For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead?

Sep 4, 18 11:46

Post #1 of 22 (1692 views)

My running days have gone from likely numbered to seriously numbered, as my post-traumatic ankle arthritis has become a lot worse in the past 6 months, despite my still-young age of M40-45. I knew my running days were numbered from all my old ankle sprains, but it's gotten bad enough that I get some real limiting pain both during the run and more importantly, the few days after a run - and we're talking like 1 mile at 9:00 pace. Which is very, very sad to me as I was primarily a runner, and was running sub40 10ks up to last year, and would almost certainly continue to do so except for that weak link in the ankle.

Cycling a lot is the obvious next step to keep the competitive drive going, but honestly, I'm not fired up to jump into hardcore Cat1-5 road racing or cyclocross racing. The logistics and risks of crashing are just not my cup of tea. Masters swimming is also definitely out - I enjoy swimming and will continue to do so for long-term benefits and the odd aquabike, but time is a killer and I've trained hard enough on the swim to know I won't be even remotely good enough to put up any respectable time in a USMS race. As well, I'm the Vasa guy that uses (and loves!) the machine more than the water since I have very limited time and access to good pool swims right now.

I'll def do some century rides (not races) etc but am curious as to what else you folks who have tri-limiting arthritis are doing to satisfy your sport and competitive urges. I was actually going to use this time to broaden my horizons past triathlon/running and include things like CrossFit, Orange Theory, even the Peloton bike for more competition with myself and others. (The treadmill running in Orange theory will probably prevent me from doing it....)

Last edited by: lightheir: Sep 4, 18 11:50

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 11:57

Post #2 of 22 (1667 views)

RAAM....just for the kids.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 12:05

Post #3 of 22 (1643 views)

Aquabike?

I can no longer run and just had my knee replaced. I am not as fired up to do Aquabikes compared to tris. I did a few and they felt like the unwanted stepchild and it wasn't fun for me.

I still am looking for the right fit. I liked the structure of training and racing of tris and I miss it.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 12:41

Post #4 of 22 (1608 views)

That's a bummer. Do you mountain bike? I've been getting way more into it lately, not because I can't run but because it's a new challenge that opens up a whole new set of possibilities. Plenty of opportunities to compete as well.

I've never tried Orange Theory but Crossfit definitely taps into the competitive spirit. Rowing could be an option too.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [Dgconner154] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 13:24

Post #5 of 22 (1561 views)

Aquabike

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 13:49

Post #6 of 22 (1538 views)

I know I'll get in trouble here; but, have you tried Celebrex? I take 1 maybe every other week. Works great, for those workouts that put me over the top.

Best of luck.

I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [manofthewoods] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 14:35

Post #7 of 22 (1494 views)

For everything there is a season. What non athletic interest took a back seat because of endurance sport. Playing a musical instrument, writing, building a house?

Life is too short for one career, one passion

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 14:42

Post #8 of 22 (1486 views)

TKR scheduled Halloween....after 33 seasons of triathlon and 290 finishes looks like I am done.....

for me....open water swim events but mainly single track mountain biking...I signed up for some races where I am BOP in the citizen category and yeah I miss being more competitive at triathlon where I would finish right at the top 3rd.....there are some big mt bike races that have shorter events that I will do and have fun at while still doing ok (top half of the field) so I have that going for me...

also, Mountain hiking....knock off some summits and some 14ers in Colorado....did some long day hikes in Europe.....

I will miss the excitement and structure of training for Triathlon but I think I will be content with the above.....Im 60..

so for me

Mountain biking single track with a few events
Open water swimming with some races
Mountain hiking and summits.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [fruit thief] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 14:59

Post #9 of 22 (1457 views)

fruit thief wrote:

For everything there is a season. What non athletic interest took a back seat because of endurance sport. Playing a musical instrument, writing, building a house?

Life is too short for one career, one passion

Already learning piano. I was a serious violinist back in the day, but I have no urge to revisit that one. Piano's going well ,but it certainly does not suffice as a triathlon replacement for me, mainly because triathlon was definitely my 'excuse' for staying in as top a shape as possible for myself and pushing my limits in endurance.

I used to lift a lot of weights as a teenager, but now that I'm middle aged or approaching it, I need to keep the weight off rather than on!

I'm going to avoid Celebrex or other NSAIDS for now - I will likely be damaging my residual cartilage more than I already am if I start masking the symptoms. I'd start taking it if I had so much pain at rest that surgery was the only option, but I'm hoping I can stave off surgery indefinitely (at the cost of triathlon/running, unfortunately.)

I actually started experimenting with ArcTrainers, Elliptical machines at the gym. I usually look at the countless ellipticals at the gym with scorn, but now that I'm arthritic, it makes a lot more sense to me, despite the reality that I suspect people love them so much mainly because they are an easy workout if you don't push yourself.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 15:09

Post #10 of 22 (1450 views)

I'm exactly 3 years post-knee replacement and I spent 2.5 years of that pissed off and did rehab but got way out of shape (though some of that is the hating living in Tennessee part). I'm getting back in shape and love swimming now with the Masters group and am in the gym and bought a gravel bike. I did bike racing after doing Ironman for 7 years - road, crits, cross, track, and moving from NorCal to TN killed my love of bike racing (no track). Gravel has made me happy about riding again.

