Resistance is Useless - Hooray!

There's another way

Today's workout (elliptical): 40 minutes

You may recognize the phrase, "Resistance is useless!" as the battle cry of the Vogons in Douglas Adam's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." So what's all this about resistance? I discovered this morning that by using the elliptical machine with zero resistance, I can still do a hard workout without hurting my injured hip.

I woke up this morning and tested my hip as I made my way downstairs. It still felt a little sore, but my mobility seemed fine. I wasn't fooled into thinking that I could get away with an outdoor run today, but did consider other options. It seems that the intense pain that I'm experiencing while running manifests only when I run on the road. A recent trail run had gone well, and a handful of treadmill sessions have caused me little problem.

After some gentle dynamic stretching, I decided to test things out on the elliptical while my wife did her morning treadmill run. My theory that I would do okay with lower impact workouts quickly proved out. I started my session at neutral resistance and, instead of ratcheting that up to a mid-high level as I normally do, I just began moving. It felt a little too easy, so I increased my speed to get my heart rate going.

This session provided a good aerobic workout and I generated enough of a sweat to be satisfied with the effort. My hip felt the same from start to finish, with none of the stabbing pain that caused me to cancel yesterday's run after three minutes. I'm pleased that I have an alternative to running while my hip gets better.

I will miss the opportunity to run the trails of Vermont this weekend, when we visit my brother and his family. I'll gladly settle for a hike though. With only three weeks to go until my next race, I don't need to make my injury any worse than it is already.

A painfully abrupt end to an outside run

Medical description of my hip problem

Today's run (street): .38 miles

Yesterday I took it easy, covering about five miles, all walking. My hip soreness remained, but it felt closer to a dull ache than a sharp pain. Last night, I walked through the neighborhood and my hip felt nearly okay. I was energized and thought about completing the last mile of my route with an easy jog. I didn't do that, mostly because I wasn't wearing the right clothing. Had I tried it, I may have better understood that this injury is far from over.

I haven't run on the road for a number of days. I've either used the treadmill or the elliptical over the past week. The only recent outdoor workout I've done was a trail run on Saturday. I thought it was time to go out for a street run this morning and gauge the condition of my hip. I wasn't looking to burn up the road, but I wanted to stay within my normal pace window. I was conscious of my last run on pavement and figured if I could get past the first fifty steps, I'd be fine.

That assumption turned out to be wrong. Like really wrong. I was fine for the first moments, though my stride felt slightly off. The pain level seemed low, but quickly sharpened. I still thought that I could manage through it. A minute later, the pain became pronounced and I had to stop right away. It became clear that I was going to do some damage if I continued through my planned route.

I had barely been on the road for three minutes when the pain reached its peak. I started to walk, but the pain still felt very intense. I hobbled home and immediately put ice on the sore area. I then took Aleve and called a sports orthopedist. No more fooling around. Unfortunately I won't get in to see the doctor until April 2nd so I'll need to manage until then.

I guess this means I'll have to focus on upper body and core workouts until the pain subsides. Walking seems to be okay again, but it's clearly not the cure-all I thought it was.

My go to workout for running injuries

Cures all running ills

I decided to substitute this morning's run with a walk that I did on the treadmill at a 5% incline. I'm not fully convinced that my injury is related to my IT band. That's because I don't really know exactly where my IT band is. All I know is that the problem suddenly popped up, got worse and then steadily improved. From everything I've heard about Iliotibial band syndrome, it doesn't improve that quickly. Besides that, the Wikipedia definition states that ITBS is a lateral knee issue and (thankfully) that's not part of my problem.

The reason I chose to walk was simple. In the almost-five years that I've been running, I've noticed that there's no injury that walking hasn't helped. It may be the reduced impact, plus some physiological intangible, but a good walk seems to be the best method to combine conditioning with recovery.

Hours later, the pain and soreness have fundamentally subsided. I'll continue to apply ice and some massage via a small roller that I have. If time allows, I may take another walk, this time around the neighborhood after dinner  If a little walking helped akready, a little more can't hurt.

Band on the run. IT band that is.

Strike up the band

Today's run (treadmill): 3 miles

It was cold and rainy this morning, as expected, so I wasted little time deciding between an indoor and outdoor run. I had things to do this morning, so I got on the treadmill earlier than usual and set my usual starting pace. This pace, which feels like 9:00/mile, can seem either easy or hard, depending on the day and circumstances. Today it felt relatively easy, but the soreness near my hip came back in a big way.

