Playing (Slightly) Hurt

One of the most common early running momentum crushers is injury. I should know, as several of my past efforts to get back to running consistently have been cut short by an overuse injury that turned into another several month long layoff from running. The worst was in 2009 when I strung together a few good weeks of running 2 miles at a time, with a day of rest in between to allow my body to start to re-adapt. Then I got stupid and went out and tried to run 5 miles on the NCR Trail. Unsurprisingly, I woke up the next morning with a sharp pain just below my kneecap that lingered for a week. I went to a sports medicine doctor and she quickly diagnosed runner’s knee. That kept me off the roads for several weeks. I’ve also had this happen with shin splints.


So, this time, I’ve been determined not to repeat the past, all the while accepting the fact that until my body really gets used to running consistently again, there will be aches and pains here and there. Earlier in the week, I felt my ever-tight right hamstring was slightly overtaxed. But it felt fine after a day. However, yesterday, after I walked to work (it’s about 1.5 miles each way), my right adductor muscle (along the inside of the thigh) tightened up and has been slightly achy ever since. Nothing horrible, but enough that I know it’s not 100%. My hamstrings and adductor muscles have been constant aches for some time now, despite stretching regimens. But suffice to say I will be increasing the intensity of those stretches from now on.

I was tender again last night after walking home (more uphill than the trip to work) thanks to the hills of Baltimore, but foolishly did not ice it down. I let it be and went to sleep, hoping it would resolve itself like my hamstring seemed to earlier this week. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, although thankfully it did not get worse. But it was pretty tight when I got out of bed this morning to go run (I took yesterday off). But it didn’t hurt badly enough that I thought I wouldn’t be able to get in my very short 1.5 mile run. I spent some extra time this morning stretching to try to warm it up enough to prevent a catastrophic injury and that seemed to work.

The combination of the short distance and short warm-up helped. I didn’t feel any discomfort during the run and hasn’t felt worse since then. I spent about 20 minutes icing the area and that also seemed to help. I wish I could have iced it while at work, but I think that would have been awkward. I’ll ice it again for 20 minutes when I get home tonight. I’m doing strength training tomorrow morning, so I won’t run on it until Sunday morning. I’m hopeful that will be enough time to help it feel better (with icing throughout that time).

But this morning’s run was most interesting to me because my minor injury didn’t get worse despite running on it, albeit very carefully. I was always aware of how it was feeling and whether there was any discomfort there that would tell me I was risking a more serious injury if I kept going. Increasing my stretching and icing routines will also help long term, as adductor injuries can take weeks to heal properly, longer if you keep running/playing with it and re-aggravate it every few days. The strain is a very minor one, to be sure, and I would likely not have run on it if, for example, it had hurt to walk or go up stairs. As it stands, the muscle just feels tight when I walk (mostly after having been sitting at my desk for some time) or climb stairs and loosens up considerably when I walk any distance. So, the situation is not serious to begin with. But I’m heartened that I made it through the run today without any problems. As I increase my mileage in the coming few weeks up to 5K distance, I can hopefully get these “re-acclimation” injuries out of the way and strengthen my body for when I move into the next stage of building my mileage.

Lazarus Moment

After more than a year since my last post and even longer since a quality post, I've decided to try to get this blog back on its feet. I'm back to running mostly consistently and found a new committment to running in general. I feel better about it now than I have in over a year, so I think it's time to get back to blogging and to become a more active member of the running online community.

So, over the next few days (ideally), I'll update the blog, get rid of the outdated stuff like the former countdown and now count-up on the right. 418 days and counting...yikes! I'm also going to expand the posting topics, as I think one of the reasons for the lack of posting was that I was only writing about my runs and training, which gets boring. And if I'm bored by it, anyone who would read the post would certainly be bored by it too. So, look for posts about all sorts of things running-related (and some topics not so running related).

Stymied Workouts and Fall 2010 Race Calendar

It's now been a full week since I last ran, but not for lack of trying. We spent a long weekend in Rochester, NY this past week, where it was 30 degrees and windy...not ideal for running. And on top of that, we really didn't have any time for running anyway, so there went Friday through Sunday. I did some strength training on Monday and then got swamped at work Tuesday and yesterday. Thankfully, today will be better and I should be able to get out and run a few miles this afternoon. And, on top of that, my overall work schedule will change next week going forward and while I will need to be at the office an hour earlier (around 7 AM), I'll get to go home earlier and have more open time in the early afternoons to go running or to the gym. So, with the weather turning up finally (80 degrees here in Charm City today), more running shouldn't be too big of a problem. Which is good because I have less than a month before my first 5K and I have yet to run farther than 2 miles. Today starts a phase of 2.5 mile runs, though. Progress, slowly but surely.

