Things that make you go hmmm . . .

I feel like I need to apologize for my last blog entry. It was kind of a downer and not typical of my usual optimism.

The hectic schedule of my non-running life keeps interfering with my running plans and I have been having trouble finding a race that fits well into my calendar. Combine that with a minor bout with runner’s knee and a couple of light weeks to heal and I was surprised by the dramatic effect on my mood.

An 18 mile long run this morning helped to set things right again and my spirits are lifted.

Which makes one wonder, if 18 miles makes me feel this good, could I run nearly twice that distance?

Hmmm . . . .

Basking in the Afterglow

I’m fresh out of an ice bath, bingeing on pastries and coffee, and celebrating the completion of a glorious 19.1 mile run this morning. This was my longest run to date and capped off a 42 mile week, also a record.



Everything went well this morning. I had no knee pain, or any signifciant pain for that matter.  I even had enough energy left at the end of the run to pick up my pace for the last three miles.  I had my hydration perfected.  I ate well in preparation for the run.  The temperature was in the 60's for the entire time.   I couldn't have wished for a better run.

For my last two long runs I have been eating Powerbar Energy Gel Blasts. I got free samples of these after my last few races and finally decided to give them a try. I like them much better than Gu and will keep using them for now. After the first few miles, I start popping one every mile or so and that seems to work well. They have a much better taste than Gu and a texture very similar to Gummi Bears. I look forward to eating them, like candy, as opposed to Gu which I down with reluctance every time. They do take a minute to chew and swallow which can be a little difficult when you are breathing heavy.

I am confident that I will be able to finish 20 miles next week but the thought of having to run another hour in order to finish 26.2 has me a little nervous.

Six more weeks until the Space Coast Marathon!

Marathon Training Update

I completed week 10 of my marathon training with 5 workouts totaling 34 miles including a 17.5 mile long run this morning.



This was my first long run since I started suffering ITB issues three weeks ago, although I did run a 15k race last weekend.

The 17 miler was a great -12 mile run. Unfortunately my knee started hurting about half way through, gradually increasing in severity, and I struggled quite a bit during the last 5 miles. The good news is that I finished and that the onset of the pain occurred much later in the run compared to last week. I will call that improvement. I was also running pain free during my shorter workouts during the week.

As much as I hate to, I think I’m going to give up one training day per week, at least until I can complete a long run with out any knee pain. I think a 4 day per week schedule will give me the recovery time I need between runs.

The weather turned really nice in Florida this week. I started the run in the upper 60’s and the humidity was significantly lower. This meant much less sweating, but since I didn’t adjust my hydration, it also meant a few “bio” breaks. Actually, it was more than a few. Actually, it was so many that I lost count. That was probably as much a factor in slowing me down as my knee was.

I was also strangely not hungry after the run. I usually have a voracious appetite after a long run. I made sure to consume plenty of calories though. I made a real pig of myself on Saturday. I had a 5 Guys Bacon Double Cheeseburger for lunch and Olive Garden for dinner, so that might have been a contributing factor to my poor appetite today.

I’m off for another torture session with my foam roller.

You pays your money, you takes your chances

My wallet is a little lighter today because I just registered for the Daytona Beach Half Marathon on Halloween. This will be my second half marathon and with one month left in my marathon training, it will be a good test of how well my marathon training is going.

I ran the Gasparilla Half Marathon in 2:16 in February and I think I have a very good chance of breaking 2:00 for this race.

The course is interesting in that it starts and finishes at the Daytona Speedway. Historically, the route began and ended on the racetrack and included a lap around the 2.5 mile track. Since the track is undergoing repaving the route has been changed for this year. We are still guaranteed a “race track experience” whatever that means. The new route should be made available any day now.

From the speedway we will run to the beach and back, so there will be two bridge crossings near the middle of the race.

I’m back on schedule in my marathon training. I ran this morning for the third day in a row and had no pain in my knee, even when I accelerated to about a 7:40 pace for the last ¾ mile.

My training program originally included three 20 milers, but after the hiccup I experienced over the past few weeks, one of those has been scrubbed. If all goes well I will have 20 milers the weekend before and after this race and then start my taper for Space Coast Marathon on November 28.  Looks like I’ll be carb loading over Thanksgiving. Like I need an excuse. :)

I will rest tomorrow and do 17 miles on Sunday. I must be a little sick in the head because I am really looking forward to this long run.

Miracle Miles 15k Race Report

Anonymous said...
“well, how did it go? How is the knee? Are you back on your marathon schedule?”

I’m thrilled at your interest.

Is it possible to be simultaneously happy and dissatisfied with a race performance? That about sums up my feelings about this race.

I had high expectations looking ahead to the Miracle Miles 15k, right up until the point my knee started to flare up a few weeks ago. I debated not racing at all but days before the race I felt I had made enough progress with my ITBS that I decided to go for it. Whether or not that was a poor decision is yet to be determined.

I finished in 1:30:14, that’s about a 9:42 pace. I placed 656 out of 1715 and 68 out of 118 in my division.

