Slow Motion Running

Steve Magness over at The Science of Running has a post today  analyzing the footstikes in a slow motion video of the top women at the Sunday's 5th Avenue Mile in New York.  I just find the viewing of running form presented in this fashion as fascinating. Here is the video.



Here is another wonderful slow-motion video showing the elite male runners at the 2010 Boston Marathon at about the 17 miles mark.


Elite Men in the 2010 Boston Marathon - Super Slow Motion from Runblogger on Vimeo.

Runners in order on video are: 1. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, 2. Deriba Merga, 3. Tekeste Kebede, 4. Moses Kigen Kipkosgei (red/green singlet); 5. Abderrahim Goumri (purple singlet w/ yellow stripe), and 6. Mebrahtom Keflezighi. Video is from runblogger.com.

Here is Ryan Hall (also at the 17 mile mark) in Boston.


Ryan Hall - Boston Marathon 2010 from Runblogger on Vimeo.

In case you missed the 5th Avenue Miles last week. Here is the video of the women's race (actual race at 2:25).



Here is the video of the men's race (actual race at 4:25).


It has been two weeks since my last run. That is not even slow-motion running. I am just not running. I have no desire to run. Oh, I would love to, but I am tired of the pain and trying to fix imbalances. All the muscles that were bracing around my hip have loosened up and now I am left with pelvis and hips that are definitely out of alignment: up, down, back, and forward. I don't know what to do about it anymore. I tried a second MRI and that went worse than the first. They lie you flat on a table that slowly slides you into the jaws of the MRI machine like you are being swallowed alive by a monster. It just wasn't my idea of a fun time, even though I knew how important those images would be. I am waiting to hear from the doctor to see what his advice or next line of action is going to be. I would love to be running, but until someone can tell me what I need to do, I can't muster the energy for it anymore. I just know that I am tilting at windmills and I can't think of anything else to try to keep my legs and hips in alignment. It is good that I stopped and let things unwind. I can feel exactly what is going on.

Whether from a labral tear or bad positioning, my left hip is pushed forward and the femur doesn't sit properly. It then is rotated inward. This makes the whole femur twisted on down to the knee where it seems to rest on the inside of the knee which compensates by twisting the lower leg out. This stresses the outer quads and inner hamstrings. Then it angles down wrong on the heel which makes it feel like the foot is everted out and I can't bend the knee forward over the foot properly. It doesn't feel in aligment when walking let alone running. I have tried everything that I can think of to fix this over the years, and I can't think of anything else that would solve it. Right now, my body isn't a body that should be running. Hopefully the doctor can figure out if it is a labral tear or find some fix that I haven't thought of. Until then, I can only dream of having such wonderful running form as in these videos.



Update:
This new book from the author of The Entrepreneurial Patient blog is a must read book for anyone with hip problems and is thinking about about arthroscopic hip surgery or has had arthroscopic hip surgery for a labral tear or FAI.

New World Record for a road 10K

Today, Leonard Patrick Komon of Kenya became the first person ever to run under 27 minutes for a road 10K. He broke the previous world record of 27:01 by his countrymate Micah Kogo. The new record was set at the ABN AMRO Singelloop in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Here is a video of the finish and an interview with the champion.


Leonard Komon sets WR 10k: 26'44" at Singelloop Utrecht from Losse Veter on Vimeo.

The 10,000 meter record for the track is held by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia with a time of 26:17.53 run at Van Damme Memorial meet in Brussels, Belgium in August, 2005. You can watch the run here. Check out the amazing last lap.



If you haven't hear of Leonard Patrick Komon before, he was the silver medalist, behind gold medalist Kenenisa Bekele, at the World Cross-Country Championships held in Edinburgh in 2008.

Leonard Patrick Komon (left) sharing the podium with Kenenisa Bekele and Zersenay Tadese

2010 Hollis Applefest half-marathon

Congratulations to all finishers (results)of the very hot Hollis Applefest half-marathon. Here are some videos of the brutal day.



