Sciatica or Hemorrhoids?

A few weeks prior to the Rev 3 Tri half iron race in Connecticut, I did a 15 mile long run.    At the 10 mile point of that run, I had a severe pain in my butt that felt alot like Hemorrhoids  (I had those during my pregnant years).    I toughed it out and kept running, and the pain subsided after five minutes.  I was able to finish the run strong.    This pain never happened again.

Until today.

Exact same thing.  Running 15 miles.  At the 10 mile mark, I got that same severe pain in my ass.     Walked for a bit.   Started running again, and was able to finish my workout.  Hasn’t bothered me since that 5 minutes at mile 10!   So weird.  It was not even the same course.   Last May, I ran three loops of a very hilly route.   Today, I did an out and back entirely flat route!

It seems odd that it would be Hemorrhoids since I don’t have any other symptoms.   I googled Sciatica and found an article on Coolrunning.com talking about Piriformis Syndrome.    That is a small muscle deep in the buttocks that can irritate the Sciatic nerve.   Too much running, tightness in the hips,  or improper running form can cause this condition.

• I have been running alot more.  I bumped up my weekly miles to 30, from about 22.   Probably too much too fast.
• I have been very very tight in the hips and butt since trying to do the butt running.  I have been doing more stretching, but probably not nearly enough, since I am aware of tightness in my left it band even as I type, and my hammies and hips are almost always tight.

This has  me a little worried for the Ironman training.    I have never done a marathon.  My longest training run ever was 16 miles.  I probably need to back off on my mileage and do more stretching.   Alot more stretching.  Rodney Yee, here I come!

Maybe I never even had hemorrhoids when pregnant.    Maybe it was sciatica back then.   The only symptom I ever had was pain in the butt.    I just assumed it was hemorrhoids because that where the pain was.  I kind of wish it was Hemorrhoids.   I think that would be an easier fix – just a little Preparation H.  Hahaha.