Life causes injuries… so you might as well have a good story to go with it!

Distance: 6 mi

Miles to go: 1894

Another Take It And Run post from our friends at Runner’s Lounge

This one is, unfortunately, all too painfully close to my heart.  It is on the subject of running injuries…

… OK… Look… First of all… get it out of your head that you won’t get hurt while running.  The only real way to keep yourself injury free is to sit on the couch and eat bon bons…  But we all know what that leads to.  If you run and especially if you run hard and challenge yourself, you WILL get hurt from time to time.  Whether it’s something insignificant like dust in your eye or something major like getting hit by a bus… run long enough and it will happen.

And I DO NOT want a bunch of “well… I haven’t gotten hurt” comments.  I would add one word to the end of them… “yet”…  And you had better be knocking on wood as you click the Send button on that comment as well.  I will not be responsible for you cursing yourself by bragging about your lack of injuries.

Look… life causes injuries.  Especially if you “LIVE” it by challenging yourself and pushing your limits.  You can’t completely avoid injuries if you lead an active lifestyle.  Running is more about minimizing the impact of present and future injuries and learning how to accept and deal with them as they come.

To that end, here are some pearls of wisdom I have picked up over the last year since getting back into running full time:

• Injuries are the running gods’ way of telling you to take a break or cross train.  Most injuries happen because we are tired, fatigued or otherwise stressed and therefore not paying full attention to what we are doing.
• Invest in GOOD equipment.  Shoes, socks, skin coverings, sunglasses, sunblock, etc.  and keep that equipment in good repair.  Shoes break down slowly over time and as they do, your knees will start to complain.
• Things like trail shoes, headlamps for running at night, reflective clothing and fuel belts may seem like overkill, but the good ones are purpose built tools that will keep you safer inside and out.  Yes, they are worth it.

Before you get hurt:

• LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!!  Don’t get the runner stupids.  If you feel bad, stop.  In short, it’s better to live to fight another day…
• HYDRATE…  nuff said…
• Balance running with something else.  Light weight training, yoga, mountain biking, etc.  Efficient running makes use of the big muscles in your legs and that’s pretty much it.  If you don’t work out the rest of your body it atrophies, making you more susceptible to injuries.
• Run at least occasionally with a partner if you can.  I have had people I run with notice that I was limping or seemed to be tensing my upper body, etc.  but I didn’t notice.  They can also point out that you are faster or slower , etc.  Sometimes when you do the same thing over and over again alone you don’t realize you are falling into habits.
• Develop an eating strategy.  For me, I need to run hungry.  I can’t eat and then immediately run.  I get sick.  And when I’m paying more attention to my upset tummy than I am the trail, I’m vulnerable.
• Break your routine.  Run different routes and different places.  It makes you pay more attention to the road.  Both times I twisted my ankle last year it was on a VERY familiar stretch of trail that I assumed I knew every rock on.  So I was daydreaming and found a new one and rolled my ankle on it.

When you do get hurt (and you will):

•  Relax.  You will be fine. There is nothing you can do about it now anyway.  Remember RICE for the first 24 hours.  It will probably be at least that long until you can get in to see a doc anyway… Unless you’re already in the ambulance heading that way…
• An injury will “HEAL” in 2 weeks to 2 months (depending on what it is).  My sports doc says that a good rule of thumb, however is to plan for about 2 weeks of RECOVERY for every week you had to take off to heal.  In my most recent injury, it took 4 MONTHS to heal.  So, realistically, if I follow his advice it should take me another 8 months to get back to pre-injury fitness.  That may sound unreasonable, but it’s the safe bet.
• Push too hard to recover and you WILL re-injure yourself.  Take your time and you will be stronger.

Finally, here are things I do now that I never did before that I think really help.

• Stretching- I stretch cold and easy on my off days and light AFTER I warm up or as I warm down.  I found that, for me, stretching before I run is a bad formula.  I inevitably pulled something.
• Warm up- It is not uncommon for me to run a 5K before I run a 5K, just to warm up.  Contrary to what you may think, I find that not only am  I not tired, I run better AND faster!
• Cool down- walk, drink, walk some more and enjoy the high.
• Days off- indulge yourself.  Enjoy them.
• Missed training days- LET THEM GO!  No you can’t make it up tomorrow.  No, it’s not going to ruin your training.  Just pretend like you did your run and move on.  Trying to make up for it starts you on a spiral of “catch up, get tired, miss a day… etc.” that makes you more susceptible to injury.
• Run for the right reasons- Running is supposed to RELIEVE stress, not add to it.  If you are constantly pushing for faster times and more miles, you will just be miserable and frustrated… which leads to… you guessed it… more injuries.
• Forget about running every once in a while- Have a cold one or a big chocolate chip cookie with NO GUILT.  Go flop on the grass at the park and refuse to run.  The extra day to recover every once in a great while will HELP… not hurt… and besides… who doesn’t want to flop on the grass at the park and eat a gigantic chocolate chip cookie…  huh, Amy…?