Mile 1.2 race winner Pat Moutlon in lead with 3re place finisher Andy McCarron in tow



2nd group at mile 1.2



6th place at mile 1.2



The next group of runners. I am talking to Kevin MacIntyre, Tyler Brannen, and Mike Wright.


Just about everyone else at 1.2 miles.



2nd and 3rd place at about 1/2 way into the half!

4th place



55 year old Dave Parsel in 5th place and the 6-8 places. I found Ron Kita biking out on the course and we were comparing running injuries!



9-11th place. Kevin MacIntrye



First woman and eventual winner Eileen Combs.



The next group of runners. Ron got hit by a car a few years ago at Applefest and still won his age group!



the next runner



Way to go Tyler Brannen!



Eventual 2nd place finisher Bonnie Ritchotte and the only person I could find smiling in the heat!



Go Mike Ward! Eventual winner of my age group 50-54.



Ray Brown 2nd in my age group-you get a Mile High Apple Pie!



Pat Moulton closing in on the finish and a repeat win.

I would much rather have run the race and been in the hunt for another Mile High Apple Pie, but I am going in for an MRI on my hip on Monday. At least I can bike with my hip, so I took out my old 1984 Centurion Cinelli Bike (took me through a few Ironman distance triathlon in the 1980's) and my old Nashua Velo Club shirt from the early 1990's and rode just like in the old days. It was brutal conditions out there today, so if I was going to miss a year this was a good one to miss.

Steve Wolfe has photos of the race here. When I saw him at the 12 mile mark I came over to visit and he caught me in my old cycling gear crossing the road in back of Ken Goodwin, 2nd place in the 55-59 age group, and a guy I ran with all summer at the Lowell Good Times series.

A few photos I took on the course

Tyler Brannen

Mike Ward and Brendan Loehr

Ray Brown and Benjamin Quick

Kevin MacIntyre and Eileen Combs

2nd place finisher Matthew Terrasi

 3rd place finisher Andy McCarron

5th place finisher 55 year old Dave Parsel

Frank Row relay 

 7th place overall Joe Mulligan leading 6th place overall Mark Odell

 7th place Joe Mulligan

9th place Adam Evans

 10th place Kevin McIntyre and 11th place-first female Eileen Combs

2nd female Bonnie Ritchotte

3rd female  Ann MacDonald  

Tyler Brannen

Mike Ward

Eammon Coghlan Documentary Video

I really enjoyed watching this Eammon Coghlan video documentary that juanmarti2 just uploaded to Youtube. You get to see some great historic Olympic and World Championship video from this great Irish runner.



Here is a picture I took at Franklin Field in Boston at the National Cross-Country Championships back in 1982 (I believe). It was won by Pat Porter. The first of eight that he would win. In this photo you can see Pat Porter in the lead with Ed Eyestone directly behind him. Eammon Coghlan is third in ithe NYAC singlet. I believe that is Jeff Drenth behind Eammon. Leading the 2nd group is Dan Henderson, a former teammate at Wheaton College. He is the tall thin guy running in the Athletics West shirt (#6). Next to him is Dan Dillon #3, who is now married to the former Amercan record holder in the marathon, Patti Lyons-Catalano. Two other runners in this field (not visible) were my former high school teammates Mark and Andy Whitney. They were running this race as teammates of Eammon Coghlan for the NYAC. I believe that is the last time I saw these three former teammates. The Whitney's sister is Laura Bianco, a (former) Gate City Strider runner and the winner of the Hollis Applefest half-marathon back in the early 1990s.

I love to eat ice cream!

This is an inspirational video and I have the greatest respect for runners like this.



My problem is that I think I am about to do the opposite, because I miss running every day and when I can't run I like to eat a bit more and usually that involves lots of ice cream! Yikes! I can see the headlines now, "Former runner, former Ironman, former marathoner turns to ice cream and..."

