My Waterloo Days 5K Walk / Doctor Update
Are you guys sick of reading my walking “race” reports? Don’t worry, I have good news: I’ll keep this one short, there is only one more after this, AND I am skipping the weekly recap again, so you don’t have to worry about making it through that.
Yesterday was the My Waterloo Days 5K, which I signed Steven and myself up for a few weeks ago when I knew we were going to be in Iowa for the weekend and my legs didn’t feel like crap.
Fast forward to this week, my leg(s?) is (are) still messed up, and I saw a doctor Friday (more on that below). He told me to go ahead and walk this 5K and next week’s half marathon, but not to run unless I wanted to aggravate my leg more.
Steven was a good sport and walked with me, even though it was raining. I thought it would have been nice to actually run in this rain!
Mom, sister and me – do we look alike?
And, my parents, sister and her boyfriend even came to watch us walk. How boring for them nice is that? I was so excited they were there. Who is your favorite spectator?
I thought Steven and I did really well for walking. We averaged 13:43 minutes overall and had negative splits. And we decided we were the first place “walkers” since the people in front of us would walk, then jog a bit when we caught up to them then get some space between us and start walking again. We walked the entire time. Ha ha.
I will admit, I missed running. I did a bit of mall walking to be funny and that aggravated my leg. Smart move.
Update: Garmin Connect Link here
Distance: 3.10 | Time: 42:31 | 1: 14:16 | 2: 13:40 | 3: 13:16 | 4: 1:18
So, what did the sports medicine doctor say on Friday? Well, like every other first appointment with a doctor he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me and concluded that I need more testing. He did have some ideas and suggestions (this is for a left leg that is sometimes locking and pulsing with pain).
Ideas:
- I may have bursitis in my left knee (meaning a sac of fluid is swollen there)
- My interior right shin may still be healing from last summer (wtf?)
- My exterior left shin might be the beginning of a stress fracture, but is unlikely
- I overpronate more on my left leg
- Running slower may have messed up my natural gait and put too much stress on my joints
Suggestions:
- Get over the counter inserts for the Adrenalines
- Take a few vitamins to up my calcium intake
- Ice for 15 min 3x a day, rest and take 4 ibuprofen 3x a day (already doing this)
- Continue to stretch and use foam roller (2x up and down each muscle group per day, every day)
- Steroid shot in the knee
We decided that I should get a lower leg bone density scan and see what is going on, before we develop a plan of attack. The scan will be on Thursday and I will meet with the doctor again on Friday (if my boss approves the time off). Hopefully nothing will show up and he will just tell me to take a few weeks off, then start back up (hopefully not too slowly). And for the good/bad news:
Good news:
- Overall, my muscles are not tight
- I am feeling optimistic
- The doctor said that taking time off now should not prevent me from running the Chicago Marathon – that’s all I wanted to hear – let’s hope I can get him to repeat that next Friday
Bad news:
- I feel like I am being selfish by being so concerned about this, and that is may be a waste of my time and money. There are more important things in life than running, right?
- I have to walk a half marathon that I really wanted to run. At least I get to do it with Tori!
Themocracy
I’m sorry about your injury. I’m right there with you. I have some sort of groin problem going on, likely due to pregnancy, according to the doctor. You’re allowed to be frustrated…I know I am! Hopefully some rest will be all you need. Unfortunately, I am likely stuck with this until my baby is born 🙁
I’m sorry Shannon. I hope you are not in too much pain for the rest of the pregnancy 🙁
I don’t think you’re being selfish. You love to run and you want to feel good and be healthy doing it. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the rest and other strategies will get it sorted out for Chicago!
That was so sweet of Steven to walk with you and your family to come out in the rain!
And I don’t think it will be a waste of time or money to attempt to figure out what’s wrong. I’m glad the doctor had an optimistic outlook on it, though!
You are worth it!
Now, I hope the doctor comes up with the magic recipe…
It’s important to know what is going on not just for running. Don’t want problems later for something you can treat today!
Well, there are not many more important things in life than running if you love running. It is something that brings you joy, so if a few doctor’s visits and tests mean you can continue to do it, don’t worry about it.
Loved the race report but disappointed that you are under charming floral umbrella rather than kittens.