I wasn't really concerned about the pain. It was there, but my tolerance to pain is fairly high. I was troubled that the soreness persisted even as I ran. It made me wonder if this was a bonafide injury. Running on an injury is never a good idea, but I wasn't ready to cut my workout short. Instead, I dropped my speed back about 5% and my hip began to feel better.

I finally called it a run after reaching three miles and noted that my hip still felt tight and uncomfortable as I stepped off the treadmill. I did a little research online to see if I could identify the muscles or tendons that were causing this pain. I think that it might be my IT band. The pain is localized near my lower hip but the pain does travel a little. It's not as intense as sciatica, but the symptoms seem to coincide with Iliotibial Band Syndrome.

I'm continuing to ice the area and I took Aleve which helps the pain. The practical next step is to rest a couple of days before I run again. Maybe I'll do that, or substitute an elliptical session for my Wednesday run. I'm also thinking about resuming my Uechi-ryu (Okinawan karate) workouts now that I have a little more time. That will provide another cross-training option and also provide me with some much needed upper body exercise. 

Time for new shoes or just wishful thinking?

Ready and willing to test again!

Mondays are rest days and that's what I did today - sort of. I didn't run (or cross train) but I did get all around the city on foot. I'm happy to report that, even with all that walking, my hip is feeling much better. I'm hoping the pain won't come back tomorrow when I go out for a run. Of course, running outside may not even be an option in the morning. According to weather.com, we'll be seeing showers throughout the day.

I've been thinking about my hip pain and wondering if this a warning that my Kinvaras are beginning to break down. I haven't been wearing these shoes much lately, so it's not clear to me if there's really a correlation. I've been fortunate to get close to 500 miles on the Kinvaras and they still look good, but I've noticed some pronounced wear on parts of the outsole. I just got an email from Brooks asking that I update my testing profile. Perhaps I'll be getting another pair to evaluate, just in time.

NYC Half coverage: it's time to give me the mic

image courtesy of abclocal.go.com

Today's run (treadmill): 4.25 miles

Last year, NBC surprised me by actually covering the NYC Half Marathon. Running is so invisible on television that I'm thrilled whenever it is shown. Still, I was critical of the 2012 broadcast because the NBC folks failed to make the event interesting for viewers. It so happened that both the men and women's races featured two runners fighting it out for the win, while the rest of the field followed far behind. NBC had a chance to cover the experience of fifteen thousand people, but it barely covered four.

This year, it was the local ABC affiliate that covered the race. I was hoping that, this time, the focus would be on the event, not just the lead runners. Unfortunately, channel 7's execution was just as disappointing as last year's. Races like the NYC Half are rare, because they are both a spectator event and a shared experience. If there were 15K people on the course, there were undoubtedly more than 100K friends and relatives looking for them during the race. Not only were 99.99% of participants ignored, the elite runners who finished second and third were barely acknowledged.

I thought about the race as I ran my distance on the treadmill this morning. With so many knowledgeable people writing for running magazines, websites and blogs, the opportunity to hire compelling broadcasters is there. Think about the level of detail and background that's provided by qualified announcers for every MLB, NBA and NFL game. Today's race announcers were so inept, they didn't even know the names of the two elite women who were bearing down on eventual winner Caroline Rotich as they approached the finish line.  

Running will never gain traction on television unless the networks commit to treating the sport like an event, instead of a news story. People won't tune in if the coverage is dull and the focus is so narrow that they'd be better off skipping the broadcast and waiting for the recap to be published. If channel 7 had given me the mic this morning, I would have done it a whole lot differently.

Stillwell trails and a mystery solved

My Stillwell Loop x 2

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.2 miles

The Garmin power loss mystery was solved this morning when I uploaded my week's runs to Garmin Connect. The duration of Thursday's treadmill run was recorded at sixteen hours and forty-one minutes. I had forgotten to turn off the timer after my run, and it dutifully recorded time until it ran out of juice. I was happy to see that it was my lack of attention, and not an issue with my battery, that caused the power drain.

The Garmin was back to full power this morning when I headed over to Stillwell Woods. It was freezing cold at the start and I expected the dirt paths to be rock hard. Surprisingly, the ground had plenty of give. As I traveled further, I even encountered some muddy sections. My hip did not bother me like yesterday, but I could still feel some soreness.