I got 3 runs in this week. Tuesday went well. I did 8 miles in one of my faster workout times in a long while (well I haven't got many workouts in lately). Friday, I got 2 miles down the road and had to stop again and walk home. My whole left leg and stride was off. Today I got 8 miles in again, but the muscles or ligaments around my hip joint weren't happy and my stride kept getting further and further off (although not as bad as Friday).

I am hoping I can get a couple of decent runs in this week so I can at least jog the Applefest 1/2 Marathon on Saturday. I am really bummed that I can't race it (and win an age group pie again) and am losing all my training. Applefest is one of my two favorite races all year (Falmouth is the other) and I always want to do my best at it. If my leg and hip are off, I am not even going to attempt it.

Wednesday was the MRI on my hip and they did not prepare me correctly for it. When I was told I would get an MRI, I told them I get claustrophic and particularly don't like feeling confined or being unable to move. I saw a picture of an MRI machine on the wall and said, "This looks OK though." It only showed a tube going from knee to chest. They said they could get me into a machine like that. I believe I was told it would be for half an hour. I forgot to ask if I was going to get the contrast injection. I have been told time and time again that this is the only way to go and that sometimes the injection can help the hip by lubricating the hip capsule.

When I showed up, I was disappointed to be told I was not down for the injection. They took me to a trailer and showed me the machine in a small room. It was not the one in the picture. I was told this one was a little wider than the older models, but it was not what I anticipated. I was also figuring it would be hard to lie down and keep my legs still, but I thought I would be able to move my upper body some and read a book to pass the time. No, I had to be perfectly still. No movement at all. Then, I was put into the machine up to my chin and I was on my back looking at the ceiling. I had just finished a long day of teaching and was real antsy and needed to run in order to relax, but instead I was confined to this tube and feeling all jittery. I also had forgot to drink anything and was as thirsty as could be. Things did not look good and I was not comfortable at all. The machine made noise for a minute or two and I actually appreciated the loud noise to take my mind off things. Then I was sucked another inch further into the tube and was told the next picture would be for 8 minutes. I hated it and was counting holes in the ceiling tiles, there were thousands but they were too small and I kept losing my place. Time passed very slowly. After 4 minutes it stopped and they said I moved and they would start the rest of the 4 minutes and that I only had 45 minutes in there total before I was done.

Then it became impossible, I counted holes, listened to the loud clicking, and started realizing that I was thirsty as could be and stuck in a coffin like tube unable to move and all I wanted to do was to move around a bit. I thought if I could make 8 minutes I could force myself to do 30 minutes (how long I thought the MRI would be) if I could just get to the halfway point, but to go 45 minutes was undoable. I wasn't even sure how many more times, I would be sucked further into the tube. It happened twice already. They were not communicating with me about what was going on. I made it the 8 minutes and then it got quiet again. Then, I recalled all the people that said you need a contrast shot or they may have to do the MRI again. If was not worth it. I quit. I would rather do a hundred miler on a broken hip that finish that 45 minutes. So that was the end.

It sounds silly but really, I don't like confinement. The two times I broke a leg, I couldn't even keep a cast on. The first time I cut  it off after about 3 days. The second time I had the doctor take it off after about 3 hours. I wore a splint and a soft cast both times, and that felt better because I knew I could take it off if I felt confined. I felt horrible for quitting, but I didn't want my brain to explode on the table. I guess a lot of people don't make it though an MRI, but I really wanted to know what it showed and I really wish they had been clear about what to expect. How was I to know I couldn't even move a finger? I am jealous of the people that can relax and go to sleep during an MRI, but somehow I wasn't generating a happy picture of myself lying on the beach under a hot sun and just napping the time away as I was in that tiny tube. Instead, I was thinking about how far I could run in all that time and I couldn't imagine how to hold myself still. I also was  remembering a book I read in junior high about a girl who had been kidnapped and hidden away in a coffin-like box underground called "83 Hours till Dawn." I was not in a happy place! I don't know if they will give it a second shot or if they will try something else, but I learned nothing about my hip this week after looking forward to this for a couple of weeks.

