It has been a week!

[SinkorSwim]

So what happened on Sunday. Here is my story and I'm sticking to it. I ran 11 miles last Sunday in a relay for run away to the Bay. I felt general muscle soreness in my hamstrings and decided to only run 6 miles last week as I know I had two more half marathons coming up and I needed to rest and taper. Some of you may think this is too much running but for me it's pretty normal. To give you an idea last summer while I was training for the marathon my long runs on Saturday mornings were no less than 13 miles every weekend. I was running around 40 miles a week. I ran a half on Sunday and was still feeling amazing at mile 10 in fact I told my husband I would beat him to the finish line. I was hovering over the two hour mark to complete my half marathon time and set a new PR. After I saw my husband at mile 10 I switched to a gravel trail. I am used to training on asphalt but didn't think the gravel transitions would be a big deal. At mile 10.5 I felt a general hamstring soreness and thought nothing of it. Stretched and kept run walking. At about 11.5 I switched to walking as I felt things going stiff. At mile 12 I started to hear my tendons cracking and came upon a police officer at 12.5 that brought me to the finish so I could finish my race. I hobbled over the finish line and then couldn't put any pressure on my left foot. I told my husband I was fine I just wanted him to carry me to the car. We ended up finding a first aid lady that I could lean on and hobble to the car. Seriously though they didn't have a wheelchair that made me mad! It's a marathon for goodness sakes! So we got in the car and I was contemplating going to the ER. Finally I gave in and told my husband to bring me. So we went to the ER the doctor said they wanted to do a CT scan right away as they weren't sure anything would show up on the xray. So I had a CT scan and when they were moving me from the bed to the scanner is when I finally accepted something might actually be wrong with me. I'm stubborn I know! They called the orthopedic surgeon in and he read my scan. I ended up having a fracture in my femur just below the ball. They wanted to stabilize it with three pins as they were nervous about the blood flow to the ball of my femur. The doctor was amazed I didn't collapse and I was still able to walk on it for another 2.5 miles. Apparently I can tolerate pain pretty well ha ha! I go back to see the surgeon in two weeks but until then I can't bare any weight on my left leg. This has been a learning experience for me as I am not a person to ask for help. My husband has been amazing with doing everything as I sit crippled in a corner. I'm not giving up running. Although I must say I might not do any marathons anymore I can still see myself running half's. Running has been amazing for my anxiety and it's something that's good for me to do. So please don't say I shouldn't be running because if all I got out of it was three screws so far, that's a pretty small price to pay for the couple years of less anxiety I have been having. Went to see my therapist yesterday too! This was only my second time seeing her as I switched. I am going to be starting brain spotting with her in a couple weeks. I am very curious about this new technique and will keep you updated. I am so happy I found this new therapist as she seems a lot less emotional and a more of a positive person.

 

[Abigail7]

I'm wondering if you expect people to give you negative feedback? I noticed that at least twice you sort of jumped the gun and beat people to the punch by saying "you may think..." and "please don't say..." I get the feeling that you expect negative comments instead of positive ones and this is an avoidance technique. I'm saying this as it's something I do, too...jumping the gun because I expect people to give me negative feedback or a negative response. I'm not criticizing, just giving you something to think about. The negative stuff hurts and I know all too well why you'd want to avoid negative comments.

 

[desiderata310]

Try pool running. All the workout and non of the stress on the body. Seriously, one runner to another, do it so you can continue long term

 

[joeylittle]

@abigail7 - consider becoming a member. Currently all your posts have to be manually approved by staff before they can appear; and you seem like a pretty regular poster already :)

@Katiesue - well done on seeing the challenge for yourself in asking for help, and meeting it head on.

Are you having stress/anxiety about not knowing how the fracture will ultimately impact your ability to do your sport?

