Seven runs in seven days

Vacation day on the 'ole North Fork

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.3 miles
Tuesday's run (street): 3.2 miles
Monday's run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

Seven runs over the last seven days. So where's my parade? The last time I ran that many days in a row was in September 2012. I didn't cover that much distance over the past seven days (23 miles) but it brought me back to my old running schedule. Up until early 2013, I would run outside (or on the treadmill) six days a week. Monday was always my rest day. These days I typically cram my running in between Fridays and Sundays. Not the best recipe for continuous improvement.

Pretty good shot of a vineyard at 60 MPH

Since I'm on vacation this week, I had no excuse to skip a run on Monday. I ended up on the treadmill because it was raining. At least I think that's why. I have almost no memory of that workout. Tuesday was a typical neighborhood jaunt and Wednesday was more of the same but a little longer. Later in the day we went out to the North Fork of Long Island for the day and enjoyed the sights (and food) in towns like Greenport and Southhold. Between running and walking, I accumulated a lot of steps.

I considered making today a rest day since my right foot has taken over responsibility for torturing me with Plantar Faciiitis. The weather was too nice to skip a run, so I wore my cushy Saucony Triumph ISOs to minimize impact on my heel. The pain was bearable, but today I felt some pain and tightness at my right hip. That may be signs of Piriformis syndrome. I had similar sciatic nerve pain when I was recovering from a herniated disc a couple of years ago. It may be a recurrence of that, or it could be punishment for running so many days in a row.

I may end my running streak tomorrow and switch to the elliptical. Working out with different motion and lower impact may be the best way to proceed at this point. I can always resume running on Saturday. If the weather is nice  on Friday I may have trouble staying indoors.

There's nothing acute about Plantar Fasciitis

This heel pain is making me nutty

Today's run (treadmill): 3.3 miles
Yesterday's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

If you're ever looking for ways to ruin your appetite, I suggest looking up foot pain on Google Images. I did that, and I'm now confident in saying that the foot is our ugliest external body part. The reason why I was looking at feety things was because I've been experiencing acute foot pain in my heel that the Internet thinks is Plantar Fasciitis. I usually associate the word Plantar with mixed nuts, but this seems to be something different. I learned, in terms of pain, that acute means short term and chronic is long term. At least that's what the trainer person said in an infomercial that I couldn't switch off because the remote was out of reach.

Whether my pain is here to stay or just visiting, I can tell you it's very annoying. I first started experiencing discomfort at the bottom of my left heel about three weeks ago. Interestingly enough, that's when one of my co-workers generously donated his standing pad to me because he decided that using a standing desk was dumb. Prior to using that pad, I had no pain in my heel. It seems counter intuitive that a pad made specifically to reduce leg fatigue for people who stand for long periods would create this problem. But when it comes to feet, all bets are off.

Plantar Fasciitis is a strange affliction. I'm not really sure what it is. As a matter of fact, I don't think anyone actually knows what it is. If you look it up, it's blamed for just about anything having to do with foot pain. My particular problem is when I put pressure on my heel it hurts. The pain is fairly sharp (one might even say "acute"), but it minimizes once I walk around on it. So far it hasn't interfered with my running, although it is noticeable at the start.

I did treadmill runs yesterday and today. They were fairly identical except that Saturday's music had more Sheila E while today's had more Prince. I think Price wrote some of Sheila E's songs so technically they were identical. But I digress. My treadmill experiences have been good of late, mostly because I limit my distance to 3.25 miles. My friends SIOR and KWL and a few work colleagues often spend well over an hour on the treadmill. I can't do that anymore but I can psych myself up to cover about 5K.

Despite this heel pain, I seem to be covering a lot of ground. According to my Garmin 35, I've taken about 14K steps today. A chunk of that was my morning run and another chunk was when I walked to the library to return a DVD. In both cases my heel pain was minimal. How it felt afterwards was a different story. I'm going to look up things you're supposed to do to address heel based Plantar Fasciitis. I'm also going to take a break from my standing mat to see if that makes it better or worse. If going mat-less makes it better, I'm going to give it to someone in the office whom I dislike. Maybe that's how I got it in the first place.

Solo bandito on the track

We don't need no badges! But handwarmers would be good.

Today's run (track): 3.5 miles

The news said today would be a little milder than Saturday. I headed over to the track in the morning because I felt like running around in circles. Ovals actually. The wind was present, but less intense than yesterday. I prepared for the 28° temperature and chose similar gear as the day before. One addition to my setup was an ASICS windbreaker. It was the same model I was wearing when a dog tried to eat me (but in black).

I arrived at the track with no one else in sight. No other cars in the lot or track teams doing drills. Just me, the rising sun and the bitter cold. I parked my car and walked over to the track. I was deciding which direction to run when I felt a stabbing pain in my left quad. The gate latch to the track fence caught me just above the knee and it hurt like heck. I worried that the latch had done enough damage to make today's workout a DNS.

