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Injury and Rehab

Recovery Redux

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Injury keeps us on our toes.  Or off of them!  Regardless, we can never be sure when it will happen. Injury can come quickly, such as twisting an ankle in a pothole.  Or it may be building slowly.  For those, we may have a notion of what triggered it, but don’t know for sure.  What we do know is if we don’t take care many injuries can become chronic, often leading to other injuries.  Not a cycle we want to get into.

A week after running a fairly hard half marathon, I went for my first longer run, a relatively easy seven miler.  Nothing from the race suggested I had stretched the limits.  I had water-run a couple days and was easing back into training, thinking I was on a good recovery path.  The terrain for this run was somewhat hilly and I wore my lighter training shoes, but the first six miles felt good.  However, in the seventh mile, I felt a twinge in my upper calf, probably the gastrocnemius, the large muscle that attaches to the bottom of the femur.  I water ran the following day and then StairMastered the next.  The calf was still a tad tight and sore, but I thought running might help work it out.  So, I started out on what was to be an easy five miler.  But after three miles, the calf spoke up and let me know it would be better to walk in.  Which I did. Now it’s back to the water for at least a couple of days.

Why do these things happen?  And why do they tend to happen more as we age?  These questions are related.  Injury has always had a way of creeping up on us, often from a muscle imbalance or weakness we haven’t addressed.  Or from doing too much, too quickly and not allowing for sufficient recovery.  As we age, it seems we should be wiser and learn from the past.  And maybe focus more on flexibility and strength work.  Perhaps we do.  But our bodies at age 60 or 70 are not what they were when we were 40. So, what we can take on has changed.  In concept we know this.  In practice, we might fast-track things here and there.

Whatever the case, when we’re injured we find ourselves where we are.  In reality, there is no other place to be.  Patience becomes the watchword, and exercising patience can help us from becoming a patient.  For that reason, it’s good to have options.  Some like to swim, others cycle.  And maybe it gives us time to put in more strength work.  Whatever we do, injury reminds us to keep the long game in mind. If we handle things well, we’ll be back in short order. And avoid becoming a patient!

12 1/2 Hours

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This post follows my July 21 post on Five Cardinal Rules for Senior Runners. In that entry, Rule #1 was “Strength train and stretching”; Rule #2 was “Something every day.”  The last three essentially fall under those first two.  That post led me to think about how much time I typically train in the course of a week.  I came up with 12 1/2 hours, the title of this post. 

My sport is running.  Everything I do revolves around that.  I know others who do triathlons or long cycling rides.  I do not.  I’m something of a one-trick pony – my training is geared toward being the best runner I can be in my 70s.  I am hardly alone – I know a number of folks who share this somewhat maniacal focus.  However, one reason for writing that prior post is the observation that many short-shrift important training elements (i.e., the Five Cardinal Rules) aimed at keeping us on the roads and running to our full potential.

As I parsed out and totaled my training week, it roughly fell into a 5/5/2.5 hour allocation.  Those three categories are running, including warmups and cooldowns (40%); strength training and stretching (also 40%); and running equivalents – water running, StairMaster, etc. (20%).  It might seem that if all I do is run, then I might be frittering away important training time by spending 60% of it not running.  If you feel this way, I am hoping the July 21 post might dissuade you.

The running part is self-evident.  Whether it’s a long or easy run, a track workout, hills, drills, or jogging before and after the real action, it’s all feet on the ground.  This is where our various systems, described in Chapters 4 through 7 in Senior Distance Running Essentials (SDRE), which is found here on TheSeniorRunner.com website, learn to work together and support our penchant for a credible time on race day.  Five hours allows me to run up to 30 miles, incorporating all the elements noted above.  But if I only have five hours in the course of a particular week to train, is running all I would do.  I hope not!