I know that is much slower than I am capable of and my time relative to the field is much slower than I have been doing in recent races. In that respect, I was disappointed in my performance.

On the other hand, my knee flared up significantly during the run. Dealing with the pain, which included stopping twice, and still managing a 9:42 pace made me pretty happy.

The first three miles went fairly well. It was about 75 degrees at the race start and was lightly drizzling. I planned in advance not to push myself too hard this race so I lined up just ahead of the 9 minute mile pace signs. On my training runs over the past week I had been able to run at about that pace and manage my knee. I figured if the race went well I would be able to pick up my pace for the last few miles.

Mile one went well and I reached the first mile marker at 9:27, a little slower than I would have liked but it was pretty crowded. I finished the second mile in 9:24 and by then an ache had settled into my knee. It wasn’t bad, but I knew it was only going to get worse. I resolved to just maintain that pace and finished the next mile in 9:31.

By the time I hit the midpoint, that ache turned to pain. I stopped twice in the middle third of the race to try to stretch my ITB in the hopes that it would relieve some of the pain. It did, but only temporarily. My splits for that portion of the race were 9:35, 10:16, 10:01.

I don’t know if it was endorphins or thanks to my never ending struggle to find the right stride to stop the pain, but miles 7 and 8 were virtually pain free and I was able to pick my pace back up, 10:35 (which included my last attempt to stretch just after the 6th mile water stop) and 9:25.

I continued accelerating through the ninth mile and I reached the last mile marker in 9:08, my fastest split all morning, and I wasn’t even breathing hard. Unfortunately, the road surface also changed from asphalt to brick at that point. I noticed a lot of runners moved to the sidewalk to avoid the miserable surface. I elected to stay put and avoid the crowd. I maintained my pace, but the pain returned with a vengeance. I was able to keep that pace through the finish and crossed the finish line at 1:30:14.

My knee was pretty sore for the rest of the weekend, but it’s been getting better with each day. I’ve been icing it and using my foam roller every day. The pain has diminished to about the point it was in the days leading up to the race, but I have yet to test it again except for a slow, easy 3 miler on Monday. I’m hoping to run my first “real” long run in the three weeks on Sunday, 17 miles. If I can make it through that, then all is well.

The race lived up to my expectations in just about every other respect. Logistically it was one of the most organized events I have run. There was one too many water stations. The last one was less than a mile from the finish and I had no interest in slowing to drink at that point. Some of the volunteers were a little overzealous, crowding the course from both sides.

This race benefits the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Arnold Palmer Hospital so there was a lot of local corporate support, including to my great pleasure, some of the best local restaurants in town. The post race feast was incredible. In addition to the traditional bananas, orange slices, water and powerade there were such treats as mushroom stuffed ravioli with a lobster cream sauce and prime rib sliders. Not to mention sweets like ice cream, smoothies and popsicles.  I ate to my heart's content.

WVR had 36 runners in this race making it the best attended event since I joined the club. It felt great to be a part of that.

Would I do it again? Definitely!

T-Shirt Addict

Another race

another trip to Track Shack

 

and another t-shirt.

Don’t say it. I know, I promised to rest this week, but I’ve been looking forward to this 15k for months. It’s one of the most popular races in Orlando and WVR has nearly 40 runners entered. I was hugely disappointed at the thought of pulling out.

The foam roller appears to be working on my ITB and knee, although I think I bruised my thigh using it. I felt good enough to run 7 miles Wednesday and another 4 today. I got through both runs with very little discomfort so I decided to go for it and registered for the race at the last minute.

My plan is to hold back just a little. I want to use the race to test my marathon pace goal and if the first 6 miles go well then I’ll try to pick it up for the last third of the race. This is my first 15k so I’ll be guaranteed a PR.

If I start whining about being hurt next week then you can all post “I told you so” comments.

You all probably think I’ve developed an addiction to running, but you’re wrong. I only do it for the shirts.

Denial is not just a river in Egypt

I appreciate all of the supportive comments, over the past few days as well as the ones pointing out my obvious training errors. Yes, I admit I have probably been overtraining. I’ve been racking up the miles for marathon training while simultaneously training to PR 5k’s. But I preferred to live in a state of denial about it. So, I promise, no more 5k’s for a while. Just don’t ask me to define what I mean by “a while.” ;-}

I have good news though, thanks to this simple, yet miraculous, device - a foam roller.

My knee pain was likely caused by Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) and is already much improved today. The picture makes using the roller look simple enough, but don’t be deceived. Using it felt a bit like medieval torture on par with the rack.

I’ll also credit stretching, a much reduced training schedule, ice and Motrin as instrumental in my rehab. I learned a great ITB stretch from club members of WVR. It’s a bit hard to describe, so I’ll try to find some pictures within the next few days to illustrate it.

It’s probably premature to say I’ve put the problem behind me, but I felt well enough today to finish 7.5 miles. The first 6 miles of it were pain free. During the last 1.5 miles I had just a dull ache in the knee, probably 3-4 on a scale of 10, but not enough to force me to stop.

