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Baby Steps…
After 2 weeks of doing absolutely no exercise, I finally got off the couch today and headed to the gym. I spent an hour on the elliptical, and then participated in a hour-long “Bodyflow” (i.e. yoga / tai-chi / pilates with music) class with Olivia and Kate.
As I mentioned yesterday, I was fairly apprehensive about doing a group yoga class since I really stink at it. I was also nervous about the possibility of being the only male in the class (which turned out to be the case).
All-in-all it turned out to not be that bad. Though I was a little self-conscious, it was a very challenging workout and showed me several areas where I’m badly out of shape.
Olivia and I are talking about using this class as our weekly yoga workout for P90X, which will be good. It’s much easier to stay motivated with an instructor and a group. Anyway, hope to get started officially on P90X on Monday.
I Love to Run, and I HATE Being Injured!
After my first significant running injury last August I attacked cross training to stay fit. I was in the pool or on the elliptical almost every day until I could get back to running.
After my second significant running injury in March of this year I had a harder time getting to the gym to do cross training. However I still got in 4 to 5 days a week of good work.
With my current injury I have done absolutely nothing for the last two weeks. Not being able to run New York has been crushing to me mentally, and with no other races ahead of me, I find that I’m seriously lacking motivation to cross train.
Hopefully this couch potato phase will come to an end tomorrow. I plan to hit the gym for an hour of cardio and then do an hour of group yoga (a little nervous about this one, because I stink at yoga). On Monday Olivia and I plan to start P90X again and go through the entire 90 day program. This will be my third time to go through the full P90X program and I’m hoping that I can find the motivation to see it through.
At this point I’m thinking of taking a full eight weeks off from running. Since my last run was exactly 2 weeks ago this means I’ve got six more weeks to go. Once I start back I plan to take things very slowly and wait for quite a while before even thinking about registering for a race. I’ve got to get my mind right and in a position where I feel like I can run and stay healthy.
I’m hoping that doing a full course of P90X along with some additional cardio will set me up in a good position to begin running again without injury. I know that over the past 12 months my dedication to cross training has been very lax.
So, that’s where things stand as of today. Hoping to get things off to a good start tomorrow.
Well…I gave it one last shot:
After taking 2 weeks off to try and heal my leg / hip, I ran a very, very easy 4.5-miles on Thursday, 3.75-miles on Friday, and 11-miles on Saturday. There was no pain during or after my run on Thursday, a little pain after my run on Friday, and quite a bit of pain after the Saturday run continuing on through Today (Monday). I could probably run on it for a few more days, but I know where this is headed. At this point it is extremely unrealistic to think that I could somehow be ready for NYC in less than 8 weeks. So, that leads me to one final conclusion…
Needless to say, this is CRAZY frustrating. I’m not sure yet what I’m going to do going forward. At some points I just want to quit running altogether, but then I think about how much I love to run and race, and realize that I have to at least try and get past this cycle of injuries. Part of me is thinking about just shutting it down for the rest of the year, and maybe cranking up the full P90X again. Whatever the case, my hope to run NYC for 2013 is done.
Warning….Venting ahead!
What a difference a day makes. Last wednesday I posted about trying to push through with my hip injury to still be able to line up in NYC this November. Well, the very next day I attempted a tempo run with Nathan, and it was a complete bust. The pain started radiating down my leg from the first step and never let up. I got through the tempo section by gritting through the pain, but eventually had to stop and walk back to the car.
Since that point it has been hard to even walk without a limp. So…to sum up my chances of actually being able to make it to NYC:
I’m going to take at least the next two weeks off from running and see what happens. Not sure yet of whether or not I’m gonna go see the MD again, or even who I would go see if I decided to go that direction. Just really frustrated with not being able to run, and about the prospects of not being able to run in NYC. This has been a tough two weeks for me personally, and I’m now without one of my primary emotional outlets. This has also been a rough 12-months from a running perspective. I’m now on my third significant injury in that period of time, and this one comes after making some drastic changes in my training. Beast Mode is definitely not ON.
