My Running History part 9 (2009 to present and injury)

After the 2009 Boston Marathon, I took a week or so off and then back into training mode. However, my right foot on the outside was sore. I went to the orthopedist who diagnosed me with peroneal tendonitis -- most likely from overdoing it on the hill training for Boston and from doing long runs too fast. Most of the summer, I was in physical therapy once a week. My mileage never got back up to quite what it was before Boston, although I was running in the 40+ miles per week level.

My wife and I were training for Marine Corps, our fifth one (which would qualify us for the Marine Corps Runners Club). This would be my 10th marathon and my wife's 7th marathon. We have a display of our racing medals in the bedroom -- my wife call's it the shrine. Here's a picture:



Anyhow, training when on throughout the summer and early fall of 2009. On Thursday, October 1, I woke with a pain in my abdomen. Did I pull anything? At noon went down to the locker room, got my running gear on and started running. What the ....? I ran about 10 paces when the pain in my abdomen forced me to stop and limp back to the building. First time I had ever not been able to run. On Sunday I was supposed to run a 20 miler. Again, I couldn't run a step. In fact, it was painful just to walk. I took 2 weeks off and then tried to run again. Same debilitating pain.



I went back to the orthopedist who diagnosed me with a torn rectus abdominus muscle. I started intensive (i.e. 2-3 times per week) physical therapy consisting of ultrasound and electric stimulation to heal the muscle. No running for most of October and November. Late November I started walking and around Thanksgiving the physical therapist cleared me to start slowly running around 5 miles a day. The pain was still bad but not debilitating, so I figured everything was OK. I also started swimming about twice per week (anywhere between 1600 and 3200 meters).

So November moved into December and I thought my running was getting back on track, even though the pain in the abdomen seemed to be increasing and moving more towards the center (just above the pubic bone). Then came the blizzard of December 2009. That Sunday, the roads were cleared enough that I did my first long run since October 1 -- an 8 miler along the Rockville Millenium Trail (MT for short).

By God it was the best 8 miles I'd run in a long long time (OK, OK it was the only 8 miler I'd run in a long long time --- hadn't done serious distance, if you can call 8 miles serious distance, since Sep 27). The sidewalks were, what's the word, nonexistent so I had to run in the road (facing oncoming traffic, mind you, that's the safe way to run and walk on the street boys and girls) right along the edge of the plow debris, often in the slush, a few times jumping into the snow (damn you cellphones!). Basically I did 4 miles out and back on the MT (or rather the streets along which the MT runs). It was early still so there were few cars.

The sun was out. Snow falling from the trees would send a cascade of powder across the street now and then making me feel like I was running through falling snow. When I turned back at the 4 mile mark the sun was now in front of me so everything was sparkling and glittery, making the wet pavement seem like thousands of diamonds strewn carelessly on the road and the snowy landscape shine like a million miniature rainbows. And I could just run and think and run and work out all the thoughts in my head and run and everything makes sense again and run and realize that all's right in the world. Running, particularly the long run, is a soothing balm. Running the path less traveled, and that makes all the difference.

The next day, the pain in the lower abdomen was intense. My orthopedist sent me to a surgeon to rule out a hernia. "Have you done an MRI yet?" he asked. "No," I replied. "Well, you need to get one." Yikes! I've never had an MRI before. I was strapped to the bed (or whatever they call it) with some device over my pelvis with my feet and legs taped together. Then I got slid into the MRI machine itself, with about 2 inch clearance between my nose and the machine. 45 minutes later I was done (a friend who had one said he had headphones to listen to music --- crap, where were my headphones? all I got were earplugs to muffle the staccato beat of the MRI, oh well, at least I could think about all sorts of wonderful things...)

Anyhow, I spoke with the surgeon on Wed Dec 23 after he got the radiologist's report and I have a stress fracture in my pubic bone. Actually, he said it looks like I've had two stress fractures --- the other side had signs of a healing stress fracture. Crap and double crap. Being a surgeon, his response was merely "well, there's nothing surgical required." In other words, tough break but there's nothing that I can do.

The orthopedist confirmed it and I was forbidden from running from Dec 23 until March 25 when a follow up MRI showed no more fracture. So now I am restricted to running no more than 3-4 miles no more than 3-4 times a week (but with at least a day of non-running in between) at a sloooooow pace (well, at least for me a slow pace -- I'm used to running my lunchtime runs at a 6:50 pace and am doing them now at a 9:30 pace).

When I asked if I could run Marine Corps in 2010, the orthopedist said I should consider a fall 10 miler. What about a half marathon, I asked. Again, he suggested a good fall 10 miler. So, I'm training for the Army 10 miler in October. The doctor thinks that if everything goes well, I might be ready for a marathon next Spring. Next spring!! Two years between marathons????

So, in nutshell, that is my running history up till now.