So I am eating a bit more ice cream, trying to come to grips with the idea that it is for the best not to run much at the moment, but I look forward to those days where things feel good enough that I can sneak another run in. I am not sure what else to try. I should receive some permanent orthotics from Dr. Dananberg in week or two and maybe they do more than the insoles I originally got from him. I think I battered those ones to submission. Maybe they have lost the ability to work welll with all the running I did on them. I was in Monday to get fitted for the new orthotics. One thing he did do after seeing me walk barefoot was to say that I probably didn't need the lift in the left orthotic anymore as my pelvis has leveled. I told him I took it off two weeks earlier in frustration when I could only make it 2 miles into a run. Maybe that was doing some of the business on my left hip.

It's now running season and all my friends are doing their races and getting ready for the marathons that they have been training so hard for. The weather is now beautiful running weather and I just wish I was out there pounding the pavement. Good luck to all my running friends and enjoy your running  and racing. I think I'll just have another bowl of ice cream!

Mental Running!

Wednesday, I go in for an MRI on my hip. I have taken lots of time off (in my world) because I was limping and my hip was hurting. My last attempt at a run last week ended with my body stopping after 2 miles and me doing a slow limp home.  Monday night when I couldn't sleep, I did lots stretching, including a weird inner ankle foot stretch that every two months or so calms things down throughout my body. Tuesday, I tried running again because I felt good for a change and did 8 miles. But, after 6 miles I was back to trying not to limp and after the run, I was no longer feeling good. I saw Dr. Baroody again Wednesday and told him about the weird stretch, which basically puts my left leg into a soleus stretch that looks like an exaggerated view of my worst running form. Anyhow that stretch significantly calmed things down. I was thinking it may be stretching some ligament. He thought it might be joint capsule in the ankle area. He did some ART stuff down there as well as other treatments before sending me on my way and agreeing that I might find I have a hip capsule tear. But I felt real good and balanced after this treatment.

I was missing running and feeling antsy so late Wednesday night, I got on the treadmill and did 2 miles, but this time I strongly told myself that there was nothing wrong with my hip and I kept telling myself that and believing it. I pushed down hard through the sore hip and through the tight muscles rather than let my hip tighten up and protect itself. I had a pain-free night of sleep that night. I did 3 miles the next night on the treadmill and again worked the hip hard by pushing down through it. I was sensing more mobility and movement in there. Had another great night of sleep-no pain waking me up. So Saturday I did the big test. I went 8 miles. It was harder to remain focused on pushing through the hip when it started feeling tight, but again would focus on telling myself that nothing was wrong. A couple of times my leg gave way and tightened right up, but I got out of that quickly. I felt looser after the run and had even a better sleep. Three nights in a row without getting up and stretching or rolling my muscles out. I woke up for the first time in many months without even any crankiness in the hip and felt that way all day. I did another 8 miles again today with the same mental focus. Everything was pretty much OK again-but I can sense that hip wanting to tighten right up. My running muscles were a bit stiff, but I like that feeling as it means I am working again. The hip still doesn't work right and can't find its groove, but the muscles that were so very tight all summer are loosening up their grip, maybe because I am forcing them through the tightness, rather than giving in to it. At least I am running instead of sitting on my butt doing nothing. Anyhow, I am eager to see what the MRI is like and what it shows about my hip.

Can an American run a sub 2 hour marathon?