However….I do know that this is really insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I am a very blessed man.
Well, it has now been over a week since I started back to running after my hip injection, and I’m pretty sure that it didn’t have any impact on my injury. I’m convinced that the reduction in pain I felt last Wednesday and Thursday were primarily due to taking time off, because by Friday evening the aching had returned.
However, since my ortho things this is something that I can’t injure any worse, I’m going to continue doing my rehab exercises and try to push through to NYC. To that end, Nathan and I did a very, very chill 3-mile shakeout run on the Vaughn’s Gap cross country course last Friday morning, and then I got in a very solid 18-mile on Saturday with the Nashville Striders on the Shelby Bottoms and Stones River Greenways.
My hip was very sore for the first 3 to 4 miles of the long run, but after taking a quick break to stretch out, the pain vanished for the remainder of the run. All-in-all it ended up being really good. Some fatigue started setting in around mile 14, but I was still able to finish all 18 with a fairly decent pace.
The other great thing about the 18-miler was that it was the first time since I learned about the sudden death of my dear friend Kerry on Wednesday that I had been able to focus my mind on something else. Of course, this flooded back quickly as we laid him to rest on Saturday afternoon. Tidal wave of emotions on Saturday.
By Monday morning, my hip and leg were pretty sore (and tired!), but Nathan, Paxton, and I (the Bellevue Trio!) cranked out 6.5 easy-paced miles on the White and Red trails in Percy Warner Parks. Of course, “easy pace” definitely does not mean “easy run” on these trails with the monstrous elevation changes:
Yesterday morning, Nathan and I did a chill 8.3-mile run through Bellevue, Edwin Warner Park, and the Harpeth River Greenway. My hip and leg were still sore, but this slowly subsided throughout. We survived the return of the nasty humidity to have a pretty good run.
Today was a scheduled off-day, and then I hope to be back on Thursday with some tempo intervals if my hip will allow it.
While running has been pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things this week, I have gotten in a couple of runs since my injection on Monday. Yesterday morning I did a very, very chill 6.25-mile run with Paxton on the Harpeth River Greenway. The temperatures and humidity were absolutely perfect, and the run was quite enjoyable with my friend. Overall my hip felt a little stiff and sore, but no pain to mention.
Tonight was track with the JSRC, and I was quite anxious about how it would go. I got there plenty early to make sure I was good and loose for the workout. Here’s a rundown:
- 2-mile warmup
- 6 x 100m Stride Outs
- 3 x 400m fresh (60 sec / 400m recovery)
- 3 x 250m gfg (150m / 400m recovery)
- 3 x 250m ggg (150m / 400m recovery)
- 800m Straights and Curves
- 1/2-mile cool down
There were only three of us that participated tonight, and I ended up running most of the intervals with Hannah. I lagged behind her quite a bit on the 400s, because I was trying to be very conservative. However, by the time we got to the 250s, things were finally starting to loosen up and I was able to keep up.
All-in-all I felt really good, and my hip seems to be holding together pretty well. It is still really tight, but no noticeable pain so far. At this point I’m pretty pleased with the results of the injection, but the real test will come Saturday when I try my first long run. Hoping things will hold together well enough that I can still toe the line in NYC this fall.
I went to see my ortho yesterday, and he diagnosed me with IT Band Syndrome in the hip along with possible Trochanteric Bursitis. The good news is that this is all “soft tissue” in nature, and he does not think that the injury involves bone or the hip joint itself. He gave me a cortisone shot in my hip to try and calm down the inflammation, and the goal is to be back running by tomorrow morning. He told me that the cortisone would take about 24-hours to start working, and then I could be back running in 48-hours.
It is interesting how sore my hip is today, but I’m guessing this is mostly from the shot itself and not from the inflammation. I’m pretty nervous about how my hip will feel getting back on the road, and know that I have to really buckle down on doing my glute and adductor exercises. I didn’t realize how intense the side effects would be from the injection, since it is localized. I’ve always hated taking a Prednisone dose pack, because of the way it makes me feel, and this is very similar. I’m constantly hot and feel like I’m hyped up on caffeine. I could not fall asleep until about 4am this morning and then had to get up around 6am to take my daughter to school. Hope this doesn’t last too long!
