[kcwoodhead]

So, I think maybe I'm having piriformis issues? I'm having pain that I have never had before and don't exactly have much of an idea what it is.<br><br>
I did a sprint tri yesterday and a 1/2 ironman aquabike today. I rode pretty hard both days - extra hard today knowing I didn't have to run today. After halfway through the bike today I started noticing a very sharp pain in my butt. It is in a very isolated small area, on the mid-to outside part of my hip/butt. The pain did not radiate anywhere else (low back/upper leg), but got so bad at one point I had to flat out quit pedaling. I tried to stand up on my bike at that point and the pain almost made me fall over. I slowed a bit and then was good to go again. I'm not sure if it would bother me running or not because I didn't have to run today. I ran around in my flip flops in the parking lot after to "test it out" and it seemed to not bother me running, but now about 7 hours after the race it has tighted up pretty bad and I feel it walking.<br><br>
I'm getting a massage on Tuesday and my lady rocks - I'm pretty sure she will be able to tell me what it is, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced pain like this? It is pretty deep in the middle of my butt!!<br><br>
Obvious first course of action is to not do anything else that hurts since I have IMAZ in 2 weeks. I don't mind catching up on DVR and sitting on my painfull ass for the next 14 days if necessary!

 

[Tithers]

KC...you're pushing way too hard before your race!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br><br>
I hope you heal soon and fast. Can you get a massage tomorrow? Got a good sports chiro?

 

[jroden]

I'm confused about your training focus 2 weeks out from this race, but we've been around the barn with this a couple weeks back. It sounds like piraformus which will require maybe massage and stretch. If your leg is going numb and losing power, you need to take stock in your readyness to do this race in 2 weeks.<br><br>
I'm not a huge fan of recreational athletes like us feeling they need a coach, but in your case I think you'd really benefit from someone to help you structure your trianing year and understand both "when" and "why".<br><br>
I hope you can work this one out in the coming weeks, I ended my marathon running in 1990 after doing 3 spring marathons and never being able to shake the sciatic nerve pain after, even 15 years later I still need to manage it with the little dinky runs I do, I can really be a serious deal if you don't stay on top of it, good luck and sorry to sound like a nag.

 

[Nettie]

It does sound like your piriformis and your massage lady should be able to help you out.

 

[VictorN]

Massage and some gentle stretching should help. You might also try applying heat. Get one of those microwavable hot pads and lay down for 20 minutes with it draped over your bum.<br><br>
Take it easy and heal.<br><br>
Victor

 

[Thor]

Definitely lay low and stretch for a few days. From the sounds of it, it should dissipate until the next time you push yourself like that. If not treated as it comes you could very easily develop a more chronic case... I've been nurses Sciatica or Piriformis since Boston Marathon 2005. Yeah, it sucks. And yeah, it can be seriously limiting. Cross training seems to really help me, especially on the bike.

 

[kcwoodhead]

<br>
At the risk of sounding dumb, stupid, and/or ignorant, I feel like I need to explain myself a little in light of recent happenings.<br><br>
I am sure I could benefit from a coach, but it is not really the way I want to go about things. I truly enjoy figuring out a lot of this stuff for myself. I enjoy drawing from resources all over to structure a plan that I think best suits myself. Would this so-called "plan" be good for anyone else? Probably not. To say it isn't conventional would be an understatement, and I am totally aware of that.<br><br>
I am not the kind of person who likes to put all my eggs in one basket and as cliche as it may sound, this really is all about the journey and not the destination for me. I'm not going to win IMAZ. I'm not going to qualify for Kona and I'm not even going to place in the top half. Am I going to have fun though? You betcha.<br><br>
I really do love to race and not for the reasons most people love to race. I don't compete against anyone but myself. I'm not going to win any of them, but I can work on bettering myself or just surrounding myself with the people and things that I love.<br><br>
Was it a good idea to go hard on the bike in an aquabike yesterday? Probably not the best idea, but I learned a few valuable lessons yesterday, one being that I am far stronger than I ever thought possible. I averaged 18.3mph while I was not even averaging 17mph in my sprint races last year. I have come so far in the past year, with at least 8 PRs along the way to IMAZ. Some people might not have one PR on the way to their IM because they do not race during training. They save themselves for the big day, and the big day only. What if the big day blows up? Was the whole year you spent training a total waste? If I am a total failure at IMAZ I will still be happy with how far I have come. Then again, I'm not sure I could even be a total failure at IMAZ - I'm not sure I have a definition for that. It would have to be something like I forgot my shoes and tried to run barefoot or something totally off the wall like that - not that I trained too hard and was tired or not that I went too hard on the bike and did not have much left for the run.<br><br>
I do want this lifestyle to continue for many years to come, and for me personally, I think this is the way to do it. It may take me 4 years doing things my way to get to where I could get in 1 year doing things someone else's way (presumably a coach), but I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much.<br><br>
So I guess call me stubborn, stupid, or dense, but I am fully aware there are other ways to do things and that I am not choosing those ways. So I might have hurt myself yesterday. Who is to say that same injury wouldn't have come amount on a slow training ride or halfway through the ironman when I didn't know what to do about it. I guess I may frustrate a few people around here by doing things they wouldn't advise and then coming back afterwards saying things didn't go exactly as I planned them to. I am sorry for that, but once again, it is all part of the learning process for me. We as triathletes are stubborn - each one of us. Most of us like learning things the hard way instead of just taking someone else's advice. I'm guilty as charged, but don't see that changing anytime soon!!<br><br>
JRoden - I'm not directing this post specifically at you either - this is just more of an outpouring of thoughts I've had going on in my head for a long long time. I do appreciate your advice and hope you continue to give it even though I may only listen half the time <img alt="blush.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/blush.gif">

