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I'm really disappointed.

At long last I embarked on a run this morning, having given my legs almost an entire week's rest. I'm itching to run, this is a totally new feeling for me, but I really want to get out there and do some running. I felt great lighting out this morning, stretched out, patt straps in place, but not even a mile in I noticed the now-familiar pains were back. My left hamstring! My right IT band! Dammit! I ended up stopping (because that's what all of the smart physical training people say to do) and just walking back home, deflated.

I did my stretches again and iced my pains right when I got home. After I showered I put a patt strap on my right leg because it's the only one that seems to still be having the IT band problems -- which makes sense, because it's the one that's all wonky. What I mean when I say "all wonky" is illustrated perfectly when I try to do a single-leg squat on just my right leg. Your knee is supposed to stay pretty much over your foot, and with my left it does. But with my right, I no sooner start to descend before my knee starts creeling in, totally out of line with my foot. That's partly what causes my band to snap over that knee joint so much when I run. Anyway, I was explaining my process today, got off track there for a second...

Fabrifoam indicated that to start you should wear the Patt strap all day and only take it off at night when you sleep. It can be washed and is supposed to be pretty durable, so we'll see. I ended up leaving my left leg alone but intend to get an ace bandage to wrap it with this evening. I iced both legs down again today at work and will do so again tonight, as well as doing my stretches. I reluctantly have decided not to run tomorrow's 6-miler, I will go instead in the morning to see everyone off and then hang back to talk to the trainers. It's our patient hero day, so we are all bringing helium balloons for the kids. I will hang around for that of course. I would really like to run, but I'm just worried that I am going to negatively impact my ability to improve moving forward if I don't get a handle on this now.

I left a message for my doctor asking for a referral for AthletiCo so that I can get some regular therapy and assistance there. I also asked for a referral so that I can order orthotics for my shoes -- I'm holding out hope that it will cover the orthotics for both my running shoes and my day-to-day shoes, but who knows. He may not give me a referral for any of it, but I have to do it no matter what. I'm just hoping that I can get my insurance to cover at least some of the cost. Now I'm just waiting to hear back.

Okay, it's the end of another work week so I'm heading home. Take care all. -K
posted by Kenner Estes at 5:31 PM

Okay, so I got pulled away from the log yesterday when I was updating. I'm not sure what I was going to say, other than to just affirm that Saturday went really well, besides the ongoing knee issues.

Today I ordered the Patt Straps from Fabrifoam, they should get here Thursday. I am scheduled for a 45-minute run on Friday and a 6-miler on Saturday, so I should be able to give them a good trial. I'm hopeful, because all of the feedback that I've read so far has been positive.

I've decided to give my legs a break until my hamstring stops hurting. It felt better today, though there's still a little bit of pain. Tomorrow morning I am going to go to the gym and just do upper-body weight training. Then I will skip the track training in the evening, because I think one more full day ought to (hopefully) give me enough recovery time on my hamstring. Then, Thursday morning I will head back to the gym and do 30 minutes cross-training and lower-body weight training. The Patt Straps should come in that day and then Friday I can resume the running schedule. Like I said, it's a relatively light weekend.

I can't believe that I'm running 45 minutes on Friday (probably a little over 4 miles, depending a bit on how my legs feel) and 6 miles on Saturday and I think of that as a "light" weekend. What the hell has happened to me?

For those who were concerned and otherwise in the know, my CT scan and scope yielded favorable results, meaning nothing was found. My docs are chalking the hematuria up to the intense running that I've been doing lately, nothing else. I feel good that there really appears to be no reason that I can't do this.

I have to hit the sack. Until next time... -K
posted by Kenner Estes at 11:04 PM

So listen, it was a pretty triumphant 12 miles on Saturday. Really -- I felt pretty good. I was and am still having trouble with my legs, though those problems have sort of changed. Only a couple of miles in I was really noticing pain in my left hamstring and my right IT band. At a few different times I seriously thought that I was going to have to stop because I didn't want to do any damage. But, I kind of altered my stride and found that I was able to keep the pain at bay. Otherwise I really felt good. I think I found a great pattern for myself, from dinner the night before (pizza -- or anything high carb) to my morning routine: 1 cup of coffee, a Cliff bar, a few grapes, and some Gatorade. I got up at about 5:30, which was enough time to get dressed, eat, stretch, etc. I ended up
posted by Kenner Estes at 7:45 PM