I followed my usual loop, a route that I favor for two reasons: I don't get lost while on it and it doesn't subject me to the extreme inclines that exist further to the east. I was careful not to push too hard and further aggravate my hip, so I locked into a comfortable pace and enjoyed the scenery as I ran.

I saw a few groups of high school-age runners moving rapidly along the trail and figured they were training for cross country. There were some mountain bikers as well, and one rode behind me for a while, but didn't pass. Knowing he was there made me nervous. I moved far to the right, hoping that he'd take the hint. At that moment, the rider turned onto a connecting path and my problem was solved.

I ended up covering my route twice and even added a little extra distance to make sure I made my targeted distance of four miles. So far my hip is still behaving and I'm hoping the residual soreness will go away. It was nice to be back in the woods and I look forward to more trail running as winter turns to spring. You can run the trails all year round, but it's far better when the paths are clear.

Today's fifty step run

No power, no problem, today

I originally thought the theme of today's post would be about my discovery that my Garmin was out of battery and that would force me to run outside without capturing any data. But that wasn't the way it played out. Instead, I ended up stopping my run almost as soon as it started. Nothing to do with technology this time.

I was actually looking forward to running free of big brother NAVSTAR as I geared up for the cold morning temperatures (29°). I'll admit that I wimped out and put on my Garmin 60 to use as a stopwatch, but I didn't connect the foot pod or the HRM. So technically I was running free. However, between elapsed time and Gmaps, I could still calculate pace and distance. And you know I would have.

After running fifty steps from my house on my way around the neighborhood, I realized that my hip soreness had not gone away. In fact it was fairly painful and I worried that continuing my run might only exacerbate the problem. I decided that getting in a routine run was not worth the possibility of further injury so I stopped, turned around, and headed home.

I iced the spot for about 30 minutes and then continued my day that included lunch with a good friend. I considered doing an afternoon run if my hip felt better (it does) but decided instead to give it additional rest until tomorrow. I may go for a trail run at Stillwell on Saturday. In the past, the dirt surface has provided a good, softer alternative to pavement. It's a good surface to run on when dealing with an injury. Of course, if the temperatures are still below freezing tomorrow, the dirt may be just as hard as pavement.

Echos of schedules past

Yesterday's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes
Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

It's been a very busy week and my schedule has interfered with my ability to publish my posts. I've had to resort to using the Blogger app on my phone in between engagements. I'm not sure how this will work, but here goes!

I've been going into the city the last two days for some industry meetings. The early morning wake-ups and commuting on the train were great reminders of my former daily grind. On both days I added long walks between Penn Station and Columbus Circle on top of my morning workouts.  I'm hoping I've impressed the Fitbit enough to earn another I LIKE U.

Yesterday morning I had one more go on the elliptical. I'm still not loving its rickety build, but it does provide a decent workout. I woke up this morning with some hip pain and I'd hoped that it would pass when I started my run. It didn't, and the pain continued throughout the day. The three additional miles I walked later in the morning probably didn't help it.

My hip's not bothering me too much at this point and I'm hoping to get back outside for a run tomorrow morning. I'm also hoping that the freezing temperatures and stiff winds are gone by then. I'm truly looking forward to a less intense day on Friday. How did I used to do this city thing five days a week?

Fitbits don't work across the room

Ouch

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

About halfway through this morning's treadmill run, I spotted my Fitbit sitting on the guestroom bed. I'm really into capturing my activity through that device, so I was a little nonplussed by the situation. While I was still capturing metrics like time and heart rate on my Garmin, all those steps would be lost to my daily and weekly totals. I considered stopping the treadmill to retrieve the device but decided that it wasn't worth the disruption.

Years ago, when my first Garmin failed during a run, I felt frustrated and asked myself, "If the run didn't record, did it really happen?" I know it sounds silly, but I once felt that way. A documented run is a tangible entity. Something that happened. Something to look back upon. A run performed independent of a watch or device doesn't become part of recorded history. I'll admit that on the rare times when I've gone out "watchless" on a run, I later Gmap'd my route so I could at least capture my distance.

Even without a device, running data on the treadmill is always available via the display. I don't fully trust the accuracy, but at least it provides ballpark metrics. I maintained a challenging pace through the workout and that took my mind off forgetting my Fitbit. So it looks like I'll need to wait a little longer to get my next Fitbit badge. Further, today's totals won't approach my daily goals. But I got a good run in today, despite the lack of evidence.