I’ve been despairing the past few days about how long it has been taking to resolve this pain. Now I have hope again.

Back to Basics

I think I have allowed my running form to get sloppy over the past few months and that may be partly to blame for the knee pain I have been suffering from for the past week.

The knee is improving. I ran in a 3 mile “fun run” sponsored by Front Running Sports to celebrate their anniversary on Saturday. Most of the run was pain free and when the pain did start to emerge I was able to control it by focusing on my form, particularly shortening my stride and increasing the turnover. That worked well and I was able to keep the pain in check.

I employed the same strategy this morning for a 4 mile run and didn’t experience any pain during the run, although I could tell that my knee still did not feel “right.” Unfortunately, after the run I had some fairly intense sharp pain when I attempted a quads stretch that severely bends the knee.

I’ve got the photographic evidence of my sloppy form right here from a 5k earlier this month.

You can see the obvious over striding and heel striking. I made excuses for this picture because it was right at the finish line and I was in the midst of my finishing kick.


However in this picture from the fun run on Saturday, you can see the same over striding and heel striking, although not quite as pronounced. There were no excuses this time, this photo was taken at the very beginning of the run.

Just for kicks, here’s my finishing photo from Saturday.  It’s too bad this was just a fun run with no official time. The field was so small I might have had a shot at an age group medal.

My plan over the next few weeks is to focus on the Chi Running basics and see if I can get back to pain free running. I’m even considering some barefoot running to jump start the correction.

I’ll keep you posted.

Hobbled

I think I overdid it last weekend. A PR in a 5k on Saturday followed by a 16 mile long on Sunday = a sore knee on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday . . . .

Needless to say my mileage is way down this week.  I rested Monday and Tuesday, got in a slow 3 mile recovery run on Wednesday, and another slow 2 miles this morning. The first 1.5 miles this morning was pain free, so it looks like its improving.

I’ll take it easy this weekend, skip the 17 miles I had scheduled for Sunday and hope the rest will be enough to put things right again.

All this rest is driving me crazy. I think running has become an addiction.

I'm Back!

After 3 days of rest, 6 ice packs, a handful of ibuprofen and a new pair shoes I hit the pavement for an easy three miles this morning. My knee felt pretty good. I had a little twinge of pain during my warm up whenever I twisted it and it bothered me a little for about the first quarter mile of the run. After that I was fine and I think my new Asics helped quite a bit.

My split for the first mile was 10:44, pretty slow but about what I was shooting for. This was supposed to be an easy run after all. Mile two was 9:21, a much better improvement than I expected. I tried to just maintain that pace for mile three, (honestly - I did try). I was feeling great with about a half mile left so I kicked it up a gear for the finish. I finished the third mile in 8:39 for a total time of 28:46, not a bad time for me considering the slow start. (Bad runner! You were supposed to take it easy!)

I iced my knee again afterwards and took some ibuprofen as a precaution. As I write this my knee is feeling fine.

Tomorrow I have another short group run scheduled with the West Volusia Runners. I will probably add a lap or two around the pond to get the distance up to 4 or 5 miles. If that goes well I will probably go for 10 miles later in the weekend.

I just don’t feel like these three mile runs are much of a workout for me anymore. I’m just starting to get warmed up and hitting a nice comfortable stride and then they are over. For the past two months I ran a lot of 5 and 8 mile runs and I like that distance. I could feel a noticeable improvement in my running each week.

I haven’t run in a 5k race in a couple of years and I have no idea how fast I could run one now if I warmed up properly. If I can get the first mile closer to 9 minutes I think I could finish under 25 minutes. I will have to put that to the test soon.

Runners are Masochists

I have been alternating two pairs of running shoes over the past few months and managed to hit 300 miles in both of them at about the same time. Coincidentally, I also suddenly started to have pain in my right knee. Hmm, what could the problem be?

Could it be weak quads affecting the movement of my kneecap or is it maybe just worn out shoes?

I prefer to look at this as an opportunity to buy new shoes.

I delayed the decision to get new shoes for a couple of weeks, but did I stop running? Of course not. Did I at least cut back? Well now, I guess that depends on how you define “cut back.” I was about 5 miles short of my usual mileage last week, but I substituted the lower mileage with my first ever hill workout on Saturday and followed that up with a hard tempo run on Monday. Unfortunately, the pain in my knee has steadily increased with each run.

Instead of stopping, I responded with RICE and Motrin (minus the Rest part of the equation).

Undeterred, I hit the pavement again this morning determined to get in 8 miles but I made it only a few strides before I figured out it would be a really bad idea to continue. My knee would not be ignored today.

It’s going to be a few more days before I have time to get over to my local running store but those few days of rest are going to kill me. Intellectually, I know that the rest will be good for me. I have been training pretty hard for the past few months and even an entire week off will not significantly affect my fitness. But the mere thought of it has me bouncing off the walls already and it’s only been one day since my last run.

I vow to do the right thing. I will rest my knee and not run again in worn out shoes while I'm still having pain.

In the meanwhile, I think I’ll add some lunges and squats to my workouts to strengthen my quads. Just in case.