Because running had become a way of life for me, something I really wanted to do, I experimented with various apparatus and routines that would allow me to continue to run with at least tolerable pain in the knee. I tried several types of neoprene braces with some success but for the most part I discovered that if I took no more than one day off from running at a time and ran no slower than an 8-minute mile pace, the knee didn't bother me much. I finally settled on a knee strap and the training schedule mentioned above which worked fairly well. After a couple of years several guys joined me in my daily runs and things got a little more competitive. We began entering local road races and that lead to more serious daily training. I found that speed work didn't bother my knee but I started to have trouble with my hamstrings. If I really pushed the workout one or the other hamstring would get sore and occasionally, at least 2-3 times per year, I would pull one or the other hamstring. A pulled hamstring usually meant a few days off from running, some hot/cold therapy, and occasionally some message therapy before I would slowly get back into my running routine. For at least a week after I began running again, my right knee would bother me. Almost like clockwork I could count on at least one pulled hamstring in the Spring and at least one pull in the Fall of each year as those were the times that I did most of my speed work.
All of above background brings me to the 2001 running season. I registered for the 2001 Arkansas Grand Prix Series and was competing relatively well in my age group. The 2001 Series consisted of 19 races ranging from a short 2mile race to a long marathon, all races occurring between the months of February and November (an average of 2 races per month). If one included local races (non-Grand Prix races) there would be very little time between races in which to do some serious training. I ended up trying to work in speed work a day or so after a race in order to allow my legs to recover before the next race. All went well until April. Between the Grand Prix races and a few local races I attempted to race 6 consecutive weekends. During the sixth weekend I pulled my left hamstring about one mile into a 5K race and had to drop out. I was not able to race again until the end of June but I slowly regained my level of fitness. Again, all went well through the summer and into the fall until the month of October. As before, there were races on several consecutive weekends and I overdid the speed work in-between. This time the right hamstring pulled at the 2 1/2-mile mark of a local 5K in which I was running a sub-six minute mile pace and had visions of winning. I still hobbled to the finish line in 19:32 and finished first in my age group but out of the top three, and my Grand Prix season was over with 2 races left in the series. Luckily I had already run the minimum of 10 races (5 championship and 5 non-championship) and scored enough points to be awarded second place in the Grand Masters category.
I am part of a 5-member corporate relay team that participates annually in the Dallas White Rock Marathon Relays. By the time I pulled the hamstring in October, the team had already paid entry fees, reserved hotel rooms, and purchased non-refundable airline tickets for the early December race. The team was committed and I had to get my hamstring in shape to run the race. It was about that time that I noticed an advertisement for the Gold Medalist Sports Therapy Clinic, (now Athletes In Pain Sports Therapy Clinic) on the ArkansasRunner.com internet web page. I clicked on the link and read the information provided about the therapist and read some of the testimonials from previous patients, most of whom were runners, and some of whom I had seen at the Grand Prix races. I emailed Stephe Worley of Gold Medalist my problem and asked if he thought that he could help me get the hamstring ready for the marathon relay in early December. In his reply, Stephe indicated that I probably could get the hamstring ready for Dallas but a better goal might be to try and find the cause of the hamstring pulls. Treating the cause rather than the actual pull should prevent a reoccurrence.
Unfortunately Stephe did not have an open appointment for more than a week. He suggested that I rest the hamstring until then. To make a long story shorter, Stephe was able to find a problem that was related to the ankle/knee injury I had experienced previously. I had not sought professional therapy for the injuries back then and the healing process had resulted in a misalignment of my right hip and knee leading to fatigue when I over trained and eventually the pulls. The occasional pulls in the left hamstring could have been caused by overcompensation. At any rate, the therapy and advice I received at Gold Medalist had my leg in pretty good shape before the Dallas race.
My part of the marathon relay was the finishing 10K. I took a lot of time warming up prior to the anticipated time that my teammate would arrive at the exchange point but as luck would have it, the team was running a bit behind schedule and I cooled off a bit before I got the handoff. I probably started out a bit fast and after about a half mile into my run, I felt a sudden tightness in the right hamstring. I decided to slow my pace just a bit and continue. The strategy seemed to work and all went well until the four-mile point at which time I again felt a twinge in the right hamstring. As I had picked the pace up prior to the four-mile point, I again slowed a bit and continued on. As I neared the finish line and could see the time clock I realized that I had to get the lead out if the team was to accomplish its goal of bettering our previous best time and I was going to break 40 minutes for the 10K. I did just that and not only did our team set a new PR (by 3 seconds) but I set a personal 10K PR for 2001 of 39:53. Not only did we set a new team PR but also in doing so we won the 5-person corporate division for the forth-consecutive year.
I continued the corrective therapy at Gold Medalist until the start of the 2002 Grand Prix Series. I have been able to train and race thus far without any hint of hamstring problems and so far, all of my race times this year have been better than they were last year. Thanks to Stephe Worley and Gold Medalist Sports Therapy Clinic, I am looking forward to a great, pain-free (hamstring) running season this year and for years to come. However, should I develop another running-associated injury, I will not hesitate to give Stephe a call to seek his assistance!
By the way, early on Stephe indicated that the therapy would allow me to run without using the knee strap on my right knee. I was reluctant to give the strap up but I quit using it that very day and have not used it since. Loosing the strap has made my wife happy, as I no longer have a white "non-tanned" line around my right knee that caused people to stare when I wore shorts in public.
I sincerely recommend Stephe Worley and the Gold Medalist Sports Therapy for your sports therapy needs.
William M. Witt