Kaitlyn's Recovery and Running Log (Comments welcome!)

KaitlynJ

Officially a marathoner!
Joined
Jul 23, 2018
Hey y'all! I'm new to the boards, but just stumbled across this section today. I've been looking for a place to keep track of my progress (tried SparkPeople and wasn't a fan) - this seems perfect!

I've been running for 9 years, largely without injury, until this summer training for the Red White and Boom Half Marathon in Minneapolis. I started having shin splits, which I've never had before, so I made an appointment with an orthopedist at a sports medicine clinic. He ordered an MRI and I was diagnosed with a grade 2 stress reaction (basically, a stress reaction is what precedes a stress fracture). The MRI showed edema in my muscle and even a small amount inside my bone, but no fracture lines were visible yet. I was put in a walking boot and have been in it for six weeks. I'm in the process of transitioning out slowly, and Sunday will be my first day completely out!

It'll be at least another week or two before I'm running again. The wait is just killing me! In the meantime, I have "homework" from the physical therapist, and I'm allowed to bike on a stationary bike as long as the resistance is low and I don't have any pain.

Looking forward to logging my progress here and hopefully being healed up soon so I can get in shape for the Fairy Tale Challenge in February!
 
I’m officially boot free today!

My leg was a little tender on Friday, so I decided to take the weekend off from biking/PT homework. Today I was back in the gym at my work over lunch. I did 45 minutes on the bike (15 min warmup, 15 mins of 20/40 speed intervals, and 15 min cooldown) plus all of my PT homework.

F9A5F82B-6B2D-4909-8FCB-4305162F66B6.jpeg

I have a PT appointment tomorrow afternoon. I’m hoping SO HARD that I’ll be able to run a little bit! My therapist mentioned potentially starting some running on the AlterG treadmill sometime soon (it’s a treadmill with a contraption that holds your weight so you can run without impact). We were going to do it last week, but decided to put it off when my pain flared back up. So I’m hoping since I’ve been mostly pain-free, I’ll be able to do it this week.

Also, wore my favorite Disney-themed workout tank to the gym today!

DE2952A6-E564-4CC6-B712-34F6954FE247.jpeg
 


Just got back from my PT appointment! I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to do the elliptical or the low-impact treadmill today, but I understand wanting to be safe and make sure I'm healed up enough before doing too much. My PT is concerned that even though I don't have pain with exercise, one spot on my shin is still painful to the touch. So she's going to talk to the ortho after my follow-up on Thursday. Best case, I'm able to do the elliptical and the AlterG next Tuesday.

Still, today was probably the most intense PT session I've had so far. Tons and tons of lunges, squats, leg raises, and some stability/balance exercises. I was actually sweating a fair amount by the end! I got some new homework based on what we did today, which is awesome. I've been doing the same home regimen for 3 weeks so it'll be good to switch it up a little.

My watch died during my workout, so I couldn't get a watch pic, but here's a screenshot of my workout (fortunately my watch only missed the last 10 minutes!):

download.png
 
A fellow sufferer!

I got dual diagnoses of something somewhere on that scale (one for each leg) back in June. Minus the MRIs and no boots, at least? The doctor would have told me to go non-weight bearing except that's hard when you do both legs at the same time. I did pool running and recumbent bike for 4 weeks before they started letting me transition back to running about three weeks ago, very carefully. I monitor for sore spots on the bone and have a favorite lacrosse ball that I get to roll myself out with on a regular basis.

Wishing you a smooth recovery and the chance to go out and run soon.
 


Well, my follow-up appointment on Thursday did not go as well as planned. My hope was to get the green light to start running again, but that didn't happen. I passed the "hop" test and have been pain-free with walking and biking, but there's a spot on my tibia that's still extremely tender to the touch. My doctor was concerned about that, so has pushed running out until at least my next follow-up (on September 6). The good news, I guess, is that he did approve me to start doing the elliptical. I like that a lot better than biking, so it's definitely better than nothing. I was just SO hoping to get better news!

I did my first elliptical workout (along with my regular PT homework) that afternoon. I even wore my 2018 Princess shirt!

Capture1.JPG

Capture.JPG

I was on vacation this weekend, but still managed to squeeze in my PT homework and elliptical on Saturday too!

Capture3.JPG

I'm going to the gym after work today and have a PT appointment tomorrow.
 
A fellow sufferer!

I got dual diagnoses of something somewhere on that scale (one for each leg) back in June. Minus the MRIs and no boots, at least? The doctor would have told me to go non-weight bearing except that's hard when you do both legs at the same time. I did pool running and recumbent bike for 4 weeks before they started letting me transition back to running about three weeks ago, very carefully. I monitor for sore spots on the bone and have a favorite lacrosse ball that I get to roll myself out with on a regular basis.

Wishing you a smooth recovery and the chance to go out and run soon.

I did lots of biking too! And I love my lacrosse ball. I don't have access to a pool, and even if I did I can barely swim, so not the best option for me! Lol. The doctor considered having me go no-weight-bearing in that leg (either crutches or a scooter) but once I got in the boot the walking pain stopped, so he said the boot would be enough. At this point I'm sort of wishing I HAD done it that way. I'm wondering if I would have healed faster.

