Tools for Recovery

As I’ve been honest to share, my knee hasn’t quite recovered from a difficult fall. I attribute my occasional pain to a number of factors. First, I’m beginning to realize that 40 or 45 miles per week is some sort of threshold for me. I can push to 50 or 55 miles for a few short weeks, but not for long–and not if they’re speed-intensive miles. But I can stay at 40 miles per week for months with few or no negative effects.

I took a long time to recover after my half, but, as the Boss is careful to point out, never took a total rest from running–until January, when I took five rest days in a row. Five days seemed like a lot, but it’s not even a week.

I have a tendency toward patellar tendinitis. My lack of cross- and strength-training isn’t helping.

All that having been said, the last week was an encouraging one. I ran even my speedwork without pain, and though I was a little sore as I set out for my second 12-mile run on Saturday, I finished the run without altering my stride.*

I’m starting to think of ways I can minimize the effects of back-to-back running (especially back-to-back racing) as we approach the Bud Light Challenge. Below, some of the tools I’m planning to keep in my kit.

I bought the Original Body Stick at the expo for the Palm Beach Marathon, and I’m glad I did. Rolling my legs out with the stick after those long runs is a great way to get blood flowing again after a hard workout. And, though the Boss is always willing to give me a Stick rubdown, it’s also easy to massage my own legs, something I can do while reading to the kids or getting ready for bed. The Stick will be joining me for my western trek for the races. I paid slightly less than retail–$40–and consider that a great investment.

I tried KT Tape after the expo, too, and I’m hooked! I used to run with a knee brace when I felt particularly sore, but braces have the disadvantage that I sometimes find it tough to keep them in the right spot–you have to tighten them a lot to get them not to slide down–and they also tend to trap sweat. Not a good situation. The tape, on the other hand, always stays where it’s put, and it’s so thin that sweat isn’t an issue. And though you might think the tape couldn’t be as supportive as a brace, I think it’s better–because it’s not holding my knee in the back, I feel like I have a more natural range of motion, while my kneecap is being supported effectively. Really, it’s fantastic–and my local sporting goods store carries it now. At $13, it’s a steal.

This is the latest addition to my toolkit. I’ve used the IcyHot cream and the tube, but I recently found the stuff in this tape roll, and it sure makes application easier. Yes, I still smell like Grandma, but the tape is easy to put on and I can feel it working on my hip and arch as I speak. It’s easy to remove, too, which is good because my skin can tend toward sensitivity. I paid $10 at my grocery store, and I think the roll will last me until race day.

There you have it–some of the things I’m planning to use so I can run hard Saturday and then again Sunday. I’m also planning to take an ice bath after the 5k Saturday, hydrate very well, and take it kind of easy Saturday afternoon–no long shopping trips for me. And though I don’t usually worry about what I eat the day before a half marathon, I’m definitely going to watch my carbohydrate intake. I’m also planning to bring an NSAID along, just in case.

*It would be dishonest of me not to confess that when I woke from a long nap Saturday afternoon, I was quite definitely limping–a fact I tried to hide from the Boss, mostly because it scared me so much. I iced and rested my knee the rest of the day. Out of an abundance of caution, I also took another rest day today, though I had an easy six on the schedule.

I Remember Fast

Well, starting the schedule didn’t go so well . . . as I set out for my planned interval workout yesterday it was raining lightly, and the sky toward the east looked ominous. I headed back inside and briefly considered putting the intervals on the treadmill, but going back to my nice snuggly bed won out. I reasoned I could get the run in in the afternoon, as the forecast was for gray but dry skies and temperatures in the 60s. So as we packed to spend the day at the in-laws, like we do every Sunday, I threw in my running skirt and tank, socks and bra, and Garmie.

But I forgot my running shoes.

Alas, no running yesterday. So today I hit the road, though it was misting again and the sky looked pretty dark. I figured if I got wet, I got wet, and I could always turn around and finish at home.

