Its been four weeks now since the marathon. Four weeks since I ran more than 1.5 miles. Four week since my training ended. Four weeks since I had a half way decent run. It does not seem to be getting any better. My IT band, or what ever it is, does not seem to be getting any better. I have not run for about 1.5 weeks now, and I still feel slight pain in my knee. As I mentioned before, I'm trying to cross train. Actually, I'm cross training a lot. Biking, elliptical, swimming and lifting weights, something most days. I'm trying to keep my endurance while my knee heals. I'm also still stretching and rolling on the foam roller.
I enjoy the cross training. Elliptical is ok, gets me sweating and the biking gets my legs working. But the swimming, oh, the swimming is tough. I'm not the best swimmer, so when I get out there, I wear myself out quickly. I'm trying to work on form, but I feel real intimidated by the folks that can swim, and swim and swim.... without stopping.. As I remember this is how I felt when I first started running!
Went back to the doctors last week, who ordered an MRI on my knee. I had the MRI, and now have an appointment next Tuesday for the doctor to look at the MRI and hopefully tell me something other than everything looks ok. He also told me no high impact until the MRI results are in, which is why I have not even attempted to run in the last week or so.
On my way to the YMCA the other day, I passed no more than 6 people running. They were enjoying the day, enjoying the weather, enjoying the workout. As I got on the elliptical that day, plugged in my earphones, and turned on "30 Days of Night" on the TV attached to the elliptical, all I could think was..... I MISS RUNNING
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Recovery
Recovering from a running injury is tough. I spent all winter training for the spring marathon, and ran through snow storms, high winds and low wind chills. Now that spring is really here and its beautiful outside, I'm injured. Since the marathon, I have tried to run every other day, and each time, I can only get a mile or so and the IT band issue stops me. The pain kinda moves around, side of my knee, front of my knee, shin. I have another doctors appointment one week from Monday, and we'll see where to go from here to get this thing fixed.
So, I've been trying different things to try to keep in shape. Been doing some biking, which is nice since I have not biked much in the last few years. Using muscles that I don't use running.... and boy does that seat hurt after an 8-mile ride... I'll keep doing that once or twice a week. I'm lifting weights some to build some strength in both upper body and legs. My inner thighs ache at the moment from the squats I was doing yesterday (probably too much information, huh?). I went to the Y today and did the elliptical for 20min (after my 1.25mile run...argh). I gotta tell you, that elliptical kicked my ass. It uses both lower and upper body, and by the end of 20-min, I was soaked in sweat. If it was more convenient, I'd do that more often.
I'm going to try swimming also. There is a place near my office, where I can buy a 11am-2pm membership for $175/year. During that time I can use either the lap pool, the cardio equipment or the weight room. I have not had the opportunity to look at the place yet, but I will after my travel to Tennessee next week. I think swimming will be harder than the elliptical. I can swim, but I would not consider myself a strong swimmer.
I'm also keeping up with the stretching and foam rolling. Even with the pain at the 1mile mark, I have no pain while foam rolling and my IT bands do not seem overly tight. I'm assuming I'll see a physical therapist after my Dr. appointment and she can tell me how tight they are!
So, as I heal from this injury, I plan to:
So, I've been trying different things to try to keep in shape. Been doing some biking, which is nice since I have not biked much in the last few years. Using muscles that I don't use running.... and boy does that seat hurt after an 8-mile ride... I'll keep doing that once or twice a week. I'm lifting weights some to build some strength in both upper body and legs. My inner thighs ache at the moment from the squats I was doing yesterday (probably too much information, huh?). I went to the Y today and did the elliptical for 20min (after my 1.25mile run...argh). I gotta tell you, that elliptical kicked my ass. It uses both lower and upper body, and by the end of 20-min, I was soaked in sweat. If it was more convenient, I'd do that more often.
