Disappointing Recovery Week

I went into last week excited about a recovery week, and pumped about what I had accomplished in the 4 weeks prior.  Unfortunately my recovery week was sort of ruined by a strained calf muscle.  During my last long run (10 miles) my right calf cramped up with about a half-mile to go.  I decided to run through the cramp, and just slow down a bit since I was almost done.  The next day my calf was incredibly sore.  I went on a slow 6-miler the following day thinking that it would loosen up my calf.  The next run felt pretty good; however, I could feel a nagging tenderness in my calf every step of the way.  The end of that run marked the beginning of my recovery week.

I had planned to only run 14 miles during my recovery week, but I was only able to manage 8 miles because of my calf.  I took Monday off, as planned, and then ran 2 miles on Tuesday.  That was a pretty rough run, and it prompted me to skip my scheduled 4-mile run on Wednesday and my 2-mile run on Thursday.  I also took Friday off, since it was a scheduled off-day.  I figured that after a few days off my calf would be ready to go on Saturday for a 4-miler and boy was I wrong.  I cut my run short at 2.4 miles, and felt devastated that I had gotten myself into another injury so soon after recovering from extensor tendonitis in my foot.

When I got home I did what I think most runners do, and tried to think of any quick fix I could.  New shoes, calf sleeves, different electrolyte drinks, some new miracle recovery powder, etc...  Then I had a little bit of a revelation.  I thought back to training for my first marathon.  I didn't experience a single injury in the 6 months leading up to it.  I was sore a lot, experienced some knee and hip pain, and the marathon itself was a horrible experience, but I'm starting to question what really caused the negative experience.  Here are a few things that I think killed me last time around

• I ran the marathon the day after returning to Seattle from Paris, France
• I never recorded my mileage for a single training run (it was all time oriented)
• I under-trained
• I had poor running form

After thinking about my previous training experience I decided that maybe minimalist shoes aren't for me.  I am confident that they helped me correct a heel-striking tendency, but I don't think that I can handle the mileage necessary to complete a marathon in them.  I pulled out my old Mizuno Wave Rider 12's and went for a run yesterday.  I figured that the raised heel would alleviate some of the stress on my calf during the run, and I was right.  It was a slow 4-miler, but I felt good afterwards.  

Where to go from here?  I think I'll pick up a new pair of neutral running shoes to wear for the bulk of my mileage, and use the Kinvara 3's for 1-2 short runs per week.  This should keep my form in check, and also give me a little more life out of my shoes.  I'll plan on carrying a hydration pack on any runs over 8 miles, because the cramping last week was completely my fault.  I only had a handheld, and was completely out of water for the last 2 miles.  Last but not least, I'll probably pick up a calf sleeve to get me through this injury because I know I won't rest it properly for 1-4 weeks to allow it to heal completely.  I guess I really am a gear nerd!

Recovery Week Training Summary:

Monday:       Off

Tuesday:       2.00 miles; 19:55; avg. pace 9:57/mile

Wednesday:  Off

Thursday:      Off

Friday:          Off

Saturday:      2.40 miles; 22:15; avg. pace 9:17/mile

Sunday:        4.01 miles; 40:20; avg. pace 10:03/mile

Total Miles: 8.41 miles

Average Pace: 9:49/mile 

Happy Running!  (right?)

Problem With Comments

I realized today that I had my blog linked to a Disqus comment dashboard.  If you ever tried to comment on any posts then you would have been prompted to sign into, or setup, a Disqus account.  I saw a few comments there that I never knew about, and they never showed up on the blog.  Sorry about that.  I've removed Disqus from my blog and you can now comment with ease.

I'm REALLY enjoying my recovery week!  I'm already looking forward to upping the mileage next week, but for now my body is loving the light runs.  I've also started incorporating some core workouts and balance workouts I picked up on a Runner's World article.  I'll post the workouts and a link to the articles in a later post after I've had some more time to try them out.  I'm hoping that they'll improve my form and control when running, and also help prevent injury.

Happy Running!

Crazy Long Run Philosophy...

I have to warn you up front that most of this post will not be about running, but more about my trip down the rabbit hole on my most recent long run.  So, I was out on my long run last Saturday and I found myself contemplating the age-old question, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"  My ultimate response to the question...No.