Good luck!

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [ironclm] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 15:13

Post #11 of 22 (1441 views)

I'm so out of date in non-tri stuff. I didn't even know what a gravel bike was!

Just looked it up, think I have a clue now. Aside from speed, is there a reason you would use it over a mountain bike, and is it that much faster? I was just going to ride a mountain bike for any offroad stuff, regardless of how hard/easy ,and just focus on speed on climbs where the position shouldn't make as much of a difference.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [ironclm] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 15:16

Post #12 of 22 (1439 views)

Scott tinleys book "racing the sunset" is about how he dealt with similar

Last edited by: fruit thief: Sep 4, 18 15:19

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 15:24

Post #13 of 22 (1424 views)

I'm not too far behind. Arthritic knee/meniscus tear from the 90's. I'm 57. I train in Hoka max cushioned shoes, and just this year, use them for racing too. often with double insoles. I've reduced weekly mileage from 50-70, to 20-30. I use an indoor rubber track, at the gym, for 3 runs a week. I do the glucosamine and chondroitin thing. I lift a lot. I've substituted running time for elliptical time. I've also used an old Nordic track ski machine extensively. I'm still winning my age group in local road races and tris, but I also know there is very little sand left in the hour glass. Non competitive cycling, swimming, and vanity weightlifting are my future. I've been in a band for the last 15 years... so I've got that T-shirt, funny it's been mentioned, because sometimes playing a show hurts more than running for the same amount of time. But, the band is retiring at the end of this year, and I'm at the point I don't care if I ever see another instrument, in my life (I'm also dealing with arthritic hands).

Athlinks / Strava

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 15:32

Post #14 of 22 (1411 views)

lightheir wrote:

I'm so out of date in non-tri stuff. I didn't even know what a gravel bike was!

Just looked it up, think I have a clue now. Aside from speed, is there a reason you would use it over a mountain bike, and is it that much faster? I was just going to ride a mountain bike for any offroad stuff, regardless of how hard/easy ,and just focus on speed on climbs where the position shouldn't make as much of a difference.

I've bought and sold two mountain bikes. I hated them (and don't plan on riding mount bikey stuff). I have a Salsa Warbird and it rides like a dream, so much so, I've been riding it for most of my rides, even on the road.

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 15:58

Post #15 of 22 (1391 views)

Quit running 3 years ago and never looked back. Aquabike races will scratch your competitive itch and it doesn't get much better than hammering the bike and not having to worry about running afterward :)
I ride a lot of single track on my hard tail but also do 50-60 miles a month on gravel with it. Unless you're planning on gravel races a hard tail is perfect.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 16:02

Post #16 of 22 (1387 views)

Had meniscus tear operated on at 58, other knee bad OA at 64 (degenerative pothole tears likely- could barely bend knee). Got stem cells & PRP and waited almost one year to run again, changed diet, lowered carbs & sugar significantly, a period of time in ketosis, and began lot of research on rehab protocols which included mobilitywod, upright health, egoscue, massage 2 x per month, and better core & posterior chain (Foundation). I started sprint racing again at 66 with decent success and continue today on other side of 70. I keep mileage low on run 10-12 max miles per week. Try to find softer surfaces trails or high tech tracks or decent treadmills. Softer shoes like Hoka did not help, rather better form. While Father Time marches on, I actually feel in some respects healthier than late 50's. Muscle imbalances caused lots of knee & back problems, but now my hips, ankles, shoulders, back & knees are fairly strong and balanced racing mostly sprints. So much so, I plan on testing my limits by going longer with hope of even tackling IM in 2019.

Unfortunately tri is so time intensive, I often think it would be nice to just do aquabike, but I feel like the guy on Chariots of Fire, I feel such a connection to running.

Good luck.

Ps my ankles were always sprained in my youth....so bad I thought I might get a 4-F, but not to be.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [manofthewoods] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 16:04

Post #17 of 22 (1383 views)

I did Celebrex to get me thru IM with bad knee, 2 months worth. It was a wonder drug but it gummed up my GI tract after awhile. Of course my diet wasn't great and drank a few beers too.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 18:08

Post #18 of 22 (1320 views)

There’s nothing about what you descrive that says you can’t or shouldn’t be running. Pain of onset a year ago isn’t arthritic changes from mutiple ankle sprains. It’s even possible the two aren’t related. I’m not debating that an X-ray likely shows degenerative changes, but they don’t happen in 12 months that creates debilitating pain and disability. Don’t take Celebrex, it has serious cardiac side effects. Go find a physical therapist and correct what is going on and then go run.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [Steve-oH!] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 19:05

Post #19 of 22 (1264 views)

Steve-oH! wrote:

TKR scheduled Halloween....after 33 seasons of triathlon and 290 finishes looks like I am done.....

for me....open water swim events but mainly single track mountain biking...I signed up for some races where I am BOP in the citizen category and yeah I miss being more competitive at triathlon where I would finish right at the top 3rd.....there are some big mt bike races that have shorter events that I will do and have fun at while still doing ok (top half of the field) so I have that going for me...

also, Mountain hiking....knock off some summits and some 14ers in Colorado....did some long day hikes in Europe.....

