gokennergo.com

A lot has happened since last I "logged". I have visited my physical therapist (hereafter denoted as "my PT") and he worked with me on some extra stretches, looked at my running shoes (to see if he thought that they were both the right kind to support my feet and the right size -- "yes" on both counts), looked at the Dynastep inserts that I had bought (didn't think I'd see too much benefit), then forced some anti-inflammatory medication into my right IT band (using electricity, a pretty cool thing. The medication is negatively charged, so he uses a negatively charged patch in the affected area to force the medication away from the patch, and therefore into the affected area) while performing an ultrasound on my left hamstring area. He also massaged my left hamstring area and my right IT band. While massaging my left leg, he actually found a very specific point on the muscle that was tender, like a knot. It seems to be the source of the pain and inflammation that I have in that area. He theorized that perhaps on one of our long run days (because that was when it started) I didn't stretch out well enough beforehand and possibly got a little tear on my muscle. I'm going to ask him what muscle that is back there so that I can, in the future, refer to it by its correct name instead of saying repeatedly "my left hamstring area".

Anyway, I felt good about the session, I feel like we are moving in a positive direction.

I ran in the Chase Corporate challenge on Thursday night, and it went all right. It's only 3.5 miles, but I was pushing myself pretty hard (and struggling in the huge mass of people. 14,000!) so I was pretty whipped when we were done. I had those Dynastep inserts in my shoes because they were all I had and I figured that was better than nothing. Anyway, my knees didn't hurt nearly as bad -- at least, not until I was done. Once I finished my IT band really started to sing. I immediately did my stretches and it really did start feeling better almost immediately. I returned to the office and there I iced my knees with some packs that I keep in the freezer by my desk.

On Thursday night, when I got home, there was a voice mail from my doctor's office telling me to call a podiatrist (a specific one, not just telling me "Kenner, call some podiatrist") to get fitted for the orthotics. It turns out that the podiatrist to which I was referred is actually located in the building where I work. Two floors below me! Pretty nice. Anyway, I called down there on Friday morning and asked when I could get in. She suggested a time on Monday, and I said okay. While we were scheduling it, I just said "well, you wouldn't happen to have any available time today, would you?". She hesitated for a moment, and said "Well... um... I mean, ... I guess if you could come down right now..."

That was all I needed to hear.

I said "I'll be right there." I went down two floors and there they were. It turned out that my doctor hadn't faxed over the referral yet, so I called over to my doctor's office and they faxed it right then. The people who set me up before I saw the podiatrist were very nice and one of them noticed the pad on my left foot (the one treating my plantar wart). She asked me about it and when I told her what it was she said "well, you know, the doctor can address that, too, if you like." I told her that I was a little wary just because the only thing that I knew was covered by my insurance in this little venture was the orthotics. She left for a minute to check on it and when she came back she assured me that I would be covered if the doctor did anything about the plantar wart. Excellent! So, when the doctor came in he asked me questions about what was up. This guy was totally cool. I believe his name is (I have his card but don't feel like getting up to try to find it right now) Dr. Bucciero. If you have to see a podiatrist in Chicago and you have a choice, see this man. He was totally understanding about what I'm doing, and when he asked about my plantar wart I told him that I was a little concerned because I had had one before (when I was a teenager) and the "cure" had made for a fairly painful month. This just isn't a good time for that kind of pain. He totally agreed and said "that's fine". He just cut off the pad of dead skin over the wart and added some salicylic acid, which is just like the pad that I was using beforehand. Perhaps we will re-address that when I am done with the marathon. Anyway, we talked about the inserts that I was using, and he suggested that I try something else. He said that he was going to fit me for a special kind of orthotics that you can use in both your regular shoes and your running shoes, just swapping them in and out when you are going to use them. The problem is that the pre-certification process itself takes about 8-10 days, so he suggested that in the meantime I get these other inserts for my shoes: much nicer than the ones I had purchased at Walgreen's, providing much sturdier support in some key areas. He also suggested that I remove the Dynastep inserts from my running shoes and that I instead get some "Superfeet" footbeds. I put the new inserts in my regular shoes and immediately could feel the difference in the way that they supported my feet. He put a rush on the pre-certification with his assistant, which I thought was cool. He said that he knew that time was of the essence in this training period.

As I was preparing to pay my co-payment and leave, he asked me if I had been a runner prior to this marathon training. I told him that I hadn't really, that I had been a wrestler for years and would just run with our cross-country team in an effort to maintain some kind of stamina. He said that that made a lot more sense to him, that I am built much more like a wrestler than a runner (no kidding!). He said "I don't want to break your heart, but there may come a point where you are going to have to admit to yourself, based purely on body mechanics, that running long distances like this just isn't for you." I laughed and told him that I knew that part for a fact. I told him that this was really more of a personal goal and that, while I imagine that I will continue to run on a recreational basis, that my running will be more like 4 miles at a time instead of 20 once this marathon thing is all over.

Anyway, I left the place feeling totally lucky about being able to get in at all that day, and also that it's just so convenient to where I work. I picked up some of the Superfeet footbeds at Fleet Feet over lunch when I came home to take the dog for a walk. They're the kind that you use to totally replace the inserts that came with your shoes.

So, Saturday: 16 miles. I decided to give it a shot, though I felt like there was probably little chance that I would be able to make it without stopping. This time I was smart and a) applied sunscreen and b) brought cab money. AMAZINGLY, my knees felt so much better. I couldn't believe it! I mean, the hamstring area was a little sore, as always, and I could definitely feel the IT band, but it was nowhere nearly as intense as before. I credit all of the stretching, the sessions with my PT, the inserts in my regular shoes, and the new footbeds. I'm just so optimistic now. At around 10 miles I noticed that the pain was intensifying, but it still was not as bad as before. I stopped to stretch to see if that would help, and it did but I could tell that I was at that point where it was only going to get worse. I was with 2 other people, and I told them to just go on. We were about a half-mile from where I work, so I ended up just walking to my office building, then hitting the pharmacy there. I bought one bottle of Gatorade and one bottle of Propel. I went upstairs to my cubicle, where I did all of my stretches and drank the Gatorade. I then took the Propel and my ice packs outside and caught a cab. While riding back to our start point in the back of the cab I iced my problem areas, and once I got back I checked out with the TNT folks and drove home. I was disappointed to not have run the full 16, but I really felt like I made the right decision to stop. My pain the rest of the day was just nothing compared to the way it usually has been. I feel like I am now primed to work out this week, and that's going to be good, because my endurance has really taken a hit over the last two weeks. This week I will work out hard each day according to my earlier schedule, and then next weekend I am actually going to break from the schedule. Next Saturday is supposed to be hill training, but I'm not supposed to do it because of my injuries. Because of that, I am going to instead do either 14 or 16 on my own, depending on how I feel. That way I should be mostly caught up with the group by the time we tackle the 18.

So, like I said, I've been feeling a lot better, yesterday and today. Tomorrow I will do 45 minutes in the morning, running on my own for the first time in a few weeks.

I'm hopeful!

Until next time... -K
posted by Kenner Estes at 8:39 PM