My first sports therapist visit

Wednesday 30 May 2012 - I went for a session with a sports therapist to try to make some sense of my hamstring troubles.

She went through a series of massage techniques and then some stretches.

I had been warned - by other runners and the therapist herself - that the process could be quite painful, and I had gone along prepared to be in tears at some stage. However, there were very few moments where I experienced anything even remotely painful. The therapist said that I must have a very high pain threshold.

The outcome from the session was that there is nothing obviously wrong with my hamstrings.

In addition to the high pain threshold, I was also pleased to find out that I have good arches in my feet.

So the search for what is actually causing the pain/tightness/etc continues.

The candidates include:

Shoes
My trail shoes are the number one suspect here, so I am going to put them to one side and see if anything changes. (see below)

Stretching (lack of)
I'm pretty inconsistent with my post-run stretching, so I will make sure that I leave time to stretch after my running sessions.

Not enough salt in my diet (causing cramping)

I'm not quite sure about this one but I will investigate it anyway.

--

I have been going over my running log and the first instance of the issue was a few weeks after I started using the trail shoes on a regular basis. The reason that I had not really considered this before is that I sometimes have the problem after runs using standard road shoes, then again it could be a delayed reaction to a previous run in the trail shoes.

So I'll see how I get on over the next few days and weeks by not using the trail shoes, stretching religiously and making sure I eat some additional salty foods every day.

Riddlesdown parkrun sixteen (RDp16)

At the end of a second full week of rest (last week's parkrun aside) due to the hamstring issue I decided to have a slow (park)run to see how the leg was progressing.

the wife perfects the new baba carrying technique (photo:Nicki Clark)

The wife was on volunteering duty again and marshaled at a new spot just next to the start line, approximately 2.9km into the race. She also took the photos that you see here (apart from the one of herself).

I started at the back of the 76 strong pack with Terry, who had reached the start line with just seconds to spare. Our intention was to run at around Terry's personal best pace and then Terry might just grab himself a new personal best with a late surge while I hang back.

2.9km

After the first few minutes it was clear that we were going much slower than this, so we accepted that there would be no pb for Terry and proceeded to put the world to rights.

The reason I knew so much about the pace was that I am currently testing a Garmin 405 GPS watch (loaned to me by Race director Nicki) and had set our goal pace beforehand.

On the Riddlesdown course when you reach approximately 900 metres there is a sharp right turn and a short incline. As soon as I hit the incline I felt my hamstring tighten up, once back on the flat it felt fine again.

entering the final straight

We stuck to our easy pace for the rest of the course and coasted through the finish line in 40th and 41st positions. In the end we were only just over 30 seconds adrift from our intended pace.

The hamstring felt fine afterwards and we proceeded to the good companions pub for coffee. Unfortunately Terry had to leave to pick up his sons before we got around to having the coffee but it was good to see him again anyway.

after you, sir. no, after you, sir.

That left me, the wife & the baba plus the rest of the RDp crew. We hung chatting for a long time. In the end we left at 12:26 and took the scenic route home.

Once at home it was time to write the official race report. The wife had made a few notes during the race to assist with the style I wanted to write it in, it is now up online and you can find it on the Riddlesdown parkrun news page.

post race

Finally, back to the hamstring. It's not ready for me to resume training so I am looking into alternative cardiovascular training which avoids using it, or if it does is very minimal. If I don't do this I'll start to lose some of the fitness I've gained over the last few months and I don't really want that to happen.

stv.

The ongoing hamstring saga

My left hamstring has been a bit of a weak spot for me for as long as I can remember.

I know that I should really attempt to strengthen it, but I've always been nervous about lifting weights with it as it doesn't take much to pull it. I know that lifting weights would probably help and my intention is to put some more effort into this in the coming months.

Anyway, the left hamstring has been tight for a number of weeks and I think I pushed it to the edge with some of the hill training (did a few big hills on consecutive days - lesson learnt) I did in the run up to the half-marathon.

I think it is firmly in the 'overuse' injury category, what I mean is that there was no sudden pain or any sensation of anything tearing. It just gradually started to tighten up. I first noticed this happening while running uphill during some training runs.

I'd definitely classify it as stage 1 (just like last time), basically it's not too bad. Most days I feel like I could go out and run. However I have been very good and avoided doing so.... apart from last weekend when I raced at Riddlesdown parkrun (RDp15) (bad 7t). In retrospect that wasn't the cleverest thing I've ever done because it has pushed my recovery back a few days.

I haven't done a full run since that parkrun, I did pop out on Sunday morning to see how the hamstring was but that was just 2km so doesn't really count. Since then I have been resting.

As people that follow me on twitter ( @copy7t ) will know, I have been icing it daily (using various types of frozen vegetables).

During the last couple of days I have been back on the trusty ol' foam roller and it feels good (I hope I'm doing the right thing here).

I am going to head out for a parkrun on Saturday, I'll be running an easy pace and I'm mostly using it as an opportunity to assess where I am with the recovery.

I was scheduled to race on Sunday in the Dartford Bridge 10k, but I seriously doubt that I'll be anywhere near Dartford on Sunday morning. In fact it is quite convenient because I get to stay at home and watch the Formula 1 instead.

Every cloud..

Half-Marathon Recovery (a work in progress)

My first half-marathon was tough on my body. I thought I'd write about my post-race aches and pains. It may not be very interesting to anyone else but it will provide me with a good source of information for when I race my next half (or any other longer distance race).

