Thursday, January 10, 2013

Making Friends...with my Foam Roller

In all aspects of life it is important to have friends. Friends help in many ways, they laugh with us, cry with us, support us through good times and bad. They can get you into or out of trouble, make you happy or mad. But most of all friends are there to help you when you need it most. Sometime the friend you need most when you are a runner is the one making you do something you just don't want to do...like taking time each day to stretch and foam roll your legs!

If you run any significant amount of miles on a daily basis, you know the aches and pains your legs feel. Even when you are in good shape the constant pounding can really do a number on your leg muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons! Every runner knows they should stretch and or roll on the roller (daily), but seriously and be honest, how many of you really do it (daily). If you are the one sitting in the front of the room with your hand raised, good for you! But if you are like me and the rest of the class, then you are probably sitting there with your eyes on your feet, hoping the coach is not looking directly at you!

Last year I had high hopes and big plans for 2011. I was training for the Marine Corp Marathon and New York Marathon, back to back weekends in October/November and had registered for the Goofy (part of the Disney Marathon Weekend, where you run the half on Saturday and the full on Sunday in early January), it was all going well until the end of August when I started to feel a slight pain on the outside of my left knee. It wasn't so bad that it kept me from running, so I continued to train regularly and did what many do, tried my best to ignore the pain. I even remember saying, "I am not really injured, I just have a "tweak" in my knee!" I made it through the early fall with only a minor increase of  pain, but still not so bad that I couldn't manage.

My plan had been to race MCM and go for a best time, then run NYC just to say I did it. One week between marathons is not recommended or the best idea even under ideal circumstances, but since getting into NYC in nearly impossible, I was going to give it a go. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, unrelated to my knee pain, I had to drop out of the NYC marathon in the early fall, I was frustrated and disappointed but still has my sights set on MCM. As race day approached I was feeling more and more anxious about my knee pain. I was generally able to run at least 18 miles before my knee really started to hurt, I figured with adrenaline pumping and crowds cheering I could make it a few more miles without too much discomfort.

As the starting cannon (yes, cannon, this was the Marine Corp Marathon!) boomed me and 30,000 of my nearest and dearest friends started off on our 26.2 mile trek. About 3 miles into the race I ran into one of my training buddies and first time marathoner, Amy! We were so excited to have found each other so early in the race. We ran most of the race together talking and laughing, pushing and encouraging each other, like friends do. Together we tackled Haines Point, flew past monuments, ran past the Capital and "beat the bridge"...then came Crystal City (mile 21-23). By the time I left Crystal City, with the finish line in our "sights" my knee really started to give me trouble. Every step I took felt like a knife we jabbing the outside of my knee. I did my best not to hobble, as I didn't want to cause more problems later, and hung tough until about mile 25. Not wanting to hold Amy back I encouraged her to finish strong and said I would see her after the race. I slowed a bit and finished the best I could. And in fact it was a best, I had run my best time by over 6 minutes and I was thrilled! My knee hurt, my legs were tired, but I had PR'd in my marathon and I was happy.

It is normal to take a few weeks off of running after a marathon to give your body time to rest and recover. Or at least a week off and then start back with a couple of slow easy runs. But, not me, I still had a race to train for, I had a goal, I was running the Goofy in January. So instead of resting or giving my knee a much needed break. I took a few days off and then set out for a 8 mile run. I figured I would start out easy and see how it went. The first mile wasn't too bad, but as I rounded the corner and started on the second mile I felt a pain so sharp in my knee that I nearly crumbled to the ground. I stopped gathered myself and set out again, made it about 1/2 mile and again another jab to the knee. Now at this point, I was nearly two miles from home and about 3/4 of a mile from a friends house, running was out of the questions, so I walked, and then begged my dear friend for a ride home.

After giving me a hard time for running so soon after my marathon, my friend suggested I call a doctor she knew. I really didn't want to go to the doctor because I wasn't really injured, it was just a tweak, right?!. But being the best of friend, she convinced me to call. To my surprise, they were able to get me in early the next week. Upon examination, we found that I had "IT Syndrome" (very common running injury, basically tightness of the ilio-tibial band, which is the tissue on the outside of the leg that runs from the hip to just below the knee) he did tell me I had to take time off, but only 2 weeks and I could still exercise as long as biking and the elliptical didn't bother my knee (which they didn't), so I was able to continue to train for the Goofy. Dr. Thompson is a Sports Medicine Chiropractor and his goal for his patients is to keep them moving. I went in three times a week for various treatments and was told to stretch and roll on a foam roller every night at home. Ugh...rolling every night, really?! But I did as I was told and I started to see improvements.

As it turned out, I wasn't able to keep up with the training like I had wanted and decided that it was best if I sat this Goofy out. I continued with treatments and by Christmas (Christmas Eve day to be exact) I was able to start running again pain free!!! WooHoo! I kept up the rolling, but truthfully only a few nights a week, for a few more weeks. But as I felt better and better, I did less and less rolling. Soon the roller was all but a forgotten toy laying behind the living room chair.

2012 has come gone injury free. I ran a half marathon in March, a 50K trail race in June, then trained and race the Marine Corp Marathon again in October...all without pain! So here I am in January of 2013, still pain free, but training for the longest run yet....50 miles. I have the usual aches, pains and muscle soreness associated with miles and miles, but so far nothing to be worried about. Nearly every day I see my old friend, the foam roller, laying abound my house looking sad and lonely (the kids don't even play with it anymore) and think to myself that I really need to take care of my legs and roll a little bit each night. I still enjoy the love, support and encourage of my dear running friends, so I guess it is time to reacquaint myself with my friend, the foam roller! After all, we all need a few good friends to help us through this journey called life.

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