Runner Staying Positive Thru Injury

So I’m not sure what’s exactly wrong with my knee.  I so know it is not IT Band Syndrome, as I have had that before….bad.  My first marathon, I picked it up pretty early in my training.  It was awful.  I couldn’t bare to run most days, but did find that it didn’t really bother me on the elliptical machine.  So I’d do three hour sessions on that thang to get my miles in.  Only thing that kept me sane was the Saved By The Bell marathons that were usually on at the gym Saturday mornings.

The problem was that on an elliptical, you don’t get the pounding on your feet that you get on the streets.  So when I showed up for the marathon, not only was my IT Band killing me, but my feet got all bloody from blisters, and chafing, etc.  Here’s what my shoes and socks looked like after the race…

But hey, I still finished, right?  Haha.  After that experience I got smarter.  I edumacated myself on  how to do these distances safely.  And I’ve been pretty diligent about trying to do all the right things, because I never want to go through that again!

That’s why this injury is so frustrating.  I thought I was being smart.  Cross training, yogaing, foam rolling, proper eating, stretching and a bunch of other thingings.

I don’t think this is Runners Knee, as I consider that a gradual injury you get, and this one happened all of the sudden.  One day I ran and felt great, the very next day I ran and it hurt.  I want to say I over exerted it landing too hard going down hill, but I can’t say for sure.  I must admit though, that after looking up the symptoms, I seem to have some of them – it gets stiff after sitting too long, hurts to walk down stairs, etc.

As for now, I’m hoping it’s still just an overexertion that needs a short time off to heal.  Of course I’m going to RICE, and do other good things like up my dosage of fish oil.  And so I’m going to rest some more, and if I still have issues, I will go see a professional.

In the meantime, I have to make a choice. I can wallow in a tub of french onion dip, or I can stay positive and send good energy to my parts that need it.  I think I’ll choose the latter.

So here’s something positive.  My 4 year old asked me to make Mickey Mouse waffles.  Here he is enjoying the original thang in Disney World…

And here’s the “healthy” homemade version I made for him.  I used whole wheat flour, local unfiltered honey, coconut oil, cinnamon, organic milk, free range chicken eggs.

More of a pancake than a waffle, but whatevs.

So as much as I wish I was running right this moment, I’m not going to complain about it.  I’m going to look at the positives and hopefully be back sooner because of it!

What about you?  How do you stay positive?  Ever recreated a favorite dish from someplace at home?  Which Saved By The Bell character would you be, and why?

Jarrod Shoemaker & Normatec

Last weekend I had a chance to meet Olympian and champion Triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker.  He was making an appearance at a local tri shop which also houses a sports chiro office that my buddy works at.  They were having a sort of open house, so I went into their open house.  I listened to Mr. S’s talk while I tested out some normatec leg sleeves, as the office had a few of them available.  I didn’t take a picture, but my friend Ann took one during her session this week, so I stole it (sorry Ann) – Here’s the view:

Oh great, now I need to find a matching top!

The sleeves inflate like a blood pressure gauge does on your arm.  It inflates at different points and at different intensities.  I don’t know no much about science and stuffs, but they say it helps aid recovery from tough workouts by forcing your blood to move around.  I didn’t ask too many questions, I just jumped in.  Like I said, it felt like a blood pressure thingy, and it kind of felt good.  It’s not painful at all, it just gets tight in different areas at different times.  After they took em off, I didn’t really notice feeling any different, but I bet if I used these things regularly, I would be able to tell a difference.

Apparently TONS of pro athletes have these at home and zip em up while they chill on the couch.  I wish I had one at home…Does anyone have $1700 that I could like…have?

Anyway, while I sat there, Mr. Shoedude did his talk.  I want to share a few of the main points that I took away from him.

I guess he knows what he’s talking about.

-He said he eats several small meals all day long so that he’s not hungry and his body has calories to use as fuel.  This includes eating right before he goes to bed.  I know that goes against everything you’ve ever been told, and I’m paraphrasing here, but he said he wants his body to spend his sleeping hours using energy to digest that food instead of his muscles and stuff.  Now remember, he’s a world class athlete and probably burns a ton butt more calories during his workouts then the average Joey.  His metabolism is probably off the charts.

-He also credits chiropractic care and massages for helping keeping him healthy.  I’m glad to hear this as I visit a chiro regularly and feel it helps me tremendously.  Massage is another story.  I so badly want to go and go regularly (to get a massage that is), but honestly, it’s been about 5 years since I had one, besides the self massages my foam roller and golf ball give me.  I should really change that.

-Finally, he also said that when he got into racing, he started as a runner.  Problem was he kept getting hurt – IT Band, etc.  Then he realized that his whole life he had played multiple sports (soccer, baseball, etc.).  So he gravitated to triathlons.  That way he could still be doing different sports within one sport.  The lesson I take away from this is that everyone should train like a triathlete, even if you aren’t one.  You need to do more than just run, or you risk injury.  That’s why I run, yoga, soccer, lift, bike, etc.  Cross training so that I can stay healthy enough to run injury free!

Anyways, that’s all I got.  Have any of you ever used those sleeves?  What do you think of em?  What else do you do to recover?

-Scott