Adrienne Langelier Racing

So I saw it for the first time on Friday morning.... and it was crazy-looking. Of course I'm talking about the X-rays illuminating my current physical state of affairs. As I stared gape-jawed at the Dr.'s office- in an odd state of fascination; it occurred to me that I am actually pretty lucky. According to the doc, if this lovely little chip/crack thing (for those more astute it is called an avulsion fracture) was a half-inch lower, I would be moving through the world with a metal screw in my foot-yikes!

So what do lucky girls do, try and take care as best as possible. While I promise not to overblog (and y'all feel free to hold me to it!) on this subject, I will periodically revisit my physical and mental healing process-I am calling it a "maintenance" process even though I find myself frequently having to remind myself that I am not training for anything. Conditioned, are we? Just maintaining and gaining strength will be the name of the game for a while. This is gonna take some practice!

With the exception of a rogue rug in my office catching and causing some more pain, I've felt pretty good this past week. I've been doing some different things and have been fending off this weird shopping urge (switching addictions = not good! ;)). I actually wake up most days and decide how I feel about working out and I took a rare midweek day off. I knew I needed the energy to heal more than to aqua jog.

Workout wise, the landscape has looked something like this:

M: cleared to stationary cycle-I do this booted and it is working well, 1 hr, about 17ish miles. Not the real thing, but the TV is just enough to keep me occupied! Also some upper body weightlifting and light core and stretching.
T: Aqua run intervals (45 min worth) and 30 mins core routine of the non-standing variety.
W: Easy aqua jogging-40 mins., 35 mins light weights seated
TH: REST!
F: 1 hr stationary bike, almost 18 miles. I learned about wattage on this one; mine ranged from a tiny 67 to about 224. I don't know if that is good or not, but I felt like a powerful lil gimp!
Sa: 15 mins core, 20 min easy cycling and 1:10 in the pool. Long intervals on this one.
Sun: Rest again

I could definitely get away with doing less, but I love me some working out. I find it empowering. The wise ath herself, Lauren Fleshman mentions on her blog that she never spent more than 90 minutes rehabbing and I am following that thinking. I think the extensive core work seems to be paying off nicely once the soreness has worn off, both functionally and I'll admit a little bit aesthetically. If I can't run, at least I can try and have halfway decent abs (ok, maybe just acceptable)! Maybe they will offset the boot I still have to wear for a little longer. I'm also still seeing Jarrett regularly for muscular therapy to keep me as balanced and mobile as possible.

Nutritionally, I already consider myself a fairly clean eater. Of course, I could always buy more organic, but with salary increases that part will steadily come. I try and stick to the anti-inflammatory items I have been buying organic fruit, drinking lots of water, trying hard to keep the coffee and diet drinks to a minimum and doing tea instead, lots of dark-colored things, and draining the Atlantic of it's fish supply. Besides being a calcium/Vit. D-popper, I have changed my tune at restaurants and have stopped using the line "no cheese"-will that actually help? I have no idea, but gives more peace of mind and I can feel more like a bone-making machine.

In other news, I hit a professional milestone last week and will be crashing some triathlete festivities this evening-Aloha John L. and good luck at Kona!

While I am loving the extra sleep and waking up to daylight for the first time since I don't know when, I can't help but miss my early morning jaunts with my friends and the casual coffee banter afterward. If I can't do that, then I stay within what I can do and make the best of it. This workout is compliments of one of the Brooks ID athletes on an injury forum. Not bad, not boring-and definitely challenging. I left the water feeling like rubber when it was done:


•10min warmup (swim, aquajog, or kickboard)
•10x45s hard w/15s recovery between each and 1 length backward aqua jog after #10 (for recovery after completion of set)
•10x60s hard w/15s recovery between and 1 length backward aqua jog after #10
•10x75s hard w/15s recovery between and 1 length backward aqua jog after #10
•10x90s hard w/15s recovery between and 1 length backward aqua jog after #10
•10min cooldown (swim, aquajog, or kickboard)

I give my recommendation on this one for anyone suffering for their art like I currently am, or just looking for some interesting cross-training.

Cheers!

I would like to give a thank you and shout out to Ken Sly at PHS Medical in Houston, TX. I look forward to getting into my custom inserts-one very important piece in slowly putting me back together!

My opening thesis is this: If perseverance is painful, then is it really perseverance? Ouch!

So- anyway, I wish my 2010 season had not ended like this. I had some upcoming events that I was looking forward to running in and maintained some degree of optimism for them- despite running some times that I had mixed feelings about this summer. Turns out, I was basically running on a broken foot for at least a month and likely longer. This is not a poor-me story or a rant about how it's not fair. This is a chance to learn, heal, and regroup.