LOL – I showed my grandma the comment about the umbrella (she gave it to me) and she got a kick out of it. It was not big enough for two people! We decided to ditch the umbrella for the walk 😉
Injuries suck! Good luck — you have to be better to run Chicago with me!
I know how frustrating injury problems are and I don’t think you’re being silly or selfish. Running is my time to relax and clear my mind and when I don’t have it, I miss it. Hope they can get you back on the roads soon. Does biking aggravate the injury? I really enjoy biking almost as much as running.
Heal quickly!
I have inserts in my Adrenalines and it DOES help!
Kim, You are not selfish. You are entitled to run and being sad if you cannot run. <3
Aww, Steven is awesome for walking in the rain with you, though I bet you two had a grand, old time being the #1 walkers! Really, you’re both winners!
Bravo on your positive attitude in the face of running adversity. I hope that it’s not bursitis, mostly because that affliction seems painful and difficult to heal. I’m glad it shouldn’t affect your CHI marathon though. Fingers crossed that it stays that way…whatever this pain is!
Bummer about your continued leg problems, but I’m glad to see you’re giving it some rest. Maybe now both you and Tori will be well-matched for the half marathon next weekend?!? =)
I am really bummed out about not being ready to run the race too so I don’t think it is selfish. Obviously there are things more important in the world but there always are and it isn’t selfish to be upset about not being able to do something you were looking forward to. I would so much rather RUN a half marathon than walk but I know if I did it would not be good for me since I took so much time off due to illness. Luckily we both have things going on so we can walk together and not have to walk alone.
Your family is super sweet to come cheer you on!
I hope everyting feels better soon and you go back to normal and feel perfect very soon. This whole not running thing is really HARD to do and I don’t think anyone who doesn’t run gets it.
ugh, so with you on the frustration from injuries. i hope they can conclusively determine the cause so they can go ahead and start FIXING it!
Hope the doctors will get more clarity soon so that they can figure the best course of treatment. Fingers crossed that you can run the Chicago marathon! Just don’t over do it – let yourself heal : )
I wear inserts and quite like them. Selfish?? Oh, HELL NO!!!!!! Running is important to you and very good for you too (mind, spirit and body). As you age you will realize this even more. Not selfish – don’t even think such a thing!
Bummer…so sorry to hear about your injury. I hope the doc is able to shed some light!
I am so sorry to hear about your leg. I am glad the doc said that you should still be able to do your marathon. I’m thinking positive thoughts for you.
Ok, as a runner myself I totally get this. I hope whatever problem you’re having heals quickly and well.
This is going to sound odd. Rather than ice, try heat. (You want ice for a new injury, heat for a lingering one.) I bought a huge heating pad (the moist head ones for arthritis) made a world of difference.
Girl you are so not being selfish! You have to take care of you because you are the only you there is! (How many times can I say “you” in one sentence?!) I’m glad you are looking at this and treating it! I want you to run for a long time! 😀
Nice race! Walking/running in the rain I totally feel is hardcore. Whoo!
Oh.. a bone density scan.. fun times! Hope everything thing comes out okay! That’s interesting that he said you may have messed something up by running SLOW (not fast)
First, you are not being selfish at all. You know your body best and when something just isn’t feeling right so don’t do that to yourself. It may be nothing serious (I’m hoping for that) but regardless, it is well worth checking out since it interferes with your passion for running. Second – you guys look too cute in your hoodies! That’s all. 🙂
eeeek. That is a long list of ‘possibles’. Hopefully you are able to narrow it down soon. Very soon
I’m so sorry you’ve been struggling with this injury and don’t have any answers yet. Hopefully the scan will reveal something. And you are not being selfish at all!!! Running is important for many reasons, and so is having answers!! I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that everything will be figured out/healed in time for Chicago!
Ugh. 🙁 I am so sorry – you know I feel you on this one.
Like you said, the GOOD news is that you’re optimistic AND he said it shouldn’t affect your marathon training! This is still really early, so I have all the hope in the world that you’ve caught this before it should become an even bigger problem.
I do find myself feeling guilty for, oh, the thousands of dollars I’ve spent in the past 2 years just to try and run normally again. But then again, it is a huge part of me – and I don’t like to now know what’s wrong with me! Hopefully yours will pass soon, and it’ll shed some light on how you can prevent it in the future.