 

[kcwoodhead]

<br>
Guilty!<br><br>
I have a massage at lunch tomorrow and I'll let her go to town on it.<br><br>
Feels much better this morning too. Hopefully it was just overexertion and not any real huge issue.

 

[jroden]

Take your time working this one out, if it becomes chronic it's one of those injuries that really impacts daily activities like sitting or especially driving a car, plus it makes you lose your main driving force from you big muscles in the buttocks, so you run and bike for crap when the nerve gets impinged. Once mine became chronic I decided that training hard to run slower every season was not fun, so I found the bike was a better way to go, I hope you are able to manage yours so you can do what you enjoy.<br><br>
I agree somewhat with your attitude about racing your way to fitness and not losing too much sleep over the one big race at the end, but there is also a point where doing some junk race a couple weeks out is just sabatoging your chances to have a good race without a lot of pain--in any event best of luck.

 

[LeftRightRepeat]

I'm not sure that attitude is as unique as you seem to think. There are very few of "us" who actually think we might win something.

 

[Tri_coach06]

I don't think going out hard on the bike 2 weeks prior to an IM is a bad idea... The sprint the day before might be pushing it, but pushing a hard bike 2 weeks prior to an IM isn't a bad thing at all. You would have had a 3 hour ride scheduled anyway.<br><br>
Moist heat, rest and stretching are all in order. (A massage will be helpful too). My all time favorite way of getting moist heat to an area: Take a dish towel and wet it. Wring it out. Put it on a plate and put it in the microwave for a minute or 2. (Time depends on how strong your micro is.) The towel wil come out HOT so be careful. 20 minutes of rest with that thing on your hip and you'll feel it loosen up. You might have to reheat it a couple times to keep it hot. Make sure it doesn't dry up or you'll set your micro on fire. <img alt="sad.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad.gif"><br><br>
I thought you got hurt running, that wouldn't have been smart. Biking is OK... IMO.<br><br>
CS

 

[Stitcher]

The moist heat thing that CS mentions is also good if you have a run of the mill ear ache.<br>
My mom learned this when she was a flight attendent way back in the early 60's.<br><br>
Take a paper towel....dose it with HOT water (hot tap water will work). Smuch out all the water.<br>
Stuff the paper towel into a dixie cup (or similar sized glass/cup). Put open end of cup over painful ear. Be careful to make sure the paper towel isn't dripping, or you'll drip hot water into your ear....owie!<br>
they used to give these things to kids on planes who had trouble with the ascents/descents. It would help soothe them.

 

[kcwoodhead]

<br>
They used that on my friend when we went to disney world in 6th grade. I thought she was a bit of a baby for crying on the plane and then looked like a total dork holding cups over her ears. But it was pretty funny at the same time and definitely worked!!

