I don’t have much more to tell this week. I’m still in limbo.
I’ve been on vacation in Michigan all week. I took two hefty bike rides, one last Sunday and the other last Tuesday. No problems there except some wrist soreness because the bike I was riding didn’t fit me quite right.
I ran 3.7 miles with my mom on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I don’t really know how fast we were going, but I’m guessing that it was about a 12-minute mile. Monday I had a little pain but nothing too bad. Wednesday I felt really good. Friday it was back to how I felt on Monday. I iced every day for good measure. There was one spot on each shin that continued to bother me.
Yesterday I ended up running 5 miles total, but trying out the 8:1 run:walk ratio: run 8 minutes, then walk 1 minute, repeat. The whole run took roughly an hour. Some shin problems, but not enough to ice. The specific sore spots on each leg didn’t give me much trouble. So while I’d be lying if I said I felt completely rehabbed, but I at least can say that I feel like I’m progressing.
Still hoping to run 18 miles on Saturday. Only planning on running once between now and then, for Wednesday’s speed workout.
6 weeks to go. Hang in there, shins.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
7 weeks until the marathon
(Written on Saturday and posted on Sunday...)
Well, things are staying stubbornly in limbo between “Things have improved and I’m feeling confident that I’ll make it to the start line” and “Well, that’s it. I’m calling it off.”
Week before last went so poorly that I couldn’t even bring myself to write about it. I felt fantastic after that 16 miler. I was a bit sore on Sunday and Monday, but feeling ok. I biked to work Monday and felt a little pain in my knee, but nothing else.
Then I ran 8 miles Tuesday morning, and I had a really hard time. The humidity was brutal, and I had a lot of shin pain. I finished, but I was really hurting the rest of that day and into Wednesday. I spent most of Wednesday debating with myself about whether or not to go to speed training. Ultimately, I decided to do the workout, but do it at home instead of schlepping all the way up to the track.
I completed a warm up, 3 repeat miles, and a cool down, but I suffered for it. It wasn’t so much sharp pain as it was an overall inability to make my legs work. I was stiff and achy while running, and my legs were swollen and tired afterward. I went to bed that night feeling like I had blown it.
I biked on Thursday and took Friday off, hoping that I would be ok on Saturday. When Saturday came, I did put on my running clothes and lace up my shoes, but my instincts screamed at me not to run. So I didn’t. I geared up again on Sunday and actually set out that time, but I run/walked for only a mile before I turned back.
Things were looking bleak, but I figured missing a 10-miler was better than missing the following weekend’s 18-miler, so I tried to focus my attention forward. I biked to work on Monday, and wore my compression socks pretty much all day and night that day, trying to get the swelling down. Tuesday I ran 8 miles with the compression socks on, and while I was pleased to have finished that distance, I didn’t feel great afterward.
I got up on Wednesday to attempt a speed workout, ran about 10 steps, and stopped. I spent another day on the bench in my compression socks, wondering if I could really come back from this.
It was similar on Thursday. I was able to run 6 miles, but had pain in my shins afterward, all day. I continued to intermittently wear the compression socks. The pain was not terrible – I had definitely had worse – but I had a sinking feeling all day that it just wasn’t enough. I may have been somehow powering my way through a good number of my shorter training runs… but I felt that trying to run 18 miles on Saturday was just asking for a serious injury.
I was a hair’s breadth away from calling off my training. I just couldn’t see how I could miss another one of those big long runs and still keep going. But I exchanged some emails with a running friend who has shin problems similar to mine, and she informed me that she trains for marathons by running only 2-3 times a week: a long run, a speed workout, and as her schedule permits, a third run of 3-5 miles. In a nutshell, that means that I have been running roughly 10 miles more a week than I really have to.
I felt a bit more optimistic after that. I biked to work and back on Friday, still wearing the compression socks. Friday night, I sat thinking for a while, and decided on this plan: Tomorrow, I would run as far as felt safe, even if that meant only 3 miles or so. In the coming week, I would stick to 4 miles or so, every other day, and perhaps attempt 6 on Saturday or Sunday. Then the following week, I would start sticking to my friend’s plan: a speed workout, a short run, and a long run, never on consecutive days. If I can rehab my shins enough this week to feel confident going into 18 miles on September 4, I might still have a chance. It will mean having my last long run be 20 miles instead of 22, but there are a lot of plans that end at 20 miles so I think that’ll be ok.
