Seven runs in seven days

On July 28, 2017 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

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

On February 20, 2017 By Emerging Runner8 Comments

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

On December 11, 2016 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

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

On September 7, 2015 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

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

On May 10, 2015 By Emerging Runner9 Comments

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

On April 27, 2015 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

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

On April 25, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

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

On April 24, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

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!

On April 18, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

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

On April 5, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

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.