Amazingly, I got all 6½ miles in dry. This was my 5k-oriented key workout. The goal was to run 5 x 1k @ my target 5k pace.

Hitting the pace after a 1-mile warm-up was actually fairly easy; I could have gone sub-8 but I decided to take the time to practice what the pace felt like and how to hold it. It was tough to do that since I was running by effort against a wicked wind, but I felt pretty good–until that last interval. Number 5 came in quite a bit slower, partly because I started my pickup late (my mind was wandering again), and mostly because I was just very, very tired.

Yoga tonight. I’m considering running again in the morning–when I’m in training I usually just run hard-easy-easy–but with my knees feeling so weak of late there’s a chance I’ll choose to take an easy day instead.

The 12-12 back-to-back runs have been moved to Friday and Saturday, and I definitely plan to take a rest day on Thursday to get ready.

*My interval paces, just FYI: 8:05, 7:57, 7:55, 7:51, 8:01.

New Schedule

While waiting for the Lamb to finish up AWANA yesterday, I sat down and figured out a new training schedule. I only have four weeks before the races–and if you figure a week or so for a mini-taper, I figured I had about twenty days to fit in some key workouts and mileage before race day.

First, I tried to identify some things I wanted to do before race day. I figured out a key workout for each race distance–shorter intervals, faster, for the 5k, and then a longer tempo run for the half marathon. I also wanted to do some distance work, since I remember how good I feel running the half if I’ve outrun the distance in training. With that in mind, I listed five key workouts:

1. 5 x 1k @ 5k pace (for this race, I’m going to target 8:00 for my5k pace even though my PR is 7:34);
2. 5 x 3k @ 15k pace (for this race I’m targeting an 8:30 pace. I haven’t run 9.3 miles in a race before but based on the predictors it’s about the same effort as 8-minute 5k);
3. 10k @ half-marathon pace (for the half I’m targeting a 9-minute pace, though I can run faster since it’s the last race of the weekend);
4. two 12-mile runs back to back (to prepare for the back-to-back nature of the event);
5. one 16-mile long run.

Now, since I only have three weeks to fit all these workouts in, I’m pretty much hitting a key workout every four or five days. In pencil, here’s how it’s all going to work out, starting next week.

Su                   M           T                W               Th               F                  Sa

KW#1          rest        S6             rest         KW#4        KW#4          rest

S6                  E6       KW#3        rest            E8              rest            KW#5

rest               E4         S6              rest          KW#2         rest              E8

E8                  S5         rest             E3           1@5k         rest              RACE WKND

Okay, that’s it. That’s the idea. It’s a lot of speedwork and distance kind of crammed in, but you’ll notice rest days before and after most key workouts and a week of very light mileage before race day. Runs marked with an S are those where I’ll throw in striders; key workouts are marked KW. For any speed workouts, I’ll run a mile warm-up and cool-down. The longest of these speed workouts is #2, which works out to about 11 miles.

Today I went out for 5 and threw in five 30-second intervals of faster running, targeting 8:00 as my pace for the intervals (the idea was to hit the 5k pace). I was a little fast on most of them, going sub-8 fairly easily, no doubt aided by the fact that I was running in the mid-morning instead of before dawn. In fact, even my easy pace was fast today. So it was a little encouraging that some speed remains in these lazy old legs.

If you see flaws in the plan, please call them out to me now.

Six Easy

I was back on the road today for an easy run. I’ve been looking forward to testing myself again, but that doesn’t mean it was easy to get out of bed–especially as a new wave of cold air hit South Florida and our temperatures outside were back in the mid-40s.*

But I eventually rolled out of bed, having to stop to find my tights and running hat–no bare legs or head for me in mid-40s–and eventually found myself out on the darkened street a few minutes before 5. I walked a little, then settled into an easy running stride . . .

. . . without pain! I was elated, then set the new goal of not stopping for a walking break as I’ve been forced to do of late. I thought of running about 4 miles . . . then 5. . . and eventually settled on doing one of my regular 6-mile routes.

