Last week's shoe test results are in: my new GT-2160s are not part of the achilles problem. In fact, they may even be helping with the healing. Tuesday's run in my old GT-2150's clearly showed that those shoes are well past their prime; for the entire 20 minutes it felt like I was running on concrete! Even just walking around in the old sneaks earlier in the day left me with achy heels. Needless to say, the rest of the week's runs were done in the new shoes. Still no major developments on the achilles front which is good and bad. Good because it means things aren't getting any worse; bad because it means they're also not getting an better. I take that back. I do think things have improved slightly compared to a few weeks ago. But I also think (know) that I'm far from being in the clear yet. That being said, here's next week. I'm hoping to add a couple miles and maybe try a one-mile tempo (if there is such a thing) to prep for the upcoming 4-miler (yes, still on the schedule, albeit it with different goals in mind. Stay tuned for a race plan/goals post soon!)
Monday -- 02/28 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Tuesday --03/01 -- Strength Class
Wednesday -- 03/02 -- Pool/Cross-train 30 minutes, Stretch
Thursday -- 03/03 -- OFF
Friday -- 03/04 -- Run Easy 3 mile w/ 1 mile @ 8:15-8:30, Strength, Stretch
Saturday -- 03/05 --OFF
Sunday -- 03/06 -- Run Long 4 miles, Stretch
Total: 10 miles
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
What To Do, What To Do...
Last week didn't exactly shape up to be the wonderful pain-free training fest it was supposed to be. On each of the three excruciating slow and short runs I did, I felt my achilles to some degree. The good thing was that things had drastically improved from a couple weeks ago; each run I only felt a mild discomfort, almost just like a tightness, rather than pain. This suggests that the lift did in fact play a role, which is good to know. Still, I'm apprehensive to start building miles and intensity if things aren't feeling 100%. Talk about frustrating. While on one hand, I'm thinking I need another run-free week (if not two or three) to avoid full blown achilles tendonitis that sidelines me for months, I also just want to move forward to reach my weight loss and fitness goals. That and I really hate most cross-training . With maybe the exception of road biking (tis not the season for that, sadly), I would take a day of running over anything low-impact a gym has to offer. This is probably true for most runners but most runners would probably also do things like the elliptical (gross) and the stationary bike (barf) knowing it will help their return from injury. Me, on the other hand, if I can't run, I will almost assuredly opt for the couch over the gym leading to a loss of fitness and a likely expansion of the waistline; the antithesis to my goals. I accept this is something I need to probably get over but I haven't quite made the leap to do so yet.
Nor do I plan to next week. Tonight I have convinced myself that there may be another solution to this achilles nonsense: my new shoes. As I mentioned last time, I really noticed a uptick on the issue following runs in brand new ASICS GT2160s (with lifts) a couple weeks ago. While I was lift-less this week, I was still in these new shoes. This next week I will test the theory that, in addition to the lifts, the new shoes are also problematic. To do this, I'll throw on my trusty GT-2150s for this week's three slow n' short trots. If the pain/discomfort persists, well then I guess I'll be getting over my aversion to cross-training sooner than later. Here's how the week looks:
Monday -- 02/21 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/22 -- Strength Class
Wednesday -- 02/23 -- OFF
Thursday -- 02/24 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Friday -- 02/25 -- Cross-train/Pool 30 minutes, Stretch
Saturday -- 02/25 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/26 -- Run Long 3-5 miles (depending on achilles), Stretch
Total: 8-10 miles
Monday -- 02/21 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/22 -- Strength Class
Wednesday -- 02/23 -- OFF
Thursday -- 02/24 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Friday -- 02/25 -- Cross-train/Pool 30 minutes, Stretch
Saturday -- 02/25 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/26 -- Run Long 3-5 miles (depending on achilles), Stretch
Total: 8-10 miles
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Just Kidding Again?
After all that back and forth last Sunday, I ended up taking last week off after all. My achilles hurt quite a bit Sunday evening (as did my tummy from all the Superbowl goodies I ate!) into Monday and I decided it was just not worth it to run. Better to lose a week now than several weeks down the road, right? I massaged, iced, and anti-imflammatory'ed all week which appears to have worked; today my achilles is pain-free. It's actually been that way since about Wednesday, with the exception of Friday when it flared up a bit as a result of a little experiment I did.
