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Are those my feet?
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Physio update
Thanks for all the kind words folks! So, I had a physio appointment today to check out the ankle and it's positive news. Long story short, I've been diagnosed with a posterior tibial tendon injury - it's a muscle around the ankle that provides stability. The physio agreed that it's highly likely the injury happened due to running on a cambered road surface for a mile or so in Dungarvan. I've been given some calf stretches and heel drop exercises to do, and very strict instructions to keep the runs to a max of 5k, and I'm only allowed run every second day, for the next two weeks. In addition, runs are to be on good surfaces, flat routes and easy paced. No speed stuff. If there's no improvement in the next 10-14 days, then we will reassess.
I'm happy enough with this prognosis, and treatment. At least I can tip away with some running for now. Fingers crossed the injury clears up over the next two weeks, and if it does, I can't really complain about a brief interruption to my training. Went out for the permitted easy 5k later today - felt a new sense of appreciation for being able to get out for a run.
Adare is off the table anyway - even as an easy run it's a no go with the 5k limit. Pity, as I was confident of a PB, but again, I can't really complain. As for Mallow - not really concerned about that at the moment tbh. I'll focus on shaking off this injury and see where I am when that's achieved (hopefully soon!). I suppose I've my 10 mile PB already in the bag from Dungarvan so Mallow doesn't need to be some massive priority.
On the plus side, if you're going to pick up an injury, then this is the time of year to do it. As tbukela said I'll be out of the wind and rain at least. Also, the showers at work have been out of action for the past week, so running windows would have been harder to find as well. And, the washing machine is enjoying a well-earned breather! I'm really in a glass half full mood today
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I feel for you, nursining a similar injury mine unfortuently was brought on by Strom Ciara and getting blown over and rolling my ankle which tweaked my Post Tip I have hypermobility in my ankles anyway. with some rest and the S&C exercises, you will be back out in no time
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Cheers D. Yeah, I absolutely agree - nothing like an injury scare to remind you what a privilege it is just to be able to get out and jog around the place.At least you can still run. It it was a choice of being able to race or being able to run then, for me anyway, the latter is the easy choice.
Still it sucks a bit to get a setback when you were motoring and doing everything right. Hopefully all will be back on track in two weeks.
Haha... cheers V! Tbh, I felt a bit embarrassed with all the sympathy I was getting from the 2018 novices - hopefully this is just a minor setback.Great attitude as usual A. Hope the 2 weeks of rehab goes well. Calf exercises for the win
Ah no N, that sucks. If I learned anything from the physio yesterday it's that post tib issues are no joke and not something to ignore. Hope yours doesn't linger for too long either.I feel for you, nursining a similar injury mine unfortuently was brought on by Strom Ciara and getting blown over and rolling my ankle which tweaked my Post Tip I have hypermobility in my ankles anyway. with some rest and the S&C exercises, you will be back out in no time0 -
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Copy, paste
16th March - 22nd March
Monday: 3.04 miles @ 10:01
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 3.1 miles easy @10:00
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 3.02 miles easy @10:00
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 3.05 miles easy @9:58
23rd March - 29th March
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3.1 miles easy @10:00
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 3.06 miles easy @10:02
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 3.05 miles easy @10:01
Sunday: Rest
Now I'm getting frustrated. The injury is just not clearing up sufficiently that I'm happy with it. In the middle of last week I was very optimistic that it was nearly there, but then on Saturday's run the ankle didn't feel great at all. It can be fine for the majority of a run, but there's still something lingering. I did another 3 miles today, but I'm going to take the rest of this week off to see if extra rest helps - might try a run at the weekend. Physio closed for the forseeable due to covid-19.
On the plus side, I did 3 miles every second day in March, so my strava graph for the month is nice and symmetrical. I also managed to keep each of those runs at 10 mins/mile, +/-2 seconds - the patheticness of this "achievement" is not lost on me
I've been working from home for the past couple of weeks, which has been good, although pretty tiring tyring to juggle child-minding and work! I look forward to each run, but lately I've just been coming back frustrated that the injury is not shifting, so hopefully an extra rest will do some good. I'd love to sign up for the Boards 5k TT, but I'll hold tough as there's no point getting invested in it if I'll be in no condition to put forth a hard effort - not that I'd be troubling the front-runners anyway
Anyway, apologies for the downbeat post - I do realise that there are bigger problems in the world right now than my running woes, but still I felt it was worth logging my current feelings as it can't always be sunshine and PB's. This is my first real setback since I've been running, so hopefully I'll look back on this period later in the year and appreciate what it means to be able to log 40+ mile weeks again.0 -
No need to apologise A, the honest posts both good & bad are what keep people reading! I'm sure you must be feeling so frustrated right now & i honestly don't have any answers for you but i do think you have a good mindset
Take the time to rest & fingers crossed you will be back out doing what you love!
Take care 0 -
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Sorry to hear the injury hasn't cleared up yet A. Hopefully it's just a case of a healed muscle getting used to regular running again. You're doing the right thing in keeping the mileage low and getting plenty of rest.