Low and behold, an underlying issue that I mostly kept to myself for months finally forced itself to the surface. Last week I was able to begin to get some answers (see previous post), but by that time I may have been a little late. Many are aware of the left side paroneal tendon issue I had earlier this year, missing basically all of March and returning just months later and going 26.2. I didn't take much time off after the marathon effort and kept pressing on towards the fall season. Pressing is the key word here. Pressing is what I have been doing for most of the year, always trying to hit a certain time, be ready to race on 'X' date, run so many miles per week etc. etc. I kept trying to meet these perceived expectations from both myself and others. I felt I always had be the "fast chick". Others can have bad days, but not me. For me, a fixation on the arbitrary turned out to be a significant bain. Instead of listening to my body and the chatter that kept getting louder in now my right foot.

How did this happen? We'll start at the end and work backwards. Of course, the cliche is a true one in this case: we really have to listen to our bodies, early and often.

Thursday morning, about 6:20 am: I am out on an easy 4-miler in before sunrise, as I have become accustomed to doing nearly every day. I have chosen this particular route because it had minimal camber and was the least painful on the right side. I had some stiffness, but it was just the status quo. I had been cleared to run "according to tolerance". I crossed a busy street, continuing to my turnaround point. The stiffness turned into a quick, harsh burning sensation followed by a "seizure" of the entire outside portion of my right foot. I immediately started limping and my form-focused easy run turned into a survival shuffle. Even though I was tempted to limp into the ER, I held it together for a very long, painful day at work.

Flash forward 24 hours and luckily, I already had a Dr. appt. made for the next morning-funny how God works in mysterious ways. Sitting in the exam room with a new preliminary diagnosis of a runner-injury staple stress reaction, I heard the news that my newest set of x-rays had come up dirty. According to Dr. Hammit, I had a 5th metatarsal hairline fracture. Ok, basically a stress fracture, but a finer crack in the bone-I call it a lady fracture. If that's the card I'm dealt, I'll take it. Good thing is, it is in an area with high blood flow and it will heal with rest. Within a week, I should be clear to cycle and aqua jog once the pain stabilizes.

In summary, I knew something was wrong but kept at it. Regarding feeling relieved, I no longer have to slave through workouts I once enjoyed that became uncomfortable and watch my splits become harder and harder to hit. No more frustration. I get to rest, regroup, and work the up to where I want to be on my own terms. No races on the horizon until I'm ready. I will get the chance to really enjoy this and experience the process instead of taping myself back together for an event ahead of my mind and body's true timetable.

Earlier this year, when a similar injury occurred, I was met with a feeling of helplessness and despair (ok, a little dramatic). This time, I almost had an odd sense of relief: Sure, it hurt, and I looked like Petey the Penguin as I awkwardly jogged my way back (talk about a long 2 miles!) but I was able to swallow this one a little better. While waiting for my prescription at Central Market yesterday, I rode the old-person scooter around the store and it was oddly fun-if I can't control how fast I get back out there, I can at least control my attitude.

So, what's the difference between the two? Now I'm a foot injury veteran-ha!...
Actually, the timing for this one is better. I had some races on the calendar, but they were all local and I did not have a hotel, tickets, and a high seed in the world's biggest and best marathon. This time I was not training for anything that was to be the pinnacle of my still young running career. Essentially, I was overtrained and under rested and feeling pressure to perform. I was tired. Now I have time to fully heal, have the opportunity of a clear racing schedule to really develop at my own pace, taking the breather that I have denied myself for quite a while.

My foot may be broken, but my heart is not.

So, was 2010 so far a series of unfortunate events? Not necessarily. I can use this as a teachable moment to approach things a little differently. Here are some of the things I see as highlights:

1. Nailing a solid PR time while starting with the very best in the business at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. 1:22-27th in the USATF National Standings? Heck Yea.
2. Still going to Boston regardless, sitting at Mile 23 and taking it in, plus reconnecting with an old friend.
3. This one gets sweeter with time: Coming off wearing my new "favorite accessory" (aka walking boot) for a month and getting a Top-10 finish in a big city Marathon. In this case, my refusal to quit was an asset and I'm proud of what I was able to do after just 2 50-mile weeks prior to.
4. Even if my time was well off my PR, I won outright what turned out to be my last race of the season.
5. Finding a good sports med doc and MT.
6. Everyone who supported me through my seasons past and present, new friends and old.


