46 injured and a bit fed up... (Page 2)

getfitfast........your problem is not physical, it is mental.  Look at you forum name...getfitfast.  That totally explains why you are injured and why you will stay injured.  Mid-life crisis, HIM in 8 months.  Hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you can't take that approach and expect anything other than what you have......injuries.  Your only choice at this point is to stop running and biking TOTALLY until you heal.  Yes, I know, that just isn't acceptable because you need to starting back to training this afternoon, but that's not going to happen so it time to accept reality.

After you do heal, you need to accept the fact that it takes years for all of us non-genetic freaks to properly train for a HIM.  HIM and IMs are endurance events.  It takes years of sloooooow base training with NO speed work to get there injury free.  Yes, there are some lucky individuals that have the genetics to just get up off of the couch and 6 months later do a HIM with not adverse side affect, but you ain't that lucky.

I started running/biking about 37 years ago.  Stayed injured from running the first 32 of those years because I just couldn't get it though my thick head that having a high-A personality and attacking training like I attacked everything else in life just wasn't going to work.  Five years ago I discovered BarryPs approach to training...run 6x wk, ALL slow, at a 1-2-3 ratio.  It was a total  PITA making myself back-off.....just not in my personality.  But I was so frustrated that I gave it a try.  Just finished B2B HIM, 5th in AG, injury free for the last 5 years (except for the one time I decided to do some hill repeats. That was my last run for 3 months and I missed B2B last year). 

Now, if you will please excuse me.  I'm going out for a 8 mile sloooow run.  Cheers!!

I've found Running to be worse for ITB than cycling.  Lot's of people struggle with ITB.  Best solutions I've heard were foam rolling and stretching.  Try a yoga class at your local gym.  You'd be surprised how a day a week of yoga can help ITB issues.  Lots of foam rolling can really help too though, and if you really want a treat go get yourself a sports massage.

An update to my earlier post.  the Prolotherapy worked.  I've been running for 2 months now and training is going well.  I couldn't be happier, but I know that I'm always one step away from injury.  Working through a training plan, but throwing most of the speedwork out the window.

whatever you do... keep on moving as best you can.  there is no other alternative.

I've been on BT since 2004 and loved the triathlete life style. In 2008 I did my first IM and continued to do them yearly until 2011. 2010 and 2011 were challenging as I had some health issues that made training challenging. My last tri and race was November 2011. Last year I was unable to train but little bit here and there due to discomfort.

I have had some major issues since 2010. I've seen top notch docs in Boston including 5 orthos, 1 sports med, 1 sports endocrinologist, 3 rehumatologists, primary care doc, 5 PTs or maybe 6 and a Physiatrist.  Blood tests, X rays, scans, MRI showing only rapid onset arthritis and then bone on bone on my left knee.

No answers but guesses what was wrong with me. 

It went from left knee issue with 2 surgeries, the pain spread to both knees, both hips and one shoulder bothered me so much so I couldn't ride my bike up any incline. Fatigue that I couldn't shake and other weird symptoms.

Finally got tested again for Lyme and other tick borne diseases. Antibody testing Elisa and Western Blot are not very accurate. Ends up I have 3 tick borne diseases including Lyme and Babesia (parasite in my red blood cells much like Malaria). It is in my central nervous system and has effected my brain as well as in my joints.

I hope this year to be able to ride my bike. Doubt I will ever be able to run as I'm happy when I can make it down the stairs comfortably. Swim now is out due to IV meds.

My point is to keep searching for the answer. Pain is there and the reason may be hard to figure out. Mine started with knee pain that didn't get better despite PT and surgery.

Good luck and keep pursuing the answer to what will make you better!

I totally feel the frustration as well and found this thread to be therapeutic.

Everytime I try to up my mileage, even if it's only by 5 mins per week, I somehow end up injured. It's been better recently but I still had some small issues crop up.

This time around I've been doing yoga at least once a week, running 3x per week for 3 weeks then a week off, trying to eat right, and keeping my pace in check. Oh and during long runs I do 10 min run 1 min walk.

I've always had a goal to do a HM. I keep reminding myself that my goal needs to be the distance, not speed. I find my mind wandering to what if I could go under 2 hours but then I remind myself how lucky I would be to be able to do that distance, even if I had to walk some of it.

I am intrigued by the concept of running everyday, even for only 5 minutes, since that is so opposite of my approach now. I would like to learn more about that but I don't know if I am ready to try it! Although 5 minutes couldn't hurt..right?

Agree, and I was trying to think of how to say it (but now I can just agree). 

I am 46 and have been a runner for 22 years.  About 6 years ago my knees developed severe osteoarthritis, to the point where I had a pronounced limp.   After some physical therapy, that went away and I was able to go back to running - but not as much as before, so I took up triathlons.  My running has been pain- and injury-free for years, and I believe it is because I made the training schedule subordinate to how I feel.  If I felt like I was getting injured or strained, I cut back.  On those rare happy days when running felt effortless, I went a little further.  

You don't have to 'get fit fast'.  You don't have to do the HIM next year.  It is more effective to focus on continuous improvement while avoiding setbacks, even if it is slower than you would prefer. 

I need to keep re-reading that statement.

yeah- life is a marathon, not a sprint. 

I certainly get it.  I just did my first sprint last month at age 57 after months of battling achilles tendonitis.  Now that one issue is over I am having hamstring problems. AARRGGGH!

My solutions was to do whatever activites I could do to to lose the 70# I needed to drop (50 down) and build my endurance.  That meant I ran the race last month with about 3 running days in six months.

I finished, I am still at it and and keeping my eyes on the prize...IMAZ in 2015.  Don't give up, just do what you can.  Good luck!

I feel your pain. Since finishing my first HIM in late July (no illnesses or injuries in training for it), I have had, in order: mono or similar fatigue and muscle-ache type disease, strained Achilles, flu for three weeks, hairline elbow fracture with ligament and nerve injury, SI joint and hamstring problems aggravated by new shoes that didn't work out, and now, a hamstring strain from a motorbike hitting me while biking. Have given up on being healthy... I just try to do what I can, when I can. At one point, that meant all my "swimming" was dolphin kick and dog paddle, and all my running and biking were indoors. At some times, that has meant only one of S/B/R. Rest what needs to be rested, and work what doesn't. Avoid/minimize run speedwork; do it on softer surfaces if you can. I've been running most of my life and am very lightweight, and it kills me. Probably not the best for most people over 40 without a big running base, esp. those with a history of run injuries.

And imagine how amazing it will feel if you are actually healthy someday!