Not sure if it's the best or worst time to be injured. Best in that you don't need to do repeated loops 2km of your house or worst because you don't get to leave the house for that much needed headspace. On a positive note, at least you're keeping the government's directive of keeping your runs brief 0 -
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Not a whole pile to log over the past 20 or so days, but sure for the sake of completeness if nothing else:
Monday 30/03 - 3.06 miles @10:01
Sunday 05/04 - 3.02 miles @9:52
Wednesday 08/04 - 3.09 miles @10:02
Sunday 12/04 - 4.01 miles @10:02
Wednesday 15/04 - 2.22 miles@9:42
Thursday 16/04 - 2.03 miles@9:57
I've tried taking extra rest days as opposed to the every-second-day approach I'd been on before this (man, how I envy those of you on run streaks!). I'd say the injury is getting better, but it's slow progress - I still feel something, I think. On Easter Sunday, I tried going above 3 miles for the first time in 8 weeks - my calves killed me for 3 days afterwards :eek:!
Usually, the ankle will be fine for the first 2-2.5 miles of a run, before I'll start to feel it - it's as if it gets tired after that. So, I've decided to cap the runs at 2 miles for a bit - this week was the first time running on back-to-back days for aaages. I may be better served with taking a couple of weeks off entirely, but jeez, I think I'd crack up completely without the occassional few miles! And, still I'm half tempted to ramp the mileage up a bit and see what happens.
Treviso asked whether this was a good time to be injured, or not. Definitely not in my opinion, although to be fair, there is never a good time to be injured. I feel like I'm missing out on a huge oppurtunity for building a massive base, and going backwards rapidly at the same time. It's been 8 or 9 weeks of basically nothing. Aside from that, I miss long runs so much!
I'm still tipping away with the prescribed exercises, and thanks to py for mentioning icing, as the physio had said to ice after a run, but I'd forgotten that bit.
I feel like I should at least be getting in some supplementary stuff (yoga, or whatever) while I'm spending less time running, so at least I could say I've improved somewhere during this period, but it's hard to find the motivation for supplementary stuff when the main thing is going backwards. Might try something tonight, or not :pac:
TL;DR - meh, ugh :rolleyes:0 -
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Three weeks since my last update. Took 10 or so days off from running, and started doing a bit of yoga. I've kept at they yoga, and improved considerably at some of the poses since the first session. Nice to see some progress somewhere.
After the 10 day break, I resumed running with 3 miles every second or third day. As before, the injury feels like it's 95% better, but it's just not fully clearing. Can't believe it's been almost 3 months of this. Looking back on my strava comments I've felt like it's been on the cusp of being 100% for about 2 months now, but it's just not getting there. A frustrated google of posterior tibial injuries last night scared the sh!t out of me, so I rang the physio this morning. They are partially re-opening in a couple of weeks, so I've booked an appointment. In the meantime, no running for 7 days, lots of foam rolling and stretching of the calves, golf ball under the foot, icing. I'm to try a couple of short runs prior to the appointment to see how they feel. Depending on what the physio thinks when I'm there, I might be referred for an MRI
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I signed up for the 1 mile TT in some idiotic moment of hope - I'll have to withdraw from that anyway. I'll keep at the yoga, but I might cherry pick the bits I do because I felt some were putting pressure on the ankle. Might add in some S&C stuff that doesn't affect the ankle. I think I'll buy an exercise bike too. It's funny, I've felt genuinely, perhaps naively, optimistic about this injury all the way through, except the days I decide to update my log :pac:0 -
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So, physio visit last week and I've been referred for an MRI to check if there's a stress fracture of the metatarsal or one of the other small bones in the foot. It shouldn't be too long of a wait I'm told. The physio reckons that if there is a stress fracture, then 4-6 weeks of no running should heal it, so I haven't ran since last Tuesday. She also advised that I've been overcompensating for the sore foot and I've been prescribed bridges and clams to strengthen the hips and glutes. The calves are in fine shape though, following all the work I've been doing on those over recent weeks.
It's good to have some direction again (even if it sucks), and at least a notion that a fix is on the horizon, maybe. I had been kind of aimlessly moving from one week to the next with no progress for a while, so it's good to have a plan again. I would have got to this stage at least 6 weeks ago if not for covid, but sure, it is what it is. It's definitely annoying to be missing out on training during the summer months having put in lots of wet, windy and dark miles over the winter, but I'm trying to look forward and not think too much about what could have been.
I did buy an exercise bike. Based on extensive research (2 minutes checking boards), I went for a recumbent one and it's grand. I had to assemble it myself, and was delighted that I'd only two washers left over at the end. I've tipped away on that every second day over the last week for 30-50 minutes at what feels like walking effort. Might try a more "easy" effort as the legs get used to it.
Best of luck to everyone in the TT at the weekend 0 -
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So, I went for an MRI on the bothersome foot last week and received the results yesterday. The news is positive.
There is no stress fracture, but I do have "mild tenosynovitis of FHL at the knot of Henry" - no need to explain that one obviously :pac:. Basically it's an irritation of the tendon around the arch of my foot, I think. It's apparently an injury more common to dancers - serves me right for trying ballet as cross-training.
