Weekly mileage 34th week of 2012

[Chad_1376]

Running milage for the entirety of this summer = zero. I won't offer up any pathetic excuses, but it's time to get my feet, lungs and legs back in shape.

I walked 1 mile yesterday, and my hard-earned plantar skin feels about 40% as tough as it was in May. I plan on proceeding with evening walks until my feet and the weather are ready for enjoyable running again. Also, I'm "dying" to get back on my mountain bike and enjoy just being outside.

 

[Bare Lee]

Left foot still achy yesterday, but went on a nice walk with the kids in the evening. Today no ache whatsoever. I'm wondering if I should run just a half a mile today or tomorrow and see how that feels. Alternatively, I could take a whole week off after the ache has gone, just to be on the safe side. The problem is, I think sometimes walking or a little running can be therapeutic, even though it shouldn't be with a stress reaction, and sometimes it almost feels more like a mild sprain than a bone issue. All's I know for sure is it's killing me not running.

 

[dutchie53]

Go for 1/2 mile or so no longer, tomorrow will tell if it was the right thing to do. No pain, rest another day and try 3/4 mile, rest 1 day and try another 3/4 mile. Any pain, shut her down.

 

[Bare Lee]

Go for 1/2 mile or so no longer, tomorrow will tell if it was the right thing to do. No pain, rest another day and try 3/4 mile, rest 1 day and try another 3/4 mile. Any pain, shut her down.

Thanks, you're doing your job well! Thanks for keeping me in line. I think today I'm going to go for a bike ride, and then try the 1/2 mile run tomorrow. It's tricky, because running before the foot is healed prolongs the injury/rest, but if you just rest, you don't know when the foot is healed, and it may start to atrophy a bit, which would make further injury more likely once one does return to running. Uff Da!

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Uff Da indeed! Hard choices to make but I agree on the Uff Da part though.

 

[dutchie53]

3 slow miles today, hot and humid.

 

[scedastic]

2.5 am in the dark, bf, annoyed at looking for rocks with the headlamp, slow and fussy
2.5 pm on the nice warm pavement before dinner, bf, better

 

[Barefooting Bob]

5.5 miles today over two runs, one at 12:00 noon and the other at 12:00 midnight. Trying to be consistant.

 

[Bare Lee]

Go for 1/2 mile or so no longer, tomorrow will tell if it was the right thing to do. No pain, rest another day and try 3/4 mile, rest 1 day and try another 3/4 mile. Any pain, shut her down.

Still felt a little something on last night's stroll to the library with the kids, so I'm going to wait a few more days before I put your plan into action. I agree with your 1/4 to 1/2 mile increases though. I looked at my log from last winter, when the ache was similar, and I stuck to between 1 and 3 miles for several months, but the build up wasn't systematic. Eventually it did seem to clear up by itself though, and I began to push the distances a bit in March, but the build up from then until about a month ago was quite disciplined. So just gotta do it all over again. Hopefully this time it won't take so long to get back into the 5-to-6-mile range. It has helped to read up on semi-elite and elite distance runners (you know, the young, skinny guys/gals) and read that the injuries for them as well usually occur during times of increases in training volume. I just gotta treat it like weights, especially benching, where you go up by five- and ten-pound increments or risk serious injury. With weights, I know exactly what I'm capable on any given day. I have to develop that same instinct with running, I can see that now. The good news is that I think I've finally learned my lesson. The bad news is that it is highly doubtful I will reach marathon distances by next October when the TC marathon is held, but we'll see. For the moment I'm putting that completely out of my head, and just focusing on getting back to a good fitness level of running.

 

[scedastic]

Still felt a little something on last night's stroll to the library with the kids, so I'm going to wait a few more days before I put your plan into action. I agree with your 1/4 to 1/2 mile increases though. I looked at my log from last winter, when the ache was similar, and I stuck to between 1 and 3 miles for several months, but the build up wasn't systematic. Eventually it did seem to clear up by itself though, and I began to push the distances a bit in March, but the build up from then until about a month ago was quite disciplined. So just gotta do it all over again. Hopefully this time it won't take so long to get back into the 5-to-6-mile range. It has helped to read up on semi-elite and elite distance runners (you know, the young, skinny guys/gals) and read that the injuries for them usually occur during times of increases in training volume. I just gotta treat it like weights, especially benching, where you go up by five- and ten-pound increments or risk serious injury. With weights, I know exactly what I'm capable on any given day. I have to develop that same instinct with running, I can see that now. The good news is that I think I've finally learned my lesson. The bad news is that it is highly doubtful I will reach marathon distances by next October when the TC marathon is held, but we'll see. For the moment I'm putting that completely out of my head, and just focusing on getting back to a good fitness level of running.

That sure is taking a long time. It stinks that you can even feel it walking. Do you think it's soft tissue damage?

 

[Bare Lee]

That sure is taking a long time. It stinks that you can even feel it walking. Do you think it's soft tissue damage?

