The Running Geek is back!! over the last two years I've been plagued with injury after injury. I've been running very little at all and very frustrated about it. Way back in January I joined a running group started by a personal hero of mine who has been running for nearly 70 years. I will not mention any names, but will tell you that these groups are all over the world. Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to run with some people who knew better than I how to run, and it would give me a chance to meet some new people who share my interest. After paying a small sum of money to be included in the group, which got me a book and a snazzy new running shirt, I was told to meet at the local indoor track just a mile from our house. I showed up and met a few people, all of whom were at least 15-20 years older than me except one. I was then asked to run a "magic mile" at a strong but not strenuous pace. I trotted out a mile in 7:30 and felt pretty good about it. I was then told i was the fastest person in the group, imagine my shock. The leader put me into a group with "similar" running times and we were told to keep our pace at a 15 minute mile and do 30/30's (30 second jog, 30 second walk) for six miles. I did this and was miserable, to say the least. It was awful. you'd just start to pick up pace and that blasted little timer would go off and you'd be walking again. We met on one weekend day a week, not much instruction for my money I thought, but hey these were the experts right? I was further instructed to keep a pace no faster than 14 minutes per mile on at least all but one run per week. Did I mention they only wanted you to run 3-4 days a week? I was further disappointed when i was told my 40 miles per week were probably to many miles a week. Friends I was confused to say the least. I persisted for about a month and a half, with seemingly no benefit to my running. One day i decided to just pick it up and run my own pace for a while. The pain was slowly building in my left calf, i could feel it getting worse. I stopped and decided to take a couple days off running figuring i had strained my calf. In the mean time i decided to kick in the cross training. Great idea, NOT! About mid way through my workout for day one of my plan I was doing some plyometrics. A sudden burst of pain and a popping sound in my calf and i was put down nearly in tears.
I limped along for a couple days and the pain didn't get any better. It got worse. I saw my doctor and was informed that he was sure I had broken my Fibula. Great! The x-ray showed what looked like a small fracture, and a healed fracture. It was inconclusive so off for a MRI I went. That test showed it quite clearly, a stress fracture, plain as day. Two months no running I was told. I was grounded yet again. I was also instructed to seek physical therapy. I call them physical terrorists. I went anyway to my my regular therapist. Weeks of 2 and 3 sessions a week and i was feeling better. They allowed me to run on the tread mill for short 10 minute intervals at first then different exercises and massage therapy. Seemed I also had acute tendinitis in the peroneal and Achilles tendons. I was given strict order to run no farther than 2 miles. I followed the instructions to the letter, exercises 2 times a day and ran no farther than 2 miles.
After a full 6 weeks of therapy I decided it was time to test the leg out. 5 miles and no pain. The very next day 8 miles, again no pain. I kept up the mileage increase over the next few weeks, and bought some new trail running shoes, as well as a new pair of road shoes. One day at therapy I let the cat out of the bag that I was running regular 13-15 mile runs 3 times a week. I thought my therapist was going to choke. He suggested I buy new shoes and try running some dirt trails, he'd suggested it previously and I followed those instructions so he was just repeating himself.
I quit that training group and ran every trail I could find with some hills mixed in. I was enjoying the burning muscles, outdoors and being running again, even if it was slow. I was seeing very fast gains in muscle tone, endurance on the flats and speed again. I felt great! One day I felt a bit of "tension" in my leg, I did the tried and true method of rest, ice, compress and elevate. Two or so days later I bought a new pair of calf supports. All good on the home front!
I ran across a group, The Anchorage Trail Runners. I joined them on a run for the first time in mid May. It was different running with people in my ability class, speed range and age. Talking to someone was even stranger to me while running, I'd never done this before. Before I knew it we had run about 8 miles and i wasn't winded, drenched with sweat or sore! This was pure bliss to me, especially after a year and a half of nothing but pain and frustration. Since that day I have joined the group several more times on various distances in the mountains, up hills, steep down slopes, soft dirt, hard packed, single track trails that a goat wouldn't want to walk on let alone run and have had zero pain in my leg! I am enjoying my new friends company while running and have seen lots of area that i wouldn't have gone to before. I began to really enjoy my past time again.
