Definitely the second title

On the road

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

Even before I run, I'll usually have a good idea of what I'll write in my daily post. If my plan is to go out for a few miles, the variables are basically the route I'll take and how I performed. Today was different, I'd decided to try a return to the road. That invited the real possibility that I'd undo all the recovery work I've done over the past seven days. I wondered if I'd title today's post, "Too much too soon", or "Victory on the road."

I was genuinely nervous when I stepped outside. I took extra time to do some dynamic stretching, especially with my right leg. The GPS took its time to acquire signal but it finally went to ready state. I hit the start and set off in my usual starting direction, hoping for the best.

The first test came quickly, just 50 steps away from my house. It was here that my hip injury announced itself two weeks ago, causing me to immediately stop my run. No problem this time. One hurdle cleared.

The next point of concern came up three minutes later, near the top of the first road on my route. That was how far I'd gotten the last time I attempted a street run. The pain at that time was excruciating. Later, it took almost an hour, an ice pack and an Aleve before it began to feel better. I cringed when I passed that point today. Happily, there was no pain.

I continued on, feeling increasingly confident as I made my way through the first mile. My hip felt okay, but there was some tightness. I was running very easy and that probably helped. Around mile two I started to detect a dull pain around my hip. It was barely noticeable but I became concerned that I was pushing my luck. I was about a mile from my house, so I considered my options. I could either walk back home, or continue along my route. I chose to keep running.

The final 1.3 miles went fine. By the end, I knew I'd done no harm to my hip. The important thing was that I'd successfully completed a run on pavement. Hours later, my hip still feels fine. We had a family get-together in the afternoon and I didn't notice my hip at all. The question is, do I go longer than three miles tomorrow? Further, since this injury has improved with rest and careful workouts, is it necessary to keep my appointment with the orthopedist next week?

Viva revolution (per minute)

In my case, best divide by ten

Today's workout (treadmill): 40 minutes

Today's session wasn't tough, but it was indeed a workout. The elliptical machine provides low impact, moderately aerobic conditioning with great cardio benefit. There is a small percentage of people who despise the elliptical, while many have told me that they find it far easier than running. I've observed that the elliptical challenge varies greatly with the level of resistance I choose. Level 2 is a breeze, while level nine is a hill climb.

Owing to my hip issue (are you as tired of reading about this as I am writing about it?) I set the level at 3 and focused on keeping my "speed" above 55. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I suspect it's revolutions per minute. I ended up at close to 2,200 revolutions by the end, so the math works. I do miss my old BH Fitness elliptical that actually displayed distance, MPH and effort expended (by watts). That's what paying 3x as much gets you. Plus construction that doesn't feel like a metal tinker toy.

At the end of my session, I noticed that my hip felt fine. Happily, that hasn't changed throughout the day. I'll assess its condition tomorrow and will hopefully be ready for a neighborhood run. I won't count on that, but it would be great to be back on the road again.

Is it progress or stasis?

Today's run (treadmill): 30 minutes

I spent the day in the city, so I got up early this morning and ran on the treadmill. I'd considered the elliptical, but I had some cognitive dissonance after yesterday's run. I wasn't sure that I was making much progress in my recovery and wanted to retest my hip. I'm not sure what that accomplished, because my experience on today's run was exactly the same as yesterday.

As I ran on the treadmill, I thought about my decision to run, versus other alternatives. I knew I'd be covering a lot of ground on foot today, so I could have easily used city walking as my workout. I chose to run because I really wanted to gain some aerobic benefit. If my hip felt better today, I'd know I was on the right track.

I got through the run without much trouble, but my hip soreness remained. The pain was no worse than on Tuesday, but I wondered if I'd traded a recovery opportunity for some marginal conditioning. There wasn't any post-run pain, so I don't think I did any damage. Tomorrow I'm definitely returning to the elliptical for a lower impact workout.

The question right now is when to try another street run. The last two times I did that, my recovery was set back for days. I need to get back to race training mode, but I'll need to be sure that I've passed the risk point for re-injury.

NE recap and a return to the run

Ambivalence in Vermont (Go Sox, boo Yankees!)

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

The problem with vacations, even short ones, is that you often end up less rested by the end than you did at the start. This weekend was like that. We returned home exhausted, but for the best possible reasons. Our weekend started with a visit to Vermont, where we were excited to spend time with my brother, sister-in-law and their adorable 6 year old boys. They've recently moved to the greater Burlington area. Besides being visually beautiful (it's adjacent to the Green Mountains) there's plenty of places for trail running. Unfortunately, my injured hip disqualified me from doing any of that this weekend. 

Green Mountain highway view

Green Mountain Coffee HQ

Minuteman Centennial statue, erected in 1875

After spending midday in Stowe on Sunday, we finished up with a visit to the Green Mountain Coffee visitor center in Waterbury. We said our goodbyes there and headed south through New Hampshire, bound for my home state of Massachusetts. The rest of our trip took us to Concord, where we visited the Old North Bridge and battleground and then to Plymouth. That brought back memories of my primary school visits there, many years ago.

I was hoping that I'd make up for a lack of running by walking longer distances while I was away. I fell short of my daily goals, but only by a small amount. My decision to skip my run yesterday morning worked out well. I still felt some residual muscle soreness today, but didn't think an easy run would invite further injury.

I was a little gun shy about running on the road today, since my last two street runs had ended rather abruptly. I compromised by doing a treadmill run and closely monitored my hip for signs of weakness or pain. I set the speed to a moderate pace that didn't cause me to sweat until I'd reached the 15 minute point. Performance was my least concern. I began to feel slight discomfort at the two mile mark and decided to limit my distance to about three miles. I planned to stop right away if the soreness increased.

The good news is that I completed my run without any additional discomfort. It was good to get an aerobic workout done after three days away. I'll probably do an indoor workout tomorrow, either on the elliptical, or on the treadmill again. Either way I'll take it easy. I'm hoping that by Friday I will be back to form. If not, I still have my appointment with the sports doctor next week.

Travel trumping training

It's been a great few days in New England, but I'm working on my third day without a run. We left Vermont yesterday (mountains below) and we're in the Boston area today. It looks like we won't see the snow that's hitting the Midwest, but we may encounter some rough weather on the way back to New York.
I considered heading to the fitness center to run on the treadmill when I got up this morning. Today is my wife's birthday, so I'm opting for a family breakfast instead.  My hip has improved a lot since Friday and I'm planning to try a street run tomorrow.  I really want to do a test run today, but one more day of rest seems like a better idea.

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.