Injuries

Alas the dreaded injury.  I am humming along, seven weeks from marathon day, putting in 50+ miles a week, when I start feeling soreness in my knee. Right now the treatment plan involves icing daily but is not sore enough to cut back mileage. In the meantime, I will keep close tabs, but hope it doesn't get any worse.  I have no official diagnosis, but I do have a chronic underlying condition which contributes to my current pain.  I suffer from TMB, otherwise known as Too Many Birthdays.  Symptoms include aches and pains experienced during ordinary activities, and severe fatigue.  Often TMB injuries occur in muscles you didn't know existed previous to their inflammation.  Treatment involves more rest and becoming friends with the ice bucket as well as extended warm ups and stretching sessions.  Cross training can help alleviate symptoms.  Fortunately TMB is not a career ender, and one can train through for as long as pain is tolerable.  

One caution: sometimes more serious injuries can be mistaken for TMB.  If you have aches and pains that are present daily, including both while running and at rest, please take them seriously.  Start icing every day after you run, and consider reducing your training load until inflammation decreases.  Common running injuries such as plantar fasciitis, IT band syndrome, and stress fractures can be avoided or minimized as long as they are treated right and early.  Plenty of information from more qualifired professionals than me is available about these injuries if you go looking for it, but here is my free advice:  ice, rest and ibuprofen.  That terrific trio treats most minor maladies.  If an injury doesn't respond to those three, it might be time to find a doctor.  Just feel free to look for a second opinion if he tells you to stop running. Happy pain-free running!