… Injuries suck, just saying …
In 2019 it happened, I became one of the 50-80% of runners who suffer a running related injury each year. For me it began at mile 16 of the 2017 Chicago marathon with a sharp pain in my right hip. I pushed on to the finish, where, after a couple of hours it resolved. I chalked it up just to pushing too hard during the race.
My next race was the 2019 Dopey Challenge. Training went really well and I felt great at the starting line of all 4 
races, until mile 12 of the marathon when I knew something was wrong. The hip pain returned, this time more severe and unrelenting. A subsequent MRI showed labral tears and femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). After unsuccessful physical therapy (PT) I had arthroscopic surgery in June 2019, with a revision in January 2020 due to excess scar tissue formation.
4 weeks post-surgery, after a year away from running, I’m finally able to start thinking about my return to the sport I love.
Mental Challenge
The biggest challenge in my recovery has been the mental one. I was running 5 days a week and cross 
training/strength training 2 days a week. I was addicted to endorphins, my early morning gym routine, and running/socializing with my local run club friends.
Not being able to run was difficult to adjust to. Before and a few after my first surgery I was able to do limited cross-training (elliptical and upright bike), and work on upper body strengthening. It helped, but in the back of my mind was the longing to get back on the road.
Medical Clearance
It’s true what they say, it really does take a village … or in my case, an orthopedist, physical therapist and personal trainer. My physical therapist feeds back to my surgeon and my trainer has been to physical therapy with me. We are all on the same page, working towards a safe return to running.
Slow and Steady, Patience is a Virtue
My mind is raring to go, and thinks I can jump straight back in, but the reality is that my musculoskeletal system is nowhere near ready. With a year off, despite ongoing physical therapy and personal training I am literally starting from scratch. Rushing back carries a risk of re-injury and the last thing I want is to revisit this past year.
Recovery is going to be slow and structured. By way of an example, 3 weeks out and my physical therapist asked me to do hooklying marching. No problem I thought … wrong … my left leg was fine, but the right felt as if there was a 20lb weight attached to my foot. The fatigue after only 10 reps was significant and unexpected.
Having been on crutches for most of the past year and with scar tissue having restricted my range of motion and altered my gait, the first task is to learn to walk correctly again. From there will be walking and crosstraining, gradually transitioning into walk/run intervals. Finally will be continuous running. Even at this stage I’ll not be ready for a training cycle, as my bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles will all need time to get used again to the stresses and impact of running.
I’m banking on Jack Daniels 8th principle of training (that because of physiologic changes, maintaining gains from previous training is easier than building them the first time) helping me progress more rapidly than if I was completely new to running … but … it takes 3 -6 weeks to adapt to training changes, so it’s going to take 6-8 weeks to build back to running 5 times a week at easy pace before race training can begin. With 4-6 weeks before I can even start walk/run intervals, the PM2HR Ultra in October is most likely going to be a DNS race.
Injury Prevention
This injury was the result of an underlying structural problem with my femoral head and neck, something that I couldn’t have foreseen. This being said, I am now keenly aware of the impact an injury can have (physically, emotionally, and socially) and am taking steps to prevent another.
- Of course I’m writing a periodized training plan incorporating cross training, strength training, and running, tailored initially to recovery and then to the demands of my first race.
- Continuing twice weekly strength training with a personal trainer.
- Listening more to my body and how it feels, using measurements like RHR and HRV in addition to subjective scoring to determine readiness for training and if I need to add extra rest days or switch harder for easier sessions.