I will miss the excitement and structure of training for Triathlon but I think I will be content with the above.....Im 60..

so for me

Mountain biking single track with a few events
Open water swimming with some races
Mountain hiking and summits.

Arthritis in both hips from big mileage in college. Dr. reco was stop the running if I want to be active into my 80's (I do). Early 50's now. So, stopped running, at least with the regular mileage I had been doing. My swim and bike volume is actually better than when I was doing long course tri's. Even though I'm racing far less these days, I still train like I have races to prep for. Events and activities that have held appeal to me include:

Sea to Summit triathlon where the run is more of an epic hike to the summit of Mt. Washington. Climbing stairs w/ a pack was most of my run training.
Open water swimming (still need to do an open water race...likely next summer)
Epic rides. Every spring we camp near Asheville, NC with 4 days of epic riding and tons of climbing
Long ITT's on the bike (>60 miles) just to see what I can do. I know I don't stack up against many strong Cat 2's, but I just want to see what I can do and that's good enough for me.
Mountain hikes and summits like Steve-oH mentioned. Went out to Colorado in July and summitted three 14ers (and managed to get in a 35 mile ride after the 2nd summit back to the campground). I swear prepping for 7-8 hour vigorous hikes with a 20ish lb pack at altitude does some amazing things to your fitness. The fitness bump I got from that trip has been swell.
Training camps. Starky organizes training camps and they ain't easy, but they are awesome. I didn't do the run workouts because I'm generally not run training these days. But it seems he likes climbing on the bike in the mountains as much as I do and has a sh*tload of knowledge for routes that are scenic, hard, and lightly traveled.
Aquabike events. I agree with what someone else posted that Aquabike doesn't feel the same/complete vs. triathlon. But the longer the event, the better it feels from a worthwhile standpoint. I'll pass on a sprint or Oly distance Aquabike. But give me 1.2mi S and 56mi B and that starts to feel worthwhile.
Gran Fondo's. Something like the Hincapie GF in South Carolina, or even the RollFast GF in Indy where the front group covers the 100 miles in <4 hours.
Haven't done this yet, but hope to jump in the next couple of years...gravel riding events (Michigan Coast to Coast, Dirty Kanza, etc.). Something long.
Epic one day organized "rides" like RAIN (Ride Across Indiana) or a 6 hour or 12 hour event where you see how far you can ride in that time.

There are so many choices of things to jump into and try, and so little time. The challenge for me isn't what to do, the challenge is what NOT to do!

Tad

It took awhile, but I finally discovered that its not the destination that's important, but rather the journey.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 19:30

Post #20 of 22 (1236 views)

A bad plantar fascia kept me out of Multisport in 2018. My motto was to appreciate what I can do instead of dwelling on what I can’t do. Just wrapping up one of my most memorable racing seasons, including:

~breaking 60’ for a 40k TT
~Cold Water 2.4 mile OWS
~Mixing it up with the roadies in a two Stage Cat5 Road Race
~A week of OWS and fantastic cycling in Maui
~Completing my first 5k OWS
~Crushing the swim/bike to lead a local sprint Tri at T2, followed by a nice jog to the finish
~A week of OWS in Honolulu culminating with the Waikiki Rough Water Swim

Already looking forward to next season. Lots of good stuff out there!

Scott

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 20:07

Post #21 of 22 (1194 views)

Not in your exact position, but in same age cohort, also sprained ankles a lot playing sports in high school and college, which results in pain sometimes when running, more often next morning when I can have very stiff ankles for the first hour of the day. Still can and do run, but lower mileage than in years past.

I moved off tris a few years ago for reasons other than the ankles. Eventually got into kickboxing (mostly training, rarely spar) and Brazilian jiu jitsu and love it. High intensity if you want it; works on flexibility and hand/eye coordination (both had suffered from years of tri training); helping correct a lot of muscle imbalances I'd developed; both done barefoot and have been very good for my ankles; competitive if you want that. And just plain fun. While I was racing tris I never in a million years thought I'd get into training fight sports, but now it's my jam.

Re: For those with arthritis and can't run, what are you folks doing instead? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Sep 4, 18 20:16

Post #22 of 22 (1179 views)

You know there is a the 1200 km per year swim program. Go on that for your delayed pre NCAA scholarship training plan and after you've logged around 5000 km in the pool you'll no doubt be ready to compete with the fish.

All the fish who we can't compete against do that and we complain they can swim faster, but most of us never really gave swimming a go. Once you commit then it's just about enjoying the process and journey. The destination is less important that the way to get there.

Seriously though, you can do bike TT's, bike grand fondos, open water swim races, masters swim meets. The possiblities are endless...and I bet after a year of backing off the run and doing some of this, you'll be able to get back to running. Just make sure you walk daily to keep up some weight bearing.

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