Here we are in April and as I look out my window and stare at 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground, I have to admit that the part of me which was originally sad about not training is not THAT sad.
As an update for everything that has happened over the past couple weeks I can sum it up with one simple word – frustration.
As I have navigated the process of learning more about what's going on with my hip I have simultaneously been trying to figure out our healthcare system.
It's one thing to have a very simple injury that is specific and easy to identify. Creating an action plan around that is a no-brainer; many of you have probably even solved those kind of problems online.
In my case, the hip pain is so non-specific that it's actually hard to pinpoint the true cause of the pain.
So here's where I'm at…
At the end of March I got a cortisone shot directly into the hip joint. The goal behind this strategy was to effectively numb him the joint, allowing us to determine whether or not the discomfort I was feeling was either internal or external to the joint.
It is now been over a week since that shot and I still have pain. This is both a blessing and a curse. I now know that the joint is not the cause of my pain, but I'm still not any closer to figuring out what the actual source of the pain is.
The Ortho recommended I do physical therapy, but they can’t schedule me in for almost a month! Instead I have started physical therapy with my local team here at Foundation Performance (www.foundationperformance.com). Mike and his staff are world-class and will definitely help me get on the mend.
In the meantime I still need to work with the Ortho to figure out what the issue is. I may well need a referral to get an MRA — that’s an MRI done with the dye injected into the hip which should hopefully show more detail as to what's happening.
In the meantime, I am just starting to get into a consistent swimming schedule. It's hard to tell if the swimming bothers my hips or not. But I can tell that it's clearly a critical part of keeping me sane!
Thanks to all of you for your continued support and advice as I navigate this complicated phase of my training life. I'm confident that there will be a good resolution at some point in time..however I'm not confident that it's going to happen any time soon!
Camp Update: I had a blast in Texas with the folks getting ready for the race. You can read the recaps here and here...and here.
Race Update: For those of you who are asking, I did the defer my race entry from Ironman Texas to Ironman Mont Tremblant in August. It's wishful thinking that I'll be ready by then, but I do know that it's important for me to have a carrot out there as something to aim towards.
Life Update: For those of you who are asking about the status of our house things are on the mend. We are already building and hope to be halfway done with the project by the middle of April. It has been a trying time here at the McCrann household living in a rental house, but the support of our friends and the greater community has shown that what were dealing with is nothing to be truly concerned about. With friends, family, and our health we are truly blessed.
I hope to come back to you next month with a better update as to where things are at.
Until then, happy training!
~ Patrick