I don’t really know when it started, but it was a long time ago. It probably really started as a result of my passion for gardening and landscaping – digging up mature bushes, and even ripping their mature tap roots out of the ground. I enjoyed hard work, and there was nothing I wouldn’t try to do myself.
I thought I had pulled my right hamstring because the back of my right leg hurt, but only when I ran 16 miles or longer. Did I take any time off from running? Not really because it never hurt except on those longer runs, and then just a little. If I ran a marathon hard, it would hurt a little during the race and then again when I sat down for the next day or so. The only treatment I sought was wearing thigh compression sleeves during long runs, and icing afterwards.
Wearing thigh compression sleeves under my shorts in Boston
Fast forward to the 2011 Richmond Marathon… Around mile 16 my hamstring started hurting, and then by mile 20 it was hurting to the point that I actually cried for a minute or so. By mile 22 my calf was hurting, and by mile 24 my whole leg was hurting. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I burst into tears out of frustration.
Hmmm… not so sure I want to celebrate it!
(sign along the Richmond Marathon course)
The following January, Bill and I decided to start the P90X2 workouts. I don’t do anything half-hearted, so I went after those workouts with gusto and loved them! Two Saturdays in a row, we ran 16 miles in the morning and did a total body workout that afternoon. Perhaps a little too much? No way, not me – I was a beast and I could push my body to do anything I wanted it to do. Sigh…
Perhaps I was too tired from my run and wasn’t holding my core as tight as I should have been, perhaps I was trying to lift too much weight, perhaps that movement was just the final straw that “broke the camel’s Deb’s back,” or perhaps it was all of the above. Whatever the reason, when I made that one careless move, my running life changed forever. I babied my sore back for a week, and tried to run the following Saturday. I ran one mile out and had to walk home. I spent the rest of the weekend lying down because my back hurt to much to stand.
After a few days my back stopped hurting, but the pain started radiating down my right leg. Sometimes my “hamstring” hurt, sometimes my calf, sometimes my entire leg, and by now my toes were numb. The pain got so bad that I saw a spine specialist, had an MRI, and got diagnosed with a bulging L4-L5 that was pressing against my sciatic nerve. Epidural steroid injections, time off from running (about three months), physical therapy, and traction got me back on the trail walking, and then eventually running; but never at the distances I had run before.
Cartoon in my doctor’s office
Needles injecting the medicine into my inflamed lower back,
or maybe it’s a hairball in my cat’s stomach!
Once physical therapy was over, and I was no longer getting traction therapy there, my doctor suggested I purchase this Teeter Hang Ups EP-950 Inversion Table With Healthy Back DVD. It helps decompress my spine and helps keep that bulging disc from pressing against my sciatic nerve.
Just hanging out
I have a feeling that I won’t run a marathon again, but after 41 marathons and one ultra, I’m OK with that. I want to run forever, and if I have to run shorter distances, I’ll do that. I think what I will miss most are my Saturday morning really long runs with the Cruisers. I’ll be thrilled to be able to continue running ten miles on Saturdays, running shorter distances a couple of times a week, and running the occasional half-marathon. That would keep my legs and heart happy!
A couple of weeks ago, I ran a 15-miler and I have had some leg pain/toe numbness return since then. It’s made me reflect on my injury, take it seriously again, and take a little time off. This past Saturday, I ran four miles, and then walked about three miles.
I wish could say that today’s post was an April Fool’s joke…
- Questions:
- Have you ever had a side-lining injury?
- Do you cross train?
- Did you get a good April Fools joke on anyone?
WOW running 41 marathons in itself is a HUGE accomlishment! Yes I think you need to be greatful to still be able to run….ugh for the injury though! Try yoga…it does wonders for me!
I do enjoy yoga, I just need to spend more time doing it!
Love the VT picture!! I’m glad you’re still able to run after your back injury! 41 marathons isn’t too shabby, ya know 🙂
My Dad had an awful experience with sciatica that put him through a couple of years of PT before they did surgery to fix it. He’s back to bike riding now and starting to do some run/walking as well!
I’ve been through a few side lining injuries in high school. I had a stress fracture in my shin (being stubborn and not wanting to sit out) and then I also tore my meniscus in my knee and had to have surgery to repair it. I still have a spot on my shin I can’t stand to touch, but I don’t have many issues with shin pain anymore.
I do cross train! In nice weather I like to bike ride, and lately I’ve been doing the 30 day shred workouts. I’d like to get back into swimming as well, since I grew up as a swimmer.
That inversion table looks like it would feel amazing! I hurt my back in August (misallignment) that kept me out of work and exercise for a week, and that contraption looks like it would just take away the pain, haha.
41 marathons. Sheesh. That’s so amazing!!
Hopefully you’ll run with the Cruisers for part of their long runs on the way out or on the way back, perhaps?
That’s the plan, Stephanie… Start out running with them, and then walk when necessary.
Those are some pretty huge accomplishments!! Plus, by the sounds of it, you are a huge encouragement and support to so many people (the Cruisers, your blog followers) for getting out there and crushing their goals, too! 3-4years ago I started having severe knee pain and after about a year and a half of PT, injections, massage, etc. and almost absolutely no running, my doctor finally told me that maybe it was time to think about sports other than running, otherwise I would be looking at a knee replacement before too long. She was a big runner herself and I could tell that it pained her to say that…so when I told her it just wasn’t an option, we kept trying other ways. Finally I just opted in for surgery, which was not a given to fix anything, but luck was on my side and it has completely changed my pain. I run smarter now…I listen to my body and what it tells me…I force myself to strength train even when I don’t want to and I cross train when my legs are telling me they’ve had too much….but its allowed me to accomplish things that I could never have done even BEFORE my knee problems started. I know that even with the changes I have made, I am probably still running on borrowed time ;), and I know that eventually I will have to alter my goals…but I’m willing to accept that now. I’m glad you were able to come back after your back injury and at least continue on in the capacity that you can and enjoy the sport that you love. That was what I was most grateful for. And as someone who has run NO marathons, a half marathon is still a challenge – maybe you can beat your marathon number? Maybe you already have?
I’m so glad you had a successful knee surgery! I definitely run smarter now, too. I tighten my core and find that helps so much. I now run as described in Born to Run. Have you read that book?
[…] You know when you do something stupid and know it almost immediately? Well, that was me on Thursday afternoon when I got home from the grocery store. Instead of making two or three trips from my car to the kitchen with my groceries, I tried to carry them all in one big bulky, heavy trip. As soon as I got into the kitchen, I felt it and knew I’d made a big mistake. My back didn’t hurt, but I felt that horrible sciatic nerve pain run down the back of my right leg. […]
[…] Then there was the the 2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll USA Marathon that I couldn’t run because of a painful back injury. […]
[…] in the winter of 2012 I experienced a debilitating back injury which resulted in sciatic nerve pain in my entire right leg. It was pain like nothing I had ever […]