I’m hoping I didn’t go too far out of the gate. I felt really good throughout the run, even picking the pace up to test myself at around mile 4.6–and the last mile came in at an 8:37 pace. I’m trying not to be concerned with my slow pace the rest of the time, and am happy I didn’t push any harder or farther.

Today, the question becomes whether it would be best to leave it alone for now or to set out again for a very brief run–so I’m going to sit down with my calendar and see what I can come up with as a schedule for my races next month.

And in happy news, I ordered a new pair of shoes yesterday. I’m kind of off the Adrenaline 9s–the MoGo foam seems to mean a short running life, and though they say the 10s are better, I’m not up to paying retail yet to see. Since I don’t want to run in the same model shoe every day, I went back to the Mizuno Wave Inspires, which I ran in while training for the marathon last year. Can’t wait to get them–new shoes always inspire me in a weird way.

Hope all your aches are similarly quiet . . .  Happy running, everyone.

*I know, some of you would literally greet mid-40s temps with a beach day. To my southern heart, it feels like a blast of Arctic air.

Waiting to Run

I last ran on Thursday. It was a fairly good run. I’d given myself permission to move down a notch from my usual daily distance of 6 to 8 miles to a shorter distance, out of compassion for my aching knee and the desire to avoid injury. I ended up running 5 miles that day, and feeling pretty good about the run overall. I got home pain-free but feeling like I’d done some good work, and, perhaps most importantly, having put some points on the negative side of the Weight Watchers equation.

Then, that afternoon, a freight train hit me–a massive head cold that arrived with fever, chills, and a solid-feeling congestion in my sinuses*. I was absolutely miserable and relegated to my bed for the rest of the day. (Thankfully, it was an early release day and the Boss had planned to take the afternoon off, so not only was he around to play with, care for, and make dinner for the kids, but I also got to be quarantined to try to keep the illness to one-fourth of the family.)

On Friday, my regularly-scheduled rest day, I actually felt pretty good. I got lots done and felt myself well on the way to recovery. On Saturday, when I was planning to run 15 for my weekly long run, I woke up with a mild but persistent sinus headache and incredible pressure in my nose and ears, and I shucked the run. On Sunday I felt well again, and set out to recover the mileage I’d abandoned Saturday. I set out early with my eye on completing 10 miles before going to church.

But, lo and behold, as I set off on my warm-up walk, I noticed that my knee didn’t hurt.

That the painlessness came as a dawning realization made me reflect on how long I’ve been experiencing that low- to mid-level pain and running through it. And, since I wasn’t in pain, I didn’t run–I walked about three miles instead.

I’m not sure how to explain that–that on the one day I felt no pain I decided not to run–except that it made so much sense that if my knee didn’t hurt after just two days of rest, maybe my body deserved a little more rest, to try to keep the pain at bay for good, or to at least avoid permanent injury.

Yes, I’m still focused on completing my event at the end of next month. But the fact that this is a “complete it” event and not a “race it” event gives me some flexibility, and I’m taking full advantage of it.

Went to my first session of yoga last night and slept in today. I plan to put in an easy short distance tomorrow, after five full days of rest, to test and push the knee.

Point-Counting Again

Well, since Thanksgiving, when I slowed down my running but refused to slow down my eating, my weight has been up a tick. My stated goal weight when I did Weight Watchers in 2005 was 125, though I really wanted to be closer to 120. Having reached my goal, though, my weight kept dropping seemingly without effort, and I finally seemed settled in somewhere between 112-114.* My weight has stayed there through the last–what? Three years?

But this November, I went from running a steady 40 miles a week to sometimes running only 15. Meanwhile, the typical holiday fare made its way into my kitchen and my stomach, seemingly without portion control. At the same time, I also stopped taking topiramate, the medicine I’d been prescribed as a control to keep my migraines at bay. I was glad to be off the medication–it can do some nasty stuff to your kidneys–but apparently I was experiencing one of its stated side effects, appetite suppression. Because all of a sudden I was eating everything in sight. All the time.

