I used to love running. Running got me through that rough bit of life between graduating college and figuring out what the fuck to do with your life. Running kept me fit when everyone else was gaining the freshman 15 (and the senior 15 and the overseas trip 20 and the post-graduation 50). Running gave me an excuse to be outside and made me feel alive.
Now running just hurts.
My SO is training for his first ultra-marathon, and every time he gets back from a long run, I feel torn apart inside. All I want to do is spend 3 hours running trails, my mind in that blissful flow state, my feet moving of their own accord. As it stands, I painfully eek out 2 or 3 miles on a treadmill or until the pain emanating from my knee stops me from taking another step.
It all started after the 2005 Portland Marathon, running was just painful after that. I saw a physical therapist around September of 2006 for a few weeks (after a time of not running at all for about 2 or 3 months because even a half mile would kill it). We just did some strengthening exercises, and he sent me off, with the advice “don’t run consecutive days.” Worked for a little while, but then I developed it in my other knee. And it has been killing me ever since, STILL. Even doing all those hip exercises religiously.
The only thing that ended up making any sort of difference was a foam roller, which is a hard cylinder made of foam you roll up and down on, using your body weight as the masseuse. While it can be extremely painful (as I am full of knots), it loosens everything up really well. After getting it, my first few runs were completely pain-free. I thought I was cured. Yeah that ended pretty fast. While I’m doing better then this time last year, I can still barely run 4 miles, sometimes only 2. I feel like I am out of options, and I’m afraid that I might have to stick to sprint tri’s. I’m already signed up for an olympic distance tri in June, so here’s hoping. If nothing else I can walk the last few miles.
This has seriously been the bane of my athletic life, and I feel like I’m out of options at this point. I’m thinking of getting a running biomechanic test (I know that I have really weak hips, and I always feel like my legs are just flailing around). Here’s hoping a different PT will have some different advice, because there’s nothing worse then an injured athlete. Here’s hoping one day I can return to my sweet long trail runs.
