No Run Today

But I did run on Saturday and forgot to post it. It was one of those long treadmill runs that I don't really like but end up soldiering through. It helps to run 90 minutes and have two episodes of BSG to watch. Last Thursday it snowed, actually a coating of ice and then snow, and it was nowhere near gone by Saturday. I ran 10-minute miles according to the treadmill computer.

Last week I received some books in the mail that I'd ordered with a gift card. Two of them are about running faster, one is about the Boston Marathon. I also ordered a yoga DVD, with the subject being yoga for runners. I haven't tried it yet but I need to get going with it. I read through part of one of the books yesterday afternoon and so far it makes sense. The author says that if you're training to run a fast marathon, you need to train specifically for running fast at that distance, which is different than training to run fast for a 10k or 5k. Plus, running a lot makes you a better runner, which sounds right. I have a lot more to read, but so far it's interesting and has given me some brain fodder.

One thing I disagree with, though, is where the author generally dismisses strength and weight training, saying that for his runners the only strength training they do is hill sprints. Personally speaking, I find the little weight lifting I do to be beneficial and I can definitely tell if I haven't done it. My upper body fatigues and starts to break down on longer runs if my strength training has lagged. This might not be true for everyone, but it's certainly true for me. When running 26.2 miles, you can't afford to ignore part of your body and expect it to keep up. Unless the author gets a lot more convincing on that part, I'm going to continue that part of my workouts.

Today It Snowed

And therefore I ran on the treadmill. I was able to do Yasso 800s again, with five intervals at about a 7:30 pace for each. Some days there's not much more to say other than I got in my run. How about you?

Truck Mania

Bought a new (to me) truck yesterday, and spending all day at a dealership pretty much canceled out my planned run. Today I was able to get out and run 5 miles. My hips were very tight and a little sore, probably from the increased mileage last week. I ran 3 miles at a pace between 8-8:30/mile. Even though my upper body felt loose and strong, my hips and glutes never got into a good rhythm. I'm thinking I need to get back into the yoga, which I haven't done for several weeks. I ordered another yoga DVD, this one for runners, and I hope it helps with the flexibility around my middle. Also on this run I had placed a cushion in my shoe, but it didn't work too well. This one was a little too firm, and I think I need to switch to the kind I wear in my other shoes. The breeze today was also quite chilling, another reason for me to cut the run short by a couple of miles. Plus I wanted to get back and do a few things with the truck.

Playing Well With Others

I usually run solo. Probably 98% or so of my runs have been all by myself. Today I branched out and ran with some guys from church. It was kind of cool since they're newer to running than I am, and it's groovy to see how running has helped others. We ran north from church a couple of miles and then back, where I split off and kept going so I could get in a good 8.5 miles. It's been awhile since I ran so far, but the first half of that really did go faster with the company.

This being KC there were rolling hills and cool wind, but overall it wasn't too bad a day to run outside. These are the folks I'll be joining for the half-marathon in April, and I think they'll do fine. At one point I was talking with one of the guys who has never run more than 8 miles, but in just over a month he will doing quite a bit more than that. It brings to mind how I used to think an 8-miler was a huge deal. I still remember my first run that covered that distance, and by golly it was a big deal. Now I reel off 6-milers as my short runs, but it's nice to be reminded how much work it takes to get to a distance I almost take for granted now. And that helps me realize the effort others put into it, and how much hard work it takes for them to get there, just like it took for me. It also helps me realize even though I've done a few marathons I'm still no running god and never will be. Just like these other guys and millions more like them, I'm a dude who laces up my Asics and heads out every few days to try and stay fit. We all have our reasons for doing it, but at the core we're all runners. And runners are generally good people to hang out with. If I can encourage a few others along the way then so much the better.

70

This was not a normal February day. In fact, it was more like mid-April, with sun, wind, and a decent temperature. Only the few small piles of snow in the shadows, holding out against the warm sunshine, reminded me that it's still winter. I'm not naive enough to think winter is over, but I certainly appreciate days like this, especially in the middle of winter.