 

[SinkorSwim]

The person that was giving me the negative feedback was my dad. Unfortunately he has done this a lot so this is my way of sticking up to it. My mom keeps telling me to call her if I need help but I'm reluctant to even let her in because of my dad. I am having a bit of stress and anxiety because I ultimately want to run again but I'm afraid I'll screw up my hip even more. However I've been talking to a lot of my runner friends and this is a common injury for distance runners. One of them competed in an iron man and has had this same injury so I shouldn't be worried right? The other thing that has my anxiety going is my parents think there is no reason my femur should have fractured like that and want me to get a calcium test done so they can blame something else than my running. I'm only 30 years old and bones shouldn't break like that. Ugh it's not what I want to hear right now.

 

[ShodokanJenn]

I don't run, but I DO do martial arts. I've gotten hurt a handful of times, and had people ask why I still do it if I got hurt. I can't explain very well, but it's a way of life. Just like your running is a way of life for you. You won't catch me telling you to give it up. I actually feel the opposite - that you SHOULD run. It's healthy, and makes you stronger. And it's great for anxiety/depression/ptsd to have something that releases the endorphins in your brain on a regular basis.

 

[desiderata310]

Let's set PTSD aside for just a second. We both run for the same reasons: to burn off the crazy.

I DO run and I run long distances: ultra distance races and I do Ironman. I sympathize.
Look, I'm 44. When I get an injury, I tend to have to think long term. I want you to step back just a moment and look at this long term as well. As a 30 year old, do you want to stop running at the ripe old age of 31 or would you rather take the time off and keep running into your 70's?

My SON was in basic and had a break like that as well. He's not a runner but they sent him HOME from basic as a result. It's THAT serious a break.

On the running front, I would highly recommend you get a second opinion from a orthopedic who is also a runner/triathlete. They are used to seeing these kind of odd stress fractures in endurance athletes and best direct you on both your next course of action and how best to get back to what you love.

NOW, that said, you are not going to like my next piece of advice: don't run. YET. Second opinion right? Get that first. Yep I know. DAMN IT I know.
But I want to see you running when you're my age. What ELSE can you do? What do you do for cross training? It's time to find something else to help with the endorphin rush that you need to get your amygdala to give you a break.

Also those of us that do IM in our 30's? We're crazy and stupid. Yeah people do stupid things to their bodies to hear Mike say You are an Ironman. Don't use us as a measure.
Last year I had a severe concussion from a bike accident. Kept training through it. Passes out twice on the course before they hauled me off. I'm STILL paying for that decision. I can't compete this year. Hell Right now I can't do much of anything.

Get the second opinion. I'll help anyway I can with suggestions of things to try to help fill in meanwhile.
We can still get the endorphin rush. Let's keep you able to do it long term.

 

[Friday]

From another (former-ish, still fighting) athlete who had to take years off because I wouldn't take months off? Listen to Des. Not saying quit running. AM saying make sure you can keep running. Rest Repair Rehab isn't quitting. It's making sure you can keep going. Sports med. The best guys in the universe for athletes. They don't just fix you ...they fix you back to competition levels. It's an entirely different mindset, with different surgeries, and different recovery times. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. When you get lucky one of them is on-call in the ER. When you're not lucky? Meh. Doesn't really matter, IME. I've had some wicked old injuries & some seriously botched ones put to rights by these guys. I'm half convinced they could take a bone that feels like marbles in a toothpaste tube & accompanying CT that looks like a rubber band ball and make them shiny. LOL And they're also used to athletes who aren't going to quit. (My long time joke/not joking is that I'm working on buying my docs a whole fleet of boats). So they don't come in saying "You're insane for doing this to yourself." They come in and say "How do we get you back to the level you were at? & How do we keep you at the best level you can be at for the next 40 years?"

<grin> So follow up with best in the business & keep running :D

 

[SinkorSwim]

From another (former-ish, still fighting) athlete who had to take years off because I wouldn't ta...

Oh Friday you always have a way to make me feel better! I actually went out and cheered my friends on at a half marathon this weekend. Running is apart of me. I have so many great relationships that I owe running to. So if I just stop running I feel like I'll lose all my positives and friendships that I care so much about! I kind of knew my doctor was good when he said we will get you up and running in no time. I also have some awesome physical therapists who are runners themselves. So I know I'm in good hands. I just need to keep surrounding myself with like minded people.