My weight got up to about 118 before I finally decided it was time to start doing something about it. I know, it doesn’t sound like a lot, but I knew it was time to hit the brakes and get back in control of my eating. If the topiramate had something to do with how my eating was under control, then I’m going to have to relearn how much food is enough for me, retraining my body and my eyes about what a healthy portion looks like.

I started counting calories, aided by a nice little app for my iPhone called LoseIt. It was very helpful–I logged my weight, plus any exercise I did, and the application has a great database of foods, which kept me from having to scan every food I put into my mouth for its dietary content.

However, the idea that I had some 1600 calories a day to eat just seemed like a lot–and any of you who have counted calories know that it isn’t, in fact. My weight didn’t come down–because I wasn’t really changing my eating.

So I finally decided to go back to what I know–and yes, that means counting Weight Watchers points. A week into counting points, I’m seeing 114 on the scale again. I’m not totally comfortable yet–not only should I be seeing this number post-dinner and not completely undressed, post-run, in the morning, but I’d actually like to see if I can go down to 110 or just under. For racing purposes, if I can hold that weight, it would be worth it. I’m not going to diet to stay there, though.

But so long, 118. The point-counting has defeated you again.

*Weight Watchers kindly told me I was under their weight guidelines sometime after I dipped under 120, so I can no longer attend their meetings. But trust me, this is a healthy weight for a 60-inch woman–a 112-pound weight would put me at a bmi of 22, and I could hit 109 and still be at 20. I don’t look spindly or unwell.

**I know some people decry Weight Watchers for charging to train people to do something that is, in essence, free to do–to count their calories and make sure they consume less than they expend. This simple formula is, after all, the key to weight loss. And, in the U.S., it’s also fairly simple to do this for free, since nutritional information for food is readily available. But honestly, for me, points are just easier units. I paid about $50 for a six-month membership in 2006, and, having done that, learned a whole new way to look at food–one that, as you can see, I can return to with intentional discipline when I need to. Do I think the cost is worth it? Without a doubt.

12+12

In preparation for my two-day, three-race event, I decided last weekend to do a double 12-mile run, running 12 on Saturday and another 12 on Sunday. I haven’t been running every day lately because of my knee pain, and I didn’t want to get to race day, when I’ll be running 9.3+3.1 on Saturday, then 13.1 on Sunday, without having attempted something similar in practice.

Out the door I went on Saturday morning, 1½ miles to the bridge where Little G and I sometimes meet for runs. We ran together four miles after that–she’s been having some hip pain and didn’t want to run too far–and then stopped at her house, where I got some cold water before heading back out. I was tired already, and wanting to quit, so I made myself go past the bridge for a couple miles before I headed back, and then ran from the bridge home. I was perplexed, and angry with myself, when I realized upon reaching my driveway that I was 11 miles in, not 12. Ugh. So off I went to the park to finish the last mile in ¼-mile loops around our dirt track. 12 done. I felt sore; knowing I had another 12 on tap the next day, I thought briefly about an ice bath, but life beckoned, and I didn’t get it in.

The next day, Sunday, I was on a time crunch–we need to leave for church by 9, so I had to get back in time to have breakfast, shower, and get pretty. I was out the door by 4:30, setting a course that would bring me to the water fountains at around 6 miles. Then, at mile 2, it started raining–persistently enough that I turned for home. I figured I’d get in my first 4 on the road and finish on the treadmill. But by mile 3 the rain had slackened, and I turned around and headed west again, away from home. Ran by the Lamb’s elementary school, around some residential neighborhoods, and got to the water fountain at the 6.2 mark. Downed a gel with some water and then planned the rest of my route. I ran two loops around our golf-course community–the rain came at times, gently–sometimes hating the fact I’d done that instead of running a longer loop just one time. But, with 1½ left, I knew all I had to do was head home, and that was joyful.

