A Pain in the Butt

"Popliteal tendinitis. Hamstring strain." These are the new daily terms in my life that I have been cursing and obsessing over that were introduced to my vocabulary by my wonderful sports-oriented physical therapist. Based on my presentation and the amount of "crunch" he's found during Graston (more on this later) he is 99% certain I extensively irritated the insertion of the popliteal tendon because of a strained BF tendon (they follow similar tracks). Oh lucky me. He estimated 2-4 more weeks of no running (for a total of 7 weeks - gross!) but didn't see the need for me to get an MRI or see my BFF ortho surgeon yet.

So how did this occur? A variety of reasons. I up'd my speed on the treadmill by about 1 minute per mile for the same weekly mileage and added a few extra miles here and there. I have a weak butt. I have even weaker hips. I have tight hamstrings. All these things combined = bad news bears. Which is why instead of January being the month of speed and prehab, it became the month of the butt. Which my PT has been kicking, for reals. At the end of our HOUR LONG session, in which I literally do not stop moving, he had me sweating bullets and every muscle in my core and lower half were shaking. All these old people getting massaged and stretched on their pillowy tables watched me as I balanced on a board and had weighted balls tossed at me. This guy who probably has never run a day in his life, recovering from his knee replacement, made a comment about how much I was shaking as I did my 100th single leg dead lift for the night. I ALMOST KILLED HIM. Not to mention I was very hangry (these 5:30pm sessions after a long clinic day leave me ravenous). After getting my butt kicked, I get a nice painful metal to skin massage aka Graston to get all my crunchy scar tissue out and get the blood flowing to behind my knee. I feel sore for the hour after but great at night (then painful the next day, per usual).

For those of you interested in strengthening your booty, 5 days a week I do the following core and butt work. After I'm running again and have more strength, we will cut it down to 3 times per week.

Butt Booster:
-1 min forearm plank
-30 secs single R leg bridge, 30 secs single L leg bridge
-1 min air humpers (thanks OUAL for the name)
-1 min no arms bicycle
-1 min side plank R, 1 min side plan L
-1 min modified bird dog
-1 min clamshells R, 1 min clamshells L
-20 side steps with band to L, 20 side steps to R
-1 min single leg dead lift L, 1 min single leg dead lift R
REPEAT 2X for a total of 3x through the circuit.

Not me (thanks internets), but this is my life.

The entire process takes about 30 minutes plus or minus. I've only done these for a week and I am already starting to feel stronger. My knee still hurts, daily, which is discouraging but I am leaving for Nicaragua in one week where I will not be able to run as frequently for safety and work reasons so maybe this is good timing. I can embrace my month long rotation without worrying about where I can run or if I will be safe. I'm still mad at myself for getting injured but I am trying really hard to LET IT GO.

Still Injured

It's official. This is the worst injury I have had from running (can't say ever, that would be junior year of high school on the receiving end of a slide tackle in soccer when I blew out all lateral ligaments of my ankle and part of my achilles tendon, but I digress). I initially thought I pulled my calf muscle but as the injury "settles in" I am realizing that it is most likely biceps femoris tendinitis. I am beginning to freak out as it has been exactly 1 month since my last "real" run (5.5 miles tempo on the treadmill). The last minor running injury I had lasted a week and was during half marathon training. Before that was when I started running and developed a little PF, which resolved after 2 weeks. Blergh.

So I have been aggressive about rehab and icing. Here is a typical day:
-5:45: wake up, ice.
-6:00-7:00: swim or bike. plus hip and core on T/T/S.
-8:30-5:00: work (on my feet all day), rocking my compression socks
-5:30: ice. study.
-8:30: ice.
REPEAT.

What kills me is the 8-5 with no icing and being on my feet all day but I can't exactly say, oh no I can't see the next patient because I have to ice my knee. Ya, not happening. So after another half hysteric conversation with my boyfriend (emergency medicine consult for free) we decided that I should contact a professional.

my study partner is lazy.

Sample daily convo:
Me: I am never going to run again wahhh. *insert daily complaint of weight gain, boredom, increased anxiety, lack of fitness, loss of social running group*
Andy: Chelsea, you are an athlete. You've recovered from worse injuries. You see people dying everyday, keep it in perspective.
Me: *in my head, flashback to 6 months of crutches and painful patient losses* Okay you're half right and no you're wrong this is the worst injury what am I going to do, I'm never going to run a marathon.
Andy: Call the doctor or quit complaining.
--> 2 weeks after he started recommending this, I've caved. Doctor/PT called.