Bob Prichard of the Somax Performance Institute sent me this analysis of elite runners where he suggests that some of the top American runners could break the sub 2 hour marathon mark by improving their stride efficiency. He says that, "Bouncing up and down, overstriding, crossing the legs over toward the midline and lifting the toes all over-stress the legs, increase injury and fatigue, and slow the runner down." He suggests that, "The myth persists that African runners win because they are genetically superior, run to school as kids, and live and train at high altitude. But video analysis of their stride shows that they win because they run more efficiently." The video is very interesting with the measuring of angles and inches and has its humorous ways of demonstrating what would happen if cars did what the runners are doing.

Interestingly enough, just yesterday I posted a video on the "fuzz" that stiffens our muscles and sticks them together. This video calls the fuzz "microfibers" and its probably also what active release practitioners call "glue" or scar tissue. According to this video, the microfibers cannot be released by stretching or soft-tissue massage. The only remedy they give is the somax mibrofiber reduction system. which sounds interesting until you realize that you have to go to California and pay $350 an hour for 30-60 hours worth of work. I couldn't  afford that if they could even guarantee me that I could run a sub 2 hour marathon!

It is an interesting video, no matter what you think. The statement that the Somax people come up with is that "Our conclusion is that the top American marathoners are right now much more fit than their African competitors. Once they rid themselves of their mechanical problems, they can run under two hours with no problem."

About that fuzzy stiff feeling between your muscles

This is one of the most interesting presentations that I have seen in awhile. It is by anatomist Gil Hedley who is a top notch teacher with a sense of humor. His website is "dedicated to exploring inner space" while much of his work is done with human cadavers. This entertaining video called "Fascia and stretching: The Fuzz Speech" is certainly thought-provoking as it describes and demonstrates the stiffness we get in our bodies as a type of "fuzz" between the sliding muscles. If we don't stretch or work out the "fuzz" through stretching, bodywork, foam rolling, or other methods it makes the movement between our muscles get sticky and stiff. Certainly, that is what we get from athletic injuries and overuse, but it is also what we call "aging". He certainly makes the point that we should not let things in our bodies get fuzzy and when they do we need to "melt" the fuzz. This is a great video, unless you don't want to view a few clips of human cadavers and their musculature. However the clips really do make his lesson "come alive".



Gil Hedley answers some interesting questions like "What is the fuzz? here.

Here is the youtbe blurb about the video:

Gil Hedley, Ph.D., of http://www.gilhedley.com gives a lesson on the importance of movement and stretching to maintain the sliding properties of tissues in the body, as well as the value of bodywork modalities and yoga when movement potential has become inhibited.




I made this little clip when I was filming my DVD series in 2005.My thoughts have matured a little bit as compared to the way the ideas are presented in here, as might be expected from anyone engaging their learning curve and involved in a process of discovery, but I am also glad that so many people enjoy it "as is."



The relationship between the superficial fascia and the deep fascia consists of a variety of transitional tissue configurations, sometimes very loose (normally) and sometimes very fixed (normally), and I have found these differences are quite predictable from one area of the body to another, and from one body to another, whether the tissue is fixed or not.



Also, it is normal for there to be "fuzzy" tissue between "individual muscles" within the muscle layer. As with all tissues of the body, all the matter of which it consists is transitioning at various paces, some quicker, some more slowly. "Fuzzy" tissues indeed cycle more quickly then some more dense tissues. By example, the stomach lining sloughs off in 3 to 5 days, the skin cycles in 2 to 5 weeks, bone is cycling over the course of months.



There are what I call "filmy" fasciae all over the body, and when the dissector pulls on these "filmy" fasciae, they have the appearance of "cotton candy" when in traction (I show this in the fuzz speech), and this demonstrates the normal structure of the tissue: filmy and loose, usually found between layers of muscle, and sometimes between deep and superficial fascia.



I used this type of "normal fuzz" in my video as a way of providing an illustration for the

fact that, at a level which is initially beneath visual recognition, there is bonding (covalent bonding and hydrogen bonding) occuring throughout the body under various conditions, and this bonding is occuring amongst the connective tissues at large.



