Today was my last regularly scheduled PT appointment that my insurance has approved. Lots of things to discuss with John in that session.
How Running has been going – We talked about my treadmill runs and how they have been going. SPOILER ALERT!!! If you haven’t read the previous posts, start reading here and then read here and then come back.
As my run walk intervals have gotten more run less walk, I’ve noticed fatigue and discomfort during the run sections. Lowering the incline from 2% to 1.5% has helped, but it just doesn’t feel good. ever heard the saying “Running never gets easy, you just get faster”? I’m worried that I may have lost my love for running. This will make me very sad if it’s true. It’s still too early and I know that I should give it more time. Lesson – Continue to have patience!
What is going on with my stride? I have a “gallop” when running now. I’ve have always had a little bounce in my stride, but this is uneven. I’ve noticed that if I run with softer knees (think like ducking down under a low roof) then the gallop goes away. I also notice that it goes away the fast I run and the longer I run. I presented this information to John and he put me on the treadmill and did a video assessment of my stride and BINGO! I am not softening into my right knee as it comes underneath my body. The left knee softens with about an inch or so of flex as it passes underneath my hips and my right doesn’t and this produces a gallop. Additionally, my recovering leg has a slight outward rotation of my foot as it lands. This is not good either and I will have to work on it also. So there is more work getting my form back to shape.
Dry needling on my gluteus medius – I had a massage a couple of weeks ago from Kristina Pugh who my PT recommended. She’s a couple of blocks from my house and is AWESOME. She determined that my GM could benefit from dry needling and I should talk to John about that. Yes, needles stuck deep into my butt. And electrical current applied. This is totally getting it’s own article so look for that!
Can I run outside on a 100 mile relay team in March? My Tuna 200 relay teammates contacted me and waned to know if I was interested in doing the Blackbeard’s Revenge 100 mile relay in March. Basically, I will need to be able to do 10 or 15 miles (in 5 mile chunks) in about a 24 hour period. I’ll write about the event separately, but not only has John cleared me for running outdoors, he wants me running outside at least once per week! This was a unexpected surprise and really made my day.
All in all, it was a great session and I left feeling good about my progress, I have some things to work on, and feel that there is a light at the end and it’s getting here. Until later, happy healing!