Attacked by a sneaky gate

Once the initial pain subsided, I did some leg swings to stretch my leg muscle. After a few minutes I decided I could run. I started out counter-clockwise and immediately caught a blast of air to the face. My layers kept my torso warm, but my face and extremities were freezing. I pulled my buff up over my nose and under my sunglasses (to prevent fogging) and ran like that for a few laps. I looked like a masked bandito, but fortunately there was no one around to call the Federales.

I rounded the track, keeping my eyes on the road for interlopers who might come by and ruin my serenity. I really like having the track to myself. I started getting warmer after a mile and a half and took a quick break to put my jacket back in my car. That was a good move and my last eight laps went by very quickly.

My performance this morning was only so-so. Nine hours later, my quad is still a little sore but I don't think my run-in with the gate latch did any long term damage. It wasn't a great weekend for weather but not a bad one for running. The cold weather is here and I'm fine with that. Just as long as the snow stays away on days when I want to run outside.

Cow-leg running science explained

Leg stomach-ache

Today's run (street): 3.8 miles

Happy Labor Day. It's always nice to have a three day weekend, although I keep thinking today is Sunday. It sure felt like a Sunday when I went out this morning, and I appreciated the car-free roads. I almost skipped my run in favor an elliptical session, but my wife encouraged me to get outside and I listened to her. I'm glad I did.

The reason I'd considered forgoing my run was because I woke up with an acute pain in my right calf. According to Dr. Google, this pain was emanating from the Medial Gastrocnemius. I always thought gastro meant stomach, but apparently there's also a gastro in our leg muscles. It sort of makes sense because cows have multiple stomachs and they also have calves. Science is very logical.

I was a little concerned that the calf pain resulted from wearing my new Kinvaras that are lower and flatter than the Triumphs. I've never had trouble transitioning to zero and near-zero drop running shoes, but I was concerned that they might be the culprit. I decided to keep it under four miles today, and if the pain got worse, I'd work them in with even shorter distances.

My first steps off my driveway were pain-free and that was the case throughout the entire run. I continue to like the feel of the shoe. Compared to both the original and the K3, the K5 is equally comfortable. But the K5s are more responsive and have a smoother toe-off.

Hours after the run, my calf feels fine. I don't know what caused this morning's soreness, but at least I know it wasn't the shoes.

Goodbye pain, hello speed

Illustration by Mr. Emerging Runner Jr. 

Today's run (street): 3.9 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.6 miles

Happy Mother's Day. We did most of our celebrating yesterday because we had a lot of stuff to do today. That meant family time during the day, followed by an early dinner at our favorite place. This weekend also included a couple of sunny outdoor runs for me that felt close to normal. The gating (or gaiting : ) factor is my stride that feels constrained on my left side. It's causing my left foot to land differently, so that it jams up against the front of my shoe.

Both of my weekend runs were pretty much the same, although they were tougher than they should have been. The issue wasn't my disc problem. Part of it came from an extremely heavy pollen count and high humidity, especially today. I'll also blame the minimal road work I've done over the past couple of months. My street runs are generally longer than the treadmill and elliptical workouts that I've been doing. Plus, these outside runs produce a lot more impact than fitness machines.

The bright spot in today's run happened near the end when I came down a long stretch and saw a couple walking in the distance. I picked up the pace to pass them and held it long enough to determine that I wouldn't cause a relapse of my upper thigh pain. My overall pace for the run was still very slow, but that last quarter mile was in the mid-8:00 range. No pain during or after.

Tomorrow I'll finish up the formal testing of alternative running machines. I want to keep the momentum of weekday workouts after this program finishes. I don't like using the locker room at my company's fitness center, but if I schedule my workouts for the end of the day, I can towel off with gym wipes and then head straight home. That's what I've been doing during this testing period.

Over the weekend, my son created a running graphic for me (above) that looks like some of the artwork I've created for this site. I like his running man (or woman!) and I think he nailed both the concept of running and a forward leaning stance in karate. I haven't had to combine those two things to date, but if I do, I'll have an icon to represent it!

Timely track run

 

Today's run (track): 3.25 miles

My son competes in Long Island science fairs because of an advanced research project he is doing in high school. Although most of these fairs are held during the school week, he had one happening today. That meant we needed to take him to the high school at 7:00 AM to meet the bus to the event. Usually my wife manages these logistics, but I volunteered to do it today.

It may seem like I was doing this to give Mrs. ER a well deserved break, but my motivation was more selfish than altruistic. Having to get my son to the bus forced me to get out early. I can be an awful procrastinator when it comes to getting ready for a run, but this worked out well since I was planning to run at the high school.

In the days when I'd run before work, I was on a split second time-table. I needed to allow time to get dressed and run my distance in time to get to my preferred train. Without that immovable deadline, I would have have taken twice as long. When I run with my friends, or have a race, I manage to get out on time. When it's a lazy Sunday morning, time usually slips by.

After I dropped off my son, I went to the track behind the school to start today's workout. When I arrived, I saw the usual suspects - 30-something women walking in a group, an older couple (also walking) and a middle aged man run-walking. It's always different people, but the mood and the rhythm is usually the same. Today I played the role of the middle aged man running slowly.

