It was a great year of Races for me. I made my annual visit to my Leadville fifty miler looking for a strong finish but it didn’t happen this year. I was only going to try to run the fifty this year and not ride and run it like last year. I got out with a fast group and made it to the half way point. I started feeling my upper hip flexor tighten up. I decided to stop at the 25 mile mark.Then it really started to hurt worse that I wasnt gonna finish this year. For an Ultra runner a DNF (is the worst thing that can happen)- did not finish is the long term for DNF.
I sat there for five minutes at the aid station and a volunteer came to me and sat beside me." Chuck was his name and he was on eof the top Leadmen. a Leadman has done every event in that year. So this guy has finished the marathon,road the 50 mile bike and run and then road the 100 mile race and ran it the next weekend. ALong with my doctor who worked on me it is truly amazing in itself. Chuck asked me what he could do to get me back to Leadville and he said he had a knee injury this year and could not race at all. I told him my hip flexor was acting up .. he looked at me with a smile and said hip flexors are over rated. He said take your timing chip off your right ankle and put it on your left ankle. To make a long story short he had me back on the trail and I ended up at a forty mile final.
It was my first DNF for Leadville.
After another month I found a race inDenver
I trained hard but the hip flexor just didn’t feel right. I figured I would ride my MTN bike 100 miles a week and keep my cardio up..hoping it would slowly heal... followed up with some nice long days of elk hunting I thought I would be good to go. As I have learned from some great finishes in Leadville. You don't muster your way through any Leadville Race along with any distance over fifty.
Race day camefor the Bear and I was excited.The weather was perfect. The 6:30 start went great. The race was 4 laps 12.5 something miles with some good tough challenges and three water crossings each lap. 2.5 miles into my first lap here came the hip tightness. I figured I would power walk this thing but that plan faded quickly. I was getting passed by some slower groups so it forced me to stay with the group. I managed to do the first lap in 2.5 hours. As always I am always looking at my wrist GPS. I did the math and I was on target for a decent finish. By the time I get to my second lap I had slowed down as I came through the start finish line. To make a long story short the three water crossings were awesome as I sat in one to relieve the inflamed hip flexor. 3.15 for my second lap and that was it. At the finish line I was me by Dr.Hill,(3 time Leadman and had the buckles to show it). This man is one of the most respected Doctors in the Sports Medicine Industry. He felt my pain for not finishing and took a look at me. He instantly had my leg figured out and gave me his card. Wow, I was already feeling better about the day and looking a head to my next big race. I made the arrangement’s and got my insurance all figured out and made an appointment.
I sat there for five minutes at the aid station and a volunteer came to me and sat beside me." Chuck was his name and he was on eof the top Leadmen. a Leadman has done every event in that year. So this guy has finished the marathon,road the 50 mile bike and run and then road the 100 mile race and ran it the next weekend. ALong with my doctor who worked on me it is truly amazing in itself. Chuck asked me what he could do to get me back to Leadville and he said he had a knee injury this year and could not race at all. I told him my hip flexor was acting up .. he looked at me with a smile and said hip flexors are over rated. He said take your timing chip off your right ankle and put it on your left ankle. To make a long story short he had me back on the trail and I ended up at a forty mile final.
It was my first DNF for Leadville.
After another month I found a race in
I trained hard but the hip flexor just didn’t feel right. I figured I would ride my MTN bike 100 miles a week and keep my cardio up..hoping it would slowly heal... followed up with some nice long days of elk hunting I thought I would be good to go. As I have learned from some great finishes in Leadville. You don't muster your way through any Leadville Race along with any distance over fifty.
Race day camefor the Bear and I was excited.The weather was perfect. The 6:30 start went great. The race was 4 laps 12.5 something miles with some good tough challenges and three water crossings each lap. 2.5 miles into my first lap here came the hip tightness. I figured I would power walk this thing but that plan faded quickly. I was getting passed by some slower groups so it forced me to stay with the group. I managed to do the first lap in 2.5 hours. As always I am always looking at my wrist GPS. I did the math and I was on target for a decent finish. By the time I get to my second lap I had slowed down as I came through the start finish line. To make a long story short the three water crossings were awesome as I sat in one to relieve the inflamed hip flexor. 3.15 for my second lap and that was it. At the finish line I was me by Dr.Hill,(3 time Leadman and had the buckles to show it). This man is one of the most respected Doctors in the Sports Medicine Industry. He felt my pain for not finishing and took a look at me. He instantly had my leg figured out and gave me his card. Wow, I was already feeling better about the day and looking a head to my next big race. I made the arrangement’s and got my insurance all figured out and made an appointment.
Yesterday I went to see Dr.Hill at CU Sports Medicine. I was met by his to interns who worked on my range of motion to see if everything was good. It took them a while but they finally nailed the problem of the early flair up in my races. After they finished with me Dr.Hill came in and he took a good look at my range of motion and said he wanted to do a scan. I ended up in another room where all three of them started the ultra sound. It took Dr.Hill a second to locate the tendon and muscle that was flared up. There were some small tares in the muscle but not to bad. The only way to fix it was to do a series of injections. I was not very excited but new I was in good hands with DR.Hill. As for the injection, they were trying to get a good entry point for the needle. I have never seen a 5 inch needle nor had one put in me. And of all the places it wasn’t my first choice for the groin. After a little poke with some pain killer they ended up feeding the lager needle into the irritated area. I watched the entire procedure on the Laptop while they did it. To make a long story short it went great. I can’t say enough good things about Dr.Hill and his staff. This guy is not only a good doctor but carries a great personalty and is one of those people who you just trust. My appointment ended with him instructing me on some muscle building and core stuff. He would be in touch with my trainers to get them dialed in a fast rehab. Getting me back on the trail was the goal and DR. Hill’s last words were I will get you running again. With that, I was on my way.
I am excited to start getting this thing dialed in. I am already looking for some snow show races for the winter to really get stronger. All in all, just another day in the Ultra Runners world. I will keep everyone posted on my rehab. I included some cool pictures of the equipment he used. I left the needles with him :)
I included a video of the basics of the procedure.
My injection was higher. Feeling better and back to the gym to get strong!!!!!