Which gets to the second 40% – strength training and stretching. Strength training is a drum I beat throughout SDRE and Chapter 9 attempts to make the case for prioritizing this activity. But you will often see older folks in the gym as well as runners after a race, who not only walk around stiff legged but also show signs of spinal curvature.  They look uncomfortable in their own bodies.  Stretching, including yoga as well as the trusty foam roller, can help.  But incorporating regular calf, hip-flexor, hamstring, quad, and back stretches make a big difference.  How much stretching is useful and how much might actually be detrimental to our running performance?  This will vary by individual.  But it may come down to time.  Most yoga classes last an hour.  I frankly don’t have the patience and if I did three classes a week, that would be close to 25% of my training time.   One way to add stretching is to do it in between weight training sets.  In that way, you are always moving for the hour you are in the gym.  It’s an efficient use of time and you cover the bases. What is a good split between strength work and stretching?  In the course of a week, it’s probably around 60-65 (strength)/35-40 (stretching), since some dynamic stretching is wise before we run and ideally a fair amount of static stretching afterwards.

The last 20% is where the rubber does not hit the road — running equivalents (REQs).  I have found it even harder to convince fellow runners about the importance of this component than strength training and stretching.  Many combine their running and REQ time and just run to approximate an allocation of 60% running and 40% strength training/stretching.  The data shows over 75% of those who ran in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, are not racing in their 60s. And that percentage continues to rise after age 70. We simply must do more than run if we want to stay in the game!  Chapter 12 in SDRE attempts to make a case for REQs and provides some examples.

So, if 12 1/2 hours is my average weekly training, some weeks may only be eight or nine hours with a few up to 15.  My guess is 75%+ of my weeks fall between 10 1/5 (90 minutes per day) and 14 hours (two hours a day).  Yes, this is a big commitment, but it probably pales compared to the time triathletes and cyclist/runners spend honing their craft.  For runners, I strongly believe the key is a regular split between the three components more than the number of hours.  For example, an eight-hour week with six of that running may work here and there but not on a regular basis.

I encourage you to spend some time analyzing you own totals and allocations.  You may discover some things that have flown under the radar; maybe even predisposed you to injury.  While the 40/40/20 allocation has worked for me, you may find something that works better for you.  But my guess is if your running is more than 50% of your training time, it’s probably too much in the long run.     

Cardinal Rules for Senior Runners

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It may be useful to consider some basic guidelines we can organize our running around.  I have found five that I refer to as cardinal (which means central) rules.  

1. Strength train and stretching

2. Do something every day, but not always running

3. Warm-up, cool-down

4. Vary pace and distance

5. Race, but varied and not too much

Strength train and stretching

This is so important it could be counted twice!  Reasons for not strength training and stretching seem to revolve around time and resolve.  Some say if they strength train, they won’t have time to run.  Where to strength train can become a time issue, too.  “If I spend 15 minutes each way driving to the gym, that’s time I can’t be running or working out.”  Resolve may be driven by a lack of knowledge about the importance of strength training and stretching. 

Yes, there are only so many hours and minutes in a day.  Yet, by being inventive we can combine trips that go near a gym several times a week.  The number of 24/7 gyms are proliferating, and there are Y’s and low-cost clubs in most places.  And very good home options, assuming one has a bit of space, can be crafted for between $500 and $1,000, a one-time cost providing years of solid payback.  Regarding resolve, we don’t have to look too far to find ample evidence that muscle loss and inflexibility not only impact our quality of life in our senior years but also can be largely mitigated.  Finding workout partners can help but it still comes down to making this a priority.  Personal trainers can get you started but depending on them for all your workouts is both time consuming and expensive.  True resolve will result when you see and feel results, which then lead to greater resolve: a positive reinforcing cycle!   

Something every day

Our bodies need to be regularly stressed.    This is a fundamental precept of exercise physiology.  Guidelines from ACSM say 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week is sufficient.  But this is simply not enough to be a successful senior runner.  If we are to run credible races, we must vigorously stress our running bodies, ideally every day.  The human body is an amazing machine, but with age our parts become less resilient. They need reminders they will be called upon to perform.  Daily activity lubricates the joints and increases the rate blood flows through our tissues, including the brain.  

This topic raises the question of how often to run.  I still hear from a few seniors who try to run every day.  This is a prescription for injury.  Streaking might work for younger runners but rarely for seniors.  I find running four, or at most five, days a week optimal. That leaves space for water running, Stairmaster, cycling, and even brisk walking the other days.  I call these running equivalents (REQs), in that they can be measured in equivalent running miles.  I compile each week’s exercise in running miles, REQs, and total. This, then, sums to monthly totals.  We know there will be times we are nursing an injury.  In those cases, using REQs to retain mileage is particularly good.  You will find your own system to track your activity. Bottom line, by committing to something every day, you don’t have to think about whether to exercise, but when and how.

