I had picked Tri-State Orthopedic which is connected to
FitWorks and has its own physical therapy room.
I was fully expecting that the doctor would try to sell me on physical
therapy sessions and put up a fight when I refused an x-ray, but neither of
these things happened. These guys were
so good. I got to see both a doctor and
a nurse practitioner who just listened for a long time to my symptoms and
history and affirmed the diagnosis that I had come up with: stress reaction in my pelvis.
Although twelve days of complete rest had
left me almost entirely pain free, we settled on a plan that includes two
more weeks of no running (for a total of one month). Over the next two weeks I’m free to walk and
do pilates or yoga. They said I could
swim, but that’s not going to happen.
Mainly because I don’t really know how to swim for exercise, but also
because none of my bathing suit attire is actually meant for the pool.
After two weeks I can try to jog a mile. Slowly. If I have any pain or discomfort I
need to take more time off. Then I can add three minutes or a half mile every
day as long as I’m pain free. He said I
should be back to where I was in six more weeks, which will put me at eight
weeks from the onset of the problem. Not
bad, especially since I was able to avoid crutches this time.
Knowing what the answer would be before the words even came
out of my mouth, I asked if I could run the races that I had planned for April
and May. The doctor said it would be
fine if I was willing to go slow and not put in the intensity. Which might as well mean “no.” So I won’t be running the Rat Race, the
Little Kings Mile, or the Go OTR 5K. The only one I had prepaid was the Little
Kings Mile so I’m only out about $30.
Of course, we discussed the reason I got this stress
reaction (increased intensity and duration, possibly overcompensating from the
sprained ankle I had after the Carthage run) and how to avoid the problem again
in the future (get back on calcium supplements, take at least two days off
running every week, give myself at least one day a week of complete rest). They doctor told me I was “smart and
reasonable” for a runner, which I think meant that I never tried to run through
the pain and that I’m willing to take the time off necessary to heal completely
and not prolong the issue. He also said
that now that I’m “getting older” my body won’t recover from high intensity
runs as quickly as it did five or ten years ago. Ha!
Oh, and the nurse practitioner adjusted my leg length with a
little pushing and tugging, which put me back in place.
I’m disappointed that I’ll miss some of the most beautiful
running weather and foliage that Cincinnati has to offer (this is the
blossoming week—the trees are just gorgeous!).
However, I think we’ll be able to finish Run 52 this year if this recovery goes as planned and we double up
for a couple months.
Not sure how to illustrate this post, so here is a picture of
me writing it:
Obviously, I got fixed up for the occasion.
Also, Mel and Nick, I'm sure you have more important things to do today than read this blog, but in case you read it later, I can't wait to watch you guys tie the knot tonight! So excited for you!
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