Back on the Road

So I've gradually begun running again. Emphasis on gradually. I ran a 21 mile week two weeks ago, and last week was all of 35. I'm still not 100%, so about twice a week, I've been going to Active Performance Chiropractic for active release therapy on my posterior tibial tendon and my hip flexor. Quite a few people have had really good experiences with Active Performance Chiropractic, and I've seen some improvement since starting therapy, so hopefully I'll be good to go sooner rather than later. I also like going to a doctor who runs, since I feel it gives them a certain background and perspective that a non-athlete may not have, which is yet another reason I decided to contact Dr. Laura. I've also started doing PT exercises and drills for the random little muscles in my lower legs that don't necessarily get as much exercise as they need with straight running. Not something I usually do, since normally, I'm all about running and that's it, but I figure it can't hurt, and with any luck, it'll help. I must be doomed to not be healthy though, because I recently added a sprained wrist from BMX biking to my injury list. My left arm is definitely weaker right now, and isn't pulling its weight as far as pumping and driving, but you don't actually run with your arms, so I guess it could be worse. Looking forward to being able to lift again, hopefully before my shoulders atrophy to nothingness.

Barefoot Running...or Not

Earlier today, I was talking to a friend who was having trouble deciding which shoes to wear for a race (incidentally, the same one who asked me about racing flats), and the conversation turned to minimalist shoes (as it often does with her). My friend is one of the lucky few with nearly perfect biomechanics, who can get away with next to no cushioning or stability features built into her shoes. Well, she recently purchased a pair of Nike Jana Star Waffle spikeless flats, which she claimed were giving her Achilles tendinitis. There are a million different possible causes for Achilles tendinitis, which I won't list here since a simple Google search can uncover them if you're interested, but the interesting part about my friend's case is she claims that wearing "normal" shoes has caused this problem before, and wearing Vibram FiveFingers clears it up. Normally I'd think of going the opposite way, from a shoe with a heel to a low heeled shoe, causing Achilles problems, since high heeled shoes can cause Achilles shortening and calf muscle tightness over time. I'm sure there are other forces at work, but I'm not about to try to guess on my blog.

Gear Review: Racing Flats

Recently, a friend of mine mentioned that a picture of my running shoes looked like a catalog for racing flats. She then followed it up with the "What flat should I get?" question. While the answer to this question varies depending on your biomechanics, your race distance, and your race surface, here's some information to get you started:

Pulling the Plug

Well this is a nice way to start a training blog...with an announcement that I'm pulling the plug for the season. I feel alright doing six mile jogs. Not great, definitely not 100%, but it's tolerable. But it's also how I felt two months ago, and I know that when I start speedwork again, I'll be right back where I was before taking these past two weeks off. I don't want to do the 40 miles per week thing, where I'm not able to do any real training, and then run a 1:28 half at Baltimore, which is what I know will happen if I try to keep training. I feel terrible, since the National Running Center picked up my entry for ING Philly, but it's just not worth it. If I'm going to run, I want to train. I feel like running now is just going to put me in that perpetually injured state, where you never actually heal but can never go all out, and I just can't do that to myself. I'd rather take the time now and then be ready for spring. It's just really frustrating right now. Maybe slightly relieving, since the pressure to get back out there by a certain date is gone, but my main emotion right now is frustration.

Luke at San Fran

My friend Luke ran the San Francisco Marathon a few weeks ago. His race report is up here.


Congratulations to Luke on his Boston Qualifier!

Fall from Grace

Every so often, I rock a workout and feel totally indestructible. Of course, this is probably when I'm at my most vulnerable, having broken down my body and counting on it being able to rebuild itself again. And every so often, I push too far and I don't bounce back the way I should. It's never a single workout, but a buildup of miles and workouts, that pushes past the line separating quality training and destruction. And unfortunately, I've gone and done it again. I've been dealing with "I can ignore this and run anyway" issues for around two months now, and the past couple weeks have been really hot and cold. I killed a long cruise interval workout without a problem, and then bombed a tempo and took a couple of days off to try to kick a hip flexor problem and some tendinitis. Came back, pulled off the tough track workout I mentioned in my last post while hardly breaking a sweat, and woke up two days later with tendinitis that had completely spiraled out of control. Unrelated to the first bout of tendinitis, but I'm fairly certain was caused by compensating for my hip flexor. It's really discouraging, to get knocked down every time I have what I feel like is a great workout. I'm not so stupid as to assume that they are completely unrelated, though I think the biggest problem is that I really didn't give myself that much downtime after the marathon. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot about it I can do now, other than ice, NSAIDs, stretch, self-massage, hopefully some ultrasound soon, and downtime until it resolves itself.

Focus on the Details

Had an awesome workout today. It was a long track workout that mixed VO2 max with LT training. It was one of those days when everything just flowed, and a workout that, by all rights, should have kicked my butt, instead felt pretty easy. But as I'm sitting here, basking in post-workout happiness and drinking my protein shake, I'm reminding myself I need to keep it in perspective. First and foremost, it was a tough enough workout that I really need to make sure I recover well from it, even if it didn't feel that hard. No one gets faster from doing hard workouts. Rather, we get faster recovering from hard workouts. It's something I really need to focus on, since I generally enjoy putting in a lot of miles on recovery days, and even though I take those miles very easy, a 14 mile day isn't always what my body truly needs to recover. That leads to the second point, which is that no one trains for workouts. Everyone loves a good workout. It feels great (in a perverse sort of way), it gives you confidence, et cetera. But each workout is just a step in a long road leading to the true goal: the race. I'm stoked about this workout, as I feel I should be. But at the same time, I don't want to become too excited, just as I need to be careful not to let a bad workout get to my head, something that, for me, is even harder than not bouncing off walls over a good workout. I need to let the workout motivate me, but also stay focused on the goal.