Warm-up, cool-down

We wouldn’t (or shouldn’t!) gun our cars after starting them in cold weather.  And that is probably even more important with older vehicles.  From high school days, we were told to warm-up before starting a workout.  This was abbreviated as I recall but involved some toe touching and calisthenics.  The modern warm-up engages a foam roller and a variety of dynamic movements that prepare the body to run.  Perhaps most important is starting slower, even for up to a mile or so, so blood can reach our muscles and prepare them pick it up.  If we’re aiming for a 9:00 pace, maybe that means going 10:00 for the first mile.  

The cool-down might be combined with strength training on some days.  But at a minimum, a bit of a jog at the end of the main run, then moving into a full range of both dynamic and static stretching, especially engaging the muscles in the lower extremity.  Foam rolling up and down the legs is very effective.  Eccentric heel dips are also great followed by calf stretches.   Quad stretches off a bench allow for a full stretch of the hip flexors. The cool-down takes longer than the warm-up and should always be done. If time is tight, cut down on the run but not the cool-down.  In total, our warm-up and cool-down might take 25% of the workout – a good investment of time.

Distance and pace

This rule suggests both distance and pace should vary during the course of a week or other regular training cycle.   Distance becomes a major conundrum for senior runners who have run 40, 50, or 60+ miles per week.  Combined with number of days, which ideally settles down to four, or at most five, per week, it’s hard maintaining higher mileage. Some may view it as a badge of honor to continue to run 2,500 to 3,000 miles per year, or 50-60 a week.  As we age, that badge tarnishes.  I used to see 2,000 miles as an annual goal.  I now aim for 1,300 – 1,500, assuming injury-free.  And I put those miles in typically with runs ranging from four to 10 miles, with an occasional 12 or 14-miler when building toward a half marathon. 

Pace is the holy grail for most of us runners.  Maybe we were able to shoot for a sub 6:00 pace in races or mile intervals on the track, though this could have been 6:30, 7:00, or even an 8:00 pace, depending on gender and a variety of things.  Regardless, we find ourselves slowing down.  We can be frustrated by that or we can work within our physical limitations to maintain maximal speed.  We also have to be wary of topping out more than twice a week. Speed builds but can lead to injury.  But let’s not short shrift ourselves – we do need to do some regular speed work. As with all things, the key is finding a balance.    

Racing

For many of us, racing is the payoff.  All our work comes to bear when we find ourselves at the start line waiting for the horn to sound.  First, let’s dissect the difference between running hard and all-out racing.  The former can be in place of a tempo run, the latter requiring tapering and extended recovery to both perform at our best and avoid injury.  It’s also good to vary race distances: 5Ks obviously differ from a half marathon (or a marathon if you still include those in your race menu – I do not.)  

As to how often, let’s say you aim for 15-20 races a year, roughly one or two a month.  Consider sketching out how many 5K-4Ms, 5M-10Ks, 8-10 milers, and half marathons you wish to do in a year.  My 2024 calendar lists 16 races: five 5Ks/4Milers, eight 5M/10Ks, one 15K, and two half marathons, totaling 100 race miles.  This is about 7% of my total expected mileage.

Racing not only tests us but gives us a chance to connect with friends and those in our cohort.  Running might become pretty boring without it.  So, let’s enjoy, but not overdo it.

So, those are my five cardinal rules.  You might have others but if you incorporate these, it should allow your running to stay fresh, fun, and injury free.

Long Covid?

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As the calendar turned in January, I was eager to continue moving away from limitations presented by a torn proximal hamstring that had hampered me for 15 months.  Part of the process was having a platelet rich platelet (PRP) treatment (see May 2, 2023 post).  I had been advised full healing might take up to a year post-treatment, if I didn’t do something stupid to set it back.  Bottom line, it had been a long time since I’d been able to truly put the hammer down.  The “Us-It-Or-Lose-It” adage had been evident in my running and racing.  Nevertheless, I entered 2024 with reason to be optimistic about the racing season with a largely-healed hamstring.  The Grand Prix series had dropped the marathon in favor of a one-mile race and I aimed to do the 7-race series.  