I woke up this morning and procrastinated about going out running, because I didn’t want to go out and come back feeling defeated. Even though I had a revised plan that I thought had some hope for success, deep down I badly wanted to run 18 and feel like I was still on track. Ultimately, I ended up going out deliberately unprepared to run 18 miles (no gels, started too late, not hydrated well enough) so that I wouldn’t do anything stupid. I ended up doing the speed workout I missed on Wednesday, which I thought was a good compromise. I was able to push myself a little but still only do a total of 5 miles. Plus, I ended the week feeling like I only missed one workout, not two – even though the one I missed was the long run.
If that speed workout had gone by with no pain, I would be feeling pretty good right now. But, it didn’t. I felt some deep aching in my shins both during the run and after. I was able to run without the compression socks on, which is good, but I’m just not feeling so great. My shins hurt when I walk.
Bottom line: I’ve still got a decent chance of bouncing back to marathon readiness, but there’s also a decent chance that I won’t. I’m still in that annoying place of needing to remain optimistic but realistic.
Will this be worth it? If I make it to that start line, I think it will. The hardest part is that I know the closer the marathon gets, the more crushing it will be to not run. But I will not give up.
Come what may, it will be over in 7 more weeks.
Well, things are staying stubbornly in limbo between “Things have improved and I’m feeling confident that I’ll make it to the start line” and “Well, that’s it. I’m calling it off.”
Week before last went so poorly that I couldn’t even bring myself to write about it. I felt fantastic after that 16 miler. I was a bit sore on Sunday and Monday, but feeling ok. I biked to work Monday and felt a little pain in my knee, but nothing else.
Then I ran 8 miles Tuesday morning, and I had a really hard time. The humidity was brutal, and I had a lot of shin pain. I finished, but I was really hurting the rest of that day and into Wednesday. I spent most of Wednesday debating with myself about whether or not to go to speed training. Ultimately, I decided to do the workout, but do it at home instead of schlepping all the way up to the track.
I completed a warm up, 3 repeat miles, and a cool down, but I suffered for it. It wasn’t so much sharp pain as it was an overall inability to make my legs work. I was stiff and achy while running, and my legs were swollen and tired afterward. I went to bed that night feeling like I had blown it.
I biked on Thursday and took Friday off, hoping that I would be ok on Saturday. When Saturday came, I did put on my running clothes and lace up my shoes, but my instincts screamed at me not to run. So I didn’t. I geared up again on Sunday and actually set out that time, but I run/walked for only a mile before I turned back.
Things were looking bleak, but I figured missing a 10-miler was better than missing the following weekend’s 18-miler, so I tried to focus my attention forward. I biked to work on Monday, and wore my compression socks pretty much all day and night that day, trying to get the swelling down. Tuesday I ran 8 miles with the compression socks on, and while I was pleased to have finished that distance, I didn’t feel great afterward.
I got up on Wednesday to attempt a speed workout, ran about 10 steps, and stopped. I spent another day on the bench in my compression socks, wondering if I could really come back from this.
It was similar on Thursday. I was able to run 6 miles, but had pain in my shins afterward, all day. I continued to intermittently wear the compression socks. The pain was not terrible – I had definitely had worse – but I had a sinking feeling all day that it just wasn’t enough. I may have been somehow powering my way through a good number of my shorter training runs… but I felt that trying to run 18 miles on Saturday was just asking for a serious injury.
I was a hair’s breadth away from calling off my training. I just couldn’t see how I could miss another one of those big long runs and still keep going. But I exchanged some emails with a running friend who has shin problems similar to mine, and she informed me that she trains for marathons by running only 2-3 times a week: a long run, a speed workout, and as her schedule permits, a third run of 3-5 miles. In a nutshell, that means that I have been running roughly 10 miles more a week than I really have to.
