Out With the Old and... In With a Newer Version of the Old

I got new running shoes about a month ago and, after the hassle of getting them ordered, I was thrilled to have them and wear them. It was good to feel a fresh new cushion of a new pair of kicks. They were pretty and with my SuperFeet inserts they felt great.

Me in my Brooks after fording the muddy
stream to reach Penasco Blanco at Chaco
Canyon, New Mexico. No one died of
dysentery or lost any shoes. 

I switched back and forth with my old and new shoes while I wore the new ones in, mostly because the new ones were ever so slightly more neutral than my old ones. The people at my gym were probably pretty happy when I stopped wearing my old ones since I had worn them in New Mexico tromping around in the mud at Chaco Canyon with my bff in early February. I was still spreading bits of ancient desert with every step.

Once I was running every run in my new shoes, though, I started having pain. Every run brought pain. At first I chalked it up to not being diligent enough with my training. Then once I was back on track with training (after losing my job), that excuse didn't make sense. I ran races in pain. I ran training miles in pain. 

Until this point, my running life had been minimally painful (thank all things good!). I had a (fortunately) short-lived case of runner's knee in November and got stronger thanks to the physical therapy exercises my doctor told me to do. My original shoes saw me through every run of my newbieness until I started getting shin splints consistently around 350 miles. Even the fact that I broke my left foot twice in college hadn't stopped me. (The second time I broke it I got fired for it!) Sure, it hurts when the seasons change, but as long as it's not black and blue and as long as I don't feel "that" pain, I'm okay. (I know what it feels like all too well, sadly.)

Finally this week I was forced to do something about my pain. Track Tuesday with my running group went well. I felt great and did my speed pyramid without much trouble. That night my shins hurt and the fleshy part of my foot that should be an arch, but isn't, hurt. Both feet were mirrored images of pain. I iced my feet and went to bed. 

The next day I felt okay... sort of. I ran on the treadmill because we had some stellar thunderstorms brewing. I got to a mile and felt okay, but after that my legs hurt so badly that I had to stop. I got off and stretched and nothing felt better. I tried to walk on the treadmill and even that hurt. A lot. So I went home and hobbled around to make dinner, all the while wondering what the heck I'd done to myself. 

My concern grew because I now have about three weeks until my first half marathon (May 5th!). I also knew that being sidelined after just 1.5 miles is NOT okay. Something was really wrong.

I did a little investigation online about overpronation, the shin pain I was feeling, and causes. I emailed the coaches for my running group with my hypothesis. They confirmed it. "Go back to your original brand and style," they said. 

I took my new shoes back to the store and, thankfully, they were willing to exchange them. I'm very pleased that they were so kind about it (even though I felt like I was being a total pain). I'm confident that the new shoes--a newer version of my old ones--should help me feel normal again. 

I'm ready to get back to running without pain. I mean, I've worked SO hard to get to the point that I can run and breathe well... it's time to be able to enjoy that! :)

Injury Prevention Clinic with UPMC Sports Medicine & Pittsburgh Marathon

I knew I'd learn something, but the hands-on experience at yesterday morning's clinic was what made an impression on me.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Sports Medicine and Pittsburgh Marathon hosted a clinic on injury prevention at UPMC Montefiore in Oakland, and we heard from runners, trainers, doctors, and physical therapists--some of whom fill more than one of those roles!

First up was Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at UPMC, also known nationally as a speaker and author who regularly appears on the Dr. Oz television show. She was raised in what she called a "running family,"  so in addition to her vast professional experience, she brings the "I know what you mean" part of running pain to the table. She shared with us a number of videos detailing stretches ideal for runners, focusing on form.

I don't know about the rest of the people in attendance, but this miniature encyclopedia of stretches will surely set me straight with a number of my oooos and ouches. I really enjoyed hearing Vonda speak, and, for anyone interested, she has other online resources as well as classes, DVDs, etc.

Next we heard from Ron DeAngelo, known nationally for working with NFL and NBA players, who taught us a plethora of wonderful, deep, dynamic stretches. He had us up and moving around the room for these. My blood was pumping for sure! I wished there was a worksheet with a stick figure or something to remind me of the moves... But some of the stretches are in Vonda's videos.

Finally, we heard from Dr. Aaron Mares, an internal an sports medicine expert, who described a variety of common injuries he sees in his runner patients--everything bursitis to the stress fractures and tendonitis to the dreaded plantar fasciitis. He described what these feel like and where, some things that go wrong to lead to these and, naturally, some preventative measures to keep in mind.

