Training Log 4/22 - 4/28

Well, well, well...lookie here! A training post. Well, not exactly. I'm not training. I'm running. Note the title difference: it's "training log"; not "training." Semantics, yes. But, it's an important distinction that I need to keep in my head to insure that I don't get caught up in too much, too soon. And, I definitely accomplished that this week. Last week: 26.5 miles. This week: 29. I thought a couple different times about adding on an additional mile to get to 30. But, why? It really doesn't make a difference. The key is to not overdo it. Plain and simple.

Here's the best news: over the last 2 weeks, the knee/IT band has been a non-issue. I haven't had any pain and only minimal tightness. That Dr. Jamie cat really does know what he's doing. Really, the limiting factor right now is my calves. The complete gait change is really taxing them, but they seem to be getting better with each run...and foam rolling. Needless to say, I'm very optimistic.

Onto the numbers...

4/22, Sunday: 5 - 40:44, Highland Green. This was actually my first successful attempt at three consecutive days. Calves were definitely barking by the...well, beginning, but they never got any worse. Soooo windy.

4/23, Monday: Off

4/24, Tuesday: 8 - 1:06:11, Neighborhood + Patriot Commons + Mt. A HS. My left calf, especially, bothered me for the most of the day on Monday, so I wanted to play it safe and stay close to home. With this odd configuration of laps/loops, I was never more than a mile or so away from home if things went south. The calves held up, but it wasn't pretty. I was somewhat miserable for most of the run. The wind didn't help. However, I ran 8 miles. That was a huge milestone.

4/25, Wednesday: 5 - 41:37, Highland Green. Calves were about the same as the previous day, so I just gutted it out. Still windy. Chased a hawk for about a half mile along the dirt road section. Went to see Dr. Jamie in the afternoon—didn't even look at my knee. That was awesome. My calves wish he looked at my knee.

4/26, Thursday: Off

4/27, Friday: 5 - 39:34, Highland Green. After treatment and a rest day, my calves felt pretty decent. It was windy again, which seems to be a theme. Nice to hit this loop in under 40, comfortably. In the past that's been a benchmark for my level of rest/fitness. I think that might change moving forward, since I'm already feeling so much more efficient with the new gait. And, I felt like I had it rolling pretty good this day. Dr. Jamie gave me some pointers, which helped a lot.

4/28, Saturday: 6 - 45:50, TARC Spring Classic 10k, Weston, MA. In December, I registered for the 50k not knowing that I would be sidelined all winter. With that distance out the window, I was excited to learn this week that I could switch distances. I'd already paid; I might as well run. I was confident that my knee wouldn't be an issue but was a bit curious to see how it would react to 6 miles of all trail. My only plan was to run as fast as my calves would allow. I definitely wasn't out to race.
After leaving the kiddo with my parents for the day, D and I made our way to Weston arriving in plenty of time to register, wait in line for the porta-potties, change and listen to the pre-race meeting. But, somehow, I barely made it to the starting line. I ran across the field and took a spot on the front of the line, just as the race director yelled, "Go!" I settled into a comfortable pace and just cruised along. By the mile mark, I was in fifth place and was already bracing myself for the "sandbagger" comments to come. I traded places and conversation with a guy in Five Fingers, Josh, for the next couple miles as we  enjoyed the trails and the real estate. The course was great: flat, mostly smooth and a good mix of double and singletrack. It had a ton of turns, but was marked flawlessly. We passed another runner around 3 miles and at right around 5 miles, I was behind Josh but starting to feel that race itch. I may have been pushing him a bit as he jammed his right foot hard on a rock. Remember those Five Fingers? He slowed quite a bit, and I jumped around telling him that "I'd let him cry by himself." About a quarter mile, I found myself really opening up my stride and moving at a pretty respectable pace once I hit a dirt road. I was just getting a great rhythm up, when I hit a boggy, rocky, wet section, which was probably a sign that I needed to dial it back. I cruised comfortably into the finish a very distant third as the first place man and woman were already posing for pictures with their awards. Plus, the majority of the stronger runners were running the longer distances, so the place was irrelevant. I was just happy to feel so comfortable and smooth. My calves felt the best they'd felt yet, and I'm already thinking about incorporating more trails back into my runs.
The rest of the day was a blast. I broke out the camp stove to grill up sausages and sketchy turkey burgers. Jamie and I may have downed a beer or two. I definitely got sunburnt. Hats off to the Trail Animals for hosting a terrific event. Hopefully, we'll get to another of their races soon. Of course, I wasn't just there to get fat, as I was race crew for D. She finished her third 50k battling a completely shut down stomach for the last 10 miles. She ended up 4th woman in 4:52. The Trail Monsters were well represented with Erik in the 10k; Brenda, Christine, Kate and Ann in the marathon; and Blaine, Nathan and George in the 50k. I hang out with some awesome people.

