Fixing my angry hamstring: Fixes for a tendon injury

Being Challenged in Life is Inevitable, Being Defeated is Optional

For the past year I have been dealing with hamstring issues, actually I think it has been long before that since nearly every marathon prior I would complain of pain in my left hamstring that caused me to back off the last few miles. Since time off last fall and again this winter wasn’t enough I finally decided it was time to get aggressive if I planned to break out of my racing slump and get back to where I had been and break through my current wall.

After an appointment with one doctor that lasted a mere 15 minutes I left feeling like I could have done more work on my own and that I had been thrown into sales world I sought out a second opinion. This second opinion was much closer to my past experiences, I spent 1 ½ hours at the clinic that caters to professional athletes and local elites. I had a full gait analysis, muscle balance and strength assessment along with discussing my full history, goals and plans.

I am being treated with ART (active release therapy) which left my entire upper leg and buttocks red and screaming, but that means work! I had answers for a home program and information to pass on to my trainer. We also discussed supplemental therapies and that I can plan 4-6 (although more likely 6) sessions t get pain relief. I am to avoid concentric exercises (muscle contracted when weight lifted) and deep stretches but should focus on eccentric exercise (muscle lengthened while weight applied) as well as light stretches. I am also allowed to continue to run but at a lower level: No hills, No speed and lower mileage. We are going with the 70% rule for both intensity and mileage. I was happy to run yesterday and have it feel easy to later learn I had been averaging 8:10 pace.

Turtles out while I ran

She suggested I take fish oil, so of course I had to research on my own and I am convinced.

“The anti-inflammatory properties from fish oil do not interfere with the kind of inflammation you should stimulate with massage and exercise that will help heal your tendons. This is not true in Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflamatory Drugs (NSAIDS), such as Ibuprofen, which do act against the beneficial type of inflammation needed for healing (Source).

I also found suggestions that Vitamin A, C, D are also wonderful for tendinitis. Along with magnesium. Thank you Tracy for the discussion on beets last week. I love beets but rarely go through the work of roasting them but now I have an excuse to make them all the time! Interesting, but not surprising, I also found that dairy can have a negative impact on tendon healing due to the inflammation it causes, yep just another reason to stay away! I have been eating dairy again the past couple weeks and wow do I feel the bad effects. Today will be Day 2 of no dairy again (for good).

And yesterday she wanted me to give Kinesio Tape a try. I have bashed this for years since there isn’t much evidence to back up its effectiveness but why not. All the studies I see say there is either no benefit or “may be minimal benefit” but I guess it can’t hurt. Yep, I’m at that point of trying anything so I can get back to racing full force again.

Fingers crossed this all works, 1/3 of the way through treatment and like I said running feels better. I am focusing on listening to my body and backing off if needed. Are there any non-conventional treatment you have found works?

Happy Friday! A 3 Day weekend is upon us, yeah! What are your plans to enjoy the time?

3 or 13, parenting frustrations: What is the answer?

After a few weeks of less than ideal 3 year old behavior I decided to write to vent and gain insight from others. So today, no writing about running although this often makes me want to run! Alright parents, we all hear the “Terrible Twos” but honestly that year was nothing compared to the 3s, seriously there are days when I’m not sure if I have a 3 year old or a 13 year old on my hands! Isn’t it supposed to be the teen years filled with emotional rollercoasters, drama, pushing limits and door slamming? Not here, my 3 year old has mastered these all!

We pick our battles: outfits of tutu and PJ tops are fine with me!

Every parent has seen this: the lack of listening, frustration leading to hitting and throwing, just plain defiance, right? I honestly question those who say their child doesn’t do any of this, what is the secret?

