Ragnar Relay -- Looking for Runners

I discovered the Ragnar Relay yesterday. I. Want. To. Do. This.

What is the Ragnar Relay you ask? 12 person relay team, 200(ish) miles, everyone runs 3 legs (varying in length between 3 and 8 miles), race lasts 24 hours. Oh, and the race doesn't stop for night time. That is 24 hours straight.

There are 12 races a year. I am thinking doing one in March, April or May would work well. Gives us plenty of time to get 12 people together, coordinate the logistics, etc.

So who is with me? So far I have 5 people VERY interested in joining me and a strong MAYBE from one other. So I need 6 or 7 RELIABLE people to pledge their word (and money). If we did the race in March, the Texas race (180 mile route from San Antonio to Austin), we would need to pay by September 2009 to get the early reg discount (cost around $1100 total). I think that race is a good one to aim for.

I am doing this. You will be joining me. Let's talk.

Follow-up Visit Part 2

I can't believe it has been so long since I followed up my last post. The goal was to finish it off the next day, but I guess life got in the way.

When we last left our hero, he had just been told that he couldn't do any running for 6 months. Or was it only a few miles for 6 months. Our hero was just as confused as you are.

Ok, the comments that were left echo exactly how I was feeling: you gotta find someone that knows what they are talking about. I didn't feel confident that I would find anyone around here that could help me. I mean, the guy I had been dealing with is supposed to be one of the best around here. He even consulted his "hip specialist" and neither of them gave me the warm and fuzzy's.

Back to the internet I went. One name kept popping up during my search, Dr. Marc Philippone. Dr. Philippone is a hip guy; no, THE hip guy. That's his speciality. He does something like 500 arthroscopic hip surgeries a year. He is a consultant for the NHL, has worked on golfers and football players. My savior, at least that is what I was hoping.

Dr. Philippone is out of Vail, CO. I decided to give him a call half expecting not to hear back. Well, the next day is nurse called me. We ran through a questionnaire and she told me to gather up all my x-ray's, MR's and reports and mail them out. After a week or so, they will call me back with the next step in the process. If I do end up needing surgery (and hopefully that is years from now) I think he is the one I want doing it.

One of my friends asked me why I need to contact a dude in Vail, CO when there are plenty of doctors around here that could probably help me. I told him that I am just too young to be hurting for the rest of my life because of crappy surgery. If Dr. Philippone tells me to stop running for 6 months, i'll do it. I'll do it because the hip is what this guy does. He isn't a shoulder guy or a spine guy.

I mailed the images off yesterday--2 day express. I am hoping to hear something next week. I will keep you posted!

Follow-up Visit Part 1

This is going to be one of those posts where you say "What the crap is up with Chris" but that's ok. And, if you feel that way, let me know. Maybe I am a little wacko but I have to look out for me.

Anyway, on with the post.

Hopefully you read my last post about my hip troubles. You may recall that I wasn't too terribly worried about my follow-up visit because I felt I had done enough research to understand my problem and what I needed to do moving forward. I figured I knew how the follow-up visit with the sports med doc would go: he would tell me it's torn, get me some PT (to help strengthen the hip and pelvis), load me up on Motrin scripts, tell me to come back if it gets worse, etc. etc.

It was a complete 180. Let me say that I think this doctor is great. He is supposed to be one of the top sports med guys in the area, works on the OU baseball players, stuff like that. He admitted that he hasn't really seen many (or any) hip tears but he was very familiar with the shoulder ones. Doesn't really help me, does it?

The first thing he said to me was that he consulted with a specialist and they discussed a conservative course of action: no running for 6 months. WTF? He told me that the repetitive motion of running could make it worse; he did ok me for the elliptical. Is it more or do you use that same repetitive motion for the elliptical? To told me PT would not do anything for me nor would Motrin. The only thing that he said that agreed with my research was that surgery should be the last option.

I said "Doc, I ran 9 miles yesterday. It didn't hurt anymore after that run than it did the day before when I did nothing". He responded with "Ok, so maybe it's ok to run but try to keep your runs under 3 miles". So which is it? No running or some running? Again, not knocking the guy, I just don't think he knows.

I felt I needed more options. My Mom said I should get a second opinion from her doctor. I told here that I don't want a second opinion from just some guy who knows as much as the last about it--I want an expert to tell me what I need to do. She left me her guy's business card anyway. The dude is a spine doc. I love my moms yo, but I don't think that is going to help.

So I went back on the internet.

I feel this post is getting long so I will call this a Part 1 and continue tomorrow. In this Twitter world we live in, everything has to be short and sweet.

Hip Baby Hip

Over the last couple of weeks, I have learned a lot about the hip. Sure, my background is that of an x-ray tech so I understood the anatomy, but you don't really stop and think about how things work until you are experiencing it.

What exactly am I experiencing? Pain. Ha! Who isn't, right?

On April 18, my right hip started hurting. How do I know it was that date? Training log of course! The pain was/is a dull throbbing that feels deep, as if it is coming from the bone, not a muscle or something. The pain would come and go--usually in the evenings--sometimes to the point I would be limping around. To this day, it has never affected my running. I don't feel it during a run nor does it bother me afterwards. For that reason, I kinda ignored it.

At the beginning of May, I hired Christine Hinton to coach me. I started to increase my mileage and really get serious about my running. That seriousness led me to start listening to my body and evaluate my aches and pains. My knees always bothered me which led to my foot strike change (which I talked about here and here). The next thing to look at was my hip. 2 weeks ago I went to see the sports medicine doc.

