Thursday, July 8, 2010

Checking Myself 'Fore I Wreck Myself

My right leg is telling me something, but it speaks in garbled language. After both runs yesterday, the leg feels unstable. There is what I like to call "deep butt" pain, which has plagued me before, 13 months ago at the start of my training for the 2009 Akron Marathon.

This pain could be from my iliotibial band, as the twinges of discomfort cause numbness throughout the leg and terminate in a strained sensation in my calf. However, there is no pain in my knee, as is typical to ITBS. The pain and numbness last a half-hour at most.

Last year, I thought the deep butt pain was a result of all my track work and the continuous left turns. The pain quickly went away, and I went on to run my current fastest marathon.

This year, I haven't even driven by a track, let alone stepped on one. My next guess would be to blame my faster running for the pain. (Tempo runs have ranged from 7:59 to 8:23 per mile in the last month.) But that wouldn't explain why I felt the sensation after yesterday's recovery run at a 10:06 mile pace.

If speed isn't the issue here, dude, then what is? I could blame the ramp-up in mileage. I could blame sloppy running form. I could blame my weight. I could blame the roads. I could blame the trails. I could blame the shoes. I could blame the occasional lack of shoes. I could blame society. I could blame the images on TV. I could blame Canada. Or I could just blame you.

10 comments:

C said...

I always knew we, your readers (or at least me), were a pain in your butt. Now it's literally as well as figuratively. I'm kinda proud.

Perhaps it's your piriformis muscle acting up. Not sure how/if it would affect the calf, but it's worth looking into.

Mike Antonucci said...

I'm not a doctor, but I am an amateur expert in sciatica. You have all the symptoms: deep butt pain, numbness or tingling down the leg, no joint pain.

After two months of battling it, I'm finally seeing the spine specialist tomorrow (I have no back pain but sciatica is a spinal issue), and we'll discuss the results of my MRI.

If it's just normal wear-and-tear this stretching exercise will help. At worst, it will locate the source of the pain.

If it persists or gets worse with running, don't screw around. See your doctor (if you can skip over your GP and see a sports doctor immediately, do that).

Jess said...

I was gonna say, "sciatica" too, but it might also just be "butt pain." Have you tried rolling the afflicted area with a tennis ball? I have heard tell of others with this ass pain do the same and supposedly the tennis ball does wonders to work out the kinks.

You could also ask The Enthusiast for a butt massage. You're not marriet YET, so she may be game. Trust me, take advantage of her newly-engaged-high to ask favors of this nature. A few years from now if you ask her to rub your ass, she'll just give a questioning sidelong glance and then return to whatever she may be in the midst of.

Vava said...

I can't get YouTube at work, but what's with all the Canada bashing?!

My guess is Sciatica, or maybe a hockey player just kicked your ass. Either way, wishing you a speedy recovery!

Sun Runner said...

You can blame me. I live in Michigan, and anything wrong with Ohio is always Michigan's fault.

I hate aches of unidentified origin. Nonpoint source contamination, that's what they are. Messing with the very fabric of our running lives.

Jess said...

I'd recommend either the tennis ball like Jess suggested or using the foam roller on your butt and IT band. I had hip/butt pain last winter that went away with some solid foam rolling of the IT band and never had knee pain with it.

David said...

I think it was John Belushi who said it: "yoga, Yoga, YOGA". Or something like that.

misszippy said...

Well, if I'm to blame, I'll try to help--try a foam roller, as Jess said. They are awesome.

Junk Miler said...

Butt pain? Uh, ahem, not my fault.

Al's CL Reviews said...

Thanks for the earworm.