 

[kcwoodhead]

Awesome. I have a heating pad in my chair at work that I use to keep warm (space heater was revoked when co workers computer blew up). It has a moist heat option so I'll find the box and get it out.<br><br>
It is feeling much better today as well, so hopefully I just made it temporarily mad. I'm sure my massage therapist will make it plenty mad tomorrow too.

 

[Thor]

Be careful about doing speedwork on the run. Running hard is probably the biggest aggravator of Sciatica and Piriformis for most people. You are so close to your race that you could forgo speed all together from here on out. You'll have to weigh your goals with the reward.<br><br>
Sheldon is right. Going hard on the bike for a distance that is, at this point, relatively easy and on the shorter side two weeks before your big race isn't a bad thing for most people. You'll recover. But give yourself time to do so with a more than ample taper on the bike.<br><br>
Jr is right too in that over the last several weeks you have run the emotions from going hard to burnout to back in the saddle. Please be careful. You've ramped up so quickly and have now been at such a high level for a very, very long time, a time that includes your first Ironman and several ultras and even some marathons. What Jr is talking to is that it's a lot for any body, and even anybody, if your goal is to stay injury-free with a focus on longevity in sport.<br><br>
The body can push hard for a very long time, and you can often do it injury free if you're smart and learn to listen to it, but as soon as the mind starts going, you must pay attention, otherwise you will be forced to the sideline in a way that hurts much more than any injury could.<br><br>
You've been kicking ass all over the sporting landscape. You really have been. And I've been, as you know, a very, very big fan. But please tread carefully with the body and the mind. Burnout sucks and will take you to your knees if you don't lock in with it and your body-mind connection. So get yourself through Ironman in a healthy state and be sure to take off ample time afterwards. I say this because you are showing the signs of pushing way too hard and for too long.<br><br>
Hopefully I'm wrong. I say this as a friend to another in attempts to have you not follow in a path I did when I was back in my 20's.<br><br>
And as for the comment by John: he's right. You know, most of us fall under the category of being competitive with one person and one person only -- that being ourselves. We'll never win anything more than a pat on the back from ourselves. But that's what drives us all.<br><br>
Hang tough, rest up, and then get out there and kick some ass all over Arizona!

 

[kcwoodhead]

No more speed work = no problem! I wasn't planning to do any anyway!<br><br>
Here is what the rest of my schedule looks like...at most. If I don't feel like doing any workout here or there I won't do it - no love lost.<br>
Monday: off<br>
Tuesday: masters swim AM, cross country run PM (~4 miles, watching for holes, etc...may stay on the path to be safe)<br>
Wednesday: spin class on my bike, low intensity, 2-3 mile run after<br>
Thursday: masters swim AM, 3 mile easy run PM<br>
Friday: off<br>
Saturday: ~30 mile ride, open water swim<br>
Sunday: ~6 mile run, maybe<br><br>
Next week will be same general schedule but with no cross country run and most likely Thursday entirely off. Travel Friday and super short swim and bike on Saturday. Then race on Sunday!

 

[niemsco]

Well put. That is what I always say. The race doesn't define you or make you an Ironman, its the commitment you make and your day to day accomplishments that make you one!<br><br>
But do take it easy and heal up <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

 

[maggie d]

KC, I'm sure its nothing serious. hope it heals real soon! you have been on a roll with your awesome training and PR's. and I say go for it with all the training you've done. you're enjoying yourself, and you're improving. Keep scheduling those rest days, that's real important too.<br><br>
remember that you can do practically nothing for the next two weeks and be fine at IM. trust in your training to pull you through a terrific race. what I'm saying is that if you need to lay off to let this heal, keep in mind, you will do fine at IM.<br><br>
so if you feel any pain on your next few workouts, STOP! but I'm sure it's a twinge that will go away real soon. If it makes you feel any better, I felt a twinge in my glutes too while on the bike at sunday's race. could just hammering on a flat course.<br><br>
it was great to see you at the swim start! keep us updated on how this heals!!

 

[Stitcher]

My butt hurts, too!<br>
But, I know why....<br>
Meany plyos....then weights with Lisa....<br>
who sees it as her personal mission to torture me!<br><br>
Umm.....<br>
ow!

 

[kcwoodhead]

I think my butt is better. I got a massage at lunch and nothing was really out of sorts. I swam this morning without any issues and I don't notice it when I'm walking anymore. The real "test" will be running tonight and biking tomorrow night. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing hurts when I'm doing those.