Saturday, June 23, 2007

Went to the 5km TT this morning at Shorncliffe and had a bit of a chat with Uncle Phil about the bursitis and cortisone and stuff. He's not sure that getting an injection is the best thing and reckons it often doesn't work. After lots of reading (hurrah for CR and google) it seems there are definitely two schools of thought. Those for, those against.

So, I'm thinking perhaps I should just get in to see a podiatrist (Nathan Eadie was recommended to me but apparently he's hard to get in to see - very popular) get everything assessed and just take a few months off completely to see if it helps, before resorting to steroids. Gah. I dunno.

It is going to absolutely kill me not to run. Mostly because once the memory of the endorphins fades, I'm terrified I won't ever find the motivation to start again. I feel like running now defines a part of who I am and no other form of exercise really does it for me anymore. Anything else I might like to do (team sports like football, netball, volleyball) are all going to involve the same old pounding. I'm scared I'm really going to let lose the hounds and rocket back up to 126kg.

I picked up my GC race pack today as well. I didn't downgrade it to the 10km so technically I'm still entered in the half. I'm debating the wisdom of doing any event at all really - all it's going to do is agravate the situation and I don't even think I would make it to the 10km mark currently. The jury is still out but my foot hurts after a 5km jog this morning, so it's not looking good. What a waste of $65.00.

Blah. Just call me Ms.Misery Guts. I'm not blogging again until I have something positive to say! I can't stand listening to myself!

7 comments:

Tesso said...

First up you should find out what you CAN do eg water running, walking etc. And do it. Find out who else is injured and organise water running and walks or whatever.

Secondly, stay in the loop. Its hard seeing all your buddies running and hearing about what they are doing but if you drop off the scene it really is so much harder to come back.

And try to continue blogging. If nothing else it keeps you honest - we will all be able to keep an eye on you!

Have you posted something on CR yet or is there info there on your exact condition?

Cirque said...

Hey you!

WE NEED TO TALK!

OK- seriously, I know exactly where you're coming from because I've been there many times. Trust me, you will never lose the motivation to run again, because nothing has changed since you were drawn to it in the first place.

I've had more "first times" than hot dinners but you and I will always keep coming back because that's just what we do.

At the moment I'm doing a 45 minute walk with 6 x 1 minute running intervals so maybe we can do our next 'come back' together.

Stay strong sweetie, and we'll talk about this more at GCM next weekend!!!

Jen said...

I had a bad experience with cortisone so I'm certainly not a fan of the stuff - but my advice to you is to do LOTS of research, talk to everyone you possibly can & make an informed decision after taking time to think about it.

Time off won't kill you Hannah & if it does define who you are, it is not something which you will lose. Tesso is right - find out what you can continue to do exercise-wise & keep blogging. Often the only thing that kept me honest during the 4 months I had off due to my ITB was that I kept blogging. You can & will overcome this & you will come back stronger - if that means taking a few months off, then do it. You will always be a runner - it is not something that you do (because from time to time we can't) but it is something that you are - it comes from your heart & soul.

Clairie said...

I'm a fan of cortisone but that's because it allowed me to make a comeback (together with a rest period) that was quicker than usual and I didn't have any pain in the interim.

The needle wasn't large at all.

You should see a sports doctor - not just a doc.

The large cortisone injections are the ones that go into the joints. The other cortisone - such as into the ITB or hip area (i've had both) are actually quite small as they only have to go into the muscle. So work out where you will need yours and that will tell you the size of the needle (I am sure your's will be in between the toes and not into the toe itself).

The Cavendish Medical Centre has the best sports doctors and you can usually get in there quickly. Also they refer to the Wollongabba Physios (where they also work) and you get preferential appointments if you need to see a physio as well.

And lastly - if something makes you that miserable (ie not running) then I think you need to consider doing anything you can to help you get back to running quicker. But I don't think doing GC is viable. Nor is a 5km jog!!!! So stop running immediately and get on your bike for a while.
Decide if you are for the cotisone and work out a plan.

Put your energy into doing a timetable for getting back into running in 8 weeks. Work out what smaller runs you can start with and work up to a larger goal.

present the plan to uncle phil and see what he thinks. At least it all keeps you involved and with something to work towards.

Keep it real and keep in touch
Hugs
Clairie

Ewen said...

You could do the 7.5k walk Hannah. Do something.

I'm with clairie - cortisone won't do you any long term harm (unless you do crazy hard or long running after taking it). Positives are it could enable you to do some gentle running while waiting to see the podiatrist. It may even cure you.

Lulu said...

What great advice from all those wise people! To add my little bit and I'm an expert in being on the couch, off the couch, on the couch... repeat ad naseum, you should do find something to replace your running. I found water running good as it's specific to running and apparently keeps your fitness at about the same sort of levels... it seemed to work for me. And don't lose touch with people, I went and volunteered at races and hung out with runners and it kept me wanting to go back.

Take care of yourself and I'll get Cirque to give you a big hug from me too!

Lulu

Stephen Lacey said...

Great advice already, but just wanted to add one more voice of encouragement. I was also going to say definitely don't let the hounds loose. Definitely find any crap aerobic exercise that will help burn calories, and also be pretty strict with yourself on what you ingest. if you can't keep a running log, keep a calorie log.