Running without harm

On March 29, 2015 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (treadmill): 32 minutes

After yesterday’s string of bad news and disappointments, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try a run. It had been 23 days since I last ran and I felt that I’d abstained long enough. The pain I experienced in the days since my last run have greatly lessened and I was confident that I could now manage an easy treadmill workout.

Primum non nocere, Latin for “First do no harm” is part of the Hippocratic oath. It’s now my personal mandate when it comes to running. With that in mind, I set the treadmill 1 MPH slower than my usual pace. Running felt tolerable, but the soreness was there. My barometer was focused on the level of pain as I went through the run. If the pain increased, I would slow down (or shut down) depending on severity.

I ended up dropping my speed by another .2 MPH. It was a small difference, but just enough for me to feel protected. The pain (really an ache) was still there. As time went on, the soreness diminished. I wondered if that was due to the warm up of my injured muscles. My heart rate stayed at around 83% of max, exactly where I wanted it to be for this workout.

I ended up running for about 32 minutes and didn’t even bother to look at the mileage. I was just happy to be running. I finished up feeling good about my conditioning, but my concern shifted to post-run pain. Although I did feel a little sore, it was no worse than what I’ve been experiencing after my elliptical sessions.

It’s been snowing all day, but it hasn’t accumulated at all. I’ll try another run tomorrow. If conditions are good, I may just take it outside.

The end of running, for now

On March 7, 2015 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Patience is a virtue

Today’s workout (elliptical): 50 minutes

For now and for the foreseeable future, I am no longer a runner, emerging or otherwise. Like the old adage that insanity is repeating the same action but expecting a different result, I’ve concluded that running right now will only result in pain. I’m not as upset about this as you’d think. I don’t plan to change the name of this site to “The Former Runner.” I’m just hitting the pause button until nature fixes the problem.

Thursday’s treadmill run was (literally) an exercise in determination. I was sure that getting through my three mile workout would somehow prove that I could always run through this problem. The bigger issue was that it hurt. First a little and then a lot. I knew that this was no way to handle things. I ended up skipping my workout on Friday because I needed to meet an insane work deadline that used up every minute of the day. An opportunity to recover somewhat offset the guilt.

I was still sore this morning and I knew that I couldn’t repeat Thursday’s experience. My strategy was to first do an elliptical session and then test the waters on the treadmill. The elliptical session went great. No pain during the 35 minute workout and no pain after I’d finished. I hopped up on the treadmill and set the speed to 4.1 MPH, hopefully fast enough to “run” without aggravating the source of my problem.

It only took a few seconds to realize that running at any speed right now will result in pain. I further backed down the speed and switched to walking for ten minutes, playing with inclines and declines between +/- 3%. Once done, I returned to the elliptical for 15 more minutes of pain free exercise. Stepping up my effort on the elliptical did not produce any pain. Better still, the soreness from my brief treadmill “run” was completely gone.

So today’s lesson is that running hurts and ellipticals heal. I’m going to use the elliptical exclusively while my body works on whatever it is that’s causing my running pain. I’ve decided to give it three weeks before I try another easy treadmill run. This is exactly what happened between the time when the old treadmill failed and the new one was installed. I did fine in that transition, but made the mistake of pushing my speed (and my luck) and that brought me back to square one.

If this plan doesn’t work, I’ll visit a orthopedist to get an MRI or meet with a physical therapist. They say time heals all wounds. Let’s see if that’s true.

Good pain and bad pain

On January 6, 2015 By Emerging Runner10 Comments

Here’s a recap of my running since last Thursday:

Friday: 0 miles
Saturday: 0 miles
Sunday: 0 miles
Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 0 miles

Despite that, I’m extremely sore all the way from my hamstring to my upper arms. I’m fine with the upper body soreness because it’s the result of exercise. I decided to act on my new resolution to add strength training to my routine and did a 45 minute workout on Sunday. Don’t be impressed. I used two 10 lb. hand weights and barely broke a sweat.

