Anyone have experience training for an ironman while having a stress fracture? Started feeling pain in my right heel after a long brick workout a few weeks back. Had my partner scan me at work(benefits of being an MRI tech) and found a fairly substantial stress fracture of my right heel. I can still run on it and it surprisingly isn’t that painful during my runs but after it’s very uncomfortable and painful to walk on. Any ideas on how I should go about continuing to train? IMLP is in 10 weeks. I have been running 4 times a week. One medium distance tempo run, one high intensity interval workout, one short 10min run off the bike, and a long slow distance run on the weekend
I have experience trying to run through a heel stress fracture. Like you, I could initially run on it as the pain was only problematic post run. However, it got progressively worse and I ultimately had to rest and recover 6 months. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I doubt you will be able to run on it for the next 10 weeks.
We’ll not running on it really isn’t an option. Just wanting to find out what alternative training plans or ideas people have. My thought was to eliminate the medium distance run and keep the long weekend run and midweek short intensity run. I can rest my foot after ironman
Have you seen a sports med doc to get their advice?
Hate to say it but “Not Running is an Option”. If it truly is a stress fracture, running on it for 10 weeks leading up to IMLP is most likely the worst thing you can do both in the short and long term. I stress fractured my heel in 2006 and was off running for a bit, I was able to use the time to really work on my bike and swim fitness. My advice is to get in to see a Sports Medicine doctor and get his/her professional opinion.
Water running. Do all your runs in the pool. Horribly boring, but you wont lose your run fitness, and it will allow you to heal.
I had a stress fx last summer and have been seeing a sports med doctor, who deals with a lot of IM athletes and is a 10x IM guy himself. He had an athlete exclusively water run for 3 months leading up to a race, and she qualified for Kona with a great run.
I’ll echo what others have said about not running on it. Running on a stress fracture is a really excellent way to turn it into a full fracture.
Try pool running and/or devote more time to swim and bike.
Finally, bones need calcium to heal… 3 x 500 mg a day. Your body can only absorb 500 mg at a time. If a string cheese stick says it has “20% of daily CA,” that means 200 mg (calculations are based on an RDA of 1000 mg/day).
You should see a doc so you can get a ‘boot’ …
Good luck. Let us know how you’re doing.
Water running and running on an Alter-G treadmill. Stress fractures often take ~6 weeks to heal so that would still give you 4 weeks back on land. If you keep running on it you could end up with some serious damage and a complete fracture. Probably smart to see a doctor for the best advise.
Thanks for the input everyone. I do some nice trails around my new house too. I’ve been thinking trail running might be a decent alternative to running the road as well. Little softer. Never thought about water running
Sweet Jesus - water running is a mind numbing experience. It is even better when you are in a pool with families playing all around you. You get some crazy looks.
That being said, do it! It is a great workout. If you can, go do it in a lake to have some sun and scenery. I found that mixing in some small swim sets into my water running sessions (kind of swim-run brick intervals) really helped the time go by.
You have to let the injury heal. Good luck!
If you really have a stress fracture it will not heal, and you will continue to make it worse running on trails. Yes, trails are softer than the road but still way too hard and too much pounding for a stress fracture. Even if you were to run on an alter-g treadmill my guess is that you would need to start at around 50% body weight max to take off enough pressure to allow your foot to heal.
Pool running keeps aerobic fitness when you go in the deep end with the old ladies who float with noodles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3MvFbORKEk
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We’ll not running on it really isn’t an option. Just wanting to find out what alternative training plans or ideas people have. My thought was to eliminate the medium distance run and keep the long weekend run and midweek short intensity run. I can rest my foot after ironman
So what is the cause? Was there a specific incident or injury that started this, or is this purely a byproduct of your running stride and training?