The first was the Super Sunday 4-Miler in February followed by the New Bedford Half Marathon five weeks later and then the tough, hilly Boston Tune-Up 15 K just 13 days after that.  That meant by March 30, the longest races were in the books.  Great if you winter in Florida or Arizona!  Not so great for us home-bound New Englanders.

We all know that to race long you need to train long.  As noted in my see February 19th post, Wisdom through Acceptance, early year plans went awry due to Covid and the flu.  But I thought I had recovered from that, had run a decent 4-Mile race and was moving on to the two long races.  But the paucity of long runs could not be denied. With just three weeks before the Half, I finally got in a 10-mile run and then 12 miles a week later, with total mileage of 27 both weeks.  Hardly a buildup for a credible Half or hilly 15K.

And that proved out – these two races were total slogs.  In the Half, I felt decent for two miles, going out at a cautious pace.  Even up through mile 6, I was holding up pretty well. But during the last seven miles I had no answer as I saw a steady stream of runners pass me.  At the 15K, by the second mile it felt like I was carrying weights on my shoulders, resulting in the toughest race I ever recall running.

During those races, I had plenty of time to think about what might be happening.  Why was I feeling so washed out even though I was going slower than I had ever run for those distances?  Could it be lingering effects of the Covid I had contracted in January, i.e., Long Covid.  I had frankly poo-pooed this phenomenon and had not experienced it after my prior, more severe bout in 2022.  

Having run and raced for 47 years, I’ve had my share of injury-induced pauses in training.  But I’ve always bounced back pretty quickly, finding the zeal to push the pedal down and hold pace.  It’s why I enjoy racing!  But in these recent races, something was different.

I went to a pretty reliable source — ChatGPT, which I have found to be an amazing resource constructed to draw from credible sources posted on the web.  Chat GPT 3.5, the free version, includes info posted through January 2022.  Chat GPT 4.0, a paid subscription, is current. The chatbot’s take on my question of: “How Long Covid affects endurance running” was as follows: “….common symptoms of Long Covid include fatigue, shortness of breath, and muscle weakness…fatigue and muscle weakness can affect an individual’s ability to maintain pace and recover properly after runs, leading to decreased performance and increased risk of injury…shortness of breath can limit the ability to take in enough oxygen during runs, causing fatigue to set in more quickly.” The chatbot then suggests “reducing training volume and intensity, incorporating more rest days, and focusing on low-impact cross-training activities to maintain fitness while allowing the body to recover.”  It then adds “the effects of Long Covid on endurance distance running can vary widely depending on the individual and the severity of their symptoms. It’s important for runners to listen to their bodies and prioritize recovery.”

This response from ChatGPT provides much to ponder. It certainly reflected my experience of feeling muscle weakness and fatigue in those long races, especially on the hills!  Could it be this is just the effects of aging and the time away from training at an intense level for longer distances?  Maybe? And maybe it’s a combination.  There is no clear way to sort this out.  Long Covid does not result in positive tests.  And aging, as noted, is highly individual.

So, it’s back to taking it one step at a time.  And controlling the things I can control: quality workouts while building up slowly; getting enough rest; eating well; not over-racing.  And keeping a positive attitude that at least I can run unhindered by hamstring woes. That is a blessing!

Wisdom through Acceptance

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As we age, we ideally gain wisdom.  The Oxford dictionary suggests wisdom is the “soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.”

Wouldn’t we like to think our older selves have learned from experience what has worked, what hasn’t, and be able to discern the why for each, leading to choices with reasonably good outcomes?

In any event, I’m feeling tested in the first part of 2024 as it relates to my training.  All started out well enough and then two weeks in I had my second bout with Covid.  The first was in April, 2022, likely from which I had total sudden hearing loss.  I now have hearing aids that shift sound intended for my deaf left ear over to my right ear.  At that time, I likely came back to intense training too quickly and while the specialists will not confirm this, the fact that I lost my hearing 20 minutes after completing a track workout suggests a link between the virus and my inner ear.  