I'm going to try swimming also. There is a place near my office, where I can buy a 11am-2pm membership for $175/year. During that time I can use either the lap pool, the cardio equipment or the weight room. I have not had the opportunity to look at the place yet, but I will after my travel to Tennessee next week. I think swimming will be harder than the elliptical. I can swim, but I would not consider myself a strong swimmer.
I'm also keeping up with the stretching and foam rolling. Even with the pain at the 1mile mark, I have no pain while foam rolling and my IT bands do not seem overly tight. I'm assuming I'll see a physical therapist after my Dr. appointment and she can tell me how tight they are!
So, as I heal from this injury, I plan to:
- Bike once or twice a week
- swim once or twice a week
- Keep light running, but stop right when it hurts
- Other cardio as available
- weights twice a week
- Stretch as usual
I'd like to run some race, probably a half later this spring before it gets to hot, but if the injury keeps me down, I will run something this fall; shorter races building back to a half.
I can hear the spring weather calling my name......
Friday, May 7, 2010
Looking ahead
Well, the big race is over. I ran the best I could and I learned a bunch about running and about myself. Here are some of those things:
- Running 26.2 miles is not double the effort of 13.1. In fact, its way more!
- I respect the marathon distance
- I underestimated nutrition and hydration during the race. The weather during the race dictated more water, etc. I just followed my plan..... I should have adjusted.
- I have never been more tired and physically drained as I was after that race.
- Injuries suck
In my mind, I keep coming back to the question about whether or not I was well prepared for this race, or if this race tells me I'm not suited for long distance running. I think from a training perspective I was prepared. I put in the miles and I kept most injuries to a minimum. I think I am in great cardiovascular shape. Where I went wrong was that I did not fully understand that long distance running is more than just running miles. Its about combining the miles with proper nutrition and hydration, its about listening to your body and adjusting when needed. But most of all, and the most important, is that every day and every condition is different. One race, one day does not dictate the level of fitness or the preparedness (is that a word?). Running is a journey that is not defined by one day. I could have done better, but I could have done a lot worse.
So, whats next.....
After the race, I took a couple of days off. The first day after the race, I was still feeling fatigued, so I took the day off from work. I had difficulty walking the kids to school because my left IT band was very sore. The day after I felt better. My legs hardly hurt. I stopped icing, but continued to use the foam roller and stretching each day. By Thursday, I was itching to run, but a late train messed up my evening, so I had to put it off until Friday (today).
I was planning on doing a couple of easy miles at lunch to check out the knee. I started out fine and felt good, but after 0.5 miles, I noticed the knee was a starting to ache. But 0.75 miles I had to walk. I walked back to the office feeling pretty discouraged.
This IT band thing is a real problem that I have to address. My next Drs appointment is not until May 24th. So until then, I will be icing, stretching, strengthening and trying to heal. I want to keep my fitness level up, so I think biking is in my future. I'd like to swim, but finding a time where the lap swim schedule and my schedule match is going to be tough. I'll run when I can, but I'm not going to push through the pain and make it worse.
I'm going to continue the journey....
Monday, May 3, 2010
Frederick Marathon
Sunday was the Frederick Marathon. It was a long time coming. It seems like I've been training for it forever. If you have read this blog in the past, you know how my training went, and the pains and fears I had leading up to this race. Well, I gotta say, what happened was unexpected. This post is my race summary.
The race was to start at 6:30am. I had my alarm set for 4:20am, but woke up about 2:30am and had a hard time falling back to sleep. I got up and used my foam roller and went down and had breakfast. I did not want to vary my breakfast much from my training, so I had a bagel and peanut butter and a bit of caffeine. My legs felt pretty good as I got ready that morning. I used the bathroom a couple of times, put on my shoes with timing chip, and headed off for the Frederick Fairgrounds. Thea drove me downtown so I would not have to carry keys, etc. We got downtown about 5:45am. We wondered around the fairgrounds a bit, watched the pace groups get their pictures taken, and saw some of the 6am worship service. By about 6:15, I headed to the start line. My plan was to stick with the 3:30 (8m/m) pace group and stop and stretch my IT band every four miles. I also planned to take my GU every 8 miles (like the training) and water when I felt I needed it. The pace group told me they planned to run the first half a bit fast (1 or 2 minutes) since the back half of the marathon was tough. I was ok with that. After the national anthem we were off at 6:30am.
