Hamstring Heartache

While I was training for the Tucson Marathon, which I ran in early December 05, I started having pain in my feet as my mileage increased. After the race My feet didn’t start feeling better for a couple weeks. Then came the Ghost Town 38.5 Ultra marathon. Again, foot pain after the race. I went to see a podiatrist and it was discovered that the fourth and fifth metatarsals are shorter than should be the case and the podiatrist believed that the additional stress on the sides of my feet were probably the culprit of the pain. Now I don’t think this doc is a quack by any means. He is also a life time runner and marathoner. He prescribed some orthotics to be slipped into my running shoes. I paid the $260 that the insurance didn’t cover and got my new orthotics and went for an easy 3-mile run just to try them out. Within a mile and a half, I was pulled up short by hamstring pain and ended up hobbling back home. This happened three days before I ran the Lost Dutchman Marathon just a couple weeks ago. During the first mile or so of the marathon, my ham felt tight and a little sore but them relaxed. The weekend after the marathon I went for a slow 2.5 hour run in the orthotics and felt fine though they are hard and uncomfortable. Just last Friday I was again out on one of my mid-week runs, which are usually tempo runs and after 6.3 miles, I was pulled up short again by a sharp pain in my right hamstring. I also developed a big blister on the bottom of my foot. This really sucks. Today I went along on a group workout with the team, which may have been ill advised as we did a double brick session, 16 mile bike – 20 minute run – 16 mile bike – 20 minute run. I did take it easy on the run but the hamstring was still tight and uncomfortable but no sharp pain. I was, however, able to ride as fast as ever without any noticeable consequence. I have a Duathlon coming up this weekend and am nervous. I am defiantly getting rid of the orthotics. I didn’t have any problems like this before wearing them and now I feel crippled by them. And, by the way, no foot pain after the Lost Dutchman Marathon. The pain I was experiencing was probably just the discomfort of adapting to a higher workload. It really pisses me off that by trying to be cautious and proactive about my physical condition I have now come up with an injury that could really be a serious impediment to my season and, if I’m not careful, a season ender.