Wednesday, November 03, 2010

November

Well I kinda wanted to blog, and I kinda didnt. Like some of you there isnt anything too riveting ( to steal from Jen) going on right now. Up here in MN its the calm ( 50 and sunny) before the storm ( DLS, and colder temps and snow) but for now I am doing my best to stay in the moment, and as i told Rich today " going thru the motions " of training.

November last year is a blur, as is October. When your fiance is diagnosed with cancer and you cancel your wedding, only to decide 10 days before to hold it, there isnt much time to be thinking " wow, i miss summer, i miss the warmth, and I AM COLD." Granted we will celebrate a wonderful year on sunday, and last night as we went to bed ( well I was in bed, Mr. Politics was up glued to the TV) he said "This year has been filled with the most LOVE i have had EVER." That makes me feel warm and happy and good about my life outside Triathlon. And no matter how hard i try to act as if " I am hardcore, I can handle this s$%^" it doesnt get any easier as you get older. The urge to just take up knitting, or more seriously just do yoga or go back to tennis is there.

So. I was diagnosed with a couple tendonopathies yesterday. After 3 weeks of rest ( and actually 2 weeks prior to BOUS) I knew that resting this was not going to help it. I cant say i was surprised. I am really proud of myself for knowing that when things get chronic and you have no symptoms and cannot reproduce your symptoms other than running, that you had better get yourself to someone that knows something about tendonopathy. I dont have the energy to write all about what this is and how i know this, but if you want to know more or want advice ( I have lots of if) comment and i will email you. So...since i had this before in my L leg I didnt think i had it again in the R side. But with all things chronic, they can set in pretty fast and before you know it those buggers are setting up housekeeping and you are screwed. Last time i had proltherapy shots in my common HS tendon and it worked. But it was laborious, hurt, and really i didnt run for about a year or more. ( The shots are just irritants, sugar or saline, sometimes now the use PRP, ( Platelet rich Plasma) but overall the goal is to annoy the tendon) and then it reheals stronger and with better sarcomere lengthening, etc...ooops. sorry.

So for now i am in good hands. I had my first TFM ( Transverse Friction Massage) to each tendon insertion, 8 min to each site, where it basically goes numb. After that I Was able to run, with no symptoms. Then its BID 15 reps, 3 sets of eccentric HS and Glute MED work. I tell ya that is tough. Again the goal is to make those tendon insertions angry. and if my sore posterior today is right it was mission accomplished. But its not the sore from the injury and that is a good thing, its sore bc the insertions are barking at me. Just what we wanted. NO nsaids, we want that inflammation around. I am to keep my normal routine and to try running as able. Jury is out on this. I want to try but i am also reading more protocols ( they are old) that says to wait till i am fully pain free. This is confusing bc i was painfree before this other than running, and I will have some symptoms running its just that we hope to delay those more and more with each treatment. I should also likely clarify, this isnt pain per se. It's a gripping or grabbing at the insertion. It is something you can work thru ( stupid) if you dont catch it.

The guy i am seeing was able to diagnose this with palpation, as i was negative for the traditional HS tendonopathy screens. This is good, as I had self diagnosed myself ( of course i did) as negative but when he got on that tendon it was a quality that was much more taut than the Left, and i felt that right away. So it goes. I am in good hands, and even tho I do know how trying this diagnosis can be, I am confident bc he is confident. I cant take it much further than that or i will go insane. My goal, dare i write it, is to go for a run on Christmas Day without any symptoms. See, Christmas made easy.

And again Liar Liar pants on fire, is that i have not swirled thoughts about next season in my head. That is just how i am. Coach can tell me to relax all she wants, but i cant deny that the feelings, maybe irrational, are there. That i wont train for an IM if i am not 100% healthy. So best to get that out on the plate now. I know i think alot about this stuff ( body, therapy) its bc its what i do for a living so that is hard to let go of. I also think i have a VERY good sense of my body and so friends, family saying "dont worry about it...it will heal" I appreciate that, I do. But it isnt always what I need to hear, sometimes i need to hear " That F'ing stinks. Yea you have a right to be scared and afraid and cautious."

So the Limbo that some of you talk about, I am right there with you. Keep an optimistic view and stay in the moment, and allow yourself to be in limbo and know its ok to be a bit ornery. At least that is what i told my husband bc no celebrex on day 1 of my cycle means he had better not expect a bright and cheery bride:)

19 comments:

Rebecca DeWire said...

Injuries f'ing suck!!!! I know and am convinced that I will eternally be in the "I am screwed category". I hope the plan you have works and gets you back to 100% ASAP. Sorry to hear you are going through this. There are so many emotional highs and lows with chronic injuries; it can be a tough road.

Kim said...

ugh julia - sorry to hear about the injuries. that is NO fun whatsoever. but it sounds like youre taking great care of yourself and as someone who understands what it's like to be in limbo - try to just BE :)

Charisa said...

