Post Tib Tendonitis



Post Tib Tendon

 Preface:
Towards the end of the week leading up to my run on the WRT, I was beginning to feel really fatigued and tired. I had really upped the climbing that week, and it definitely took its toll Thursday. I didnt really feel like running on Thursday, but I needed approx 10mi to hit my mileage for the week. I had also planned a hill day as well, but it didnt sound like fun. I decided to get some miles in on the road before heading up to do a few Pittocks. Even though it was actually pretty warm, but my head an body werent really into it. I contemplated sitting the day out, but rationalized that its on these days when you want to quit that you actually get stronger, mentally tougher, etc so I went out despite feeling tired.

I did my run, but cut it short in the end and only went for about 8.5. My body was just exhausted, and finally decided that I needed some rest. I had water, but definitely should have brought some calories as I bonked pretty hard on the last climb. I happened to meet Jason on top of pittock so we ended the run together.

The next day, Friday, I was still pretty tired. I did a mild strength workout in the Columbia gym as scheduled, but didnt push myself too hard as I had a big day coming up on Saturday. That evening I was grumpy and tired. I got to bed around 11:15-11:30pm, and decided to sleep in a little instead of getting a early start on my run. I knew that the sleep would help.

The next morning, I awoke feeling pretty refreshed and not too tired. I ate a quick breakfast, then began assembling my kit for the run. I got to the trailhead around 11ish I believe and was trotting to the CG in no time.

*See the previous post for more info on the run*

Post Run
Everything felt fine Saturday night. I was sore here and there, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It wasnt until Sunday evening that I finally decided that something was not right with my left ankle, around the medial malleolus. I took some NSAIDs that evening in hopes that it would cool the pain in my ankle. The pain followed me through Monday and on Tuesday I began doing my research on Google. I concluded in the end that I had some sort of Posterior Tibial Tendonitis/Strain, something so I scheduled an appt with my Chiro, who I was already seeing for my hammy luckily, for Thursday.

I rode the trainer on Tuesday night to see how it would react to a little physical activity, and it responded pretty well. Minor flashes of pain every once and awhile. I continued to ice regularly and laid off the Vitamin I, aka (ibuprofen). My ankle began feeling better on Thursday as I could start walking without any pain.

That evening during my Chiro Appt, my doc confirmed my Post Tib Strain diagnosis and performed some graston, ultra sound, ankle readjustments and slapped on some K-Tape. He told me that I could probably start jogging this weekend if I didnt have any pain, stay off the hills, but continue hard workouts on the bike.  I should be able to get back to full running soon enough, but I'll definitely take it slow. I rode the bike again last night, felt a little more painful, but that was primarily due to the brusing from the graston.

After Thoughts
What did I learn? This was just a stupid training error on my part. I was trying to ramp up mileage, while simultaneously ramping my my climbing training significantly. Only ramp up one thing at a time. Also, I failed to Respect the Machine. My body was telling me to rest and that it was tired, but instead focused foolishly on my almighty training log. Gotta stick to my plan. False! Gotta Respect the Machine!

I had a rest week planned starting this Monday so I rationalized that it was okay to push my body one last time before my rest week. While my body seemed to do fine on the run, what really screwed me over was the rapid increase in climbing. I probably would have been fine on a flatter run as it would have put less stress on my tendon, but regardless, my body was telling me that I was pushing up against my limits, and I tried to squeeze in one last big run and that came back to bite me in the ass.

In the end, I dont think this will effect my goal of running Sun Mountain 50M, but only time will tell how quickly I'll bounce back from this and how soon I'll be able to hit the hills again. This time however, I will take a more conservative approach to my hill training, although I fear that I won't have enought hill training in before Sun Mountain. I'll have to get my mileage back up to 50-55 miles a week before I can hold that constant and beging running some hills. I also want to get in at least one 50k before the 50M, doesnt have to be a race, might just be a wildwood traverse, but I would feel more confident going into SM with a 50k under my belt this year.