Well, today was my first run in about 6 weeks. I went 4 very easy miles (10:45 pace) with Wayne and Larry. Jolene started with us then went up 2000 N while we looped through Lindon. It was great being out with my running buddies again. We're getting old and feeble (excluding Jolene), but at least we're doing it together. I was hoping I would feel better than I did this morning, but I got through it okay. To start off with, I woke up with a very painful left knee, which hasn't bothered me for a long, long time. I did some squats before bed last night and didn't notice any pain. I must have tweaked something doing the squats. It didn't affect my running much. I'm not too concerned, unless it doesn't go away soon. My principal goal in running today was to see how my hip felt. After all the tests and doctor's visits I've determined that the injury I need to focus on recovering from is a sacral stress fracture on the right side. After my visit to Dr. Aoki and the cortisone injection in my hip I've decided the labral tear that showed up on the MRI, apparently common in many people, was a red herring and is not the source of my pain. After reading many medical web sites and runner forums, I've decided on the following recovery plan (at least for now): 1. Various sites suggested 4-8 weeks of rest. Others recommended up to 3-6 months. Prior to today, I had only one 2.5 mile run in the past 7 weeks, and that was over 6 weeks ago. 2. All sources say to ease back into running. Dr. Aoki suggested I try some easy running after the hip injection to see how things felt. The Red Rock Relay is in about 3.5 weeks. I've decided to start doing some short, easy runs every other day to evaluate how I'm feeling. I'd really like to still do Red Rock. I've been feeling this pain to some degree for about 3 years, and have run a half dozen marathons, an ultramarathon, and several relays during that time. I figure I can handle a few easy runs during a relay. It doesn't matter how fast I run, and the support van is never far away so I can pull out whenever I want if I need to. 3. Some sites recommended a corset, brace, or cane to reduce the stress to speed healing. After some research, I ordered the Serola Sacroiliac Belt. It may or may not help, but I thought I'd give it a try. There was a testimonial video from a doctor/runner who had been hit by a car who wore it to be able to reach his goal to run 50 miles in a week when he was 50, so it looks like I should be able to run in it as well as maybe wear it throughout the day. It should arrive tomorrow. 4. Various sites recommended exercises to strengthen the core and hip muscles. I've been doing some related exercises pretty consistently for about 3 weeks, and plan to continue them indefinitely. 5. Several sites recommend a diet that includes plenty of calcium and vitamin D. One site said that men age 51 and older should boost their calcium intake anyway. I'm 51. I plan to start taking a calcium supplement, probably Citrical, that contains both calcium citrate and vitamin D that helps the body absorb the calcium. This plan is of course subject to change based on how things go, but it feels good to have a plan. I feel like my life has been on pause for the last 6 weeks. I'm ready to push play and see what's next. I just need to be careful so I don't have to push rewind.
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