So, where did we leave off?
I think we were talking about how I ran 18 miles, starting at a 7:20 pace and worked my way down to 7:00 and it was fab
oh no. that’s wrong. that’s what was supposed to happen today. instead, I am not running. I am enjoying a nice little injury and a reality check that I, in fact, am human. and that my back, in fact, is crazy. I have no real answers. It’s saturday. I could get a hold of NO ONE yesterday. no one took my answering machine pleas for a massage ASAP!!! seriously. they don’t care.
So, I took ibuprofen like a teething toddler and tried not to sit down. at all. if I sat, then I had to stand up. and if I had to stand up, I was not a happy camper. I had to do it slowly and thoughtfully.
I REALLY appreciate all of your comments and emails and thoughts and suggestions. I am praying to God it’s not a sacral stress fracture and I feel terrible for those of you that have gone through that. that just sounds completely horrific and I don’t want any part of it. I don’t really have a choice in the matter though, as to what is going on in that SI joint area.
I woke up this morning and very cautiously got out of bed. I stood up. I sat down. I stood up again. oh my. I can sit. and I can stand. like a champ. will that win me a spot at the olympic trials marathon??? but, it does not hurt. at all. to sit. or stand. I’ll take that good news.
I can jump up and down on one foot. I can jump on the other foot. it still does not hurt. yesterday, it hurt. it hurt to walk upstairs. it hurt to stand straight from a bended or seated position. It does not hurt to touch, push on, twist or call the “effected back region” mean names. right now it is a dull ache that I don’t even notice all the time. I would still call it in a “precarious” state – neither here nor there, undecided as to what course it’s going to take.
I can plank – don’t worry, I did not hold it for 5 minutes – I didn’t even hold it for 30 seconds – I simply got in plank position to see what it felt like – it felt like a normal plank position. I can do pushups – no issue. I can do pullups – no issue. Yesterday, I could not do that exercise where you lay on your back, knees bent, butt lift hamstring exercise – that was painful in the back. I could not even get my butt off the floor without my low back hurting quite a bit. today, I can lift my butt, with a barely there feeling in my low back. I can touch my toes with my legs straight. I can touch my toes with my leg extended and lifted knee height. I can touch my nose. standing on one foot. that doesn’t hurt either.
I think I am going to survive. I think I will not be running for a few more days. at least. I don’t know how long I will be out. I think I can’t help but think about the half marathon I have in two weeks. I hope I can run it.
I think it’s crazy how quickly something that I do with ease and abandon can be gone. I saw people running yesterday and it just looked so painful. My husband casually went out to run 6 miles. no big deal. lucky duck. I love to run. I will not take that ability for granted.
I know that I have funky SI joint stuff going on. I’m not exactly sure what it’s from, but they don’t work exactly right, and it’s never really been a problem – it’s usually my right side that I notice. on friday, it was a problem. right around mile 3.28 when I was going slightly downhill. the back wasn’t into that downhill. I don’t have the best form going downhill. I don’t lean forward like a good runner should. I have a slightly overly “sway” lower back – so it’s slightly over arched, that anatomy doesn’t help, going down hill, when I tend to stay upright or even lean slightly back. too much to handle. and the back had its breaking point. although I hope it didn’t really break.
I do know, that in the midst of back crisis, I can eat a ridiculous amount of ghirardelli brownies and sushi. I want to say it’s because my running was snatched right out from under me and I don’t know exactly when I will be comfortable to run again, and was naturally drowning my sorrows in chocolate and japanese delicacies. but really, it’s just because I made brownies. and you can not resist ghirardelli brownies. and we had friends over and got sushi takeout. and there is nothing quite as delightful as seaweed salad and all sorts of fancy sushi. with delicious sauces spread all over it. unfortunately, I did not have the “I have to run 18 miles tomorrow and need a little extra fuel” excuse. nope. I did no physical activity today. aside from the random 10 second plank, 20 pushups and 10 pull-ups. and I got my hair done with my girls.
that was hard work. very hard. I had to sit for an hour. then I had to deal with the anxiety about whether or not I would still be able to stand up and move after sitting for that length of time. it all worked out. I was still able to stand up. like a normal person. without pain.
I feel like I am about 85% better than yesterday. The discomfort doesn’t even compare. I am moving almost like nothing happened. although, something did happen. so I am moving with a bit more purpose in my actions. I am bending at the knees and keeping the sway in my back so that I am not constantly loading my SI joint. My plan: I have an appointment for a sports massage tomorrow. If this continues to improve at this rate, I have a hard time believing there is something gravely wrong with my back. If the improvement comes to a crashing halt or gets worse, I will see a doctor, sign over my firstborn to pay for medical bills because insurance these days is terrible, and have him (or her, but it’s usually a him) figure out what is wrong with me.
I talked with a PT friend and my aunt who is a PT, and they seem to think, based on my description of what happened, that it is an SI joint issue, muscle/glute issue that can be corrected by being worked on to some degree. I’m not saying that that is definitely what it is, but until I see where this is going, I’m going to treat it like that and see what next week brings.
QUESTION: To those of you that have dealt with stress fractures that sound eerily and uncomfortably similar to what has just happened to me - did you feel any better the following day? was it one single incident or a progression of discomfort that landed you with a stress fracture?
Okie dokie friends. I hope you are in good shape and keeping it happy this saturday. run some miles for me. or don’t. have a brownie for me, because I am just about brownied out.
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