Yesterday's neighborhood run was a confidence booster. Although my running felt awkward, I ran relatively pain-free. I hoped for the same thing today. I did have some abstract soreness when I started, but no real pain, I tried to force a more natural stride but felt constrained throughout the first half of my run. I wore my Virratas and didn't experience the the shoe issues that I had with the Kayanos and Triumphs. I guess I'll be sticking with them for now.

I picked up speed with every mile and I think that was due to warming up enough to open my stride a little. The only negative was near the end, when I could feel some discomfort in my upper thigh as I ran. It was in the same place that I felt the stabbing pain last week. Today it wasn't painful, more like uncomfortable tightness. I reached my goal distance and stopped the run before that got any worse.

Well I definitely made progress this weekend, but I still have a long way to go. The important thing is that I can run without much discomfort or doing any further damage. I'll be spending a lot of time on non-impact fitness machines this week. I'm pretty sure they're helping me recover.

Passing the pavement test

Following the flattest route possible

Today's run (street): 3.1 miles

If my orthopedist correctly diagnosed me as having a herniated disc, I must be having a remarkable recovery. Based on what he told me, I should be having a lot more pain when running. That's not the case and I'm thinking of getting a second opinion. I'm still waiting to meet with this guy to go over the results of my MRI. It's taking a lot longer than promised, because he's canceled my last two appointments. This is the place that canceled my original appointment but didn't let me know until I showed up for it. I've just about had it with this office.

I've been using our elliptical machine at home and have also been testing hybrid running units at a different location. These no-impact workouts have helped me maintain some fitness without aggravating my disc problem. I'd felt incremental improvement in terms of pain prior to my run last Saturday, only to have it return in a big way during that run. Yesterday's one mile treadmill session was a test to see whether the pain was still present while running. I ran slowly and my gait felt awkward, but the stabbing pain from last week was gone.

There's a big difference between running on a level treadmill and hard pavement. I had hopes for a painless outdoor run, but feared it was too soon to expect much improvement. The temperature was only in the high 30's when I headed outside. I dressed accordingly and felt comfortable with the gear I'd chosen. Once my Garmin showed ready, I was off.

I wore the Kayanos rather than the Saucony Triumph ISOs this morning. The Triumphs made my feet feel squished at the front during last Saturday's run. The Kayanos did the same thing today. It's clearly related to my current stride and foot strike. Although I've continued to work out despite these running problems, ellipticals don't provide the same level of intensity as a treadmill. Due to that, I'm feeling some conditioning gaps when I run.

I started today's run along my usual route. The first left off my street goes about a quarter mile up a 2% grade. It's enough to notice, but usually not an issue for me. Today it felt like I was running up James Street during the Great Cow Harbor 10K. If you're not familiar with Widow Hill, it's the stuff of nightmares. For me anyway.

There was no real pain during the run, but my stride didn't feel very natural. I ran slowly to avoid triggering a problem. My plan was to do my distance and then evaluate both my fitness and my readiness for increasing mileage and pace. For a three mile run, it felt like a lot of work, but I'm very pleased that the soreness hasn't returned.

I'm going to add 10% more distance tomorrow and I'm thinking about going to the track to take advantage of that soft, flat surface. Someday, I'd like to go there to run intervals. Tomorrow my hope is to do a little more and hurt a little less.

Somewhere between running and not really running

Running-ish

Workouts this week (running fitness machines): 60 minutes 
Today's workouts (treadmill): 1 mile plus (elliptical): 20 minutes

I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in a test of fitness machines that mimic the motion of running. Unfortunately, I can't share the brands or models until after the study is completed. At this point I'm thinking that the only fitness machine that actually makes you feel like you're running is a treadmill. However, if you keep an open mind, these machines can provide a great workout.

The concept of running comes up a lot in discussions about the test subjects. It's probably more accurate to look at these fitness machines as variations on an elliptical trainer. If you don't like ellipticals, your opinion won't change much when using this new design. Runners who do like elliptical machines will probably appreciate the key differentiator: user controllable stride length.

I've had orientation sessions using three different machines that have provided distinctly different experiences. On the positive side, the lack of impact produces a pain-free workout. Each machine approaches the motion of running differently and my acclimation to the "running" process varied greatly, based on the design. Not so positively, I've noticed a slight pain in one heel and at the side of one knee, although this may not be related to testing. I had a stand up desk installed in my office and have been on my feet a lot more this week.

High stand-ards

The pain from my herniated disc has noticeably diminished but hasn't disappeared. My orthopedist has once-again canceled my follow up appointment, so I need to look into finding a different doctor. The improvement I've been seeing is encouraging, but I suspect that it may still hurt if I try another road run,

I decided to test the waters with a one mile treadmill run this morning. The forgiving and flat surface provided the best possible scenario for protecting my injured disc. I feared that the pain in my upper thigh that made Saturday's run a torture session would reappear. The pain didn't return, but my gait felt awkward throughout the entire session. I followed the treadmill run with 20 minutes on the elliptical, making it a well balanced, moderate workout. I may hit the road tomorrow and I hope it doesn't hit back.