iPods and wormholes…

Distance: 7.5 mi (2 runs)

Miles to go:  1900

After the pain and cramps and leg collapsing of my 5 miler, I took off on the first of these two runs on Monday more than a little worried about the outcome.  I have also been fighting a bug for the last few days as it has made it’s way around the family so my hopes were not too high.  Anything faster than a painful limp would have been fine with me.

I did, however, have my new favorite toy with me… my ipod Shuffle which I had hoped would at least be a distraction.  So after tussling with it to get it set in just the right spot and tucking the cords for the ear buds in so they wouldn’t flap around, I took off.

I have no idea how the run went… other than a.) I didn’t hurt, and b.) the Shuffle is the best toy EVER!!  I spent all evening the night before, carefully crafting my running playlist.  For a lil’ feller, a Shuffle can hold a surprising amount of music (over 200 songs).  So I spent some time digging for favorites at iTunes and gathered a list of about 20 songs.  GAWD what a mix!  I didn’t realize it until I looked at the completed playlist, but I have enormously varied taste in music.  Now, not on purpose… I was just looking for fast songs that would push me as I ran.  I ended up with a real mess.  Everything from Rock to Bluegrass, with some latin, alternative and some other junk thrown in.  My favorite in this group is an old Barenaked Ladies song called Grade 9.  A very funny but fast tune about your first year of high school that makes references to things very close to my heart (like Star Trek and thin red leather ties…).  I know I wasn’t “flying” as far as my speed went, but it is amazing how this little thing puts out the noise… VERY cool…

…lessee…  Whawetalkinbout?

..OHH!!  Right!  Running…

umm..

The 4 miles I did yesterday went well enough that I decided to run with the group this morning.  It was a good route and I was hoping my luck would continue.  My luck did… but my organization didn’t.  See, last night I set my alarm clock to go off at the regular morning run time (4:45am).  It went off at the right time and I even rolled over and half sat up.  I took a second to get my bearings and then got up, put my clothes on and headed off.  But about half way there I looked at the clock and it said 6am…

…huh?  What the hell?

See the run starts at 5:30…  I’m usually the first one there at about 5am…

…but…

See… somewhere in between where the alarm went off and where I looked at the clock in the truck… I lost an hour…

…lesse… I don’t remember any bright lights or strange creatures or being sucked out of bed by a beam…  I didn’t go back to sleep… at least I don’t THINK I did…  There were no obvious signs of a struggle…

Distortion in the space time continuum?

Gremlins?

A disturbance in the force??

My own personal daylight saving time thingy?

…Meh?

…oh…  The run went fine…

The penguins were right

Distance: 5 mi

Miles to go: 1908

This is actually a report of Friday’s 5 miler but I’ve been too busy to post.

There is a scene in the animated movie “Madagascar” where the penguins have finally reached their destination after stealing the ship.  They all stand with their backs to the camera in a very cold, windblown, desolate wasteland.  After a pregnant pause one of them says “Well… This sucks…”

I can’t think of anything more appropriate to describe this run.  I finally get what I want, a nice day, time to put in the miles, minimal soreness from the broken pelvis.  And then I take off on the run… My left leg feels like it wants to collapse almost from the start and it just gets worse the further I run.  My lungs can’t keep up because (as I discovered later) I am fighting a bug.  My right calf is cramping the entire way…  I feel nauseated… 

So here I am… I finally get exactly what I want… and it sucks.

I fought the urge to stop and walk for most of the last 2 miles.  I slowed from an 8:45 pace to a 10:30 pace.  I felt dizzy… 

…WTF!!!

So I took Saturday (everybody was sick) and Sunday (almost everybody was sick, it was Easter and it was my wife’s birthday) off.  Today I feel ok though still have a headach, but I will not be denied.  I will run at least 3 miles today.  More if I can…

I know these are just minor setbacks in the grand scheme of things but… GAH!!  When you are “in it” it really can be frustrating  …damn…

…the penguins were right…

Evil plan…

Distance this week (3 runs of 3, 3 and 4 miles)

Miles to go: 1913

Two miserable runs on the treadmill and a good run on a nearly perfect day.  I’m coo’ wid it!  Still have 3 days left to run this week and it sure would be sweet if I could get over 20 miles.