What am I going to do with myself while the hairline 'recedes'? First, as Lauren Fleshman advises, truly take some down days to rest and use my energy to heal. Core work and fine-tuning the important muscles will be paramount. I've always been too busy running to do more yoga. As the inflammation subsides, I will hit the stationary bike, likely booted at first, and resume Pfitzinger's water intervals. I will try and be more flexible with when and where I work out; if I feel like I need to sleep in, I should do so. Volunteering and giving a presentation here and there will take center stage.

Am I going to be perfect with this plan? Probably not. I believe listening to your body is a skill and takes time to grasp. Will I have bad days and moments? Highly likely. Most runners have some healthy withdrawls from their addiction. Of course I cried when I found this out, and I will likely cry some more before its over. One thing I know is that I will come back, and come back stronger. There really is no time line. My goal is to enjoy the experience and freedom of being a runner before venturing back into racing. I will be gradual and creative. As I speak of often as a sport psych consultant, I will be a participant in the process.


Run Happy (on hiatus)!

u

---

My (somewhat graphic) definition: a flipping out of the foot causing minimal actual damage but resulting in varying levels of pain; leaves these weird little bubbly things on top/outer side of your foot, and can potentially make you crazy.

Here's my very own case study, perhaps you too may be in the other ~2% of the population with the opposite of overpronation:

The other night I was spinning some LT 800s when a vaguely familiar pain became more pronounced in my right foot. Not as severe as what I had experienced earlier this year in the other foot, but enough for me to pull the damage control lever and take a few days off (sooo hard for stubborn gals like me!) Needless to say, I was a little discouraged by this and acted like a 5-year old who had her Barbie doll stolen from her (scowling on the verge of tears: "But Coach...I wanna keep working out but I can't!!). Ok, not that bad, but it still sucked, especially when I was beginning to have some positive momentum building for the season.

A couple days before, after doing my regular massage, self-treatment, Arnica, Udo's Oil, ice; everything I needed to do to take care of it besides rest it, I went in to the Sports Med doc to have it checked over. Actually, the thing has been bothersome off and on for a few weeks, and it was getting uncomfortable enough to 'bite the bullet' After getting a series of x-rays to rule out the dreaded stress fracture, I at least found out that my bones look awesome. Very good to hear, especially being a female. The guy who checked my foot out first commented on how high my arch was-basically my feet apparently resemble overturned saucers...great for creating a springlike action, but not so great effect is directed outward.

Long story short, I am an over-supinator: not your run-of -the mill foot strike pattern, as overpronation gets most of the press. It was causing some kind of "overload syndrome" which basically is a wastebasket term for tendons getting really tired, stretched out, and rebelling on me from rolling out all the time. To make it more dicey, the thing started growing little "bubbly things" on the top of my foot! I actually find them quite fascinating, but I still wish they'd go away and go bother someone else! j/k.

So what all does this mean? In the interim, 5 days rest/ some kind of workout in the pool, then watching how it responds to the miles-mostly before I get fitted for custom inserts to unload the outside of my foot. I also learned I may have been going about my shoe shopping the wrong way-dang it! Below is a note from a kindly teammate from Brooks (who just happens to manage a northeast specialty store):

Since you supinate (carry your weight on the outside of your foot, or roll to the outside of your foot), you probably have a rigid arch that is not flexible at all. By wearing a posted shoe, you are asking the shoe to help hold that arch up and it could very well be pushing you further to the outside, exacerbating the pain on the outside of the foot. So, I usually suggest a firmer neutral cushion shoe for the supinator. Neutral to keep the shoe from pushing your foot out and firmer to give the outside of the foot something to push against instead of swishing with the motion. Perhaps a more appropriate training shoe for you would be the Defyance 3. Go to a local running store and try on their neutral cushion shoes and see what feels the best to you. I hope I was able to help! Good luck,

Helpful Fellow Brooks Teammate from MA

Well, better to address genetics and accept them instead of fight them. Hopefully, this can be nipped in the bud so I can go forth on my little "fall campaign" uninterrupted. I have always had ambitions of becoming a higher mileage runner but have had problems as the miles creep up, and this may be a missing link. I feel as if 85 % of me is really fit right now-and one little piece just needs to catch up.

My Houston-area sponsor provided me with a pair of Defyance 2's, which according to my research are actually rated higher than the subsequent 3's. I have previously passed on purchasing them in the past because I found the feel to be a bit too boxy, but boxy may be what I need. They will stare at me until I take them out for a spin a little later this week. Fingers crossed.