Dr. Snug

Yesterday I had an appointment at Manhattan Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Group.  My doctor, Dr. Klion, is awesome.  He has completed eight Ironmans and at least one marathon (I saw a race photo from a marathon in D.C. hanging in his office). 

Dr. Snug!

Dr. Klion told me that my problem is an overuse injury.  It's in my right hamstring, and he said that I should have been better about strength training.  Whoops.  I was doing strength training like lunges and weights for awhile, but then when the mileage increased I stopped.  He told me to do some light strength training now, and to take 3 Advil 3 times a day until my 20-miler on Saturday.  He said that I will definitely be able to run the marathon, although I will probably not be able to run as fast as I could have otherwise.  I need to run slower and take more breaks to be sure the hamstring is feeling okay during my runs.

It was really cool going to a doctor who was an athlete.  I was worried that no matter what was wrong with me the doctor was going to say I can't run and that I shouldn't do the marathon, but Dr. Klion understood all that's gone into my training and worked with me towards a solution.  I'm a little sad that I'm probably going to be embarrassingly slow on race-day, though.  I already get anxious about all my friends stalking my race times and thinking I'm a slowpoke, but now I'll probably be legitimately slower than I'd have hoped.  Oh well, if I get to that finish line, that's all that matters!  I'm no athlete, but I did raise $4,000 (so far!) for cancer research, and that's the real point in all this.  And once I cross that finish line I can take a nice, loooooong break from running and give my body a rest for awhile.