Runsketeer reunion: first spring run!

Our traditional selfie, courtesy of a random Starbucks customer (photo credit to TPP)

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 3.6 miles

Take a look at the picture above. Why is this man smiling? Is it because he ran 3.63 miles today, his first run in two weeks? No, definitely not that. The reason for the smile comes from the people to his right and left. While I suffered through a difficult and painful run this morning, I ended up having a great time today. I will admit most of that happened once we hit Starbucks.

I've been feeling good about my recovery. I've still experienced pain in my left hamstring that's likely caused by my recently diagnosed herniated disc. I've tried a few easy strides along the halls of my office to better gauge my progress. Things have felt pretty good and I was both encouraged and excited to run with my buddies this weekend. But when the (blown and carbon) rubber hit the road, that familiar feeling of being stabbed in the leg with every stride was clear and present.

Our plan was to start out in our usual place, just north of Haypath Road. SIOR and TPP wanted to run longer than my planned 3 miles, so they arrived earlier and ran south for about 1.5 miles before turning around. I texted them when I arrived and SIOR texted back suggesting that I head their way so we could meet up on their way back. After just a few steps, I realized that this was going to hurt.

I took it slow but every step was painful. At least I could run. My doctor said I should avoid hills. Unfortunately, there are quite a few on this path. I made it to the top of a short, steep hill where I saw my friends coming from the other direction. We exchanged hugs and hellos and headed north together. There was no way I could keep up with them today (could I ever?) but they stopped periodically to allow me to catch up.

I had neglected to restart my Garmin when we met up. Fortunately I discovered my error at the point where I started so all I needed to do was double the initial distance to get my true mileage. We continued together but soon I watched my buddies disappear into the distance. I was not enjoying myself and it wasn't just the pain. I realized that the combination of fewer workouts and less intensity (the elliptical can't match the treadmill) has taken a toll on my fitness.

Somehow I made my way through the run and, as I approached my endpoint, I saw that TPP and SIOR were waiting near where I'd parked, talking to a person dressed in white. As I got closer, I realized that this person was on a bike and I was happy to see that it was TPP's paramour, JC. We caught up briefly and JC suggested that steroid shots may relieve the pain from my disc issue. I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that.

Happy birthday to me - thanks SIOR!

We left JC to his ride and the Runsketeers started a convoy to Starbucks. I led the way which involved Route 135, Old Country Road and South Oyster Bay Road. At one point, SIOR texted me asking if I was lost. She thinks she is funny. When we got inside Starbucks, SIOR presented me with a birthday gift - a SPIbelt - one of the best things you can give to a runner. Mine is getting old, ripped and frayed and I rely on it a lot. I'm happy to have a new one that I don't have to worry about breaking on a run and dumping my credit cards, cash and cell phone on the street.

SIOR also bought me coffee. I should have birthdays more often! The three of us hadn't got together since the morning of the Hangover Run  (Jan 1) so we had a lot to catch up on. They patiently listened to me describe my job and company and we recounted our various adventures in travel. SIOR wins hands down with her transatlantic crossing via catamaran from South Africa to Brazil.

As usual, we ran out of time long before we ran out of conversation. Despite the painful run, I ended today's workout in a fantastic mood. The Runsketeers cannot go another four months between our runs! My current injury will make it hard to keep up with my friends for a while, but we know it's the non-running part that puts the smile on our faces.

Wishing SIOR a great race tomorrow at the MORE Half Marathon in NYC. I tease her about it being a woman's-only event, but I really do support it. It was a little less than a year ago when we all ran the Brooklyn Half. A lot has happened since then in terms of my running. At least I'm seeing an orthopedist and just had an MRI, so I can understand exactly what's causing this pain. What to do about that will be another story.

The sting of a million bees

Tools of recovery

Today's run (street): 3.75 miles

Whenever I go out for a run, I think about the things I should capture in that day's post. This blog has served as my running journal since November 2008 and it's been a handy resource for looking back throughout the years. Today I thought about how two people wished me happy Easter as I ran through the neighborhood (hey, what about Passover?!), how I could smell the the salty ocean air and how annoying it was to get gravel in my shoes from all the recent pothole repairs. Little did I know that the key item of this post would happen during the last second of my run.

Things started out okay. My nagging piriformis injury felt a bit more pronounced this morning than yesterday, but not by much. I had used both my massage stick and a tennis ball earlier to loosen up my sore muscles. I was hoping for more improvement. To understand how I felt, imagine how it would feel to have a skilled rolfer jam their index finger knuckle deeply into your left glute every time you took a step. It wasn't too comfortable, but it was tolerable.

After about ten minutes, the discomfort began to diminish and I started to feel more like my old self. My goal was to increase my distance 10% beyond yesterday's run and I knew that would not be a problem. I was less than a quarter mile from my house when I turned onto a road I'd literally run a thousand times and made my way over to the sidewalk. I typically end my runs by following this sidewalk that wraps up and around a couple of short roads before delivering me to my street.