I hate going to the doctor, especially when they most likely won't have anything to do for me but recommend an MRI (highly doubt any sort of tear as pain is intermittent with no swelling or bruising) and physical therapy. I beat them to the punch and called my old physical therapy place and got on the cancellation list ASAP. It will be nice to get a professionals opinion on my rehab plan and see if there are any exercises they'd recommend. Also possibly get a little ultrasound stim to hurry this process up. I feel so bad because I feel like I'm letting the Nuun team, Lindsey/Out for a Run Training, and my 2014 race goals down. Add to this, my trip to Nicaragua in 2 weeks where I likely won't be getting much exercise and losing even more of my fitness.

I recognize I come off as fairly negative and annoying but look at it this way. Except for this month on my outpatient clinic, I deal with dying children on a far too frequent basis. I see horrific diseases and devastated families and running is my time to throw on dirty gangster rap and let physical pains override the emotional ones. It's my "me" time and my time to reset. I realize that not running is not as bad as cancer or poverty, believe me. But it's really hard to lose the one thing that is all mine and helps me to keep doing what I do.

On a positive note, I've done more core work in the past month than I have in the past year and I am starting to have some serious ab definition. Lauren Fleshman, I'm coming for you.

Abs and Soul.

Injured

What can I say, the title says it all? I am INJURED. Not the "oh I need to take an extra rest day off to get rid of this twinge" injury but a real, no running for 2+ weeks injury. The last time I took this much time off of anything, be it soccer/yoga/elliptical/running was when I had my final ankle surgery and was down for the count. I am pretty devastated. I wanted 2014 to be the year of running, my first full year that I dedicated to improving my weekly base mileage and hit some goal times/PR's across the board. So far... I am doing none of that. 

No relevance to this post, I just love my dog (6 months ago he was this small)

I was on vacation for the month of December and decided that I wanted to incorporate more speedwork into my weekly running schedule (read: start doing speedwork). I guess I didn't think about how I was increasing my mileage (albeit only by a few miles) but also running the majority of them at a pace 1-2:00 minutes faster than my normal. I got a little too aggressive and am paying the price. Looking back at my dailymile log I had some "knee" pain early December but was able to run through it until a few days before Christmas when I realized something was actually wrong. I think my last decent run was 5 miles total with 800 repeats or some shit like that at a pace that I probably shouldn't have been running and the next day when I went to take the dog out I had sharp pain around the head of my fibula. I took 4 days off completely, then tried to run again. No dice. Pain came back immediately so I hopped off the treadmill (it's been less than 5 degrees for the past 3 weeks where I live, there are no outdoor runs for this girl) and did a few miles on the elliptical which felt fine. Blergh. Fast forward a week of rest again and I try to run an easy pace on the TM and 5 minutes in the pain returns behind my knee.

Read: I really messed something up. I go back and forth whether it's ITBS, lateral biceps femoris inflammation, or a gastroc tweak/pull but whatever it is, it hurts. And it's not going away without some proper TLC. I felt lame emailing the head of the Nuun Ambassadors being like "oh hey thanks for choosing me, by the way I won't be racing for the month of January or February" but you know what? She's an athlete and I bet she totally gets it and how frustrating all this is. I just need to learn to chill out and roll with it.

Ben and Jerry's Mint Oreo. Charlie does my stress eating for me.

So here I am, entering my third week of no running. Lindsey (my coach) cooked up a plan for the next 2 weeks that involves NO RUNNING. Shoot me. But being a rational medical professional (almost) I completely agree with her and will embrace my weeks of biking and swimming. This will actually be hilarious because I dove in high school and was forced to do the relay when the "c" team was missing a girl. Let's just say I wasn't doing them any favors. I also have a couple days per week to do core work and also some hip exercises that I will hopefully stick to every day. I'm hoping that while giving my knee/calf a break from the pounding of the TM I can build up a stronger core and strength my hips to prevent this crap from happening in the future.

THIS IS THE YEAR OF PREHAB. I'm just starting it off with a mix of pre and rehab ;)

2013 Recap- The Year of Discovery

Wow. I kind of let this blog slide while interviewing for residency, running, yoga-ing, supporting my boyfriend throughout his own travels, and taking care of our dog. But what a year it has been!

