Going With The Flow

AM - 9 miles around Millcreek/Sugarhouse, 6 of those with Jake. Average 8 min pace.

Jake has been obsessively talking about CIM ever since Allie mentioned it in her blog (thanks a lot!)...I'm still wavering a little bit, but it does sound like a good option...that would give me about 6 more weeks to get healthy then be able to start training hard. I can't believe I'm thinking about another marathon - I guess the pain from the last one 8 months ago is finally wearing off!

AM - 9 miles with the JAFAJA crew, lots of marathon talk!

Long Run @ Jeremy Ranch on Saturday morning. We'll start here at 7:30am. Jake wrote this on his blog already, but I was hoping to get a couple less all-star runners to come :) I'm thinking more in the 7:30 pace range and running 13-17 miles. Post-run brunch is definitely on the table as well!

AM - Lazy 4.6 mile run on the horsepark loop.

PM - Soccer game, I'll call it 2 miles. Lots of sprinting!

Just for fun, Flotrack's opinion of the hottest women and men in track & field at the Olympics. I'm personally a fan of Jager and Bayer :)

AM - Long run at Jeremy Ranch with Jake, Fritz, Scott, Dan, Justin, Devra, and Annie. It was quite refreshing and fun to run with people that I don't ever get to run with! The run went by so quickly, and this is the best aerobically I have ever felt at Jeremy Ranch. I even threw in a 6:15 mile towards the end. I just wish that my body would cooperate! Hamstrings felt strained throughout the run...I'm going to have to do something different. I'm thinking 2-4 weeks of low mileage with focus on massage and strengthening. I'm in good shape right now - I can maintain that and come back ready to roll if I do this right.

AM - Ran with Jake and Allie around Liberty Park and 600S. Felt terrible at first and was finally able to turn it around at 3 miles or so. 

The marathon this morning was great to watch. The course looked hard, with all the turns, loops, surfaces, etc. Proud of the American girls! Lots more track action this afternoon.

PM - 5 miles on the bike while Jake ran (fyi Jake had to roll up his shorts this afternoon b/c the 5" inseam was too long!). Felt like a train wreck - could barely keep up with his 8 min pace.

Nothing. I feel gross - obviously I have issues with not exercising! I'm taking the next few weeks super easy. Exercising less = eating less = no fun! I need some new hobbies.

PM - Strength training/massaging for what seemed like forever.

AM - Yoga for 30 minutes. 

PM - .5 mile warm-up then ultimate frisbee double header. We won both!

AM - Went out and ran with Jake on his cooldown, 2 miles. Then yoga for 30 minutes.

PM - Corporate Games Mountain Bike Race. I was in the Intermediate group (only to maximize points) so I did 2 laps on a 1 mile loop. I was a little disappointed in how short the race was... would've preferred more like 10 laps. But I still had a good time. I came in 2nd for the girls :) Mountain biking is one of those things that I would rather do for fun and not race! 

AM - 2 miles around the block. Woke up with a little soreness in my psoas (probably from the biking yesterday), so it was probably a good thing that everyone bailed on JAJA+++ run this morning. 

PM - Soccer game. It wasn't really a good idea to play, but they didn't have enough girls without me so I did my best. I'll count it as 1.5 miles or so.  

Great thoughts from Functional Path Training today -

The goal of every athlete who competes in the Olympic games is a place on the podium, hopefully a place on the top step. Every athlete who competes in the Olympic games works hard, some have more talent than others. It has been my experience over the years that those who stand on the podium are there because they choose to be there. Michael Phelps, arguably the greatest Olympian of all time acknowledged that there were days when he glided into the wall at practices in the past four years. “And that came out at the moment I needed it the most,” Phelps said, adding: “I’m not going to sit and make excuses. Those lazy finishes were decisions I made.” It cost him another Gold in the 200 Meter Butterfly. It was his choice. Athletes make conscious choices to do the little things, to make the sacrifices, to listen to their coaches and to being comfortable with always being uncomfortable. The podium is lofty territory. Getting there is not for the faint of heart and dilettantes. Many are called and few choose. Make the choice to be great everyday in training and give yourself a chance to stand on the podium. 

