stress fracture update

I went to the doctor last Wednesday for my regular yearly checkup, and I also asked her WTF was going on with my left leg. She said that it seemed like my hamstring was definitely strained, and there is a possibility that I have a stress fracture in my shin. Stress fractures usually don’t show up on X-rays, but she sent me to get my insides photographed anyway (hello, deductible, nice to meet you, thanks for being so high). I am supposed to cut my training in half for two weeks to see if that helps, and it looks like that’s not going to be a problem because my leg is really only letting me do so much before it begins to scream at me to stop.

That’s one of the things that I’m slowly learning: how to interpret my body’s signals. Where’s the line between pain and discomfort? How do I tell if I really should stop or if I’m just being a big baby and need to push myself?

Anyway, I haven’t heard back about the X-ray results yet. I wonder if maybe she sent me to get them because it’s a prerequisite to having an MRI? Which is what she said I may need if it doesn’t get better and nothing shows up on the X-ray. I don’t think I want to pay for an MRI… they aren’t cheap.

Thursday I tried to run after work. I was only going to do 2 to 2.5 miles, half of what I’d normally try to run, but I had to stop after only a mile. Shooting pain was running up my leg from toes to thigh. Yesterday morning, I decided to try again (36 hours off… that should be enough time to heal, right?!). I was able to run 2.25 miles, and then my leg started giving me signals that I’d better quit lest something unpleasant happen. I decided to be smart and actually listen this time, because I’m pretty sure not listening is what got me into this mess in the first place.

I am definitely falling behind my training schedule (I was supposed to do 6.5 miles this weekend, but so far 5 is the most I’ve been able to accomplish). But I have time. The race is not until December. I can catch up, as long as I try to keep my endurance up while I’m recovering. Yvonne and I are ahead of schedule, anyway. Plus, she’s going on vacation to Mexico next week which will give me additional time to recover and catch up to her. She’s always going to be better than me, but that’s OK because it gives me someone to look up to, someone close enough to my level that I’m not discouraged, but enough ahead of me to give me motivation to attempt to keep up.

I made a decision the other day: I am going to complete the race, even if I have to walk more of it than run. I am going to finish it. No “but my leg prevented me from becoming good enough to do it!”; no “I got injured and had to quit!” No excuses. I am in the best shape of my life and am starting to actually become satisfied with my body, and I don’t want that to end.

I also had a minor epiphany related to training. I was freaking out because I know that I need to run probably 5x per week, but I also need to crosstrain in some way. I need to do some sort of stretching routine (such as yoga) to stay limber and strong but I also need to lift weights for extra strength and because it’s good for your bones, and also swimming would really help out the upper body that I’m ignoring by running. But Jesus Christ, there’s only so many hours in the day! How can I possibly fit all that in unless I’m at the gym 2-3 hours each day?! (And some people do spend that kind of time at the gym, but I am not one of them. I have better things to do.)

And then I realized: I am in training for a specific goal, and to that end, I need to focus on the particular activity that will help me achieve that goal. I need to run (primarily), and once or twice a week, do a different activity to crosstrain. I don’t have to do it ALL right now. Later, after the race, I can focus less on running and more on variety. Mixing it up like that will keep me in excellent all-around shape.

Friday at lunchtime I went to yoga class. I haven’t been able to go all summer because the summer classes are at 4 pm, and it’s hard to get away during the workday, and that’s actually just a lame excuse because the real reason has been lack of motivation. It seeemed like yoga was not going to help me increase my running endurance, and so I chose to run instead — getting the most bang for my workout buck. But I convinced myself to go on Friday… and it was freakin’ awesome. It was EXACTLY what my body needed. And now I realize that it’s probably been detrimental that I haven’t been going all summer. I desperately need this type of crosstraining: slow stretching and body weight resistance. So I have a renewed committment to go to yoga twice a week now.

Sometimes, though, it seems like if it’s not one thing, it’s another with me lately. I am way more prone to injury than I used to be. It was the torn rotator cuff this spring (which is loads better now, not perfect but I don’t notice discomfort on a daily basis anymore and I can lift groceries in and out of my car now!). And now I set this admittedly admirable goal for myself and try to do something really really good for my body, and I get the double whammy of hamstring and fracture. Maybe I’m just not being careful enough. But I don’t want to turn into one of those people that’s always being super cautious about everything, oh no, i’d better not participate in life because What If.

I guess that if the marathon can teach me to better listen to what my body is telling me, maybe that won’t happen.