I’ve done 4 marathons to date. Five if you include the 42.2km run at the end of Ironman Mont Tremblant. But the marathon that I’m about to do tomorrow morning (#6) is the one I’m the most unsure about. Even more so than the very first one I did; back then, I knew I followed the training plan, felt good, healthy and even cocky with ignorance. But this time I’m more knowledgable and going into an event injured. This is a new experience for me and is awful and super frustrating.
Let me explain, I felt a twinge deep in my right hip while doing some hill training back in January early in my training. It went away soon after and I never really thought much about it, until I ran the Chilly half-marathon in March when it came back with a vengeance. After 15km into the 21km event I had to drop off my pace because my right hip/lateral glute were hurting too much. I finished with an average pace of 4:55/km, but I was aiming for 4:45/km. I was disappointed in my performance over those last 6km where I had to slow to a 5:05/km.
That week I went to see both my massage therapist and acupuncturist for treatment.
Acupuncture seemed to help with the hip flexor pain, but as my marathon training progressed into longer runs (25-35km) the pain in my lateral hip/glute region persisted. It was time to see a sports medicine doctor. Sigh.
The sports medicine doctor, also a marathon runner, was sympathetic and saw me ASAP. After a careful assessment and an ultrasound image to confirm, I was diagnosed with tendinopathy (e.g. tendinitis) of the lateral gluteal muscles, where the gluteus medius and minimus muscles meet the hip joint.
Her prognosis - rest, anti-inflammatories, and physio. She said I could do the marathon if I really insisted but it would probably be uncomfortable. Well, pain is an old friend of mine.
I started physiotherapy on Wednesday morning, the day after my appointment with the sports medicine doctor. Gord, my physio, is also a triathlete, so I’ve been feeling right at home at the Athlete’s Care Sports Medicine Centre, a clinic where all the medical staff are also athletes! So far he has unlocked my SI joint, which has me walking straighter already (apparently I was not walking straight when I met him) and helped me with several stretches for my tight hips which I will be doing up to race day. Hopefully he will have me fixed up in 4-6 weeks. Which is good because I have a 50mile trail race scheduled for May 25! (I’m still coming Sulphur Springs!)
My physiotherapist asked me if I was still doing the marathon tomorrow, and I said of course I am. My justification: since it is not a muscle tear or stress fracture, I won’t really do any more damage than is already done. So I’m giving it a go. After all the training I’ve put in I’d have a harder time not showing up than running through the aches and pains. (Besides, who ever heard of a pain free marathon? We all have a ticket for the pain train at some point on the run, I just got onboard a little earlier than expected).
He said I should lower my expectations for race day. Maybe so.
My race day plan is to stick to my pacing strategy up to half (21k), then make a decision. If I am on pace then I’m going to push for my BQ (I need to break 3:40:00 for my AG, F40-44). That being said, if the tendinitis flares up too much by half I will pull back and run at a salvage pace just to finish the course, and save myself for my 50miler coming up at the end of May.
I like the former plan more than the latter plan but right now this may be out of my control. I’ll be toeing the start line 7:30am tomorrow morning with the best of intentions. Let’s see what happens...
Injuries always suck, but they do help you learn more about your body, your thought processes and how you handle different types of stress. How will I handle this?
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