Incredibly, I ran both 12-milers at an almost exact pace–10:15, and though initially that number bothers me, I know running them easy was the right thing to do. 10:15 comes in at the pace McMillan says should be my easy pace, and it’s also two minutes slower than my half-marathon PR, so in the end I’m okay with it though it’s certainly slower than my training pace has been in the past.

Runner’s World has recommended 12-12 runs as a substitute for 20-milers before, and I can see why. It’s exhausting, for me, at least, to run that kind of distance twice without rest, but it was also a good test of fitness and endurance–and probably sheer bull-headedness.

I have more to say about my nagging knee pain, but for now, just wanted to let you know I’m still running. I even registered for the races and have my hotel booked. In other words, I’m committed.

Or, as the Boss says, need to be committed–though I’m not sure he’s talking about the race.

New Target Race

My original goal was to race the A1A Marathon in Fort Lauderdale in mid-February of this year. But, coming off my hard-won PR at the 13.1 Fort Lauderdale, I decided to postpone my marathon to give myself more time to recharge and train and fit in more long runs.

I reset my sights on racing the marathon at Gasparilla on February 28th. It was at this race that I ran my first 26.2 last year, and though the weather was absolutely dreadful, I told myself that lightning was unlikely to strike in exactly the same way again, leaving that weekend with almost-guaranteed good weather in 2010.

However, even with the increased training time, my recovery has not been as easy as I had hoped. I’m still running on fairly tired-feeling legs, and I’m not hitting anywhere near the paces I’d have to hit to feel confident of racing the marathon at a 9:10 pace.

I was loath to give up my spring-marathon goal, so this week, after several weeks of woefully low mileage, I dove into a marathon-mileage training plan that I hoped would show me whether I had the endurance, strength, and desire for marathon training*.

I ran 6 miles with Little G on Sunday, rested Monday, ran 8 Tuesday, 5 Wednesday, and another 8 Thursday. I rested again on Friday in preparation for a true long run on Saturday. The goal: my first 20-miler of the season.

It was cold Saturday morning by Florida standards: in the mid-40s and windy along the beachfront road. I prepared as well as I could for the conditions and got ready to set out, only to be told by Garmie as he was still searching for satellites that his battery was low. Oh, well. I got my ipod ready to be used as a stopwatch and set out in a four-mile southern loop from my car. Following that I headed north for another four miles and then returned to my starting place–I had twelve miles in and another long eight if I was to check off my first 20.

Honestly, I probably knew at that point that running 20 was a bad idea. But you know already what I did–I headed back north for the eight-mile loop. It was slow and difficult at more times than I can tell you, but when I felt like quitting I reminded myself how many times I felt tired and sore during the marathon, and pressed myself to move on. When I remembered, I concentrated on using a marathon-shuffling gait, in order to expend less energy.

Finally, at around mile 15, I seriously considered quitting and walking home. I sat on the curb, spent, and considered my options. Almost immediately I knew I needed something to refresh me, and I was thankful that I’d put off taking my long-sleeve top, something I’d done specifically to ward off a moment like this. Having taken off my long-sleeve and returned to my feet, I did feel lighter, immediately better, and newly determined to finish the run.

And finish I did–sore, tired, and firm about not taking one more step than I absolutely had to.

In the end, Garmie-less and blind to pace and mileage, I ended up running 21 miles instead of 20, so I did indeed run many more steps than I had to. But I learned something–that I’m at the point in my running where I can muscle through a previously-unimagined distance, and do so without tears or recriminations.

However, in the hours and days following that run, I’ve been more sore than normal. Even after a rest day yesterday, running was difficult today, and in the end I shelved my scheduled six-miler in favor of a fast two-mile walk.

All this to say that though I’m convinced I could indeed train for and run the marathon at Gasparilla in seven weeks, I’m not entirely sure it would be a good idea for me to do it. Instead, I think I’ll run the Bud Light Challenge, which involves running the 15k and then the 5k Saturday morning and then the half-marathon Sunday. This kind of event, though exhausting in itself, would not require the three-hour training runs the marathon would.