AM - Yoga, core, and foam roller for an hour. 

Big day for the women track today!  

AM - Went to cheer on the Running For Trevor team at the Dash for Donation 5K this morning. Fun times!

Shutting it down per Allie's advice....

My rehab program for the next couple weeks b/c of my chronic hamstring strain and more recent illipsoas problem - 

-Yoga (Rodney Yee AM Yoga or Power Yoga)
-Trigger points tennis ball massage (gluteus medius and illiapsoas - painful!)
-General strength exercises for runners, including Myrtl, to strengthen the hips and core
-Hamstring strain progression exercises
-Upper body weight training
-Ice 3-4x a day on hamstrings and illiapsoas

This takes about 70-90 minutes. Mentally draining more than anything else. May incorporate a little elliptical/cycling once I don't feel the constant aching. Any other suggestions to add to this?

1/2 of Rehab.

Amazon has the Garmin 110 with HRM for $149 today...pretty good deal and totally worth it. I love mine!

PM - Other 1/2 of rehab. Weight training for 35 minutes. 

AM - I was feeling pretty good last night and had these grand plans to ride the recumbent bike for 15 minutes....then woke up this morning from a very achy psoas muscle. So day 5 of no aerobic training - I feel gross and am pretty sure my legs and hips are 3x bigger than they were last week. I'm going to get a 100th opinion tomorrow after putting the doctor through a long series of questions to test his knowledge and make sure I would get a thorough biomechanical evaluation. Obviously lots of overexaggerations today. My boss looked at me today and said "You look grumpy". 

If you are having lower leg problems, shin spints, plantar fascitis, etc. this is a great foot and ankle routine that you should consider doing. 

AM - Yoga. 

PM - Rehab + a little bit of weight training.

PM2 - New doctor evaluation...see Aug 16 blog. 0.5 miles on the treadmill.

AM - A pathetic attempt at yoga and weight training for 30 minutes. Planning to do rehab this evening. 

I went to a new doctor yesterday...he spent about almost two hours talking to me about my injury cycle and performing a thorough physical evaluation. I ran a half mile on the treadmill and then proceeded to be in pain for the rest of the session (and still pretty terrible now). 

No "diagnosis" but several ideas:

He noticed that my right leg turns slightly inwards on footstrike. A weak gluteus medius is to blame. The hamstring tendon on the outside of the knee is put under additional pressure to pull the knee back into the right position.

The left hamstring is starting to hurt because of overcompensation of the bad right one.

The illipsoas is of great concern. I have several symptoms associated with hip bursitis or a labral tear. My heart just sank at those thoughts. Those would most likely require a MRI to confirm. But there's also a chance that there's just a ton of inflammation that is inhibiting motion. All I know is that it's been a week off from running and the pain is getting worse and worse.

So the plan is for another week off running, work on getting the hips in alignment and continue strengthening the hips/core. Re-evaluate next week. If the pain is the same, we will probably go the MRI route.

Today I feel awful. The pain feels like it's in the joint space - a really deep pain. I took 800mg of ibuprofen + Advil and still got no relief. The doctor must have irritated it more than he was intending when doing the evaluation. I'm really hoping it turns around.

Allie sent me a picture that got my spirits up - thanks so much Allie! Hope she doesn't mind that I share!

AM - Yoga, rehab, a little strength training.

AM - Rode the bike along with Jake on his tempo run. 12 miles total...felt pain in the hip at about 8 miles on. Yoga for 30 minutes.

AM - Went walking for a while, then ran 1 mile to see how it felt. Not great but throughout the day it felt equally as bad as if I didn't run. 

PM - Lots of walking around the rest of the day.  

AM - Jogged around the block. Probably not a great idea but mentally needed it. I'm mostly just discouraged that taking time off isn't helping and I'm starting to lose my fitness now. The hip pain is pretty bad unless I take ibuprofen every 4-5 hours. I still feel it all the time. 

Had a fun weekend with Jake and his family up in Heber this past weekend...they were nice enough to find activities that were minimal exercise, like rafting and shooting (?!). 

AM - Jogged around the block again. After the run yesterday, I felt better than I have in two weeks so I tried to replicate that this morning. Unfortunately that was just a fluke because I'm back to bad today. Yoga for 30 minutes. 

