Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Denial is not just a river in Egypt

I appreciate all of the supportive comments, over the past few days as well as the ones pointing out my obvious training errors. Yes, I admit I have probably been overtraining. I’ve been racking up the miles for marathon training while simultaneously training to PR 5k’s. But I preferred to live in a state of denial about it. So, I promise, no more 5k’s for a while. Just don’t ask me to define what I mean by “a while.” ;-}

I have good news though, thanks to this simple, yet miraculous, device - a foam roller.


My knee pain was likely caused by Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) and is already much improved today. The picture makes using the roller look simple enough, but don’t be deceived. Using it felt a bit like medieval torture on par with the rack.



I’ll also credit stretching, a much reduced training schedule, ice and Motrin as instrumental in my rehab. I learned a great ITB stretch from club members of WVR. It’s a bit hard to describe, so I’ll try to find some pictures within the next few days to illustrate it.

It’s probably premature to say I’ve put the problem behind me, but I felt well enough today to finish 7.5 miles. The first 6 miles of it were pain free. During the last 1.5 miles I had just a dull ache in the knee, probably 3-4 on a scale of 10, but not enough to force me to stop.

I’ve been despairing the past few days about how long it has been taking to resolve this pain. Now I have hope again.

7 comments:

  1. Recovery is no less important than training, and sometimes takes just as much effort. ;-)

    For a slightly more torturous but even more effective version of foam rolling, use a RumbleRoller (rumbleroller.com).

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  2. @ron Holy cr*p! You weren't kidding. That thing looks absolutely evil.

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  3. Question for you, since I feel very naive on the subject ... foam rollers .. can you use these alone or do you have to have a roller buddy help you? I mentioned wanting to get one, and a co-worker pointed out I am single and live alone and wondered who would roll me. Thoughts??
    ~RR

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  4. @Fruitfly You don't need any help. You just lay the desired body part on the roller, support your upper body with a hand or on your elbow, and roll back and forth. It is very unfomfortable because basically your entire body weight is supported by the roller, but it works wonders. There are a ton of videos on YouTube demonstrating how to use one. I found mine for $15 at Walmart by the yoga mats.

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  5. Oh, well I can handle rolling myself then! I'm going to get one soon. I'll let you know how I like it!
    ~RR

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  6. The foam roller is a great purchase! I have also had IT band issues. Just a thought, when you are rolling (like the illustration above in your blog) on the foam roller and feel an exceptionally tender spot, stop rolling and maintain the pressure of your body weight on that spot for several seconds. This will help to stretch out the specific location in the muscle that is tight. Good luck! :)

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  7. you will come back stronger. We have all had injuries at one time or the other. Take time and keep your eye on the prize, November 28th.

    Take care.

    mike

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