I did have a gait analysis done on Wednesday at Endorphin Fitness with Kyle Pawlaczyk. I attended a Run Technique clinic he hosted a few weeks before my injury. Both experiences were quite enlightening. Here are the highlights from the gait analysis:
"You do a number of things very well when you run: you have good knee drive, good posture, normal footstrike, and good recovery. Basically, you did a good job of applying everything we covered in the running clinic a while back. You must have been listening closely:)"
That was the good news. I was very nervous. First of all, I was running on a treadmill. I almost never run on a treadmill and when I do I find myself shuffling and running into the handrails often. Awkward! Having a camera focused on me was also a bit intimidating. Having to watch myself on video was pretty embarrassing, too. I learned just by watching that my rear end is big and bouncy. Not pretty. I also do something weird with my head that makes me appear to have no chin.
Sigh...but I digress...
"-With two stress fractures in your past and diagnosed osteopenia, I'd strongly recommend supplementing Calcium somehow. Of course, work on getting sufficient Calcium from your diet as well."
I agree with this. Problem is that all the blood work and in particular the 24 hour urine test all came back spectacular. I feel I eat very nutritiously and include dairy consistently. The doctor felt that I never developed the density as opposed to I have already started losing it. You can only absorb so much calcium anyway. Oh well, maybe I should take a supplement and stop being stubborn.
"-Make good training decisions. This is the big one. Running injuries in general (and stress fractures in particular) tend to result from sudden increases in mileage and/or intensity. My favorite guideline for increasing running volume is the "10% rule," which states that you should not increase overall running mileage more than 10% from week-to-week."
Yes! This exactly! I honestly feel this is the number one contributor to my fracture. I have a plan that the Sports Medicine Orthopedist gave me, and when that is completed Kyle will help me build a training schedule. All good here.
"-Consider running in a more supportive shoe."
Kyle wasn't crazy about my current shoe choice. My left leg buckles at the knee and the left foot pronates slightly. I was wearing the Brooks PureFlows. He gave me a recommendation for a shoe I will not mention. I won't mention it because I tried it on and I did not like it. At all. It is from my favorite brand but not for me. I tried on 5 different products and settled on PureCadence. So far so good!
"-Work on stabilizing that left hip with the exercises we did yesterday. On top of that, strengthening all of the muscles around the hip joint would be a good idea. This page on the Runner's World website shows a couple good exercises for the hip flexor and abductor."
The coach that did my analysis is a professional triathlete. He started his career with running and has experience with injury. He helps athletes (and wanna be athletes like me!) of all levels. Overall, I left the analysis feeling like I learned a lot. I also felt like I got enough positive feedback that I didn't feel like a fool. Did he bolster my ego to gain my confidence? Maybe, but I'll take it!
Now I need to decide if I really want to start training for a race. I had dinner with a training buddy this week and we made a pact to start running together again. She got a new beau and fell off the running wagon right around the same time that I fractured my pelvis. I am hoping we can begin again together. She really wants to run the Richmond Half Marathon in November. I wanted to as well, but I am not sure if that is too much too soon? Should I not train for a race and just run for the joy of running for a while? Should I find a 5k, 8k or a 10k to keep me motivated? Anyone have an opinion?
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