The first half of the marathon was through a good portion of downtown and and was relatively flat. The first two miles took us from the fairgrounds to Baker park. Felt good after the first water stop. Mile three and four took us around Baker Park, the crowds were good and cheering, and everyone was feeling pretty fresh. Mile 4 marker was another water stop. Pace was holding strong at about 7:50m/m. I stopped quickly and stretched my IT band
Mile 5 and 6 took us through Hood College which is a pretty area, and my legs were feeling really good, so I just enjoyed the area. Mile 7 took us past the hospital and started to head north. My average pace was still about 7:50. Mile 8-9 took us to the furthest north of the route and around a Wal-Mart, which was packed with people cheering on the runners. It was really nice to see all those people. My IT band started to feel a bit funny at this time, so I changes my pace slightly, and it was feeling a bit better. I stopped and stretched the IT bands again at 8 miles and took a GU.
Mile 10-12 were down a long stretch of road, with not much activity. It was bit boring, but I knew the half was coming up and looked forward to that. My legs were feeling pretty good, with only the occasional tweek from my IT bands.
As mile 13 approached, I knew the half marathoners would be peeling off to the finish and the marathoners would be continuing on. I ran next to a half marathoner who was very happy to be finishing and he wished me luck as he turned toward the finish. I crossed the 13.1 mile timing mat at 1:43:46 (7:55m/m) I was feeling good and right on pace.
We turned back downtown and ran part of the scenic Carroll Creek, which was nice. We then headed back down to the fairgrounds. At mile 15 I passed the fairgrounds again and saw my family. They were screaming and yelling and it really picked me up. I was feeling good about the race.
As we headed out of town, I knew the hard part of the marathon was ahead of me. Heading east on 40, I knew the first big hill was next. Mile 16 was about 150 feet incline. It seemed like a long way. I slowed my pace some, but I knew I was getting tired. I stopped and walked through the water station, but the heat was starting to get to me. The entire 2.5 miles down 40 were directly into the sun, and by this point it was about 80F and very humid. My pace was now about 8:15m/m through this stretch.
At mile 18 we entered Springvalley subdivision. At the entry is a 275 foot rise in elevation over about 3/4mile. This kicked my butt. I ran about a quarter of it, but then had to walk. I continued to run walk to the top of this hill. This mile was 10m/m due to the walking. At mile 19 we were in the subdivision, but the damage was done. I was pooped and worse, my calves started cramping. I'd walk a bit, they would seize, and I'd have to walk. I did this until about mile 22, averaging about 10m/m. I crossed the 21mile timing pad at 2:56:38 (8:22 pace).
After mile 22, we headed out of the subdivision and back downtown. By now, my calves were bad. I walked a lot and probably could not run more than about 0.25miles before cramping. I tried stretching, but nothing helped. I also started to get tingling in my fingers, which scared me a bit, so I slowed down and took it a bit easy. I was able to keep the 10m/m pace till about mile 24, at which I could only walk.
Mile 24-26 were bad, my calves cramped while walking. I walked with another marathoner, who was having the same problem. It was his eighth marathon, and he contributed it to the heat and not being prepared for that. At mile 24 I passed a bank that read 85F. Through mile 24-26, I ran when I could, but it was not very long. I passed a guy and gal who were running the relay, and they were in bad shape. The gal was ready to quit due to the heat and humidity (at mile 25), but her friend kept pushing her. People were along the side of the road yelling things like "only mile to go", an "looking good". Where it helped me at mile 8 and 15, it just kinda annoyed me now. I wish they would have stopped. Mile 24-26 average 12m/m.
