Throughout my "athletic" career...mostly high school sports followed by limited activity in college I have been mostly injury free. Aside from a broken wrist in high school, I haven't broken any other bones that I know of and my joints have been basically injury free.
When I first started getting back to running I was in sorry shape, my best description of that shape was blobular...or maybe roundish. (Those are shapes right?)
My fitness level was probably a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10. So getting back into the swing of things was definitely a shock to my system. I had the usual soreness due to lactic acid buildup and using muscles that I had not used in years. Once our mileage for the half marathon training began to ramp up I started noticing that my right knee really hurt on impact, like a sharp stabbing pain. It got so bad that I actually broke down and went to see Dr. Stone at UPMC Sports Medicine here in Pittsburgh. After a battery of tests he confirmed to me that I didn't have anything terribly wrong that a little stretching and physical therapy couldn't fix.
Basically as it was described to me there were muscles in my legs that were much stronger than others. The stronger muscles were pulling stronger than the weaker muscles and then pulling my knee out of alignment, which in turn was causing my pain. Dr. Stone asked me how flexible I was and how often I stretched after working out. To which my answer was..uhhh I don't stretch much. I think if he could have he would have whapped me upside the back of my head.
I took my new exercises home as well as a new stretching regimen and within 7 days the pain in my knee was nearly gone. I resumed my half marathon training and continued on.
Since I started this new running program I am really beginning to test the extremes to which my body can handle a stressful workout. I have been very diligent with stretching and adding to my overall flexibility. The problem I run into is working 12 hour days on my feet. I don't have a great deal of time to stretch those days so I find that I am coming home very tight and strained.
About two or three weeks ago I noticed the pain returning in my knee around the same time as I was having some hamstring and calf cramping issues (while sleeping). I took a few days off from running at the request of my coach and used the foam roller and stretched constantly throughout the day. Within about 5 days the pain had subsided and things began to return to normal. I eased back into a few runs and then resumed the more intense and long workouts.
Fast forward now to this past thursday, I was walking downstairs to the gameroom to squeeze in a speed workout while Noah napped. I stepped awkwardly near the bottom of the steps and felt what could best be described as a twinge in my calf right above the achilles. I didn't really think much of it and begin to warmup for a pretty intense progression run. My goal was to run 4 miles at 8:00/mi pace followed by a progression of 7:40, 7:30, 7:20, 7:10...then warm down and stretch.
The first 4 miles felt ok, with occasional pain shooting up from my calf, but nothing consistent or serious. By the end of the 7:30 mile the pain was a lot more frequent and by the end of the 7:20 mile every step sent a jarring pain up my leg. I decided to heed coach Ross' advice and stop when pain like that happens because, 1. I am not a hero, and 2. Pain usually causes you to alter your form therefore ending up with additional injury.
I struggled (more like hopped) up the steps, stretched and showered. I walked around all day Thursday and Friday with quite a hitch in my get-a-long. I continued to stretch and massage my calf all day on Friday. The pain was only noticeable Friday when I would walk down steps or up hills. I made a mental note to make a Dr. appointment Monday if the pain had not resolved. I personally felt like this pain was again associated with tight muscles as opposed to an actual tear or more grievous injury. I woke up this morning nearly pain free, still mildly noticeable when I walk down stairs though so I will continue to monitor myself and see a Dr if this persists. I work all day Today, Sunday, and Monday so hopefully by Tuesday I will feel well enough to give an easy run a shot. I am three weeks out from the marathon relay and I really don't want to miss this event.
So the lesson today readers? Stretch. Stretch A LOT! Become more flexible and don't be a hero, if you have pain stop doing what you are doing and fix the problem don't just run through the pain and hope it gets better. A good rule of thumb for stretching is 1 second for every year of age. I try to do multiple stretches after every workout of each muscle group that was used during the workout.
If the pain lingers any longer than a few days or you cannot perform normal day to day functions without suffering it's time to go see a doctor.
Thanks for reading! Happy Running!
Ron
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