Oh… and my geek senses? … they tingle…  I got an iPod Shuffle… heh!  Actually, I got it for my darling wife for her birthday coming up this Sunday.  However, she went to the same store I got it at and saw that they were on sale and bought one… *sigh*  …that’s the trouble with surprise birthday gifts… you have to keep them a secret… and then this kinda stuff happens… meh <shrugs>.  whatchagonnado?  So instead we will go out this Sunday and get her what any good wife needs… NEW RUNNING SHOES!!  HA!  I’ve created a monster…  My evil plan…

…is working…

My next target is the boy… Once I have conquered him (made him into a runner) and subdued the girl (jogging stroller), I can begin to spread my poison to the masses (my co-workers and friends) and soon the world will be mine!!!!

Or… at least I’ll have more people to run with…

…but I won’t be able to hear them over the music…

When running with the crowd is a good thing

This blog is in participation with Runner’s Lounge Take It and Run Thursday:

Before I get started, yes, I have been running, I just haven’t had time to post.  More on that later…

OK…  When I started running again last year with the goal of losing weight and eventually completing a marathon, I started out on my own.  I didn’t WANT to run with people.  I was kind of embarrassed at my own poor level of fitness and didn’t want people to hear me wheezing with the effort, so I ran alone.

At first I consoled myself by convincing me that I loved the solitude and self dependence that running alone provided.  All of which is true.  As my blog buddy the Laminator refers to it, “Dissociative running” (great term!) gives me time to mentally chew on stuff and as I started running again I found that I was solving the world’s problems (ok… maybe just my own carpentry problems…) at the same time.  Another initial argument I had against group running was that all the babbling would cut into my mental chewing.

As time went along, I got stronger, a bit faster… and kinda lonely… (yeah… yeah… I know… AWWWW…).  I started to wonder what it would be like to run with a group again.  I remembered from my past (WAY… past) experiences with running that there were some definite benefits to group running as well.  If you ever want to run a race, you WILL run with a group.  Doing so beforehand teaches you all kinds of things like pace, positioning, tactics, etc. so it is definitely worth it for that.

But being new to the area, I had no idea what if any groups were out there.  A quick search at my best friend Google revealed 4 local groups.  All with intimidating names to a Noob like me…  The Columbia TRACK Club…  Columbia MULTISPORT Club (4 time amateur triathlon national club champions!)… Mid Missouri ROADRUNNERS (now defunct)… THE LONG RUN LUNATICS… *sigh*

TRACK???  I think I ‘m allergic to track…

MULTISPORT???!!!  I can’t swim… and I don’t even OWN a road bike…

ROADRUNNERS??? That sounds… umm… fast…

THE LONG RUN LUNATICS???  Oh good god…

Nothing like a little intimidation before you ever even get there…

A conversation with the good people at my favorite running store convinced me that the times I was running were actually fine and would not have me eating dust as I thought I would, but would actually plant me firmly in the middle of the pack where I would be comfortable and sure to meet new running buddies left and right.  Being a noob… I wasn’t sure if she was being honest or sadistic, but I decided to do the old “trust but verify” thing, so I sucked it up and woke up at 4:45 in the FRICKIN AM, slapped on my running stuff in the dark and headed out the door…

Best damn decision I ever made.

Don’t get me wrong, I went “kicking and screaming”… I didn’t want to go.  I had heard that this particular group was very dedicated and full of what I call “skinnies”.  Very fast and in shape runners who are in desperate need of an extra Skittle or two in their diets…  I had also heard stories of over 100 runners showing up for this EARLY morning run, which in itself says something.  Despite all this I went anyway.

As I pulled in to the parking lot, I expected to be the only one there.  To my surprise, the place was already half full of very skinny, in shape people… Not only were they in shape, they were morning people… Nice, encouraging, friendly, positive.  I had heard of such people but had never seen one before 6 in the frickin AM.  Now I was faced with a herd of them.  Their leader wrote my name down on a list (used to track attendance for a reward system involving beads.  It’s actually kinda fun!) and even introduced me to the 125 runners that showed up.  All of whom applauded my existence.  Uncomfortable… but again… kinda neat.

