Sports Hernia

So after much time in denial, and many uncomfortable miles I finally decided that I need to do something about my groin injury.

Finally had the realisation during a supposedly easy run a couple weeks back. I thought about the last 4-5 months, and the training plan that laid ahead between now and CIM in December and recognised that the chances of getting through it were pretty slim. And the chances of enjoying it were zero. The fast, hard effort workouts are OK since adrenalin gets you thru those, but dragging myself through mile after mile of "easy" miles was just not worth it. And I had a nagging feeling that pain is probably sign that something is wrong.

So I stopped running, walked 3 miles home, and took a week off.

After a week's rest, I went for an easy 4 miler to see if was any better. It sucked. So yesterday, I went to see the Doctor.

I'd already diagnosed myself with a sports hernia - which is a tearing of the tissue that forms the inner part of the abdominal wall and inserts into the pubic bone. It happens when an imbalance occurs between the adductor muscles and the abdominal muscles; the stronger adductor muscles pull the pubic bone downward, thus stretching and eventually tearing the abdominal muscles. Soccer, hockey, football players get it. (Donovon McNabb, Tom Brady etc).

The doctor confirmed my diagnosis, but I definitely had to lead him in that direction.

Research shows that very often surgery is required to completely recover, but sometimes rest and ibuprofen can allow the muscles to heal. Seems to be the sensible decision to try rest before getting surgery, so that's the plan.

I'm going to take another 3 weeks off, and then see where I am. I'll need to build up slowly, only doing things that don't hurt. Walking first, stretching, etc. After a week or so of that I can try some very easy running, then gradually build things up.

Not sure how long it's going to take but realistically I'm not going to be training anywhere near properly until at least Thanksgiving.

So San Jose half marathon is out, as is Cal International. If things go well, and I can start some training in December I should be able to get up to speed for the Kaiser Half marathon in early February, and perhaps build up in time to run Boston in April.

In the meantime I'm not sure there is much I can do to keep fit. There's not too much exercise that doesn't involve the abdomen. Swimming hurts, pool running hurts. Haven't tried biking but I expect that will hurt too.

So I'd better watch what I eat or I'm going to put some weight on. I was running about 10,000 calories/week, so if I don't eat 10,000 calories less I'm going to gain 4 lbs/week.

It's definitely a bummer, but probably a good thing in the long run. I was obviously going to increase training until something broke so perhaps this will get me training a little smarter when I return.