All in all, this clinic was full of great information for runners at all stages. I consider myself a novice, but my friend Eleanor is definitely intermediate and she said she learned quite a few things too.

Thanks to UPMC and Pittsburgh Marathon for the invitation to this event. Well done! Can't wait to see what you have next!

Check out the Pittsburgh Marathon on Twitter: @PghMarathon
UPMC Sports Medicine: @UPMCSportsMed
Dr. Vonda Wright: @DrVondaWright

Karissa's 2012 Race Recap

This was my first year as a runner. I started running in earnest in November 2011, hitting a trail near my home every day that I could. I loved it. When it got cold, though, my lungs didn’t love it and I was stuck indoors with no real way to keep going. After Christmas I decided to join the Anytime Fitness in my neighborhood. I know, I know: this is the New Year’s resolution of New Year’s resolutions… a gym membership. But my real resolution was to run a 5k. A few days into January I signed up for a race in April with a friend. The date was on the calendar and I now had a goal to work towards. 

I signed up to work with a personal trainer for a few sessions at a special introductory price and learned how to use the machines and free weights, and she also taught me some things about nutrition and what muscle groups to work in what order. I couldn’t afford to continue with personal training, but I took what I learned from those sessions and did my best to apply it as the months wore on.

I ran as much as possible. 

 

The Weak, Sick, Less-Than-Awesome 5k

I learned a lot by running in Saturday's race. Sadly, most of it was learned in pain or discomfort.

Having had the flu earlier in the week, I had gotten myself well enough that I went to work on Thursday and Friday. (Surpassing "human" after feeling so violently ill earlier in the week was a significant victory for me and my immune system.) Surely, I thought, this meant that I was well enough to go run on Saturday.

No, not really. Big difference between going to work and running a 5k. On a scale of awful to fantastic, I was at "well enough to go to work." I had not yet reached "well enough to run." But ran I did.

The first kilometer wasn't bad. It was in the low 40s that morning (the race started after 10 a.m.), so my lungs were a little chilled, but I had done a decent warm-up, so I felt good about how I was breathing. I had taken both my inhalers too. I was good to go.

Unfortunately, my knee started to hurt a little. Enough to bug me to slow down. So I slowed down. And then my gut started complaining. Ugh. So I walked a little. When I started running again, the air felt different and I began breathing erratically. I took my inhaler to try to nip an asthma attack in the bud. I kept going. My friend stuck by me (she's awesome) and we ran on.

When I started feeling nauseous, the race felt interminable. I knew then that I wasn't well enough to run. (Who doesn't love hindsight?? Argh.) The goal became to just finish the race.

There were still people behind us, so my mental game was at bay. Thank goodness. One thing was going right.

We ran, slowed down, ran, walked, ran, slowed down... in a pattern until we sprinted for the finish line. I always want a strong finish. It feels good. After that, though, I needed to sit down with a bottle of water and I really, really needed something warmer to wear.

I wasn't thrilled with my time--37:27--but having had the flu and having not run for three weeks since I had a knee injury, I think I did okay.

It wasn't my intent to just go cold into running the race. Last week I had wanted to do a few easy runs a few days during the week to see how my knee felt and make sure I was stretched and ready. But with the flu, there was no way to do that. So the lessons learned are as follows: 1) don't rush to return from illness, 2) try to gauge how well you feel by being active before the day of the race, 3) don't return from an injury and an illness at the same time (ever).

This was the last race of 2012 for me. My next race with be on New Year's Day! I'll recap my 2012 racing season in another post, but I'm really excited that I completed this race. It wasn't easy because I wasn't well, but I finished.

Layers of Difficulty

I'm finally officially calling myself a runner. And when I do that, people often say, "Oh, running is hard." Or something like that. It's usually followed by a story from when they were a kid, which just so happens to be the penultimate example of why a person shouldn't run. Sometimes there's a story of a record something-er-other or injured whatchamacallit and at the end I don't know if I'm supposed to feel like I bonded with the person or like I have learned my lesson.

Yeah, running can be hard.

But you know what else is hard?

NOT running.

At least it is when you're used to it, expecting it, wanting it, or needing it.

I've been trying to rest my knee ever since learning my official diagnosis, and it's really difficult to do! I walked my race on Saturday. I've been pushing myself to do the physical therapy exercises my doctor gave me. Lunch breaks on days without precipitation are spent walking around Pittsburgh's South Side (seeing the sights, doing some holiday shopping).

