karate chops

there is a lot of frustration, and emotion with this post... you've been warned.

After finishing saturday's race, I was happy.  It was a very fun run, (hey! that rhymes lol).  After the race, I stretched out and felt pretty good.  Sunday and monday I did a lot of nothing, tuesday I went for an easy ride, but felt alright, some soreness but just in "that spot" (on my leg people, i'm not talking about THAT spot... lol).  After giving myself 3 days off, I decided to try a small brick workout yesterday at lunch for next weekend's super sprint duathlon. I did a short 5k ride, a short mock transition, and out for a short run.  

Since soreness, injury and caution have been abundant for me over the last few months, and with the run portion being only 2.5k, I decided just to do that distance.  No sense in making things worse.  Ouch.  Not because I just got out a bike, but OUCH.  The same "nagging spot" was hurting like crazy.  Thought maybe it just needed to loosen up, so I took it really easy, and on this very short run, swallowed my pride, and walked often.  Got home, stretched well, for about 15 minutes, and hmmmm, feeling pretty good!  Ok, maybe my legs were just so tight, and the warming up of the muscles and stretching did some good!  As I've been doing, even though I felt alright, I iced, wore shoes in the house while working because it' s more comfortable, stretched out periodically, elevated... 

All seemed ok till I got out of bed this morning.  It hurt... a lot.  The feeling was like someone smashed a hockey stick into the side of my shin... on the inside, right along the bone, every time i took a step.  Hobbled to the bathroom.  Not good.  Called my sports injury doc, appt for 1:30 today.  Good.

Go see him... describe the pain, and he takes out a tuning fork looking thing, smacks it on his foot, then holds the bottom end on my tibia.  Does the other leg, a difference, albiet a small one.   He said that although we thought more muscular based on symptoms previously, he started explaining stress fractures.  My heart was in my throat.  I'll be honest, I've thought about this possibility... a lot.  What would I feel like, would I have actually been able to run 15k on saturday?  Will I be able to bike?  How .... long (sniff) before I can (sniff) run again?

He then suggested maybe trying Acupuncture.  Remember how I said I hated needles.  Does this show my dedication???  I didn't even hesitate.  If it will help with the pain, get me back out pounding pavement, and let me do what i wanted to for my birthday, then sure, stick 'em in. We went through the risks, legal stuff, etc.  He said there may be fainting, dizziness, but only if i was truly petrified of needles.... hmmm, do I tell him that I am now??   Anyway, he stuck me with about 7 needles, and it wasn't bad at all.  I was so proud of myself, and couldn't wait to call Jay to tell him what a big girl I was today!  :)

Once my leg started twitching, it was a weird feeling.  The tempo changes once in a while... so at one point I started giggling.  The sensation gave me the following visual: I pictured a bunch of little people... really little, sitting on my leg, and their tiny handing karate chopping up and down my leg.

When that was done, he gave me a requisition form, to go get an x-ray done.  Do you know what he wrote on the requisition?  Distance runner!  I double-checked the name on the form to make sure he was talking about me LOL.  He said that if the x-ray doesn't show anything, then we may need to get a bone scan done.  *sigh*  one of my bigger running nightmares coming true.  Make an appt. to follow up with him monday evening, and off to the clinic.  X-rays now done, I got home, and had to be nosy.  By no means am I a doctor, radiologist, so who knows what I'm looking at, but this is what my untrained eyes see. The 2 xrays of my left leg both show a spot on my tibia that was circled by someone who obviously looked at it, where the bone seems to have expanded outwards.  My right leg, which they also x-ray'd to compare, has nothing.

I'm going not to stew about it all weekend, diagnose myself, google any key words that might fit, or count myself out of all the upcoming races I have registered for, but I am very bummed out.  He said I may also need to rest from biking too...  Sometimes I wish that I didn't care about my health, looks, weight as much as I do.  Sitting at home on the couch, eating McDonald's all day long is cheaper than trying to eat healthy foods, fueling myself for activity, and I'd be less prone to constant injuries.  Sorry, this will end my pity-party for today.

**edit/update**   ok, so i lied. I said i wouldn't sit here wondering all day/weekend what was going on.  I started thinking - even though my sports injury doc could likely read an xray, radiologists are the experts...   they gave me the xrays.   I had only taken the films out of the package.  I started snooping this evening and found the radiologist's letter to my doctor with his finding.  Evidence of healed stress fractures because of the thickening that I tried to describe above.  Not sure of current or new fractures, but recommending a bone scan.  UGH.  More needles!  

So if they are healed stress fractures, why am I in the most pain now?  I tolerated the pain of stress fractures, and must have run with them at least a few times, since I was resting etc.!