Plan of Attack for Disney

Well, Disney is just three weeks away - yikes!  And I am still having back pain, particularly toward the end of a long run.  Mile 16 seems to be my Achille's heel.

So, I talked it over with one of the physical therapists at work.  And, just let me put in a plug for physical therapy here - those folks really understand musculoskeletal injuries, and they love working with recreational athletes, because we will actually do the exercises they prescribe - sometimes too faithfully!  If you have a musculoskeletal injury and have the means to do so, please ask your doctor for a physical therapy consult.  But, I digress...

I have a facet joint injury at about T-8.  Facet joints are the little spots where the spinal vertebrae come together - they facilitate twisting and bending of the spine.  When I run long, I am hammering that little injured spot, and after awhile it starts to complain - loudly.  It slowly starts healing during the week, and then I do a long run on the weekend and re-injure the soft tissue and cartilage.  The physical therapist advised keeping my runs under 15 miles (since that seems to be the trigger point) until I have given myself time for a little more healing.  In fact, he advised canceling Disney.

This is a facet joint, between two vertebrae.  Doesn't look like it could cause much trouble, does it?

But Disney is PAID FOR! The whole trip! And they don't do refunds or transfers or any of that, so I can't switch to the half.  And I have wanted to run Disney for years. Years! I know that there will be other races, and I know that a major back injury would be devastating, personally and professionally.  Can you just see me in a back brace trying to move around in the operating room?  And back surgery would definitely put a damper on triathlon training and speedwork in the spring, don't you think?

But I have come up with what I think is a workable plan.  Since repetitive motion is the problem, what if I break the cycle periodically? Change things up a bit to give my back a break? What if I walk every second or third mile?  I know - it sounds ridiculous, and if I were one of you who could knock out 6-8 minute miles I might not even be able to contemplate that, but the truth is that at this point in my running I am not.  I run a 10-12 mile pace for my long runs - it is what it is.  And I can walk for hours - I could walk the whole marathon and I'd probably only have a few blisters to show for it.

As it currently stands, if I go to Disney and try to run the whole thing I'm probably going to be walking the last 5-6 miles due to back pain.  I know that, because at mile 16 or so of a long run I have to slow down dramatically or walk.  Walking in at the end of the race because you couldn't run any farther just feels like defeat to me. So why not sprinkle those six or eight miles throughout the race to try to prevent the inflammation and irritation that will occur if I run the whole thing? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic - if there's something I haven't considered, or some trick you've used to overcome an injury, I am all ears!

See?  All ears! Thanks, Google and Disney!

In the meantime, I think I'm going to talk to the physical therapist tomorrow and see what he thinks.  Because bargaining with his patients is probably his favorite activity!  Heh!