This time I was determined to be more cautious – no way was I going to have total hearing loss! Yet, we runners always try to push the envelope.  And this bout was much more mild than the first.  Very little coughing, no fever, mostly just head congestion and sneezing.  Without meds, symptoms mostly cleared in about four days and after a couple days of walking, I did some short runs and within 10 days was back to easy training.  Then I had elective surgery for a lipoma on my neck.  To allow for healing and minimize scarring my surgeon said to take it easy for a week.  Once again, that led to easy workouts. On top of this, I’ve been serving as finance director for a local mayoral campaign, not something I’ve done before, and the flurry of activity has cut into restful sleep.

But the racing season was about to begin.  The Super Sunday 4 Miler on February 11th, was the first Grand Prix race.  My 70s team was just three deep so we were all needed.  I throttled my expectations, got a couple up-tempo workouts in with a long run of seven miles.  I drove down to New Hampshire with two others the morning of the race, ran respectably, contributing to a team win.  All good.

But that afternoon after getting home and preparing to watch the Super Bowl, the wheels simply fell off.  Around 5 p.m., I started feeling nauseous, went up to lay down but shortly was making multiple trips to the bathroom for high velocity vomits.  Aching all over, I can’t recall when last feeling so sick. Had no interest in the Super Bowl – didn’t know until morning how it came out.  While I first thought it was food poisoning, it was almost certainly the flu, since my partner Liz caught it a day later, no doubt from me.  And to top that off, we were scheduled to fly to Austin in two days to visit Liz’s daughter.  This was touch and go.  While I was now able to stomach food Liz was not and was possibly contagious.  What to do?  With all arrangements made and hard to change we decided to go.  It’s gone as well as expected.  We’re both operating at ~80% but seem to be making progress.  I’ve run 5 miles the past three days and hopefully tomorrow before leaving will run 9 miles in 60-degree weather, something we will not see in Vermont for a while!

Looking out, the New Bedford Half Marathon is four weeks away and I hope to do long runs of 9, 10, and 12 leading up to that, with enough time for recovery.  Not as much training as hoped and the prudent thing is to adjust expectations and use that race and the 15K 13 days later to build toward a strong base for later races.  The goal is to be in pretty good shape by mid-May, the one year anniversary of my PRP injection and the road back from a torn hamstring tendon.

We’ve all heard the rather tired adage: “Life happens when we’re busy making plans.”  But it does pretty well describe what most of us face at various times during a year on top of the Big Granddaddy of them all – aging.  Ultimately, it comes down to accepting what is on our plate and finding constructive ways to address that.  The best outcome is we learn something from the experience and come through stronger. Maybe applying some of that valuable wisdom we’ve presumably acquired along the way!

Optimism

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Maybe you find like I do when the calendar turns, it’s an opportunity to look at things anew.  For us runners, we know when the major races will be held — in New England that includes the USATF Grand Prix slate.  For the first time ever, I believe, the 7-race series does not include a marathon.  There is a marathon championship, but it’s a separate race.  That means those of us who have left marathons in the rear-view mirror have a chance to be an ‘Ironman,” completing the entire series.

I found 2023 particularly challenging.  A hamstring injury carrying over from 2022 dogged me as 2023 wore on.  An MRI in April showed a partially torn proximal hamstring tendon and running was just making it worse.  In mid-May I had a PRP (platelet-rich-plasma) injection, and was only cleared to start jogging in late June.  PRP is not a silver bullet.  It merely helps the healing process, which takes its sweet time.  And for us seniors, recovery can be longer by a factor of two or even three times depending on the injury.  My first races in August were hardly stellar.  I couldn’t get out of 2nd gear.  In the back of my mind (maybe even in the front of it!) was the thought that pushing too hard would set the hamstring back and I certainly didn’t want that! Nevertheless, it was good to be able to enter the races even if my competition dusted me.  There was incremental improvement through the fall, topping out on November 3rd with a 78% age grading effort for a 5K.  However, for the year total mileage was just 830, less than I had run in any of the prior 45 years of running.  I had proven you can’t expect to run hard, fast, or long on that kind of mileage.

So, 2024 beckons and with it something most runners share – optimism.  Afterall, why do all the training if there’s not a sense of potential payback. I’ve missed doing well in my age group and feel ready to step up to the challenge. My plan is to run 1,300 miles in 2024, pretty well spaced out over the year.  This would approximate my average for 2018-2022 but is a 57% increase over 2023.  I can’t realistically expect to run more than that. The Grand Prix schedule has a four-mile race in February and then a half marathon and 15K in March.  After that, everything is shorter, with the longest through fall a 10K.  If all goes well, maybe I run the BAA Half in November.