Anyway, I've spoken to the physio and she says this is good news. Not ideal, obviously, but not terminal to my running "career" either. It's something that I'll have to manage for the next few months - it might take another 3-4 months to clear completely. But, I can do some running in the meantime - to a max of 10k at a time. I'll have to tape the foot before each run, and ice after, as well as plenty strengthening exercises.
I've only spoken to the physio over the phone, so will get further clarity on the frequency of running and how we are going to treat the injury when I've my next appointment, which is next week. In the meantime, I can dust off the running shoes and hit the roads 0 -
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11.3 miles this week - my highest weekly total since March :eek:
Had a physio appointment during the week. I've been doing leg bridges and clams daily for the last month or more, and the physio was happy that my strength in the hip area is noticeably improved. Planks have now been added to the routine to improve my core strength.
The foot injury is still there of course. As instructed, I've been strapping it with kinesio tape for every run and this has really helped - the foot feels much more stable and supported on each run. Amazing what a little bit of tape in the right place can do. I'll need to keep taping it until I'm well on the far side of this injury, which will be a good while yet.
Running wise - I won't be doing anything too exciting for many more months. I can run 4 times per week, very gradually bringing two of those runs up to 10km. So, even a 20 mile week is a long ways off. Come September I might be able to venture further than 10km. My current plan is very simply to add a mile a week each week for the next two months, monitoring the foot all the way. At least I won't be starting from scratch when the time comes that I'm injury-free and ready to start properly building again.
I can do as much exercise biking as I want - an hour 2-3 times a week seems to work for me at the moment. Hopefully the swimming lessons might resume in the next couple of months too. Improving my cross-training looks like the only running-related goal that I will achieve this year anyway
The hardest thing with the injury is trying to accept it, and not focusing on where I was pre-injury, or where I could be by now. It will take a lot of time and hard work to get back to where I was in February, but hopefully I'll be a stronger runner once I do get there. June will be the first month this year in which I've ran more miles than the preceding month - I'll be happy if I can keep that upward curve going for the rest of the year.
I'll probably keep to monthly log updates for the next while. I won't be doing enough to warrant weekly updates. For now I'm just happy that I can get out 4 times a week and can look forwards with cautious optimism. Thanks for reading, and Happy Fathers Day to my fellow running dads.0 -
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Keep up the cycling, we'll make sure you get an entry to the Great Dublin Bike Ride or the Wicklow 200 in 2021! :pac:
Oh god, hopefully things don't get that bad
There's a big difference between tipping away on the exercise bike in the confines of my own house while watching Pure Mule or the Merseyside derby, and heading out on two wheels on actual roads. Maybe I'd get into it if I gave it a whirl, but I've no inclination to do so at the minute! To be fair I don't mind the exercise bike at all, and it's something that I'd happily use as cross-training in the future.0 -
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A 3 mile run today rounds off my running for July, so I may as well update the ol' log. It's been a positive month on the running front. The foot injury is progressing and has improved a good deal over recent weeks. I had another physio visit two weeks ago and she was very happy with how it's progressing. Crab walks were added to planks, bridges and clams in my (almost) daily strengthening regime.
I've built the weekly mileage up very gradually to where I am now at a whopping 17 miles per week. It's slow progress, but I'll happily take it. To be honest, I don't think the foot can handle much more anyway. I found it was a bit sorer after longer runs (6 miles) so I decided this week to try keep the runs shorter and instead add a fifth day to maintain the mileage. I will see how that goes, although it did mean that this week saw my first 3-day running streak in forever! Rest day tomorrow! On a related note, the amount of time spent deciding whether I'll run 3 miles Tuesday and 4 miles Wednesday, or vice versa, is quite embarrassing. Or at least should be :pac:
I haven't been paying much attention to pace on any of the runs - effort generally feels in the easy to moderate range. Crazy how 6 miles can be such a slog when not long ago it would have been a gentle recovery trot :eek:. The fitness will come back though - the 3 mile runs are feeling much easier than they were a few weeks ago.
Use of the exercise bike has dropped off a cliff. The last two times I used it I had a bit of knee pain after which took a day or two to shift - the physio put it down to a tight quad. I just fell out of the habit then but I must try and get back at it soon - maybe tomorrow! The odd niggle has popped up here and there over the past few weeks - a very tender hamstring was a worry for a day or two but soon abated. I'm putting these niggles down to the boday getting used to regular running again.
Now that things are trending in the right direction, I'll update the mileage table:
Month|2016|2017|2018|2019|2020
January|21|5|51|131|178
February|19||51|119|91
March|27||62|112|46
April|3||55|142|20
May|1|18|74|120|19
June|2|38|96|135|35
July||33|129|175|72
August||49|137|184
September|1|25|179|211
October|4|42|131|162
November|6|40|34|70
December||51|84|153
Total (mi)|83|301|1083|1714|461
Hopefully I'll reach 1,000 miles for the year, but it's not a target I'm going to chase. If all goes well then I might just sneak 100 miles in August, but I won't be afraid to take a step back if required.0
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