I can't remember if I blogged about this back in January but last month I learned that my right leg (the one with all the problems) was a centimeter and a half shorter than the left. While that seems like nothing, it's supposedly clinically significant. The orthopedic said that this difference likely causes excessive pronation on my right side which was likely why I had the post-tibial tendinitis. This issue was easily remedied with the addition of a 0.75cm life to my right orthotic. Hurray! Hizzah! A cure! A fix! Let the injury-free running begin! And began it did for a short while, including through the 1/2 marathon. The lift was an instant fix to the post-tibial tendinitis which was super encouraging. However, the euphoria was short-lived; a week after the lift's debut, I was having this achilles problem.
Things only got worse when I got my new running shoes. Last month I upgraded from the Asics GT-2150's to the GT-2160's; not a major change in shoes by any means but a change none the less. However, something must be different because my achilles issues amplified once I started running in the 2160's with the lift. I did notice my heel sliding in and out of the shoe more in the 2160's than in the 2150's but comparing the two shoes side-by-side, the back of the 2160's aren't any shorter than the 2150's. Perhaps there's more cushioning in the 2160's? Who knows. All I know is that when I wore the 2160's with the lift just walking around on Friday, my achilles was irritated versus when I wore the 2160's sans lift.
Anyway, I've decided to nix the lift all together in the new shoes for a bit to see what happens. While this'll likely mean a return of the post-tibial tendonitis, I want to see if it also means a disappearance of the achilles pain. Besides, the post-tibial tendonitis was going away without the lift (albeit slowly) so hopefully it's absence wouldn't mean I'm doomed to have shin pain for the rest of my life. I should probably run this all by my doctor and my orthotics guy, and I will, I just want to test this hypothesis out on my own first. I'm a scientist; it's just what I do.
With that all said, here's what next week'll look like. I've cut way back on miles from my original plan due to last week psuedo-unanticipated hiatus and have even replaced a run day with a day of cross-training.
Monday -- 02/14 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/15 -- Pilates or Strength Class
Wednesday -- 02/16 -- Cross-train/Pool 30 minutes, Stretch
Thursday -- 02/17 -- OFF
Friday -- 02/18 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch, Strength
Saturday -- 02/19 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/20 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Total: 7 miles
Hopefully I'll be reporting on happy, achilles-pain-free runs next week!
I can't remember if I blogged about this back in January but last month I learned that my right leg (the one with all the problems) was a centimeter and a half shorter than the left. While that seems like nothing, it's supposedly clinically significant. The orthopedic said that this difference likely causes excessive pronation on my right side which was likely why I had the post-tibial tendinitis. This issue was easily remedied with the addition of a 0.75cm life to my right orthotic. Hurray! Hizzah! A cure! A fix! Let the injury-free running begin! And began it did for a short while, including through the 1/2 marathon. The lift was an instant fix to the post-tibial tendinitis which was super encouraging. However, the euphoria was short-lived; a week after the lift's debut, I was having this achilles problem.
Things only got worse when I got my new running shoes. Last month I upgraded from the Asics GT-2150's to the GT-2160's; not a major change in shoes by any means but a change none the less. However, something must be different because my achilles issues amplified once I started running in the 2160's with the lift. I did notice my heel sliding in and out of the shoe more in the 2160's than in the 2150's but comparing the two shoes side-by-side, the back of the 2160's aren't any shorter than the 2150's. Perhaps there's more cushioning in the 2160's? Who knows. All I know is that when I wore the 2160's with the lift just walking around on Friday, my achilles was irritated versus when I wore the 2160's sans lift.
Anyway, I've decided to nix the lift all together in the new shoes for a bit to see what happens. While this'll likely mean a return of the post-tibial tendonitis, I want to see if it also means a disappearance of the achilles pain. Besides, the post-tibial tendonitis was going away without the lift (albeit slowly) so hopefully it's absence wouldn't mean I'm doomed to have shin pain for the rest of my life. I should probably run this all by my doctor and my orthotics guy, and I will, I just want to test this hypothesis out on my own first. I'm a scientist; it's just what I do.
With that all said, here's what next week'll look like. I've cut way back on miles from my original plan due to last week psuedo-unanticipated hiatus and have even replaced a run day with a day of cross-training.