If I’ve learned anything over the past year, it is progress can’t be rushed.  Patience is the name of the game and anything else is a recipe for re-injury.  This suggests that as I build up to run the half and 15K I should focus on progressively increasing long runs more than speed, with a long run every 2-3 weeks.  I’m at 11 miles now, so the calendar allows for runs of 12, 13, and 14 miles before the half.   Granted, to run one’s best half marathon requires longer runs – maybe 15 to 17 miles.  But I don’t have time to build up to that this spring.  And while at one time the half was my most competitive distance, maybe that is now trending towards the 10K?

In any event, I am enthused about the year ahead.  Will it turn out as well as hoped?  Maybe, maybe not.  But that’s part of the lure of distance running – a curiosity to find out.  

On a Path

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I just purchased Brad Stulberg’s new book, Master of Change.   Stulberg was a guest on the most recent episode of The Morning Shakeout podcast, hosted by Mario Fraioli.  This was his fourth appearance on that podcast and all have been insightful and thought provoking.  Stulberg writes about stuff that relates to our everyday lives, applying his own learnings.

He ends the Introduction with a section entitled A Road Versus a Path.  Not a new concept or metaphor, but he presents it in a way that helped me better understand my process both with developing the Senior Distance Running Essentials series and recovering from a torn proximal hamstring injury.  Stulberg borrowed from Wendall Berry’s description of landscapes in “A Native Hill,” suggesting a “road” is a linear concept, a route that gets you from here to there in as short a time and least amount of effort as possible.  Building a road often reshapes the landscape to meet that objective.  A “path,” on the other hand, is in harmony with the landscape.  It twists and turns, often leaving us disoriented.  But if we stick with it, the path leads somewhere, and wherever that is, it is a place from which next steps can be made.  Stulberg feels we make a huge mistake thinking life is a linear road rather than a circuitous path, where we anticipate change rather than fight it. 

I mention this since a year ago, I reserved TheSeniorRunner.com URL and started drafting plans for the Senior Distance Running Essentials YouTube series.  It seemed pretty straightforward: repurpose things I had in RunStrategies.com, a site I had blogged on since 2015, and begin building a YouTube series on senior running. While the content of Run Strategies related largely to my experience as a senior runner, I felt TheSeniorRunner (TSR) would better describe what I was looking to do going forward and help those interested find the site. I created something of a roadmap – a basic to-do list. 

The first things were pretty easy: reserving the URL, reaching out to potential IT providers to help build the site, and creating an index of topics I saw fit an “A to Z” presentation of senior running.  I contacted potential collaborators and got the sense they felt this was a worthy venture.  Then I started writing scripts for 13 episodes, pulling from everything I knew and learned over the past 45 years of running, racing, and study.  

It took four months, 25-30 hours per week, to create the drafts.  As I developed these scripts, it became clear what I thought was a road was turning into a path.  The number of revisions mounted, as subsequent episodes made me realize the first ones included either too much or too little content.  I contracted with a videographer, shot both a 4-minute intro to the TSR site and an 8-minute Episode #1 and put them up. In a way, the project was launched.  But I knew it was not ready for prime time, meaning I was not comfortable marketing it to attract an audience.  I needed further input.

So, I reached out to nine senior runners who agreed to be reviewers of the drafts.  The path continued to wind as these focus groups met in July, one in-person and one by Zoom.  While feedback was generally favorable, I heard lots of concerns about how material was presented and it sent me back to the drawing board (computer!) with two more rounds of drafts that are now nearly completed.  At times, it has seemed the path morphed into a labyrinth!  In the next couple of weeks, I’ll meet with the videographer to map out a schedule for shooting the now 14 videos.  Of larger concern, is how to engage others in owning and promoting this series, as it never has been intended to be about me.  This is yet another side path that hopefully connects with the main one!