O is big into pushing limits and continuing to push complete with the gritted teeth…

• The other day at Costco she continued to hit me with the cart strap, I tell her “that is not nice, hitting hurts” well it continues but now she has that smirk. I take away “snacks” (samples) at the store but nope not working.
• Again we are at home asking her to do who knows what: pick up toys, brush teeth, put on shoes, etc and the answer is “No” and she walks away.
• I will admit that the responses are funny at times: “I can’t pick up my toys. I only have two hands and they are little.” –Yep, she has a point there!
• And the many times where I wonder if her ears work, although when she does that thing she was told not to complete with smirk then I know the ears work! There are times when it is not just a behavior but a safety issue: leaving the yard and going in the street, running around with food in her mouth, climbing the stair railing! I try to reason and explain she could get hurt badly and think she gets that but just pushes still. She did finally learn after being told to not rock on the kitchen chair only after the entire chair fell backwards leading to a fall and a scared kid (although not hurt).

I mean I get it she is learning her independence and pushing the boundaries but come on, nothing prepares you for this. You read all the books and listen to the advice that says love your child, listen the them, give them attention… but what else? It all sounds great on paper but no matter how much of the previous is done there are days when the behavior is out of control! A full moon, weather, parental stress, who knows?

I have tried attempting to cut off behavior early with removing the situation, the reasoning and telling her she made the choice (suggested by her pre-school teacher), take away toys and activities after one time of not listening, tried time outs but that usually means just jumping on the couch. I try to keep calm myself but we all know that doesn’t work many times as they continue to push and now we are both escalating.

So what works? Do we just hold our breath and know that we will survive and it has to end soon? Just love and hug our kids and teach them to be strong through our positive example? Or is there a hidden answer somewhere out there? If anyone knows this, please share!

She has now moved on to refusing the much needed nap, so much she won’t stay in bed for fear of actually falling asleep! But she needs this, luckily I can still convince her to stay in her room or I always have this…

I guess BOB still means a nap!

I run and de-stress! Parents tell me I am not alone, please! What other tricks work? Thanks for letting me vent a little, deep breaths all around, we will survive. Even with this behavior it is all worth it when she runs up with that big hug, the giggles and tells me "You are the best mommy ever." 

Not so Marathon Monday- Week in Review

Well, looks like I am back at it again. I made the decision to run the Swan Lake Marathon in 3 weeks and started following a back to back marathon recovery/training plan. I guess we can call this Week 1 again since I have decided to run the marathon in June! Guess what, no snow this week! But record heat on Tuesday and then storms all weekend, ugh! I had my first (and only) visit with the sports doc, yes I thought it was good but he is not near what I got from the guy I used to see. So despite things being less than ideal (further and no child care) I am switching.

Spring is here, no more snow pictures this week, yeah!

Monday: Swim 15 minutes (sad, but that is my limit) in a very cold pool with broken heater! 45 minute easy bike

Tuesday: Strength workout with trainer and 5.5 mile easy run in 92F

Wednesday: 6.5 mile run/walk

Thursday:  1 hour bike in am and weights in afternoon

Friday: 1 hour spin

Saturday: 1 hour elliptical in morning and 3 mile run with puppy and O in BOB

Sunday: 9.5 mile easy run and weights

Post Storm running, beautiful!

Goal: Honestly nothing except get this hamstring/piriformis fixed. Continue to roll and ice like a crazy woman and swim again.

This would be Week 2 of 4 (Taper again, watch out!). Half marathon in 2 weeks and a marathon in 3 weeks J

Monday: Yoga, ? swim or bike

Tuesday: Morning spin/weights with trainer & Easy evening Run (coaching)

Wednesday: No more pre-school run time! 8 mile run with speed pick ups

Thursday: Morning Spin/Weights, Run with a friend (6 miles easy)

Friday:  Spin and Core

Saturday: 6-8 Mile run with group & weights

Sunday: 12 mile run

How was your week? Have you run back to back marathons? This will be my second time, last was 6 years ago when I ran 3 weeks apart at Fargo and San Diego and thanks to extreme humidity and hot weather I had to take it easy on the 2^nd. What did you learn from back to back marathons?