The most unexpected pain that the course inflicted on me is in my toe next to my big toes on both feet (does that make sense?). I'm putting this down to these particular toes taking a bashing inside my shoes on the downhill sections of the course. They hurt most when I press down on the toe nail (or if my socks do the same).


In the days leading up to the race:

• Left hamstring had been slightly tight.

Sunday 25 Sept - During the race:

• IT band twinged every so slightly every now and then. (possibly due to downhill sections).
• Towards the end of the race the ball of my left foot began to hurt (This is new).
• My right shoe rubbed the top of my foot near the ankle (not the first time it has done this).
• I did not have any problems with my left hamstring during the race.

Sunday 25 Sept - Post-race:

• Left hamstring felt tight straight after the race.
• Two of my toes were hurting, one on each foot.
• Ball of left foot was still hurting.
• Extremely thirsty.
• Extremely tired.

Monday 26 Sept - Rest day:

• DOMS in hamstrings (plus left hamstring still tight).
• DOMS in quads.
• DOMS in calves.
• Toes were still hurting but not as much as the previous day.
• Underside of left foot still slightly tender.
• Still quite tired.

Tuesday 27 Sept - Ran 5.6km at easy pace:

• Left hamstring was still tight.
• Toes were still hurting - I stubbed one on the rug and now it hurts more.
• The DOMS was still present. Fairly mild. When I say mild, I mean mild for me. I lift weights so am used to having DOMS somewhere in my body almost all the time.

Wednesday 28 Sept - Ran 12.3km at easy pace:

• Left hamstring was still tight - Running uphill seemed to make it feel worse.
• Toes were still hurting.
• The DOMS had pretty much gone.

Thursday 29 Sept - Ran 5.3km at easy pace:

• Toes were still hurting, but noticeably better.
• Hamstring still tight, possibly slightly better. Avoided hills during the run.
• No DOMS at all.

Friday 30 Sept - Scheduled rest day:

• Toes almost completely pain free.
• No noticeable tightness in hamstring but had complete rest day. Will continue to take it easy.

Saturday 1 Oct - Parkrun 5k (tempo run):

• Toes (right is back to normal / left is 99% normal)
• No noticeable pain in hamstring before the run, the tempo pace was about as fast as I could go without risking turning the tightness into something worse. Sat in cold bath once home, felt fine but will keep runs at easy pace throughout the next week.

Sunday 2 Oct Ran - 17.4km at easy pace

• Hamstring felt fine during the run but I did take it easy and I avoided hills as much as possible.

Monday 3 Oct - Ran 5km at easy pace

• Hamstring felt worse today. Decided to not run for the next few days.
• Used frozen peas to ice the hamstring during lunchtime.
• Used a freeze on the hamstring patch in the evening

Tuesday 4 Oct - Rest day

• I did not run. Hamstring felt ok, but still clearly not right. Needs more rest.

Wednesday 5 Oct - Rest day

• I did not run. Hamstring felt ok, but still not right.

Thursday 6 Oct - Scheduled to run short and easy

Run if feeling ok, if not rest and ice.

Friday 7 Oct - Rest day

Rest and ice.

Saturday 8 Oct - Parkrun (Race if possible)

Ice

With the exception of the tightness in the hamstring I have completely recovered from the half-marathon. The hamstring issue was not caused by the half-marathon.

Steve.

A bit too much racing?

I've been having a bit of trouble with my left hamstring since last Thursday, so I have imposed a few days rest on myself. I was going to have two days off (Mon and Tues) and then start again on Wednesday, but now that it is Tuesday evening I know that I really need longer.

At this stage I'm still planning to go to the Riddlesdown parkrun on Saturday but even though I'll run, I certainly will NOT be racing! (if anyone hears me saying that I'm feeling good to race please send me back to this post). Hopefully I can do the right thing and make it through to Saturday without doing anything stupid!

So, what caused it? I have a few theories...

• I have been racing quite a bit - Six races in the last nine weeks. Four of them in the last five weeks.

• Last Wednesday I had quite a bad run, I think I started too fast and never really recovered. I didn't notice anything odd with the hamstring at the time though.

• Lastly, it could just be that I'm pushing things too much at the moment and I need to take a few steps back.
  

I've looked at the wikipedia page for pulled hamstring and from what I read I would put myself in the following category:


From Wikipedia:


Grade 1: Sensation of cramp or tightness and a slight feeling of pain when the muscles are stretched or contracted.


It's the 'sensation of cramp or tightness' part that really describes it well.

The good news is that it is the most mild stage of injury, so if I'm sensible I should be able to turn this around and not escalate it to grade 2.

I've iced it a few times (but probably not enough) and, as I mentioned above, I have had two days off so far. I'm definitely taking Wednesday off too. After that I'll see how it goes.

I've read a few pages in Bob Glover's competitive runner's handbook and it says that the first thing the majority of runners do when they feel something wrong is..... Ignore the injury and run through it, often making it worse! To be honest I think I was in this phase over the weekend, I wasn't prepared to let go of my mileage goal for the week. I'm slowly accepting that if I attempt to keep to my mileage goal this week I'm going to end up with a much worse problem than I have right now.

Instead of seeing this as a set back, I am looking at the next few days as an opportunity. I have a few days off work, so instead of getting out of bed at the crack of dawn I am going to stay in bed for longer and have some morning time with the family. I don't do this enough.

7t (hopefully being sensible this week)