The second part of this post is about my recovery from a partially-torn proximal hamstring tendon.  I’ve blogged on this several times and am now five months post a platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) injection.  In the past two months, I’ve run five races from 5K to 10K.  For sure, there has been a progression but I’m still a ways off from being at the level I think I can and should be. Originally, I had planned to run a half marathon in November but have concluded that road was not to be followed.  Rather a path focusing on regaining speed and shorter races was the was best approach, leaving longer race distances alone until 2024. 

Stulberg suggests we can be stronger as a result of these side trips if we pay attention to what is right before us.  In my case, aiming toward increasing speed over distance has led to more enjoyable fast, downhill training runs as well as snappy track workouts.  I have now run three 10-mile runs but have not pushed it and am consistently running 23-25 mile weeks, generally on four runs a week.  It seems, for now, this is working.  So, I’ll stay on this path and see where it leads.

Perhaps I’ll see you on the path!

Turning the Screws

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I keep John Jerome’s The Elements of Effort by my bed and often pick it up if I’m not quite ready for sleep.  The book is a series of snippets organized by season. Since he lives in Western Massachusetts, many of the weather-related entries pertain to Vermont.  You may not have heard of John Jerome — he became the author/editor of Fixx’s annual training log after Fixx passed.  He’s a full-time writer and contributes to Outside Magazine and other publications.  His primary sport is swimming, but he’s done his share of running and road racing. 

The entry I read was entitled “Finishing.”  He describes what we feel as we go through a race, right up to the final sprint.  He suggests “spending time in a rapidly intensifying discomfort zone” is “fascinating!”  Not that he’s saying we actually relish being there.  Rather, being there is the “lure around which endurance sports are built.”  Try explaining this to the non-athlete and you’re likely to get blank stares or some kind of visual indication that they think you are off your rocker, at best.  But we know from experience that turning the screws further leads us to understand that the discomfort need not, and will not, stop us.  Jerome calls this a visit to Edge City, a place we tend to go by the end of every race.

I thought about this as I was running a 5K this past Sunday.  I have been recovering from a hamstring injury for nearly a year and only during the past three months have been able to do anything that resembled training.  In three races back, I had not made it to Edge City…rather I had backed off on the outskirts of town, maybe with the thought I didn’t want to reinjure the hamstring and start the healing process over again.  But I suspected it was something deeper — that I had softened and was not yet willing to feel that discomfort, the screws turning.  So, it was with some resolve I started the race near the front of the pack and committed to stay with it when the going got a bit tough.

For the first mile, I ran 30 seconds faster than my last 5K and for the first time in a year, I felt like I was truly running.  The second mile was 25 seconds faster as the gates of Edge City came into view. This was where it got interesting as the course turned onto a severely eroded cross country section where time was no longer the metric, rather effort.  In a way, that was a distraction from how I was beginning to feel – I didn’t want to twist an ankle or trip on a rut hidden beneath the sand and was paying close attention to where I was stepping.  After six-tenths of a mile of this we came into a clearing and ran toward the finish chute.  It was over!  

I don’t know that I had turned the screws all that much, but I do know I went well beyond a place I had been willing to go during the past couple of months.  There are still three or four races left in the season. And I am looking forward with some reasonable expectation that I will once again find my way into Edge City, a place Jerome suggests you don’t want to live but ‘it’s where you find out who is doing the finishing.”  

Unwatchful

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I always run with a watch, feeling incomplete without it. In the 70’s when I started distance running, it was a Timex Ironman, at that time the state of the art.  It gave total time and splits when you punched the lap button. Pretty basic by today’s standards.  I knew the approximate distance of the routes I ran and would thus calculate an average pace.  I kept logs from inception on miles run per week, month, and year.

I kept buying new models of the Ironman until the Garmin Forerunner 205 came out in 2006.  That was a game changer!  It gave new kinds of data! Most notably: time, cumulative and current pace, automatic mile splits, and retained history of runs that could be looked at later..  The practical side was it opened up where I might run – I could take new routes, do loops instead of out-and-backs.  And so on. GPS harnessed my penchant for feedback.  The time, distance, and pace it showed found its way into my training logs.

I know people who run (and even race!) without a watch or GPS.  And I’ve been apt to think – “they’re missing an important feedback loop that detracts from their running performance.”  But I’ve recently been reading Christine Felstead’s book Yoga For Runners, looking to incorporate some yoga to address ongoing hamstring issues.  Maybe I can be called an older dog still interested in learning some new tricks!  She suggests, if even just one day a week, running without concern for time or distance.  A challenge for someone so reliant on their GPS.  But yesterday, I gave it a try. 

