Knee-aring the marathon!
I went to the doctor today. Actually! I went weak in the knees... pardon the pun. But i started fearing the shadow that looms on my marathon effort. And the oncoming long weekend, which magnified my fears. What if it gets worse? And then somebody tells me I cant attempt to run? Bascially, I wanted someone to tell me, so I could tell other who ask me not to run, that I can legally run. And it's happened.
For one, I had a helluva time in getting an appointment. Finally got one at the Overlake Medical Center this morning. Dr. Chi was great to talk to, having been a runner himself. He confirmed it is ITBS. And showed me a number of aggressive stretches. He says I should be good to run on Sunday, but he assures me of the pain later. Here are a few tips for those attempting my insanity -
1) ITBS is not deadly unless you really totally ignore it in the initial stages. But it can inhibit your running for several years if it's allowed to get out of hand.
2) It almost never requires surgery and seldom requires steroid shots to pamper the muscle.
3) It is a common runners' nightmare. And it happens to runners whose mind runs the training track faster than their muscles can support. The culprit is overtraining and overuse.
4) All stretches that cause the hip and buttock muscles to stretch will help relieve ITBS
5) It is OK to take ibuprofen before the run, drink a lot of water (to prevent excess ibuprofen concentration hampering the kidneys) and take it again after the run. But it needs to be flushed out of the system so needs a lot of hydration.
6) It REALLY is imperative to stretch and ice (for at least 20 minutes) after the run.
As for me, I am preparing myself to have a very tough next week. I hope I dont have to stop at all during the run, and can instead relax my knees later. But having been assured that the damage will not be long term, I feel more confident about doing it... well... here comes raceday. Rather, raceday, here I come. :)
For one, I had a helluva time in getting an appointment. Finally got one at the Overlake Medical Center this morning. Dr. Chi was great to talk to, having been a runner himself. He confirmed it is ITBS. And showed me a number of aggressive stretches. He says I should be good to run on Sunday, but he assures me of the pain later. Here are a few tips for those attempting my insanity -
1) ITBS is not deadly unless you really totally ignore it in the initial stages. But it can inhibit your running for several years if it's allowed to get out of hand.
2) It almost never requires surgery and seldom requires steroid shots to pamper the muscle.
3) It is a common runners' nightmare. And it happens to runners whose mind runs the training track faster than their muscles can support. The culprit is overtraining and overuse.
4) All stretches that cause the hip and buttock muscles to stretch will help relieve ITBS
5) It is OK to take ibuprofen before the run, drink a lot of water (to prevent excess ibuprofen concentration hampering the kidneys) and take it again after the run. But it needs to be flushed out of the system so needs a lot of hydration.
6) It REALLY is imperative to stretch and ice (for at least 20 minutes) after the run.
As for me, I am preparing myself to have a very tough next week. I hope I dont have to stop at all during the run, and can instead relax my knees later. But having been assured that the damage will not be long term, I feel more confident about doing it... well... here comes raceday. Rather, raceday, here I come. :)
posted by LightRain at 1:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home