New Home, New Running

It has been a while since my last post, namely due to our big move back East. We moved from Monterey CA back to St Petersburg, FL in June, and what a crazy month of preparation, packing, moving, unpacking, and settling in it has been! Not to mention with a pre-crawling 8.5 month old along...

Didn't run during the week-long trip - just couldn't make it happen and manage Jack's adjustment to life on the road. One exception - ran a 5K with an old friend of mine on Father's Day. She is actually responsible for getting me into distance running back when I was in high school and her husband was the school's XC coach. I owe my love of running to Sue and Chris! It was a blast to do a run with her, all these years later. Not anywhere close to a PR for me, but just going through the process of racing was enough to get my mind thinking competitively again...

Now back in Florida, and battling the summer heat and humidity. These last couple of weeks totally kicked me on my butt. I felt heavier and slower than ever before, and I know it is NOT due to one week off from running. The temperatures have been in the mid-80s to 90s with about 70-85% humidity, most mornings. A couple of runs weren't TOO bad, but most have been horrible. A 10:00/mile pace is sometimes all I can manage, but then on occasion I can bust out a solid 7:30 pace for a mile or so. It is just an adjustment period, I know, but it is an especially painful one this time around! Planning on running a beach 5K at the end of the month, not to try to PR (no way in the heat AND in the SAND) but will at least get the feel of racing back into me.

Ran a mile time trial on Friday morning, and plan to do one every two weeks for a while to look for progress. Wasn't pretty - though it was later in the morning than usual and definitely more humid - only 6:45. I want to get it down to about 6:15 next time, and down to 5:45 by the end of the summer.

That's all for now...more when I have adjusted!

Back on track!

Four weeks of injury, but am finally back on track!

It actually helped me to not blog while I was unable to run, to not focus on the fact that I couldn't run. But so many valuable experiences did happen during that time. Namely my first experience with ART (Active Release Technique) that facilitated my recovery. In early April, I made an appointment with Dr Cook here in Monterey, a chiropractor who also practices ART. He is a runner himself, which is of course massively helpful. One look at me and he knew what was wrong, and had experienced it first hand. Even how I stand and walk gave him clues as to my malfunctioning piriformis (as I had suspected). There was more complexity to the injury, though, as the gluteus medius muscle was also affected and strained. Both muscles pushed on the sciatic nerve, which was causing some pain down my hamstring. Dr Cook saw me twice a week for three weeks, working the muscles by pushing and pulling on them (yes, it hurt. badly.), causing them to systematically contract and release. It actually always felt very good after the fact.

Within a week I felt improvement, but still couldn't run without too much pain. I spent a lot of time on the elliptical machine and weight lifting - the previous neglect of which was part of what got me into this injury. I always preach to my cross country runners about lifting weights in the off season, and here I am, hypocritically injured due to weak glute muscles. But it wasnt' until I took four days ENTIRELY off from the elliptical and running (walking, instead) that I saw vast improvement in my lower back and glutes. My husband, infant, and I flew to Florida to visit family and find our new home, so it served as a perfect opportunity to break from impact exercise and see what happens. Naturally, I should have done this when the injury first occurred. But I was thrilled to get back and see Dr Cook upon returning from the trip, when he saw improvement in my range of motion as well.

The other thing that Dr Cook enlightened me to was the fact that as long as I am breastfeeding my son, I will have the hormone relaxin surging through me, softening my tendons and making me much more injury-prone than not. I knew of how relaxin works during pregnancy, but it hadn't even occurred to me that it could be affecting me while nursing. I will have to be much more conscientious than was necessary in the past. Noted.

When I no longer felt pain while trying to run - but maybe an occasional tension in my hip - I started running three times per week, then five times, and now am back to six times per week, hitting 3-6 miles on most runs and around 8 miles long run. No pain! Very little tension. I am slower, of course, but did my first fartlek yesterday and can feel my feet wanting to turn over faster!

Yes, I know, be careful not the get into the same predicament as before. Slow and steady.