Menu Planning 5/19

It’s that time of the week again to look ahead and plan before things are crazy again! Matt and I are both school free for now, he goes back soon and I am overwhelmed with studying for boards! O is wrapping up school year activities: pre-school ends this week (boy will I miss my weekly free time), gymnastics and dance shows are near and summer activities starting soon. I have yet another job interview this week, still searching for that perfect job since I have a month or so until I can even work yet.

After a couple weeks of allowing dairy back into my diet I have decided it will be gone again for both O and I. She’s had multiple GI issues since birth and now that she is able to easily communicate her pains it will be easier to do an elimination trial. So starting next week, no more dairy! Any dairy free cheese suggestions? This will be the big thing, milk= easy, yogurt= easy, cheese= very difficult! Plus I have decided that nutrition is the next aspect to fully address for my training. Time to stick with a plan, pay attention to hunger and stop boredom eating! It is so easy to just snack while I sit at the computer or studying. I have been good at grabbing handfuls of veggies and drinking lots of water but still working on it. What are your hunger helps for boredom eating?

Breakfast

Banana Breakfast Cake (my usual)

Overnight Chia pudding (going to try chia seeds!)

Lunch/Dinner

Veggie Pizza

Pad Thai or Stir fry

Squash Risotto with Roasted Beets

Blueberry Pancakes (per O’s request)

Lentil Quinoa Peppers

Black Bean Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

Snack

Veggies and Hummus

Berries and Almande Yogurt

Brown Rice Cakes with Almond Butter

Granola (Not sure what kind to make yet)

Pineapple Protein Bars (Need to fix the recipe)

What's on your menu this week? Linking up for weekly menu planning with Jill and Laura. 

Going out of my comfort zone: 5K Speed Workout

Over the past few days I have thought a lot about what's next and how to get myself over this racing slump and back to the level I was at before and where I (and my trainer) think I should be. I have gone as far as thinking about changing a half entry to a full next week but quickly got smart about that until an even better option opened and I was given a free entry to a marathon next month. I am strongly considering this despite the 4 hour drive, it would be a fun, small race that I would likely never decide to do otherwise. Here I sit looking back and planning ahead...

This week I started seeing a new sports chiro who works at the gym. Perfect location since I am there all the time, access to child care and he and my trainer can communicate to tailor my workouts. What did I find? Honestly nothing new, but my SI joints are nearly locked and pelvis/hips out of line causing pull on my hamstring at the insertion. So ART and adjustments it is again. I am one who does not believe in all the hype on adjustments fixing everything, I mean really crack my neck and my allergies are gone?? (too much medical bias) but am a believer in the sports side with muscle work and adjustments to fix misalignments in running.

And then check out these photos from last Saturday (Sometime after Mile 20), a little crooked right? Does anyone else look at race photos and critique your form?

Finally a great race picture!

So now the decision to make: To run a free marathon or not? I hope to do 50 States at some point and this would be a simple way to get SD crossed off, I have a place to stay and pretty much only ran 21 miles last week as the last 5 were filled with walking so can just start over. But is this a waste of a weekend, more frustration if I don't race well? What do I do? I am serious, I will take advice on this.

In the meantime as soon as this hamstring is healed I have a half marathon and plan to actually train for a 5K! Talk about out of my comfort zone. I think my trainer is thrilled with this since he loves sprinting and doesn't understand my crazy fascination with marathons and strong hatred of 5Ks! My goal is to break 20 minutes...

Since I will also be half marathon training I like the idea of longer speed intervals and need to get back to it. Speed work lacked this winter and I kind of like it. What is better than that feeling of running fast, hard and pushing beyond your limits? As much as I hate this I love it in the end! What have you done to push outside your comfort zone?

