Injury

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Mother’s Day consequences

I got up today and could barely walk…

“Hmmm,” I thought to myself, “what did I do?”

I ran my mountain on Saturday.  That was a good run, but much easier then last week.  I purposely tried not to run hard or fast as I am still feeling the pains from my half marathon and don’t want to get hurt.  I also ran the short route, so it was 6.5 miles rather then 8.

“No, that was long enough ago that I shouldn’t be this sore.  It must be something else.”

I didn’t run Sunday or Friday.  Once again, I am trying to err on the side of caution and not get hurt.  I know, I should be recovered by now and I might be okay, but I still have left over hip issues and I’d rather run some and slower then a lot and get hurt.

“So if it wasn’t related to running then why am I so sore?”

This was my conversation with myself this morning. Then I figured it out.  My soreness had nothing to do with running.  It was cleaning.  Yes, for Mother’s Day I cleaned out a storage room for my Lovely Wife yesterday morning (thus the reason I couldn’t run – I didn’t have time).  All that bending and sitting and moving worked areas of my body that are not used to being worked.

Goodness, if you can run a half marathon in 1:43, you shouldn’t be down and out from cleaning.

I guess I’m not in the shape I thought I was in or maybe I shouldn’t clean anymore. 🙂

JK. Happy Mother’s Day LW!

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Fast slow run or Slow fast run

I decided to walk yesterday as after my run on Tuesday my back was not happy.

However, as I got about a half mile into my walk, I was feeling fine and thought that I’d try running slowly and with little pounding.

Confession: I have a hard time with a LSD (Long Slow Distance) or any slow distance.  I don’t say this to brag, but to confess a weakness.  When I run, I do run to feel, but after a bit I am running faster then I should on an easy run.  Of course I have the faster runs down, but doing a fast run everyday is bad, not only for my body, but also for my mind.  If I am running hard everyday, then I am always pushing myself and never just enjoying the run.

So my goal is to slow down, especially now that it is getting hot out.

Back to yesterday.  I achieved my goal… sort of…

I managed to run about a minute a mile slower then my normal runs have been over the past month.  It felt really good.  I wasn’t huffing and puffing.  I wasn’t tired.  In fact I received a call about 2.5 miles into my run and answered in a normal conversational voice.

I have been reading about bloggers who are going beyond the marathon.  You ultra marathon runners really impress me.  A coworker had a friend in NY who ran 50 miles last weekend.  That would be a cool goal.  If I could just run at a pace that was comfortable and run longer, that would be awesome and maybe one day I could do something beyond what I have already accomplished.

My goal for the time being is to slow down, especially for the summer.  I’ll keep running my mountains and doing faster runs and workouts, but on my normal average day, I will try to develop a running style that has much less impact and will allow me to go further with less effort.

Sounds like something I should have figured out before now… huh?

Tom

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Recovery by feel

Yesterday I had a good run.

I am trying to run to feel after my last race.  Monday I didn’t run as my heel and hip were sore from my mountain run on Sunday.

I went out yesterday and felt really good.  I got a mile and a half into my run and noticed I was at a 7:15 pace.  Not good, as the heat index was getting close to 90 and the weather had been cool lately.  By the time I got to the two mile mark, I was really feeling the fatigue.  So I walked.  I walked 3 times during my run.  I’ve decided that I’m going to work at not doing the things that have injured me in the past.

Here is my plan:

  • Run to feel.
  • Run 4 miles a day during the week and 8 on a weekend day.
  • Don’t increase my mileage until I can run 2 weeks straight without pain.
  • If I have a bad day, walk the next day.
  • Walk every day that I feel badly.
  • Have fun and don’t push it.

I don’t have another race for a month and that is a 5K, so I have time to take my race recovery slow.  It usually takes me a month or so to recover fully from a hard run race.  I think that is because I come back too quickly and I push too hard.  I have to remember that I have only been running for 26 months and though I am in the best physical condition of my life, I am over 50 years old.

Yesterday, after my run, my hip/back hurt.  I was actually hurting quite a bit, so I’ll won’t decide if I am running at all today until I see how I feel this afternoon.

Have an awesome day and I hope my musings help someone “out there”.

Tom

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Learning running lessons from the past

Running is the ultimate teacher.