Hang in there! I hope it heals faster than you think it will. I laughed at the "take up knitting" part. I think something like that crossed my mind in the middle of my 2 hour run this morning. Something to the sound of "Why the F$@K didn't I take up surfing or something less painful!? HA!

Unknown said...

how did the prolotherapy work out? I heard that does wonders. Hoping your pain free soon. I understand your frustrations!
But it must be so rewarding to hear that you man had felt so much love. He's got someone special for sure!

Stay warm. :)
LC

Unknown said...

oh and I am so glad you got on the Honey Milk team. that rocks!

Angela and David said...

We've been emailing about this so I won't repeat anything but injuries really do f*ing suck and I am with you, it was no fun to start at Kona not being 100%. If you are going to work that hard to get to an IM, you should start it at 100%.

And like you, I am going to be a bit ornery while in limbo.

Beth said...

Oh Julia, sorry this injury is being such a bugger. I understand the chronic ones - they are the worst! And trust me, I also understand the fear of training for the longer races if you aren't 100%. It's why I didn't sign up for an IM for so long. I was pleasantly surprised that my body held up, but I know it could have easily gone the other way also. So keeping my fingers crossed that this one will start to behave. Christmas Day run sounds super! :)

Michelle Simmons said...

I'm with you too... injured calf... getting better but I can tell it's not ready to run yet and its going to need some professional intervention before it'll be ready... in limbo b/c I have a marathon in 6 weeks that I'd like to do but probably wont be able to so that SUCKS. So yes, it SUCKS. We all agree about that so the only thing we can do is work as diligently on fixing our issues as we do in training for our big events. :)

TriGirl Kate O said...

That f'ing sucks. :(

Chat soon?

Anonymous said...

Umm.. let's see here. Limbo, oh yes I know exactly what you mean. Training and racing an IM when you are not 100%, yep I understand that too. Trying to relax, but really your wheels are spinning, yep I got ya on that one too! Ugggggh I am really sorry that you are injured and I hope that you get your run on Christmas pain free!! Limbo f'ing sucks and I don't know about you, but I am afraid I will be sitting in limbo for a while - not necessarily in regards to training and racing though, which may sound like heaven to you. But it's not.

ADC said...

Really sorry to hear all that. Just hang in there. But you have a good attitude and a great plann - run on Christmas Day pain free sounds perfect.

Betsy said...

I understood about 1/3 of that blog...but I got the gist - your injured, tryinig to rehab and it sucks!!!! Get better girlie!

Running and living said...

It's a sad time in blogland, I tell you. My most favorite bloggers are either injured, or sick, or going through tough life stuff. It's like a virus spreading around. Sending healing vibes your way. It's hardest for you bc you know so much and you probably keep thinking about treatments and diagnosis and prognosis. I'd say put all of it on hold and HAVE FUN!!! You can think about the IM later, this is off season, after all!

sallyaston said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog :-) I hope you heal up quickly!

GetBackJoJo said...

Ahh... you know I know how you feel! I hope you heal well. And fast. :)

Teresa said...

I attempted knitting at one point and let's just say I was made for triathlon! Sorry to hear about your injury. Glad yup have an amazing husband! Happy anniversary!

Damie said...

first- got a big laugh out of your "of course I diagnosed myself" ha ha ha! yes, I know. I hear ya- knowing your body...all the ins and outs. And as a PT, things just necessarily don't get better- our brains don't work like that. You know what I would like? Let's put together a killer strength program for the winter-all of the stuff that gets the small muscles...the things we never think of that hold everything together- let's put together something and do it. xxxoooo heal up fast and smart. I am right there with ya!

The Triathlon Rx said...

Sarcomeres... PRP... this is why I love reading your blog. :) I was just going to ask - is it *pain* or is it just like *wow that's annoying*, but then you just said it. It's easy when there are conflicting opinions from Yahoo Answers or wikipedia, but when it's legit sources that disagree it gets tricky.

I hope you get your Christmas run!! Do you guys stick around for x-mas? We are always in Albany, MN, and I've always run on the Wobegon Trail (in the snow - with deer)! How's that for 100% Minnesotan?

I'm right there with you on this limbo business though. Likewise, because it's what I study every day, I'm pretty aware of what my body is signaling (or not signaling). So while the boy can *say* "it'll be fine... don't worry" I *don't* think it would be so fine if my tibia snapped all the way through like this chicky. Have you seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaX1bAL6FeI

Um, end of novel. Thanks for being a good role model and listening to your body. And being honest that it makes you cranky. Makes me feel a little bit better :)

Maggs said...

I knitted for a while. Everyone in my family got tired of mono color scarves. I tried hats and then gave up knitting.

Hope your leg feels better soon.