I felt a bit more optimistic after that. I biked to work and back on Friday, still wearing the compression socks. Friday night, I sat thinking for a while, and decided on this plan: Tomorrow, I would run as far as felt safe, even if that meant only 3 miles or so. In the coming week, I would stick to 4 miles or so, every other day, and perhaps attempt 6 on Saturday or Sunday. Then the following week, I would start sticking to my friend’s plan: a speed workout, a short run, and a long run, never on consecutive days. If I can rehab my shins enough this week to feel confident going into 18 miles on September 4, I might still have a chance. It will mean having my last long run be 20 miles instead of 22, but there are a lot of plans that end at 20 miles so I think that’ll be ok.
I woke up this morning and procrastinated about going out running, because I didn’t want to go out and come back feeling defeated. Even though I had a revised plan that I thought had some hope for success, deep down I badly wanted to run 18 and feel like I was still on track. Ultimately, I ended up going out deliberately unprepared to run 18 miles (no gels, started too late, not hydrated well enough) so that I wouldn’t do anything stupid. I ended up doing the speed workout I missed on Wednesday, which I thought was a good compromise. I was able to push myself a little but still only do a total of 5 miles. Plus, I ended the week feeling like I only missed one workout, not two – even though the one I missed was the long run.
If that speed workout had gone by with no pain, I would be feeling pretty good right now. But, it didn’t. I felt some deep aching in my shins both during the run and after. I was able to run without the compression socks on, which is good, but I’m just not feeling so great. My shins hurt when I walk.
Bottom line: I’ve still got a decent chance of bouncing back to marathon readiness, but there’s also a decent chance that I won’t. I’m still in that annoying place of needing to remain optimistic but realistic.
Will this be worth it? If I make it to that start line, I think it will. The hardest part is that I know the closer the marathon gets, the more crushing it will be to not run. But I will not give up.
Come what may, it will be over in 7 more weeks.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
9 weeks until the marathon
Miraculously, I am still hanging in there. This week went very well!
I rode my bike on Monday. I had some minor pain in my knee when I went uphill or otherwise had to pedal hard, but I mostly felt ok.
Tuesday I did another run home from work, this time adding a loop around the path at Promontory Point to make it 8 miles. It went pretty well. It was REALLY humid, and I did have a few shin, knee, and hip issues from time to time, but overall it went better than when I ran home last week. No walk breaks. I didn't have my watch, but I made it door to door in just over 90 minutes, so that's a pretty good clip.
I felt ok on Wednesday -- no worse, but also not really any better. I wasn't having any sharp pains while walking, but I still had a sense of not-right-ness. I remembered how last week ended up, and how I wished I had skipped one of the mid-week workouts in favor of being able to complete my long run. So, I stayed home from speed work.
Thursday morning I got up and ran my 5 miles in the morning. It was pretty much the same as Tuesday. Only a few minor issues, and the rest of the day felt no worse, but no better.
I biked on Friday and everything just still felt the same. No worse -- but still not normal and not getting any better.
So, I was not feeling all that great about my prospects as I got ready for my long run Saturday morning. But, I figured I had nothing to lose. I either did this long run, or I called it quits. So considering that making my shins worse would have the same effect as just sitting it out, I did not hesitate to try for 16 miles.
I felt a little stiff when I first started out, but after the first half mile, I have to say that I felt fantastic. Something has definitely changed about my form. I'm not completely consistent about it, but there were several long stretches when I felt like I was gliding forward, rather than pulling myself along. I'm pretty sure that's because I am finally striking the ground with my foot underneath me and pushing off backward, rather than striking in front of me and using my shins to pull my weight forward.
I can't say that I didn't feel any pain ever. There were episodes of quad pain, shin pain, knee pain, and even my old friends the psoas voiced some discomfort from time to time. However, everything faded eventually. I think (hope pray beg) that all of that was just the normal kind of discomfort associated with distance running.
I finished 16 miles in 2:59:15. That's a pace of 11:12 per mile -- a pace that, if I were able to keep it up for another 10.2 miles, would give me a finish time of 4:53:44. That time also included many short stops at water fountains, as well as three longer stops to eat a gel or drink some Gatorade at a hydration station. (Bless you, Fleet Feet and hydration station volunteers. BLESS YOU!)