I'm trying to stay moving. I'm trying to stay motivated. I've had a tough time dragging myself out of bed in the morning. I'm guessing it's because the days are so short and my house is so cold that my body's impulse is to hibernate right where I lay. Yeah, I know you all have been there. It's a common human thing, I've learned.

Sometimes running is my stress relief after a long day. Other times it's what I do to make myself feel better about myself or life in general. It can be an escape (yes, even on a treadmill). Running's catharsis lies in every step, step, step, after step of hope that I'm getting better at something... improving my form, my breathing (with my asthma, a constant struggle), working on hills, or changing my gait. Or just running. I can just be getting better at running when I run. That's okay too. Superficial or deep, whatever I need, that's what running is in my life. I can fit it to that gap to fill that need, albeit temporarily.

But not running has made it tough to find a way to stay on top of my mood if I'm wishing I could just go pound pavement--where does that energy go? What am I choosing to do with it instead? It's really a challenge to pay attention to because these habits of *not* running aren't all that unfamiliar. I only started a year ago. It wouldn't be that difficult to slip back into non-runner status. But I'm trying to keep going, reminding myself that I want to come back. Staying mindful of what I'm feeling when I want to run and why I feel the urge to run is proving to be a very interesting experience. If you've never dissected it, I encourage you to do so. You will probably learn something about your own motivation.

My knee still hurts. I hope that I will be able to run next Saturday. (I'll even take a run, walk, run, walk pattern!) It's a 5k road race I've been looking forward to in Columbus and I've got two running pals coming with me. It'll be fun no matter what, but I'd really like to be able to enjoy the sporting part of it.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome = sad face

I was putting it off because I had hoped that if I gave myself enough rest that it wouldn't bother me...

After the Ohio Outside trail race on November 17th, my knee hurt pretty badly the next day. I took care of it the best way I knew how and eventually it felt normal enough for everyday life. But when I tried to exercise again, the pain returned. 

I tried running again this past Tuesday. I walked five minutes, ran two. Walked five minutes, ran two. I felt okay the whole time I was on the treadmill. 

Wednesday morning was a different story. Reluctantly, I called the doctor. 

I met with a physician's assistant instead of my usual primary care physician. Ryan was really helpful. I explained my running lifestyle a little, when the pain started, where it was, and when it seemed to appear. 

I allowed him to flex my knee, hip, and ankle joints, testing for abnormalities. He told me what many other doctors have mentioned: I have extremely "pliable" joints. They're loose. I sprain easy. I haven't slipped a shoulder or anything, but I commonly feel my bones slide around to the point that when I had X-rays once or twice the doctors have retaken them and had me flex different muscles to view the bone positioning.

I'm not a perfect human specimen. I know that.

Without question, I have runner's knee. Ryan didn't have to think twice about it. My pain is above the knee cap and fits all the other criteria like hurting more when I walk downhill or down stairs and feeling like it needs to "pop ." What's crappy is that I've learned that I have a number of criteria that make me more likely to have this and to get it again: 

• I'm female (we tend to have wider hips, thus making the alignment of hips, knees, and feet a bit more challenging) 
• I overpronate (i.e., I have flat feet; no arch to speak of)
• I have weaker thigh muscles than calf muscles

So I can't not be female or not have overpronated feet... but I can work to strengthen my hip flexors and other muscles for alignment, and I can ensure I'm wearing proper footwear for running. And for those pesky thigh muscles? Well, quadriceps, you have met your match. You've got to stop letting those calves carry you.

I have a race tomorrow. The third trail race in the Ohio Outside trail series. I'm sorry to say that I won't be running it. I might walk it, if I'm allowed. I want to complete the series... I plan to rest, do some really gentle cross training (I'm thinking yoga), and do the stretches Ryan the PA gave me so that I *might* be able to run in the Doomsday Dash 5K in Columbus on December 15th. I reeeeeeally want to run that one... not only because it looks freaking awesome, but also because if I don't run it then I won't have run a race in December, which breaks a NINE MONTH RACE STREAK part of my goal to run a race every month, which would really tick me off. Oh, and I paid to run the race so I want to do it. There's that.        

Have you ever had runner's knee or another injury? How long were you sidelined? What did you do to help yourself get over the physical AND mental parts of being injured?