No Foolin'...It's Healin'

Happy April Fools Day. I think I can actually say that my leg is healing up. That's what not running on it will do for you (OK, I lied, I played softball on Monday night and was running). Here's what I've been doing to save my sanity and let me be able to run healthy soon...

• Stretching - Three+ times per day I'm doing 3 types of wall push-ups and some other stretches. Looking to add some yoga days in here.
  
• Rolling - I'm gonna unleash my dog on this thing soon and let him tear it to shreds. Just a big, blue foam piece of crap. Works and is less expensive than getting a massage (Oh yeah...I'm in the process of scheduling a massage). Great at getting those knots and junk out of the legs.
• Not Running - Ok, this isn't really saving my sanity, but it's probably the #1 remedy for not re-injuring myself. (What an awful thing)
• Cross-training - I've been all over the board with this but I've been working on a few different things: swimming & biking for cardio; weights for hamstrings and thighs; Core exercises for, well, the core. Need to support those calf muscles.
• Positive Thinking - What good is it if I'm depressed and complaining all the time about not running? Since my training is going to be nowhere near where it should be for Miwok, I'll have to rely on mental toughness and positive thoughts to make it through. Good time to start is now.

Glorybelle (from Get Out There and Run Already!) had a great quote today about courage from To Kill a Mockingbird (excuse me for stealing this)...

“I wanted you to see what real courage is... It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

I don't think there is any better quote for me right now heading into Miwok. She's also having some of the same injury issues I'm having and has a nice entry today on basically starting over and rebuilding her base miles for a future of 100% healthy running (instead of 90%).

Good luck with your training and races everyone. Stay healthy!

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Losing, But Not Lost

It's been rough for the past month and a half from the running front. My left calf continues to be a nuisance and I can't really figure out what to do with it. Just when I think I'm past it, the discomfort comes back the next week. "Think positive".

Last Saturday, after my boys basketball game (organized chaos), I headed out for an 11-mile run home. Running felt great and things were going well until the last mile - had the old junk in the calf pop up once again. I stopped for a second, wrapped the hell out of my calf, and then continued on my way home. What's really weird is that after icing and rolling and stretching, the leg is basically fine again. This is where I'm confused on this injury.

Yesterday, I decided to do a 1.5 hour treadmill hill workout. Strangely, running up hills right now is the only thing that really doesn't bother my calf (I guess that's a good thing for Miwok). I might just have to keep any outdoor running to 8 or less miles of maintenance. How can I not run in this weather?

Congratulations to all my running buddies who've been hitting the trails and performing in races. I've really enjoyed reading all the blog entries. I've been itching to get out there and can't wait to see everyone again.

I'm not doing any races before Miwok, but I'll probably head out to Diablo on 4/19 to volunteer. Lots of faces and fast runners to see there. Hopefully, I'll be healthy the next time PCTR is back at Diablo in June.

Happy training and racing everyone!

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Phewww!

OK, I never really make that sound, but if definitely explains how I'm feeling today. I've been icing the hell out of my knee and as I hoped, the swelling and pain are down considerably. I think I can safely say that it was just a good tweak on the ligament and no damage. I actually walked 2.5 miles today and it only really hurt me when I went down a step or made a severe right turn (which I tried to avoid). I'll keep icing it tonight and then hopefully it will be completely gone within the next couple of days. 

I managed to find my old knee brace and I've put that to good use the last couple days. It basically 

restricts the lateral movement at the knee. Perfect! The "good" thing about this injury compared to a muscle pull/strain/etc., is that I'm not really worried about re-injuring the leg when I'm running. (Nobody move or say anything). Gotta love the optimism.

Take care and happy training. Here I come.

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Give Me a Break Already

I'm ready to drop-kick my computer right now creating this post. First the good news- the calf muscle is feeling good and passed the running & softball tests yesterday. Great. Now comes the bad part...As I was backing up the 3rd baseman on a throw, my right foot caught the ground and caused my knee to twist a little (and I thought I heard a pop). That hurt kind of bad but the pain went away after a few minutes and I didn't notice any swelling or soreness. It's the outside of the knee, which I believe is the lateral collateral ligament (LCL). Last night when I got home, I put it on ice and it was still not swollen or very sore.