In June of 2012 I ran my first 5k since high school. I crossed the finish line in 25:19 and was happy to have just finished. Fast forward to June of 2013 and I was beginning to entertain the idea of running a half marathon (keep in mind I was running probably 2-5 miles per WEEK). I committed to running with a group that fundraises for pediatric cancer and threw myself into the training process. I had a very athletic upbringing and was able to tack on miles easily, probably too easily because I developed an overuse injury in my knee and had to take off 2 weeks from running during key training time for the half. Luckily, I bounced back and in October 2013 finished the half in 1:57:xx. I was proud of myself to throw up a sub-2 on my first half when I had really only just started running period a few months before. But the addiction to running and itch to improve was cemented with that race, as I really didn't push myself enough during the half and probably could have shaved off a few minutes.

Last .1 of my first 1/2 Marathon. I was chatting it up with the people around me and smiling away. Clearly could've pushed myself a little more...

After the half, the running bug really bit. 2 weeks after the half I ran a 5k in 23:50 (a PB at the time). I signed up for my first 10k in November 2013 and ran a 50:15 on what I can only describe as the hilliest course I will ever hope to run. To put it in perspective, with a decent size field that put me at 2nd for my AG. Honestly, that might be my favorite race of 2013 because I wanted to puke the entire time. Every time I finished climbing a hill, another one came into view. Pushing yourself to see what you can do and how you can improve is what running is all about, and this course made me so proud and pained at the same time. I continued to run 5k's too, running my last at the Turkey Trot on a 4 degree day with a time of 23:32. In one year, I had cut my 5k time by 2 minutes! 

In the center with the pom beanie and the fleece-lined Oiselle tights at the Turkey Day 4 miler. 9 degrees. BRRR!

Running has also strengthened my relationship with my boyfriend. We have lived together for over 2 years and survived medical school, licensing exams, residency applications, and a new puppy but you really get to know someone when you're pushing through mile 5 at race pace and coming up on another hill and asking each other whether to stop or keep going and encouraging each other to continue. We don't run together all the time, but when he wants to use a race as a training run or is running a new distance race (ie 10k) we will run together and pace each other. He is so supportive of all my crazy running goals and wants. New Oiselle running top? Sure, buy it, it's for your health he says (we do not have joint bank accounts yet ;) haha). Register for a race when the weather predicts 5 degrees? Sure, but you owe me a hot chocolate after. And he also listens tirelessly when I have an injury (thank god only 2 this year) and obsess about my return to running, my weight, my times, etc.

Before a 5k with the boyfriend where windchill put temps at ZERO. 

Early December 2013 I had a month off for residency interviews and decided I wanted to add some speed work to my running regimen (this is something I had never done before... tempo? intervals? progression? Baxter, you know I don't speak Spanish). Per my usual personality flaw (see: type A, future pediatric oncologist, all around pain seeker) I threw myself into intervals and repeats that I found online and was doing 2 speed workouts twice a week plus a long run for my same weekly mileage but at a much faster pace. Fast forward 3 weeks and I was hobbling around with a pulled something or other in my right lower knee/calf. This is when I decided it was time to get serious. If running is something that I really want to improve in my life, then I needed to get some professional help because clearly when I tried to make my own training plans, I was in way over my head. Enter Out for a Run Training with Glenn and Lindsey Hein. So I haven't actually started working with them yet (my training plan starts January 6, enough time to rehab this silly pulled whatever it is in my calf) but they are already so great. Super flexible with my crazy medical schedule (oh yeah, I'm going to Nicaragua for a month. See ya States, hello malaria pills!) and crazy fast to respond to my emails. I really wanted to have a coach that understood that running is not all there is to life (case in point, I work 60-70 hour weeks usually and may need to do most of my runs on a treadmill while also being a good girlfriend, dog owner, and friend). I may or may not have chosen Lindsey based on sarcastic twitter tweets and instagram pictures of her kiddo and beer glasses. Clearly, I have interesting expectations when it comes to a coach.

1/2 Marathon training... Irony.

I was also chosen to be a Nuun Hydration Ambassador for the 2014 calendar year. Hydration and nutrition were a big focus of my half marathon training and are in my career (hello childhood obesity and my strong hatred of soda and gatorade for children <10 years old). I love Nuun and I love what the company stands for. It was SUCH an honor to be chosen and I can't wait to rock some tattoos in races where it's actually warm enough to show some skin.