I wish my recovery had gone as smoothly as yours. Right now it's been over 8 weeks since I've run, and it'll likely be at least 4-5 more :(
 
Had a decent workout after work yesterday, doing elliptical and my PT homework. I've been skipping the biking lately, the elliptical is a much better workout and I'd rather focus my efforts on working up the time doing that.

Capture.JPG

Fortunately the elliptical has been going well, but my leg did bug me a little bit this weekend on vacation (we did a ton of walking), so I'm going to bring that up with my PT at my appointment this afternoon.
 
So I haven't posted here in a while, mostly because I've just been bummed about having a setback. It seems like any time I increase my activity even a little bit, the pain comes back.

My last week of transitioning out of the boot the first time (a few weeks ago), I walked a 5K in the boot (with my ortho and PT's approval). The next day I did my regular biking, and the day after that the pain returned. They had me go back into the boot again for two more weeks. I was out of the boot for two weeks, feeling just fine, and then went on vacation. The only real change was walking an average of 4.5 miles per day, rather than my usual 2.5 miles. By the last day of vacation I started having pain again, which stuck around after I got home. I mentioned it in PT on Tuesday. She consulted the ortho, and they agreed that I'm just not healed yet and need to go back into the boot. They called me Wednesday afternoon and I put the boot back on that night, so I'll start transitioning out of it next Friday (since Thursday was my first full day). It'll be another two week transition out. They're going to reevaluate once I'm back out of the boot, but barring a miraculous recovery most likely running is off the table entirely until late September/early October.

In the meantime, she has also scaled my PT and homework way back. It's super frustrating because before I was doing real WORKOUTS (single leg squats, lunges, hip bridges, planks, etc.) but now I'm just doing a little core and some easy resistance band work for my ankles. I'm also terrified to bike (even though I'm allowed to) because I'm worried about the pain flaring back up again like it did the first time. Next week I'll be able to start doing elliptical again, but I'm afraid of that too.

I'm really frustrated and disappointed, and already starting to worry that Princess weekend will be in jeopardy. When I first went to the doctor and PT, I knew I'd have to cancel my 4th of July half marathon, but they said I would most likely be able to do Ragnar in August. Then Ragnar was off the table, but I would be able to do my 10 Mile in October. Now they've nixed the 10 Mile as well (including the possibility of downgrading to the 10K that weekend). I know Disney is a long way off, but at this point I don't know how in the world I'll be able to get the training in that I need to do the Challenge. :(
 
It's sometimes hard to see the forest through the trees. You'll get there. Just be patient and stay the course. Before you know it, you'll be back out there crushing it. The road back won't be easy, but it will be fulfilling.
 
It's sometimes hard to see the forest through the trees. You'll get there. Just be patient and stay the course. Before you know it, you'll be back out there crushing it. The road back won't be easy, but it will be fulfilling.

Thank you so much for the encouragement! It is tough right now in the moment, but I know I'll be better for it in the long run. My PT has promised that once I'm completely healed up, I will come out of this a stronger runner now that I've learned so much more about complementary strength training exercises, stretching and rolling, nutrition, etc.
 
So I meant to post this all in my last update and totally spaced - I met with the dietitian at my sports medicine clinic! She was absolutely wonderful, and totally non-judgmental of my horrible diet. I told her that my primary goal is to get back to running and, once I do, to properly fuel my workouts for optimal performance, but that I'd also like to lose about 30 lbs. She was able to come up with some concrete, achievable steps to help me hit those goals (these are based on my height, weight, age, current nutrition, current activity level, etc.):

1) 20-25 grams of protein for breakfast every day. I'm going to start making egg bakes or quiches on the weekend that I can easily reheat before work. We often do pancakes or waffles on the weekends, so I bought some Kodiak Cakes mix to try. I also have protein shakes (Premier Protein) that I can use in a pinch if I'm super short on time.
2) 125 grams of protein daily. Based on my current diet, she estimated I'm getting 50-60 right now. So that's a big change. But some of the smaller changes are helping me build up to that.
3) 90 ounces of water per day. This is the one I'm probably the worst about now. I definitely don't drink enough water, I'd estimate 20-30 ounces on a normal day (with no workout - I drink way more when I exercise). I've started filling a 20 oz water bottle and putting it on my nightstand so I can drink it as soon as I wake up. I brought a 25 oz bottle to work and try to make it through that at least twice a day, and then have one more bottle when I get home/with dinner. I'm also working on cutting down diet soda, from 1-2 per day to 3-4 per week.
4) Replace my afternoon sugar craving snack with a high-protein option. Pretty much every afternoon I have cookies or candy, something with sugar as a pick-me-up. The dietitian recommended that I replace that snack with something more high in protein. She suggested some options that are still sweet - Greek yogurt with fruit (confession: I sometimes also add a tablespoon of chocolate chips), nuts and cheese, peanut butter on an apple, etc.

I'm doing my best to incorporate each of these daily. I hope to see some results soon, especially once I'm back running again! Once I'm able to start actually training again, she wants to set up a follow-up to talk about fueling workouts and post-workout recovery nutrition.
 