Just when I was feeling encouraged by having completed two decent neighborhood runs this weekend, my toe caught a raised section of the sidewalk and I began falling toward the concrete. I know what it's like to take that fall and did everything I could to stay upright. My instinct was to pull up on my hamstring. When I did that, I felt the pain of a million bee stings along in my lower glute.

My first reaction was frustration that I was back to square one with this injury. I tried to take a couple of walking steps, but was warned off by the pain. Although I was only a minute's walk away from my house, I didn't feel like I could do it without making the injury worse. I called my wife and asked her to pick me up. It was not the way I'd imagined this run would end.

After the very brief ride home, I was able to walk more comfortably. That gave me hope that I hadn't done further damage today. I immediately began icing the sore area and I've continually rotated cold packs since then. It's uncomfortable, but I'm not getting the searing pain I expected when I move around. It's more of a heightened version of my previous sciatic pain.

I've taken a few "running" steps in the meantime and it's actually not that bad. I'm guessing that all the icing has helped reduce painful inflammation. What I don't know is how it will feel under non-iced conditions. I'm on vacation a few days next week and was hoping to get in some additional running. With today's setback, I may need to hold off. I will test the waters with an elliptical session tomorrow and see how it goes from there.

Oh, and you can bet I'm remaking that orthopedist appointment.

The doctor will see you...soon

Today's workout (elliptical): 40 minutes

I'm old enough to remember the days when the doctor would come to your house when someone got the sniffles. Besides the fact that physicians actually did house calls, it was remarkable that the doctor could be summoned on a moment's notice. These days, I plan my doctor visits strategically, taking the first appointment of the day in hopes of "only" waiting an hour to be let in to the exam room.

It's much harder to get in to see a doctor these days, especially if that doctor is a specialist. I was surprised that I was able to schedule an appointment with an orthopedist as early as next week. I've been careful not to aggravate my self-diagnosed piriformis syndrome, substituting the elliptical for the treadmill for the past three weeks.

I thought I'd try an easy run this morning to see whether things had improved. My pain has reduced, but it hasn't gone away. I still have sciatic pain when sitting for long periods (i.e., my morning commute) and I was curious to know how my glute/hamstring area would respond to some easy running.

I started out slowly "running", first at 3 MPH and then increasing  to 4 MPH. I felt okay, but noticed a little discomfort. Once I brought it up past 5 MPH, I knew I was borrowing trouble. I shut the treadmill down, walked over to the elliptical and did my workout there.

That experience made me realize that this problem will not resolve itself through patience. I looked online and found a sports orthopedist whose office is located five minutes from my house. I called them up, verified that they take my health plan and made an appointment for next Friday. I was shocked that I was able to do that. The last time I tried to meet with an orthopedist, the appointment had to be scheduled so far in the future that my injury went away before I was due to meet with him.

I'm encouraged to know that I'll have a qualified person diagnose this problem and (hopefully) put me on a path to quick recovery. I've been dealing with running discomfort since last November and have concluded that enough is enough. I fear that the doctor may say that my injury is more serious than I thought, either requiring surgery and/or extended physical therapy.

But it's better to know the cause than to continue this cycle of running, recovery, and re-aggravation. I just want to get back to running the trails.

Hard times on the short track

Sounds about right

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

My current level of fitness is probably at its lowest since early 2010. Back then I was recovering from a bout of pneumonia that had me in the hospital for a week. My time away from running (after our treadmill failed) had an effect on my conditioning. More concerning is an injury that surfaced in early December. Things improved a lot in January but I made the mistake of pushing hard on a run one day and that re-aggravated the problem. Three weeks working out exclusively on the elliptical got me back in the game.

Things started going downhill after we got our new treadmill. I had three decent runs and concluded that I was back on track. I was having a great run last Friday and decided to step up my speed. That was a big mistake. I suddenly felt searing pain in the area between my glute and hamstring, Even though I stopped right away, the damage was done. The closest thing that I've found online that describes it is something called hamstring tendinopathy.

I was back to the treadmill on Saturday but I struggled to the point where I had to stop. I completed my workout on the elliptical and didn't even attempt to run on Sunday (elliptical again). I hoped that a three day layoff since Sunday would allow sufficient time to recover. I felt okay at the start, even though the modest speed I'd set felt as fast as race pace.

Despite the challenge, I was determined to see this run all the way through. The pain started increasing after ten minutes and I decided I'd deal with it for as long as I could stand it. I hoped I wasn't doing any damage and felt okay when I finally finished, but I've been very sore all day. I'll give it another try tomorrow but I won't be a hero. Reducing speed seems to keep the pain in check so I'll see how it goes.

97% of a good run

Unhappy ending

Today's run (treadmill): 3.3 miles

When does a tenth of a mile make all the difference in a run? Today it was in the final 10th of my treadmill workout. It's been a lot of time since my last run because my business schedule is sucking up all my bandwidth. Today I worked from home and managed to get back to running, although I had limited time this morning.