Anyway, I hope to post another update after my first run tomorrow morning.
Well….these days it just seems like I can’t keep myself off the bench. After taking 4-days off due to hip pain a couple of weeks ago, I’m back on the bench again with the same problem. I tried running at track last night, but quickly noticed that I was altering my stride to compensate for the discomfort. This caused me to bail less than halfway through the workout.
One of my running friends, who is a Nurse Practitioner, said she was pretty confident it was hip bursitis. I hope she’s right, and that this can be taken care of with a cortisone injection. Whatever the case, I have an appointment with my ortho on Monday to see what is going on. My plan is to stay off the road until then.
This time last week I was pleased that my hip issue was doing lots better. Well, it is still largely better than it was, but is still something that continues to flare up. Not too bad as long as I keep it stretched out. Here’s a quick rundown of the past week:
Thursday
After taking the previous week off at track due to my hip issues, I came back to track last Thursday night. The humidity ended up being pretty nasty, though the temps were thankfully only in the mid-80s. Here was the workout:
- Approx 1-Mile Warmup
- 6 x 100m Stride Outs
- 3 x 400m fgf (200m / 400m) – 1:29 / 1:21 / 1:23
- 1 x 800m g (400m) – 2:58
- 3 x 400m fgf (200m / 400m) – 1:25 / 1:20 / 1:24
- Approx .5-Mile Cooldown
I probably ran most of these splits too fast, but did remain fairly consistent all the way through. Ideally I like to get in at least 2-miles warm-up before doing the stride-outs, but I was running late due to work responsibilities. Happy that my hip felt decent throughout.
Saturday
After taking Friday off, the group ran the vaunted 16.5-mile loop in Percy and Edwin Warner Parks on Saturday, starting at the Edwin Warner Nature Center. This is one of the hardest runs in Nashville, due to the extreme elevation changes:
I was quite nervous about being able to finish this one since my longest recent run has been 13.5-miles, and that was on fairly flat terrain. The humidity was tough, but we ended up getting quite a break in the temperatures, which never left the low 70s. I ended up feeling better during the second half of the route than I did during the first. My strategy throughout was to take it VERY easy on the downhills (to protect my legs), and push a little on the uphills. The best I felt all day was during our climb up 3-mile-hill in Percy Warner (was 13th mile on this run), and during the last mile where I tried to finish with a much quicker pace. Again my hip felt great throughout, and I was surprised at how good I felt overall throughout the run. I had never started the 16.5 from anywhere other than the main gates in Percy Warner, but this proved to be a nice change.
Monday
After taking Sunday off, Nathan and I did a VERY, VERY, chill 5-miler on the Vaughn’s Gap Cross Country Course in Percy Warner Park. It was a pretty humid, partly cloudy morning, and the sky was quite beautiful during sunrise:
Unfortunately, my hip was very stiff after the long run on Saturday. This slowly subsided throughout the run, but it was more bothersome than it had been in several days. Overall though it was a good shakeout run on a nice, soft surface.
Wednesday (Today)
To “celebrate” the final birthday of my 30s, I did the Percy Warner 11.2-mile main drive loop. Incidentally, this route is fully contained within the 16.5-mile loop mentioned above, so this made twice in the past five days. That’s a lot of elevation change for my already trashed legs:
Wednesday is normally an off-day, but since I didn’t get to run on Tuesday, I decided to do a run this morning. I wanted to get in 8 to 10 easy miles, but for some reason I let Nathan convince me to join him and some other friends from our group (Dan, Dawn, Mary, Lesley) to do the 11.2 this morning. I’m no meteorologist, but I’m pretty sure the humidity was around 7,454%. I don’t think it is possible for the humidity to be any higher without it actually raining (it did rain before and after our run). Nathan and I commented several times that the moisture was so heavy in the air that it looked like we were running through the rainforest. Nathan even said that he half expected a T-Rex to jump out since it looked like Jurassic Park.
