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3/15/11 6:00 P

Thanks for all of the support, guys. I went for my follow up at the doctor today. He gave me the all clear, but still wants me to take it easy. I am thinking of doing a run/walk combo for the race. But, as some of you said, I will just be making a game time decision on this one. One way or another I will cross the finish line. A part of me is kind of excited to get back to my normal running, instead of all of this training business.

P.S. just looked at the weather and it is going to be a horrifying 79 degrees!!! I haven't run in that kind of weather in months. Even 50 degrees felt weird the other day. I will definitely be revamping my hydration plans for the race.

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3/11/11 3:22 P

I totally understand what you are going through! I got injured last summer and had to withdraw from an August half. I was devasted! I felt like someone had broken up with me!

Take it easy, make a game time decision.

I will be watching to see what happens!

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3/11/11 2:10 P

Definitely listen to your doc! Fingers crossed that you make a speedy recovery and are in fine form for your race!

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3/9/11 7:28 A

So glad you received 'good' news, let's keep it that way. I know how you feel about burning calories. It may be worth it to just walk. It takes longer but you are still burning. Hang in there.

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3/8/11 8:55 P

I venture to say the majority of us enjoy our workouts and hate to miss them but PLEASE take it easy this week in an effort to ensure you can make your race date! It will be so worth it! Glad it wasn't anything major.

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3/8/11 5:23 P

Hey guys! I really appreciate your support through all this. I went to the ortho doctor today. I have strained my [ Insert doctor mumbo jumbo here] tendon. It's a muscle in the back of knee (as I suspected). He says that it is a very mild strain. I am on some pain relievers for a week. Then I am going back for a follow up. he expects to give me a clean bill of health at that point. Sounds like I will be able to keep my race date, though I definitely will not be pushing for a PR. I am still fearful of re-injury. I am going low impact this week. He said elliptical etc should be okay, but to stop if it seems irritated. I hope I can stay away. I just hate the idea of being sedentary. Gotta burn calories.

Well, I am glad to share their semi-positive news with you all. You rock!

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3/8/11 4:08 P

Hoping to hear good news. No matter what it is best to know so you can make more educated decisions.

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3/7/11 12:49 P

good for you my running friend. that was a wise move. like another sparkie said, you are far better off, if need be, to miss this race and race again, than to put yourself out of commission for 8 months.

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3/7/11 11:56 A

Thanks everyone! I just wanted to update you all that I have made an appointment with an ortho/sports med doctor for tomorrow morning. I did stick with the RICE method yesterday. I feel fine walking around but still have some tingling etc in the back of my leg. I can't wait to hear what the doctor says so at least I don't have to deal with the uncertainty. Will let you know the diagnosis.

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3/6/11 7:44 P

I have to agree with the rest of the crew here.....better to miss one race than a whole seaon or more. Get a professional (Doctor's) opinion. Maybe you'll be fine to run it, may be you can walk it or run/walk it. The determination needs to be made by a qualified Doctor and then you really need to listen and do as instructed....as hard as that might be! In the meantime, as Robert said, you really can't go wrong with the RICE formula.

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3/6/11 7:38 P

For sure find the source if you have to and it isnt to bad news from the doc walk run so you can finish good luck

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3/6/11 4:32 P

Since it's your knee i'd call an Orthped first... try to get in asap.I know ours local runs a sports clinic outta his office on Sunday's for sports related injuries... MAybe something like that near you? Otherwise think of this way.. If you push through and do this race... pain and all.. you could damage yourself for a longer amount of time and be off racing longer. :) And as a fellowpush through the pain type of person.. I've learned the hard hay it's not worth it. Take care of you and i'll be looking in to see what the outcome is... Feel better.

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3/6/11 4:20 P

Thanks so much for your advice. I am the type to just push through pain. I am literally just dying to do a workout right now. But, I understand that listening to my body is important. I am not sure what kind of doctor to see, but I will start doing my research and schedule something asap. I really appreciate your support.

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3/6/11 3:51 P

Sorry to hear about this.... definitely see a doctor and don't worry about missing a race. It happens to everyone at some point and it's better to rest and come back strong for the next race that to try to force things and end up with a much worse injury.

I missed a half marathon today that literally started 3 blocks from my house. If I had gotten up at 6am, I would have seen the runners going by! But I am dealing with some IT band issues so I skipped it. It's hard to do it, but it's much better in the long run.

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3/6/11 3:17 P

Hi Jamie,

Unfortunately none of us are in a position to offer even a clue as to what you may be experiencing. The reason, many times point of the pain is not the source of the pain. In other words it could be a number of issues up and down the kinetic chain from poor upper body form to the your footstrike, therefore, this is left best to your physician or a Sports Medicine doc. Discomfort is one thing, but pain is definitely something you do not want to run through.

Please get it checked out. While it will be disappointing to possibly miss this event, there may be another race you can train for, but first you must find out the severity of the issue.

I wish you well!
Nancy

Posts: 177
3/6/11 3:12 P

I know it is tough to train hard, pay money for, and be so close to a race and then an injury sets in at the last second. I have lost lots of money on entry fees but the bottom line is my advice is getting it checked out if it still hurts after a few days of rest. If rest works the you wouldn't have lost so much of your training because you are in taper mode anyway.

I think the experts here will agree that something caused that pain and you need to find out why even if the pain goes away so it doesn't happen again whether it be something simple like worn out or wrong shoes, or something more complex..

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3/6/11 2:52 P

Throbbing= Bad as a relative novice I gotta say get to a sports doctor ASAP. Sore is one thing, but throbbing sounds more like a big problem. That screams tear rip or rupture for some reason. Hope Coach Nancy can offer real advice.

If you can't run your race it will be sad, but a life without running for 8 months is far sadder than one that is running in three weeks. Best of Luck.

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3/6/11 2:38 P

Personally, I would go get seen. It could be so many things. Hoping for the best case scenario for you!

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3/6/11 2:36 P

I have my bucket list of ideas but I am going to try to forward this to SP_Coach_Nancy for a more professional answer. this may be serious and I certainly dont want to give any opinions that might not be helpful. hang in there my friend. The most i will say is to RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

Please be careful my friend...

Robert


Edited by: ON2VICTORY at: 3/6/2011 (15:07)

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3/6/11 2:31 P

Okay, I just wrote a blog about this, but yesterday I had the worst run of my life. I was out for an 11 mile training run and I was unable to finish. I had pain in the back of my calf/knee and could barely walk home after 8 miles. Problems started about 2 weeks ago, but with rest it always seemed to come back to normal. Until yesterday. I ran 5 miles a couple days before that and felt amazing. Went faster than prescribed and still wanted to run for longer, but had to get to work.

I say all this as background. Now I am dealing with some throbbing in my leg. I have a brace and put on an icy hot patch last night. Should I be doing something else? How do you guys manage pain in your training?

I'd be absolutely DEVASTATED if I couldn't do my race. Any advice is appreciated. You can also check out my blog for more description of what's going. Thanks team!

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