Pooling running while injured during marathon training

I got a 3rd metatarsal SF on my left foot 13 years ago.  13 years TO THE DAY on 11/4/12 I suffered a complete fracture in an accident unrelated to training on the 4th metatarsal on my left foot.  So, point is I know a thing or two about maintaining fitness during a metatarsal injury!

I found pool running to be very helpful. I did NOT use a belt and just ran (much harder).  I did "intervals" to make the time go by.  So, if you ran 400s in 3:00, do 10X3:00 in the poolwith a warm up. Some docs will not recommend pool running, however.  Rule of thumb is if it hurts don't do it.

I strength trained A LOT.  Great for bone density.  Squats were totally doable (flat foot), lunges NOT (bent foot in back).  Wall squats and single leg wall squats are also fabulous and painful in a good way (on the quads).

I biked A LOT only indoors on the trainer with no standing.  I am currently riding 6 DPW because there's no pain.

I can swim with a pull buoy but NO kicking and no pushing off the wall. (Won't really help with run fitness.)

Overall, after the SF 13 years ago I lost endurance but not really much speed.  I ran a 5K 4 weeks after starting back running only 30 seconds slower than my best for that year.

Just listen to your doctor, do what you can, and eat CLEAN to control your weight.

Have your blood taken and vitamin D checked.  Low vitamin D (which most people have to some degree) leads to weak bones.  Mine is low if I don't supplement (I'm vegan - so no vitamin D enriched milk in my diet).  I take 4,000 IUs/day, and most will benefit from this.

Hope it's nothing and you caught it early!

Andi

I've only done the "feet touching" approach, and found that I could not keep any sort of form.  I would either bounce, or try to grip the pool bottom with my feet to propel myself forward.  The pool I use doesn't have a "deep end," so I really had no other option.  It didn't really work out. 

I think I used the elliptical, and that worked somewhat.  You do have a real opportunity to do some strength training.  A great thing a good strength program can do is provide you with a more balanced body and correct some weaknesses.  A few areas to think about working on: core strength (too often overlooked), muscle balance in legs, quads vs. hamstrings (for me I always end up with weaker hamstrings and need to focus on that), also with regards to muscle balance, try to work on some single leg exercises.

Just try to rest the injured area as much as possible, I remember having some tendonitis in my right foot that just wouldn't go away until I really really let up on everything that could possible aggravate it.   

Depending on how tall you are, you may be able to make it work in a lap pool. I have pretty long legs, and am of average height (5'9.5", inseam 34.5"). If I double up on the float belts to keep me high in the water, and I stick to the very center portion of the lane (a stretch of about 15 feet), I can aquajog w/out my feet touching. (I think it's just about 4.5 feet deep there, maybe 4...)

It's sort of a maddeningly small area (esp. for 2.5 hours!)...but it's doable.

I successfully subbed water running / aquajogging for a big chunk of training for two marathons.

This is the best (short) practical resource I've found:

http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports/water.shtml

I've been aquajogging and noticed my hip flexors (mostly the left one) getting sore as well.  I don't know if it's a form issue, but I've just suspected that bringing your knee up quickly and repetitively in a very dense medium (water being ~1000 times more dense than air) could lead to hip flexor soreness.  I've just been foam rolling the crap out of it to keep it from turning into something!