Anyway, this humidity was suffocating, and I slowly wilted throughout the run. Things felt ok for the first 6 to 7 miles, but then I just hung on for dear life the rest of the way. Dan had started early from a different spot, so he finished within the first 4 miles of the loop. Once I started to fade, Dawn, Mary, and Lesley pulled away, but thankfully Nathan stayed with me. I know he could have easily kept up with them, but there is no way I would have finished without walking had he not hung back.
All-in-all it wasn’t the best run, but I’m glad to have finished. My hip was still bothersome, but at least it didn’t affect my stride. Hopefully I can get it really stretched out before track tomorrow night.
Beast Mode….ON!
Well….this time last week my left hip was so bad that I didn’t think there was any way I would be back on the road for week 15. However, this morning was my third straight day to get a run in, and so far things are holding together pretty well. I really focused last week on doing strength and stretching exercises for my core and hip, and on Sunday the pain started to slowly subside. I was still pretty achy after Monday’s 5-miler with Nathan on the HR Greenway, but nothing like what I was dealing with last week.
I didn’t get to run yesterday morning due to getting home around 1am from a concert, so I did a 4-mile run yesterday afternoon, in a steady rain, on the Vaughn’s Gap Cross Country course in Percy Warner Park. I actually ran this in my Saucony Hattori shoes, which is the first time I’ve taken them off-road. It turned out to be an awesome run. I felt extremely light on my feet in the grass, and my hip felt great throughout, with minimal aching afterwards. Once I got home I put in another 30 minutes doing some strength training.
This morning Nathan and I got in 6.5-hilly-miles through Percy and Edwin Warner Parks, surviving a few downpours later in the run. Again my hip felt good throughout, though I’ve had a little more aching today than yesterday. Even with that, I’m very happy about the progress. Getting fired up again about my training after the disappointment last week.
Beast Mode….ON!
Well….I was hoping to be able to run through this nagging hip problem, but I realized last night that is is unlikely to get better without taking some time off. To that end I’m going to shut things down for at least a week and hope that it does not end up being longer than that. With my recent injury track record, I’m really nervous about what this means for New York. Now I need to decide whether or not go and see my orthopaedist now or wait until after taking a week off. I really hate to wrack up more medical expenses related to running if I can avoid it, but I also hate not knowing for sure what is going on.
Anyway, prior to shutting it down this morning, I’ve completed two runs since my last post. One was a group tempo workout last Saturday in really nasty humidity. The plan called for 80 minutes of tempo intervals, though I only made it through 54 before I had to stop. I still got in over 10.5-miles of work. Yesterday, Nathan and I did 6+ miles of trails in Percy Warner Park in the rain, and my body felt trashed the whole way. I eventually told Nathan to go on without me because he was looking strong. I finished the run, but there was very little enjoyable about it.
After such a good start of the week last week, this week has been a bummer so far. Looking forward to brighter running days ahead.
Sor far, this week of training is going really, really well. I think my body is finally adapting to the nasty heat and humidity in Middle Tennessee. My left hip continues to bother me, but I’m pretty sure it is an IT Band issue, and nothing bone related. I’ve stepped up my emphasis on stretching, strengthening, and foam rolling to try and get it knocked out. Here is a quick rundown of this week so far:
Monday
Nathan and I hit the trails in Edwin and Percy Warner park to get in a few off-road miles. We started with the Blue Trail in Edwin Warner, and added the short Yellow and Orange trails to add a little distance. My legs were definitely pushed to the max on the steep climbs, but I made it all the way through without walking. After a quick fluid stop at the Nature Center we hit the Candy Cane Connector Trail in Percy Warner, and then did a loop on the Vaughn’s Gap Cross Country Course before returning back to Edwin Warner on the Candy Cane Trail. We got in a little over 6-miles, and my legs felt pretty good throughout.