By using something visible to illustrate something invisible, people are helped to understand the importance of stretching, but for those wanting to understand more precisely, it is important to comprehend the difference between my illustrations using normal tissue "fuzz," and the kind of bonding which is taking place invisibly in connective tissue which can, in some instances, represent a pathological progression of tissue growth limiting movement.



That having been said, there are some areas of the body which do indeed demonstrate the possibility of tissue binding at the gross, visible level, such as accumulations around the thoraco-scapular interface, "normal" scar tissues, and visceral adhesions.



I recently wrote an article for the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, ed. Leon Chaitow, on this very subject, called "Visceral Adhesions as Fascial Pathology." In this article I discuss normal and abnormal types of adhesion in the viscera, as well as their causes and their effects, with illustrations provided. I think you can look this article up on line or will be able to once the print version is officially published, though I'm not sure that the print version has "hit the newsstands" yet, as the article was just accepted for publication in November 2009.



I mention this article because it is a concrete demonstration of examples where the inhibition of movement results in tissue

binding and pathological states of mobility.



There are students of the body who are oriented towards the research literature, while I am oriented towards the very practical efforts of observation in the laboratory. I consider myself more of a sculptor and philosopher than a scientist. Still, those involved deeply in the professional conversations surrounding these matters (and I have many such colleagues) assure me there is ample scientific research and support backing the general implications of statements I make in "the fuzz speech," which itself is offered not to "prove" anything scientifically, but rather to inspire folks to expand their inner horizons and outward relationships with this inspirational bit of fun. Thank you for watching!

Hip Hobbling Around

It took a long time to decide go to a doctor about my hip, but I had some deep suspicions about what is wrong with it and after everything I have tried it has suddenly become worse. I got an x-ray of the hip last Friday. It turned up negative, but I saw an orthopedist this this week. After a short time, he said the words that I expected. He thinks it may be Labral Tear and want me to get an MRI to confirm it. I have read about labral tears for the past couple of years, and many things about it seem to fit my hip, however, I wasn't ready to look into seeing if I had that without trying all the available options, particularly when I could still run (even with my constant imbalance, stability issues, and loss of coordination in the hips).

Over the past couple of months, the muscles around my hip have been bracing (or splinting) making them very tight as they seem to want to "protect" my hip. I have tried to run through it and this summer threw everything I could at it, but it just never seemed to resolve. A couple of weeks ago I started taking anti-inflammatories before runs and that seemed to help some, but I wasn't consistent with it.

Last Thursday, I finished up a very active series of races with a track 5000 meters at the Loco 5000 in Dover. I was very hopeful that I could run an "elusive" decent time. Two days earlier I ran 19:13 for a season PR at the Lowell race, but the twists and turns of that course are not to my liking. I thought a flat track race would be the ticket, particularly since my track workouts this summer have been better efforts than my races. I had not run a track 5000 meters in 30 years and set a goal of finishing within 3 minutes of the time I had last run on the track in 1980 which was 16:02. Honestly, I thought I would do a whole lot better than 19:02 and was looking to get under 6 minute pace. I started the race with a 6 minute first mile, but then my muscles around my hip started tightening up again. I got slower and people passed that I should have been able to hang with, but the hip got worse with each mile and I finished last in my heat with a 19:42. After the race, I could only sit down because my hip hurt. When I got up, I was limping again and had a hard time walking, let alone running, and I think it was at that moment when I "knew" it was time to get the hip checked out by a doctor, so I made the call the next day.

Friday, the doctor had the x-rays taken and he told me to take the inflammatories full-time. I have, but for some reason, running hurts more. Maybe, the inflammation is being removed making the hip hurt more. I struggled through 8 miles on Saturday and then again on Sunday. Now, I am limping almost full-time. I tried running Tuesday and after a couple of miles, I had to stop, as the hip got really bad. I even had a hard time walking home. A group of three older walkers even passed me. That was humbling.