Thanks for asking. I now think it's a tiny stress fracture. That's what the Orthopedist saw last fall, although I couldn't see anything in the x-ray with my untrained eye, except the inflamed/reactive (I forgot the term he used) areas on the side of the mets. The only cure is rest. I continue to walk around barefoot, so it's not complete rest, but it's healing nonetheless. I can go down the stairs now without any pain.

So it's just a matter of time, and intelligent training. The good news is that I know I can get up in the 5-6 mile range, which is perfectly adequate for fitness purposes, and is what I used to do shod in Chicago, so that's what I'm focusing on now. If this is anything like last fall/winter, it may take me 2-4 months to get back there. It's taken me a while to realize the severity of this injury. I thought it was the usual mild achiness I was getting once in a while March thru July, but that always cleared up within 24-48 hours. Perhaps the foam roller I just bought and more stretching will help speed up the process.

So now I know that I'll probably never be out of the woods, that is, done with 'the transition.' Each and every addition of distance will have to be done slowly and methodically, with rest and reduced distances at the first sign of trouble, no matter how small the niggle. I think I've finally put aside my pride and have accepted this, and am ready just to 'enjoy the journey' as so many have recommended. But I probably won't be reporting any mileage for another week or so, we'll see. Going to break out the bike from the shed today and go for a ride with my son in the meantime, and do some lifting.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

The bad news is that it is highly doubtful I will reach marathon distances by next October when the TC marathon is held, but we'll see. For the moment I'm putting that completely out of my head, and just focusing on getting back to a good fitness level of running.

Sorry to hear about that Lee, I felt a little guilty there for a second but I am ok now.
If there is any consolation, the way my running is going I think the TC marathon ain't happening.
So that makes two of us.

 

[Bare Lee]

Sorry to hear about that Lee, I felt a little guilty there for a second but I am ok now.
If there is any consolation, the way my running is going I think the TC marathon ain't happening.
So that makes two of us.

No guilt Dama. In Chicago I was quite content to run my three laps around Washington Park, but I've had it in my mind to do longer runs for at least a year now. Last fall I tried jumping from five to ten miles and got the stress fracture for the first time--you'd think I would've learned then. Wait, I actually did learn from that, and had a really good training scheme set up. Then once I got up to six miles, I just got greedy, and wanted 10 right away. The marathon talk might have encouraged me, but I already had it in my head. Anyway, I really appreciate the support here, and like Pirate said on TJ's thread, my problems are really minor in comparison to hers, so I got it all in perspective. I'm just happy to be walking pain-free now, and I know in a short time I'll be running again, so just have to be patient. I hope your recovery continues to go well as well.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

I'm just happy to be walking pain-free now, and I know in a short time I'll be running again, so just have to be patient. I hope your recovery continues to go well as well.

Now that's the spirit!
I am keeping possitve though, I always say it could be worse and glad it isn't.

 

[NickW]

Dang Lee, you must have old man bones or something. I'm just joking in case you didn't catch that. I hope it's not really a stress fracture but I am glad you are learning from your mistakes. I always think I learn from mine, but somehow I have a way of forgetting at the most inopportune times. I think for the most part I do learn from my mistakes but sometimes just push slightly too much. It seems to be a very fine line for me for what is too much and so I'm not sure where that line is exactly.

 

[Bare Lee]

Dang Lee, you must have old man bones or something. I'm just joking in case you didn't catch that.

I know you're joking, but I have considered that, except the doc said I have the bones of a man 20 years younger (probably due to the weights), and elite marathoner Dathan Ritzenhein has also had metatarsal issues, as have innumerous other barefoot runners. The good news is I now know my mets can handle an hour three times a week, so I'm adopting the point of view that anything on top of that will be gravy, and the only real goal is to get back to that.

I think for the most part I do learn from my mistakes but sometimes just push slightly too much. It seems to be a very fine line for me for what is too much and so I'm not sure where that line is exactly.

I'd say you crossed the line by signing up for a race before you've been completely healed for at least a month or two!!!

 

[NickW]

Ya, I see your point, but the race is no longer really than what I would normally run right now. If it was any longer of a race I would think it was pushing myself too hard. I don't do many races at all either, this is only my second this year, 4th in the last two years. I also do not push myself any harder in a race than what I do on a normal training day.

 

[Bare Lee]

Ya, I see your point, but the race is no longer really than what I would normally run right now. If it was any longer of a race I would think it was pushing myself too hard. I don't do many races at all either, this is only my second this year, 4th in the last two years. I also do not push myself any harder in a race than what I do on a normal training day.

Ok, yah, if you can avoid letting the excitement push you harder than you should go, sounds like fun.

 

[NickW]

I'm one of those runners that pushes themselves pretty hard in training, so it doesn't matter if I have others around me or not my body just can't go much faster, if at all.

 

[scedastic]

5.6, huaraches, hills, slow, easy, breezy