If you want to do your best, then you have to learn from your friends, the help of other runners and your past mistakes.

I have run several hard races in the past.  After my first half marathon, I started having some hip problems.  After my marathon, I was out 3 months, off and on, with hip and foot issues.  I also got injured after running a 5K earlier this year.

Honestly, I don’t think it was the races that hurt me.  Looking back, I realize that I’ve pushed too hard AFTER the races to get back to training.  A few weeks after my marathon, I not only ran 10 days in a row, but also did a hard trail run a few weeks later.  That was the icing on the cake, that is my hip.  It was almost 6 months before I got back to a 100 mile month.

My last half marathon was last Saturday.  It was awesome.  I ran well and on a tough course.  I will look back and be excited for months about that race.

HOWEVER…

Tuesday, I decided to run my first run after the race.  It went well.  I ran 4 miles at an 8:21 pace.  Tuesday night I was in a lot of pain. My shoulder hurt and my hip was killing me.  Wednesday I concentrated on my shoulder as I was concerned that I pinched a nerve running.  That wasn’t the issue, it was just the way I slept.  I did however, ignore my hip pain.  It was in such pain I had to take medication to sleep.

Wednesday was the 30th of April and I was at 118 miles for the month.  I decided to run an easy 2 miles and walk the rest.  I didn’t.  I ran a fast two miles at my half marathon pace, but I did walk after that.

Yesterday I walked.  No running.

My hip is better.  No real pain.  Just a little pain while I drive which isn’t abnormal.  In fact I could have run yesterday.  I could run today.  I could run tomorrow.  I won’t.

I am going to learn from my mistakes in the past and come back slowly.  I have plenty of time until my next race.  I have a lot of mountains to run.  In fact my mountain running has been the one thing to help my hip more then anything else.  After several weeks of running my mountain on the weekend, I really had no pain left.  I think that strengthening my quads and all the muscles in my legs has taken the pressure off my hip.

So next Sunday will be my first run since my 2 miles on Wednesday.  I’ll run my mountain slowly and enjoy the run and take it easy.  I’ll play it by feel over the next few weeks as to how much I run.

I need to learn from my past.  Learn from friends.  Learn from other runners.  Learn from my mistakes.

If I don’t learn, I’ll never make my goal of qualifying for Boston.  I’ll run hurt, slow and probably have to stop.  I’d rather learn now and take it easy, then live with the pain of being stupid.

’nuff said.

Tom

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Shake out run… A day or two late

Yesterday was a good run; my first run after my half on Saturday.

I only had one issue.  No, not my hip.  My legs felt a little tired, but okay.

No, my issue was one I never expected.

My right shoulder.

Hmmm.

I woke up with a raging headache on Monday night / Tuesday morning.  As I got up to take some Advil, I noticed my shoulder was hurting badly.  Not just a pull, but more like a pinched nerve.  I took some Advil and went back to sleep, but it was hard getting into a comfortable position.  After I woke up I felt fine and actually forgot all about the incident until my run yesterday.

About 3/4 of a mile into my run, I felt the same feeling in my shoulder.  My thoughts went directly to the race I ran and wondering if I held my shoulders too tight and did something to myself.  As I ran yesterday, I tried to keep my shoulder loose and rotated my arm around to see if I could get any relief.  Finally, I decided to run 4 miles rather then 5 and headed home.

After my run I was fine.  I played with the dog and all was well.  I slept well last night with no problems.  I am hoping that it was just a one night thing and that I slept wrong rather then something that will be longer term.  Honestly, I thought to myself, “Seriously! I finally ran a great race, didn’t get hurt and had a fun time and now it is my shoulder that is hurt?!”

I really do think I am fine, but it was a big concern yesterday.  Oh, and by the way, the run did go well.  It was hot and my legs were a little tired, but I finished my 4 miles at an 8:21 pace, which is about average for me lately.

Have an awesome day.

Tom

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Brooks pain, but old running shoes save the day!

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So here is my shoe (I don’t have fat ankles, not sure why it looks that way in this pic).  Notice the orange strap that goes across it.  Where that strap hits the right side of the shoe is where my pain is in my foot.  Strange, because these are my second pair of Brooks PureFlow shoes and I’ve never had a problem.

