Pelvic Pain

CRAACK!

Did you know you could crack your pelvis? Neither did I till about a month ago.

Unfortunately, I have been having pelvic pain and specifically pain right at the pubic symphysis since the marathon. Trail runners can insert their favorite "I-told-you-so" lines about the evils of road running. I still don't think road running is evil, but I think the marathon was harder and faster than anything I have ever done and maybe my body just wasn't as adapted for that as it needed to be.

For the most part, I have done the same thing I have done for every other niggling injury:  mostly ignore it, run more miles, and make weak attempts at stretching. Oddly enough, this strategy worked for plantar fasciitis, posterior tib tendonitis, and a hamstring strain. It seems like these things just kind of go away after 4-6 weeks.

But four weeks after the marathon this had not gone away. I saw my massage therapist who gave me some tips on how to "realign my pelvis." That night while squeezing a soccer ball between my knees, I had a flash of pain along with the sickening "Crack." The next day my pain wasn't gone, but it seemed better, so I figured I was over the hump and on the mend. But it didn't improve after that.

At Bandera, I felt "off" from the start. If I am honest with myself, some of it may have been my training and fitness. Last year I put in seven hard weeks before Bandera. This year I had two and a half weeks of taper and two weeks of recovery (for CIM) in the weeks before Bandera. But my frustrations in the early miles came from a feeling of uncoordinated legs, bad posture, bad form - things I am sure related to my pelvis and instability issues.

After Bandera, I took two weeks off. The rest and recovery was well needed, but I don't think it improved my injury. So today I threw in the towel; I made an appointment with my PT. Seeking medical care means I have to come out of denial for my injury, so here I am coming clean. My appointment is a week from Tuesday...yep, my PT will be playing with my pelvis on Valentine's Day! :)

Just because I am coming clean doesn't mean I plan to take it easy! I am off to Orcas Island for a fun weekend hanging with ultra runners. Oh yeah, and a 50k race. This casual, early season race has some pretty fast names in the women's race: Amy Sproston, Nicola Gildersleeve, Shawna Thompkins, Monica Ochs. I'll be there to give it what I've got for the day, but I am not sure what that will be. Whatever the race brings the weekend should be a great time as many of the racers (including myself) are staying in cabins at the start/finish. I am looking forward to hanging with old friends and hopefully making some new ones!