Kind Runner: The Answer to that Pile of Old Running Shoes

As a runner and coach I am always asked about shoes: what kind to buy, where to buy, what to do with old shoes? So what are the answers? I always tell new runners to talk to an expert and get fitted without regards to color or style and be open to what the expert suggests. I love buying online, especially now with a 3 year old going to a store running store is work! What’s better than ordering shoes while sitting on the couch and drinking coffee at 5am?! This is where Kind Runner comes in…

Kindrunner.com will be launching on June 1st. An online running store founded and staffed by runners/ expert running shoe fitters with 40+ years of experience in the running industry. They will be able to get you in the correct running shoe from the convenience of your home! Complete with product guidance and product review videos too!

And now to second and in my opinion best part about KindRunner; their effort to change the world for the better! This is what sets them apart from other online running stores J KindRunner is the only place on the web where runners can trade in their old running shoes for new ones. For each old pair sent in you will receive Kindness Cash Rewards that can be applied to any product on the site. KindRunner will then give your old shoes to their shoe donation partners that include Soles 4 Souls. Your old shoes will be repurposed and given to non-runners who need them for basic transportation and protection from disease and injury, they will go to places throughout the US and beyond. Look at just a small portion of my old shoes, I know we all have these just waiting for a new purpose!

Less than 1 year's worth of shoes!

So what do you think about KindRunner??!!  I am very excited to see them launch June 1st - and was thrilled when they asked me to be a KindRunner Ambassador!  I really believe in the mission of this company and am excited about sharing it with others!  As an ambassador I will get the opportunity to try new running products and share them with you guys also!  

Head on over and check them out Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube! You may even win a free pair of running shoes! They are giving away a year's worth of running shoes to you and a running partner of your choice (3 pairs each)! To enter all you have to do is sign up on their email list (make sure your chosen running partner signs up too). Also, once they receive 500 likes on their Facebook page they are giving away a free pair of shoes to one of their followers! Seriously, what is better than free running shoes?!

Do you have old shoes in your closet that you need to get rid of? What do you do with old running shoes? 

*I am an ambassador for kindrunner.com. I will be doing campaigns involving product reviews and giveaways provided by kindrunner. As always all the opinions expressed will be mine.

And off topic: Check out the guest post I wrote on being Gluten Free at rebecca roams

Lake Wobegon: My Favorite worst marathon ever!

On Saturday I ran my 21^st marathon, 20 more than I ever imagined when I started 10 years ago! With the brutal winter and lack of spring my training has been less than ideal then combine that with massive allergies, an angry hamstring early on and then a crazy foot thing this past week and I was stressed but still went into the weekend with high expectations after a full taper and a wonderful forecast.

Come race morning my expectations had changed, let me just say that if this had been a training run I am 90% sure I would have rolled over and stayed in bed! I know I am starting to sound like a broken record with my poor race excuse list but I think this one tops them all (although I can’t say I got chased by dogs like last year!). So here it goes my pre-race list of why the day sucked…

• Sharing a hotel room with an overly tired 3 year old who was awake giggling way past 10pm, flopping around like crazy fish and wanting ask “why _______” every 10 seconds meant minimal sleep for me.
• But guess who was wide awake when my alarm went off at 4:40am, no not me! “Mommy it’s a little day out” Yes, it is and my head is pounding L
• As soon as I grabbed my GF bagel/SunButter banana combo and coffee I knew this was not just a headache, hello migraine you’re not the running partner I wanted! Luckily some Nuun and Vitamin I helped to ease the pounding enough to function but the “migraine hangover” ugh!
• And guess what? The weatherman was wrong! No perfect day of 50s, sunny and tailwind. Instead 30s, snow/sleet and wind up to 50+mph, nope not kidding!

The race had 400 registered runners, big difference for all of the other marathons I have run, and throughout had the complete small town feel. Runners got to hang out in the high school gym and we all headed to the start together, I mean check out this start line…

The race was held on an old (now paved) railroad trail winding through farmland, past lakes and through parks and old covered bridges. Flat course and made for PRs, but not when the winds are gusting!