Here is the logic that came about from a 10-miler along the Potomac River.  We should start by defining a sound.  From a physical perspective, sound is a transfer of energy caused by some force, in this case a tree falling,  propagating through a medium, air, until it strikes something which causes it to stop.  In some cases, that something is the eardrum of an observer who can identify the energy as a "sound."  My argument against the tree making a "sound" is that, although the falling tree would certainly send a wave of energy through the air, without an observer capable of labeling the transfer of energy "sound" I don't believe that we can call that a sound.  It would simply be energy moving through the universe.

Maybe this isn't the funniest, or most exciting, bit of running babble, but I'm curious to hear about what other people think about while running.  Politics, religion, pick-up lines?  It seems to me like thoughts during a run are like one's thoughts during a dream.  Extremely vivid and clear in the moment, but difficult to grasp the following day.  This one made me chuckle a bit afterwards, so I thought I would jot it down before I filed it away forever.  If you've got any recent running nonsense, share your story before it disappears.

Training Summary Last Week:

Monday:      Off

Tuesday:      4.17 miles; 38:15; avg. pace 9:10/mile

Wednesday: 4.01 miles; 33:25; avg. pace 8:21/mile

Thursday:     4.02 miles; 35:30; avg. pace 8:50/mile

Friday:         Off

Saturday:     10 miles; 1:33:10; avg. pace 9:19/mile

Sunday:        6.04 miles; 58:30; avg. pace 9:41/mile

Total Mileage: 28.24 miles

Average Pace: 9:10/mile

Happy Running!

Final Injury Update-Extensor Tendonitis

*Here is a link to my first Injury Update, which explains more about the injury itself, and is the basis for which I formulated this post.

It's been a little over 2 months since I began feeling pain in my foot from switching to barefoot running.  I am no longer running barefoot, but I am running quite well with a pair of minimalist shoes (Saucony Kinvara 3).  I've logged around 100 miles over the past 5 weeks in these shoes and my foot is feeling completely better.  I figure that since my injury is completely behind me...knock on wood...I should post an update to the treatments I used.

Ice:  This continued to be a lifesaver for me.  I continued to ice my foot, as described in my previous post, throughout my healing process.  I also began a routine of applying heat, friction massage, then ice which I'll describe later.

Compression:  I continued to wear an elastic bandage throughout the day, especially if I knew I would be walking a lot.  This helped for the first few weeks, but around week 3-4 it started to feel like it made things worse.  I discontinued wearing the wrap after that.  I think the discomfort was caused by the added pressure from the wrap on the top of my foot where the inflamed tendons travel along my foot.  Initially it provided comfort, perhaps by adding stability and cushioning to my fore-foot.

Wear Running Shoes:  I continued to do this throughout the entire recovery process.  I started out with my old Mizuno Wave Rider shoes (This link will take you to the current model, but mine are 12's).  The WR's had been through a marathon and much more, so they were pretty shot.  I switched to a pair of Kinvara 3's about 3 weeks post injury.  My Kinvara 3's felt better than any other pair of shoes I own so I wore them everywhere until about 7 weeks after injuring myself.

Forefoot Padding:  I actually quit using this after about 3 weeks or so.  After switching to wearing the K-3's all of the time, there was no need for additional padding.  The extra padding did seem to help initially though, so it may be worth trying.  As a side note, I read several internet posts about people placing cotton balls between their toes to relieve stress from inflamed tendons in their foot; however, this didn't seem to provide any relief from discomfort for me.

Stretching:  Stretching continued to be a great help for me, especially calf stretching.  Once my foot was feeling a bit better (about 3-4 weeks post injury) I started doing a stretch on the top of my foot where I would sit in a chair, place the ankle of my injured foot on my opposite thigh, and use my hand to gently bend my toes downward.  I would have to apply counter pressure with my thumb on the bottom of my foot near my arch.  I would recommend any leg stretches that don't seem to aggravate the injury while doing them.

Friction Massage:  I stumbled across friction massage several weeks into my recovery and this seemed to help tremendously.  It's not entirely comfortable, but it really helped to pinpoint the injured area and also seemed to alleviate pain for hours afterwards.  Here is how to perform friction massage.  I highly recommend this!

Toe Raises:  I actually quit doing these shortly after my original post.  I quickly decided that strengthening exercises weren't helpful early on in recovery.  I would recommend these for injury prevention, but not for treatment.

