and moved I am by their donations. I tell them, but I'm not sure if my words convey my gratitude. I am already within $500 of my minimum that I have to raise to race, and am halfway to my goal of $3500...you can check out my website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/houston10/aclack to donate or to keep up with my fundraising progress and cheer me on. Unfortunately, October was a garbage month for training, but I can't wait to hit it hard starting this weekend (with 16 miles!!!) and make up for it for the next two months!!!
Wish me luck with my test run tomorrow night, and comment with any words of encouragement you may have!
I had come to the conclusion that my knee pain must be in my head and that the only way to deal with it was to push through. That was a decidedly poor choice. If you were in need of entertainment, you could have plopped yourself down around Rice loop on Saturday or Sunday in the last few weeks with some popcorn and watched me trying to run. I looked like a cross between Forrest Gump before his metal braces came off and Laura Dern in Jurassic Park after the dinosaurs broke her ankle. My theory was this - whether I gave myself a week off or a day off, the same spot always started hurting again within 10 min and quickly became excruciating, so I didn't appear to be making anything worse or better by running through the pain. My "14 mile" run on Oct 31 was the kicker that got me to make a doctor's appointment. I got a fancy new brace that let me get through 3 miles okay, hobble through 6, and fall apart so that by 9, I couldn't even walk, much less run. And, of course, to make it worse it was a beautiful day on Halloween here in Houston, so there were tons of people out running that day, all passing by me over and over with their dang normal strides and functional joints. I have never been so jealous of runners in my life!
So, like it or not (definitely not, I'm very weird about doctors and generally hate everything about going...it would help if they offered adults lollypops, I think), doctor it was. I couldn't imagine going 26 miles the way I was. I would have been crawling. Which would have been even more uncomfortable. Not to mention humiliating. After endless googling, not having a clue as to who was a genius and who was a quack, my partner had the brilliant suggestion of searching through my insurance website. Huh. Who knew he was so smart. Which is where I found Dr. Fredrick A. Brown. He was listed as being less than 2 miles from my house, but apparently recently moved to the Richmond Bone and Joint Clinic in Sugar Land. NOT convenient. But SOOOOO worth it. I liked his bedside manner, as it were, and I was out with a diagnosis, a plan, and a prescription in 30 minutes.
Just to give you a little insight as to what might happen if you ever visit a doctor for knee pain, here's what went down. I stood in a bunch of weird fashion photo shoot poses to get x-rays which, apparently, showed nothing. Then he came in and started manipulating my knee in every way you can imagine. And, frankly, quite a few ways I had never imagined. Even though I was still sore from my 9 mile hobble, when he asked for each one, "Does that hurt? How does that feel?" I said, "No. Fine..." for every single one. I was starting to think I really was crazy! Then, just like that, he said, "We have a diagnosis. IT disorder." Woo hoo!!!!! (Don't ask me to spell what IT stands for, but it's the tendon [?] that runs between your hip and knee and can get very tight. I stretch it before every run, but...) It's inflamed! Prescription strength Aleve for 10 days and no irritating it while keeping up my cardio. Have I done that? Not the cardio part. I'm apparently very good at resting. Shamefully, I have no exercise machines and no time to drive to my parents' house and use theirs. The elliptical machine irritated it anyway. I haven't even been doing yoga to keep up my strength. I blame it on working too much, but, really, I think it's just laziness. Hence, it's Tuesday Nov 10 and I feel like a fat blob. I get to run tomorrow night, though, to "test" it, and see the doc again Thursday morning.
In summary, October was an amazing month for fundraising. So many people gave so much to this cause, and continue to on a daily basis. I hope everyone knows how incredibly grateful and moved I am by their donations. I tell them, but I'm not sure if my words convey my gratitude. I am already within $500 of my minimum that I have to raise to race, and am halfway to my goal of $3500...you can check out my website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/houston10/aclack to donate or to keep up with my fundraising progress and cheer me on. Unfortunately, October was a garbage month for training, but I can't wait to hit it hard starting this weekend (with 16 miles!!!) and make up for it for the next two months!!!
Wish me luck with my test run tomorrow night, and comment with any words of encouragement you may have!
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