Category Archives: Bullish Insights

It has been one month to this day since I last ran.

This kind of long-lasting injury can easily lead an obssesed runner like me to jump off the skyway, rob a bank, or watch Wowawee all day. But, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could easily keep my composure—or better yet, my sanity despite the absence of a run. The farthest I had gone to relieve myself of this pent up anger and frustration was to gorge on Lay’s potato chips all day.

Lucky for me, I was too busy the past month to get too depressed about this hellish situation. How could I even find the time to mope? I got into so many new activities—swimming, weights, yogilates, therapy—just to strengthen and stretch these leg muscles so that I could run again. Work also poured in enough to keep me busy with nary a time to shed a tear about my lost marathon goal.

For now, my objective is to run for 15 mins. straight without feeling any tightness or soreness thereafter. Just last week, I walked for 10 mins. on the treadmill and felt soreness in my knee again. The pain was not intense but it bothered me nonetheless. It got me wondering when this knee would ever heal. What was taking so long? Was I doing enough? How could I speed up recovery?

I continued with my drills, swimming, and weights and fortunately my work paid off. This morning I attempted the treadmill again for a 10 minute walk. The results were more encouraging. I felt no pain, nada, nothing. It may be too early to tell that things will progress from here on but I’m certainly more hopeful about it now. Please let this be the start of better days ahead.  I don’t know how much longer I can wait.

I was planning to pay the doctor a visit yesterday but I decided otherwise. You see, I was simply planning to bombard the doctor with all the unanswered questions in my head such as “What am I going to do now? I’m gaining weight by the second!” or “Why did you tell me to run when I ended up limping after Clark?” But, after Monday’s therapy session, I pretty much got my enlightenment from the gracious therapist who answered all my queries.

This is what I learned about my injury from my therapist:

– My doctor did not stop me from running since, like I said, I only need strengthening and stretching exercises. But, since the pain seems to worsen after a run or even a treadmill walk, the therapist told me to resist the temptation until we’re sure I am fully recovered. As a mature, disciplined woman I nodded in agreement (but that’s after I dreamed of slapping her in the face. Kidding!)

– Those 5-minute bike warm-ups at the gym aggravated the injury (so that’s why I would limp my way out of the locker room everytime! Duh!) I was advsied to do none of the cardio machines at the gym: treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical. I can take that. They kinda bore me to death anyway.

– The only cardio I’m allowed to indulge in is (drum roll please): swimming.

Somehow, that last therapy session helped pull me out of the confused, injured state I was in and gave me a clearer vision of what I should be doing to get out of this rut. I’m a lot more hopeful now. Plus, I’m feeling great since I have felt no pain for the past couple of days.

Yesterday, I pretty much laid out my game plan for the month to help me stay fit despite the injury.

CARDIO: Swimming (4x a week)
STRENGTH: Weights at the gym (2x a week)
STRETCHING: Yogilates at home (2x a week), Squats plus other exercises ordered by PT (daily)

If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will. Here’s to a wet and wild month ahead!

The race was named after me (at least that’s what I’d like to think) so it was unfortunate that I missed it. How did you all do in “The Bull Run: Takbo Para sa Ekonomiya”?

Ah, there were so many reasons why I wanted to be at this race:

1) It’s my namesake.

2) My first job was as a research analyst at the stockmarket. This was my chance to be a part of it again in some way.

3) “Takbo Para sa Ekonomiya”…Oh sure, I am more than willing to contribute to the growth of our economy. If running could somehow help propel the stockmarket (where I’m losing money as we speak) then that would have been a win-win situation for me.

4) I love races. Big or small. Organized or chaotic. I’m in.

Too bad then that my injury is showing little signs of improvement. The past two weeks, I have run 0 kilometers and biked a depressing 20 mins (total of all my warm ups) and yet there is still some soreness in the knee and tightness in the muscles. I’ve been strength training, stretching, praying and whining yet nothing seems to work. Worst of all, I feel bloated and cranky. It irks me that I have to eat so much less now and still my jeans feel a bit too snug. I just have to have my cardio soon or my kids will see me as their favorite dessert: jello.

Tomorrow I hope to visit the doctor again and beg him to give me a magic antidote to this way too long injury. If he does have one, I’ll let you know. I’ll probably sell it for a million a piece.

It’s been 10 miserable days since Clark—the race that ended with me limping my way back to the hotel. I initially thought the pain would go away by itself, like all the other times I pushed my body beyond its limits and found myself on the road again just a couple of days after, but I was sorely mistaken.

The right side of my right knee has been a major pain—literally and figuratively. On good days, the injury is just bothersome. But, on most days, I am “Erap”—the name my hubby affably gave me when I was a preggy woman who wobbled instead of walked—as I limp my way from point to point, especially through flights of stairs. It’s especially painful for me when I step out of the car or get out of bed in the morning. I even had two consecutive sleepless nights wherein I was in agonizing pain as I could barely straighten my leg.

These 10 days have been the longest I’ve ever gone without a run. My doctor gave me the go-signal to run, but after a mere 40-min walk on the treadmill left me in utter pain, I decided otherwise.

It’s been tough—a bad mix of frustration, boredom, and intense, gut-wrenching pain—but I’m coping. The past days, it seems that I’ve been doing anything and everything I can to get back into running again…except to actually do the deed itself:

THERAPY

Strengthening Exercises. I’ve been in therapy for over two weeks now. I’ve been a very good girl. As therapists ordered, I obediently do my exercises to strengthen my VMO, the weak part of my quadriceps which is causing my ITB to pull my knee caps outward. No matter how slow those 20 seconds go by as I do those oh so boring squats (yawn), I push myself (yawn) to finish them if it would mean it will let me run sooner.

Stretching. I’ve been stretching those tight ITB’s too. On two occassions, I even allowed those masochistic therapists (I’m just kidding…I love these people) to release my ITB, something I thought would be akin to a gentle massage but turned out to be quite the opposite: the pain brought back memories of the time I spent in the delivery room helplessly feeling the intense contractions while screaming for an epidural.

GYM

Weights. I started going to Gold’s Gym already. I’ve had an aversion to the gym the past few years due to my traumatic experience at another gym, but I figured I had to bite the bullet since strengthening exercises is the prescribed antidote to this nightmarish injury.

Cross Training. Aside from weight training, I now have the opportunity to join spinning classes, use the elliptical and stationary bikes, and try out Yogilates. It’s quite exciting actually. A whole new world of exercises is before me and it’s all for the taking. At the same time though, seeing all those treadmills with people using them makes me cry out in envy. Running is still my first love and I’m only at the gym to supplement my running.

I’m trying my darndest best to remain positive. Hoping against all hope that it won’t be long until I can just get out of bed, put on my running shoes, run to my heart’s content and end that run thinking about breakfast rather than my knees. Oh God, please don’t let me wait too long…

Last Dec 2007, Patrick Concepcion, one of the most dedicated and generous runners I know, visited Boracay and enjoyed a beautiful run in its shores. A friend took his photo, which Patrick then sent to Runner’s World U.S.A and Australia. To his pleasant surprise, the Editor of Runner’s World Australia featured his photo and a brief article on Boracay under the “Rave Run” section of its Feb 2008 edition. Way to go, Patrick!

By the way, don’t miss Patrick’s CONDURA RUN on March 2, 2008.  The race will be organized by Mr. Rudy Biscocho.

– Photos courtesy of Patrick Concepcion