Me in the Boston jacket

Mile 1-6: 7:35-7:50 pace and feeling good despite the cross winds blowing across me. I even chatted with a few other runners and questioned rain drops near Mile 6, as I grab my first Huma Gel.

Mile 7: Oh no, not rain bring on the icy snow pellets hitting the right side of my face at 30+ mph. Yikes!

Mile 9: Feeling the effects of no sleep and a migraine hangover, time to grab the iPod and have a little extra push. I need to be in my own head, just 2 more miles until they claim a tail wind! Just keep moving.

Mile 11: Yay, tailwind and downhill. And it is gone, a quick turn and headwinds L But there is my cheering section J As I high five O I get a renewed sense of energy.

A little cold to get out and cheer!

Mile 13.1: 1:43, I can still do this! Even as I fade I am on pace for a PR. The 3:30 pacer quickly catches and I stick with them for awhile.

Mile 16: Quads are tightening and yep here comes the hamstring! Take a walk break for a Huma Gel. I felt like I was in The Amazing Race as I hit the water stop and the volunteer hands the water as she says “welcome to Avon” (actually I think this may have been Mile 18)

Mile 17-20: Not so bad, I keep finding small goals, run to the next bridge, tree, the miles are just ticking away.

Mile 21: Oh my the pain is worse and the wind is pushing me backwards! A quick call to Matt to see how his race went (yep, I had given up on time). We chat but he can barely hear me due to the wind.

Mile 22-24: I am fading, it hurts the goals of running from spot to spot and becoming shorter. I am still running more and keeping 9ish pace.

Mile 25: Gorgeous, the wind is still gusting up to 50+ mph but the sun is out…just keep moving forward. I have about ½ mile to go and one girl in an Ironman jacket who I have seen multiple places spectating, starts walking with me “Are you okay?” We chat a bit, I tell her the hamstring is hurt. She smartly says “keep moving, you are so close. I know this isn’t how you planned to finish think of what you have still accomplished.”

Yes, hat and mittens were needed and check out the wind! O got to help with the balloons at the finish!

And finally I see the finish! 3:46:33

It is freezing, I grab get my medal and head over for my shirt which is nicely packed correct size in an envelope with a luggage tag from the race, I grab my bag and head inside. Now the downside of being gluten free: post race food! Pizza- nope, bagels-nope (can I just grab the big jar of PB?), cookies-nope, breakfast bars-nope, M&Ms-another nope (chocolate allergy), I grab my banana and orange slices and spot the cooler with Diet Coke, now I am happy J I have learned to pack my own and have a Perfect Foods Bar waiting in my bag.

I change and chat with some runners before heading to drive the 75 minutes home. I feel like this recap doesn’t do the race justice. I have written it all in my head as I ran, again I need to dictate!

Despite my poor race and list of excuses I loved it. Somehow the miles just flew by even though I wasn’t feeling great. There were spectators but not too many to mess with me. Just enough to give that boost when needed but no one telling me at every turn I was “looking great” when really I was near tears thanks to my hamstring. I honestly felt like I was just running and loved getting lost in my head and the surroundings rather than focusing on the crazy turns of a course or way too many runners. Even better the race was cheap (I think I paid $30), had inside facilities at both the start and finish, plenty of food (even though most I couldn’t eat), the shirts fit for a change- they realize women runners are not short, wide with skinny arms, love the medal and the photos are free- not that any actually look great of me.

So there you have my favorite race (besides Boston) with a not so wonderful result. I plan to be back again and set that PR! The good news from the day, no foot pain, still no idea what that was all about. Bad news the hamstring is still less than happy. I am seeing my sports chiro tomorrow for some ART and talking with a sports doctor to consider prolotherapy.

I am learning from this race and know my training lacked speedwork thanks to a brutal winter and the long runs were less than ideal with snow all the time. I am also stepping back to evaluate my nutrition and make changes. Mat also brought up all the stress of finishing school and the job issues that would have impacted training. If you can’t learn from something then it truly is a failure, but learning and improving makes it a growth experience.