DST run with KWL at BSP*

*Bethpage State Park

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 6.25 miles

Daylight Savings Time (DST) starts today and (for this one) we "Spring" forward. I wasn't thinking about that yesterday when I committed to a 7:00 AM run with a friend. In DST world, 7:00 AM is really 6:00 AM. By the time I got to bed, it was almost DST midnight. I somehow miscalculated all that and got up at 4:50 DST. So I ended up getting less than five hours of sleep.

My friend KWL arrived a little before 7:00. It was still dark when we headed over to Bethpage but it had lightened up in the ten minutes it took to get there. As I feared, the gates were up at the park so we quickly headed to Haypath Road. We were able to park the car in a spot that was adjacent to the Greenbelt trail head. This southern entrance put us on the newly paved section of the Bethpage bike path.

KWL and I started our run in 30° temperatures. We'd both dressed for the cold so we were comfortable as we made our way through the first mile. Our plan was to cover 10K easy, but easy is a relative term. KWL is a triathlete, accomplished cyclist and 1:40 half marathoner, so his "easy" pace is somewhat challenging to me. We happily compromised and settled into pace that worked for both of us.

The new section has some hills which I tackled easily, using my early run freshness to power through.  KWL loves inclines and I don't. On the other hand, he dislikes running downhill and I can do that all day. So in the rare times when I held the forward position, it was usually on a downward slope.

Along way we encountered a group running in brightly colored outfits. Both times we saw them they were about to run up a hill as we were running down. They were a cheerful, talkative bunch, undaunted by the challenge. KWL and I reached the 3.1 mile mark and immediately turned around to complete the out and back route. I was feeling a little tired at that point and wasn't looking forward to scaling the upcoming hills.

A few minutes after we'd met that challenge, I began to feel stronger. We picked up the pace with about 2K left to go. I'd thought that the trail extension would be easy, since (this time) we'd be on the better side of the hills. I'd forgotten that there were still some inclines going north. Before long, my Garmin chirped for 6 miles and we picked up the pace as we completed final quarter mile.

KWL and I both found the run exhilarating. Despite the DST change, we still had plenty of morning left. Today's experience reminded me how enjoyable it can be to run with company. I really should do that more often. Perhaps it's time to do something about joining a running club.

Searching for NAVSTAR and my next running shoes

Today's run (street): 3.1 miles

Wait time: 8 minutes

We had a late night last night and I didn't get up until 6:15 AM. That threw me off this morning's very tight schedule. By the time I went outside, my window for running was only 40 minutes. It was sunny and bright and I was glad to see that the roads were clear and runnable. This was somewhat surprising, since the temperatures were hovering around the freezing mark.

When I started the Garmin it looked like it would acquire a signal right away. Despite the clear skies, it took almost eight minutes before it finally locked in all the NAVSTAR satellites. This narrowed my running window down to 32 minutes. I'd watched the progress bar go almost to full, only to pull back to the middle. I had considered heading back inside to run on the treadmill, but I ended up waiting it out.

I set off on a rapid pace to help ensure that I'd make my minimum distance of three miles. A slight wind made the first half mile a little chilly, but it disappeared at the first turn. I felt fairly strong and figured I could maintain a low 9:00 pace without much trouble. I chose a set of roads that I expected would get me around the neighborhood and back in three miles and I ended up covering 3.14. It was an invigorating run and I made it back home a with a few minutes to spare.

While we were out this afternoon, I had the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity about two pairs of running shoes that I've wanted to try. I put on a pair of Brooks Pure Drifts that were one-half size up from the ones I'd tested for Brooks. My biggest criticism of the pre-production Drifts was the tightness on my toes on the lateral side. The toe box on the production shoes felt roomier, but I felt some ridging from the mid-sole on that side.

The other pair I tried was the new Saucony Virrata, a zero drop trainer with a surprising amount of cushioning. The shoe reminded me of the original Kinvara, but with even better response on toe-off. The shoes fit perfectly and I wanted to them on the spot. I decided to wait it out a little longer as my Kinvaras still have some life left in them.

Brooks Pure Drift production model

Saucony Virrata with zero drop mid-sole

My verdict on the two was that I'd run in the new Pure Drifts if I had them, but I would still want to compare them further with the NB Minimus, the newest Hattori and, just for fun, the INOV-8 Road X-Treme. The Virrata is another story. It's not a question of if I'd buy them, only when I'll do it. I'm hoping that the Kinvaras will last me another 100-150 miles. But if the stability of those shoes changes sooner, I'll be going Virrata shopping that day.