I went out for my run yesterday and got about a quarter mile into it when my foot started hurting again.  It hurt on the top of the foot on the bone that leads to the big toe.  So I ran out and back toward my house.  By the time I got home I was in some real pain.  Crazy.  Not wanting to quit my run, I immediately switched shoes with my old pair, you will remember look like this…

Screen Shot 2014-04-04 at 6.54.07 AM

Okay.  A bit worn.  My foot felt better though, even though this is the same style shoe and has that strap.  After about 3 miles more, the pain was gone and I felt so much better.  The only issue was earlier, while I was in pain, I obviously adjusted my form to compensate, even though I tried really hard not to.  I am sore today in my ankle and calf muscles.

The run.

It was a good run.  I ended with a mid week high mileage  (at least since my marathon last September) run of 6.4 miles.  I also had an 8:38 pace and that included a 2 minute walk while I got a call from work.  I think it is a conspiracy that work calls me in the middle of my runs.  Anyway, I really felt great about the run and the mileage.  I hope to keep doing that same run about every other day to start slowly building my mileage up.

At the moment I have no plans to taper for my half marathon.  I’ll probably slow down a bit, but that is about it.  Running has become a lifestyle for me and tapering for a half marathon doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal to me.  If anyone wants to chime in on that one, feel free!

Tom

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Riding the run

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As you can see, my run yesterday went really well.  It was a bit different then most of my runs, and here is why…

First, I was messing around with my pebble watch and my iSmoothRun app.  The app allows you to set any info on your screen for your run.  It also allows you to set laps, so as you can see above, I pressed the lap button after the first 1.36 miles and my app showed me the laps after I finished.  Honestly my watch messed up and stopped showing me my time.  I hit a button by accident and couldn’t get it back. I was annoyed, but in a way it helped.  I just ran to feel and ignored my watch.  As you can see my last two miles were under an 8:00 mile and that includes several steep up hill runs.  So I was very pleased when I finished.

On to another reason my run was different.  This one was not good and reminded me of my marathon training.  I had just gotten started running in my new old shoes (the ones I found after I cussed the hotel for stealing them).  Then the bone on my left foot that goes to my big toe started hurting.  This happened on my last longish run with @BigBigGeek a week before my marathon.  So annoying.  I couldn’t tell if I tied my shoe too tight or what was causing the pain.  So I stopped several times to loosen my shoe.  Finally I just kept running and tried not to overdue it.  I kept wondering if I should stop or keep going.  I kept going.

Ultimately it didn’t hurt my pace and as soon as I got home and took off my shoes my foot was fine.  It was very strange as I couldn’t have loosened it any more then I did.

Oh well.  Here’s hoping it doesn’t happen again this afternoon.

All in all things are going really well.  My legs are getting stronger then they have ever been.  Running sometimes feels like I am just riding the run, if that makes sense. It is like I am sitting on these “bionic” legs that are moving me forward.  It is all pretty cool and exciting.

Feet, don’t fail me now…

Tom

 

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3 runs and I feel great!

After my week off from running because of falling up the steps and hurting my bad hip, I had a very successful “come back” running this weekend.

Here are my workouts:

  • Friday: 4.25 miles in my neighborhood @ 8:40 pace.
  • Saturday: 8 miles up my mountain @ 9:43 pace.
  • Sunday: 5 miles in my neighborhood @8:38 pace.

Okay, I have been hurt before.  I have taken a week off before.  In fact this time I took a week off 3 weeks ago while sick, then ran 5 days, then took another week off for my hip.

There are many times I come back strong after taking time off.  It makes sense.  However this time there was a difference.

Yesterday’s run was – different.  I ran well.  I ran hard.  Up hill especially.  I would normally attribute that to my mountain runs, but I haven’t run my mountain in 3 weeks and that mountain wore my legs out yesterday.

I have another thought.

I’ve been taking apple cider vinegar for over a week now.  I take 2 tbs in water in the morning before breakfast and 2 tbs in the afternoon before my workout.  I started this to help my weight while not running as I read it can be beneficial.  However I noticed last week as I walked that I “felt” like walking longer distances than normal and my energy level was up in general during the week, especially at work.

