The many faces of an injury

The month of February seems to be a cruel one for my body. For the second year in a row it seems I have encountered an overuse injury after building up a running base of a few months. It's almost like my body wants to teach me a lesson just when my confidence is strong and I feel ready to tackle a new goal race.
The injuries like to move around my body and reappear in a new place. And just when you feel like you've mastered the issue that pesky injury just shifts to a new spot. It's like whack-a-mole with my body.
Over the past week I discovered a new muscle or tendon at the very top of my calf where it meets the back of the knee. I believe it's just a result of tightness in my achilles and lower calf. Anyway, it sends me through the same progression as always.

First up is denial. Feel a little something during a run. In my mind I'm thinking this will pass in the next couple miles. Or, when I wake up tomorrow all should be fine.

Next is some nice obsessive research. Read every online article about the potential injury. Causes, treatment, prevention blah blah blah.

Let's try some third party assessment or treatment. I'm currently trying ART at a chiropracter. Also had a running analysis. Did I mention acupuncture?

It's time for anger and frustration to make an entrance. Every little occurance during the day can piss you off because you've had to adjust your running schedule or worse, eliminate it.

And now we're to depression. "will I ever be able to run healthy?"

I would like to apologize to all those around me as I move through these stages, especially my wife. I guess it's difficult for me to take on these speed bumps. Some people thrive off the challenge, but I would not be one of those people. Coping with these injuries is a struggle for me. I would love to hear about other people's experiences with how they stay healthy or how they recover from setbacks.

For now, I need to get back to googling the popliteus muscle.

Bon Tempe by kel_ton at Garmin Connect - Details

Bon Tempe by kel_ton at Garmin Connect - Details

Sthuper cool pack - Salomon

Since I've been able to get in some decent trail runs over the past few weeks I thought I would try out my new toy. I had seen good reviews of Salomon's S-Lab pack on other blogs but wanted to give it a go myself. It was of particular interest cause I'm not one of those runners that you see carrying a couple of handheld bottles. Maybe it is my weak arms or my small hands or just that I like to wipe my nose with my hands, but keeping my hands free is a priority.
So I decided to buy one of these packs. Um...where is this thing available? I tried several sites and stores and couldn't get a hold of one. Commence obsession. I finally found a little place in Hong Kong that had one in stock. Yes, HK.
With the build up in place with a week of searching and 2 weeks of waiting for it to arrive there was certainly some anticipation. Let me say that after 2 runs with it, this may be the coolest running related item I own.
Salomon really thought about what a long distance runner would like and how it should fit. The real strengths of this pack are its fit and lightness. Beyond that, all the little details are so well designed. Let me give a couple examples. The bladder doesn't have a little screw top hole, it actually folds at the top. This means it's really easy to clean and dry out. Clean, check. There's a detachable pocket so you can make the pack loaded with stuff or paired down for lightness. Flexibility, check. On the front of the shoulder straps there are bungies that can be pulled to adjust the fit. This is nice because sometimes you want to adjust fit in the middle of a run. Convenience, check.
So what are the negatives? Well the main one is price. This is the most expensive pack you will find. $140-150. Another issue would be the bottle holsters on the front. They are quite small and wouldn't fit a regular 16. oz bottle. You would need to get creative should you want to carry extra fluid. Lastly the availability is quite an issue in the US. There is supposed to be an updated pack from Salomon coming out in February so maybe that will change the issue.
Overall I love the pack and it would be my choice over my Nathan pack. It's got a nicer fit and just seems lighter. Not to mention that it just looks way cooler than anything Nathan has produced. And if you know me, appearance does have its merits.

Long hiatus - a year

I fell out of blogging. It coincided right about when I happened upon another running injury. Last February I developed achilles tendonitis. It happened right when I was logging some of my longest and best trail runs. Something like that can be so demoralizing. Not being able to run is far more painful than any injury I have endured.

Now a year later I've built my running base back up. However there's always that sense that you're so close to another overuse injury. I have started new techniques, bodywork, supplements, gait analysis all in the hopes of avoiding something that shuts me down.

Hopefully I can find the right combination of exercises, bodywork and running form to keep me on the trails. But so far, it's a work in progress.