Monday -- 02/14 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/15 -- Pilates or Strength Class
Wednesday -- 02/16 -- Cross-train/Pool 30 minutes, Stretch
Thursday -- 02/17 -- OFF
Friday -- 02/18 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch, Strength
Saturday -- 02/19 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/20 -- Run Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Total: 7 miles
Hopefully I'll be reporting on happy, achilles-pain-free runs next week!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Just Kidding!
After all that ranting on how much running hurts and sucks, I stubbornly went out for today's scheduled long run (6 miles). It was such a nice day and I wanted to show my running who was boss so I said why not? I figured if it really hurt, I'd just turn around and be mad that I tried running in the first place.
Well there was no turning around today; I felt great! I did get tired around 45 minutes but that's to be expected since 5 miles has been my longest run since the half. One bad thing is though that my achilles was a tiny bit irritated on and off throughout the run as well as now post-run. I'll certainly keep an eye on it and ice it (I currently have my right leg in a bucket of ice water as I write) and if it doesn't improve or get worse, then I'll take some time off. For now though I guess I'll keep trucking along, albeit cautiously. Here's what the week look now:
Monday -- 02/07 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/08 -- Pilates or Strength class
Wednesday -- 02/09 -- Run, Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Thursday -- 02/10 -- OFF
Friday --02/10 -- Run Moderate 4 miles, Stretch
Saturday -- 02/11 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/12 -- Run Long 6 miles, Stretch
Total: 15 miles
Well there was no turning around today; I felt great! I did get tired around 45 minutes but that's to be expected since 5 miles has been my longest run since the half. One bad thing is though that my achilles was a tiny bit irritated on and off throughout the run as well as now post-run. I'll certainly keep an eye on it and ice it (I currently have my right leg in a bucket of ice water as I write) and if it doesn't improve or get worse, then I'll take some time off. For now though I guess I'll keep trucking along, albeit cautiously. Here's what the week look now:
Monday -- 02/07 -- Run Easy 20 minutes, Stretch
Tuesday -- 02/08 -- Pilates or Strength class
Wednesday -- 02/09 -- Run, Easy 3 miles, Stretch
Thursday -- 02/10 -- OFF
Friday --02/10 -- Run Moderate 4 miles, Stretch
Saturday -- 02/11 -- OFF
Sunday -- 02/12 -- Run Long 6 miles, Stretch
Total: 15 miles
A Rant and a Training Plan (02/07-02/13)
Last week I had one of those sucktastic runs that just makes me question why I even bother trying to keep up running. On Friday, I hit the treadmill for one of my standard easy 3 milers. Unlike Tuesday's run which was done exclusively at an incline of zero, I decided that, for atleast 3/4 of a mile, I would ramp up the incline to 1.0. This move wasn't new; the past few weeks I've been running on a slight incline for most of my easy treadmill runs in order to both make the 'mill a bit more challenging and to make the transition to the road a bit easier. So, given I'd essentially run Friday's run, incline and all, multiple times before, it should've been a walk in the park. Wrong. From the slow start (6.3 mph on the treadmill or 9:30/mile) to the end, I was exhausted, out of breath, and heavy-legged. I probably should've heeded the warning signs at the start of the run and nixed the incline and speed increases but that would've just made too much sense. Instead I pushed through the run"as planned" cursing and yelling at myself the entire way. By the end there wasn't a positive thought about myself in my head. I was fat, slow, never-going-to-improve, and wasting-my-time-trying-to. These thoughts carried well into my post-run stretch and even came home with me.
This "break down" was probably a long time coming; ever since I started running after the 1/2 in January, I just haven't felt good. On top of a slew of want-to-be injuries including tendonitis in my right achilles and shin, I've felt tired and heavy for weeks now. As I alluded to in last weeks training plan post, my body is clearly telling me I need more time to recover from Phoenix, but until Friday, I was taking that to mean, keep running, but maybe slightly less than you originally planned. Now I'm considering the opposite: no running for atleast week. Of course, I'd try and substitute in some cross-training for running but bottom line, I don't think I should run for a bit.
Or is that really the case? In some respect, I feel like I'm letting a shitty run get me down again and hold me back further. Sometimes I do think it's good to "train through the pain" because sometimes that pain and exhaustion is just a product of your body getting used to a new modus operandi. I mean, it certainly doesn't "feel good" to tear muscle fibers and isn't "relaxing" to repair them. But there does come a point where you're just doing more damage than good.