Running:  I definitely don't recommend running while injured.  I went on a few light runs, but decided that it was actually making the problem worse.  I could feel pain in my foot while running, but since it wasn't severe I thought I could just run through it.  I did; however, find that after about 2-3 weeks of rest I could walk/hike relatively pain-free.  I started walking as much as my foot would allow.  I tried to just listen to my body.  If my foot started getting sore, I toned down the walking.  If I felt good I kept going.  I actually did several 5-10 mile hikes with my 1-year-old son in our Baby Carrier Backpack.  This may not work for you if you're injured, but I think it really helped me recover.  I think that stimulating the tendons, without causing pain, is very beneficial to recovery.

Rest:  I ended up taking another 2 weeks off from running completely, with the exception of a few light "test" runs, for a total of 4 weeks off.  In order to keep my sanity I started walking and hiking quite a bit to at least stay somewhat active.

Now that I've revisited all of the previous treatment methods I mentioned before, I'd like to mention the heat, friction massage, ice routine that, in my opinion, was more helpful than anything else.  First thing in the morning I would apply a heat pad by wrapping it around my foot and securing it in place with the elastic bandage I used use to wrap my foot.  I would leave the heat on for about 20 minutes, making sure that the heat was concentrated on the top of my foot between my toes and ankle.  Next I would conduct a friction massage for about 10 minutes as described in the link.  During the massage I would start rubbing very gently and as time went on I was able to increase the pressure.  By the end of each massage my thumbs would be very tired from applying so much pressure.  By the end of the massage I could feel the pain centralize to a very specific point on the tendon, maybe the size of my fingertip.  After the massage I would apply ice for 20 minutes.  This felt SO good, as the massage isn't exactly pleasant.  By the time I finished this ~50 minute process my foot felt absolutely wonderful, and it only got better the more that I did it.  Occasionally I would end up applying ice again later in the day if my foot was really bothering me.

I hope this helps someone make it through a tendon injury.

Happy Running!

Saucony Kinvara 3 Review

Pros:

• Lightweight (Listed at 7.7oz)
• Extremely flexible sole
• Low drop from heel to toe (Listed at 4mm)
• Extra padding above the heel to keep your heel in place (Saucony calls these "Anatomically contoured memory foam heel pods.")

Cons:

• Durability
• Not really made for anything but road/track use
• Toe box bunches up when laced (for me, see picture above and last picture)

                                   

I've logged about 100 miles in my Saucony Kinvara 3's now, and overall I'm pretty impressed.  They are extremely lightweight, and make you feel like you're practically barefoot.  Unfortunately, you feel that way on trails as well.  I did a 4-mile run on a fairly well-maintained gravel trail, and a few times I landed on a bigger piece of gravel and REALLY felt it.  In fact, my foot was sore for several days afterwards.  It's a bit hard to fault the shoe for this since it is marketed as a minimalist shoe, and providing more protection would negate most of the pros I've listed above.  Nonetheless, if you frequently run on trails, even well-kept ones, you'll likely need something other than the Kinvara 3's.  

The lightweight upper seems to breathe exceptionally well.  I've ran several times in 100+ degree (F) heat and the shoes have been wonderful.  One thing I would like to see is an upper without a tongue, like the upper on Nike Free.  I'm not a huge fan of the Free's, but I do like that the upper is all one piece.

I am predominately a mid-foot striker and these shoes seemed to have been designed with me in mind.  There is added "XT-900 rubber through the lateral mid-foot" providing extra cushioning and increased durability in the place you need it most.  Since Saucony only added rubber to the crucial areas (the lateral mid-foot, the 9 triangular lugs on the fore-foot, and the heel) the sole is extremely flexible and conforms to your foot with every step.

The Kinvara 3's have a listed heel height of 22mm and a fore-foot height of 18mm, and I love this!  I find it much easier to maintain a safe and efficient stride when tired.  If you've never run in anything but traditional running shoes, make sure to take it slow for the first few weeks because your calf muscles will be screaming!

The memory foam pads in the heel actually kind of bothered me at first and seemed to rub my Achilles tendon when running.  I'm not really sure how, but it stopped after about the first week and the pads seem to do exactly what Saucony says they do, "...provide a secure fit."  I haven't had any problems since.

