Well, I am about 5 weeks away from the Marine Corps Marathon and I have to say, so far, so good. (knock on wood!) I have been very consistent with the training program from my coach, Chris Johnson, and I find I am running 5 days a week, averaging over 35 miles.
If you had asked me a year ago if my body could handle running that often, I would have told you no way. And yet, here I am. I will admit, however, that this is not without some management on my part.
at some point in our life, we are going to have some chronic musculo-skeletal issue.
I have been dealing with two Chronic Issues for a Very Long Time: Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy (PHT), and Tibial Stress Reaction.
PHT is something that I have been managing for the last 10 years or so, it is almost always there when I run, that twang at my sit bone/upper hamstring as I stretch my leg forward to run up hill, or even hop up a curb. Sometimes it will ache if I sit on a hard chair for a while.
This article from the Journal of Orthopedic Sports Physical Therapy goes into a review and commentary on assessment and management of PHT. There are a number of exercises in this article, but what has worked best for me is one exercise that asks for an isometric contraction without putting too much stretch on the hamstring tendon.
LONG LEVEr BRIDGE + SLR
with feet elevated, lift up into a bridge with your knees <90 degrees bend
2 times alternate a slow march of each leg, holding 10-15 seconds.
rest 1 minute
repeat 4 times total
Tibial Stress Reaction is a fancy term for Shin Splints. As a collegiate rower, I spent a lot of time running as part of my training. I developed a stress fracture in my right tibia (shin) during my sophomore and junior years.
Fortunately, I was able to row while recovering from the stress fracture. Sitting on my butt going backward didn’t prevent recovery, so I was able to row through it, but had the joy of wearing a walking boot for a few months.
The cause of Tibial Stress Reaction can be many things. In my case, it is a stiffness of the foot and ankle that doesn’t help to attenuate the shock of impact during running. My tibia feels all of that impact. Fortunately, there are ways I can manage this that allows me to keep running without ending up with shin pain.
Banded ankle mobilization
Using a heavy resistance band around my lower ankle to self mobilize my ankle while getting a nice posterior chain stretch (AKA the worlds tightest person attempting a downward dog)
After mobilizing my ankle with the band, I will do this sequence of movements that helps to actively use my ankle, as well as activate my core and work through a full body activation.
Mentally I am certainly starting to feel how close the race is, and I am happy that so far I have been physically able to manage the training and actually continue to feel strong in running. Fingers crossed this helps me cross the finish line with my goals met!