And in October, Little G and I intend to race the Wineglass Marathon in New York. It would be my first out-of-state race, and it’s reputed to be a fast course. I always said in order to do really well at the distance I’d need cool temperatures, and it sure looks like Wineglass will oblige. I’m also thrilled to run with Little G, though I know we won’t be together the whole race, and to make a run at the four-hour mark.

*In case you’re wondering, here are the results. As to the question of whether I have the endurance, strength, and desire for marathon training. Endurance, yes, if meted out carefully and well. Strength of will, in spades; of legs, in increasingly decreasing measure. As for desire, it’s what’s truly lacking in the equation, if I’m honest with myself. And though friends are encouraging me to go ahead and run 26.2 in seven weeks, I find I’m disinclined to train for such an event when I have even the slightest ambivalence about it. Marathons should be run with passion and driving hunger, or not at all.

New Year, New Goals

Sorry to have missed so much in the last few weeks; I didn’t get a chance to wish everyone in the blogosphere and the run-net community a merry Christmas or a happy 2010. Please accept my belated wishes for a happy and healthy season and a bright and blessed new year.

I’ve been tossing around the end of a new year and the beginning of a new season, both in life and in training.

As I’ve discussed, I didn’t meet my 2009 goals as well or health-fully as I would have liked. But running at the military training center while visiting my parents overseas, I read a sign by the side of the track that said, “Failure is a chance to begin again, more wisely.”

So, away with the failures and disappointments of 2009! Before me stretch 12 months with almost unlimited possibility and potential, and I’m beginning to map out my strategies and goals for 2010.

1. Above all, continue to run without injury. Be diligent about cross-training, doing yoga at least once a week and some form of leg-strengthening at least three times a week.
2. Race a marathon for the first time, with the stated, intentional goal of getting closer to 4 hours–I ran my first in 4:30:04.
3. Lower my half-marathon PR, which currently stands at 1:48:56. Keep working on getting closer to 1:45.
4. Lower my 5k PR, which currently stands at 23:28, while racing the distance at least four times in the year.
5. Lower my 10k PR, which is 49:07. Race the distance at least twice in the calendar year.
6. Balance the training load by maintaining at all times a weekly mileage base of around 30 miles per week, dropping no lower than 20 during particularly busy times and rising above 40 only under the most careful scheduling and balancing of daily mileage.
7. Run at least 1500 miles during the calendar year.

With these goals in mind, I’m beginning my new routine with leg extensions with ankle weights, until a better way to strengthens my knees presents itself, and Little G, M, and I are enrolling in a weekly yoga class at our local high school. In the meantime, my racing schedule is changing again, but for good and just cause.

Shoes, Shoes, and More Shoes

Yep, as the Boss can attest, I have a lot of running shoes.*

Seen above, the eight pairs of shoes that saw me through 2009. Last year, I spent $280 on four pairs to cover some 1300 miles; the shoes lasted me an average of 335 miles. This year, it took me six pairs, at $440 total, to cover my near-1600 miles. I got less wear out of the shoes, as they died after an average of 258  miles, with an average economy of 29 cents a mile. Conclusions? I’m becoming more paranoid about my twingy knees and hurry to change shoes at the first sign of pain or soreness; I bought the shoes, as you can see, in sets of two pairs, always two different brands, bought in tandem in the months of January, May, and September.

As the Boss and I make the new year’s budget, I’m actually asking him to set aside enough money for eight pairs for this year, at about $70 a pair. I may not need all eight but if I run a fall marathon (more on that later!), I’d like to have the option of changing my shoes out as often as I did this year.

*All but the last two pairs have now been donated to charity. Though my local running store does not give old shoes to Nike’s track-building program, they do give the shoes away to a homeless shelter, and I’m comfortable with that. Most shoes do have plenty of wear left.