The day came when I decided it was time for a longer run on the flats. I'm training for 3 marathons this year alone. One every month from July through September and I really, really needed to put in 20 plus miles as an indicator of where I stood so I didn't embarrass myself or the friends I am running with. I have read about dehydration and its relation to injury so i purchased a new fuel belt with two 9oz water bottles and a small pocket large enough to hold my phone and some sort of energy gel or blocks. The day came. After work on a Friday i took off at a slow trot. 23 miles later I was back at my truck. Yes my legs were tired, but not sore and I was on a high that would've lasted 2 days I swear. Saturday I planned a light recovery run that turned into a 10.5 mile run. Again I felt great. Sunday was Fathers day and my wife asked what i wanted. Normally I wouldn't have asked for anything, or maybe a chainsaw, which i need. I shocked her when I asked just to have 4-5 hours of the afternoon for a long run. A rare heat had gripped Anchorage for two weeks and I wanted to take advantage of every bit of it. I set out on a run and 3 hours 39 minutes later and 20.1 miles i ended up back at my truck feeling ready to take on the world and like I had only ran 10 miles. I was back in the game!
My friends and I were all signed up for the Mayors Marathon and 1/2 Marathon here in Anchorage. This race is a big event, it's one of the longest running race events in the country and celebrated it's 40th anniversary this year! I was given a entry to the full marathon for a birthday gift from my wife this year and was worried about my leg so I "down graded" to the 1/2 marathon not wanting to push my luck with my leg. Race day came and I was able to lay down 8 minute miles for the majority of the race, despite having to stop and pee, and being knocked down on a hill by an out of control and very rude runner. I finished the race in 2 hours 5 minutes despite those two little mishaps and enjoyed every second of the race. When I was done I had one regret, not doing the full. I reflected back on the people I passed. They looked miserable, sweaty, tired and out of breath. Me, well I felt great, fresh, strong and ready to go still after i was done.
I've always loved a quote from a running coach, essentially he stated something like this. If you want to be better at basketball you practice playing basket ball, same goes with every sport out there. If you want to be better at running, the only way to do that is to run. This struck home with me and even more so this year. While there are proven benefits to cross training to balance out muscles, and help your endurance, I have found no proven benefit to doing a 30/30 walk/jog program. No where is there, that I can find, any studies that show this is a benefit to anyone regarding their endurance, speed or strenght, and the opposite was true for me. I am quite certain after months of recovery that this played a roll in my fracture and severe tendinitis. I was further convinced that this program was a pile of, well I'll keep it clean, when I saw the creator of the program run a full marathon and not stop to walk once in 26.2 miles. Furthering my belief were the times recorded by several of the group that ran the full and 1/2 marathons this last week, all of whom had a month head start on training over me and none of which had to stop running for almost 3 months. Some of these times broke the 3 hour mark for the 1/2 marathon and close to 7 hours for the full marathon. I'm not bragging, but my worst time for a 1/2 marathon was 2:18 and i was injured when i did it, and my average time for a full has been 4 to 4 1/4 hours. Quite simply put I don't believe in most of these programs.
Here's what I found to help me recover, dirt trails. They were soft to run on, and didn't jar my legs. There was no start and stop motion aggravating my tendons or muscles and I was able to get a great workout in a short period of time. The hills seemed to have strengthen my legs a lot allowing me a more efficient stride on the flat courses. The hills and soft dirt forced me to run up on my fore foot allowing a gradual strengthening of my feet and ankles which in turn has allowed me to run more comfortably on long runs.
As I finish this entry I reflect on how easily i finished that run this week, how good it felt to be "back in the saddle" and have dug deep into myself and realized anything less that 26.2 by the end of the summer just isn't going to do it for me any more. I've also realized that the only way you are going to increase your mileage and be a better runner is to run, and run longer each week. I've come to trust in my ability to do the long runs again, and while i still get nervous at the start of the race, I also have full confidence in my body to carry me to the finish line with out injury. Another lesson i learned is to enjoy myself again. Finding new places to run, new friends to run with and getting rid of the constant music in my ears and just listening to my body and nature around me has given me a brand new outlook on running.
Run Wild Missoula Marathon is almost upon me and I am very excited to be out there with two old high school friends that I re-connected with this last fall. My wife and kids will be at the finish to either hold me up, cheer me on or both along with various other friends and family. The finish will be made sweeter by completing this marathon in my home state around the so many others that share the same feelings about running as I do. Train your way not how someone tells you you have to, run for fun and because you can and love it, listen to your body, get plenty of rest and above all HAVE FUN!!!!! Until next time, RAMBLE ON FRIENDS!