My favorite water bottle from Nuun, supports the LLS!

I dislike new year resolutions, but I love goals. And my 2014 goals are, not surprisingly, focused around running and career. I've already completed one (find a race coach) so I am well on my way to success before the new year even starts!

Running goals: 22:00 5k and 1:49 half marathon. Cross/strength train (including yoga) consistently to prevent injuries. Listen to Lindsey/Glenn and be honest with them if I start to feel an injury/overwhelmed.
Career goals: Be a good doctor and girlfriend. Take criticism constructively and not personally. Don't eat at the hospital's Midnight Hot Meal bar (nothing good comes from that many carbs and cheese).


What are everyone's goals for the New Year?

Things I Love Right Now 9/24/13

Do you ever go through phases where you really, really love something and you wear/eat/use/love it everyday? Those things for me right now are:

1. Happy Baby Spinach, Mango, Pear Smoothie. Baby food you ask? I know, weird. BUT it's a perfect fast blend of fruits to have with my english muffin in the morning before a long run.

2. My foam roller. My quads have been hard like rocks after long runs and stretching does NOT do them justice. I have a plain blue PT roller and I adore it. Now if only rolling could help this awful knee pain...

3. "On Top of the World" - Imagine Dragons. This song is my long run jam right now! Oh my gosh it just warms my soul.

4. My Oiselle Flyte LS shirt. I wore it for the first time for an outdoor run (I do not count the hotel gym nor casual wear) and it was AMAZING. Kept me warm and cool/dry (if that makes sense) and the thumb holes kept me from fidgeting with my shirt. I'm debating ordering it in another color or waiting/praying that they bring the onyx jacket back.

5. My bright orange CEP calf sleeves! I love neon and usually I go with green but with the darker nights a-coming I wanted something that really stands out (before I start running in my obnoxiously bright green Brooks jacket which will probably end up on a favorite list in mid-November).

6. RESIDENCY INTERVIEW INVITES. I'm gonna be a pediatrician ya'll!!!

Type A personality

If there is one thing that running forces me to do, it is to be less type A. While I still track my mileage obsessively and highlight "Runner's World" articles (oh boy did I just admit that on the internet?) I am learning to be more flexible with my schedule and training. My knee was still bothering me yesterday (feels fine today) but I am making myself take a full pain-free day off. Which means I am pushing back my long run again (12 miles) to Monday instead of the original day Saturday. That's still 13 days before race day so in terms of proper mileage I am not worried but as an almost physician and all around overachiever, breaking from my planned schedule makes anxious.

So what did I do with my extra rest day? We went to the beach this morning with the puppy and it began to DOWNPOUR. And of course Charlie wouldn't get out of the water til we threw his ball and let him swim so we were the only ones on the beach, once again proving we are true Mainers. We then stopped at a local bakery, stocked up on bagels and goodies, and hid inside on our comfy couch. I took the time to register for ALL my upcoming fall races ($$$). I've got a good mix of 5k to half marathons with the most frequent distance being 10k's. I will NOT allow myself to go to Brooks/Oiselle/LuluLemon websites to prep for cooler weather workouts because nothing good comes from lazy day online shopping except my awesome flyte LS (see below).

Hotel pre-run FLYSTYLE!

This Week's Training Plan (start taper):
Monday: 12 mile run
Tuesday: rest day
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: power yoga
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: rest day/SUP if nice weather
Sunday: 7 miles and volunteering at Soup Kitchen!

Stormy SUP! Core work :)

Weekly Training Plan (late!)

Holy smokes. This week was a whirlwind. We flew to Houston on Sunday, took an 8 hour medical licensing exam on Tuesday, flew back Wednesday night (midnight!) and hit the marathon course early Thursday morning to beat the Indian summer heat. I was in SO MUCH PAIN! I think our spring through the airport to catch our flight in flip-flops led me to have a little tweak in my shins and right hamstring which makes me very nervous. 2 weeks out from race day I cannot get injured! So I am rearranging my schedule just a bit to give my body what it needs.

Sunday: flight to Houston
Monday: 2 miles on the treadmill (ew)
Tuesday: 8 hour exam!
Wednesday: 2 miles on the treadmill (double ew)
Thursday: 5 miles of HOLY HILLS
Friday: hot yoga
Saturday: rest day
Sunday: 12 miles

No running clothes? Highly unusual!