Oh hello there, long time since I’ve been in your inbox, huh? As you probably already know, today is the Philly Marathon and the plan was for me to toe the line and shoot for an ambitious PR (3:10 ish!). But you know what they say about the best laid plans…
So as not to bury the lede, I am 7 weeks into no running due to a stress fracture in my pelvis (at the juncture of my superior pubic ramus and acetabulum to be specific).
I’m doing okay right now, especially with my follow up (and being cleared to run?!) in 2 weeks. But honestly, it has sucked. And for awhile I just didn’t want to talk about and/or have other people weigh in on it all. This is the longest I’ve ever gone without running since I started at age 15 (23 years ago!). I’ve been very lucky! I know this. I ran right up until the day I gave birth with both kids and then took about 5 weeks off postpartum/until I was cleared by my OB. I’m very grateful for decades of uninterrupted running, but also…I feel like I was pretty unprepared for coping with such a drastic change to my routine. I felt lost for the first few weeks as I tried to figure out if the pain I was having was muscular (and if so, what muscle?). Initially, I threw everything I could at the problem (massage, chiropractic visits, foam rolling, icing, cross training) as I tried to figure out what was wrong and held out hope that I could salvage my training. But after a particularly painful run on October 2, I knew something was very wrong and shut it all down.
Up until mid-September, training was chugging along. Life was busy, but the workouts and runs were manageable. Then, the second week of September, things started to fall apart. I had a tough workout on Tuesday Sept 13 (if you’re in my contacts list I probably even texted you to say it felt like the hardest workout of my life). I was a few seconds off my goal for the workout intervals, but didn’t think *too* much of it. On Friday Sept 16 I set out for a long run with some quality pace work. And again it felt like one of the hardest workout of my life. I was really struggling to meet the workout times and after each interval, felt like I had just crossed the finish line of a race (hands on knees etc). I chalked it up to being in the late luteal phase, poor sleep, etc etc. By the cool down, my glutes were pretty unhappy with me. That night I foam rolled, stretched, and since the next day was a rest day, didn’t panic. On Sunday Sept 18 (48 hours later), I ran easy for an hour and just did not feel right. I had some sharp pain in my glutes and pelvic region, but since it moved around/wasn’t localized and subsided as I warmed up, I just assumed it was muscle tightness. In retrospect, I totally should have known something was up, but I so desperately wanted to keep training, I hoped massage, stretching, etc would help.
Things were also a bit complicated on the running front because I was slated to travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a media trip which included a half marathon and some hiking. I really didn’t want to miss this opportunity, so I took some rest days, cross trained, and hoped for the best.
I ended up running the half marathon at an easy (for me) pace and felt pretty good. I had some of those sharp pains upon first steps (every time I ran), but it eventually warmed up and I felt fine-ish. Again, I should have known better! But naive Megan hadn’t had so much as a muscle strain since 2009 (IT band stuff), so it never crossed my mind that it was something serious like a stress fracture.
Once I was back from Wyoming, I actually had a decent week of training. About 40 miles of running including a decent speed workout. I saw a PT and he gave me some stretching exercises and said he thought it was muscular since it warmed up. But then…
On October 2, I met two friends for a 15 mile long run with the last 5 miles quick. The weather was perfect, it was lovely having company, and while I still had some pain at the start of the run, I thought I was holding it together. But as soon as I finished, I knew something was wrong. Things felt different. And so that next week, I slowly started to come to terms with the premature end of marathon training. I made an appointment with a sports orthopedist and stopped all foam rolling, stretching, cross training, etc. I didn’t want to do anything that might make things worse.
I met with the doc on October 12 and by that point didn’t have pain during daily life (although once when I tried to jog across a parking lot, OUCH). I sort of hoped the doc would diagnose me with bursitis or something and send me home with a cortisone shot. But when I described my symptoms, he recommended an MRI, with a suspicion of a stress fracture. Woof. At this point, I knew things were serious. I ended up getting the MRI on October 20 and it confirmed a stress fracture, although in a rather unusual place. The doctor described it as “very interesting” which….idk if you want to hear that at the doctor’s office.
Initially I think he was suspecting a femoral neck stress fracture, but surprise! It was in my pelvis.
A stress fracture is pretty much the worst possible outcome for a runner, but I think I was actually pretty lucky. The fracture is stable and not displaced (meaning it should heal pretty cleanly). And since I didn’t have pain walking, I didn’t need crutches and could do activities as long as they didn’t cause pain. This was a relief because I have two small kiddos and I was really stressed and sad about the thought of not being able to keep up with them. But! We were still able to do all the fall family fun things - apple picking, trick or treating, stroller walks, bike rides, etc. For that, I feel very grateful.
After the diagnosis, I took a week off of scheduled exercise as an “end of season” reset. Since about Halloween, I’ve been biking a few times a week and doing some strength training, mostly for my sanity/mental health. I’m hoping in a few weeks the bone will show signs of healing and I’ll be able to ease back into a walk-run routine. We’ll see. I’m being patient.
Whenever a runner is diagnosed with a stress fracture, the question is always “why did it happen?!” I wish I had an easy answer. My mileage was moderate (although intensity was not!). In the past 18 months, I’ve been more diligent about strength training and fueling than I ever have in my life. I have a very regular menstrual cycle and always have. I just got blood work and it looks good (even better than it did in January 2022), and my bone density is perfectly normal (got a dexa scan last week). Sometimes…these things just happen I guess. I’m continuing to work with my coach to look critically at all the moving pieces of the training puzzle.
If I could point to one thing, it might be stress. The past few months have been busy! Our first big international trip as a family of four, kids going back to school, and two working parents (plus one taking night classes). I know we are not special, lots of people have similar stressors and also train for races, but I guess all of this coming to a head in September (plus back to school germs) may have tipped things over the edge re: inflammation and lack of recovery.
Anyway, 7 weeks down. 2-3 (??) to go. And then we start the long road back. This situation can’t be wrapped up in a neat bow, but I do think occasionally our bodies need to see the valleys before we can peak (or something like that). Running-wise I’ve had a really good 3 years and I don’t think I would have had that without the down time that being pregnant and postpartum required. For a long time I felt kinda meh about training (2012-2018 ish) and it wasn’t until after I had kids that I felt the spark return. I’m hopeful that this time of rest will help me to run stronger in 2023 (and not take a single mile for granted).
For the rest of 2022, the plan is to do a little walk-running, work a lot (professional stuff is going well! Maybe more on this another time), and enjoy peak Christmas with the fam. Onwards, right?
Photo by: Teddy
How I’m Moving: I signed up for a Power Zone Pack challenge. This online community puts together Peloton cycling challenges. Basically, rather than me choosing random rides to do every week, they do the work for you. You can sign up for 3 or 4 rides a week and this particular challenge is 6 weeks long (some are longer). The rides get tougher as the weeks go by (progressive overload) and the goal is to improve your FTP at the end of the challenge. I did a challenge in May of 2021 and I think it set me up for a great summer/fall of running. I like the structure, plus it’s free!
What I’m Eating: This cake and these pumpkin bars. Make both, eat them for breakfast. You won’t be sorry.
Something I’m Reading: This Book! It’s slow going, but I’m chugging along. I set a goal to read 24 books this year and I reached it. Can I make it to 30??