I listed durability as a con for the Kinvara 3's because I can already see signs of wear on the upper and I've only put about 100 miles on them.  I doubt you can see it in the pictures I've posted, but there are small holes beginning to form where the upper meets the EVA foam sole.  The wear is present in both shoes mostly near the toe box, both lateral and medial.  These are the same places that many people posted about their previous Kinvara models wearing down.  Surprisingly, the sole seems to be holding up rather well.  I certainly had my doubts with so much exposed EVA foam, but they placed the rubber in the right spots.

Although it may sound minor, I have a problem with the upper material in the toe box bunching up when I lace up my Kinvara 3's.  If I loosen the laces to the point where the toe box doesn't bunch up, my feet slide around like crazy.  There is a permanent ripple down the center of the toe box from where the laces end to the toe of the shoe.  It also took me a few runs to figure out what worked for me as far as lacing goes.  Since the toe box is so roomy it was a bit difficult to find the sweet spot for a snug fit.

Overall, I'd give these shoes an 8 out of 10.  They have turned me into a believer in minimalist style shoes, but I think there is still room for improvement.  I love how lightweight they are, and also that I can feel the ground under my feet as I'm running.  I would recommend these to anyone who plans to run predominately on the road or track, or is looking for a transition shoe for running barefoot or in super minimalist shoes (Merrell Trail Glove, Vibram FiveFingers Bikila, Merrell Road Glove, etc.) .  Durability is still a bit of an issue, as I doubt I'll see more than 300-400 miles out of these.  Anyone logging high mileage (60+ miles per week) probably can't afford to run in these since they would likely need to be replaced every couple months.  Although durability is still an issue, it seems that Saucony has improved this from previous Kinvara models.  Keep going Saucony!  I'd love to love these shoes, but for now I just like them a lot.

Happy Running!

My Shorts Are Getting Salty

I'm in my 5th week or so of training for either the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC or the Monster Mash Marathon in Dover, DE, both of which are near the end of October.  So far, my training plan has been great and I'm optimistic that it will yield far better results in my next marathon.  I ran 24 miles last week, and my my times are already improving drastically.  I started out running around a 9:30-10:00 per mile pace in the beginning weeks, and I averaged 8:21 per mile during a 4-miler today.

I actually feel like I'm transitioning into a runner again.  It's kind of funny to think that I ran a 16:52 3-mile PFT (Physical Fitness Test) in the Marine Corps a few (nearly 8!) years ago.  That translates to a 5:37 per mile pace...I guess I've still got a ways to go, but I'm confident that over time I'll be able to get there again and even surpass my previous running abilities.  I did that without ever training specifically for a run; I was just in good shape.

Training Breakdown for Last Week:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 3.28 miles; 38:15; Avg. Pace 9:56
Wednesday: 4.09 miles; 41:45; Avg. Pace 10:13
Thursday: 4.43 miles; 40:40; Avg. Pace 9:11
Friday: Off
Saturday: 8.01 miles; 1:15:30; Avg. Pace 9:26
Sunday: 4.01 miles; 38:35; Avg. Pace 9:38

Total Mileage: 23.82 miles
Average Pace: 9:38

Happy Running!

Essay Contest for MCM 2012

This morning I stumbled onto an essay contest sponsored by the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department for a bib at the 2012 Marine Corps Marathon!  I'm elated at the renewed possibility of getting to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon.  Of course, I have to be one of the 10 chosen winners...

Having served in the Marine Corps from 2002 to 2006, and deploying to Iraq 3 times it would be a great honor for me to run the Marine Corps Marathon.  I was very disappointed to find out that race tickets had sold out in a record 2 hours and 41 minutes!  The United States Marine Corps has changed my life and I am very proud to be a veteran.  I think that it would be a wonderful experience to take part in this massive event near our nation's capital.

Although my essay is taken into account in determining the winners of the contest, votes are as well.  I would love it if you could help a Marine run in the Marine Corps Marathon, and vote for "Marine Corps Veteran" here.

Here is the essay which I submitted to AP&R:

(Limited to 150 words or less)

9/11 happened during my senior year in high school, and as a result of this tragedy I enlisted in the Marine Corps infantry. I served honorably from 2002 to 2006, and deployed to Iraq 3 times. My time in Iraq opened my eyes and my heart to others in the world. It has inspired me to accept, embrace, and even appreciate the differences in others.