After 26, I started to run to the finish. As I turned into the fairgrounds, I could hear people screaming. I got two steps into the fairgrounds and my right calf cramped really bad and I almost fell. People started to scream for me to keep going (there were not many other runners near me at his point). I walked a few steps and then started running again. Once I hit the track, I actually felt ok as I ran to the finish. I crossed what I thought was the final timing mat and stopped. However, it was not the timing mat, but protective covering for the cables they strung across the track. I looked up and a gal was screaming at me to keep going I was not finished. I took off running, and within two steps, my calf cramped really bad. I passed the finish line at 3:56:58. Turns out that I was the 120th finisher out of 734 finishers (16%), 20th out of 94 in my age group (21%). Not too bad for my first marathon.
I grabbed some water and got my finishers metal, and went to stretch my calves. I was done. I walked off the track and saw my family waiting. I talked to them a bit, but then had to sit down. I was dehydrated, and spent. After a bit of water, and a banana, I felt better, but not good enough to walk around. Several times I had to sit. Thea said my color was really bad. We got to the car and went home.
I was pretty worthless the remainder of the day. At one time, I started to sweat profusely and felt as if I would pass out. It scared me. I laid on the ground and after a few minutes I felt better. Felt better later that day. Enjoyed a good dinner and talking about the race with family. The next day I was pretty sore. My left IT band was really sore, and my calves ached. The funny thing about the IT band is that it never really bothered me during the race.
Well, the big question is will I do it again?? I enjoyed the training, hated the injury, but enjoyed the race (except the last 6 miles!). I probably will, but I think I will have to rethink nutrition, which probably caused me some of the problems. But honestly, I'm looking forward to a few days off to heal. We'll have to wait and see what the next race will be.
The race was to start at 6:30am. I had my alarm set for 4:20am, but woke up about 2:30am and had a hard time falling back to sleep. I got up and used my foam roller and went down and had breakfast. I did not want to vary my breakfast much from my training, so I had a bagel and peanut butter and a bit of caffeine. My legs felt pretty good as I got ready that morning. I used the bathroom a couple of times, put on my shoes with timing chip, and headed off for the Frederick Fairgrounds. Thea drove me downtown so I would not have to carry keys, etc. We got downtown about 5:45am. We wondered around the fairgrounds a bit, watched the pace groups get their pictures taken, and saw some of the 6am worship service. By about 6:15, I headed to the start line. My plan was to stick with the 3:30 (8m/m) pace group and stop and stretch my IT band every four miles. I also planned to take my GU every 8 miles (like the training) and water when I felt I needed it. The pace group told me they planned to run the first half a bit fast (1 or 2 minutes) since the back half of the marathon was tough. I was ok with that. After the national anthem we were off at 6:30am.
The first half of the marathon was through a good portion of downtown and and was relatively flat. The first two miles took us from the fairgrounds to Baker park. Felt good after the first water stop. Mile three and four took us around Baker Park, the crowds were good and cheering, and everyone was feeling pretty fresh. Mile 4 marker was another water stop. Pace was holding strong at about 7:50m/m. I stopped quickly and stretched my IT band
Mile 5 and 6 took us through Hood College which is a pretty area, and my legs were feeling really good, so I just enjoyed the area. Mile 7 took us past the hospital and started to head north. My average pace was still about 7:50. Mile 8-9 took us to the furthest north of the route and around a Wal-Mart, which was packed with people cheering on the runners. It was really nice to see all those people. My IT band started to feel a bit funny at this time, so I changes my pace slightly, and it was feeling a bit better. I stopped and stretched the IT bands again at 8 miles and took a GU.
Mile 10-12 were down a long stretch of road, with not much activity. It was bit boring, but I knew the half was coming up and looked forward to that. My legs were feeling pretty good, with only the occasional tweek from my IT bands.
As mile 13 approached, I knew the half marathoners would be peeling off to the finish and the marathoners would be continuing on. I ran next to a half marathoner who was very happy to be finishing and he wished me luck as he turned toward the finish. I crossed the 13.1 mile timing mat at 1:43:46 (7:55m/m) I was feeling good and right on pace.
