Been a long time contributing to this Blogg, which is abysmal on my part! :-( I will say work has been a shambles and i'm incredibly busy but surely i can squeeze in a few lines more often? As it is im writing this post whilst on a bus? .... So no excuses! :-/
I follow some "great" runners on Twitter but it has saddened me to notice that many people have started their spring marathon training and then have picked up a big injury or are running with a niggle. A lot of complaints listed i have experienced too and know from a little running knowledge i have, know that these runners will be back pounding the streets soon but its the decision within ourselves to first admit our body is protesting at the amount of overload we've put it through and then sensibly take our foot of the gas to allow our body time to recover! Pah!! easier said than done right? (woah look at me? Like i've never listened to my own advice) Dont deny the obvious 'age' is an issue. The young whippets will be out and back running soomer than the veterans!
Just like you too many times ive said 'Oh i'll be alright, No i wont need to see a physio' and just carried on with my training. Not surprising the problem has got worse, more frequent and its not too long after any tricks in healing the injury, denying or disguising pain #fail to work and your worst nightmare actually becomes reality that running is just not possible. This is the point that runners dont want to happen and now you must watch all your hard work getting you to this current fitness level, will now disappear before you can even think to get back running again!
All i can suggest here is get help you need quickly! If you're not sure get professional advice either a doctor or a physio i know physio's charge a variety of fee's which to be honest... I think puts people of going to them in the first place!! and probably contibutes to the problem? It took me 20 months battling against achilles tendonitis before i actually coughed up the money to see a physio. One! Treatment and several exercises later concentrating on "pelvic alignment" my problem was solved! So just why did i suffer for so long then??.... Oh yes that's right, i kept denying and telling myself 'Oh, i'll be alright'... Clearly not.
You can even listen to advice from other fellow runners from "reliable" message boards or even twitter! R.I.C.E would the common suggestion here, emphasizing on REST? But remember you arent alone with your injury. Thousands of others have been through what you've been through and i bet most of which have pulled through and are running again, with the memory of a painful period all in the past.
Were all running in a huge running boom and in a decade with help and advice ( to 'some' degree) available on the net, podcasts, you tube, social media web sites? Count yourself lucky really as imagine your current injury... Happening for example in the 70's or 80's? You really would be knackered! But now in 2012 with a whole heap of treatments available, all we need to do is stop, think and be sensible when pain does strike. Why nkt go swimming? Use a X-trainer or just drastically reduce your intensity. We run to keep fit or experience the "the running high" so if we look after ourselves that little bit more, long live our running lifestyle.
Amen