Since I had experienced pain pretty much through my whole lower body during the run, when I got home, I did something I never thought I would do. I took an ice bath. I filled my bath tub with enough icy cold water to submerge my legs, and I sat in it for 15 minutes. I have to say that stepping into it was among the more miserable experiences of my life, but I think it helped. I was extremely stiff yesterday after watching a 2 hour movie, but otherwise the soreness has not been bad. I did a lot of walking yesterday, and a little today, and while I had some achy-ness, overall I felt pretty good.
So, I'm still in this. I know that I still have 9 weeks to go, and plenty can happen in that time. However, I feel I have reason to be optimistic. I actually feel better today than I did on Friday, before I ran 16 miles. That has to be a good sign.
I'm planning on doing all four runs this week. Here's the plan:
Monday: bike
Tuesday: 8 miles
Wednesday: speed work (3 x 1 mile)
Thursday: bike
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 10 miles
Miles on my latest pair of 2150s: 38
16 miles. No matter what happens, I can always revel in that.
I rode my bike on Monday. I had some minor pain in my knee when I went uphill or otherwise had to pedal hard, but I mostly felt ok.
Tuesday I did another run home from work, this time adding a loop around the path at Promontory Point to make it 8 miles. It went pretty well. It was REALLY humid, and I did have a few shin, knee, and hip issues from time to time, but overall it went better than when I ran home last week. No walk breaks. I didn't have my watch, but I made it door to door in just over 90 minutes, so that's a pretty good clip.
I felt ok on Wednesday -- no worse, but also not really any better. I wasn't having any sharp pains while walking, but I still had a sense of not-right-ness. I remembered how last week ended up, and how I wished I had skipped one of the mid-week workouts in favor of being able to complete my long run. So, I stayed home from speed work.
Thursday morning I got up and ran my 5 miles in the morning. It was pretty much the same as Tuesday. Only a few minor issues, and the rest of the day felt no worse, but no better.
I biked on Friday and everything just still felt the same. No worse -- but still not normal and not getting any better.
So, I was not feeling all that great about my prospects as I got ready for my long run Saturday morning. But, I figured I had nothing to lose. I either did this long run, or I called it quits. So considering that making my shins worse would have the same effect as just sitting it out, I did not hesitate to try for 16 miles.
I felt a little stiff when I first started out, but after the first half mile, I have to say that I felt fantastic. Something has definitely changed about my form. I'm not completely consistent about it, but there were several long stretches when I felt like I was gliding forward, rather than pulling myself along. I'm pretty sure that's because I am finally striking the ground with my foot underneath me and pushing off backward, rather than striking in front of me and using my shins to pull my weight forward.
I can't say that I didn't feel any pain ever. There were episodes of quad pain, shin pain, knee pain, and even my old friends the psoas voiced some discomfort from time to time. However, everything faded eventually. I think (hope pray beg) that all of that was just the normal kind of discomfort associated with distance running.
I finished 16 miles in 2:59:15. That's a pace of 11:12 per mile -- a pace that, if I were able to keep it up for another 10.2 miles, would give me a finish time of 4:53:44. That time also included many short stops at water fountains, as well as three longer stops to eat a gel or drink some Gatorade at a hydration station. (Bless you, Fleet Feet and hydration station volunteers. BLESS YOU!)
Since I had experienced pain pretty much through my whole lower body during the run, when I got home, I did something I never thought I would do. I took an ice bath. I filled my bath tub with enough icy cold water to submerge my legs, and I sat in it for 15 minutes. I have to say that stepping into it was among the more miserable experiences of my life, but I think it helped. I was extremely stiff yesterday after watching a 2 hour movie, but otherwise the soreness has not been bad. I did a lot of walking yesterday, and a little today, and while I had some achy-ness, overall I felt pretty good.
So, I'm still in this. I know that I still have 9 weeks to go, and plenty can happen in that time. However, I feel I have reason to be optimistic. I actually feel better today than I did on Friday, before I ran 16 miles. That has to be a good sign.
I'm planning on doing all four runs this week. Here's the plan:
Monday: bike
Tuesday: 8 miles
Wednesday: speed work (3 x 1 mile)
Thursday: bike
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 10 miles
Miles on my latest pair of 2150s: 38
16 miles. No matter what happens, I can always revel in that.
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