This guy is the same one I saw for my IT band issue--he is a runner and a marathoner--a great guy that isn't apt to simply say "stop running". We did an x-ray and he thought he saw a stress fracture! Yikes! He wanted an MRI to confirm. I was able to get one the same day at the imaging center my wife works at (she is an MRI tech--can't beat the hook-up). That was a Friday and the Radiologist called me with the report the same day saving me from having to think about it

all weekend. No fracture but a possible acetabular labral tear. Um, what?

From OhioHealth's website, I got this definition: "A hip labral tear involves the ring of soft tissue that follows the outside rim of the socket of your hip joint. This ridge of cartilage, called a labrum, works a little like a suction cup to help hold your hip joint together."

The radiologist wanted an MR Arthrogram to confirm. I had that done this past Friday, and he confirmed that the labrum is torn. Fun!

I should be clear, it doesn't appear to be a running related injury. The sports med doc said I could have been walking in the parking lot and twisted wrong. And everything I am being told and have read says that running can't make it any worse. I will confirm that on Monday at my follow up. This thing, however, won't heal itself. If it gets to the point that I can't deal with the pain, surgery will be the last option. I have read A LOT of stories on the RW boards about surgery not helping or making it worse. Like I said--the very last option.

I will keep you guys posted, and although I was worried in the beginning that my days of running were over, I no longer think that is the case.

To end on a positive note, I no longer experience the knee pain! My move to a midfoot strike is almost complete. I ran 9 miles this morning and I didn't have to "force" myself to do it, it just happened. Cool, right?

You can read some good info about the labral tear here.

More Footstrike Stuff

The other day I talked about foot striking. You are probably thinking "what more could he say?" Lots.

I went out yesterday morning for an easy 5 mile run. My hotel in Ann Arbor is right on a golf course as well as at the beginning of a running trail that goes on and on. My foot strikes went pretty well. Still not completely "natural"--I had to constantly pay attention or I would go back to a heel strike. That being said, I still think it was better/easier compared to Sunday's run. This morning I hopped onto the treadmill for a 5 mile speed run. I went right into the midfoot strike. It definitely felt more natural because I didn't even think about it. I also noticed I didn't have to concentrate as much as I have with my other runs. Even during the speed portions, I did very well. I can also say that my knees don't hurt at all these day; it seems like my knees were always hurting, especially after long runs. Heel striking sucks.

There are a couple of important thing to remember when doing the midfoot strike. First, it helps to lean forward slightly. Not sure if it is gravity pulling you along (as I read on a Chi Running website) or what, but it does help. Also, you will take shorter strides. Don't expect those big long strides you are taking with the heel strike. So, if you are having problems implementing the midfoot strike, try shortening your stride.

Here is a great little demo Newton Running's website. Check it out here. Play with the different options to get a better idea of what the heel strike is doing to your running and your body. Notice the exaggerated stride on the heel strike demo vs. the midfoot one. BTW, a triathlete friend of mine swears by the Newton's.

I have uploaded an article originally posted in TRI-DC Magazine by Christine Hinton. Christine is my running coach (she can be yours too --click here) and sent me the article after she saw the discussion about gait and striking. Take a few minutes to read it--lots of great information in there. You can download it here.

Footstrike Stuff

I started playing around with my running form the other day. I've been doing a lot of reading about how poor form can lead to injuries. I'm sure there are lots of things wrong with my form, but the one thing I really want to work on his my foot strike. There are basically 3 different ways for your foot to land--strike--the ground:

• Midfoot Strike
• Forefoot Strike
• Heel Strike
  

Like most newbie runners and those that have never had any real training/coaching, I use a heel strike--I land right on the heel. This is bad. That constant jarring can really jack up your knees.

A person with a forefoot strike basically lands on the ball of their foot. If your heel never touches the ground, you are a forefoot striker. You will see this in sprinters. Nothing wrong with striking like this, but I don't think it comes natural for most of us.

That leaves us with a midfoot strike. A midfoot strike is when your heel and the ball of your foot hit the ground at the same time.

I tried it out for the first time on my 8-mile long run on Sunday. It seemed to go very well. I had to really concentrate because my foot wanted to keep going back to the heel strike. I found that if my mind wandered, I would land with the heel again. Other than that, I think my first real effort went great. After the run, my ankles were really hurting, but I think this is normal when you first change your foot strike--the body has to get used to it.

Yesterday on the treadmill, I made another effort. That one didn't seem to go as well. I found it difficult to do and I kept going back to the heel strike. I am headed outside in the morning and we will see how that goes.

What about you? How does your foot strike? Any advice? Thinking of working on your foot strike?

Post to End All Posts

This is one of those post that you force yourself to make. I really don't have anything to discuss but I kinda feel liking typing.

My running has been going well. Phenomenally well actually. I have been following my schedule, getting my runs in, hitting my mileage. I will admit, it has helped that I have been home for 2 weeks straight. I hope I can get back in to the groove of "running on the road" next week during my work trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Although I am not training for anything yet, I am laying the ground work for my half marathon training which starts soon. The plan is to run the Rock n Roll Half in San Antonio this November.

Lisa from Discovering the Meaning of Stonehenge has a Gu giveaway going on right now. Check it out here; oh, and if you win, you can split them with me! On that topic, I think the Gu Chomps are messing up my belly, if you know what I mean. That might mean I will be doing a giveaway soon myself since I bought a box of them!

Wow, that was a weak post, but that's all I got. Stay tuned for an exciting announcement soon*!

Fun song to break up the monotony of a long run: Don't Stop Believin' by the Cast of Glee. Gotta love it!


*There is no exciting announcement. Just thought I would leave you with a cliffhanger.