Monday, April 23, 2012

Update on injury, plan for this week and thoughts on the marathon....

I feel truly encouraged this morning. My calf is doing MUCH better. So much so that this weekend I was able to walk slowly, start and stop for about 2 miles. This was huge for me as remember earlier in the week I could not make it .30 miles without a cramp!! My visit with the PT went very well. This was my second visit to the sports clinic and I am even more impressed with the level of care they are providing me.

The ultrasound revealed both good news and interesting news. The big news for me was that I did not have a large tear in my calf. This was such a relief!! It meant that through resting and proper treatment, I would not need a huge break from running. The interesting news came from what was causing my calf pain.  Some of you may remember back last year when I was receiving the injections for my arthritis that I also had a bakers cyst behind my knee. I have had this cyst for years, so that was nothing new however due to my new running routines since moving here I have aggregated the cyst greatly and it is very inflamed. The brusa extends into my calf which is why I was having the cramping and pain. So my bakers cyst caused a calf strain from the pressure of the fluid and inflammation. Now, the PT said it was due to down hill running. The pounding only makes my arthritis in my knee worse which in turn inflames the Bakers causing the fluid build up to spread down into the calf.  So I have been icing behind my knee and it has helped greatly.

As far as treatment....well, we are taking a wait and see approach. He said he DOES NOT think I should run the marathon BUT he was going to make up a program for me and we will see if I can walk the race....which would be fine with me!!!!!!!!!

I have to keep the knee wrapped with a brace/compression sleeve , ice a great deal throughout the day, stretch, do my yoga daily, take some anti-inflammatories, and bike for at least one hour 4 times a week. I can also walk as long and there is NO pain whatsoever. I am going in today for some more treatments along with a deep tissue massage and some acupuncture. If all goes well this week, I am going to aim for a long walk with maybe a few running intervals on Saturday. I have to still work on getting walks/runs in IF....and I do say IF I am going to do the marathon in 5 weeks. I HAVE TO be able to walk/run a 15:15 mm to be able to meet the time cut off. Normally, this would be nothing but I am not sure how fast I can walk as of now, so this week if I am healing well, I am going to do a test run if you will to see if I can walk/run less than a 15 mm with my injury. We will see.

So for now I cannot say whether or not I am racing,  but I can say that my mind is open to the possibility of canceling IF I need to. The PT was SO extremely helpful and we talked about my marathons in September and October and I feel through his help and following his plan, I can do this! But the key is I MUST follow the program. I cannot do my normal crazy thing and get out there and do trail runs going over rocks and uneven surfaces as I was....remember those awesome trail runs?? OH!  I am going to miss that!! BUT...that was putting crazy amounts of strain on my knee which lead to all of this.

Who would have thought that my KNEE would be causing my calf to cramp up?? To me it is crazy but when I started doing research on Runners world etc... it is actually quite common. The funny thing was a few weeks ago I was going to send a text to my aunt the elite runner and doctor who I always talk about as she always helps me....anyways, I was going to text her and ask if my cyst could be the cause of my calf pain. As I was feeling such pressure and pain behind my knee and I was wondering if the cyst was cutting of blood supply or something to my calf. I never sent the text because I thought it was a crazy idea.....well, I should have stuck with my gut....but you live and learn right ;)

So that is pretty much it. Now, all I have to do is wait and do what I am supposed to do. I feel blessed to have found such a wonderful sports clinic here and I am so thankful God is helping me through all of this. I have learned so much about myself once again. I have learned I am one stubborn, determined girl :) It can be a good thing but if I am going to continue racing I need to learn MODERATION in all things.

Now onto my plan for this week.....

I am using this time to really focus on my diet. Those of you on my FB page will know that I am switching back to the plan I followed last year which brought me such amazing success with my weight loss. It was a mostly Vegan diet with a focus on raw foods. I already feel so amazing eating this way and look forward to learning more about raw foods and various ways to incorporate more nutrient dense foods into our diet. I am reading once again the BEST book in my opinion.....Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live. I read this book last year and gave it to my parents which in turn, caused them to become Vegan and it has changed their life as well. Along with this I am reading Kathy Freston's new book The Lean.....it is very good as well, a fast quick read.

My nutritional goals for this week are.....

1. Take my Vitamineral Green and Earth twice daily
2. Juice or blend daily
3. Eat at least one raw salad for either lunch or dinner daily.
4. Make sure to have 1/2 avocado, 1 oz of nuts and chia seeds daily
5. Eat at least 4 servings of fruit a day
6. No Coffee for this week....just tea
7. No Dairy, Eggs or Meat other than fish ( not fully Vegan I know, but it is a start)
8. Limit fish to no more than once a day
9. Eat one serving of beans a day
10. One tbsp of flaxseed oil daily

My fitness goals for this week are.....

1. EVERYDAY stretch and use my foam roller
2. Yoga daily for at least 30 mins - using Cathe's Yoga Max dvd along with Rodney Yee
3. 4 - 5 days this week bike for at least one hour
4. Try to walk daily for at least 30 mins as long as there is no pain
5. Complete 3 rounds of ST (M,W,F) and reach a total of 500 push ups for the week


3 comments:

Anele @ Success Along the Weigh said...

So glad to hear there were no tears and that you're going to follow the plan they laid out for you. It doesn't matter if you do the race or not, just as long as you're healthy!

C. Ann Anderson said...

I just found you page through Daily Mile. I saw your scripture, picture and description and thought, "yep, I found a friend!"

Angela @ The Chicken Scoop said...

Glad you know what it is now! The general rule for runners I've heard is that look above the pain (knee hurts? look at your hips, ankle hurts? look at your knee as the source). So your calf hurt and it was your knee that was the problem! Anyway, good luck with your training and your marathon plans!
~Ang