Tuesday
Nathan and I started from the main gates in Percy Warner park and did an 8.5-mile easy run through the streets of Belle Meade. We kept the pace very, very chill throughout, and it was good to get in a fairly long, mid-week run. Incorporate the infamous “Zig-Zag” route created by our friend Edward:
Thursday
After last week’s track workout disaster, I was anxious to get back out there this week. Thankfully, the intervals were much shorter, and I felt AWESOME. Here’s a rundown:
- 3.2-Mile Warmup (wanted to make sure my hip was good and loose)
- 6 x 100m Stride Outs
- 4 x 200m fresh (100m Recovery / 400m Recovery)
- 800m Straights and Curves (400m Recovery)
- 3 x 250m fresh (150m Recovery / 400m Recovery)
- 800m Straights and Curves
- 1.35-Mile Cool Down
It was crazy humid, but for some reason it didn’t really bother me after I got through the warmup. I started off the intervals fairly conservative, but picked up the pace as my confidence started to grow. For example, my 200m splits during the 250m intervals, were faster (39/40 sec) than during the 200m intervals (43 to 46 sec). In total I got in just over 8 miles, and more importantly re-gained a great deal of confidence that was lost last week. Still have a LONG way to go, but it is nice to have a good night at track.
Friday
The Bellevue Trio Returns!! Paxton has been nursing an injury for the past few weeks, and today was the first day in a while that all 3 of us did a run together. We did a 4-mile recovery run through Bellevue using 10 / 1 run-walk intervals. My legs were pretty toasty after the track workout, but we kept the past very chill, and it felt good.
About to head-out for an evening 2.5-mile run/walk on the White Trail at Percy Warner with my girls, and then tomorrow we have a group tempo workout with 10 to 11-miles of Marathon Pace intervals. Should be a good challenge.
Beast Mode….ON!
Today I finished off week 12 in my training for the 2013 New York City Marathon with a great 13.5-mile run in East Nashville, Shelby Park, and the Shelby Bottoms Greenway with our running group. One of the things that made it great was getting a very nice break in the temperatures. When Nathan and I got out of my car by the train trestle in Shelby Park, it was only 62° with humidity that was not too terrible for July.
The train trestle in Shelby Park just before this morning’s group run.
Before the group all arrived for the run, Nathan and I got in 1/2-mile warmup out-and-back to the Shelby Bottoms Greenway Nature Center. Our group then started with a 4-mile loop that incorporated a couple of laps around big pond in Shelby Park and a short distance on Electric Avenue. On the way to Shelby Park, Nathan and I prepared for the run by listening to the song Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant, which I had not heard in a LONG time.
These first 4-miles were quite hilly, but my legs felt much better than I expected after the disastrous track workout on Thursday night. Dan had to remind me not to push the pace, since the goal today was simply slow, easy miles.
After grabbing a quick drink back at the cars, we did a second 4-mile loop on the Shelby Bottoms Greenway and Barclay Drive, and my legs continued to feel really good in the mild conditions. After this loop was completed, Nathan and I were at 8.5-miles in total. My schedule called for 12-miles, but there were some members of the group that were going to do as many as 8-miles out-and-back on the Greenway for the third part of the run. I knew I didn’t want/need 16-miles, but my legs felt good enough that I suggested to Nathan we try to do 2.5-miles out-and-back to end up with a total of 13.5, which would be my longest run since the injury by over 3 miles. This is exactly what we did, and I felt strong all the way to the end. We even dropped below 8min pace for the final 1.5-miles.
This run was a BIG confidence boost after a rough track workout on Thursday night. In total we completed 13.56-miles with an average pace of 8:52 per mile. Perfect long run! For the week, I got in just under 38 total miles. Slowly building my way back up.
On a side note, I’m still having some problems with my left hip after tweaking it earlier this week. However, it continues to feel better as I run on it, and doesn’t affect my stride, so I’m going to try and train through it unless it gets a lot worse.
After the run, our group had an awesome breakfast at Sky Blue Cafe in East Nashville where they have Trivial Pursuit question cards on the table. It was a lot of fun taking turns on the trivia questions.
Beast Mode….ON!