I also added another race to my fall race schedule this morning: the Army Ten Miler. The race is on October 24, 2010, but registration opened this morning at 8 AM and last year it sold out in six days, so I went ahead and spent the $60 on the fee. It's much steeper than I normally like to pay, but I'll run it and see how it goes and it's possible I won't want to run it afterward given how many people run that race and my general frustration with huge crowds at races. But it's an experience and one of the DC-Baltimore area's premier races (probably top five along with Marine Corps Marathon, Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, National Marathon and Baltimore Running Festival) so I wanted to do this.

So, that makes my October very crowded. I've got the Warrior Dash on the 9th, the Baltimore Running Festival (likely the 5K) on the 16th, and the Army Ten Miler on the 24th. And I'm toying with the idea of running the Freedom's Run 10K up in Harper's Ferry, WV on October 2, but that would have me running a race four weeks in a row, ending with a tough ten miler, so I remain undecided on that one. Of course, between now and October I'm going to work on getting back in shape, extending my distance to that 10 mile mark, increasing my fitness with weight and core training twice a week, and getting ready for the Warrior Dash, which will probably beat me up. It'll be important that I be in good enough shape that I can recover in the seven days between the Warrior Dash and the Army Ten Miler and avoid injury.

For today: 2.5 miles in beautiful early April weather!

Bad Weather, Worse Treadmills

I got back on the road this week after a few months of dillying and dallying about it. I went out for a very brief 2 miler on Tuesday afternoon and it went well. Weather was OK; cloudy and breezy, around 38 or so. Not bad but not great or inspiring. But 2 miles was more than enough for my out of shape body and my legs were SORE the next day.

Thursday I was hoping to get back outside again for another 2 miler to continue my body's transition back to exercise but the weather turned awful on Thursday: highs in the upper 30s but with winds in the 25-30 mph range. It could have been worse: they had forecast that the blizzard that hammered New England and New York was going to dump 5 inches or more here. But thankfully it barely rained here, much less snow, so if my alternative is windy snow or wind, I'll take just wind. But I stayed indoors and ran on the treadmill instead and man did it suck.

Many people have no problems with a treadmill, but I am not one of them. In fact, I hate treadmills. Not only because of the monotony of running in place for potentially an hour or more either. No, I hate the treadmill because my lower legs always hurt when I run on a treadmill. I think it's a function of my body trying to stay on the belt and making weird adjustments to my gait, posture, etc to do it. But every time I get on a treadmill, the muscles along the outside of my calves start to burn within a few minutes and it just gets worse for about a mile or so until the pain just ebbs away from numbness. It really sucks and it makes me absolutely despise running indoors. As a result, I only got through 1.5 miles of my run on Thursday before I got outdone with the whole thing and bagged it.

So, from now on, I'm going to just suck it up and run outside in just about any weather. If it's too bad to run outside, well I'll just do some cross training that day instead. It's a waste of a perfectly good workout to run on a treadmill and then have your lower calves ache the day afterward.

Anyway, I didn't do anything today to give my body time to recover from this limited amount of running. I don't want to repeat what I did in the summer and try to run too far too soon and get injured and then not be able to run for 3 or 4 weeks. I'm just taking it slow and maybe next week I'll start doing more cross training on my non-running days to get that program started.

And with next week's forecast calling for sunny skies and temperatures at least a little closer to normal (average for this time of year is 50...today's high was below 40), I'm hopeful I won't ave to layer up for any of my runs next week and can just stay in shorts with layers on top.

Back to Running...Take 2

So it's almost a third of the way through 2010 and I have yet to run a single step, aside from dodging snow plows during the dual blizzards we got earlier in the month. I'm out of excuses and my guilt has finally hit critical mass: I've got to get back to running.

But this time, I need to also make an effort to go beyond just running three days a week. I want to get fit all around because I think only by developing some good cross training routines on my off days can I avoid injuries as I ramp back up in my mileage over the coming weeks and months.

So, I've joined the gym at work, which is good deal at just $25/month. I get a decently-equipped gym that has all I need for a runner's strength training program, as well as some treadmills for the occasional foul weather run and showers and a locker room. On days that I'm not running, I'll be doing core work and lifting some weights to develop some more strength in the muscles I use when I run.