It was my fourth run on our new treadmill and I continue to appreciate it compared to the old one. The Freemotion running experience is far better than the Sole's. Besides the much quieter motor and stable tread that doesn't jerk underfoot, the Freemotion unit feels more substantial and the running less tedious. The time - and mileage - seem to go by a lot faster.

So I had 97% of a great run and 3% of a really bad one. It was my own fault. The three weeks I spent exclusively on the elliptical helped heal my chronic sciatica. My return to the treadmill last week re-aggravated that injury. I hoped resting from Monday through Thursday would reverse the damage and, to a degree, it did. But I pushed too hard today and that set back my progress.

I only aimed to cover three miles and felt good running at a moderate pace. With half a mile left to go, I began increasing my speed. Everything felt fine and I decided to cover 3.25 miles. By the time I was on the last quarter, the speed felt challenging. At the 3.2 mile point I felt a searing pain in my upper hamstring/glute region and I knew I'd pushed too hard. Y'ouch!

I thought I'd seriously hurt myself. I immediately reduced my speed and stopped the treadmill. Walking felt painful and I hoped it was a temporary situation. I took Ibuprofen and hit the shower. I certainly did myself no favors today. After living with the result all day, it doesn't seem as bad. I'll see how it feels tomorrow morning. I may substitute a run for an elliptical session rather than further aggravate the problem..

Close encounters on the trail

 

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.5 miles

This morning I went out for a trail run at Stillwell Woods for the first time since late November. I'm still dealing with pain from sciatica and hoped that running on softer terrain might provide some relief. The temperature was in the high 20's and Stillwell's trails were mostly frozen mud. Even so, it provided a more forgiving surface than pavement.

When I arrived I saw a few groups of high school aged runners entering the woods. I wondered if I'd run into these speedsters on the trail. I ran by the first group who were standing around planning their workout. I followed my usual route, going north before turning southeast. When I came around the bend, I saw a couple of guys sprinting toward me on the narrow path. That was disconcerting because the protocol is to follow that section of trail in the direction I was running. I'm glad I heard them a second before they appeared so I could move over and give them room to get by.

I had a few other situations when my path crossed a group, but had no more close calls. I was disappointed that the soreness I've been having was present throughout the run. The pain was minor and my concern was more that running (instead of resting) was enabling the problem. But a runner's gotta run, run, run, run, run so I decided I had to shake it off.

I'll be resting tomorrow and going out next on New Years day with my buddies for the LIRRC Hangover Run. In the meantime, I'm putting heat on the source of the problem and using the massage stick often. Next week I return to work and that will mean a reduction in volume. Usually I'd be unhappy about that, but I realize that it's probably the best thing for me right now.

Acquitting the Kayanos

Not guilty

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I've been worrying all week that my persistent soreness might be caused by my new Kayanos. In the past, I developed an injury that related directly to a pair of running shoes. In that case, the shoe had almost 700 miles and the outsole was worn down to the point of imbalance. Although the Kayano is a stability shoe, (which should probably help a problem like this) adapting from more minimal trainers could still cause an issue.

In terms of pain, I've been reading an article in Running Times (RT) that says soreness lasting more than 72 hours could signal a chronic injury. I'm going on two full weeks with mine. This morning I had to make a choice to try to run or find some other form of activity. All week I've been using the massage stick and doing both dynamic and core stretching. I had less pain when I got up, so I figured I'd try a run.

I wore the Opedix Knee-Tecs that promote stride alignment and also provide warmth. I needed the former to help with my injury and the latter to deal with the chilly temps. Due to my concerns about the ASICS, I probably should have worn my Virratas. I opted instead for the Kayanos to see if the problem got better or worse after the run.

I felt trepidation after my first few steps. The pain was radiating back to front but not to the degree where I had to consider stopping. The RT article said if pain decreases during a run, the injury is probably less serious. I hoped the pain would minimize once I began to warm up. At the half mile point I began to feel some pressure on one of my arches and started to question the shoes again.

I thought about how unfortunate it would be to discard these $160 running shoes (which I saw for $99 at Sports Authority last weekend and actually bought for $64). As I ran further, the pain had reduced to minor discomfort and the arch pressure had gone away. The big question was how I'd feel when I got back home.

I finished the run and concluded that the Kayanos did no further harm. I used the massage bar, iced the tender area and was pleasantly surprised to find that I felt better than before I left. So far so good. I'll try to step up the mileage tomorrow and I hope to continue seeing improvement. After some success pushing speed last weekend, I'm anxious to get back to faster paces.

I think I have a syndrome

So far, December has been a very low mileage month. Some of that has to do with my schedule, but this week it's mostly due to a persistent soreness that may or not be sciatica. Sciatica's root cause points to scary sounding things like lumbar spinal stenosis, isthmic spondylolisthesis and Piriformis syndrome. As bad as they sound, most relate to disk compression or misalignment. I think Piriformis syndrome, when the sciatic nerve is irritated by inflammation, is the most likely culprit.

I bought a massage stick and have used it frequently since Sunday. It helps me put pressure where I feel the most pain but I suspect that I'm not really getting to the source of the problem. I get relief immediately after using it, but the next morning the soreness returns. Despite everything, this ache hasn't lessened much since the last time I ran. That's frustrating because I want to run tomorrow, but I'm very concerned that will worsen the problem.

