Stretch, Squat, Run and Roll

Yesterday I had my first appointment with Jared at Orthopedic Associates Physical Therapy Center to finally have an evaluation for this knee pain. I figured after 25 days it was time to bring in the professionals!

I have heard great things about Jared from fellow runners and athletes. I was impressed. He was very pleasant and being a runner turned triathlete himself, I trusted what he had to say. As a bonus we even had a very engaging conversation about bikes and his new Cervelo P3!!

OA Performance Center

Now I am not a doctor, but I play one on TV. 
Or is that I played doctor??
Or is it I have played with doctors? 
Hmmm. It's one of those.
Anyway, my diagnosis of patellofemoral pain syndrome was spot on.

The good news? Jared said that this is an easy fix. The PFPS could have been caused by numerous issues-running in the Kinvara's (not a great shoe for me because of my pronation), running facing traffic constantly with the slope of the road and/or my own form issues.

Some causes of PFPS are weak quads and this is certainly not the case here; he said my quads were really strong and my VMO's were strong as well but we are going to work on building strength in the glutes and hips to bring balance.

I have some stretching & strengthening exercises to do, I need to do some marathon stick rolling on my quads and just above the patella, and I have some running drills to work on. I should be good as new soon!

Then it was time to hop on the treadmill and run. Jared brought out the camera and took some wonderful footage of my running.

The not so good news? I have some biomechanical issues to correct. I am heel striking and this is making me bounce UP and not move forward-which is also wasted energy.
I need to shorten my stride and increase my cadence. So I am going to be running with a metronome to get my cadence up to 184. No rockin' tunes for a bit until I can retrain myself.

Inside the PT office

We did some stretching, squatting, rolling and then it was time to run with the new info he armed me with!

Then Jared hooked me up to this funky looking treadmill and strapped me into a belt suspended from a pole. And yes- I got a little nervous. He then asked me to lean forward and once the belt started moving to start running. He then got the metronome going and I just ran. Then once I got the proper body position down it was off to the indoor track with my metronome and more running.

I am actually quite pleased with how the visit went. I have never had a gait analyses or even any kind of run coaching; it is wonderful to get some feedback on how I can improve as a runner! Jared also said that with these changes, we can easily shave a couple minutes off my 5k time. Combine that with losing 10lbs or so, I am hoping to beat the snot out of my Dad's PR (21:40) this summer.

So the next couple weeks will be focused on changing my run form and running pain free!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good?

I got a new bike (though if you follow me on Dailymile.com, EnduranceAthleteProject.com or Twitter then this is not NEW news to you)!

I got a new bike (can you tell I'm psyched!).

Being a stay-at-home Mommy with a penchant for gear & gadgetry (HRM's, Garmins, shoes, shoes, shoes, running skirts, headlamps, reflective gear, winter running tights-I could go on and on) I really thought that getting a great bike would be out of my grasp until I returned to work full time. This was sad for me (tissue??) because while I did ok on Bertha, I really wanted to get into something a bit lighter than 150lbs (slight exaggeration)!! Even if I did have something in common with Chrissy Wellington when it came to first season bikes (remember THIS post??)

As things turned out, I had a couple contacts through my tri club and the YMCA to check out a couple bikes, both road and tri specific, but it was a casual running/race schedule related e-mail exchange with an old friend from school that led me to THE bike.

So without further ado, here SHE is...no name yet. And it's not the best pic. I have an appointment to get portraits done, don't worry. I know you like your bike porn classy, right?!

de Luca carbon frame and fork- de Luca is an Australian brand but the frame design is Masi, de Luca just stuck THEIR name on it and sadly, are no longer in business. Do you have any idea how much research it took me to find THAT out??

The components are Shimano-a mix of 105's and Ultegra. The wheels are Mavic Cosmos, Bontrager handlebars and saddle. It also has a Trek Incite 11i computer which is pretty cool now that I a) put a battery in it and b) figured out how to get it off km's.

I think with a sweet pair of Zipps she will be looking pretty on race day. Now to add some clipless pedals and some areobars we will be rockin'!

The Bad

After lots of resting my knee is still bothersome. I ran 2 miles Sunday and 3 miles yesterday and it is a mixed bag of "feels just fine" to "I think I should stop now". With my first (fun) triathlon in 2 months, I need to be running.

So I put a call into the Orthopedic Associates Performance Center and I have an appointment for an evaluation on Thursday morning. Hopefully I will have some good answers very soon as to what is up.

The Ugly

When I got my bike, I also got a trainer in the deal. While I wait for my riser block to arrive, I knew my years working in medicine would pay off eventually.



Lola's checking the tension on the trainer

Say hello to my PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) -- which is holding up the front wheel while I ride the trainer just fine. Ugly but it works!

The 40lb PDR being put to good use--finally!

Speaking of ugly--what do you think of this BIKE THONG I found on TriSports.com?? I love the caption "remote & phone not included" I think I might need this...

I would love to hear from you and your suggestions on what to name the new bike :)