And now I'm injured.

Note: I can't imagine anyone will ever read this post. I can't even imagine myself reading it, it's so long, and just drones on and on about my injury. That said, here we go...

Well, it's been a few months since my first post, and that's mostly because there's not much to report. I've been injured since early January, and haven't been able to run.

The injury I suffered during the marathon was a right IT-band strain, with terrible knee pain, but I stayed off it for a couple of weeks post-race, and started back into running slowly. The right leg responded well to that, thankfully.

But this made my left knee rather jealous.

For every babied, coddled body part, there is an equally and oppositely abused, overworked body part somewhere else, doing double duty thanks to the injured one's inability to contribute. During my right leg's recovery, the brunt of the abuse was taken by my left knee, and now it's the one calling all the shots. No running, be gentle on stairs, even walking can set it into a tizzy. I now get into and out of the car differently to avoid waking this beast.

So a few weeks ago, after almost a month of no running, I went to my doctor. He ordered an MRI, which showed I have damage to the knee cartilage. He recommended an orthopedic specialist who couldn't get me in until 2 months down the road, so I found another one at a nearby office, and got an appointment for the next week.

The orthopedic doctor was very helpful, and gave me an overview of how things will likely turn out: I should be back to running in 2-3 months (I was ready to accept up to 3, so we're fine there!) and the Baltimore Marathon in October should be no problem! Sounds good to me! He then referred me to a Physical Therapist colleague, and off I went, thanking him profusely, as one should thank a bearer of such good news!

A week later (actually earlier this week), I had my first appointment with the physical therapist. Before anything else, the man interviewed me for at least 20 minutes!

We got into all kinds of history, my considerable weight loss, the marathon, my previous injuries, my impressions of how it all fits together... I had 4 pages of printed materials which I wasn't sure if he'd want, for fear of seeming too verbose: a summary of my last 3 months of running from the marathon until the present... my injury history (all dated, sourced from Facebook posts, emails and online workout tracker archives), my exact descriptions of what movements cause the pain in what circumstances (mostly dictated into my phone as I went for walks after the injury), and all my questions for him, about everything from PT treatment techniques I read about online, to barefoot running. He enthusiastically pored over all of it, and answered each question definitively.

Most notably, he stated unequivocally that barefoot running, currently a controversial practice among runners, is not just a fad-- the science so far casts it in a very favorable light, and it may very well be the way for me to go. I'll have to go into that more in another post, because it's too much to visit here. But suffice it to say, I was very surprised that he didn't simply debunk it as I expected him to. On the contrary, he very nearly recommended it.

Next, we went to the gym for the rest of the first appointment. A younger female PT (perhaps an intern) joined us as the one to administer a bunch of tests and challenges as Ken (my PT) directed the proceedings and took down the measurements the other PT shouted out to him. After all tests were completed, my orthopedic doctor (Sameer) walked into the gym and greeted Ken and me. They informed me that, on a 21-point scale, I'd scored a 9.

So now I have an email in to Ken asking what that means, exactly! I assume it's a combination of range-of-motion, strength, balance, proprioception, etc. But I'd love to know exactly what the test is called and what my score means. Ken has been very responsive via email, so I have no doubt he'll reply as soon as he can.

Meanwhile, I've been given homework! I have a blue resistance band designed to go around legs, and it provides resistance for two exercises this week: the Clamshell (put the band around the legs just above the knees, lie on your side with legs bent, and lift the top knee up away from the bottom knee against resistance, keeping feet together), and the Hydrant (keep the band in the same place, then go down on all fours, lift one leg back and point the knee outward, against resistance).

For each of these positions, I have to do 20-60 second holds for 5 minutes each leg, 3 times a day. So that's an hour a day, in three 20-minute sessions (2 exercises * 2 legs * 5 minutes per leg = 20 minutes, * 3 sessions = 60 minutes). It sounds easy to do, but it's grueling! I'm already up to 30-second hold times, and will try for 45 seconds on Monday. The goal is to get up to 60 seconds by my appointment next Thursday.

Sameer, my orthopedic doctor, said I should be able to return to running within 2-3 months. I'm going to ask Ken for his own prediction on that, as well. I'm hoping for a nice, low number. :-) And I'm excited to think about the possibilities of barefoot running, or running with "minimal shoes" (like Vibram Five Fingers). It would require starting over, to a degree. But after an injury of this length, I'll be starting with low mileage anyway. Hmm... at this point, I like the mystery of it all. :-)

Strength Training

About a year and a half before the 2011 Baltimore Marathon, I started gathering info about how and when to start training for it. I decided instead of giving myself 6 months to build mileage, I'd give myself a year. I wanted to make sure I had enough time for injuries.

So it was a long, slow build. I did suffer with various injuries at different times, but I have to note that I stayed almost completely injury-free during the 10-month period of time that I was doing strength training on non-running days at the local YMCA. Only once did I get hurt, and it was due to my then longest-run-ever, which was also through an uncharacteristically treacherous course. I long-jumped over a frozen stream at about the 7-mile mark, and angered my Achilles tendon during the push-off. Though it hurt badly after I landed, I decided to keep going for another 4. I don't think any amount of strength training will prevent injury if I'm not using common sense!

But that was the only injury I suffered while supplementing my running with strength training. A tally reveals four injuries during the 12 months without strength training, vs only one in that 10-month period with strength training. Pretty convincing evidence that I need to get back into a gym.

An Introduction to Me and My Running

I guess I should start by saying this is really an odd time for me to start a running blog. After all, I've been running for almost 2 years now...

A little backstory...

That's a "Before and During" of my big head below. At 6'1", I weighed 271 pounds. Not exactly Biggest Loser material, but by most medical criteria, I was squarely in the "obese" category.

I didn't start out doing everything all at once... no running just yet. My pursuit of a healthier lifestyle began with changes to my diet in June 2009. By the time the "October 2009" photo below was taken (still 2 months pre-running), I was down to the 230s.

About the halfway mark. This weight loss came solely from changes in diet, and a little walking.

More after the break...