I'm not going to push it though. I haven't registered for any races of any distance between now and the beginning of May, when I'll run in a 5K as part of my prep school's Alumni Weekend. After that, we'll see what I feel like doing over the summer. There are a few races during the hot months that I might run, but I'd like to really focus on putting together my fitness so I'm running regular 10 milers or more again by the fall. Maybe that's possible; maybe not. Ideally I'd like to run the Baltimore Running Festival again in October (5K more than likely, rather than the half, but we'll see). And I am nearly certain I'm going to "run" in the Warrior Dash Mid Atlantic in early October. It's basically a 5K over a crazy obstacle course where you're climbing hills, swimming through ponds, jumping over fire and crawling through mud. At the end though, you get unlimited (I'm hoping) free beer, a huge medal and a big warrior hat with horns. Sounds really fun and a good motivator over the next seven months.

With that, this week's schedule is to take tomorrow off but then start on Tuesday with a 2 mile easy run and going from there. Let's see if I can follow through this time!

Starting Anew in 2010

After a whirlwind holiday season where I just went ahead and abandoned my running, I thought I needed to get back to posting, in addition to actually getting back to running, in the New Year. Since my last post in early December, here's what has happened:

• Teddy, our recently-adopted rescue dog, is doing well and has adjusted terrifically to life in Baltimore. In turn, we are getting used to having him around all the time.
• Christmas and New Year was fast-paced. We took Teddy up to my parents' place for the Christmas holiday and spent two days with them before dropping him off at the Baltimore Dog Spa for a week and flying out to Annie's parents in Cincinnati. We were there for four days before boarding a plane for Los Angeles to go on the Ohio State Alumni Tour (her family is a die-hard OSU clan), for the Rose Bowl.
• We spent four days in LA and Pasadena, going to the Buckeye Bash on Santa Monica Pier, the Rose Parade and of course the actual Rose Bowl, which was incredible. We also toured LA a little bit when we could and had lunch with some family out there before coming back.
• We caught a red-eye direct to BWI and got in at 6AM this morning. After picking up Teddy, we're all just about dead. Even Teddy is curled up in his bed zonked out as I type. Early bed time for everyone tonight since we go back to work tomorrow.

Needless to say, it was a whirlwind week and a half, but I needed some time outside Baltimore and away from the office...I was burnt out by Christmas Eve. And I didn't run at all, of course.

So, this week I'll start back on the roads and start studying for the CFA...yes, it's that time of year as well, when I spend 6 months studying for a single exam in June. The sooner I can get all of it done, the happier I will be. But I want to really also focus on my running, and with no bog trips or holidays scheduled right now, I think that will be a possibility. We may take a long weekend in Cincinnati or something in April, but that's far from certain. Right now, I'm happy to be able to spend the next few weeks focusing on work, studying, and running.

Once I get the 289 pictures I took organized, I'll post them on Picassa.

Am I Going to Make It Next Saturday?

Short answer is: I Don't Know! My well-laid plans to stop being lazy and "too busy" to run have come to naught thanks to Mother Nature and poor schedules. I had initially wanted to get out and run on Monday morning, however, it was pouring, literally pouring, down rain at 5:45 AM, which killed my motivation. I want to run, but there's no sense in running in rain at 38 degrees. Then I thought maybe Tuesday morning would work. However, getting to bed too late the night before killed me. Wednesday was another rainy morning so here we are, about 9 days from the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler and I haven't run since before Thanksgiving.

Am I going to make it next Saturday? I don't know but the weather looks to be good and cold so I'm going to go and get my $15 worth. It's a great race and I'm not going to let the craziness of the last two weeks sabotage my enjoyment of the race. I've got about 5 running opportunities between now and the 19th (tomorrow, Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and next Friday) so maybe if I can hit those targets, I'll be able to slowly meander along the 5 mile course and not flame out.

Or, I could run those five days and still limp across the finish line on the 19th heaving from embarrassment, not to mention exhaustion. We'll see how it goes, but as the end of the year approaches, a year where I seriously fell off the running wagon, I know I need to set some 2010 goals and map out how I'm going to get there. I think spending the first 6-8 months getting my mileage back above 10 miles, followed by a fall half marathon target and then late fall-winter races culminating in the 2010 Celtic Solstice is a good starting point. Finding new ways to stay motivated, however, is the big challenge and will probably be a determining factor next year.

For now, I just want to be able to run that 5 miler next weekend and then head to my grandmother's house in the afternoon for our pre-holiday feast!