It has now been almost 24 weeks since I tore my right hamstring near the attachment point near the ischial tuberosity. I spent the first month or so with a traditional MD and physical therapy which only seemed to make the problem worse. I then switched to a chiropractic office and received Active Release Treatment (A.R.T.) and Gastron Techinque which at least relieved some of the literal pain in my ass. After resting for 8 weeks I was given the OK to start light running again since it was assumed that this was a minor tear which usually needs 6-8 weeks of rest. I ramped up to about 15 miles a week and even managed to do a 5-mile event but it hurt every time I ran more than 3-4 miles. That is when we decided to do the MRI and found the severity of the problem and I was back off running. So in the last nearly half year I have run only 6 weeks.
Category Archives: Trail Running
Dealing with Upper Hamstring Tear
Where my tear is located
Three months ago I was out on a light morning run in St. Edwards Park with some other local runners, doing a few laps of a 5-mile course. Somewhere after the big uphill I felt a bit of a pull in my right hamstring. We finished the lap and stopped to meet up with some other runners and I could barely walk. I bagged on the rest of the day and went home to ice the leg. I rested it most of the week, iced and took ibuprofen. Five days later I tried to do a light 2 mile run and couldn’t do it.
Off I went to the doctor to get this checked out. Grade Two hamstring strain was the diagnosis and I was told 4-8 weeks of recovery and sent off to physical therapy. The PT consisted of a lot of balance and squats along with stretching, electro-stim and ultrasound. About two weeks in the pain moved from my hammy up into my butt and hips to the point where I could no longer even sit let alone run. A friend recommended a different sports clinic so I decided to give them a try. At Elite Sports & Spine I started getting A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques) and Graston treatment and within three weeks was actually feeling a bit better to the point where I was told to try some light running. Running didn’t really seem to make things worse and I slowly built up a bit of mileage, I even did an event. Once I got to the 5-mile mark though I just could not seem to go any further and the pain started up again.
Becoming a trail running photographer
This past year I have spent more and more time behind the camera at events and for the rest of this season it appears it is going to be my primary way of participating in runs. How did this happen?
Way back in high school I was introduced into the world of photography by a friend who I met in my summer driver’s ed class. He happened to be in the journalism class and worked as a photographer. I got interested and soon joined the darkroom gang and learned the basics of photography on an old Pentax camera using B&W 35mm film. I shot sporting events, yearbook groups, activities in the school, etc… and was soon in charge of the darkroom and photographers for my senior year.
BtR Soaring Eagle 5-mile
Today was the 3rd Annual Born to Run event at Soaring Eagle put on by Evergreen Trail Runs. This run seems to always happen for me either right after a really long event or when I’m injured so even though they have distances up to 50k I’ve always ended up doing the shortest route possible which was 10k three years ago and 5-miles last year and this year. I also always do this run in my Luna Leadville sandals even though the place is a mud hole. I was hoping that all the work they did on the pipeline trail would make things less mucky this year, a few weeks ago it looked pretty good, but it was still pretty slippery and nasty in places. At least two crazy people did the event barefoot and I saw one other guy in Lunas plus a few in VFFs, Inov-8s and other minimal shoes.
More running reading – The Cool Impossible
Sitting through injury recovery and not being able to do much on the trails it seems I’m getting my fix indirectly by reading about running. More specifically I’ve been reading a lot about injuries, injury prevention and training programs that claim to get people beyond injury and back on the trails or roads. The Cool Impossible by Eric Orton is the latest in a series of such books I’ve ready.
Eric was Christopher McDougall‘s running coach for Born to Run. Since BtR was the book that got me into minimalist and trail running this book was a must-read for me and I pre-ordered the deluxe version of the book from iBooks as soon as I could. Once the book arrived I devoured it in about 3 days but have since gone back over some sections over and over.
Anatomy for Runners – Review and What I Learned
Five weeks ago I was on an easy morning run when my right hamstring cramped up and I had to stop running. I limped home figuring that it would go away in a few days of rest. I tried to ‘run’ four days later and was unable to go a mile before the hamstring locked up totally. More rest. Two weeks later I was in more pain than the original cramping and headed to my sports medicine doctor. Grade 2 Hamstring Strain was the diagnosis, should be back in 4-6 weeks with heavy Voltaren and PT. That time period is about up and there is no way I can run yet, there are days it hurts just to sit. Not able to run, I started reading about running and came across “Anatomy for Runners” by Jay Dicharry.
The Heart Sutra and the Half Marathon
On the first lap. Photo by Takao Suzuki
The Redmond Watershed is my home trail, I run there more than any other location since it is so close to the house. Because of this I try to do all the events I can at the Watershed and used it for my first trail marathon a few years back. By the time the Northwest Trail Runs Spring Fun Run rolled around I hadn’t quite built up enough mileage for a full marathon so I signed up for the half but figured if I was feeling great I could always continue lapping and do the full, it had to be easier than all the hills at Ft. Ebey.
Fort Ebey Half Marathon
Walking up the last big hill
Not sure what possessed me to sign up for this one other than the fact I was about ready to run a half and it seemed like there would be some great views along the shore of Whidbey Island. What I hadn’t considered was the elevation gain. I expected a run from the shore up to the bluff but didn’t realize until days before that the trail had 2600′ of elevation gain and was also as twisty and turny as Dash Point. This made it the hardest half I’ve done elevation wise and very similar in nature to the Deception Pass 25k which had a few hundred more feet for the extra few miles.
That said, it was a perfect day to run with temps in the mid to upper 40s and the wind had died down a lot from yesterday to a cool breeze coming off the water. The trails were a bit wet and muddy in places due to yesterday’s rain so I opted for Inov-8 TrailRoc 245s instead of Luna Sandals for the run and this turned out to be a good choice.
Sun Country Snowshoe Run
At the Start of the race
I ran the Jingle Bells Snowshoe Run with Snowdog Events in December and had so much fun that I had to do it again so I signed up for the February event. We couldn’t have asked for better weather with the sun shining and temps in the upper 30’s though the snow could have been better. After having deep powder in December we were left with a mix of slushy snow, ice, and very thin areas with more grass than snow but the course took advantage of what snow was left on the golf course even if it did have to be shortened to a 4k instead of 5k loop.
I ran with the same setup as before – a pair of thin Injini wool socks covered by a pair of thin SmartWool socks, Merrell Trail Gloves and the new Atlas gaiters I won in the pre-race raffle. Add on the Atlas Run snowshoes and it was a great lightweight setup.
The course was fun given the snow conditions though I felt it was a bit harder than last time around mainly due to the changing conditions. It all went by way fast and I finished 5th overall in 29:17. I thought I had finished in 2nd since I only saw one other person at the finish line but evidently the other guys all vanished. Still, not a bad finish for the event and it was fun. I didn’t stick around too long afterwards, once I cooled off I headed out to the Yakima in Cle Elum to fish a few hours.
Next up – Ft. Ebey Kettles Half Marathon next week…
Winter Running Festival
Winter was the key word as I awoke to temps in the low 20’s the morning of the annual Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival. The forecast for the start wasn’t much better, maybe highs in the mid-30s by 3:00. I was just glad I opted for the 5 mile distance this year, I’ll get done before it gets dark and the temps start dropping like a rock again. The 50k runners were going to be in for a long, cold night.