Needless to say, I did not race the OC Half Marathon in early May. And I have decided to push back racing a marathon until next spring. But instead I will aim hard at three races this fall: a 10-miler in Nyack, NY in September, a 5K to hit a PR in October, and a Half Marathon in November. Of course, if my comeback is slow, I may re-evaluate those goals, yet again. But I am becoming more agreeable to changing my goals than my pre-pregnancy self, and my "body sense" is wiser.

Here it goes!

Week 5

Injured.

Angrily injured.

After feeling the buttock and hamstring pain on Sunday, I took Monday and Tuesday off, with some stretching and weight lifting instead. Monday was so bad that I could barely walk without serious limping. On Wednesday I was feeling better and thought I'd try a run with one of our track athletes who was also nursing an injury. Though the pain came and went through the run, it was a hobbling, slow run. The next morning, I attempted a run that went about the same, but more pain towards the end, and limping back home. This was definitely not normal soreness and it wasn't subsiding as I had expected it to. So I decided to bite the bullet and rest it, maintaining hot/cold alternations and lots of foam rolling.

Three more days of no running, but ellipticalling instead. I felt some tension while on the machines, but no pain, thankfully. This would be a sufficient substitute until I could resume running. Meanwhile, I researched. Relentlessly. And tossed between piriformis syndrome and a fractured sacrum, both of which could mean a long recovery. I made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon friend who thought there could be a hip issue. I researched Active Release Technique (ART), and began trying to target the precise point of the problem. I saw a massage therapist friend on campus who gave me a brief massage and assessed my muscle tension. In the past, I was never good at healing and recovery, always trying to train through the pain. But this was different - I am older, I am recovering from childbirth, and I am considerably wiser than my twenty-something self. I was going to recover like a champ.

When I saw the orthopedic surgeon, he confirmed what I thought: the piriformis muscle. He tested my mobility for strain and pain; I was hardly feeling pain while walking, stairs, elliptical, or weight lifting, but felt horrible pain if I tried to run. Impact injury. He said I was basically doing everything I should be doing, and that I needed to be patient and continue treating it until the pain is gone. My May 4th half marathon could possibly not happen. I was more worried about affecting my September full marathon. Thankfully, he said, there didn't seem to be anything worse going on. Just a slow, painful muscle strain. I'm not as young as I used to be, and my body is not going to heal as quickly as it once did.

Friday will be an appointment with an ART specialist - maybe he will profoundly help my issue. Until then, I will continue treating it with rolling, hot/cold treatment, ibuprofin, careful movements, and as many healing foods as I can.

I have decided to cut back my projected mileage, and return to my pre-baby marathon training plan, and lessened weekly miles. This isn't the time to make a major change in my capacity as a runner; I need to focus on just returning to where I was before. Instead of peaking at 80 miles/week, I will peak around 55 miles/week. Starting with about 33 miles/week when I do return to running. This move actually feels quite good: comfortable, familiar, and I know I am capable of doing it. But slowly. Patiently. Gradually. It is frustrating not being able to launch myself into sub-elite training right off the bat, but it HAS only been 6 months since Jack was born, and I really didn't give my body what it needed to adjust into running effectively.

Lesson learned. Moving forward, carefully.

Week 4

This week was the first week that my running went as planned. I actually enjoyed the fartleks quite a bit, and found my pace ahead on the intervals. My legs felt stronger, and my "easy pace" is finally getting faster - in the 8:30/mile range. Highest mileage per week so far, at 48. All in all, a fantastic week!

Until Sunday's long run.

On Saturday, I felt a little bit of lower right back pain forming while on my easy 9 miler. This has happened in the past when my mileage starts increasing, and usually goes away. Didn't think anything of it. While chaperoning the Prom, I cut loose and danced a little bit, and felt the back pain then too. Just figured I am older than I used to be, and dancing with the teens was maybe not such a good idea. Sunday morning, I laced up the Mizunos for a long progression run, with some acceleration in the last 10 minutes. This run was going very well, and though at the turn around point I did feel a little heaviness in my legs, I held pace and felt great. But with 3 miles left to go, the lower back pain returned. And began to worsen, working its way into my glutes.

