Hardship and Poverty seem like they are often in the background of great distance runners. Somewhere I have a printout of a training manual authored by Gordon Pirie. As I recall, his father was a race promoter. I think he described a lot of the runners as young Welsh men who ran to escape the mines. I was reading about Joseph Ebuya who won the world cross country championships. He has a fascinating story. Part of it is that his family is nomadic goat herders. His family's goats were stolen by bandits, forcing them to move closer to the city where he survived by making charcoal. He was discovered when he could keep up with a group of professionals running in long pants and barefoot. Apparently just a few years ago, Tsegaye Kebede - whose last 3 marathons have been 2:05:20, 2:05:18 and 2:05:19 - was gathering firewood to survive, eating one meal per day. I was just reading that even Usain Bolt's home did not have running water when he was growing up. His strength is attributed to the fact that he had to carry water to his house. Even Greg McMillan - coach of McMillan Elite - talks about how suffering is a component of one's training.
Is suffering in of itself important, something like what Gary Cantrell calls "meaningless suffering without a point?" I don't think so, otherwise Cambodian survivors of Pol Pot would dominate endurance sports. My wife who is such a survivor is a hard worker and very strong-minded but does not have an athletic orientation. So there are some other factors. Greg McMillan talks about logging mileage consistently - year after year. We can see that in Haile Gebrselassie, running 10 km to school and another 10 km home for 10 years. I also recall reading that Shadrack Biwott would run 5 km to school, 5 km home for lunch, 5 km back to school, then 5 km back home every day. Even Ed Whitlock runs very consistently -about 20 miles per day. So I think the idea is to make it normal to run consistently every day as you would if you did it of necessity.
So my current plans are to stick to a plan of gradual increase in mileage, hopefully getting to a certain goal. But if I start having problems prior to that goal, I'll just back off and slow down progression of mileage at a maintainable level.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Recovery progressing well
I started running again on April 15th, starting with 1.75 miles at a time. I've been running 4 days at one distance, then increasing the distance by .75 miles, so 1.75, 2.5, 3.25, 4, 4.75, and now 5.5. Since 4/20, I've only missed 2 days where I didn't run. I've been running most of it barefoot. All of it has been barefoot on grass until 5/2 when I ran 4 miles in dirt wearing shoes. I did my first trail run today which means the first time with any vertical (probably about 1000'). I did get hurt one more time when I tripped while running stadiums and really bruised my left shin (on 4/27). This hasn't affected my running much. I only skipped one day (on 5/4) when I rode my bike 23 miles and my leg looked pretty ugly - ankle swollen, a lot of discoloration from under my ankle to above my knee. The bruise has been improving recently as I've been trying a number of things to get the bruise to clear.
Today was the biggest deviation from the plan because I accidentally ran 6.25 miles instead of the planned 5.5. I did an extra out and back which accounted for .68 miles.
I'm planning on sticking with the increases until I get up to 16 miles per day. I'd also like to run a lot of it at 8:48 pace and try to run the Hotter Than Hell 6 hour on 8/14 in Cameron Park at that pace. I'll continue for a while at least to run about half of it barefoot and rotate surfaces between grass, dirt, track and pavement. But most of all I'm intensely listening to my body. If I get a little tingle in my soleus, I stop and massage it. If I start getting sore by the base of my heel, I make sure I warm up with a bike ride before my next run. And I've been doing plenty of cross training with core exercises and bike riding. I just got through a 16 count Pedestal core routine for the first time - woops - forgot the crunches. Actually, Trey Hardee and Diana Pickler really make these look easy - and they are TOUGH!
Today was the biggest deviation from the plan because I accidentally ran 6.25 miles instead of the planned 5.5. I did an extra out and back which accounted for .68 miles.
I'm planning on sticking with the increases until I get up to 16 miles per day. I'd also like to run a lot of it at 8:48 pace and try to run the Hotter Than Hell 6 hour on 8/14 in Cameron Park at that pace. I'll continue for a while at least to run about half of it barefoot and rotate surfaces between grass, dirt, track and pavement. But most of all I'm intensely listening to my body. If I get a little tingle in my soleus, I stop and massage it. If I start getting sore by the base of my heel, I make sure I warm up with a bike ride before my next run. And I've been doing plenty of cross training with core exercises and bike riding. I just got through a 16 count Pedestal core routine for the first time - woops - forgot the crunches. Actually, Trey Hardee and Diana Pickler really make these look easy - and they are TOUGH!