Post-race. Post-sausage.

Miles: 29
Trail: 5
Road: 24

That's a lot of words for a 29-mile week, but it's great progress. On top of that, I've also been semi-regularly getting the core work in. I can't get to the 4 times a week range, but I'm averaging twice a week. I hate it. I do believe the knee is behind me, and I'm looking forward to a continued easy ramp up of the mileage. It's really nice to be running again.

It's the Old Style

Quick visual addendum to my last post. Let's compare the finishes of two 5k cross country races, shall we?

Craig Cup, October 2011:

Eastern Massachusetts Class A High School Championships, November 1992:

I'd say I have a consistent history of heel striking. So, it's not going to be an easy transition, but I do feel like I'm getting it. Calves are a bit sore, but getting better almost daily.

And, in case you're wondering...yup, I got that guy from Cambridge R&L. And, yup, the younger me would already be cooling down by the time the older me finished. A beer to closest guess on the time from 1992.

It's the New Style

Four and three and two and one...when I'm on the mic the suckas run. WORD!

Weeks of 22.75 and 26.5 since our last post, and things are looking up. I'm not ready to proclaim myself injury-free quite yet, but i'm very, very close to all systems go. Obviously, I'm still not training, but I am running.

My runs last week were interesting because the knee pain never manifested itself in the same way. It was minimal most days, but each time it seemed to appear in a different fashion. When I saw Dr. Jamie on Friday, he said that was a good sign because it meant that the issue was no longer in my knee but in something eiher above or below. And, based on what I describe to him and what he'd seen in all my visits, he worked a lot on my TFL—tensor fasciae latae, which is near the hip flexor. (I assumed TFL was the acronym for "Totally Fucked Ligament.") It made sense to me since I felt like I was getting the most from the hip flexor and quad stretches I'd been doing rather than the IT stretches. Also, he tested my strength and balance and noted that I was exactly where I should be. He said, "Well, the onus is on me to get rid of the scar tissue in your leg." In other words, I'm in the homestretch. He worked mainly on the quad-side of my IT, showed me how to foam roll my TFL and sent me on my way for 10 days. gulp Can I go without a fix for that long?

This week has been nothing but encouraging. Sunday I explored some really fun trails behind an industrial park in Waltham, MA, and it was the first run during which I experienced zero knee pain. My knee was cranky on part of my run on Wednesday, but actually felt better by the end. Two five-milers yesterday and today, and things felt perfect. All good news, and I'm ready to push out on some longer distances. For the most part, trails seem to aggravate the knee a bit more, so I've been staying away from anything too technical, but that will come.

Needless to say, there has been much planning and scheming. All along I've been looking at trying to hit 30 miles by the last week of April as my first milestone, and it looks like I should get that next week. Really happy to be at this point, and in another month, I think I'll know if I'll be ready to start training in earnest. I'm ready.

One thing to which I need to atribute my success begins with a mea culpa. I was wrong. As it turns out, just because I'd been running a certain way since...forever...doesn't mean it was right. After a lot of discussion with Dr. Jamie about my running history, my history of injuries, my physiology and physiology in general, he convinced me to take a long look at my running form. More specifically, take a look at my heel-striking. I've been heel striking since I "started" running, and I've been injured a lot. In his words: "If you're starting from scratch, you might as well really start from scratch." I took it to heart and did a ton of research. But, no, I still haven't read Born to Run. I'm not going to get a pair of Five Fingers. I'm not cutting the heels off my shoes. What I am doing is working on my posture and shifting to a midfoot strike. Thus far, it's felt very strange, but each time out something seems to click.  Downhills are still odd, but they'll get better. What is really telling is that when I purposely switch back to my old stride, my knee begins to hurt within a matter of seconds. Fairly conclusive. So, not only am I building back up, but I'm building a new running style. I'm convinced that long term it's going to pay huge dividends.

Training?

Project Resurrection continues here at Snowman Says Headquarters, and business is good.

I'm still seeing Jamie weekly, and he's pretty pleased with my progress. I'm down to one visit a week, as opposed to two, and after yesterday's appointment, he gave me the go ahead to run as much as I want—with one caveat: don't run through too much pain. Pain is the guide. When it hurts, it's time to pack it in. And, on all of my recent runs I've had tightness or "a ghost" in my knee, but very little pain—not enough pain to force me to stop. My range of motion is very good, and he feels we've worked out most of the adhesion. Right now, the area of pain is diminishing, and the focus is on the quad/IT connection. More work, more stretching, more not overdoing it.