I didn’t want to overdo it, because the last time I worked with weights, I ended up straining my back. The fact that a light workout has resulted in so much soreness tells me that I need to spend much more time on upper body training. All the same, it’s nice knowing that this discomfort is due to effort, not injury.

The soreness I’m feeling in my glutes and hamstring is not making me very happy. I’ve always coped with minor injuries by taking a few days off from running. A short rest usually had me back on the road within a week. The pain I felt during last week’s Hangover Run wasn’t debilitating, but it was a clear signal that I needed a lot more recovery time.

It’s been five days since my last run and I think I’m going to take a sixth day off tomorrow. The pain has dulled, but a quick jog down the hall tells me more mending time is needed. I’ll probably try an elliptical session on Thursday morning to gauge my progress. Depending on that result, I’ll either plan for a Friday morning run or make an appointment with an orthopedist.

2015 Hangover Fun Run

On January 1, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Happy New Running Year

Today’s run (Hangover Run): 5 miles

The Hangover Run is a free event put on every New Year’s day by the Long Island Road Runners Club. I ran it for the fourth time today and, for the second year in a row, I was accompanied by running buddies SIOR and TPP. This morning we were joined by SIOR’s speedy daughter, a cross-country and track runner.

It’s usually freezing cold on New Year’s day, so it’s a challenge to choose the right running clothes. Too many layers will keep you comfortable prior to the start, but you can overheat on the run. I overdressed for warmth and regretted it. I ended up taking off my gloves and holding them in my hands during most of the run. It wasn’t the overheating that got to me today. It was the nagging sciatica that has bothered me over the past few weeks.

We all met up in the parking lot and headed toward the staging area about 15 minutes before the run was set to start. After signing our liability waivers we made our way towards the line. There were about 200 people congregated behind the time clock that counted down to the 9:30 AM start time. Without fanfare, we were off. I felt great and hoped that would continue for the duration of the run.

About a quarter mile into the run, SIOR and SIOR Jr passed me and continued on ahead. TPP did the same at the 3/4 mile point and I saw, after the turnaround, that she’d caught up with the SIORs. The course is a one mile loop with a suggested distance of five miles, so I was able to chart the progress of the others as we passed back and forth.

The soreness started on the second mile and increased as the run continued. I felt like I had another gear but I was reluctant to put too much on the injury. I still don’t know the nature of the problem, so I’m being careful about hard I push. I picked up my pace a few times during the last mile and that resulted in my second fastest split. I came through the last mile, with an overall time of 51 minutes. My friends were all waiting for me at the finish.

As tradition dictates, we headed to Starbucks for coffee and conversation that included a deep analysis of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. We don’t always talk about running.

Happy New Year to everyone. It’s nice to start the year with a challenging run, especially when it happens with great people.

Close encounters on the trail

On December 31, 2014 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (Stillwell Woods): 3.5 miles

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

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

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

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

New life for some old gear

On December 20, 2014 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Aging like fine wine

Today’s run (street): 4.3 miles

I was recently in SA Elite looking at their holiday sale items. They had ASICS running vests for 20% off, but the price still seemed high for a jacket without any sleeves. Since then, I read a piece on winter running that mentioned the benefit of keeping your core warm on very cold days. A warm core helps keep your extremities and the rest of your body warm.

I didn’t buy a running vest, but with this morning’s wind chill, it felt like 28° outside. Rather than put on two long sleeve layers, I put on an acrylic fleece Sports Illustrated promo vest that I had from my Time Inc. days. The vest is lightweight and has a mesh liner inside. After a decade using it to keep warm in my office, it had a new use.

After choosing the vest, I needed to pick the shoes I’d wear on today’s run. I’m no longer concerned that the Kayanos are causing my sciatica, but I decided to go back to my Sauconys to see how they felt on a run. The appropriation of the vest as running gear inspired me to pull my ancient Brooks Adrenalin GTS 10s out of the closet and use them instead. The 10s probably have 1,000 miles on them, but they are still viable.

I’ve always worn my Adrenalins when dealing with minor injuries because they seem to correct whatever problem is plaguing me. My shoe size has increased in recent years and the toe box is too tight for longer distances. If they were a half size bigger I’d put them into the rotation. The soreness in my glutes was there when I started, but it wasn’t as pronounced as it was at the beginning of yesterday’s run. I was hoping for a further reduction in the pain once I began to warm up.