My runs have felt much better to me over the past few days.  Of course it could be all the rest, but honestly I think there is more to it then just rest.  I have energy in my runs, in my legs and in my body overall.  I wasn’t planning on running yesterday, but an hour opened up in the afternoon, so I went out about a half hour after I took my 2 tbs of apple cider vinegar.  I felt so good that I decided to go for 5 miles rather than the 4 that I had planned.  Normally my head is screaming at me to shorten my runs, but I didn’t have that yesterday.  It was just a good, hard run.

So, have I stumbled on a super drink or is it just coincidence.  Either way I am going to keep up with the drink.  I strangely seem to be sleeping better also.  Maybe there is something I was missing mineral wise that the vinegar fills.

So all in all it was a good weekend and a good time running.  17 miles in 3 days after an injury and I feel great.

I can’t complain.

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I’m being taunted by RunKeeper

I use 3 running apps to track my progress.  I like both Nike (with whom I share workouts with @bigBigGeek and @David_Topping) and RunKeeper.  I really like features about both and so I track my runs in both.  The way I track my runs in 2 apps is by using a 3rd; iSmoothRun.

The iSmoothRun app lets me use it to track my run and then upload to both Nike and RunKeeper. On top of that, I send a backup to my DropBox just in case it is needed (which I have needed once in the past).

So how is RunKeeper taunting me?  I got this nice reminder on my phone a few minutes ago:

Exactly 7 days go, you were working out. Lets make that happen again!

Seriously RunKeeper?!?  I have a hard enough time NOT running while trying to recover from falling UP the stairs.  Now you taunt me with this?

Okay, I am just kidding… sort of.   However, for me, that reminder was honestly not appreciated. 🙂

Tomorrow is a new beginning.  Nashville, here I come!

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The 4 wheeler and the cop

Yesterday, I had decided to walk 4 miles.  About half way into the walk my hip began acting up a bit and to err on the side of caution, I decided to cut my walk short.  So my route was changed and I headed home.

As I entered into my neighborhood and was waking towards my home, a 4 wheeler came down the hill, through a stop sign and was traveling at a high rate of speed.  As the guy passed me, he looked back like he was looking for someone.  In my mind, I first thought I’d see another 4 wheeler come behind and perhaps they were racing through the neighborhood.  I also thought, he is going so fast, that short look back could have caused an accident as he was running through all the stops and going much faster than the speed limit in my subdivision.

I continued to walk and saw a police car pass by.  He slowed down and rolled down his window.  I took my earbuds out of my ears and walked over to him.  He asked if I saw a 4 wheeler go by.  I told him I had and that he had already gone way up the hill and out of view.  He said that this guy was trying to avoid him and took off after him.

A few minutes later a truck stopped by me and asked what was going on.  I told him the 4 wheeler story and he said that cars in general fly through the neighborhood so fast that he is worried about all the kids that play and bike.  I agreed and said it is also worrisome for a runner like me.

That was it.  I walked home and never heard another thing.

It is crazy the way people drive in our streets.  I live in a great neighborhood and city.  It is small and a suburb.  There are no bike paths though and it is a constant struggle to keep a watch for drivers who don’t seem to care that I’m out there or who are distracted on a cell phone.  I know all of you have similar stories, but seriously, it gets crazy.  I have almost been hit once and TJ has had to literally jump into the grass and a car almost wrecked after noticing him.  They just kept going.

I guess this is life in the small city.  99% of drivers are great.  I try to be extra careful.  I guess it just takes patience and vigilance to stay safe with people so distracted and in such a hurry.

I’m not complaining, at least it gave me something to write on my blog about. 🙂

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Good weekend, but miss my running

It was a nice weekend.

I didn’t run.  I did get to do some walking.  My hip was feeling better, but I got a strange pain between my two hips above my tailbone, so I figure I need to take it easy and see if this is something to be worried about or just “fallout” from my fall up the stairs.

I guess I am in the, “two steps forward and one back” phase of my running.

I can’t wait to get back to my mountain and regular running.  I can feel the endorphins leaving my body as I write this.

Oh well.  It is all part of the fun of running.  The ups and the downs.

I did get me a new pair of my shoes ordered so they will be waiting for me.

Have a great week.