My problem I think lies in the fact that I don't know where that line between "good" pain and "bad" pain exists. This is likely in part due to the fact that I don't really want to know where it is; I would rather just assume all pain is "good" so that I can keep on my happy little running schedule. But I think it also lies in the fact that that line is much different for the runner I am today, then it was for the runner I was in college. In college, I was leaner, fitter, and more consistent, so doing things like adding three miles to a week was nothing. Today, however, I'm a heavier, much less conditioned, lower-mileage, and low-intensity runner. While I want to believe that adding three more miles or an extra day of running or a workout to a week wouldn't affect me greatly, it very well could and probably does given my current fitness state.
While this is a very important realization, it leaves me with a very big and pressing question: how do I proceed? Am I supposed to consider myself a beginner runner and try a 1-mile a day type of program until that feels good and the add miles extra slowly? Or, given that I do have some history of running, is increasing mileage and intensity appropriate and safe? I have no idea what the answer is which is super frustrating. I guess the only thing I do know is that right now, I am not feeling good, which implies something needs to change.
I suppose this leads me to this week's training plan. Originally, I was slated to log 15 miles for the week which included a 4 mile run at moderate pace (under 9:00/mile) and a 6-mile long run. While it's tempting to run it, I think I'm going to err on the side of caution and take the week off from running. My achilles and shin could atleast use it and it certainly couldn't hurt the rest of my body. The plan would be to take Monday-Wednesday completely off, cross-train (probably pool running) Thursday, Friday off, Saturday cross-train, and Sunday off. The following week I may start running again but we'll see. I do want to start running again soon as I have already committed to the Runnin' O' the Green Island 4-miler in March but how soon will depend on how I'm feeling.
This "break down" was probably a long time coming; ever since I started running after the 1/2 in January, I just haven't felt good. On top of a slew of want-to-be injuries including tendonitis in my right achilles and shin, I've felt tired and heavy for weeks now. As I alluded to in last weeks training plan post, my body is clearly telling me I need more time to recover from Phoenix, but until Friday, I was taking that to mean, keep running, but maybe slightly less than you originally planned. Now I'm considering the opposite: no running for atleast week. Of course, I'd try and substitute in some cross-training for running but bottom line, I don't think I should run for a bit.
Or is that really the case? In some respect, I feel like I'm letting a shitty run get me down again and hold me back further. Sometimes I do think it's good to "train through the pain" because sometimes that pain and exhaustion is just a product of your body getting used to a new modus operandi. I mean, it certainly doesn't "feel good" to tear muscle fibers and isn't "relaxing" to repair them. But there does come a point where you're just doing more damage than good.
My problem I think lies in the fact that I don't know where that line between "good" pain and "bad" pain exists. This is likely in part due to the fact that I don't really want to know where it is; I would rather just assume all pain is "good" so that I can keep on my happy little running schedule. But I think it also lies in the fact that that line is much different for the runner I am today, then it was for the runner I was in college. In college, I was leaner, fitter, and more consistent, so doing things like adding three miles to a week was nothing. Today, however, I'm a heavier, much less conditioned, lower-mileage, and low-intensity runner. While I want to believe that adding three more miles or an extra day of running or a workout to a week wouldn't affect me greatly, it very well could and probably does given my current fitness state.
While this is a very important realization, it leaves me with a very big and pressing question: how do I proceed? Am I supposed to consider myself a beginner runner and try a 1-mile a day type of program until that feels good and the add miles extra slowly? Or, given that I do have some history of running, is increasing mileage and intensity appropriate and safe? I have no idea what the answer is which is super frustrating. I guess the only thing I do know is that right now, I am not feeling good, which implies something needs to change.
I suppose this leads me to this week's training plan. Originally, I was slated to log 15 miles for the week which included a 4 mile run at moderate pace (under 9:00/mile) and a 6-mile long run. While it's tempting to run it, I think I'm going to err on the side of caution and take the week off from running. My achilles and shin could atleast use it and it certainly couldn't hurt the rest of my body. The plan would be to take Monday-Wednesday completely off, cross-train (probably pool running) Thursday, Friday off, Saturday cross-train, and Sunday off. The following week I may start running again but we'll see. I do want to start running again soon as I have already committed to the Runnin' O' the Green Island 4-miler in March but how soon will depend on how I'm feeling.
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