Some mild discomfort remained throughout the run. Surprisingly enough, I found the pain to be a good distraction from the boredom of my neighborhood roads. I decided to be cautious and keep the run under five miles today. I may go further tomorrow. I’m out of the office until January 5th so I’ll have a lot more days to run during the week. I’m really hoping to be free of this soreness by the time me and my buddies do the LIRRC Hangover run on January 1.

Paying the price for running too fast

On December 7, 2014 By Emerging Runner9 Comments

Today’s run (street): 4.5 miles

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

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

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

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

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

Nice weather we’re havin’

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

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

Soreness is gone, so back to the road

On September 25, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 3.3 miles

It’s fall and today’s weather acted appropriately, with sun, minimal humidity and cool air. I went out early and the temperature on my phone app said 50°. I wore my vividly orange long sleeve running shirt with shorts and was very comfortable throughout the run. Conditions make all the difference.

Today was my first run since Cow Harbor. The race and Sunday’s lift-and-carry workout put my legs into tough shape and I carried that soreness all day on Monday. I’d worn my Zensah compression calf sleeves on the prior two days, in hopes of reducing the level of lactic acid that was making my leg muscles feel stiff and uncomfortable. Last night, as I headed upstairs, I noted that my legs were still very much in need of recovery time.

When I took my first few steps onto the road today, I was pleased to note that my stride felt good. Not perfect, but certainly better than I’d expected. I must have benefited from a good night’s sleep. I didn’t push hard but I made sure that I kept my pace within the acceptable range (and faster than my Cow Harbor pace). As I progressed, I noticed more muscle stiffness, but that didn’t slow me down much.

I ended up happy with the run and appreciated returning home without feeling like I was drenched in sweat. If the temperature and humidity remain low, I hope to bring my intensity up a notch and take advantage of higher performance relative to heart rate. I know I need to increase my cadence if I’m going to make improvements in my pacing. I wish I knew the best approach for doing that.

The recovery day that wasn’t

On September 23, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Glider launch at Stillwell

Yesterday’s recovery day didn’t turn out to be all that relaxing, but it was fun. This morning I am feeling a little sore. The soreness came from a few different sources, ranging from residual race effects, an impromptu hike and a much needed upper body workout.

I’d considered doing a shakeout run on Sunday morning to loosen up after a fairly intense Cow Harbor run. Instead, my son and I headed over to Stillwell Woods, so he could get some pictures for a school assignment. His focus was on getting some shots of a rusted Oldsmobile that has served as a landmark on the Trailview path for as long as I’ve visited the preserve.

While we made our way to the car, we noticed a number of cars parked along the edge of the big field with a group of people with model glider planes. One of the people invited us over to see what they were doing. It was a competition put on by the Eastern Soaring League. These $2,000 planes, with what looked like 8′ wingspans, are launched into the air and remotely controlled. The goal is to land them close to a one hundred inch target. It was fun to watch that for a while.

My son doing some technical trail running

Look closely, there’s a snake in there

We eventually reached the car and my son got his pictures. We decided to go deeper into the woods and found ourselves in more technical territory where we made our way up some steep rises and down sharply angled cutouts. On our way back we encountered a snake (I may have stepped on it) that was scurrying across the trail. We got some pictures before it disappeared back into the woods.

For all intents and purposes, this is my gym

Later in the day, the family headed to a food pantry in East Northport where we volunteer (via Island Harvest) every few months. It’s always a great experience. My wife and kids focus on distributing small items to recipients who come through, while I carry packed boxes to people’s cars. It’s a lot of up and down steps and a very good upper body workout.

After all that, I needed a recovery day for my “recovery” day. That’s fine, I’ll focus on business today and resume my run training tomorrow. I may sneak in some core work later, because stretching might help get me back to shape. It was a great weekend and a little Monday soreness actually feels pretty good.

Is it progress or stasis?

On March 28, 2013 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

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.