I'm also starting to move from complaining about not running at all to complaining about how weak and out of shape I am. All of my runs to this point have been basically flat, as didn't want to aggravate anything. Yesterday's run was hillier, and it definitely bothered the knee. It also just bothered me in general to realize how horrible I feel on any kind of hill. No strength. No power. No nuthin'. I've also been mixing in some trail sections, and that's been eye-opening as well.

With my epiphany-induced change in form, trail running is a completely new animal. Even on my road runs, it feels as if I'm "seeing more." Instead of looking down at my feet, my gaze is further up the trail, and I'm uncertain of what I'm landing on. I know this sounds like I'm in week one of my couch-to-5k program, but it really is a radical shift for me. It's just going to take some getting used to, but it's already starting to feel "right." Maybe because it is. It's also feels like it's going to improve my efficiency. Time will tell. It's pretty easy to feel comfortable and efficient over 5 miles.

At this point, I feel safe to say I'm running again. I totaled 19 miles this week, and I'll be pushing beyond that next week. When I realized that I was seriously injured, I gave myself a goal of hitting 30 miles by the last week of April. Fairly arbitrary, but I figured if I could get there, I could think about possibly racing this year. At the beginning of March, I didn't think it was going to happen, but I'm feeling pretty confident now. Like I said, I'm running, but I'm not training. I'm certainly thinking about training. If all goes well, actual training begins on June 17. Stay tuned.

An Epiphany of Sorts

Alternate Post Titles:
1. Why Trail Running is Bad for Me
2. It's All in My Head

Solid progress since my last post, which was highlighted by a 3-mile, nearly pain-free run today. My range of motion and flexibility have dramatically improved. Additionally, the pain in my left knee is no longer nearly as acute when running. The mandate is still "run to the point of pain," but that point is less painful—more of a tug than a stab. Still, my longest run until today was 2.5 miles, but most have been 1.5 miles. Yes, its frustrating, but I am seeing progress. Today was an affirmation of that.

In my last visit to Jamie, he worked a lot on my right hip flexor and back. And, yes, for those of you scoring at home, the pain is in my left knee. He did do some focused work on the adhesion in my left leg, but based on how tight my entire body is he wanted to focus on, essentially, lengthen me. Since there's no way I can accurately explain how all the pieces are affecting each other, I can say that it's clear that "it's all connected."

With that in mind, I set off on my run this morning not thinking about my leg, but about my back. I wanted to stay long. Stay tall. And, in this process, I started thinking about my head. I realized that everything was titled forward.

Look at these pictures:

In both of those photos, note how rounded my shoulders are and how far forward my head is. I believe that position is causing strain on my back, pelvis and leg. "It's all connected." In short, my posture sucks. Granted, my everyday posture isn't the best (although I'm sitting up very straight while typing this), and it translates into and is exaggerated in my running posture. So, today on my run I really focused on keeping my head up and "running tall." I think it made a huge difference. And, I think with practice, it will make an even bigger difference moving forward. It did feel a bit odd, but that's just because I'm not used to it. I'm used to trail running and having to look down (to save my weak ankles—"It's all connected.). All that looking down has lead to bad posture, tightness and a jacked up knee.

Now, I know it's not that simple, and Lookout Mountain was the tipping point. I asked Jamie about that, and he said that that's exactly the case. All these small issues have existed, but putting them through 50 miles brought them over the edge. Now, each of them has gotten bad enough that they've each taken on a life of their own. But, we're addressing each one. More importantly, all this work has made me realize that I need to work on my mechanics. I need to "run tall." And, it's affirmed the notion that I'll be better off in the long run. Jamie feels that at this point, aside from the acute IT issue, we're really doing work that will set me up long term. I'm a big fan of that.

Admittedly, my knee has been sore this evening, but that's not a surprise. I'm not ready to start running for real yet, but I can feel myself inching closer. Almost time to put the training schedule into the planner for that goal race in the fall.

Two Months

More silence on the blog as I cross the two month mark with no real running to speak of. So, what exactly is going on? Not an easy answer. The simplest way to put it is: "My knee hurts because my entire left leg is stuck together." But, that doesn't tell the full story.