So I meant to post this all in my last update and totally spaced - I met with the dietitian at my sports medicine clinic! She was absolutely wonderful, and totally non-judgmental of my horrible diet. I told her that my primary goal is to get back to running and, once I do, to properly fuel my workouts for optimal performance, but that I'd also like to lose about 30 lbs. She was able to come up with some concrete, achievable steps to help me hit those goals (these are based on my height, weight, age, current nutrition, current activity level, etc.):

1) 20-25 grams of protein for breakfast every day. I'm going to start making egg bakes or quiches on the weekend that I can easily reheat before work. We often do pancakes or waffles on the weekends, so I bought some Kodiak Cakes mix to try. I also have protein shakes (Premier Protein) that I can use in a pinch if I'm super short on time.
2) 125 grams of protein daily. Based on my current diet, she estimated I'm getting 50-60 right now. So that's a big change. But some of the smaller changes are helping me build up to that.
3) 90 ounces of water per day. This is the one I'm probably the worst about now. I definitely don't drink enough water, I'd estimate 20-30 ounces on a normal day (with no workout - I drink way more when I exercise). I've started filling a 20 oz water bottle and putting it on my nightstand so I can drink it as soon as I wake up. I brought a 25 oz bottle to work and try to make it through that at least twice a day, and then have one more bottle when I get home/with dinner. I'm also working on cutting down diet soda, from 1-2 per day to 3-4 per week.
4) Replace my afternoon sugar craving snack with a high-protein option. Pretty much every afternoon I have cookies or candy, something with sugar as a pick-me-up. The dietitian recommended that I replace that snack with something more high in protein. She suggested some options that are still sweet - Greek yogurt with fruit (confession: I sometimes also add a tablespoon of chocolate chips), nuts and cheese, peanut butter on an apple, etc.

I'm doing my best to incorporate each of these daily. I hope to see some results soon, especially once I'm back running again! Once I'm able to start actually training again, she wants to set up a follow-up to talk about fueling workouts and post-workout recovery nutrition.

I love all this. I'm at about 5.8 g carbs per kg/bw, 0.9 g fat per kg/bw, and 2.3 g protein per kg/bw (or 422g carb, 64g fat, 167g protein per day). Kudos on getting this nailed down.
 
I'M SO EXCITED Y'ALL!!! So Tuesday I went back to PT again, it was uneventful and we mostly did table work and stuff like that. But my orthopedist stopped by and said he wanted to see me sooner than our next appointment (which was set for Sept 6). I was able to get in to see him this morning, and it was my best appointment yet.

I was so worried about how it would go with my setback on vacation. But I had no pain at all with any of the tests, no pain with palpation, nothing! So I'll be transitioning out of the boot starting today, and will be completely out on September 4. My next PT appointment after that is on September 11, and at that appointment I MIGHT BE ABLE TO RUN!!!!! It'll just be on the AlterG (low-impact treadmill) to start, but still! Running!!! I most likely won't be back to running on my own until October, but this is still a super exciting step. I'm so glad things are finally moving in the right direction.
 
Well, I haven't been updating much because there hasn't been much to update, but today I RAN!!!*

*On the low-impact treadmill, with only 80% of my body weight, and only for 10 minutes. BUT I RAN!

Over the last couple of weeks I've just been grinding it out in PT/on the elliptical. Finally today at PT I got to try to run. Fortunately no pain, so I'm hoping it stays that way! I'll be limited to the low-impact treadmill at the PT's office for at least 2-3 more weeks, but after that I may be able to start running on my own a little bit! So here's hoping everything stays on track this time!
 
Hi Kaitlyn!:wave2:
Congrats on getting to run again!! I share your frustration at not being able to run. I've been sidelined 16 weeks now. But come Sunday I get to start again, only a little though.

Good luck with your health and training!
 
Hi everyone! Wow, I've been totally MIA for a while. Basically, after my last post I had some additional pain and setbacks that kept me from actually running until a couple of weeks ago. Luckily my PT threw a quick plan together so that I can at least finish Princess (hopefully) without re-injuring myself. I'm going to do a walk-run, which is also nice because the friend I'm running it with has recently discovered that she also prefers intervals. But my expectations have definitely changed. Before, I was hoping to be able to run pretty much all of the half, but now I just want to finish the challenge uninjured, no matter how much I have to walk.

Two weeks ago I did 5 miles outside with no issues, but last week I tried to do 7 on my home treadmill and had to stop 4 miles in because I started to have the same pain creeping back up. I'm glad I quit when I did, I iced right away and took a couple of extra rest days and it ended up being fine. But I have determined that the home treadmill is a huge source of my pain/issues. It's a pretty old used treadmill that we got from Craigslist for $100 last year. It works just fine, but after my debacle with the 7 miler I was thinking back and my last long run before the pain became unbearable in June was 7 miles on my home treadmill!

Monday was my first "real" long run, I decided to try it on the treadmill at my work gym to see if my theory about the home treadmill was correct. I managed 8 miles with 1:1 intervals in a little under 2 hours. No issues whatsoever. So I think this year I might invest in a nicer treadmill at home.

Capture.JPG
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!










Top