Today I ran 6 miles, with 5 Yasso 800's in the mix. It was good speedwork, although I still feel the effects of my short layoff. I don't feel like I'm completely back in shape yet, but the strength training has helped. If it wasn't for that I'd probably feel a lot worse. I ran in t-shirt and shorts, a rarity for mid-February. I saw a few other runners, but not nearly as many as I expected on such a nice day. I'm going to take any chance I get to run outside during the winter months, and this one was prime.

Outside

The snow has mostly melted, surprisingly, and the temperature today was in the 50's. Which meant it was the perfect opportunity to get outside for a run. That's three in a row! I ran 6 miles total and included some speedwork in the form of a 3.5 mile tempo run.

I've settled on the Rock the Parkway half-marathon in April as my next race. I'm going to be working on getting faster this year, and that's the first step. In addition, I'm planning on running with a group from church this Saturday. Some of them told me they run really slow, but that's fine by me since several plans call for much slower long runs. I only hope this running outside trend continues.

Atlanta Running

Spent the week in Atlanta on business and then in visiting family, and the weather was strangely similar to KC in temperature for most of the time. Finally on Friday it started warming up a little bit and I headed outdoors for a 5-miler in my brother's neighborhood. Saturday I went to a park where I've run before and reeled off a 6.6-miler. The one on Friday was somewhat tough since I hadn't run since the weekend before and of course due to the overeating that comes with business travel. The run yesterday was much better. It helped that the path around the lake was flatter than the hills in the neighborhood.

With heel cushioning fastened to my right Achilles tendon I felt no pain. I put some cushioning into the shoes I wear at work and afterward and that has helped a lot. In fact, on Wednesday and Thursday both I did quite a bit of walking and felt great. I think I've turned the corner and can now concentrate on getting into shape for an April half-marathon.

Haglund's Deformity

After several weeks of non-running due to heel pain, I finally sat down with the iPad a couple of nights ago to see what I could find on what I was experiencing. I was starting to think something was wrong with my Achilles tendon, and that would be bad news indeed. I found information that matched my pain almost exactly. Apparently I share a condition with women who frequently wear high-heeled shoes, a correlation my friends seem to enjoy. It's called Haglund's Deformity, but the common name is 'pump bump,' although I found one place that said in males it's referred to by the former name and the latter is employed for women. And just for the record, I don't wear women's shoes of any kind. I do wear dress shoes almost every day at work, and it seems the cumulative effect of the rigid backs of those leather shoes has caused my discomfort. The constant rubbing and pressure of enclosed heels like this against the area where the Achilles tendon attaches to the bone of the foot causes sacs of some evil kind to form, and also causes the bone to grow in a direction it shouldn't. The pain only occurs when wearing shoes with enclosed heels, and that's exactly what happens to me.

One cure is surgery, of course, an option I don't like. Another is to apply ice several times a day, and I can do that. Also, and this is the part that sealed my self-diagnosis, a good option is to place cushioning between the painful area and the inside of the shoe. I did this yesterday and didn't feel any pain at all. This would also explain why I experienced some relief a couple of weeks ago when I put heel inserts in my shoes. The affected area was for a time above the top of the shoe, but it seems that was only temporary and there's more of that part of my foot open to irritation than the original spot. My right foot is the only one affected, still, so I'm not sure yet if I should take any precautionary measures for the other foot or not. I wonder if it being localized on the right side is due to stride or some other variant.

Due to the twelve inches of snow we received this week, I was forced once again to run on the treadmill this morning. After the blisters and irritation I had last week, it was nice to get back to a run that was mostly pain free. I had a big padded bandage on my right heel to ease the pain, and for the most part it worked. Pain was there, but it was dull and didn't keep me from running as before. I ran 6 miles, and I felt great. It's so nice to know what the problem is and that there are ways I can mitigate the pain and keep running. I have goals, you know. I was starting to feel like I was laid up and uncertain about my fitness, and battling a mild head cold was causing me to start missing the exercise even more. If you'd told me I would run so little in January I would have thought you were crazy. I'm looking for February to be a lot better.