Offseason on Injured Reserves

Results from the x-ray were not very promising. Arthritis and degenerative joints were the verdict. Basically my L1-L5 are mad at me. Knowing there might be more wrong with me, I took advantage of a 'free injury screening' offered to the peeps in my tri club by a physical therapy place in town and schedule an appointment. I was able to get in this Monday and went through a series of walking, standing, bending, balancing, and 'does it hurt when I do this?' assessments. The doctor was baffled even when watching me struggle to turn onto my side from my back, and then back again. When she laid on my bent leg, knee to my chest, I about punched her through the ceiling.

Found it!

She asked where exactly it hurt and I couldn't remember. I blocked out the pain as quickly as it hit. Wanting to be specific, I had her lay on the leg again.. and then one more time before coming to the location conclusion of "everywhere".

Her diagnosis, on top of upset L1-L5, is an angry labrum. Not sure if it's torn, but that's for an MRI to find out, which I'm going to hold off on for a bit. I'm going to do PT for the rest of the month 2x a week as well as some homework (contracting my transverse abdominis as much as possible) and then we'll see how things are progressing. I don't have much patience so I might see if I can get one sooner rather than later.

On a related note, I entered the lottery this week for the MMT 100. If the labrum is torn I want to have the surgery done ASAP to start the recovery and start running again in hopes of making it to the start line in May. In the meantime I'll be getting in some workouts on the bike, erg, and possibly in the pool. We'll see how long I can do deep water running before boredom sets in. All weight training will be restricted to the upper body; no hip flex/extension is allowed. Bye bye squats, deadlifts, KB swings, snatches, push press, and push jerks. (I might try to sneak in a few light workouts, so stay close by.)

I'm keeping an opening mind and staying positive. I'm glad it happened now and not April 2010. Injuries can be a good thing; my body is telling me to slow down. I've been doing something wrong for awhile and need to correct it from the bottom up, inside out.

May 15h is circled. Sure, there are other races planned leading up to MMT, but this is the one I have my mind set on and will be gunning for.