Now living in Arlington, I have found a new love for running through the many beautiful parks and trails. There is nothing like watching a sunrise over the capital during a morning run along the Potomac. I was ecstatic to learn that I would be in Arlington for the MCM; however, that elation was short lived since tickets sold out so quickly. Please allow me to express my pride and appreciation for the country in which we live by running in the 2012 Marine Corps Marathon.

3/5 Scout Snipers Fallujah, Iraq 2004-2005
(I am back row, fourth from left)

Happy Running!

Random Training Update

I was planning on doing a max heart rate test today, but I decided that I'm going to wait until after my next rest week.  My legs were feeling tired from last weeks running, and I just didn't feel up to running myself ragged at 5:30 this morning.  Last week felt really good, and I'm motivated to stick to my training plan.  I'm not going to really worry about the heart rate monitor stuff right now.  I don't want to slow the momentum I've gained going into my next couple weeks of progression/building.  I'm just going to set my pace where it feels comfortable.  I'm more worried about gaining mileage rather than speed right now, so later in my training I'll incorporate some heart rate training principles to really focus each run on exactly what I want to improve.  Not much exciting going on...just running!

Happy Running!

Confused About Heart Rate Training

I logged my longest run so far while wearing a heart rate monitor and I hit a new high...200 pbm!  I'm not sure if that's good or bad!  I think that my run today seemed quite similar to most of the stress tests for determining one's max heart rate.  I ran at a pretty slow pace, roughly 11 min/mile, trying to keep my heart rate below 160 bpm, but I surpassed 160 bpm around the 1.5 mile mark and it steadily climbed for the remainder of the run.  My peak heart rate came while running up a freeway overpass near the end of my run at about 4.5 miles.

Here is the Garmin Connect data from my run:

I'm thinking that I need to go out and get a book on heart rate training because everything I've read online seems to say that my max heart rate should be around 190-195 bpm.  Even if I were to assume that 200 bpm is my max heart rate, doing a 70-75% of MHR long run would put me between 140-150 bpm and I can't even maintain that for a mile at an 11 min/mile pace.  I asked a trainer at Gold's Gym if they can do a stress test to determine my MHR and he told me to subtract my age from 220.  He also told me that my watch was probably wrong about my HR and I should check it, which is probably a good idea.  I was a bit irritated that he couldn't tell me anything else about heart rate training except that I should slow down when running because a ~170 bpm average HR is too high for a long run.  I can't really slow down any more than an 11-11.5 min/mile pace.  It already feels pretty uncomfortable to run that slow.  Most of all I'd like to know if it's unhealthy or dangerous for my heart rate to get so high during exercise.

I would love to hear any suggestions or advice from anyone that has experience with heart rate training.  I also plan to try the local running store, which has a treadmill, to see if they can help me out with a stress test to find my MHR.  I'll keep you posted!

Happy Running!

Heart Rate Training

I've been running with my Garmin FR60 for about a week now, and I'm loving it!  It came with a heart rate monitor so yesterday I figured I might as well give it a try.  I was shocked to see my heart rate skyrocket when I started running.  My resting heart rate is around 55 bpm, and within 3 minutes of running my heart rate was over 160 bpm.  I ran 4 miles and my average heart rate for the run was 177 bpm and my max heart rate was 197 bpm!  My pace felt comfortable, and I even slowed quite a bit becasue my heart rate was so high; however, I wouldn't have even known if I weren't wearing the monitor.

After this somewhat startling run, I did some research on target heart rate training and found my target heart rate zone to be around 100-160 bpm.  Since I was way out of this range on my last run, I decided to keep my pace as slow as needed today to maintain a sub 160 heart rate.  I had to slow from my usual 8:30-9:00 min/mile pace to an average of 11:42 min/mile pace on a 2.72 mile run.  I felt great after the run...kind of like I just ran a few eleven-and-a-half minute miles.

I plan to give heart rate based training a try since I'm so early in my training for the Dover, DE Monster Mash Marathon in October, and I can't imagine that it's healthy to be pushing my heart rate to 197 bpm.  Hopefully, I'll see a gradual decrease in my pace while maintaining a sub 160 bpm heart rate with continued training.  I certainly don't want to run a marathon at an 11 min/mile pace.  If anyone has any advice or experience with heart rate zone training please post in the comments.

Here is my run data from Garmin Connect:

Happy Running!