Their leader announced the run route, discussed a couple of upcoming races and then we were off.  My adrenaline was pumping so much I nearly shot off into the distance ahead of everyone but I forced myself to stay mid pack as they warmed up.  Once the obligatory warmup mile was over, the pack really stretched out but to my surprise… I didn’t get dropped.  There were people to run with the whole way.  We talked, laughed, shared goals and training tips and pulled each other through the last mile.

…amazing…

I was so wrong in my impressions of group runs.  I mean… yes… unless you are the first runner in the group, you will eat dust.  But that is minor compared to what you get out of it.

My group runs have made me a much better racer.  Learning to run in tight spaces, practice pacing (I have a really bad habit of going out WAY to fast), work on setup for corners and water stations.

My group runs have made me a better runner.  Besides making me push myself both in speed AND mileage, they have given me more reason to run, improved my discipline and dedication and deepened my passion for running.

My group runs have shown me a whole other side to running that is now my favorite part.  Other runners.  I have made new friends, found out that I am more unique and at the same time more average than I thought and that what I thought were problems only I suffer from are actually common (both physical and mental).

Because of all of this I have expanded my group running.  I run more races, look for group runs, volunteer at races I don’t run in, and have even taken the extreme step of running one night a week on the track and have discovered that 1.) I’m not allergic to it, and 2.) It has made me a stronger runner.

At the end of it all, I can’t say enough about the positives of running with a group.  Don’t get me wrong, because of the times that I run I am in a “no man’s land” sometimes where I am not quite fast enough to run with the “skinnies” but I’m too fast for the rest of the group (this usually happens at about an 8 minute mile), so I end up running alone.  But the group is there at the start and finish, always encouraging, positive and happy.  I can’t stress enough how much this means to me as a runner and a person…  It’s why I still run.

Not so fast…

Distance: 3 mi

Miles to go: 1923

In a reminder of who is boss, my body kind of rebelled on me yesterday.  I had planned on running 4 miles at an 8:30 pace on the treadmill and try to push the last one.   Reality set in and I ended up running 3 miles at a 9:30 pace.  Stiff, sore, tired, leg weary, etc.  I had it all.  The vast majority of it was just the increased activity level catching up with me.  I was a bit sore from the injury (more so today) but I’ll live.  I’m going to take today off completely and then I may run tomorrow early or wait until I get to the hotel (travel for business) and do some treadmill time there… We’ll see.

I volunteered at one of our bigger races this morning.  Last year it had over 800 runners in the snow.  This year the weather was even worse with temperatures in the upper 30s and pouring rain.  That has GOT to be my most hated weather conditions…  I don’t mind running in the rain.  I don’t mind running when it’s cold.  But being cold AND wet at the same time just pisses me off.  I’m really glad I wasn’t running (even though I wanted to!!).  Attendance was off, with only about 600 idiots  hearty souls willing to brave the elements.  Still not bad.  I can’t wait to see how this run goes off on a good year.  It’s kind of the official kick off to the big run season so from now until the end of June there will be two or three races per weekend.

Anyway, congrats to my friends who PR’d today and to those few crazies who did a super mega ultra weekend down south (something like a 20 miler Friday, a 50K today and another 20 miler tomorrow…  that’s just sick.).  You inspire me!

How cool is that?!

Distance: 5.5 mi

Miles to go: 1926

Well I wasn’t going to run this morning with the group… but I did.  I was up at 4:30 for some reason so when my alarm went off at 4:45 I was pretty much ready.  After talking myself out of running this morning because I ran last night…  I did it anyway.  I actually didn’t feel too bad!  I came up on some friends who are doing a mini taper for an event this weekend and, since I hadn’t seen them in a while, I slowed up to chat.  It was good to see them again.  I love the positive energy I get from the group.  By the end of the run I was fired up and ready to go.

Of course there were lots of the “what race are you training for” questions.  It was kind of funny to see the responses when I said “I’m not”.  It was almost like it didn’t make sense to anyone that someone would be running “without purpose”.  Now, I’m not, of course.  I have my goals.  But with no RACE to hang them on, it was hard to get the concept across!

No matter, I will run lots of races starting again soon.  For now it’s enough that I’m just running.  I’m pretty confident that I can get back to my regularly scheduled programming at this point.  Starting with a long run this weekend of around 7 miles.  That will put me at about 30 miles this week.  How cool is that?!

Lessee… 42 weeks left in 2008…  To meet my goal… I need to average about 46 miles per week or about 7.5 miles per day on a six day week.  It might be a push… but I still think I can get it!!