We turned back downtown and ran part of the scenic Carroll Creek, which was nice. We then headed back down to the fairgrounds. At mile 15 I passed the fairgrounds again and saw my family. They were screaming and yelling and it really picked me up. I was feeling good about the race.
As we headed out of town, I knew the hard part of the marathon was ahead of me. Heading east on 40, I knew the first big hill was next. Mile 16 was about 150 feet incline. It seemed like a long way. I slowed my pace some, but I knew I was getting tired. I stopped and walked through the water station, but the heat was starting to get to me. The entire 2.5 miles down 40 were directly into the sun, and by this point it was about 80F and very humid. My pace was now about 8:15m/m through this stretch.
At mile 18 we entered Springvalley subdivision. At the entry is a 275 foot rise in elevation over about 3/4mile. This kicked my butt. I ran about a quarter of it, but then had to walk. I continued to run walk to the top of this hill. This mile was 10m/m due to the walking. At mile 19 we were in the subdivision, but the damage was done. I was pooped and worse, my calves started cramping. I'd walk a bit, they would seize, and I'd have to walk. I did this until about mile 22, averaging about 10m/m. I crossed the 21mile timing pad at 2:56:38 (8:22 pace).
After mile 22, we headed out of the subdivision and back downtown. By now, my calves were bad. I walked a lot and probably could not run more than about 0.25miles before cramping. I tried stretching, but nothing helped. I also started to get tingling in my fingers, which scared me a bit, so I slowed down and took it a bit easy. I was able to keep the 10m/m pace till about mile 24, at which I could only walk.
Mile 24-26 were bad, my calves cramped while walking. I walked with another marathoner, who was having the same problem. It was his eighth marathon, and he contributed it to the heat and not being prepared for that. At mile 24 I passed a bank that read 85F. Through mile 24-26, I ran when I could, but it was not very long. I passed a guy and gal who were running the relay, and they were in bad shape. The gal was ready to quit due to the heat and humidity (at mile 25), but her friend kept pushing her. People were along the side of the road yelling things like "only mile to go", an "looking good". Where it helped me at mile 8 and 15, it just kinda annoyed me now. I wish they would have stopped. Mile 24-26 average 12m/m.
After 26, I started to run to the finish. As I turned into the fairgrounds, I could hear people screaming. I got two steps into the fairgrounds and my right calf cramped really bad and I almost fell. People started to scream for me to keep going (there were not many other runners near me at his point). I walked a few steps and then started running again. Once I hit the track, I actually felt ok as I ran to the finish. I crossed what I thought was the final timing mat and stopped. However, it was not the timing mat, but protective covering for the cables they strung across the track. I looked up and a gal was screaming at me to keep going I was not finished. I took off running, and within two steps, my calf cramped really bad. I passed the finish line at 3:56:58. Turns out that I was the 120th finisher out of 734 finishers (16%), 20th out of 94 in my age group (21%). Not too bad for my first marathon.
I grabbed some water and got my finishers metal, and went to stretch my calves. I was done. I walked off the track and saw my family waiting. I talked to them a bit, but then had to sit down. I was dehydrated, and spent. After a bit of water, and a banana, I felt better, but not good enough to walk around. Several times I had to sit. Thea said my color was really bad. We got to the car and went home.
I was pretty worthless the remainder of the day. At one time, I started to sweat profusely and felt as if I would pass out. It scared me. I laid on the ground and after a few minutes I felt better. Felt better later that day. Enjoyed a good dinner and talking about the race with family. The next day I was pretty sore. My left IT band was really sore, and my calves ached. The funny thing about the IT band is that it never really bothered me during the race.
Well, the big question is will I do it again?? I enjoyed the training, hated the injury, but enjoyed the race (except the last 6 miles!). I probably will, but I think I will have to rethink nutrition, which probably caused me some of the problems. But honestly, I'm looking forward to a few days off to heal. We'll have to wait and see what the next race will be.
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