PM - 7 mile cruise on the bike while Jake ran. Thankfully he was only running 8 min pace so I could keep up!

AM - Half loop around the block then yoga for 30 minutes.

PM - 30 minutes of upper body weight training and rehab exercises.  

Interesting article about real altitude vs. fake altitude.

AM - 2 miles around the block then yoga. It's just so weird...my left leg feels great but my right leg is so achy and worn out. When I'm running, there is an immediate and constant deep pain in the right glutes and my hamstring feels like it's being pulled. When I'm resting, the pain feels more like it's in the join space and spreads out from there. On a positive light, I only had to take ibuprofen once yesterday where I have been taking it 3x a day...and I do think that the short jog is helping to make it not hurt as much during the day. I think I'll try the elliptical tomorrow and see if I can prevent that glute pain I am getting when I run. 

PM - 30 min of full-body weight training. Rehab exercises at night. 

If you have 10 minutes or so, this is a really interesting piece with Ian Dobson and Julia Lucas and their experience at the Oly Trials.  

AM - 20 minutes on the elliptical. Put the incline as low as it would go (to not irritate the hip or hamstring) and a moderate resistance...I learned that it is actually just as hard to have the incline low because you have less body weight working for you. Never really thought about that before. The elliptical felt decent, much better than running in terms of the glute pain but a little more effort on the front of my hip. I think it's a good alternative for now, as long as I keep it super easy. 

Yoga for 50 minutes. Tried a new one today - the P90X version. I thought it was good - a lot of work with the hips. Mine are obviously weak so they fatigued quickly. Will probably only do this one once a week so I don't totally overwhelm the area (and it gets so boring!). 

AM - 2.2 miles with the fast crew on their post-TOU1/2 cooldown. It was fun getting to see so many people that I haven't seen in a while! Some great performances out there today. 

Pics of some fellow bloggers racing:

AM - Rode the bike alongside Jake running for 40 minutes. 

PM - 1.5 miles around the block...just couldn't resist. Lots of icing today. Feeling better but still a long way to go.  

AM - 28 easy minutes on the elliptical then 20 minutes of yoga. I need a puppy...

PM - Strength training 30 minutes. 

AM - Tried to run a couple miles but only made it to 0.5 before the hip felt bad. Headed to the gym for 15 minutes on the recumbent bike and yoga. Doc appt tomorrow to get some steroids! :)

PM - Strength training 30 minutes. 

Lauren Fleshman really hit home with her recent post -

I needed my trusted therapist of 16 years: The Run. Running is so much more to me than a job or a way to test my potential. Running is “move, sweat, process, move on.” With running I’ve set goals, won championships, flushed out ideas for writing, started two businesses, developed friendships, grown up. My run is meditation, prayer, therapy, and source of pleasure and pain. Problem was, just like the previous 43 days I needed my “therapist”, I remembered for the ONE THOUSANTH TIME she was unavailable due to injury.  The injured runner is like a recent amputee victim, continually forgetting that the limb isn’t there, crestfallen at each realization. What we need more than anything is a suitable prosthetic and an attitude adjustment.

AM - 2 miles around the block then yoga for 15 minutes.

PM - Steroids! Hope these work... 

Cool new running film -

AM - 2 miles, ran a mile with Jake and then back home. Felt DIZZY!

The doctor gave me a prescription for methylprednisolone, a corticosteroid which is involved in regulation of inflammation. The goal is for the medicine to get my inflammation under control so that the muscles will be able to heal. I only take it for 6 days, starting with a high dose and tapering down after that. The doctor said that if there's no relief by day 4, he will schedule the MRI. 

There are lots of side effects to this drug (after all, it is messing with the amount of cortisol in the body). One is dizziness - and I am very dizzy. Others include weight gain, moodiness, and trouble sleeping. Imagine how fun I will be if I have all those side effects! :) It's only 6 days though...no big deal. 

PM - Weight training for 30 minutes. Gotta take advantage of those steroids!! 

AM - 2 miles around the block. 

If you are interested in being part of a nutrition study for women marathoners, see here. You get a dietary intake analysis and nutrient needs assessment for participating.