I got the news I have been waiting over two months for this past Thursday…I can run again!!!

Well, almost…I went back to my sports doctor for a regularly scheduled follow-up, and he was asking me about the pain I was having in my leg (dull, achy, lower than the fracture location and only in the evenings after a strenuous day, not during activity).  He chalked that up to my muscles readapting to activity and said that it should subside as my leg regains some strength.  He had me do a hop test (hopping on the injured leg to test for pain) and I was able to do ten hops with no pain whatsoever.  I then got the green light for ellipticaling and stairclimber exercise, and then we got to the part of the conversation that I liked the most…

Dr. B: I’d even say that it’s probably okay to walk on a treadmill and insert some slow, easy jogs during the course of your walk–but only on the treadmill for now.

Katie: (grinning happily) Really???  YESSSSSSSS!

Dr. B: Don’t be an idiot.  If you go all out, you’re going to be right back here again.

I wonder where would he have ever gotten the idea that I would be all gung-ho about this?  Does my neurotic, type-A personality show through that much?

This is a situation where I am really reigning myself in–and I need to.  As much as I want to be running again, I would be devastated if I fractured my leg again right after going through this.  I actually haven’t tried any of the activities he greenlighted yet, except for walking.  Ike and I took a much needed 1.5 mile walk both yesterday morning and this afternoon.  I am happy to report that I had no pain and Ike seemed thrilled to death that I was able to go with him. :D  

My workouts this week were:

  • 6/1: 45 minutes swimming
  • 6/2: 30 minute speed workout on an exercise bike + 20 minutes weights
  • 6/3: 55 minutes biking (11.32 miles)
  • 6/4: 30 minutes pool running + 30 minutes swimming
  • 6/5: Rest
  • 6/6: 30 minutes pool running + 30 minutes swimming
  • 6/7: 71 minutes biking (15.36 miles)

For this upcoming week, I’m planning on sticking with my swimming, pool running and biking routine, and adding in some walks with Ike and some elliptical action.  Truth be told, I’m a little scared about starting to run before my leg is fully healed.

I plan on continuing these cross-training activities well into my recovery.  I plan on doing some more detailed posts on each of them later, but I feel like I have gained strength that I didn’t have before I got injured.  And as my doctor also said, cross-training is going to be the key to successfully getting back to running.  My leg will not be able to handle 40 mile weeks again for awhile, so I’m going to need to depend on cross training to get back to peak cardiovascular shape.

I want to make sure that I do this right, so I’m currently working out a return to running plan.  Thanks to some good people on the Runner’s World forums, I found this website with a lot of information, including a seven-week plan for returning to running after a stress fracture.

Week
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1
Walk 10 min, Run 5 min, Walk 5 min, Run 5 min Run in water or other training Run in water or other training Walk 5 min,Run 5 min,Walk 5 min,Run 5 min,Walk 5 min,Run 5 min Run in water or other training Run in water or other training Walk 3 min, Run 7 min, Walk 3 min, Run 7 min, Walk 3 min, Run 7 min
2
 Run in water or other training Walk 2 min, Run 8 min, Walk 2 min, Run 8 min, Walk 2 min, Run 8 min Run in water or other training Run 10 min, Walk 2 min,Run 10 min, Walk 2 min,Run 10 min Run in water or other training Run 12 min, Walk 2 min, Run 12 min, Walk 2 min, Run 10 min Run in water or other training
3
 Run 15 min, Walk 2 min, Run 15 min Run in water or other training Run 20 min, Walk 2 min, Run 10 min Run in water or other training Run 25 min Run in water or other training Run 30 min
4
 Run in water or other training Run 25 min Run 30 min Run in water or other training Run 25 min Run 35 min Run in water or other training
5
 Run 30 min Run 35 min Run in water or other training Run 30 min plus 6 x 100 meter stridouts Run 30 min Run 40 min Run in water or other training
6
 Tempo Run (15 min warm-up, 15 min @ 15 km race pace) Run 30 min Run 45 min Run in water or other training Run 40 min plus 6 x 100 meter strideouts Run 30 min Run 50 min
7
 Run in water or other training Run 35 min Tempo Run (15 min warm-up, 20 min @ 15 km race pace) Run 35 min Run in water or other training Run 40 min plus 6 x 100 meter strideouts Run 55 min

It looks like a pretty solid plan, so I’m planning on customizing it to meet my needs.  First though, I want to spend this week gaining confidence in my leg and its ability to handle the impact of running.

I also came across this article this weekend written by one of my running idols, Amby Burfoot.  The takeaway of this article is that all runners get injured at some point in their running careers.  This is my first serious running injury.  I’ve had Achilles tendonitis and some IT band issues from running, not to mention a prior stress fracture from lacrosse and a torn hamstring from tennis, but this is my first major injury that is directly attributable to running.  I’m probably lucky that it took this long.

My sports doctor has told me several times in the last few months that the human body is not designed to run for 26 miles at a time, my body is unusually susceptible to fractures, I’m going to keep him in business, yadda yadda yadda.  When we said goodbye the other morning, he said “I’ll see you when you get your next stress fracture.”  I was a little offended, but, truth be told, he’s probably right.  I’m going to do my darndest to make him wrong, though.  I’ve learned from this experience that it is absolutely critical to listen to my body, give it adequate rest, and not push it when I know that it’s not ready for what I want it to do.

If that’s all I take away from this, I think it’s been a worthwhile experience, no matter how painful and frustrating it was.