Amy Palmiero-Winters wins Sullivan Award
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Latest Struggle/Action Plan
I started timing my track workouts about a month ago. On March 4th, I did a disrupted workout where my pace for the last few miles was somewhere around 9:45 (bad). Then I got sick. On March 15th, I ran 6 miles in 50:45 - 8:28 pace. On March 18th, I started off not pushing it and came up with 7:46 for the first mile. My goal pace for my long tempo workouts is 7:30 so I'm thinking that I'm there as far as pace is concerned. Now I just need to build up to the distance. Within half a lap after that mile, my right achilles starts hurting. I stop within 30 yards, walk back to my bike and ride home. My old problem with the heel counters (or whatever those things are called) of shoes hitting my achilles is back. I was wearing a pair of flats which I hadn't modified. I thought I was over that problem but I guess not.
Ok, so I take the next day off and go for an easy trail run on Saturday. I'm tentative on the first long gradual climb but everything goes ok. The first downhill gets me to notice the achilles but nothing to worry about. Then I step in a little dip and bang; time to walk back to the car. This one was worse. I went to the chiro about it. It gradually got better day to day. So 3/29, I shuffled through 2 miles barefoot in the park. I was a little sore but not injured. So 4/2, I went for a easy little 4 mile run. Everything was going very smoothly until a little before 3 miles when I felt a little pop and started hopping on my left foot, then limped home. So 3 injuries in the same area in 2 weeks.
The first injury was some kind of bruising of my achilles tendon due to the top of the heel of my shoe hitting it. The second injury left the outside of the tendon and a spot up at the top sore. After the third injury, my achilles is not sore at all. The injury is up in the soleus. In fact, I've felt points of pain all along the full length of the right soleus along its centerline. The last two injuries are what I consider sympathetic injuries where compensation or tightness due to an initial injury results in a secondary injury in the same general location.
What to do...
Two days later, I think I can walk slowly without a limp but running on my right leg would really be stupid. Rest it? I did that yesterday so that's done. Rehab has started. I have been icing it in a bucket of ice water. I've decided to take the next 4 weeks to work it and the rest of my body hard but no running. Weak areas noted earlier include hip flexors and quads. I've been looking at the John Cook et al drills recently, so here was the work schedule for today
Note: ABC's means write the alphabet forwards and backwards with that part of the body
I got in 5 sets w/o squats, then 5 more sets w/ squats.
I think I'll alternate this with some routines that I saw on Flotrack (Pedestal, Waterloo) that work more on core and upper body strength.
So keep this up for 4 weeks and build up my strength. Maybe reacquaint myself with push-ups and certainly crunches.
Making the medicine ball:
I got an old soccer (rubber - really cheap) ball from the garage, worked the little receptacle for the air needle out of the ball (it is shaped like a cross in cross section), put about 8 pounds of uncooked rice in it and jammed the little air receptacle back in so the rice wouldn't fall out. I think similar medicine balls were on sale at Big 5 for about $10 but I like those little DIY projects because I learn something.
Ok, so I take the next day off and go for an easy trail run on Saturday. I'm tentative on the first long gradual climb but everything goes ok. The first downhill gets me to notice the achilles but nothing to worry about. Then I step in a little dip and bang; time to walk back to the car. This one was worse. I went to the chiro about it. It gradually got better day to day. So 3/29, I shuffled through 2 miles barefoot in the park. I was a little sore but not injured. So 4/2, I went for a easy little 4 mile run. Everything was going very smoothly until a little before 3 miles when I felt a little pop and started hopping on my left foot, then limped home. So 3 injuries in the same area in 2 weeks.
The first injury was some kind of bruising of my achilles tendon due to the top of the heel of my shoe hitting it. The second injury left the outside of the tendon and a spot up at the top sore. After the third injury, my achilles is not sore at all. The injury is up in the soleus. In fact, I've felt points of pain all along the full length of the right soleus along its centerline. The last two injuries are what I consider sympathetic injuries where compensation or tightness due to an initial injury results in a secondary injury in the same general location.
What to do...
