Report from the Doctor

Thank you all very much for your comments and feedback. With those thoughts in mind, I did end up skipping the 20 miler on Friday morning and opted for a therapeutic massage instead. There was actually some chaos surrounding the massage, as I showed up to the Massage Envy closest to my house at 8am thinking I had an appt with someone who actually specialized in sports massage. Turns out they had booked me for 8 PM. Ummm...no. So they fit me in at the Mtn Brook location, and while the massage was good, I asked for focus on my legs and got focus on my back instead. (Yes, my back needed it, but my legs needed it more!)

I was in Auburn for the weekend and I know this may sound dramatic but I was truly lost without having a long run on the weekend! My aunt and I did go to the gym each morning for about an hour of cross training (and I got a few miles of walking on Saturday since we walked to the game and around campus) but it was NOT the same. I tried to take it easy on my ankle while still working up a sweat but truly, nothing beats running for that feeling of really having worked hard. And selfishly, it's been nice to not worry about what I eat on the weekend since I've been burning 1500+ calories to start the day. (Not that I pig out following the run...quite the opposite, I don't really feel hungry...but I also don't worry about having something if I want it)

I had my appt with a local sports medicine doc this morning, following a recommendation from the Track Shak. As I mentioned in my comments on the last post, I felt very comforted knowing that the doc was both female and a marathoner b/c I knew she could relate to training and both the physical and mental side of what I have been working toward.

She was great and took a lot of time with me which I appreciated. The physical exam didn't reveal any thickening or tears in the tendon and the x-rays came out clear (no calcification or stress fractures as a result of any overcompensating I may be doing to make up for the pain in the Achilles.) She did some bilateral strength tests (don't know if that's the technical term for it) after feeling my calves and legs and recognizing that the right calf/leg is significantly tighter than the left and boy is there a difference in my right and left side. My left upper body/shoulder also has weakness which is a result of the tightness/weakness on the right lower body. So interesting! She threw around the term "mild pelvic obliquity" but didn't really go into it, so upon some Googling it looks like my pelvis may be tilted which is causing everything to go out of whack. I don't have scoliosis or anything (seems to come up a lot when talking about pelvic obliquity) and wish she had used more technical medical terms instead of talking through process. I like the process explanations but I like to have a term I can investigate later and am fairly comfortable with "technical" medical explanations but I digress.

The important news is that I am cleared to run!!! She told me to put a small heel insert in my right shoe for the next week or so, gave me some topical anti-inflammatory patches to use for the next few days and has referred me to physical therapy for some deep tissue release which she said is really the key to getting me to Memphis healthy. I know this deep tissue is going to hurt like hell (also confirmed by her) but it will be so worth it. She told me it would be ideal if I can go 3-4 times before Memphis (less than 3 weeks!), so I am going to call tomorrow to get some appointments lined up.

I had 5 on the schedule tonight but ran just under 4 on the treadmill due to time constraints (it was 9:15 and I still needed to go to the grocery store) with a slight twinge of pain at the end but otherwise felt good. I made sure to stretch well and have just changed over my patch (they are to be worn for 12 hours and then switched). I am SO relieved. I just need to be smart and not over do it with "pushing the pace" (all relative) and I need to avoid hills like the plague.