Fast forward to about 4:00 AM this morning and I semi-wake up to change positions ... ouch! That sucker tightened up and swelled up in those few hours from the previous night. It's now relatively painful to bend my leg and definitely painful to try and turn it in or out. (Insert swearing here)

Of course what this all means is no running again. Oh man. This is not what I planned on when I signed up for the Miwok 100k. I'm still planning on running but my goal is turning into pure survival at this point. Where I had once thought of breaking 12 hours, I'll be lucky to finish the damn race. Yes, this is the point where I'm extremely bitter and frustrated. Talk about your fluke injuries. All I can do is hope that it was just a stretch of the ligament and nothing else. You and I both know the routine...let it heal and then resume training. This probably guarantees that I won't be doing the Diablo Marathon now. I'll save everything I have until Miwok.

Still need to be optimistic because in the grand scheme of things it's just a race (I deleted this line 4 times already - go to hell optimism). I really want to just run. Is that so hard? 

Bye for now, happier entries soon.

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Shhhh...You Might Wake Me

Alright, time to come back from wherever the hell I've been. I still owe a race report from Woodside (and I'll get to it), but here's a quick summary of what's been happening.

On Monday (2/15), I managed to do "something" to my left calf and it has prevented me from doing any real running since. I think what it comes down to is the fact that I was a little hard on my training after the Woodside run (where of course I felt great). That's right, it's my friend the overuse injury. The "good" news is that this isn't the same injury bugging me last year (oh and the ITB is fine).

I spent the rest of that week stretching, icing, rolling, praying, and doing anything to get it heeled and feeling better. By the end of the week, I felt it was good enough to continue a lighter training schedule. So this past Monday, I did a 3-mile easy run and the leg felt ok. Problem is, I didn't have a chance to ice it or stretch it properly. Guess what? I played softball that night and after cruising around first base on my way to second base, I could feel it tighten up and bite me a little bit. So back to square one.

Returning to today, it feels ok again. I'll continue icing it and doing the normal voodoo stuff to make it better. Once again, I'll wait until Monday to test it out again. However, this time I'll ice it and stretch it properly before beating it up at softball again.

This definitely puts me behind on my Miwok training. I am an optimist so all I can say is "who gives a rat's arse". I'll  be fine. I'll continue to work on my leg strength and resume hill workouts once the leg comes back around. Motivation is still high and this unintential rest could be good for me in the long run. 

I've been reading everyone else's blogs so thanks for the entertainment. More to come soon. Good to be back.

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Woodside Fun

Great time yesterday in Woodside for the 35k. Here is the brief summary:

Distance: 35k (22 miles)
Time: 3:22:52 (9:13 pace)
Place: 16th (7th in M30-39 age group)

Ran better than I thought I would run this early in the year. ITB is a bit sore but should be ok. Beautiful park. Great race setup (PC Trail Runs are the best). Great runners and volunteers.

Race report coming soon.

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Rain

We got some much needed rain today and it looks like it will continue on through tomorrow. I'm happy to see the rain because I'd like to be able to shower this summer (drought). However, I'm curious as to what this is going to do the trails in Woodside for the race this Saturday. I read some of the PCTR message board posts after the last rain and most folks seemed to agree that the trails don't get to that sticky mud condition. For me, only sandy trails are worse to run in than sticky mud. For a 200-lb guy, you quickly pack on another few pounds of mud on each foot. Regardless of the weather, I'm really fired up for the 35k. Time to see what kind of early-season shape I'm in. (Cue the bad news sound effect from Sesame Street)

So speaking of too much weight...I weighed myself at the gym yesterday and was not pleased with what came up on the scale. I think I gained back everything I took off after the holidays - probably all on Sunday and Monday. Sunday was obviously the Super Bowl party pig-out festival. "You mean I can stop eating and drinking at any time?" Then Monday, we had our softball playoffs (we had the #1 seed but our offense took a dump in the title game and we lost - sorry sponsor). We normally have our after-game beers but of course this time, we had to make a bigger deal and have more beer and food. Somebody shoot me. At least the motivation picks up after that.

Training has been going well...

Sunday: 8.5 mi tempo run
Monday: 6 mi. EZ
Tuesday: 6 mi. EZ with some small hill repeats
Wed: Into the pool...1600 yds (300 warm-up, 10 x 100 repeats, 300 cool down) + 300 double-unders

Today I'll probably head to the gym for some light hill-work and some weights. I'm trying not to do too much this week (ie. mini-taper). Even though I'm calling this a training run on Saturday, I still don't want to have dead legs heading into it.

Next Monday, I'll get back to the longer runs and continue the push to Miwok. Everyone have a great rest of the week. Happy training.

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