If I was smart I'd take this opportunity to shift to a form of cross training that provides cardio benefits without aggravating my injury. But that would require me to use weights or do push-ups or something. The elliptical is a possibility, although my hope is that I'll wake up tomorrow pain free and ready to run.

Paying the price for running too fast

 

Today's run (street): 4.5 miles

Yesterday afternoon I started experiencing muscle pain from my left side glute down to the hamstring. The pain isn't sharp, but it's noticeable. My first thought and concern was that the new Kayanos were throwing off my gait. I realized that was unlikely because my only prior run in them was on Friday, when I covered a scant 3.3 miles. I took ibuprofen before bed last night and hoped the ache would be gone in the morning.

That wasn't the case. When I got up, the pain was there. No better or worse than last night, but it was enough to notice. I've been injury-free for over a year and I was puzzled by this condition. It felt more like sciatica than a muscle or tendon tear. However, if that was the source then analgesics should have helped.

My opportunities for running are skewed to the end of the week and the weekend, so missing a Sunday run for rest would have an effect on my weekly volume. I decided to go for a very easy run and carefully monitor the pain. The last time I had something like this, it quickly went from moderate discomfort to bad pain. So bad, in fact, that I needed to abandon a run after a quarter mile and limp back home.

I wore the Kayanos again because they have stability features that would provide a correction for a pronator like me. I generally ignore that need because I prefer a neutral trainer. My old Brooks Adrenalins, which had a firm medial post, would do a great job of solving issues related to gait.

I took off with a conscious focus on the sore muscle and soon realized that running wasn't going to exacerbate the problem. At the same time, my quads and hamstrings felt tighter than normal and I knew I had no chance of matching yesterday's speed. It was then when I realized the pain I felt was probably due to those episodes of fast running during yesterday's workout. It's been a while since I've pushed my pace so hard for so long.

Nice weather we're havin'

The other factor that worked against me today was the weather. According to Garmin Connect, conditions during today's run were 37° temps with a 23 MPH wind. The wind chill made it feel like 26° and at times I felt like I was running last year's Long Beach Turkey Trot. I had no illusions of meeting my performance target. Besides that, the purpose of this run was recovery.

I expected to cover about 4 miles - less if my pain grew worse. Since that didn't turn out to be the case, I hung in for an extra half mile. When I was done I was ready for a nap. Hours later, my muscle soreness remains, but it's no worse than when I got up this morning. Rest has always been my best approach to injury, so I'll be doing that for the next couple or days (at least). This doesn't seem to be the same type of pain I had last time. I hope so, because that injury took me off the road for over a week.

Deflated by my run

I know that feeling

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

Yesterday I wrote about my tendency to always get sick at the end of the year. I made the mistake of saying that I've avoided that situation over the last few years. This morning I woke up with a painful migraine-like headache that has kept me exhausted throughout the day. No amount of analgesics, decongestants, running or showering has helped the situation. All I can hope for is relief after a good night's sleep.

We have guests staying with us this weekend and this headache hasn't helped my sociability. I'm doing the best I can under the circumstances. I thought a run might help the situation, but when I went out this morning I immediately regretted the decision. After a half a mile I knew it would be a struggle to get through even a three mile run. I had the opportunity to cut it short when I looped around to a road that's close to my house, but I couldn't bring myself to head home.

I ran as fast as my leaden legs could carry me. My head was pounding and the relief that I thought might come from aerobic breathing never materialized. Along the way I noticed how many lawns were covered by deflated Santas and snowmen. Apparently these large balloons are the new decoration standard. I'm guessing that people wait until dark to inflate them as part of their Christmas display. It amused me to see house after house with what looked like colorfully dressed people passed out on the lawn.

I was happy to end the run, but I felt no better after the workout. In fact I felt worse. The rest of the day has been filled with activities and my participation has been on the low side. I regret the timing of this annoyance because I only see our guests a few times a year.

The Ho Ho Ho Holiday 5K happened today and, because of our schedule, I've had to miss it. I guess that worked out in its own way because I would not have been in shape to race this morning. The Petite Pacer ran it today and I'm betting she had a much better running experience than I did today.

This stick is a real pain in the neck

Great gift indeed

Today's run (tempo): 3.2 miles

Yesterday's workout wasn't that intense, so I decided to step it up a little this morning with a tempo run. I woke up with a neck ache that I'm sure was caused by my Brookstone Shake Weight. This is a weighted balanced stick that you shake to (supposedly) build muscle via "dynamic inertia." I used it a couple of years ago but started getting back aches. I grabbed it out of the closet the other day thinking it might be a good way to work on arm strength without weights.

Whether it was the shake stick or something else, my neck was in pain. It felt like a pinched muscle but it didn't hurt so bad that I couldn't do my run. In deference to the discomfort, I decided to keep it fairly short. I started the tempo about a minute slower than training pace and held that for about 15 minutes, gradually increasing every quarter mile until I finished near my current 5K race pace.