I don't know if it really is a labral tear, but it sounds right, and I am not sure of the degree of it, if there is an impingement, or if there is athritis in there. The diagnosis and treatment of labral tears is a new science in the past 10 years or so. If I need surgery, it seems like it might take 6 months before you can return to running, and a year until you are back in form. I guess I am finally ready to go through with that, if that is what I need to do. I have tried everything else and I don't think there is anything else I can do to make my hip better on its own, particulalry now that the pain is getting pretty constant.

Long coolrunning forum thread, but it ends in 2007
Long Runner's World forum thread
Long Letsrun thread "Loss of coordination in leg" thread that I have been following and contributing to since 2006 (introduced me to labral tears-but it is not only about labral tears)
Great information on labral tears from one of the best surgeons for this injury
Video explaing FAI-Femoro Acetabular Impingement- a reason for labral tears and show how surgery is performed

Anyhow I got a lot of staisfaction out of my summer running (even though it was slower than I'd like and not pain-free). I know I still have the abillity to do 70-80 mile weeks. I hit 85 miles one week with 52 miles of it in three days of running. I can still race a lot (although not at the speed I feel capable of running). I do know this. I enjoy running a lot, even when it does not feel well. The challenge I have is to fix this. Although a labral tear is not confirmed, my suspicions are that it might be my problem and I bet they find an FAI-Femoro Acetabular Impingement that has caused my hip problems through the years. I recall knowing something was wrong with my hip even back in high school. My suspicion is that my femur does not settle into the hip properly-it is precisely what I have been feeling for years with all the instability. I only hope I haven't worn things down too much with all the running I have done.

With all my hip and leg problems on the left side, I think it has come down to three problems: the Functional Hallux Limitis which I have been using insoles to correct the past two months. FHL caused my left leg to collapse at the arch and pronate out throwing my left leg into a weird stride. I am starting to think that the insoles have started to correct the angle at my hip, which may be what made my hip feel worse over the summer. Maybe that is where the tear is felt most-when the hip is in a more proper running position. I also have a tibial torsion of the left foot and it angles out to the side. Both the FHLand tibial torsion could have caused a labral tear as they altered the mechanics of the hip joint over time. That is just my reasoning of the situation. I like the way the insoles have kept my feet from collapsing and they have truly been helpful in many ways.  I am supposed to have Dr. Dannenberg make a more permanent orthotic for me later this month. I can't solve the tibial torsion. Now if my hip can be fixed and get me back to running, then 2 out of 3 problems will be fixed and maybe I will be able to run in a more balanced, effortless, and pain-free way.

I look forward to getting the MRI to see what it says. I also wonder whether I may get a cortisone shot.I have read that sometimes this actually helps the condition. Sometimes it allows for a week or a few months of pain-free running, and sometimes it doesn't work at all or creates more pain. Depending on the MRI, I may find out I have shredding the labrum or have arthritis that makes a surgery or a return to running doubtful or I may find I need the surgery. I certainly don't look forward to any surgery and it looks like it is usually 6 months until a return to running and one year until full training if things go well.

Nick Willis, the Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 meters in Beijing has had this surgery and has returned to running sub 4 minute miles. Adam Goucher is considering retirement from elite level running because of his hip. "The doctors diagnosed an impingement in the hip joint that is causing bone buildup in the area. There’s also a possible labral tear. Surgery will be required to fix it, and then six months of recovery and rehabilitation will follow." Alex Rodriquez had surgery for a torn labrum.

I haven't been able to run since the aborted run on Tuesday. I have been able to eat extra ice cream to compensate (this won't be good). I also tried mountain biking today and that was fine, so it looks like I am back to biking for awhile.



Update:
This new book from the author of The Entrepreneurial Patient blog is a must read book for anyone with hip problems and is thinking about about arthroscopic hip surgery or has had arthroscopic hip surgery for a labral tear or FAI.