Ahhh, the longest of the long runs are behind me. The grueling weeks of high mileage have past and over four months of focused conditioning will soon be put to the test.I've run in exceptional heat and humidity. I've run in the cold. I've run in the rain. I've run so early in the morning the dog won't even get up with me. I have run late at night when most rational people are sound asleep. I have run past farms at the exact epicenter of nowhere and I have run through the very heart of the media, finance and cultural capitol of the world.
I've eaten veritable mountains of salad and ginourmous plates of enriched wholewheat pasta. I was surprised at myself by how annoyed I was with the spinach / e coli outbreak. I want my spinach salad!
I've gone so far as to deprive myself of beer, wine and cocktails. Even my beloved Bombay Sapphire & tonic has been banished from my glass these past six weeks (okay, okay, okay... I did have one small glass of Bordeaux on my Anniversary but that was a special occasion).
Now, as I ease into the next two weeks of taper I can rest assured that I have done the work. But wait... What's this tender soreness I am feeling in my left hip and knee? Drat! It cannot be!
I am no doctor but based on location of the pain and a little research I think I my have done something to the adductor muscle group in my left hip / groin which may also be causing the tenderness in my knee.I've read that this can be caused by inadequate arch support in shoes which causes the ankle, knee and subsequently the hip to pronate and thus become misaligned.
I shall give my self a couple of days off and I have scheduled an appointment for an orthopedic massage. I will also retire my neutral Asics Gel-Nimbus shoes which have approximately 400 miles on them and use my secondary pair which have about 200 miles on them.
Question for the blogoshere:
- Do I have time to get a new pair of shoes and break them in in time for the marathon?
- Has anyone had a similar experience and have sage advice to share?
"Do not consider painful what is good for you."
-Euripides
12 comments:
Josh
To me it sounds like IT band problem. Look up a stretch for the IT band . and do it for like 30 minutes while you watch TV or something . Good Luck .
Thanks Kate -
The pain is on the inside of my hip/thigh/knee. I think the IT is on the outside of the leg.
I wonder if the IT is tight and is pulling my leg off balance...
I think if you're just gonna get another pair of the same model...and have enough time to do at least one long run in them...may be cutting it close, but might be OK? (Maybe someone with more experience can weigh in too.) My shoes will have 50 miles on them come marathon day (but I did do my last 20 in them-and they're the 3rd pair of a tried and true model.)
And props to you for giving up alcohol...I haven't gone quite that far yet :)
Good luck to you!
First of all, nice job on changing the diet so much to accomodate training. You're going to have a great race.
As for shoes, I think it depends on how you normally break in shoes. For me, I can put on a brand new pair of Saucony's and run 15 miles with no problem. However, I know some people that need a few short runs in new shoes before they'll wear them on a long run. I once had to "break in" a new pair the night before a race. I wore them to dinner, a walk around the block and I was good for a half the next day.
That said, I think you have time.
As for the muscle issue, I've been having some hip flexor problems for the past few weeks. I was hurting pretty badly when I ran but mostly, it was soreness in the hip flexor after a run. It was as if I couldn't lift my leg up at all- like the muscle was giving out. So, I had a couple massages (good move) which really helped; though I almost cried when the therapist was working on it. She also showed me some great stretches that I do a couple times a day that have made a huge difference.
I think my issue was due to the knee injury I had so yours could be working in the opposite way. That muscle, as seen in your diagram (haha) is connected to all of those so it's no surprise it would cause pain in all areas.
Stretching is the key to just about everything, if you ask me. Adding that stretching and the massage has really helped me go from pain to almost none at all.
drats.....when i read the alcohol comment, i don't know how anyone could do it for more than 6 weeks!!!!!! I'm inspired....I think I will start right now....no wait, I'll abstain from alcohol starting 10/23. :)
Answer to #1 - NO
Answer to #2 - I have hip problems which is called sacroiliac joint syndrome. I go to the chiropractor once a month and he fixes me up good. His name is Dr. Bob Orezen in Bellrose 516-352-7111. Stretching is very important. Get orthotics and please understand the mileage is starting to catch up to you. I am experience the same problem. Hip was fine until 2 weeks ago. When hip is out of alignment it causes siatica, knee, groin, foot pain. Hang in there. Janine
Also you may have inflamed your piriformis muscle which I have a few great stretches. I'll show you the next time. Janine
Josh check out tip #16 under training on the NYC marathon website.
Thanks everyone! I have taken two days off and seen little improvement. I ran today and will run tomorrow then take 3 days off. The 400 mile shoes are history. I am using the 200 mile pair for now. Stretching is helping. We'll see how the massage goes and I'll report back.
Be careful with massages if you don't know 100% what the problem is. My friend had an ankle problem and got a massage - afterwards she couldn't walk anymore. Better to have a doctor prescribe you one first. I have found a great doc in Manhattan if you need one.
Yes, you have time to break in a new pair of shoes if they're the same kind of shoes you always run in. I wore a brand-spankin' new pair of shoes in a 10-mile race, and I was fine.
Dang, I was going to write some witty (to me at least) comment about running to the store to get alcohol, but then I decided that I'm more concerned about your hip.
I hope it turns out to be nothing serious, but it is concerning that you have seen little improvement.
I hope you feel better soon.
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