After I'd completed my run, I took an Aleve. Even after putting some heat on it, the pain is still there, although it's not as intense as it was this morning. I'm hoping that a good night's sleep will get rid of it for good. I'm excited to be doing the GLIRC Clubhouse run tomorrow morning with my running friends, the Petite Pacer and SIOR. I'm really excited about that. As for the Shake Weight, it's either back to the closet or bound for the trash.

Race report: 2013 Long Beach Turkey Trot

The new boardwalk

Today's run (Long Beach 10K Turkey Trot): 6.2 miles - 1:00:53 (clock time)

Dear Long Beach Turkey Trot,
There's no easy way to put this, so I'll just say it. I don't think I should run you anymore. I know we've had great times together, including a few 10K PR's, but your behavior today was unforgivable. It's not your fault - blame climate change - but it just isn't working. You've come back strong since hurricane Sandy and I admire you for that. And this doesn't mean we can't still hang out. I still plan to run the Long Beach Snowflake race in February. But for now, I think it's best that I do other races. It's not you, it's me. Actually, it is you.
Sincerely,
The Emerging Runner

Okay, that might be a little over dramatic, but today's Long Beach 10K was the definition of difficult. The weather people were reporting temperatures in the high 20's with 25-29 MPH winds resulting in conditions that felt like 11°. I wore a base layer with a heavier half-zip and compression pants with track pants over them. I double layered my socks, wore mitten-gloves and a warm hat. This, with a winter coat, kept me comfortable enough in the five minutes it took to pick up my number and race shirt.

2013 Race shirt

I saw The Petite Pacer when I arrived and we hung out in my car to stay warm and free of the sand that was being thrown around by the heavy winds. We headed to the boardwalk about five minutes before the the start of the race and tried to keep warm as we found our way to the starting line. The start itself was loosely organized but we were sent off right on time.

The race started east to west and I naively wondered if it was intended to minimize how much exposure we'd have to the fierce winds. I figured they were running the old course backward which would have provided a mile or so into the headwinds with the balance of the race with the wind at our backs. Not quite, but it was nice to hope that was the case, rather than know what laid ahead.

The winds we encountered were so powerful that they played havoc with our balance. The noise of hundreds of fluttering, safety-pinned race bibs was deafening. I kept checking that my own bib was intact from the violent force of the wind. I reminded myself that once we were off the boardwalk, we'd have the wind to our backs. I came off the ramp onto West Broadway heading east and the difference in comfort was palpable.

The wind worked to our favor as we continued east. I was maintaining about a 9:15 pace and felt like I was on track for a decent time. I was expecting them to divert us north on Magnolia and then over and down Washington, so I was surprised that they had us continue straight. If we didn't do that loop and instead had followed the old course backward, we would have come up a mile short.

Soon after passing mile three, which I reached in 27:50, I saw that they were wrapping us around and sending us west on W. Broadway. I thought, "Those bastards!" Suddenly I was facing a wall of frozen air that hit so hard that it looked like I was running, but it felt as slow as walking. I was hating the run at this point, but determined to make it through. I got passed a lot between miles 3 and 4. I couldn't understand how these people were able cut through the wind resistance.

Although I knew I was losing time, I decided not to give up. As miserable as I felt, I kept telling myself all races end and this one will too. I was freezing and becoming increasingly exhausted. Surprisingly enough, my heart rate was locked in at around 87% of max, indicating that I had another gear to call on. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it.

I was thrilled when I finally reached New York Ave. and ran up the ramp back to the boardwalk. I knew from prior races that just because I reached the final stage it didn't mean I was all that close to the end. The wind was mostly to our backs at least, save for some unwelcome blasts that hit head-on in some sections. I put myself into autopilot and checked my Garmin to see that 9/10ths of a mile remained.

I recovered enough to step up the pace. My only goal at this point, besides reaching the line, was to finish with a pace under 10 min a mile (actual pace = 9:48). Happily the finish gate came within sight, but it seemed to take a very long time to get to it. About 100 feet before the line I saw the Petite Pacer in vivid neon and she ran the final 50 feet with me as I crossed the line. She'd finished about six minutes before me and was probably freezing waiting for me to come in.

The new course

Despite the wind, my cadence averaged 172 SPM

It was so great to finally stop. My face was so frozen that I literally couldn't speak correctly. It took almost 15 minutes warming up in my car before I could speak clearly. After Petite Pacer left, I downed some more Gatorade and a banana and took off for home.

It's hard to smile in a sandstorm

Later in the day, my family and I went to a food pantry where we volunteer on behalf of Island Harvest. My job was to carry boxes filled with canned goods to people's cars. I'd done it a few times before but the combination of race exhaustion and the number of boxes I carried caught up with me. I reached a point where I could not carry another set of 30+ lb. boxes.

Those boxes are heavy, especially after a 10K

I certainly got a full body workout today and I'm really looking forward to my rest day tomorrow. Sorry Long Beach Turkey Trot. I think I'm going check out Garden City next year. I hope you'll understand.