Back on Trak(night)

Distance: 2mi
Miles to go: 1929

Yay!!! I did it!! I talked myself out of it 3 times today but I finally decided to go to Traknight and I’m very glad I did. It was hard… I wheezed my way through it… I was extremely slow… I felt very fat… But I did it!

For the uninitiated, Traknight is our Wednesday evening workout at the MU track. The first time I went was just under a year ago and I did so “kicking and screaming”. I really didn’t want to go. But it became one of my favorite runs of the week and I have really missed it. It started back up again about 2 weeks ago and I was afraid I couldn’t push it enough yet to do any good, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I’m not sore but I don’t think I will go out tomorrow morning with the group. I think I still need to wait on that a bit. I will try for 6 miles this weekend and if that goes ok, then I will start back up with the group runs next week.

I tell ya… it’s like stepping out of a fog bank. I really lost direction there for a while. I was very frustrated and pretty depressed. It’s good to get it behind me and move on. I’ve still got a LOOOOOOOONNG way to go. But at least now I think I can get there… if I hurry!!

btw: If this post looks funny it’s because I am using a widget on my iGoogle homepage to post it… my geek is showing…

It sure FELT slow…

Distance: 4 mi

Miles to go: 1931

I took off on an old familiar trail today and from the first step I felt awful.  And the rest of them weren’t much better.  Not from a “I’m in pain” standpoint, just simply I’m out of shape and running is difficult right now.  Anyway, it certainly wasn’t going to stop me.  Within 20 steps I had resolved to enjoy the beautiful day and the fact that I was running again.  The trails are finally firming up again and there were only a couple of soft spots so the run through the trees and bridges was pleasant.

As I approached the first mile mark I played a little game of “what’s my time”.  My guess?  10: 15…  My time?  8:54.  Not flying, by any standard, but much faster Than I had expected given the way I felt!  Still I decided to ease up a bit for mile two and cruised through it at 9:07.  This route is an out and back with the turn at 2 miles so I decided to try to match my time coming back.  My third mile was 9:08 and about half way through it I started to feel much better so I decided to pick it up for the last mile and see if I could beat 37:00.  I ran my last mile in 8:39 to finish at 35:48.

Since I don’t have a “goal” other than running the distance, these games serve more to keep my mind occupied so I won’t obsess over every little twinge.  I don’t really care how fast I run but it IS a measure of my fitness, which is important to me.  It’s not the 7:15s I ran in my last 5K, but I’m not as far from it as I thought I was.  I do think, though, that I can get back down to that point (and maybe a little beyond) by the end of the summer if I work at it.  I may secretly set another goal of running a sub 22 5K by Thanksgiving… but don’t tell anybody…

Sleepy but not sleeping…

Distance: 5 Mi

Miles to go: 1935

JEEEEZUS that felt good!  Great day.  Perfect weather.  First time over 5 miles in 4+ months and NO PAIN!!!  …well… other than the pain of being fat and out of shape…  But still, I was able to maintain about a 9 minute pace relatively comfortably and actually ran negative for the last two miles.  Now all eyes turn to the future and plans for when I can start running with the group, Traknights and races.  W00T!!  I haven’t felt this good inside in a long time.  I really missed running…

I am having the same interesting/irritating problem that I had when I first started to increase mileage before though.  I can’t sleep.  Anybody else ever have this?  It happened before when I increased my mileage and the night after a long run.  Oh, I go to sleep just fine.  And I’m very tired before I go to sleep.  But as soon as I hit the bed, I sleep for about 2 hours and then wake up.  And nothing I do helps me go back to sleep.  I just have to wait it out.  I was up from 3 until about 4:30 last night.  I’m a little tired today, but not bad.  I’ve done some research on this and found it to be fairly common, but with no clear cause or treatment.  It eventually goes away on it’s own.  But it is kinda irritating when that total exhaustion of full effort doesn’t get translated into a blissful night’s sleep like you want it to.

So… lessee… yesterday I started a fire in the fire pit, dug up/chopped out 4 stumps to toss in the fire pit, filled 8 holes (frozen ground + shovel = loose teeth if you’re not careful), drug a bunch of the cut trees and brush up the hill out of the area I cut them so I can chop them into firewood, ran 5 miles, ripped out holes in my ceiling (plumbing leak), got hit in the head by my 5 pound sledge (proof positive I am NOT a handyman) when it fell off the top of the ladder, and chased my 4 year old around the park for a half hour.  And I still didn’t sleep.  That’s cruel… just… cruel.  Whaddyagottado?