After hobbling back from the 12 miler, I could barely walk. Icing my back felt good, but the pain was worsening. It took away my breath as I put pressure on my right leg, which subsided somewhat when I used the roller, but returned shortly later. This was worse than my aches and pains of the past, yet the onset was not as sudden as a typical injury.

Therein lies the elephant in the room....slow onset injury....overuse injury....

I had most likely increased my mileage too quickly, by about 25% in one week. Wayyyyyy too much. On top of that, I have been neglecting strength training since going back to work and not having the hours in the day to get in a morning run plus an afternoon strength workout. This was a huge mistake, especially since in coming back from pregnancy, I had likely lost considerable muscle strength that had kept me healthy before. More loss than I had realized.

Now is the process of healing my back and glutes - likely a sciatic nerve problem - while adding strength training into my routine, and taking the mileage a little easier over the next few weeks.

Morale of the story: don't neglect strength training, runners! You MUST ensure that your frame is strong enough for the running stresses you are putting on it! It is so easy for us to forget the importance of this.

Week 3

Despite starting out the week with a sore throat and headache, I somehow managed to *mostly* continue my running schedule, with only slight modifications. Though on Monday's run, I felt strange tension in my shoulders and that horrible pain under my collarbone after about 30 minutes of running. Has anyone else experienced this? I think it happens when I am less in shape and my breathing is heightened. But it seemed to go away on my other runs. It was great to run with the track girls on Wednesday, in the warm sunshine and at a nice tempo pace. Then, my first fartlek on Friday! Not a terribly difficult one, and it felt good to get some speedwork in. Sunday was a very nice long run with a 10 minute progression at the end. I didn't do the last 10 minutes, but the second to last 10 minutes, so that I was on the trail and not the road during the faster pace. I think my body is adapting nicely to the change in training.

It's funny how much I don't want to lace up and run when my alarm goes off, yet how wonderful I feel for the rest of the day when I go out and get it done. It feels so good to be training again!

Week 2

It's a good feeling to finally regain some sense of strength in my legs as my base building trudges on. I always look forward to the fundamental phase of training in which fast workouts start to occur more frequently and I can feel the potential for big fitness gains in the near future. Week 2 was starting to feel that way, until I had to take two days in a row off due to my husband being out of town (I usually run in the early morning, when my husband can watch our infant son) and my being on dorm duty. It is SO frustrating to not be able to run because I have to sit around all day in case students need to sign out to go off campus. But such is the job I have and the life we chose here, though we will soon be changing that life again.

On Tuesday, I actually got to do my first double run, my normal morning run and an afternoon run with the track team. It was so refreshing and nice to get in an easy run with the girls, and on a beautiful day to boost. After being on duty Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday, I took off on an 11 mile long run, the longest since I've resumed training. The last 20 minutes were supposed to be a slightly quickened tempo pace, but I was starting to feel cramping under my collarbone, which has happened to me in the past early in training. My pace slowed a bit towards the end.

Next week is my first fartlek!

Week 1

About to be done with Week 1 of my blogging about running....which also happens to be Week 1 (out of 20) of my training for the VIA Marathon.

In terms of soreness, so far so good. I have felt very little soreness since I have been slowly getting back into training (four weeks of steady running again, since surgery and baby recovery). The typical "sedentary stiffness" has set it, a term I coined for the post-running stiffness we feel after sitting or laying down for a period of time, like first thing in the morning. Some of that, but no soreness, yet.

I haven't started quality workouts yet, but my first fartlek is next week and my first progression run is tomorrow. Will be trying the Mizunos again for the first time in a while, since my progression run will include some faster pacing at the end.

I am surprised at how slow my 'easy pace' is, compared to what it was. When I started training for the CIM in 2012, my easy pace was around 8:35/mile. Right now, 8:35 feels pretty damn fast, and my easy pace is averaging around 9:10/mile. Discouraging, to say the least. But, as Sarah Hall says, "trust the process"!

Mileage this week: 34