I wrapped up my five sessions with Julia, and she came to the conclusion that there was nothing else she could do for me. That's one of the things that I really like about Julia: she's realistic about what massage can do. And, in my case, it was only so much. She did a fantastic job of stripping away the top layers of nastiness, but she couldn't get my left leg to release. The knee pain persisted. She referred me to Jamie Raymond, a sports chiropractor that many of my friends had seen in the past. Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical as the one and only time I'd seen a chiropractor previously was a terrible experience. (It was near the end of our Appalachian Trail journey, and he didn't help a bit.) However, I knew that I needed to see a doctor, and he was the logical choice.

My first appointment with Jamie was eye opening. He had a great deal of praise for Julia's work as overall I didn't seem too bad. We spent an hour with evaluation and a lot of popping, cracking and twisting. Needless to say, it was unpleasant, but my entire body felt a lot better afterward. Maybe there's something to this. (He even popped a "frozen" rib that I thought I was shoulder pain that I'd been dealing with for about 10 years. He spent 20 seconds on it, and it hasn't hurt since.) Jamie asked me a ton of questions, and keyed in on two areas: my glute and my ankle. His diagnosis was that my knee hurt because my glute wasn't firing properly, essentially causing the knee to overwork. The cause of the glute problem was my weak left ankle, which I had forgotten mostly about aside from rolling it three miles into the 50 mile race at Lookout Mountain. After that appointment, I looked back through my training logs and remembered that I rolled it badly in August, re-rolled it two and a half weeks later, and hobbled along for much of September. After a series of tests, it was clear that the left ankle was very weak. But, by the end of the appointment, he'd managed to work my glute so it was indeed firing properly. He gave me a series of exercises and sent me on my way, confident that he'd have me up and running after 2 or 3 visits. Additionally, since I'd been able to walk around pain-free for about a week, he asked me to do a couple test runs to see how my knee would respond. Instructions were "to run to the point of pain." That was a month ago.

Fast forward to today. Essentially, nothing has changed. My runs have been limited to 1.5 miles. (I did push one run to 3 miles, but that was clearly a mistake. My knee was extremely painful for the rest of that day and most of the next. Runners are good at pushing through pain.) Each time I head out to run, I'm fairly certain, I'll be back inside 12 minutes later. That's been the pattern. However, with each visit—4 total now—Jamie has found something new. First off, the top of my IT-band will simply not release. It's stuck. He's been completely wailing on it: "Hold on tight to the table here. Now relax." Ummm...right. Please ignore the cold sweats. Secondly, my hamstring is stuck to my IT-band just above my knee. Adhesion is the medical term. I have adhesion out the kazoo. (Not a medical term.) Third, my aforementioned ankle weakness, which is creating an unstable platform. And, last but not least, my popliteus muscle, which I didn't even know existed, is completely jacked up. (Not a medical term.) It's a stabilizing muscle at the top of the calf/behind the knee, and mine is completely overworked. With the other issues in my leg, it's no longer preventing my knee from rotating inward, hence the stress on the IT-band at the knee. The discovery of the popliteus issue (great movie title!) arose from how I feel on each run. I'll feel 100% fine for about a mile, then I'll start to feel tightness behind my knee. Not pain, just tightness. Soon after, my IT-band will begin to hurt. That progression has been consistent in all my runs. However, I can say that on both my runs this week, the pain in my knee was less stabbing. So, I have that going for me...which is nice.

Where does this leave me? Today, at my appointment with Jamie, I was prepared to have the "what else can we do?" talk with him, but he actually brought it up first. He admitted that there is a lot more going on than he initially realized. He also decided that I should see him twice a week, rather than once, to aggressively try to break up the adhesion in my leg. Today, for instance, he scraped my IT-band. Yes, scraped. Picture using a spatula to clean out a dirty pan. That was my leg. Needless to say, it was unpleasant. However, I can handle 15 minutes of unpleasant, if it'll break things up. I have a series of stretches that I'm doing, and I'm going to stick with my test runs. Running is the only thing that will give us a gauge of progress. Yes, running for 12 minutes is mentally scarring—it takes me longer to get dressed—but I have to do it. (Last week, I only ran once because I was...let's say, despondent.) I'm confident that Jamie is going to help heal this injury, but I know it's going to take time. Hopefully, my patience can outlast the adhesion.

Unfortunately, there's no answer to the obvious question: what's next? More treatment. More stretching. More foam rolling. More exercises. Being injured is brutal. Today, he asked me about biking. I laughed. I told him, "I don't run to be fit or healthy. I run to run." I have zero interest in the bike or the pool or the anything else. Only one drug for me, thank you. I have been really good about my core exercises, though. I wouldn't say I'm starting to like them, but I am starting to hate them less. That's positive. But, again, it's really all about doing the things I can to get healthy and waiting.

Oh, one more thing...I've already chosen my goal race for the fall.