Two days later, I think I can walk slowly without a limp but running on my right leg would really be stupid. Rest it? I did that yesterday so that's done. Rehab has started. I have been icing it in a bucket of ice water. I've decided to take the next 4 weeks to work it and the rest of my body hard but no running. Weak areas noted earlier include hip flexors and quads. I've been looking at the John Cook et al drills recently, so here was the work schedule for today
Note: ABC's means write the alphabet forwards and backwards with that part of the body
- AM on the floor
- supine ankle ABC's
- supine double leg ABC's - tough on the mid-section
- supine single leg ABC's
- supine leg toss
- prone single leg ABC's (alphabet is upside down on these)
- AM standing - 64 counts each (32 squats), repeated for 30 minutes
- double calf raise (not very high - trying to avoid pain)
- Single leg knee flex
- Prisoner squats
I got in 5 sets w/o squats, then 5 more sets w/ squats.
- AM - roads
- 1 hour/15 miles on the bike
- PM - Medicine Ball - I think 16 reps each
- 2 hand standing overhead throw
- Throw to the side
- Place/Pick from desk in back of me (soccer drill)
- 2 hand kneeling overhead throw
- Good mornings
- Pike throw (I think) - go from lying on your back in a pike position to seated with an overhead throw forward.
- Some twists
I think I'll alternate this with some routines that I saw on Flotrack (Pedestal, Waterloo) that work more on core and upper body strength.
So keep this up for 4 weeks and build up my strength. Maybe reacquaint myself with push-ups and certainly crunches.
Making the medicine ball:
I got an old soccer (rubber - really cheap) ball from the garage, worked the little receptacle for the air needle out of the ball (it is shaped like a cross in cross section), put about 8 pounds of uncooked rice in it and jammed the little air receptacle back in so the rice wouldn't fall out. I think similar medicine balls were on sale at Big 5 for about $10 but I like those little DIY projects because I learn something.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Struggling
I'm still struggling to get to where I want to be. I think the only thing constant is constant struggle. I am making progress. I got through a 10 mile run on the track this week. I quit early the previous week with a very sore foot (because of callus). But now I'm working on that callus with a pumice stone - see - drug stores are good for something. Then I got sick on Friday from various sources of stress over the last two weeks. I tried chasing the sickness away with a workout on Saturday but what I really needed was rest which is what I got today. I revised my plans slightly to introduce a little more variety in my workouts (at least the locales) and maybe a little more routine. So this week, I hope I feel well enough to get out tomorrow and run some stadiums and maybe some drills. Keep struggling.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Barefoot in the Park
10 miles per day - barefoot - for the last 3 days. Saturday was just after it stopped raining with standing water. Of course running in puddles is no fun with shoes and socks on but the real reason I took my shoes off was that my left knee was in pain. I was wearing the heavily armored New Balance flats which was probably part of the problem. Running through the puddles barefoot was a blast. The water wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. The on Sunday, I was cruising at a pretty good pace. Tonight (Monday) I just wanted to see if everything still held up. Niece and nephew are here - later.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Weight
First: I saw a reference to this article - while trolling Lets Run.. It occurred to me that I know what my optimum weight is. Back when I was running big miles, I found that if I went down to 142, I felt worn out. 143 was ok. 145 was ok for long periods of time.
Second: My weight seems to be a function of my mileage, not a function of how much I eat. If I run 100 miles/week, I drop down to 145. I am not running that much now because of various ongoing issues (see previous posts). My current weight is 151. I have backed off on how much I eat. I eat one bowl of cereal for breakfast instead of two. I'm eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. I typically have one helping at dinner, not 3.
151.
Third: I figure that some of my current problems are due to weighing 151. So how to ramp up miles to lose weight without picking up injuries (because I weigh too much)? I decided it's a combination of gradual increase along with running on soft surfaces. So anyway, I see a lot of 10 mile runs on grass in my immediate future.
Second: My weight seems to be a function of my mileage, not a function of how much I eat. If I run 100 miles/week, I drop down to 145. I am not running that much now because of various ongoing issues (see previous posts). My current weight is 151. I have backed off on how much I eat. I eat one bowl of cereal for breakfast instead of two. I'm eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. I typically have one helping at dinner, not 3.
151.
Third: I figure that some of my current problems are due to weighing 151. So how to ramp up miles to lose weight without picking up injuries (because I weigh too much)? I decided it's a combination of gradual increase along with running on soft surfaces. So anyway, I see a lot of 10 mile runs on grass in my immediate future.
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