To be honest, I knew where I was going – along the bikepath up to the Lakeview Cemetery entrance 2.5 miles away and back.  I’ve run this route so many times with my GPS, I know the exact mile marks.  So, I wasn’t really going cold-turkey.  But leaving the watch at the gym, I started out, committed to paying closer attention to things I regularly passed.  What might I notice?  As I entered Waterfront Park, I noticed there were chairs on the upper deck of the ECHO science museum.  Had they always been there?  Then, taking the boardwalk, which parallels the bikepath, I noticed some people with a map, slowed briefly, asking if they were visitors.  In broken English, they said they were from Italy.  I said “welcome” and went on my way, only to see them on the way back when I called out “Italy” with thumbs up as I passed.  They smiled and must have thought this was a pretty friendly place.

Instead of turning around at the Lakeview Cemetery, I went through the always-open gate. I was always in too much of a hurry to go in.  Today I did. There were a number of tombstones with American flags. The dates suggested these were people who fought in one of the wars.  How were their lives changed (or ended) by that experience?  What was it like leaving your family for years to live in hostile lands?  What was it like for the families when they returned?  These were not questions I had contemplated when rooted to my GPS.

On the way back, after passing the Italian visitors, I stopped in the Local Motion bike rental shop, which I’ve passed hundreds of times but never been in, to inquire whether they had an air pump with a small enough nozzle to reach the valve of our kayak cart tires, which had been flat and unusable for a year.  They had four pumps, none of which would work, but we talked about the various places I might try.

Getting back to the gym, my starting point, I marveled about what had just happened, as I did some stretching, a couple yoga poses, and lights weights. For the first time in many years I had run without a watch.  Yes, I knew the approximate distance so I could enter it into my log.  My average pace may have been a bit slower than usual.  Not sure.  And, surprisingly, I didn’t care!  I had done what many people regularly do – I just ran!

I see doing this occasionally, maybe even weekly, going forward.  Who knows what I might see and find besides what my GPS watch is telling me?

Baby Steps

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The next race in my recovery process from a proximal hamstring tear is in the books: a 25:43 5K, which by my Garmin was an 8:08 pace resulting in a 72.9% age grading.  An incremental gain from the 5 Miler two weeks prior (8:23 pace, 72.5% AG).  

However, this one did not feel good, though the hamstring was gratefully not “talking” too much, in part thanks to deep PT massage on the prior Thursday, which loosened it up.  The limits were more in the form of nausea and just not having much gas as the race progressed.  It was a fair course with a downhill finish – some easy rollers but nothing extreme.  This served as an additional reminder that you can’t race fast if you don’t train fast.  How can I expect to run even an 8:00 pace if my 800 repeats are just under that?  Plus, one long run of 7 miles three weeks prior and another of 8 miles just a week ago is hardly enough base to build the stamina needed for sustained racing.

There is work to do!  Especially if I am to have any chance of approaching an 8:00 pace for the USATF Lone Gull 10K in four weeks. 

First, the 800s pace must improve — approaching at least 3:45 (7:30 pace).  This will be a push for sure.  Increased speed work, at whatever level, is hard.  Second, weekly longer runs must be a priority.  I’m thinking 9 miles next weekend, followed by 10 miles a week later.  My cardiorespiratory system is essentially being retooled – building back up after eight months of not being stressed at race pace.  And it takes time for an increased training load to bear results – probably two to three weeks.   Then, let’s not forget the importance of tapering so that on race day we’re fresh and raring to go.  It’s a package deal for sure.

So, not only is it unlikely I’ll improve much for the USATF 10K in four weeks, but I should also keep open the possibility, maybe even the probability, that a full comeback to pre-injury level is not assured.   But optimism is the trademark of runners of all ages!  What’s the point if we can’t hold onto the notion that we can hold our own, be willing to push the pedal down and feel increased movement?  This is where we each find ourselves, whatever our place in the race or age class.  It’s what makes a race an event – something that brings us together as we support each other in this vital aspect of our lives.  

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